Chapter 297 : Doing Something Embarrassing
“Mom, get up already!”
Ling Ye pouted, standing beside the bed and glaring at her still-sleeping mother. They’d planned to get up early to go shopping together, but while she was already awake and ready, her mother was still sound asleep. Ling Ye was not happy about it!
Ling Ning, on the other hand, was in the middle of a dream about her past-life girlfriend. Just as the dream was getting to an exciting point, she felt herself being shaken awake. She wasn’t ready to wake up—not when she was just about to get closer to her girlfriend, even if it was only in her dream.
But Ling Ye’s persistent attempts to wake her didn’t stop. Seeing no reaction from her mother, Ling Ye took her mother’s soft arm, opened her small mouth, and bit down.
The pain from her daughter’s bite quickly jolted Ling Ning awake. As her sleepy eyes focused, the first thing she saw was her daughter’s adorable face. It would’ve been cuter, though, if Ling Ye wasn’t biting down on her arm.
As she gathered her thoughts, Ling Ning remembered that they’d planned to get up early today for their shopping trip. She glanced at the clock on the wall, realizing it was already past nine. No wonder Ling Ye had resorted to extreme measures to wake her up.
“Alright, Ye Ye, I’m awake now! No more biting~”
At her mother’s words, Ling Ye finally released her arm, but she puffed out her cheeks in a pout as if to say, That’s what you get for sleeping in!
Ling Ning looked down at the little bite mark on her arm, feeling both amused and helpless. Though her daughter hadn’t bitten hard, her skin was sensitive, and any pain felt all too real to her.
“Alright, Mom’s getting up now. Ye Ye, go wait for me outside—I’ll be ready soon~”
With that painful wake-up call, Ling Ning was now fully alert.
She got up, washed, dressed, and even changed into fresh underwear in one smooth routine. By the time she was ready to go out with Ling Ye, it was barely ten o’clock. She hadn’t even put on any makeup to avoid making her daughter wait longer.
Usually, Ling Ning didn’t bother with makeup when going out alone. But when it was with her daughter, she’d put on a little to make herself look a bit more mature and motherly.
“Ye Ye, is there a particular type of clothing you like?” she asked as they walked.
“Hmm…” Ling Ye squinted her eyes, thinking about it. For some reason, she recalled the outfit she’d seen that cool big sister Luo Xiaoning wear at the café—the way she dressed looked so stylish and cool!
Ling Ning noticed her daughter’s thoughtful expression and asked, “What’s on your mind, Ye Ye?”
“Oh… nothing, Mom. Do you know where I can get some cool-looking clothes?”
“Cool-looking? Can you give me an example?”
“Like the ones that big sister Luo Xiaoning wears—super cool and awesome!” Ling Ye replied excitedly. Just imagining herself in such clothes, saying all those mysterious phrases she didn’t quite understand, made her heart race.
The moment she heard the name “Luo Xiaoning,” Ling Ning’s expression changed. She remembered the last time they’d met at the convention—Luo Xiaoning had been chatting with her daughter the whole time, going on about her edgy, chuunibyou nonsense. Had she managed to influence her daughter in that short time?
Ling Ning realized she’d been too careless. She hadn’t expected Luo Xiaoning to have such an effect on her daughter. She couldn’t let Ling Ye fall into the same trap and end up acting as embarrassingly as Luo Xiaoning.
Taking a deep breath, Ling Ning gave her daughter a serious look and said, “Ye Ye, listen carefully. Don’t take anything that big sister Luo Xiaoning says seriously. If you do, you might end up catching the same ‘illness’ she has.”
“But it’s so cool~” Ling Ye mumbled, a bit disappointed. If she could dress and act like that, she was sure it would capture her mother’s attention.
“Ye Ye, trust Mom, alright? Have I ever lied to you?”
“...I understand.”
Although Ling Ye said she understood, she was still secretly interested in Luo Xiaoning’s style. She decided that if she really wanted to, she could try imitating it in secret.
At the shopping mall, Ling Ning took her daughter to a clothing store. She could have ordered online, but she wanted to ensure the quality and fit of the clothes. More importantly, it had been a long time since she’d gone shopping with her daughter, and she wanted to savor it.
She briefly considered taking Ling Ye to the kids’ section, but Ling Ye protested, insisting that she was “too grown-up” for kids’ clothes. Though Ling Ning felt that her daughter’s petite figure suited children’s clothes, she respected her wish to look for something more grown-up.
Thanks to Ling Ning’s sharp eye for fashion, they quickly found some nice outfits without taking too long. Before lunchtime, she’d already helped her daughter pick out several new clothes.
In the end, she even bought a small Gothic-style dress for Ling Ye. Even though she’d advised her daughter not to follow Luo Xiaoning’s example, Ling Ning couldn’t resist her daughter’s excitement.
As they left the store, Ling Ye hugged her mother tightly, giving her a big, sloppy kiss on the cheek in gratitude.
Wiping the drool off her face, Ling Ning sighed. “Ye Ye, you’re about to start middle school—can we save the kisses without the drool?”
“Hehehe~” Ling Ye giggled, unbothered.
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Author’s Note:
Three updates today! You readers are so enthusiastic that this salted fish had no choice but to push out one more chapter. Now I’m officially caught up!