Chapter 32.1

Most primary school kids liked going on field trips –They could have fun in the morning and have the rest of the day off. Even Luo Shuyan, a self proclaimed mature child, loved to go on field trips. However, when she happily reached home, she noticed that Shen Yan wasn’t happy. He looked very angry, and it seemed like he wasn’t willing to talk to others.

Shen Qingruo was busy in the kitchen, and Luo Shuyan wanted to just ignore Shen Yan’s situation. However, the boy was radiating with anger. Thus, she stopped smiling and sat down beside him. She asked in a small voice, “Was your bag very heavy?”

It was her fault after all. She wanted to bring everything with her, and her bag was filled to the brim with snacks. She passed the weight to Shen Yan after she arrived at the botanical garden because she felt that it was too heavy. Was he angry because his bag was too heavy?

Luo Shuyan didn’t wait for an answer from Shen Yan before she scrambled to apologize. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that many snacks along, and asked you to carry them for me.”

Shen Yan turned to look at her. “As long as you acknowledge that.”

However, that wasn’t the reason why he was pissed. He was fine with helping her carry her snacks, he was merely displeased with the words his classmates used to describe her.

Shen Yan was mature for his age. Before they moved to Ning City, Shen Qingruo attracted many men with her superior beauty. As the saying goes, “Talented people are envied by many”. Shen Qingruo had no plans for remarriage, she simply wanted her son to grow up healthily. Thus, wherever she went, people would talk about her behind her back in a degrading manner.. Shen Yan was young back then, but he understood what the men were talking about.

Some of the words they used weren’t very polite either.

After they came to Ning City, the mother and son were finally able to have a peaceful life with the help of Luo Tianyuan.

Shen Yan didn’t know why he was feeling angry. Perhaps he was still afraid. He was worried that such words would reach Luo Shuyan’s ears. Thus, he acted angry in front of the boys so that they wouldn’t repeat what they had said.

He was worried that if Luo Shuyan were to overhear this, she wouldn’t treat him as a friend anymore. As of now, perhaps she’d be similar to his classmates, and she wouldn’t understand what being a ‘bride’ meant, but one day, she would know.

He didn’t want her to hear such a thing.

Luo Shuyan felt a sigh of relief when she noticed that Shen Yan had visibly relaxed. She took out a piece of jelly from her bag and passed it to him. “This is compensation for what I’ve done. This jelly is super good, Uncle Song bought it for me from Hong Kong. It isn’t very sweet, and it has a naturally fruity taste. Have a try.”

Surprisingly, Shen Yan accepted the jelly from her.

Luo Shuyan’s life was a lot more interesting than a few years back. She had dance lessons every day.

After some additions to her schedule, she would start with an hour of piano class with Shen Qingruo after lunch. After that, she’ll have an hour-long nap at home before going to school. After school, she’ll have dinner, finish her homework, and go for dance lessons.

Luo Shuyan wasn’t learning ballet, instead, she chose Chinese folk dance.

Luo Tianyuan had seen ballet dancers performing, and he couldn’t help but be worried for the safety of his daughter. After discussion with his daughter, they decided that she would go for Chinese folk dance instead.

Luo Tianyuan had wanted to pick his daughter up from class, however, he was caught up with work, so he asked Shen Qingruo to pick Luo Shuyan up.

With winter approaching, the sunset earlier. Shen Qingruo didn’t want to leave her house in the dark, so she and her son went to the dance studio earlier and waited for Luo Shuyan there.

The heater was turned on in the dance studio. Luo Shuyan was dressed in her dance attire, and was learning the basics of classical dance from her teacher.

The dance studio was warm, and the outside of the classroom wasn’t too cold either.

However, since there was a temperature difference between the inside and outside of the studio, there was a layer of condensation on the glass panel. When they looked through from the outside, it looked like they were looking at heaven.

Luo Shuyan started slimming down after she entered primary school. It wasn’t obvious when she was in her daily attire, but with her tight-fitting dance attire on, Shen Qingruo couldn’t help but sigh. “Even though Shuyan is only six, she’s clearly different from two years ago.”

As the saying goes, “Women glow up at the age of 18.” Natural beauty was part of Luo Shuyan’s genes. It wasn’t hard to imagine how beautiful she’d become when she reached maturity.

Shen Qingruo felt a sense of regret when she saw her son. When she was pregnant, there was an elderly couple who saved her and treated her like their own. They thought that she would be having a daughter, and with their constant insistence, she really thought that she’d give birth to a daughter. Before giving birth, she even made girl’s clothes for her baby.

She’d thought about it back then. When her daughter grew up, she would share a bed with her daughter and talk about everything — they would be as close as sisters…

It didn’t matter if she had a daughter or a son, she would love them with all her heart. “Growing up, sons would avoid their mother, and daughters would avoid their father.” Her son seemed to be mature beyond his age, and never seemed to be particularly attached to her.

They weren’t very close.

“Son, doesn’t Shuyan look great?”

Shen Qingruo turned to her son and asked.

There weren’t many extra-curricular classes for people to take in Ning City. Shen Qingruo was contemplating if she should send her son for calligraphy or art class. Her son was always studying, and she was worried that her son wouldn’t be able to strike a balance between his studies and his personal life…

Shen Yan stared fixedly at Luo Shuyan who was in the dance studio, and he said, “She looks okay.”

Shen Qingruo chuckled. “Come on, she looks beautiful, Shuyan is one of the cutest and prettiest girls in our neighborhood.”

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