Jiang Chen's body rose and fell slightly, occasionally smacking his lips; that appearance was indeed somewhat cute.
Seeing this scene, Qian Renxue suddenly felt a bit guilty. Such an adorable child, yet yesterday she had taken out her anger on him.
Just as she was hesitating whether to apologize to Jiang Chen or not, Jiang Chen opened his eyes.
Seeing Qian Renxue standing right in front of him, watching him, Jiang Chen got scared and quickly sat up.
What if Qian Renxue attacked without even saying hello?
What relieved him was that after he retreated a few steps, Qian Renxue just stood there without any intention of making a move.
Qian Renxue's expression was no longer as icy as yesterday; it was quite calm.
"Your teacher isn't coming to stand up for you?"
Jiang Chen shook his head. "Teacher said she's a Titled Douluo and won't come to bully you."
"Won't bully me? Heh..." Qian Renxue sat down, her face carrying some sarcasm.
"Is she even qualified to say such words?"
"She would rather be good to her own disciple than spare me a single glance."
As she spoke, Qian Renxue's eyes gradually reddened.
"Are you okay?" Jiang Chen walked over.
"I'm fine." The fluctuation in Qian Renxue's emotions vanished, and she regained her calm.
"Yesterday, I was in a bad mood and hit you. I'm sorry."
Jiang Chen was a little surprised; he hadn't expected Qian Renxue to apologize to him.
He shook his head and grinned. "I'm fine. I'm really tough, see? I don't look like a pig head anymore, right?"
As he spoke, he flipped up his nostrils and made a funny face.
"Pfft!" A smile appeared on Qian Renxue's previously calm face.
With this smile, the distance between the two grew a little closer.
"Little guy, what's your name?" Qian Renxue asked.
"I'm Jiang Chen. What's your name, big sister?"
"I'm Qian Renxue."
"Big sister, what kind of relationship do you have with my teacher?" Jiang Chen asked.
"Her? I call her big sister." As soon as Bibi Dong was mentioned, Qian Renxue's expression soured again.
"I think she seems to care about you a lot," Jiang Chen suddenly said.
Qian Renxue was stunned for a moment, then sneered coldly. "She would care about me?"
Jiang Chen fully utilized the advantage of being a child and nodded seriously. "Yes, when she was asleep, she kept calling 'Little Snow.' I guess that must be you."
Qian Renxue was shocked. Looking at Jiang Chen's earnest expression, it didn't seem like he was lying.
An inexplicable excitement surged in her heart. She grabbed Jiang Chen's shoulders and shook him. "Is what you said true?"
Jiang Chen nodded affirmatively. "It's true. On the way back from Notting City when she picked me up, every time she fell asleep, she would call your name."
Actually, Jiang Chen wasn't lying entirely; Bibi Dong had indeed called Qian Renxue's name while asleep, though not as many times as he claimed.
Receiving Jiang Chen's definite answer, Qian Renxue felt as if something in her heart had shattered. A long-suppressed emotion erupted violently, filling every corner of her heart, and tears could no longer be held back as they poured out.
"I need to go find her." With that, she stood up anxiously, about to leave.
Jiang Chen reacted quickly and grabbed her hand. If Qian Renxue went to confront her now, the result would likely only be a big argument and then a continued cold war.
Qian Renxue looked down at Jiang Chen in confusion.
"Big sister, I think you shouldn't go find my teacher right now," Jiang Chen said.
"Why?" Qian Renxue asked back. Right now, she only wanted to run to Bibi Dong and ask her clearly.
"Let's sit down and talk." Jiang Chen pulled Qian Renxue to sit.
At this moment, Qian Renxue wasn't in such a hurry anymore.
"Big sister, from what you said earlier, I guess my teacher is usually very cold toward you, right?"
Qian Renxue was somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected Jiang Chen to be so clever, deducing this conclusion from her words laced with resentment.
She nodded. "Yes, actually, she's my mother, but from childhood to now, she has never cared about me once. She has never smiled at me. Every time she sees me, it's with a cold expression; sometimes I can even see disgust in her eyes. I'm her daughter. Why does she treat me like that? Is her heart made of iron?"
By the end, Qian Renxue's tears could no longer be stopped. In this moment, she was at her most vulnerable; the usual strength had completely collapsed.
Her delicate body trembled, and by the last part, she was sobbing uncontrollably.
Facing such a little kid like Jiang Chen, she didn't need to hide her emotions and could vent freely.
Jiang Chen looked at her with full sympathy, handed over a few tissues, and gently patted Qian Renxue's hand to comfort her. "Big sister, don't be sad."
After pouring out the grievances that had accumulated in her heart for many years, Qian Renxue felt as if her body and mind had become much lighter, and she gradually stopped crying.
"Thank you." She took the tissues and wiped her tears.
"Big sister, there's a reason I don't want you to go find my teacher right away."
"What reason?" Qian Renxue showed a surprised expression and quickly asked.
"Teacher calls your name even in her dreams, which means deep down in her heart, she loves you very much." At this point, Jiang Chen glanced at Qian Renxue and saw that she was somewhat agitated.
"But usually, the teacher is cold toward you, which means she doesn't want to show her love for you and forcibly suppresses it in her heart. Ask yourself, is there any mother in the world who doesn't love her daughter? She probably has some unavoidable hardship."
"What hardship?" Qian Renxue asked again, unconsciously gripping Jiang Chen's hand tighter; her mind was completely drawn in by Jiang Chen's words.
Jiang Chen shook his head. "I don't know what the hardship is right now, but I've heard a story where a mother and son had a situation very similar to yours. Do you want to hear it?"
Qian Renxue quickly nodded.
"There was a single mother with two sons. They loved each other dearly and lived happily. However, one day, the younger son unfortunately drowned. The mother was very sad and went to a fortune teller. The fortune teller lied to her, saying her fate was too harsh and that she had jinxed her own son to death. If she didn't want the other son to die too, she had to hide her love."
"From then on, the mother became cold toward her son and never showed concern for him again. But when she was alone, she secretly shed tears, praying to the gods every day for forgiveness of her sins and for her son's safety."
"Although the son didn't understand why his mother had become so indifferent to him, he was naturally optimistic and always filial to his mother. In the end, he finally opened his mother's heart, and the family lived happily together again."
After Jiang Chen finished telling the story, he saw that Qian Renxue was once again in tears and helplessly handed over a few more tissues.
"Although I don't know why the teacher is cold to you, she must have her own hardship. If you go confront her directly, her attitude toward you might become even worse, and she might hide her love for you even more, just like the mother in the story."
"Then what should I do?" Qian Renxue asked with pear blossoms bathed in rain.
Jiang Chen showed a smile. "Don't worry, leave it to me. I will definitely find out the teacher's heart knot, find a way to untie it, and let you mother and daughter open your hearts to each other."