Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

“Let me do it.” Gao Yi moved her to his back, and he walked in front of her. Xia Ruoxin raised her hand. The mark remained on her fingers, but she felt a cooling sensation from the middle of her palm. Somehow, it did not hurt that much anymore.

She followed him into the kitchen. There were a few plates of dishes. The refrigerator was always well-stocked, and there was no shortage of anything. All she needed to do was cook them.

Gao Yi was behaving like a family man. He had a plate in each hand when he came out. Xia Ruoxin was right behind him. In the end, she was only holding one plate with both hands.

This man could be overbearing at times.

“Xia Ruoxin, remember not to touch that pot of soup. Your hand is weak. If you spill it, what are we going to drink?” His voice was full of reproach and warning. Xia Ruoxin gave up the notion of bringing that pot of soup over to the table.

The table was filled full of dishes very quickly. It was a sumptuous feast which satisfied Gao Yi who was frequently having his meals outside. He had forgotten when the last time he had a home-cooked meal was.

“Rainy, come here.” He reached out with one hand and beckoned for Rainy. Finally, she put her doll down and ran before Gao Yi barefoot. Luckily, they had a fully-carpeted floor or Rainy’s feet would have felt cold.

He scooped her into his arms. This had become his privilege. His love for Rainy ran deeper than Xia Ruoxin at times. At this, her thoughts became bitter. She wondered when Gao Yi became a father, how fortunate his child would be.

Whereas, her daughter did not have that good fortune.

She looked down and buried herself into her rice bowl. Gao Yi fed Rainy and filled her stomach up first. She was small so her food intake was small, too. She became full easily. On top of that, she had to drink milk every day, and that made her gained a lot of weight recently. Even her hair was much longer now.

Gao Yi fed her another mouth, but Rainy shook her head. “I’m full.” She rested her hand on her little tummy and showed Gao Yi her stomach. It was bloated. She was really full.

Gao Yi helped her down the chair, and Rainy promptly climbed up the sofa at the other side of the house to continue playing with her doll. Xia Ruoxin was still hard at work eating plain rice. She had not touched a single dish.

“Ruoxin, has anyone told you that you are wasteful?”

Gao Yi seemed to be teasing her. Of course, he did not miss the look of sadness in her eyes earlier. In fact, if she was willing, he would be happy to become Rainy’s father. He was fond of Rainy, and he liked Xia Ruoxin, too. He might not know the extent of his feelings for her or how deep it went, but he was sure he wanted to live a life together with her.

This was truly a marvelous feeling.

Xia Ruoxin lifted her head abruptly. The teasing smile on Gao Yi’s face was obvious.

“Are you thinking of letting me finish all these food by myself? Are you feeding a pig?” Gao Yi kept piling her bowl up with the dishes. If he was to really finish all these on his own, he would truly be a pig.

“No, not at all.” Xia Ruoxin hurriedly waved her hand. She was just too deep in her own thoughts.

“Then, eat. Or the dishes will become cold.” Gao Yi did not continue. Otherwise, she might abandon her chopsticks when she was at a loss as to what she should do.

“Okay.” Xia Ruoxin nodded. It would be such a waste if she didn’t eat them. In the past, she and Rainy always had to struggle to make ends meet. So, she must not waste food.

However, when she lowered her head about to start eating, she was stumped. The dishes had piled so high on her bowl that it resembled a small mountain.

It seemed to her that Gao Yi was feeding her like she was a pig.

See, she had gained so much weight recently. Even Rainy had become a chubby kid now. Her daughter could no longer fit into her old clothes.

“Ruoxin, is Rainy three years old?” Gao Yi lay his chopsticks down and rested both his hands on the table as he asked.

“Yes, she’s three. Oh, that’s incorrect. She’s three years and two months old.” Xia Ruoxin blurted her daughter’s age without much thought. It showed how qualified she was as a mother.

“Oh, three years old.” Gao Yi’s hand went under his chin and stroked gently. “Ruoxin, I think it’s time for Rainy to go to school. She is an extremely intelligent girl. Maybe, you have given birth to a child prodigy.”

He had truly tested Rainy and found that she had an exceptionally good memory. She could also recognize the letters really quickly. From his guess, this child had a very high IQ. This was also the reason why she should receive a proper education.

“Go to school?” Xia Ruoxin’s hand paused. She, too, laid her chopsticks down, and her hand rested on her head. Her hair had started to grow, and it wasn’t very nice, but Gao Yi was so used to looking at her that he did not find it weird.

What about the others?

“Go to school...” She kept repeating his words. A look of pain appeared in her eyes. No, she didn’t want to. She didn’t want her daughter to take after her.

“I’m sorry. I can’t.” She lowered her head, picked up her chopsticks, and started eating again. The food tasted so delicious, but now, they taste bland as though someone had added bitter medication.

Gao Yi’s thick eyebrows began to frown. He stood and rested a hand on her shoulder. “Ruoxin, this is not the way to have your meals. If you don’t feel like eating, you should stop forcing yourself.”

He took her chopsticks and lay it down. Her eyebrows were knitted together with worry. He did not know why she was so against the idea of Rainy attending school. The child was at that age when she should start school. She was always alone. She should have a bunch of children her age to play with. That would definitely help her blossom into a cheerful child.

“Ruoxin, look.” Gao Yi asked Xia Ruoxin to look at her daughter who was playing alone with her doll. “Do you want her to play alone with her doll forever? You may not know, but Rainy is actually a very lonely child. If you let her go to school, it will have huge effects on her character. Besides, she will be going to school in the day. You can still see her at night.

“You can rest assured that I will find her the best school with the best teachers. I won’t allow anyone to ill-treat Rainy. You will find that she really loves to go to school.”

Xia Ruoxin was adamant, and she kept shaking her head to make her point. He was surprised to see tears falling on the back of her hands. She was crying. Was she that reluctant to let her daughter go?

Yet, a day would come when she had to go to school. A child would grow up to go to school and to leave his or her parents. One should learn to let go in order to let them grow.

“Ruoxin, don’t be like this. We can’t keep Rainy by our side forever.” Both his hands were gripping tightly on her shoulders.