Chapter 472 - My Little Cutie (2/2)

Rainy counted with her fingers.

”Daddy brought Rainy out to play and bought me lots of pretty clothes, but Daddy said I have to eat one less meal to buy the clothes. Mommy,”—Rainy pounced into Xia Ruoxin's arms—”so I can't eat tonight because I have to return Daddy the money?”

Xia Ruoxin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Mm, one less meal and a lot fewer snacks in between. Only Gao Yi could come up with this kind of excuse.

”Mommy, I'm tired.” Rainy rubbed her eyes. She had been out playing the whole day and must have been tired, but she pressed on to wait for her mother's return. However, her eyelids were almost about to shut.

A hand reached out and lifted her tiny body.

”She kept waiting for you. Her stubborn personality doesn't resemble yours at all.” Gao Yi let Rainy's head rest on his shoulder and reached a hand toward Xia Ruoxin. ”Stand up. You must be tired, too. It's a good thing this little one fell asleep. Then, you can get enough rest.”

Xia Ruoxin took his hand and pulled herself up. It was obvious she rushed back in a hurry from her weary clothes.

She held her daughter's hand. ”Thank you, Gao Yi.” Perhaps a word of gratitude wasn't enough to express much. There was so much she had to thank him for, and she owed him a lot. Right now, all she could do was thank him. That was all she could say and express.

”Don't be silly.” Gao Yi wrapped an arm around her shoulder, bringing both mother and daughter who had suffered tremendously into his embrace.

”I told you that you don't have to thank me. I'm the one who should be thanking you. If I hadn't met you, I won't even know how many empty spaces there are in my life. It would still be dark and gray.” As he said this, his eyes darkened slightly.

He had lived for almost thirty years. Meeting this pair of mother and daughter was an accident as well as a blessing. It did not matter to him whether she was divorced or if she had a daughter. He likes her, plain and simple. No reason needed.

Xia Ruoxin leaned her head against Gao Yi's shoulders. Her hazy vision was starting to blur.

”Thank you, Gao Yi.”

No matter how much you don't want my thanks, I still want to tell you that I'll remember your kindness for my whole life. A lifetime is short, but it's long, too. I don't know any sweet words; neither do I know how to say honeyed phrases. I just want to say that I'll stay by your side if you choose not to chase me away. Unless a time comes when you let go of my hand.

She shut her eyes. She was also exhausted and didn't feel like getting up, but in the end, she picked herself up and took Rainy from Gao Yi's arms, brought her to bathe, and changed her clothes.

She had done these things for three years, during which her daughter grew up from a puny little baby to now, when she was still small and frail. Sometimes, she caught herself thinking how good it would be if Rainy never grew up and stayed like this forever. She would always be her Rainy and never leave her.

Alas, Rainy would grow up and leave her mother eventually. Every time she thought of this, she'd become depressed for some reason. She and her daughter had been depending on each other for so long.

She laid her daughter on the bed, looked for the doll, and then stuffed it under the blanket. Rainy hugged it automatically, murmuring something under her breath. Mommy or Dolly? Xia Ruoxin couldn't make out the words.

She took her daughter's clothes to wash, but she felt an object in Rainy's pocket. She fumbled around and retrieved a lollipop that was wrapped nicely in a wrapper.

She placed the lollipop on the table, but she stared at it blankly all of a sudden. During the time when she and Rainy were still suffering, her monthly salary was only enough to cover their living expenses; and the money that she saved was for when Rainy fell sick. She seldom bought candy for her daughter, and now, Rainy doesn't like to eat them anymore.

She sat down and softly caressed her daughter's cheeks. It'll be better in the future. She promised that she would work hard to earn money and give her daughter a better life like how she had aspired to in the past.