Rewritten Past

April put on a bright smile and said, "But Mommy was always nice to me! She held me lots, made me sweets, and then read to me every night! She's the bestest mommy ever!"

Clear adoration. Genuine love...

...No wonder April was messed up in the past life.

Considering Miss Serena was out of the picture... forcibly or otherwise...

I pulled April into a tight hug.

April blinked and blushed. "A-Alex? Hug? Now?"

"Mmhm." I patted her back. "I just felt like it."

It didn't make up for missing all the signs from the April I knew. It didn't change the fact that the April I sat next to every day in high school hid her suffering behind a smile and that I missed it. It also didn't change the fact that I didn't remember April in my past life despite meeting in elementary school.

But I wasn't trying to 'change' anything.

I was just making sure this life didn't play out the same way.

And that started with making sure I appreciated this April here and now.

April let out a happy wiggle in my arms and hugged me back. "You're the bestest friend too, Alex! The best in the world!"

I laughed and patted her back. "I'm trying to be, April."

After that, we broke our hug.

April was giddy, face flushed red with excitement and joy. Then she said, "My turn for a question, right?"

"Of course."

"Then..." April paused, her face turning unexpectedly serious. She glanced towards the door, hestitating. Then she said, "...Why do you not live with your Mommy and Daddy?"

Ah.

April fidgeted and said, "...I would hate it if I couldn't be with Mommy. But you're okay being away from your mommy. I don't get it."

Right.

To April, my situation would be incomprehensible.

For her, Miss Serena was April's entire world. The only family and really the only anchor in her reality.

And while April had seen how Mama Yue was like that for me, she probably couldn't understand why Mom wasn't that for me.

It wasn't like my mom WASN'T an important part of my world.

But...

I hummed and said, "Well. I like my Mommy and Daddy. But Mama Yue needs me more."

April blinked. "Huh?" She furrowed her brows and said, "...I don't get it. Miss Yue needs you?"

"Mmhm." I smiled and said, "You saw, right? My mommy has my daddy. But who does Mama Yue have?"

April frowned, seriously thinking. Then her eyes widened. "...Miss Yue is alone?"

"Right." I nodded. "Before I lived with her, Mama Yue was by herself, you know?"

April gasped. "But that's so lonely!"

"Isn't it?" I smiled. "That's why I'm with Mama Yue."

April nodded, coming to some sort of understanding in her head. "Alex is just like Miss Hero then! Saving Miss Yue by being her light!"

I laughed and patted April's head. "That's right, April. I'm trying to be Mama Yue's light."

April let out a warm smile and said, "That's good! You're already my light, too!" She giggled and placed her hands over her heart. "I feel warm and fuzzy every time I'm with you!"

Ah.

...Yeah, I'm sooo screwed later on, huh?

Still, it wouldn't be good to just dismiss April's feelings. Telling a kid to do that is a terrible thing.

Speaking from personal experience here, after all.

So instead, I smiled and said, "I'm happy to hear that, April. But let me know if it's too much, okay? I can't have you catch on fire~"

April gasped. "I can catch on fire?! Nooooo!"

I chuckled and teased her a bit more before shifting to idle chatter about various things. Power Rangers, her favorite comicbooks, superheroes...

But eventually, it was time to face the music. Or rather, the adults.

"Sweetie." My mom's voice echoed from the distance. "The food's ready. Come with your friend and let's eat."

I opened my mouth to respond. But before I could, my obnoxious cousin Murong spoke up instead.

"FINALLY!" Murong's shrill voice echoed in the house and she booked it down the hall to the kitchen.

"You idiot!" Donnie's voice echoed next. "Don't run! That's how you keep breaking things!"

April frowned and held my arm, clearly uncertain about everything.

I let out an internal sigh, but remained calm on the surface. Putting on a smile, I patted April's shoulder and said, "Let's go, Bestie."

"...Okay, Alex. I trust you." April let out a wobbly smile.

Seeing that... irked me. Just a little.

It was clear April was being overwhelmed by everything. And it made sense.

She'd probably been very attuned to toxic, tense, and dangerous situations considering everything Miss Serena had to lower herself to in order to raise April.

...Okay. Maybe I should show off a bit. Just a little.

Only to shut those bastards up.

===

Yue took a look around the kitchen table, a neutral expression deliberately settled upon her face. But that didn't stop the anger and disdain from settling in her heart.

'These people... Why does Brother-in-law even bother with them?'

That bitch Xia and her cheating husband Chen were serving their daughter first out of order.

The arrogant Long was scolding his son, Donnie for being hesitant and not assertive in grabbing food.

And that sly Luo was pretending to be supportive, but really he was just trying to get into Wang's good graces again to mooch off some money now that Wang had sorted out his finances.

Yue shifted her gaze to Alex to gauge his reaction. But he was too busy handing food over to April and distracting her.

Still, Yue could tell. Her beloved son- NEPHEW. Her beloved nephew was just biding his time.

...No, rather than biding his time, it was more like he was 'tolerating' them right now.

Alex had a smile on his face and was being polite.

But Yue had spent enough time around him to know that was just a facade.

...Though he was getting good at it. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to let him watch her practice acting so much...

But either way...

Dinner was... passable right now.

Wang was doing a good job maintaining the peace. Serena was helping Big Sis Mei serve the food... which, by the way, contained no dishes from Xia, Long, or Luo.

'This is why Brother-in-law had so many problems in the past...'

Both him and Big Sis were too nice.

Brother-in-law hid it behind a gruff exterior, but Yue knew that he had a bleeding heart beneath it. Well, when he decided to not stubbornly cling to his pride.

Yue sighed and idly twirled a bit of noodles around her fork to take a bite, keeping an eye on Alex.

Maybe it was her intuition. Maybe it was her paranoia.

But for some reason, she had a premonition that she should be ready in case something happened.

And when it came to Alex, those premonitions always came true. So she stayed sharp.

A few minutes passed while everyone ate.

Everyone, that was, except Mei and Serena, who were still up and about making sure all the food was flowing.

Yue noticed and frowned. While Yue's big sister hadn't announced it yet, it didn't change the fact that Mei WAS pregnant. She shouldn't be doing everything like this. And while Serena was helping, it was still a lot.

Even if they were insisting on being traditional, the fact that the fat bit- witch Xia was sitting there gorging on food was-

"Mom." Alex's voice suddenly cut through the chatter, cold and sharp. "Stop. They can get it themselves. You need to rest."