Chapter 173: Not thoughtful

Then firmly choose to believe.

Pei Muyin seriously recalled her father's words in her mind once, and then the only little bit of doubt in her heart completely dissipated.

Following instinct, she almost without hesitation reached the conclusion:

Shu Shu is not the older sister; she is the mother.

…

Jing Shi's rain came suddenly, the raindrops wrapped in a freezing chill fell densely, striking the clean glass window outside; inside, the air conditioner ran, warm as spring.

Pei Muyin wore a dry-hair cap, sat obediently on the soft stool, and through the mirror in front of her saw Shu Shu walking over from behind holding a hair dryer.

Shu Shu smiled at her in the mirror, plugged in the socket, and took off her dry-hair cap.

A non-irritating humming wind sound sounded beside her ear.

A soft sensation came from her scalp.

Pei Muyin's gaze always stayed on Shu Shu; in the past, she had often looked at Shu Shu like this.

But the feelings she held then and now are completely different.

Previously she regarded their relationship as that of a particularly close good friend, but now——she is looking at her mother.

Pei Muyin's clear eyes were filled with a sense of wonder.

Her gaze followed Shu Shu's movements, not wanting to miss a single second.

The girl wore light-colored loungewear, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, her wrists white and slender, the hair at the back simply clipped with a shark clip, a few strands of bangs escaping at her forehead.

This made her already gentle side profile appear somewhat casually relaxed.

……Mom is really pretty.

Suddenly, Pei Muyin's earlobe was pinched.

"What's wrong?" After blowing her daughter's hair to mostly dry, Shu Shu turned off the hair dryer, and while picking up the hair oil, she tilted her head in puzzlement: "Muyin seems to have been looking at me since just now."

"Is there something?"

Pei Muyin first shook her head, paused, then slowly nodded, answering: "En."

It seems to be quite an important matter.

Shu Shu stopped what she was doing, appearing ready to listen attentively.

Pei Muyin turned her body from the soft stool to face Shu Shu, seemingly to ease her tension and give herself courage, the girl quietly took a deep breath.

Then she lifted her gaze, meeting Shu Shu's eyes, and only heard her speak in a light voice the words she had been phrasing in her heart for nearly two hours:

"En, that is——"

"I'm really happy to meet you."

"Mom."

The last two words, Pei Muyin shouted them somewhat shyly.

At the instant her words fell, Shu Shu was stunned, doubting she had misheard; after a moment she reacted, her tone somewhat unsteady: "……Muyin, what did you say?"

"You called me——"

"Mom."

Pei Muyin clearly repeated once; in Shu Shu's shocked gaze, the girl frankly explained:

"Before the song in the recording pen starts, there is a 4.5-second blank; this detail, only the mother who personally recorded this song would know."

"That new recording pen also has a 4.5-second blank."

So there's no need to dwell on it; the detail decided the outcome.

Not a short silence.

"……Muyin." Shu Shu wanted to speak but stopped, subconsciously a little worried as she looked at her daughter's expression, weighing whether to remind her daughter of her situation: "I am now, the same age as you."

"I know."

Pei Muyin's face showed no trace of thinking it absurd; instead, she calmly curved her lips and said: "When I was very young, I asked my father a question: why have I never seen my mother?"

"Yes."

Pei Muyin's question is not "Why don't I have a mother?" but "Why have I never seen my mother?"

From the time she could remember, her father told her.

Besides her father, she also had a relative: her mother.

At that time, she curiously looked left and right, meaning——Mom, where are you? I didn't see you.

Her father fell silent for a moment, then said Mom had gone to a very faraway place and no longer lived here.

Until she went to kindergarten.

Pei Muyin learned from her classmates that a situation like this—not living with one's mother—was because the mother didn't like her and didn't love her.

The word "not love" was a considerable blow for a child of that age.

That day after school.

Pei Muyin, backpack on, eyes red, asked her father sorrowfully whether it was really true, as her classmates said, that her mother didn't love her.

"Of course not."

Her father furrowed his brows, bent over, picked her up, and answered her affirmatively.

Pei Muyin looked at Shu Shu, her voice soft, word for word repeating her father's words to Shu Shu: "Dad said, Mom loves me very much; she is the person who loves me most in this world, no one will love me more than Mom."

"Including him."

At that time, Pei Muyin heard it in a dazed, half-understanding way.

She firmly believed her father.

She only felt that her father was already someone who loved her deeply; if Mom loved her even more than Dad, then that was truly a lot of love.

Although they had never met, Pei Muyin automatically categorized Mom as an "important person"; in her subconscious she formed a especially good impression of Mom.

If one were to say that, for her at that time, this good impression was merely a vague concept existing in her mind.

Then, through the recorder, she confirmed that Shu Shu was her mother, and her father's words "Mom loves you very much" instantly became concrete.

From the moment they began to intersect.

No matter what event or detail Pei Muyin recalled, she was always wrapped in happiness.

And the foundation of all that happiness was love.

If that's the case, then whether strange and wondrous or beyond belief.

Why should Pei Muyin worry, when she possesses all the healthy senses of a normal person—she can see, she can hear, and she can make her own judgments.

She only needed to confirm that the person before her was her mother.

The girl looked at Shu Shu, her peach-blossom eyes shining, and asked with a hint of self-reproach: "Mom, am I perhaps a bit too slow?"

She only realized it now.

"No."

Shu Shu shook her head, her eye sockets warm, and couldn't help but lean in to hug her daughter into her arms.

No way, baby.

Whether you know it or not, it won't affect my loving you for a lifetime.

……

Pei Muyin, buried in a faint citrus scent, let out a sigh, reached back to hug her mother, and unconsciously closed her eyes to feel this kind and warm embrace.

She finally understood where this feeling of kindness came from.

As it turned out, everything had traces, and had been giving her hints all along.

That night.

Shu Shu held her daughter, Pei Muyin held her mother, and they slept soundly.

Of course, it's not that her sleep before was bad, but rather that something became clear, dispelling the clouds to reveal the sun.

From this moment on, happiness will multiply.

Actually, how could Shu Shu not have realized that the recorder was too new? But she didn't deliberately age it for authenticity.

Her daughter treasured that recorder so much; the audio file of that piece was readily available, but what her daughter cared about was the person who had made the recording, full of uniqueness.

If Shu Shu still hadn't realized anything from it, then she would be an idiot.

…

The next morning.

Shu Lingchen, taking advantage of Pei Muyin still washing up, sneaked into the kitchen, approached Shu Shu who was humming while frying eggs, and whispered:

"Mom, did my sister have any unusual behavior last night?"

Shu Shu, holding the spatula, asked: "Why do you ask that?"

"Because yesterday my sister asked me a lot of questions." Shu Lingchen frowned, his expression serious, and said: "First she asked if we had been living together for a long time, then she asked why she had never seen my parents, nor any contact with them."

"Mom, you went to sleep—you have no idea how tense it was back then!"

Saying this, the boy raised his chin: "Good thing I'm resourceful enough—I answered every question flawlessly, without a leak, impeccable!"

Shu Shu raised an eyebrow: "You answered every one?"

Shu Lingchen: "Mm."

Shu Shu silently looked at her son for a moment, then the next second she smiled: "babyturkey, what do you want to eat tonight? Order whatever you like."

"!"

Happiness came too suddenly.

Although his mother usually cooked what they liked to eat, what mattered was that Shu Lingchen gained tremendous affirmation from his mother's words!

So——

Shu Lingchen couldn't help but lift his tail, simultaneously blinking his eyes proudly: "Mom, you also think I'm especially resourceful, right?"

"Whether resourceful or not, we'll discuss that later." Shu Shu patted her son's shoulder, looking relieved: "Mainly, I just realized that even a big strainer has its own advantages."

Shu Lingchen, puzzled: "A big strainer—who's that?"

Anyway, it's not him; he keeps his mouth shut tight.

…

Breakfast ready, the three took their seats at the table.

Shu Lingchen poured Pei Muyin a cup of soy milk.

Pei Muyin, eyes curved, said: "Thank you, older brother."

Again, "older brother."

Shu Lingchen's eyes lit up immediately, and he responded with a rather fluttering heart.

I don't know why, but these two words sound more comforting than just one.

"Sis, can we make a deal? You keep calling me like that, and I'll do your winter break homework—what do you think?"

Pei Muyin shook her head: "No need to do my homework."

To Shu Lingchen, that sounded like a polite refusal.

He wasn't discouraged, immediately upped the ante, tempting: "Not just the winter break homework—I'll handle all your homework from now on?"

Pei Muyin still shook her head.

All right.

He was still rejected by his sister.

(???? e???)

Shu Lingchen was about to go to a signature website to find an emo caption matching his current mood to post later on his social circle.

Just heard.

——What I mean is, you don't have to write my homework for me, big brother, I'll still call you like that.

Shu Lingchen lifted his head in surprise and joy.

Hearing Pei Muyin say, "Between blood siblings, it's only natural for the younger sister to call the older brother."

"Hehe, that's true."

Shu Lingchen initially didn't notice anything wrong, and even gleefully picked up a fried dough stick, took a bite, chewed twice, then his arm froze, his expression a little doubtful.

"……Sis, what did you just say? I didn't hear clearly, can you repeat?"

Pei Muyin looked at Shu Shu.

The two exchanged a smile.

Shu Shu cleared her throat, winked at her son, and said word by word: "The younger sister said, between blood siblings, it's only natural for the younger sister to call the older brother."

Pa—

The fried dough stick in Shu Lingchen's hand fell back onto the plate.

Close, older brother, younger sister.

Shu Lingchen's left cheek puffed out, he looked blankly at Shu Shu, then at Pei Muyin, then again at Shu Shu, then again at Pei Muyin; both wore smiles, the atmosphere was great.

He reacted half a beat late.

……Mom and younger sister, have they recognized each other?

The boy sprang up from his chair, gesturing: "Wait, did I get too carried away, or did I time‑travel to the future? Otherwise why is the plot suddenly moving so fast?"

He pulled out his phone to check the time; the date was normal, no time travel.

So.

What did he miss?!

"You, you guys, when…"

When did they recognize each other.

Shu Shu: "Last night."

Shu Lingchen instinctively observed Pei Muyin's expression.

Calm.

Very calm.

His first reaction was, "No wonder she's my blood sister—just like me, her ability to take in new things is equally strong!"

However, his second reaction was anger.

"You two are going too far."

Shu Shu and Pei Muyin were bewildered, then they heard Shu Lingchen protest in an aggrieved tone: "How could such a melodramatic recognition scene not include me! It's just not enough!"

……

Shu Shu: "Next time?"

"No." Shu Lingchen refused, saying: "Not allowed; next time is next time's matter, this time, I need compensation now."

Shu Shu and Pei Muyin: "?"

How should we compensate?

Shu Lingchen skipped breakfast, walked silently to the warehouse, and when he came out, saw the boy holding a huge pile of—tissues.

"Will these be enough to wipe away tears later?"

In Shu Lingchen's view, melodrama equals tear‑jerking.

"……" Shu Shu said dryly: "We didn't cry."

"Oh, then I'll definitely cry—I'm very empathetic and my tear threshold is low." Shu Lingchen didn't buy it, stacked the tissues on the table, sat down again, and said solemnly: "Come, let's begin."

"Where should we start? Who speaks first? Or should we just jump right in and cry?"

Then came a lengthy silence.

The three of them stared at each other for a good while.

No one knows who first let out a 'pfft' and couldn't help laughing; then the other two followed suit, breaking into laughter.

Shu Shu laughed and cried at once: "Shu Lingchen, you're crazy."

"Cough cough." Well, Shu Lingchen turned off his drama mode, rubbed his eyebrows, a bit embarrassed looking at Pei Muyin: "Sorry, sis, it's my first time facing you as a real brother—I got so excited it made me a little shy."

"Well—anyway, I'm especially happy that you're my sister."

Shu Lingchen solemnly extended his hand to Pei Muyin.

"Me too." Pei Muyin smiled, crossed the table, and gently took his hand: "I'm really grateful to have a brother."

The two laughed.

The siblings' confession session.

So beautiful one wishes to preserve the scene forever.

"Gee, you two are over the top—such a melodramatic scene, and you didn't even include me."

Shu Shu teased with a sigh from the side.

Just then.

A 'dit-dit' fingerprint unlock prompt came from the entryway.

All three peered over at once.

The gate opened.

A man in a black overcoat, tall and slender, appeared outside the door pushing a small suitcase with one hand.

Pei Du met their three gazes; his calm gaze swept over the hands of his son and daughter clasped together.

In a moment, he gave a faint smile: "Morning."