Chapter 159 : Clap, Clap, Clap
"Ling Ning, Ling Ning, what's wrong with you?" Xia You looked at Ling Ning, who was grinning foolishly, unable to understand what was going on.
"N-nothing."
Ling Ning snapped out of her daze at Xia You's voice. What had just happened left her at a loss for words. She was beginning to think she might actually be a European—maybe even of royal lineage with how lucky she had just been.
Maybe she should visit more places with lucky draws in the future; who knew, she might keep getting surprises.
"Mom! Mom! Bai Yiyue is about to come on!"
Her daughter's voice interrupted her daydreaming. Ling Ning looked at her daughter, confused. Who was Bai Yiyue, and why was Ling Ye so excited about her appearing?
Ling Ye looked at her mom's expression as if she had just seen a ghost. Well, since it was New Year’s Eve, maybe it was more like seeing Aqua.
"Bai Yiyue is a super popular star! She's achieved so much in both music and acting. She's even well-known internationally, and the most amazing part is she's not even twenty yet!" Xia You explained.
"R-really?" Ling Ning was skeptical. If it were really like Xia You said, then achieving so much before turning twenty was practically the stuff of protagonists in novels.
"It's true! If you don't believe me, you can look it up online, Mom. There’s a whole encyclopedia entry on Bai Yiyue."
Hearing her daughter's words, Ling Ning pulled out her phone and opened a search engine. When she saw Bai Yiyue's photo, she felt a vague sense of familiarity—like she had seen her somewhere before.
Squinting and thinking carefully, she realized this was the face she often saw on advertisements at bus stops and subway stations. No wonder it looked so familiar.
Still, Ling Ning couldn’t shake the feeling that this sense of familiarity ran deeper than that.
Before she could dwell on it any longer, Bai Yiyue appeared on the television. Wearing an elegant white evening gown, she was breathtakingly beautiful, so much so that even Xia You couldn't help but take a few extra glances.
Bai Yiyue's voice was beautiful, and the song she sang was equally enchanting. However, the melody struck a familiar chord with Ling Ning—as though she had heard it somewhere before. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't remember where.
"Ye Ye, why does this song sound so familiar? Haven’t we heard it somewhere before?" Ling Ning asked her daughter, puzzled.
Ling Ye rolled her eyes and replied, "This song is Bai Yiyue's latest single. Apparently, it was composed especially for the Spring Festival Gala. It’s not even available online yet, so there's no way we could have heard it before, Mom."
"Is that so?"
Ling Ning frowned slightly, still feeling that she had heard this tune somewhere. But no matter how she wracked her brain, she couldn't recall when or where.
After Bai Yiyue's song ended, the gala also reached its conclusion.
Ling Ning quietly slipped her hand into her pocket, waiting for the countdown on the television to end. As the New Year arrived, she pulled out two red envelopes, smiling as she handed them to her daughter and Xia You.
"Happy New Year, Ye Ye! Happy New Year, Xia You!"
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"That dream again?"
Even though it was the first day of the Lunar New Year, Ling Ning woke up early because she had the same dream again. In that small courtyard, there was little Ling Ning, all alone, seemingly waiting for someone.
If it were just a recurring dream, that would be one thing. The problem was that every time she had this dream, she found herself waking up in tears, unable to stop.
Originally, she had planned to go back to sleep, but for some reason, she just couldn't. In the end, she decided to get up.
After washing up, she checked the time. It was still very early, and for the first day of the Lunar New Year, she was quite impressed with herself for waking up at this hour. She peeked into her daughter’s room to make sure she hadn’t kicked off her blanket, then decided to go out for a walk.
The brisk wind that greeted her as she stepped outside blew away any lingering drowsiness.
Ling Ning walked slowly along the street, thinking to herself that this was her first New Year since she transmigrated. If she were still in her original world, what would her life be like now? What would this version of Ling Ning have become?
Shaking her head, she muttered to herself, "Why am I suddenly getting all sentimental? That's not like me at all."
Perhaps because it was New Year's Day, the streets were practically empty, with all the shops on both sides closed. It made sense—very few people would open their stores for business on New Year's Day.
She had originally wanted to see if she could buy breakfast somewhere, but it seemed like that wasn't going to happen. It was too early anyway—she might as well take a short walk and head back home. The kotatsu at home was much more inviting.
When she reached her doorstep, she saw Xia You just opening the door to leave. Xia You paused, surprised, then smiled at Ling Ning.
"Ling Ning, you're up so early!"
"Well, I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd take a walk. But aren't you always up early, Xia You? Don’t you ever get tired of it?" Since they were living together, Ling Ning knew well just how early Xia You woke up every day.
"Nope, I'm used to it. Oh, and I made breakfast. I'll bring it over in a minute."
"Great, I'll be in the kotatsu waiting for you~"
Back at home, Ling Ning walked into her daughter's room, watching her sleep peacefully. Smiling, she leaned over and gently poked Ling Ye's cheek with her finger.
"So soft~"
Ling Ning sighed contentedly and couldn't resist poking her again. Somehow, just one poke didn’t seem enough, so she ended up stretching out her hand and began softly kneading her daughter's face.
With a blissful expression, Ling Ning enjoyed the moment. Lately, because of the cold weather, her daughter hadn’t let her do this, so she had no choice but to take advantage while Ling Ye was sleeping. Poor thing.
Unbeknownst to Ling Ning, Ling Ye's brows began to furrow. Still oblivious, she continued kneading her daughter’s soft cheeks.
"Ow! Ye Ye, let go! That’s your mom’s hand, not a pig’s trotter!"
Ling Ye stared at her mother with a blank expression. She hated being disturbed when she was dreaming about "clap, clap, clap" moments—even if it was her mom. And to make matters worse, using such cold hands to pinch her face? It was just asking for trouble.
After a while, Ling Ye finally released her mom's hand, leaving a neat row of teeth marks. Ling Ning had an almost tearful look on her face. Her daughter hadn’t bitten her in ages—why did she suddenly start again?
"Wait!" Ling Ning seemed to remember something, and her teary expression disappeared, replaced by a bright smile as she looked at her daughter.
"Ye Ye, didn’t you say you wanted to see fireworks and snow?"
Ling Ye looked at her mother, confused, and nodded.
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Author's Note:
Sigh, I’m so stuck with writer's block—barely managed to write two thousand words in a day. Feels like I'm dying here.