Chapter 18

Shu Shu saw four-year-old Shu Lingchen.

The background seemed to be a hospital.

A tiny carrot stick, held in the arms of a kindergarten teacher, cried with red-rimmed eyes, hoarse from exhaustion, shouting: "Mommy, I want Mommy..."

His milky, extremely aggrieved wail drew sideways glances from passersby.

Someone sighed softly: "Ah, it's karma; I heard this child's mother was stabbed to death, and there's no one else at home, leaving such a tiny child—how will he survive on his own?"

Shu Shu froze.

Is this... after her death?

Then the picture went black.

"Leave the child with us and rest assured; we will surely take good care of him."

Shu Shu saw little Shu Lingchen handed to a woman wearing reading glasses; a sign behind her read "Xingyun ertong fuliyuan," and she smiled as she took the silent child's hand.

The woman looked like the head of the institute or something similar.

Shu Shu examined her closely, seeing her gentle brows and kind face, and thought she would be a good director.

But soon.

Shu Shu heard Shu Lingchen's crying again, accompanied by painful wails.

"Auntie, don't pinch me; I'll be good and obedient, I'll be good and obedient..."

A wooden door appeared before Shu Shu; the sound came from inside. She shoved it open forcefully and then saw a scene that shocked her greatly.

Little Shu Lingchen huddled in a corner, a woman with a vicious expression glared at him while continually twisting his arms.

The woman, while moving her hands, shouted: "I let you eat and you smear food everywhere—do you know how tiring it is for me to clean up?! Did you come to this welfare institute just to torment me?!"

A mere four-year-old child, with delicate skin and tender flesh.

Soon, the child's white arms were mottled with blue and purple bruises, horrifying to behold.

Shu Shu watched, her eyes blazing with fury.

Shu Lingchen had been taught well by her; he learned to feed himself early, cherished his food, ate elegantly, and would never make a mess of his meals.

Shu Shu heard little Shu Lingchen defending himself: "Auntie, it wasn't me who made the mess; I didn't."

But the woman wouldn't listen, as if merely venting; her violent acts continued.

Shu Shu's anger shot to the heavens; she wanted to burst through the scene, grab that woman and beat her, but she couldn't leave—she was trapped in another time-space, pacing anxiously, yet could only watch helplessly.

Night fell.

Shu Lingchen's tiny body curled on the welfare institute's bunk, sleeping restlessly, tears at the corners of his eyes, his voice choked with grievance as he murmured: "Mommy..."

It seemed only the word "Mommy" could give him a sense of safety.

Shu Shu longed to go over, take her son into her arms and comfort him.

Shu Lingchen was very clingy to her; each night he would hug his little pillow and coax her, falling asleep peacefully in the bedtime stories she told.

Now, Mommy is gone; only he remains.

Shu Shu's heart ached terribly; she simply stood guard beside him, watching over him all night long.

What made her feel relieved was that, when the scene switched again,

she saw the vicious woman taken away by police, and Shu Lingchen was also picked up from the welfare institute.

He returned to Yujingyuan.

Soon, professionals from an agency matched Shu Lingchen with a foster family.

They were a young couple who could not have children but were well-off.

Upon first seeing Shu Lingchen, they took a liking to him, bent down, and actively engaged him in conversation.

Shu Lingchen was initially very wary, shrinking behind the property staff, unwilling to get close.

But the young couple were patient; thereafter they came to Yujingyuan every day to accompany Shu Lingchen, cooking for him, playing with toys, and playing games.

Laughter and chatter filled the air; the atmosphere was wonderful.

Gradually, little Shu Lingchen began to accept their kindness.

Seeing this, Shu Shu felt only relief.

Just as she looked forward to seeing her son go to his new family and start a new life, the scene cut again.

It was Shu Lingchen with a stern little face, swatting away the hand of the young woman who was about to become his new mother, and declaring: "I hate you; don't go to your house, I won't go!"

His aversion was intense.

In the end, he indeed did not go to the foster family.

Shu Shu was full of confusion.

What happened that made Shu Lingchen suddenly change his face and become so resistant to that young couple?

But there was no chance for Shu Shu to figure it out.

The scene remained frozen there, never moving again.

…

Shu Shu opened her eyes.

The small lamp on the bedside table cast a warm light that illuminated the bedroom.

She realized she had awakened from the dream.

It had been a long time since she had dreamed of such rich and chaotic content.

Shu Shu exhaled, glanced at the clock—it was three a. m.

Feeling a little thirsty, she threw off the covers, got out of bed, went to the living room to pour water, drank it, and prepared to return to her room; as she passed Shu Lingchen's bedroom, her steps hesitated slightly.

Shu Shu faintly heard a rustle.

It sounded very much like a choked sob…

Shu Shu immediately raised her hand and knocked on the door, "Shu Lingchen?"

No one answered from inside the room.

Shu Shu leaned in closer to listen; she wasn't mistaken, it was indeed the sound of sobbing.

"Shu Lingchen? What's wrong?"

Still no reply.

"Mom's coming in."

As she finished speaking, Shu Shu pressed down the handle of Shu Lingchen's bedroom door.

"Shu Lingchen?"

She turned on the light, and as she walked in, she saw the blanket fallen to the floor; on the gray bedsheet, the boy was drenched in sweat, curled up, uttering frightened delirium: "Mom... save me."

Shu Shu frowned, stepped forward, bent down and patted his shoulder, softly calling: "Xiao Chen?"

The boy took a heavy breath and suddenly opened his eyes.

In his eyes there was a moment of blankness, then seeing Shu Shu, his pupils focused and cleared; his hoarse voice asked doubtfully: "... Mom?"

"Mm."

Shu Shu asked: "You had a nightmare?"

Shu Lingchen blinked, turned his head to look around, froze for two seconds, then reacted and sat up somewhat embarrassedly, his eyes darting: "Oh, right, I dreamed I was about to push the crystal in a game, but all my teammates died, and I was yelling at them on mic."

He said this, showing a resentful expression.

Shu Shu: "..."

Shu Lingchen didn't want his mom to know he had been crying in his dream; a seventeen-year-old guy, how could he still be crying? If it got out, how could he continue to be the school bully?

The boy swept his somewhat damp red-yellow-blue short hair, and seriously showed it to Shu Shu: "Look, I swore so much I worked up a sweat."

Shu Shu pointed at the tear stain at the corner of his eye: "And then you made yourself cry from scolding?"

Shu Lingchen: "..."

He instinctively went to wipe his eyes, stubbornly saying: "Oh, this match in the dream was a promotion match! It's really important!"

Shu Shu raised an eyebrow, nodded, indicating she understood.

She saw through but didn't expose it, only saying: "I can't sleep; the sweet water I made should be chilled by now. Want to have some together?"

Shu Lingchen didn't hesitate: "Drink!"

To quickly skip the topic, he readily agreed.

The most important thing is that his mom's sweet water is absolutely delicious.