Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

“Is that true?” Rainy asked, wanting to be sure. “The leafy will not leave their mother?”

“Of course. I won’t lie to you. When you wake up tomorrow, you will see that all the leaves are gone because they are back with their mommy.”

Xia Ruoxin said as she peeled an egg and gave it to her daughter. “Come, have an egg.”

“Thank you, Mommy.” Rainy took the egg and took a bite happily. However, she felt something was missing in her arms so she stretched a hand out towards her mother.

“Mommy, Dolly. I want Dolly.”

Xia Ruoxin stood up in search of her daughter’s doll. Gosh, where had she left her doll? After searching for a long time, Xia Ruoxin finally found the doll under the bed. She pulled it out and gave it to her teary daughter as she brushed a finger on Rainy’s button nose. “You misplaced Dolly. Next time, you will have to search for her yourself.”

Rainy pouted her lips. She tugged at her mother’s clothes with her small hand and apologized.

“I’m sorry, Mommy. I won’t misplace Dolly again.”

Xia Ruoxin loved that Rainy was a courteous child. Since her child was young, she had always been a little lady no matter what. That was her daughter. Looking at Rainy, the girl had grown prettier and cuter.

Xia Ruoxin took her sketchbook out and started working. Rainy would go to bed once she was tired of playing.

She switched on her computer. Unsurprisingly, A Sunny Day will Come had been online quite often lately.

Summer’s Not Over: “It’s very late. You’re still awake?”

A Sunny Day will Come: “Yes. Can’t sleep. What about you?”

Summer’s Not Over: “My child is still awake.”

A Sunny Day will Come: “You will be a good mother.”

Summer’s Not Over: “I can tell that you will also be a good father.”

Father? Chu Lui smiled bitterly, and it hurt his swollen face. He would experience what she was going through for as long as he lived. He wouldn’t know what it felt like to be a father, and neither would he be one. This was karma. He robbed her of her ability to conceive so now this was his retribution.

“Mommy, I’m sleepy.”

Rainy rubbed her eyes. She was getting sleepy.

Xia Ruoxin came over and scooped her daughter up in one hand. Then, she washed Rainy’s hands, face, and feet before tucking her into bed to let her sleep alone. Rainy was an easy child to raise. All Xia Ruoxin had to do was placed Dolly into Rainy’s arms, and the little girl would fall asleep. She was also different from the other children whose favorite was watching cartoons. She liked to draw and didn’t really spend a lot of time watching television. Her only love was her doll. Sometimes, Xia Ruoxin was worried that her child might be slightly autistic.

Gao Yi also mentioned that Rainy was more sensible than an average child. Naturally, she was also more sensitive, too. This couldn’t be helped. They could only wait for her to grow older in the hopes that it would be better.

She waited until Rainy was asleep, and then she quickly finished her work for the online website while there was still time. One painting for two hundred dollars. Even if Gao Yi didn’t give her any money for her monthly expenses, she would have enough to raise her daughter. On top of that, there was the job at the art studio. The salary might not be great, but she and Rainy’s livelihood for the next month would be covered.

On the other hand, Gao Yi had been gone for quite a long time. She wondered how he was doing and whether he would be coming back. The brush in her hand paused. She felt a sense of loss like the gusts of wind outside which had been blowing away the fallen leaves and racking up dust in its path.

Suddenly, the sound of raindrops falling could be heard coming from the outside.

She set her paintbrush down and walked to the window. She was lost in her thoughts as she stared at the dim street lights while they shone on their surroundings. Occasionally, the wind would blow at the remaining one or two fallen leaves left on the footpath.

She put on a coat and walked out of the house. The late autumn wind blew on her body which brought along a sense of a sad desolation. She picked up a piece of yellow leaf and followed her daughter’s example as she set it at the roots of a tree.

The leaf was finally back where it belonged.

She smiled, warmly. Even as the wind blew at her, autumn didn’t feel that cold anymore.

When she returned, her computer was still on; and she was surprised that A Sunny Day will Come was still online.

‘Boss, still awake?’

She typed in those words. However, she felt she was being a busybody. They were actually strangers so it was better not to ask so many questions. Perhaps, he might want to be alone. Or he might even be asleep.

She deleted the words, logged out of her Penguin account, and shut down the computer. Her profile photo was dimmed in an instant.

In that same instant, an emptiness filled Chu Lui’s heart.

This became the only way for him to enjoy a bit of brightness. However, when that beam of light dimmed, his whole world went along, too.

The autumn wind was still bleak. Every so often, the movement of the branches could be heard when the wind was blowing. Perhaps with time, the dead branches would break if the wind was stronger.

...

Song Wan visited her daughter-in-law at the hospital every day with the soup she prepared. Mrs. Li, on the other hand, remained disrespectful to her as she had not forgotten how heartless, dispassionate, and cold-blooded Chu Lui had treated them. It was fine if he refused to help his father-in-law’s business, but he was asking for a divorce when her daughter was pregnant. If this wasn’t brutal and cold-blooded, what could it be?

Yet, she also seemed to forget that without Chu Lui, how could the Lis’ business lasted for so long? It was almost a miracle.

After being mistreated for the past few days, Song Wan’s became ill-tempered, too.

Chu Jiang massaged her shoulders. “Don’t go if you don’t feel like going. Leave them with their drama. That family was too keen on gaining petty advantages. We are such a big slice of bacon to them. How could they not sink their teeth and have their share? They would love to get their hands greasy.”

“I know.” Song Wan was so busy lately that she could feel her body breaking down. “What can we do? Our grandchild is in their daughter’s stomach. If their daughter is unhappy, do you think our grandchild will do well? I’m doing all these for the sake of our grandchild.”

Chu Jiang was about to speak out. The Li family members were disrespecting his wife, and he hated it. However, like Song Wan had said, their grandchild was yet to be born. For the sake of their grandchild, they must put up with those unruly people. Li Manni had married Chu Lui and bore a child for him before she could start contributing to her family. Song Wan felt that they had not been taking good care of their daughter which was their own fault. It was only right that she allowed them to vent their anger.

“I will go with you tomorrow.” After much deliberation, Chu Jiang decided to accompany his wife to the hospital. He would be able to shield her from the indescribable treatment.

“Forget it. I think you should stay away.” Song Wan rejected him in a heartbeat. She knew her husband’s temperament like the back of her hand. Chu Lui had inherited his temper from the Chu family’s genes. With his son’s unpredictable character, how much better would Chu Jiang be? Song Wan was worried that before they could have the chance to appease their in-laws, Chu Jiang—the ticking time bomb—would have exploded. If that happened, what should she do?

Actually, she wanted to hide the fact that the Lis’ actions were out of hand. Their words were sarcastic, but fortunately, she had a good temperament so she could put up with them. On the contrary, Chu Jiang might be another story.