Chapter 46: A Backstab from One's Own Mother
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Because of the delay caused by Liu Yuling’s phone call, the breakfast Cao Kun could originally have bought in half an hour ended up taking a full hour.
By the time he carried the breakfast back to the home that still temporarily belonged to Bai Jing and Wang Yifu, Bai Jing had already gotten up and washed, humming a little tune as she did so. She was clearly in a good mood.
Seeing this, Cao Kun set down the breakfast and hesitated before saying, “Aunt Bai, if you want to cry, you can just let it all out. You know I’d never laugh at you.”
Bai Jing, who was brushing her teeth, paused for a moment before suddenly giggling.
“Xiaokun, do you think I’m forcing myself to look happy while suppressing all the pain inside?”
“Isn’t that what’s happening?” Cao Kun asked innocently. “Ever since you heard what Shanshan said on the phone last night, you’ve been terribly down. So, Aunt Bai, don’t treat me like an outsider. You can rely on me a little when you’re feeling vulnerable.”
Bai Jing smiled and nodded. “Xiaokun, I know you’re worried about me, but I’m truly relaxed and happy now.”
“It’s true that when I heard what Shanshan said last night, I was furious and disappointed. I even felt utterly hopeless.”
“After all, how could eighteen years of mother-daughter affection be severed just like that? Even if you raised a dog for eighteen years, you’d develop feelings for it. Deep down, I still cared about her.”
“So when I heard those words from her, my heart really did ache.”
“However, I also have to thank her for saying them. They jolted me awake. I had always thought she couldn’t live without me, but that was merely my own assumption. In reality, she doesn’t care about me at all, nor does she need me.”
“If that’s the case, then why should I continue making a fool of myself?”
“So today, I finally severed myself completely from the past. A life in which I don’t need to consider anyone else and only have to think about myself has filled me with strength and anticipation for the future.”
“So, Xiaokun, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m not forcing myself to smile. I’m genuinely happy from the bottom of my heart.”
So that was how it was!
Cao Kun nodded slowly.
In fact, he had already realized last night that Wang Shanshan’s phone call had pushed the relationship between mother and daughter into an irreparable abyss.
What he had just said was merely a test of Bai Jing.
And the result was exactly as he had expected. The relationship between mother and daughter was truly beyond repair.
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At the very least, Bai Jing had completely given up on their mother-daughter bond.
Thinking of this, Cao Kun smiled and said, “So that’s how it is. I thought you were forcing yourself to look happy.”
“How could that be?” Bai Jing replied with a smile. “I’m genuinely happy now. You can’t imagine how relaxed I feel.”
They did not linger on the subject. After Cao Kun and Bai Jing finished a simple breakfast, Bai Jing immediately began packing her belongings.
Although she had already moved some of her clothes and other things to Cao Kun’s house, she had only taken part of them.
Most of what she had moved consisted of summer clothes.
The majority of her autumn and winter clothes were still in this house.
Cao Kun sat to one side and watched Bai Jing pack for a while. Then, as though he had thought of something, he asked, “By the way, Aunt Bai, what are you planning to do next?”
“Next?” Bai Jing stopped packing and thought seriously for a moment. “I want to travel around and live somewhere else.”
“Live somewhere else?”
“Yes,” Bai Jing said. “When I think about it, I feel rather pitiful myself. I was born in Xia County, grew up in Xia County, and even got married here. I’ve lived this long without ever leaving this little county town.”
“So I want to see what lies beyond Xia County. I want to see a big city. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life trapped in this small place.”
As Bai Jing spoke, her eyes shone with anticipation and yearning for the future. Cao Kun believed that she meant every word.
What a coincidence!
Haicheng happened to be a first-tier city, second only to the country’s three most prominent metropolitan centers.
So why not have Bai Jing go to Haicheng?
Moreover, Wang Shanshan’s university was Haicheng University. That way, mother and daughter could continue their loving yet mutually antagonistic relationship in Haicheng.
How exciting would that be?
Of course, Cao Kun admitted that apart from letting the two of them continue their endless battle of affection and resentment, he did have a tiny selfish motive for sending Bai Jing to Haicheng.
After all, it would be really nice.
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With that thought, Cao Kun said, “Aunt Bai, would you like to go to Haicheng?”
“Haicheng?”
Bai Jing scoffed. “Isn’t that the city where my ungrateful daughter is going to attend university? Why would I go there? I’m not going.”
“But I’m going to attend university in Haicheng too,” Cao Kun said.
At that, Bai Jing stopped folding clothes again. She looked at Cao Kun with a sly smile.
“What? You can’t bear to be separated from your Aunt Bai?”
“Can you bear to be separated from me?” Cao Kun countered.
Bai Jing chuckled twice. She picked up a bottle of mineral water from the side and took a couple of sips before considering the matter.
“If you want me to go, then of course I’d like to go too. But that’s somewhat beyond my plans.”
“What do you mean?” Cao Kun asked curiously.
“Haicheng is a first-tier city whose status is nearly on par with the country’s biggest metropolitan centers,” Bai Jing explained. “The cost of living in a city like that must be absurdly high. You know my situation. How could I possibly afford it?”
“So the big cities I had in mind were only second- or third-tier cities, not a truly first-tier city like Haicheng.”
“In a second- or third-tier city, I’m confident I could earn enough to support myself. But in a first-tier city on Haicheng’s level, honestly, I have no confidence at all.”
“Never mind anything else. The rent in a place like Haicheng must be several thousand a month at the very least. I might not even be able to afford a place to live.”
“So... perhaps I should go to a second- or third-tier city near Haicheng instead. I’ll choose somewhere close by. Then, if you miss me, you can come visit me on the weekends when you don’t have classes, and I’ll make you something delicious.”
“And once you get a girlfriend, you can bring her along too. I’ll inspect her for you.”
“Girls these days are far too good at pretending. They’re all either green tea bitches or white lotus types, and they cause far more trouble than girls did in our day.”
“Take my ungrateful daughter, for example. You pursued her for three years, yet she treated you as nothing more than a gigantic sucker. She never had any intention of being with you; she only wanted to take advantage of you.”
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