Praising Me Won't Help

Alice held onto Ye Shuang’s phone and said, “This is from her, isn’t it?”

The content was clearly from Aunt Xian. Alice just glanced at it briefly, then her expression froze, and she began reading more intently.

The entries were recorded in a memo-like format, organized by month, with each entry accompanied by a photo.

“0 years old, first month.

Today my husband brought home a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. I know he did it to comfort me. She’s very cute, just like when Rou was little.”

...

“0 years old, fourth month.

Alice is four months old now. Her face is chubby and she’s getting prettier by the day. She smiles whenever she sees me and can roll over on her own. If Rou were here, how lovely it would be to have the two sisters together.”

...

“1 year old, third month.

After Alice learned to walk, she’s always causing trouble in the garden. I don’t know who taught her, but the first word she said was ‘fall flat.’ Sigh... Rou was much better behaved.”

...

“2 years old, second month.

Alice keeps pestering me to play with my phone now, but it’s not to play games. She’s vain and wants to take selfies. She really is adorable, though.”

...

“3 years old, tenth month.

Today is our little princess’s birthday. Alice seems intent on growing her hair out, so I’ve learned some little braiding tricks. It looks pretty good.”

...

“4 years old...”

...

Alice silently read through the entries, and the records stopped just before the big fight.

In the beginning, there were many mentions of Bai Yuyou, but as time went on, the references to Bai Yuyou grew fewer, and the entries became more like a mother recording her daughter’s life.

There was worry about her learning to ride a bike and falling, joy over winning a children’s modeling competition, sadness about her growing up and not wanting to cling anymore...

The words themselves carried no warmth, but they made Alice feel a glimmer of it.

Alice snapped back to reality and realized she had been reading for a full half hour.

“Aunt Xian never saw you as a replacement. You can tell from the emotions in the writing,” Ye Shuang said. Maybe Aunt Xian had that idea at first, but after all this time, sticking with it means she truly sees Alice as her second daughter.

“She probably just prepared this recently,” Alice muttered, but it sounded more like she was trying to protect her own pride.

“The words can be faked, but the photos of a naked little girl can’t be, right?” Ye Shuang said with a smile.

The next second, Alice bit him again.

...

In the living room.

“It’s been a while. Should be fine, right?” Aunt Xian sat on the sofa, looking restless. She kept glancing toward the stairwell, then at her own hands, clearly flustered.

“It’s fine. Ye Shuang has it handled,” Bai Yuyou said, sounding confident in him.

“Leave it to Mr. Ye Shuang,” Bobo added from his post by the front door.

Soon, footsteps echoed from the staircase, and two figures, one tall and one short, came down from the second floor. It was Ye Shuang and Alice. Alice stood behind Ye Shuang, tugging at his shirt without a word. When she met Aunt Xian’s gaze, she awkwardly looked away.

“Sweetie, I’m sorry for hurting you. Can you forgive me, honey?” Aunt Xian stood up, walked quickly to Alice, and placed her hands on Alice’s shoulders.

“...”

“Sweetie...”

“You’re hurting me,” Alice muttered, her cheeks puffed as Aunt Xian gripped her shoulders.

She let out a sigh, glanced at Ye Shuang, and said, “Since you apologized, it’s not like I can’t forgive you, even though you said such harsh things.”

But as she said this, Alice hid her face against Ye Shuang, as if she didn’t want to meet Aunt Xian’s eyes at all.

Still, that was enough. After such a long cold spell, reigniting that affection would take time.

Aunt Xian clearly understood this. She cracked a smile and shot Ye Shuang a grateful look.

It was as if she were saying—

“You really know how to handle young girls.”

Ye Shuang: “...”

“I’ll whip up a couple of dishes,” Ye Shuang said, since it was nearly dinner time.

“Daddy, I’ll help!” Yezi ran over.

“Daddy?”

Aunt Xian was stunned. Yezi hadn’t spoken much earlier, so Aunt Xian had assumed she was just some neighbor’s kid. But when she heard Yezi call Ye Shuang “Daddy,” her mind went blank for a few seconds.

“You have a kid that old?” Aunt Xian asked Ye Shuang.

“Long story,” Ye Shuang said, unsure how to explain Yezi’s origin. He couldn’t exactly say that she was his and Yuyou’s child from the future.

“I’m Daddy’s adopted daughter,” Yezi volunteered, helping Ye Shuang out. She then tugged at Bai Yuyou’s hand and added, “And this is my mommy.”

Adopted...

“Is that so?” Aunt Xian felt something was off but decided not to pry since Yezi was just an adopted child.

The girls around Ye Shuang were already plentiful; one more little one didn’t seem to matter.

That said, her own Golden-haired Radish seemed destined to be stolen away.

With that thought, Aunt Xian let out a sigh.

As night fell—

Ye Shuang and the others brought the cooked dishes to the table. Since they hadn’t gone out to buy ingredients, it was all simple home-cooked fare.

“Why do you have so many golden arowana in your freezer? Aren’t these ornamental fish?” Aunt Xian asked, opening the fridge and noticing row after row of stiff frozen golden arowana, as hard as baguettes and almost usable as weapons.

“Uh, well...”

Ye Shuang had to explain, “A friend caught them.”

“Huh, you can catch golden arowana? With that many, I’d think you fished them out of someone’s aquarium,” Aunt Xian remarked.

“Pretty much,” Ye Shuang mumbled in reply.

During the meal, Aunt Xian picked up her chopsticks and placed some food on Alice’s plate. Alice didn’t resist and quietly took small bites.

Seeing this, Aunt Xian seemed relieved. She also put some food on Bai Yuyou’s plate.

“I can do it myself,” Bai Yuyou said softly.

“My girl’s grown up.”

“How about for the concert, Alice and Yuyou perform together?” Ye Shuang suggested with a smile.

“Hmph, no way!” Alice looked up. “At most I’ll be in the audience!”

“I think Miss Alice would be great on stage,” Bobo chimed in.

“Ha?! I’d rather jump off a cliff than perform! This is my time off. No, work, on, the, clock!”

“Alice is so cute and such a big idol to her fans,” Ye Shuang said. “If you joined in, the show would definitely be a hit.”

“Hmph, flattery won’t work on me,” Alice said, crossing her arms—though the corners of her mouth were already curling up uncontrollably.

Half an hour later, Alice agreed to perform.