Chapter 13 Stars Have No Mother
"Kid, she might have recognized you." Qiuqiu felt like he was facing a formidable enemy.
Xingxing tilted her head, withdrew her gaze from the old man, hugged the big pomegranate with one hand, and raised the other little hand to put it in her father's palm.
Perhaps his action reminded the other person, and the old man quickly restrained his momentary loss of composure, but the smile on his face was no longer genuine.
She walked between the housekeeper and the driver, and was protected by them, and finally came to Zhou Xiangyang and Xingxing.
Cheng Qian'an had already grasped the corner of Xingxing's clothes familiarly, calling him "brother" happily.
When the old lady came closer, Cheng Qianan introduced her excitedly: "Brother Xingxing, this is my grandma!"
The stars are silent.
The old woman looked at Xingxing, her fingers hanging at her side trembling unnaturally. She opened her mouth and tried several times before she spoke to Zhou Xiangyang, who looked alert, in a tone that would not lose her composure: "Hello, I'm... I'm An An's grandmother. An An ran out to play by himself a few days ago. Thanks to Xingxing for sending him home. I came here specially today..."
She almost stopped talking because Zhou Xiangyang and the driver and steward looked at her in surprise and because her voice was shaking.
"...Are you okay?" Zhou Xiangyang felt that the old man's mood seemed a little wrong.
Zhang Yayu shook her head and closed her eyes. She no longer dared to look down at the stars. She could only stare at Zhou Xiangyang, trying to steady her trembling voice as she pleaded, "Can we... come over for some tea?"
In less than a minute, her heart was turned upside down.
A mother will never make a mistake, nor will she forget what her child looked like when he was young!
And Xingxing...is at least 70% similar to her son Cheng Yuling when he was young.
The three points difference is not because of facial features, but because of temperament and dress.
How could Zhang Yayu remain calm? She had already thought of countless possibilities in her mind, and finally compared them with Xingxing's age...the most unlikely possibility had already emerged in her mind.
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"I'm sorry, our house is too small, and we can't offer you any good tea or water." Zhou Xiangyang placed a bottle of water in front of each of the people.
The water was very expensive, five yuan a bottle, and he also bought milk specially for the child Cheng Qian'an.
Xingxing also held a bottle of milk in his arms. Zhou Xiangyang would not treat other children well and mistreat his own child just because Xingxing was his son.
When he talked about his small and poor family, he didn't seem embarrassed at all. He was generous, polite and gentle.
Zhang Yayu shook her head and was helped by the housekeeper to sit on a small stool.
In fact, from the moment she entered the room, she had been silently looking around at everything in the room, including the whole way she walked from the other end of the alley, she was scanning the environment here without leaving a trace.
It was an extremely old building with mottled and dirty walls. Downstairs was a noisy mahjong parlor with many people smoking inside. The whole building was filled with an unpleasant, damp stench.
Especially when passing by the toilet, the smell is even more disgusting in the summer.
But the cabin was kept very clean.
The whole room was filled with a faint fragrance. She saw a mosquito coil tray in the corner. It must be the smell of mosquito coils that were lit every day.
There was very little furniture in the house, and the small room seemed crowded after a few people moved in. However, the owner of the room did not feel restrained or embarrassed, as if the unbearable poverty in the eyes of others could not crush his tenacity for life, and his self-esteem would not be shattered or embarrassed by the strange looks of others.
Zhang Yayu also noticed that almost all the things in the room were related to stars, and there were two photos carefully pasted on the wall.
One photo was taken by Zhou Xiangyang holding the baby Xingxing, and the other was a photo of Xingxing alone.
"You are so polite." Zhou Xiangyang sat casually on the ground holding Xingxing. His tall body did not seem short when he sat on the ground. He said to the three people, "I talked about him when Xingxing came back two days ago. Fortunately, both children came home safely. You came all the way to my house today, and I can't say anything nice. Let's put one thing on one thing and leave it at that."
Zhou Xiangyang would not dream of currying favor with the rich and powerful by borrowing a favor. He also did not think that Xingxing sending another three-year-old child home was something worthy of encouragement, so he did not actually want Xingxing to hear or see these so-called gratitude.
“…”
Zhang Yayu listened to what Zhou Xiangyang said without feeling angry or displeased.
In other words, she didn't actually listen carefully to what Zhou Xiangyang was saying. She was very confused and was thinking about how to ask some questions.
The housekeeper also noticed that the old lady was not in a good state, so he took over the conversation and talked to Zhou Xiangyang in a measured manner.
Cheng Qian'an moved the small stool under his butt over, eagerly wanting Xingxing to sit on it.
"Brother~" The child put the bench in front of Xingxing.
Xingxing looked up at him, her clear and pure eyes reflected the child trying to get close to her. After a moment, she stood up and left her father's arms.
Xingxing took the small stool, then under Cheng Qian'an's joyful gaze, turned around, took her father's hand and pulled him up.
"Dad, sit here." Xingxing stuffed the bench under his father's butt.
Zhou Xiangyang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he was also a little touched. He raised his hand to rub his son's soft hair and said gently, "Xingxing, play with your little brother for a while. Are you hungry? Do you want to peel the pomegranate and eat it?"
Such a big pomegranate was carried all the way home by Xingxing and was now placed on the small low table where several people were sitting.
There were many other things on the table, all of which were thank-you gifts brought by the Cheng family.
Xingxing nodded, picked up the pomegranate from the table, thought for a moment, then turned and walked towards the new grandmother.
When Xingxing turned around to face her, Zhang Yayu held her breath unconsciously, her eyes turned red, and her hands trembled unconsciously.
Until the child really stood in front of her holding a pomegranate, his fair face smiled slightly and he called her softly, "Grandma, can you help me peel it?"
Zhou Xiangyang frowned and was about to ask Xingxing to give it to him when Zhang Yayu quickly nodded and took the pomegranate.
"Okay, grandma will peel it for you." Zhang Yayu tried hard to hide her crying voice and gave the child a kind and gentle smile.
Xingxing handed the pomegranate over, then ran to the cupboard to get a clean bowl. She squatted aside with the bowl in her hands and watched her grandmother peel the pomegranate carefully.
Cheng Qian looked around, then ran over and squatted. The two children held their faces with their hands and watched the old man peel the pomegranate slowly.
"Hmph, you're just a smart copycat!" Qiuqiu squatted on Xingxing's shoulder angrily.
The little boy quietly watched his grandmother peeling a pomegranate with his eyes curved, and whispered to him in his heart: "Xingxing doesn't like him, Xingxing only likes Qiuqiu."
Qiuqiu: “…”
The little ball of light was well-behaved and quiet, squatting on the star's shoulder and emitting pink light.
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Plumpastic pomegranate seeds as clear as rubies fell into the bowl one by one. Perhaps because the two children's eager eyes were particularly eye-catching, Zhang Yayu's surging emotions slowly calmed down. She stopped what she was doing, peeled a handful of pomegranate seeds and handed them to Xingxing who was waiting obediently at her legs, and then poured a little more from the bowl to Cheng Qian'an.
A small handful of pomegranate seeds in the old man's hand, when falling into Xingxing's little hand, is a huge pile that requires two little hands together to hold.
He was not in a hurry to eat, but looked up at the kind and gentle old man.
Then my forehead was touched more gently.
"Does Xingxing like to eat pomegranates?"
Hearing this, Xingxing thought for a moment, lowered her head, took a bite of the pomegranate seeds, and chewed them with her cheeks puffed out, her mouth full of sweet and fragrant juice.
After spitting out all the seeds into the trash can next to him, Xingxing nodded vigorously: "Xingxing likes it, sweet pomegranate~"
It tastes as good as sweet pears, and each one is red like human blood, beautiful and delicious.
But his behavior made tears well up in Zhang Yayu's already red eyes.
After hastily turning her head to wipe it off, Zhang Yayu smiled gently and asked, "What else does Xingxing like?"
This is a broad inquiry.
Xingxing answered quickly, and said slowly in a childish and soft voice: "Xingxing likes Sunflower Dad."
Zhou Xiangyang, who was distractedly listening to the conversation between the old and the young, was suddenly mentioned by his son. He was embarrassed for a moment and smiled sheepishly: "My name is Zhou Xiangyang, facing the sun, so Xingxing calls me Sunflower Dad."
He said he was embarrassed, but everyone here was smart and could tell the emotion and boasting in his words.
Zhang Yayu had a complicated expression. She put down the bowl full of pomegranate seeds and stood up to wash her hands.
There was no faucet in the room, so Zhou Xiangyang asked Xingxing to take her outside to wash her hands.
When they got outside, Zhang Yayu looked down at the child who was walking quietly in front of her. Her nose felt sour and she couldn't help asking him, "Has Xingxing always lived here with Sunflower Dad?"
The child nodded, and after taking her to the sink, he looked up and answered, "Dad said the rent here is cheap."
Like Sunflower’s father, Xingxing doesn’t think that his family’s poverty is something that cannot be talked about.
Sunflower's father worked hard to earn every penny, and little Zhou Chenxing grew up relying on this little money.
With Sunflower’s dad’s money, he raised two stars, which is pretty impressive.
"Then...what about Xingxing's mother?" Zhang Yayu asked softly with a last bit of hesitation.
"The stars don't have mothers."
The crisp voice of the child made Zhang Yayu completely freeze in place.
Xingxing looked up at the adult who seemed about to cry, blinked gently, and said ignorantly: "Grandma, Sunflower Daddy loves Xingxing very much, Xingxing doesn't need a mother."
He didn't understand why his grandma was crying, but what Xingxing said was true and he didn't think it was something worth crying about.
Behind them, Cheng Qian, who was lying on the door frame and peeking over here, also looked at his grandmother in confusion, as if she had been crying. He ran over in small steps, grabbed the corner of his grandmother's clothes and asked her to hug him.
The stars stood aside and watched.
Zhang Yayu, who was always gentle and loving to her grandson, ignored Cheng Qian'an's actions this time. She hurriedly wiped the water droplets on her hands on her expensive clothes, then squatted down and looked at Xingxing expectantly: "Xingxing, can grandma hug you?"
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