Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

Xia Ruoxin opened the door and changed into her slippers. She put both of her hands at each side of her face and started rubbing in hopes that her almost-frozen face would warm up quickly.

Another door opened. Rainy’s head popped out from behind the door. The moment she saw Xia Ruoxin, she ran to her happily.

“Stop.” Xia Ruoxin reached out with both hands and stopped her.

Rainy stopped obediently. She bit on her thumb and blinked her eyes at her mother in curiosity. “Is Mommy playing a game with me?”

“Yes.” Xia Ruoxin rubbed her hands together. They had frozen into icicles. It was best not to put her freezing hands on Rainy.

“You’re back.” Gao Yi came out of the kitchen, holding a spatula.

For a second, Xia Ruoxin was dumbfounded. “Gao Yi, you know who to cook?”

“Mm-hmm. A little.” Gao Yi took the spatula back into the kitchen. “I only know how to cook noodles. Rainy is helping me, too.”

Rainy puffed up her chest. “Mommy, I am very capable. I can help Daddy with many things.” She ran over and pulled Xia Ruoxin’s hand. However, when she touched Xia Ruoxin’s fingers, she suddenly thought of something.

“Mommy’s hands are cold? Let me warm them up for you.” She held both of her mother’s hands in her little ones with the intention of passing her own body warm to her mother. However, her hands were too small, and they could only hold one of her mother’s fingers. Xia Ruoxin allowed Rainy to hold her hand and led her into the kitchen. Fortunately, it wasn’t as messy as she thought. The kitchen was quite clean. A pot of water was boiling on the stove, and there was a packet of noodles at the chopping board. It was a brand commonly sold in the supermarket, but it was better than instant noodles.

“Let me do it.” She rolled up her sleeves and took the spatula from Gao Yi who held Rainy’s hand. The both of them stared at that pot as their stomach rumbled in unison.

Gao Yi was embarrassed, but Rainy didn’t know what that felt like. She was also not ashamed of her hungry as she rubbed her little stomach.

“Mommy, Daddy and my stomach are singing.”

“Okay. What song are they singing?” Xia Ruoxin took the noodles and put them into the pot. She even had the time to chit-chat with her daughter. Naturally, that man’s mouth was shut. He was too embarrassed to talk right now.

Rainy rubbed her stomach again.

“Mommy, my stomach is singing. Daddy and I are hungry. We want noodles.”

“Okay. Let them sing for a bit more.” Xia Ruoxin opened the fridge with one hand and took out two eggs. In his attempt to stop Rainy from talking, Gao Yi quickly carried her and brought her into the living room. Rainy was puzzled, and she continued to be concerned with her tummy.

“Daddy, my stomach has stopped singing.”

“You’re right. It stopped.” However, Gao Yi’s stomach decided to rumble this time.

“Whoa. Daddy, yours is singing again.” Rainy sprawled on Gao Yi and placed her ear on his stomach to hear the rumbling. Her face broke into a smile.

Gao Yi was caught between laughter and tears.

This child really had some weird thoughts.

Xia Ruoxin brought two bowls of noodles out and placed them on the table. Rainy pulled Gao Yi’s hand. She didn’t forget about him.

“Daddy, come and eat your noodles.”

Gao Yi was touched by Rainy’s attentiveness. He became fonder of her. Rainy was such an obedient child. He still had lingering fears whenever he recalled the time she had spent in the hospital, being tormented by her sickness. It hadn’t been easy for her to be this healthy now.

Xia Ruoxin put a bowl of noodles in front of Gao Yi and one for herself. Rainy would share a bowl with her. She took a small bowl out and portioned some noodles into Rainy’s with some soup. Then, she let Rainy eat on her own.

Rainy held the spoon and drank the soup from the bowl. She looked up with content written on her face. Her mommy cooked the best noodles. She continued eating again. Although her actions were clumsy, she could manage to put everything into her mouth. Nothing had spilled onto the table. At times, Gao Yi would feed her some of his so she was feeling stuffed.

“Mommy, it’s snowing.” Rainy reached out and pointed one finger outside. She wanted to plaster her face against the window panel.

Xia Ruoxin came over. True enough, it was snowing heavily outside. Very soon, the world would be covered in snow. The snowfall was heavy but beautiful. For the first time, Xia Ruoxin saw its beauty. She had never liked it when it’s snowing, especially starting from four years ago. She feared each time it snowed. She was exceptionally terrified of the cold, the snow, and the snow melting. All because it meant it would be colder.

She was afraid of the cold but even more of her daughter catching a cold.

Their whole house was fitted with a heater. Rainy could run around barefoot. Many things had changed indeed. Her heart, too, had kept up with the changes.

“Mommy, there is an uncle.” Rainy pointed to a direction downstairs. Xia Ruoxin followed her finger, but she didn’t see any man. However, she did see a chunk of clothing in the snow.

She closed the window and put a stop to her daughter’s curiosity.

“Mommy, can I go out and play in the snow?” Rainy looked up as she asked Xia Ruoxin. Her tiny hands were clasped together behind her back giving her a serious look.

“No.” Xia Ruoxin squatted down and cupped her daughter’s face in her hands. “You can’t play in the snow. It’s too cold outside. You will fall sick again and need injections,” she said while she poked her daughter’s chubby face. Rainy was feeling hurting from all the poking.

She pouted her mouth, but she was matured enough to know why she couldn’t go out. Then, she ran to the window again and plastered her face against the glass panel while she looked at the snow outside.

“Mommy, there is an uncle.” She pointed at the outside once more with her finger.

Xia Ruoxin put her paintbrush down. Why was there another uncle? There were so many of them outside. Was her daughter calling every stranger who was walking around her Uncle?

At this juncture, the snowfall became heavier; and it covered everywhere. When one walked around, there would be a creaking sound. A man in a black coat was standing under a big tree. He reached out with his hands and allowed the snowflakes to gather in his palm. They melted into beads of water by his body warmth.