Chapter 47: Sadness from unknown source

The water in the foot basin was comfortably warm.

A faint red blush appeared on Sister Yuan’s delicate, snow-white insteps.

Feeling the fine, firm texture of these feet for the first time, my mind unconsciously drifted into a daze for a moment.

When I came to my senses again, I found Sister Yuan looking at me with a faint smile, and my cheeks immediately flushed red.

“If you like my feet, Xiao You, I don’t mind letting you lick them.”

“Want to give it a try?”

“I was just spacing out for a second, it’s not that I like your feet.”

“Sister Yuan, please behave yourself.”

Thinking about it carefully, in the past eight years, I had never once actively touched Sister Yuan’s skin like this.

The experience of life and death had driven the old me into withdrawal and silence.

The kind uncles and aunts who lived under the same roof, suffering through life’s hardships, had all tried to change me, and all of them, without exception, were shut out by my already cold heart.

After that, they stopped paying attention to me.

A withdrawn but obedient child—that was their uniform impression of me.

But Sister Yuan was different.

She cared for my every need, showing me her tenderness again and again.

Like a traveler determined to cross a jungle, no matter how many times her skin was cut by thorns and brambles, she would clean her wounds and continue forward until she reached the journey’s end, the cold prison cell that confined my soul.

And because of this, she became a pure and noble existence in my heart, one I dared not defile, dared not touch.

“This is the first time you’ve washed my feet, isn’t it, Xiao You?”

A gentle voice pulled my thoughts back to reality.

Sister Yuan’s palm came to rest on the top of my head.

“It reminds me of a public service announcement I saw on TV a long time ago.”

“In it, a clumsy little boy carries a basin of water to wash his mother’s feet.”

“He’s so wobbly, he looks so silly, but so cute.”

“Just like Xiao You right now.”

“That one was about teaching filial piety to your elders.”

“I’m not a little boy, and you’re not my mom, Sister Yuan.”

“It’s different.”

“But I’ve raised Xiao You from seven years old until now.”

“Isn’t that just like being your mother?”

“Can you call me ‘Mom’ once?”

“I want to hear it.”

“Sister Yuan, what kind of strange hobbies do you have?”

“You’re still so young, calling you ‘Mom’ isn’t appropriate at all.”

“Although… the way you take care of me is indeed like a mother…”

Sister Yuan gently stroked my head, revealing a loving smile just like a mother’s.

“I just want to hear what it sounds like.”

“Indulge your sister’s little wish, okay?”

“Alright, alright.”

“Mo… Mom.”

For some reason, the moment those two words left my lips, a vague and frail figure appeared in my mind, as if I had touched a long-scarred wound deep within my memory.

My mother had passed away when I was very young.

If my memories of her were written on paper, they would amount to just a few lines.

She hadn’t even left a blurry silhouette in my mind.

I couldn’t find a single photograph of her, or rather, I had never been given one.

‘My impression of her is so faint it’s almost non-existent, so why do I feel such sorrow when I say these two words?’

Before I even noticed it myself, crystalline teardrops had already begun to spill uncontrollably from the corners of my eyes, sliding down my cheeks and into the water, leaving faint, wet trails.

Sister Yuan’s slender arms promptly pulled me into a warm embrace.

She stroked my back, softly comforting me.

“Good boy, good boy.”

“If you want to cry, you can cry as much as you want.”

“In Mom’s arms, it’s okay to cry however you like.”

As those words flowed into my ears, I could no longer control this seemingly boundless sorrow.

Tears poured out, just as they had in the torrential downpour of that day.

“I am willing to take on the responsibility of being Xiao You’s mother.”

“It was so in the past, and it will be so in the future.”

“My arms will always be a place where Xiao You can cry freely.”

Under the quiet night sky, I leaned into Sister Yuan’s embrace, freely venting a sorrow and grief whose source I did not know.

The silent crying drama continued for a long time.

I raised my hand to wipe away the tears still welling in my eyes and looked up in a sorry state at the stunning face before me, letting out a laugh that felt both bewildered and impressed.

“By the way, on the day I brought Xiao You back, do you know why Mom said you didn’t need to call her ‘Mom’?”

I shook my head.

That long-ago question had faded from my memory.

The address “Auntie Yun” had already become a habit.

Sister Yuan’s damp feet left the basin.

She slipped on her slippers and padded out of the room.

When she returned, she was holding several sheets of white paper covered in black text.

I took the papers from her hand and skimmed through them.

This was my original adoption agreement.

My eyes scanned from top to bottom, finding nothing special in the official language, until I looked at the column for the adopter.

The handwriting was elegant and slender—Mo Yuan.

“Sister Yuan, you were only ten years old then, weren’t you?”

“How were you qualified to adopt someone?”

“I wasn’t.”

“So Mom and I had to go back and forth with the director for a long time, using both persuasion and pressure, to get him to agree to help us with this little trick.”

“Really, Sister Yuan?”

“Being my sister wasn’t enough, you also wanted to be my adoptive mother?”

“That’s right.”

“Xiao You is mine, completely and utterly mine.”

“Your sister, your lover, and your adoptive mother can only be me.”

“You must have caused Auntie Yun a lot of trouble.”

“Sister Yuan, as a daughter, you really don’t make things easy for her.”

“Then, in consideration of how well I’ve taken care of you, Xiao You, could I ask you to let your filial piety… take a different turn?”

Tossing the papers aside, I picked up the basin of now-cold foot-washing water and stood up, turning my back to her.

“I’m going to pour this out.”

“You should get to sleep soon, Sister Yuan.”

“You probably have to grade exam papers tomorrow.”

Suddenly, a light kick landed on my back.

My body staggered, and more than half of the water in the plastic basin spilled onto the floor, creating a large puddle.

I turned back.

Sister Yuan’s cheeks were puffed out in dissatisfaction.

She sulkily hid herself under the covers, and a voice floated out faintly.

“Xiao You, you mop that up yourself.”

“I’m going to sleep.”

I shook my head helplessly, poured the remaining water from the basin into the sink, then found a mop and cleaned up the puddle on the floor.

Finally, exhausted, I slumped onto the bed.

Sister Yuan had stolen the entire blanket, and her face was buried under it as well.

The cold air blowing from the air conditioner kept the room temperature very low, almost excessively cool.

The chill grazed my skin, giving me goosebumps all over.

I curled up like a shrimp, staring at the comforter wrapped around Sister Yuan.

A pair of light purple eyes peeked out from under the blanket.

Seeing my shivering body, she pulled me under with her.

“I knew you wouldn’t let me freeze, Sister Yuan.”

“Thank you.”

“Stupid Xiao You.”

“Tomorrow, I’m going to report you for cheating on the exam.”

“Please don’t, Sister Yuan!”

“I was wrong, I’m begging you not to report me.”

There was a pause in the darkness, then Sister Yuan’s hand came up to cup my face.

“Then call me ‘Mom’ again.”

“I quite like it when you call me that.”

“Okay, okay.”

“Mo… Mom.”

In another dark room, the air conditioner was off, making the space slightly stuffy.

The girl hugged her knees, her eyes tightly shut.

In her sleep, a low murmur escaped from between her lips.

“Sister.”