Pei Qiqi carefully compared the details of each dress before giving his opinion: “Auntie, I think the first one suits you better.” Hua Zhao twirled. The hem of this dress was a bit small. It wasn’t as good as the first.
“Qiqi, I knew you had better taste than your uncle.”
Pei Qiqi’s face was subjected to a loving squeeze from his aunt. His serious expression shattered. While Hua Zhao went back to the fitting room to change back into the first dress, little Pei Qiqi returned his attention to his tablet. It was cooler today. Hua Zhao had dressed him in a loose-fitting hoodie, with a corner of a fluffy bear ear poking out from the hood. He wore matching sweatpants. His shoes were his last holdout: a pair of black sneakers with carefully tied laces.
Dressed in a cute hoodie, with a very serious expression, the young child looked down, staring intently at the screen. The video’s background music was warm and cute, full of childlike charm. But Pei Qiqi remained grim. He wasn’t interested in any of it. After a while, a little boy with curly hair appeared in his gaze. His smile grew as he watched the boy, adding a touch of life to his cool little face. The interaction between Hua Zhao and Pei Qiqi was watched clearly by Wang Shilan and her daughter, standing not far away.
Wang Shilan rarely communicated with other parents. She tried to think of how to start a conversation, only to realize she had no idea what to say. It seemed like those things were usually done by Du Ze. Hearing footsteps, Hua Zhao turned and saw Niu Niu.
“Niu Niu, what a coincidence.”
Niu Niu excitedly took two steps forward, then spoke in a small, excited voice: “Aunt Hua Zhao.”
Hua Zhao liked this shy little girl. She smiled and walked over to Wang Shilan. “Hello, I’m Hua Zhao.”
Wang Shilan smiled and nodded. “Hello.”
Pei Qiqi, who had finally found a clip of him and Youyou walking hand in hand on the beach, turned off his tablet and walked over slowly. Neither child was talkative. Without Mi Le and Youyou to warm things up, the atmosphere was a bit awkward. Pei Qiqi pushed the tray of small candies in front of him toward Niu Niu to break the ice. Niu Niu glanced sideways at the candies, quickly chose her target, reached out from her sleeve, and carefully unwrapped one before putting it in her mouth.
“Is it good, Niu Niu?” Hua Zhao asked.
Niu Niu’s cheeks flushed. She nodded shyly. “It’s good.”
The two children’s interaction was odd but also kind of sweet. Hua Zhao had just finished briefly introducing Pei Qiqi when she turned back and saw the two little heads, which had been unfamiliar just moments before, now huddled together watching the video. With her friend nearby, Niu Niu’s smile grew. She couldn’t help but laugh when she saw herself on screen. Pei Qiqi, looking at the little sand-built toilet on the video, seemed lost in thought. He felt like he had missed something.
“Qiqi, are you mad?” Niu Niu gathered her courage to ask, noticing Pei Qiqi’s cheeks puffing out like a pufferfish.
Pei Qiqi said grumpily, “No.”
He wasn’t going to admit he was upset. He wasn’t going to admit he was mad that Youyou had forgotten to make him a toilet.
Niu Niu: “…”
Perhaps it was the heartwarming sight of the children getting along, or Hua Zhao’s straightforward personality, that made Wang Shilan feel, for the first time, like talking to another mother. Hua Zhao had long heard of Wang Shilan, the famous producer in the entertainment industry. She’d even seen many of her works. In her memory, Wang Shilan, facing the media, was composed, professional, and confident. She could express her views and ideas with precision, drawing on years of experience and a deep understanding of the industry.
But the Wang Shilan before her, dressed in comfortable casual clothes, with a backpack over her shoulder, looked at Niu Niu with eyes full of love and adoration. She was an outstanding producer, and also a mother.
Hua Zhao decided to share a behind-the-scenes moment from the variety show that hadn’t aired yet. “Niu Niu’s mom, when we were filming on the island, Niu Niu used her prize money to buy me a gift.”
She pulled up a photo of the seashell wind chime to show Wang Shilan. The next photo was a picture of Hua Zhao and Niu Niu together. In it, Niu Niu’s cheek was pressed against Hua Zhao’s, her little hand reaching out to touch the wind chime in Hua Zhao’s hand, her face beaming with a radiant smile. Wang Shilan had forgotten how long it had been since she’d seen Niu Niu so happy.
When exactly had she started leaving all of Niu Niu’s care to Du Ze?
“Could you send me that photo?” she asked with a smile.
“Of course. Let me scan your QR code.”
They exchanged contact information and started browsing clothes together, occasionally hearing the children’s cheerful laughter in the background. By the time they left the store, Niu Niu and Qiqi were no longer as shy as when they’d first met. The two little ones chatted about Youyou, then Mi Le, and then about the toilet that had made Pei Qiqi so upset. But Pei Qiqi had now come to terms with it. The toilet was fake. The sea would wash it away. He vowed to make Youyou build him a toilet that wouldn’t break, one hundred times better than Mi Le’s.
The four of them had lunch together at a family restaurant on the fifth floor of the mall. When it was time to part, Niu Niu was reluctant to leave. She carried a small pink bag containing a children’s water bottle Pei Qiqi had bought for her. Although Niu Niu’s mom said she already had many water bottles, Pei Qiqi had insisted on getting her one. Both Wang Shilan and Niu Niu left the shopping trip with full hands.
Niu Niu accepted Qiqi’s gift and, at his strong urging, promised to use the water bottle every day. Pei Qiqi nodded in satisfaction. Wang Shilan learned from Hua Zhao about what had happened when Niu Niu fell. Wang Shilan wasn’t the type to take someone’s word just because she’d met them once. She was cautious and rational. As a woman, she hadn’t missed the hint of concern in Hua Zhao’s eyes. But some things, she needed to confirm for herself.
When she had chosen to marry Du Ze, she had weighed everything, including her and Niu Niu’s future. Everyone envied her: her successful career, her adorable daughter, her perfect husband. She had once believed her life had become more complete because of Du Ze. But reality had slapped her hard. The Du Ze she saw was completely different from the Du Ze others saw.
At some point, without Wang Shilan even realizing it, the scales in her heart had begun to tip. She seemed to have actually trusted Hua Zhao, someone she’d only met once and shared one meal with. Once a seed of doubt takes root and sprouts, things can never go back to how they were.
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Chochoro On PTBLSI chapter 27