“He has to work so he’ll only be coming over later,” Xu Youyou explained.
Old Madam Xu nodded and asked, “Has he been treating you well?”
“Yes,” Xu Youyou replied without hesitation. She was not lying. Mo Shenbai truly treated her very well. When she was injured, he would help her apply medicine every day. Apart from arranging a driver for her, he also readily agreed to her request to have dinner with her family during the mid-autumn festival.
…
After lunch, Old Madam Xu returned to her room to rest.
Madam Xu took a card out from her bag at this moment and handed it to Xu Youyou as she said, “Youyou, I don’t know what to buy for you for the mid-autumn festival. There’s some money in this card so please buy what you like. I don’t know young girls like nowadays.”
Xu Youyou looked at the gold card and shook her head. “Mom, I have money. There’s no need for this.”
Her parents would give her money every holiday. Sometimes they would give her red packets and sometimes they would transfer the money to her. Apart from buying her art materials, she did not spend much on her daily life. Hence, she had saved up a small sum of money.
Madam Xu stuffed the card in her hand and said, “I know you’re very sensible and don’t spend much money, but this is from Mom and Dad. You must accept it. This year, your dad’s company did quite well so you don’t have to help him save money.”
Xu Youyou knew she could not refuse even if she wanted to so she accepted the card and said, “Thank you, Mom.”
Madam Xu touched Xu Youyou’s cheek and said, “You’re truly a good child. You’ve suffered recently.”
Due to Old Madam Xu’s health, although Madam Xu knew that her daughter’s marriage was fake, there was nothing she could do but to go along with the lie and let her daughter live under someone else’s roof.
Xu Youyou smiled. “Mom, I’m not suffering. Mr. Mo and Brother are good friends so he treats me very well. Don’t worry.”
Madam Xu nodded, but her eyes were slightly red. “If only I didn’t listen to your grandmother and agree to the engagement between you and the Lin family or send you to the countryside…”
Xu Youyou did not want her mother to feel sad about the past anymore so she interrupted her and said, “Mom, that’s all in the past. Can’t you see I’m doing quite well now? I’m chubby, fair, and filled with hope!”
“Nonsense. How are you chubby?” Madam Xu said, amused. She stroked Xu Youyou’s face as she continued to say, “I won’t ask for anything else as long as you’re always healthy and happy.”
Xu Youyou chatted with her mother for a while before her mother finally returned to the bedroom to rest. After she returned to her room as well, she put away her gold card in the khaki bag she carried today. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly when she saw an old pink diary in the bag.
She brought the diary out and sat down at the desk near the window before she flipped it open. What greeted her was the familiar and beautiful handwriting.
‘If I didn’t meet him, I’d live my life and die quietly. However, I met him and fell in love with him so I’m not willing to die quietly. I want to live. I want to walk up to him openly and tell him loudly: My name is Xu Youyou. Thank you for the umbrella.’
‘I want to live. Only by living will I have the chance to see him again. Only by living will I become better and have a chance to stand by his side.’
‘I really want to live! I want to continue liking him. I want to tell him that I survived because I like him. Because of him, I have the courage to fight against all injustice.’
‘I really, really, really like him…’
Xu Youyou closed the diary and sighed heavily. No matter how much she liked Lin Yin, the person in his heart was not her.
