Princess Syndrome - Chapter 122

Chapter 122: Hat

Su Lingyue stood at the door, not going in, not knocking. She was still hesitating whether to go in, when Aunt Liu opened the door, holding a black garbage bag. When she saw Su Lingyue, she was startled, then she smiled with joy, happily calling, "Lingyue!"

Although they had met at the entrance of the market earlier, that wasn't at her home.

How long had it been since she had seen Su Lingyue at her doorstep?

These past few years, she had been wondering if she would be able to see Su Lingyue before going back to her hometown.

Su Lingyue took the garbage bag from her hand. “I’ll do it.”

Aunt Liu was stunned. The old Su Lingyue would never have done something like this. Time had finally left its mark on the young miss. But she saw that Su Lingyue was smiling, looking happy.

It wasn’t a bad thing.

Aunt Liu also smiled.

When Su Lingyue reached the door, she said, “Do you want to come in and sit for a while?”

She seemed afraid that Su Lingyue would refuse, so she asked cautiously. Su Lingyue looked at her greying hair and nodded. "Okay."

Aunt Liu smiled.

Before Su Lingyue went inside, she looked at Ji Zhiyi's car.

It was parked on the side of the road, blending into the night, but her mood was surprisingly calm. Ji Zhiyi watched her go inside, leaning back on her seat. The night lights were swaying. She was staring at the stone lion by the door.

Back when she was in school, she had come here.

Aunt Liu probably didn't remember her.

At that time, she had stood at the door, looking inside. Aunt Liu had come back from grocery shopping and asked her, "Classmate, who are you looking for?"

She then realized, "Are you looking for Lingyue? I'll go get Lingyue."

She had heard Su Lingyue’s name and her heart beat too fast, but in the end, she had left before Su Lingyue came out.

She had also come once before going abroad.

But Su Lingyue was at a summer camp, so there was no way that she would have come out from this villa. She had thought that, maybe a miracle might happen.

Obviously.

It didn’t happen.

But it was probably good not to see her. By not seeing her, she could leave with the deepest longing, always hoping that she would see Su Lingyue the first thing when she returned.

Ji Zhiyi lowered her head and smiled.

On the other side of the wall, Su Lingyue and Aunt Liu were walking inside. Although she hadn't been back for many years, nothing in the house had changed. Everything was still the same as before. It was obvious that Zhou Shiyu hadn't lived here, hadn't even stepped foot inside. The family photos on the wall were still there, and her mother's wedding photo hadn't been taken down. Zhou Shiyu had wanted to take wedding photos, and wanted to take them with her, but she had been indignant, saying that she would rather die than accompany Zhou Shiyu, that she would take them with her corpse.

Her father was really scared by that at the time and didn't force her.

Every time she met Zhou Shiyu, she would stare at the photos on the wall, baring her teeth. But after she moved out, she hadn’t come back, and hadn't asked Aunt Liu to take down the photos.

In the end, more than anything, she hated herself.

Su Lingyue knew this clearly and didn't care.

Aunt Liu said, "There's still some chicken soup in the pot, do you want me to get you a bowl?"

If it was the past, no matter how late Su Lingyue came back, Aunt Liu would definitely go to the kitchen and start busying herself for a while. Even if she just had a bowl of chicken soup, she would be happy. She also wanted to do that now, but she didn't know if she would be taking up Su Lingyue's time.

Su Lingyue said, “Okay, thank you, Aunt Liu.”

She sat at the dining table, looking at the murals and photos on the wall, and said, "They... haven't they ever come back?"

Aunt Liu froze before going into the kitchen.

She then said, "No, they haven’t."

That was fine.

That man had never once come back to see her mother.

That was fine.

Su Lingyue took a deep breath, her eyes a little hot. She blinked, looking at her mother in the photo, her face was beautiful, her features were delicate. She looked more like her mother. Every time they went for a check-up together, the doctor would tease, "You've brought your mini-template again.”

Her mother would then proudly hold her and kiss her. “This isn’t my template. This is my little princess.”

Her little princess.

For her little princess, she had argued with that man, "I told you I’d only have one child. I can’t have another one. Besides, isn't Lingyue good? Can't she inherit your company in the future? Does it have to be a boy?"

When she got angry and blew up, she would roar, "If you want to have another one, then go and have one with someone else! I'm not going to have another child for you!"

That shameless man had taken it all for granted.

He had gotten involved with someone else.

Her mother had never thought that a man could be so shameless, right?

Su Lingyue had thought more than once that if, if she could go back in time, she would definitely say the moment she could speak, "Mom, let's get a divorce."

Maybe then, her mother wouldn't have left so early.

Maybe after she became sensible, they could have worked together, maybe, this time, she would have remembered Ji Zhiyi earlier and sponsored her to go abroad, allowing her to avoid all the harm that Jiang Ya brought.

Her thoughts drifted too far.

Su Lingyue laughed.

Aunt Liu walked out with the chicken soup. “What are you thinking about?”

Su Lingyue said, "I was thinking that if my mom was still around all these years, that would have been so great."

Hearing this, Aunt Liu wanted to touch Su Lingyue's head, but then felt it would be too abrupt. She was afraid that she didn’t have the right to, so she clenched her hand back. Su Lingyue held her hand, her rough palm with clear lines. Aunt Liu was moved by her actions, her eyes a little red. She held back and said, "Drink the soup, drink the soup."

She watched Su Lingyue take a sip, and then said, "Is it hot? If it's too hot, then let it cool down a bit before drinking."

Knowing that she wanted to stall for time and talk, Su Lingyue put down the bowl and asked, “Are you the only one here at night?”

“It’s just me during the day too.” Aunt Liu said. “If I go back to my hometown, when you come back again, there won’t be anyone to open the door for you.”

She was half-joking, half-serious.

Su Lingyue felt dizzy listening to her.

Her nose tingled.

Aunt Liu said, "Where do you live now?"

Su Lingyue said, "The Xihu district."

Aunt Liu said, "Xihu district? I remember that you had a house there before, you…”

Su Lingyue said, "It's not the old house, it's a new one."

Aunt Liu knew about the prices of houses in Xihu. If Su Lingyue could buy a new house again, it meant that her life was good now. She nodded, relieved, "That's good, that's good."

Su Lingyue said, “Aunt Liu, I’m in a relationship now too.”

“Really?” Aunt Liu feigned surprise. Actually, she had seen it at the market entrance. Su Lingyue and that person were being intimate, but she was too embarrassed to ask. Since they were both girls, and Su Lingyue had many friends before, she didn't know what she was imagining was true or not.

Su Lingyue was quite open about it. "It’s her."

She took out her phone and showed Aunt Liu Ji Zhiyi’s picture.

The photo was one that Su Lingyue had taken casually. Ji Zhiyi was sitting on the sofa, turning her head to look at her, with the light behind her. She had felt that the scene was beautiful, so she had taken a picture. Aunt Liu was stunned, not expecting it to be true. It took a while for her to process the information.

She stared at the person in the photo, trying to come up with compliments.

You two are a good match?

She’s beautiful?

Her words got jumbled up, not knowing what to say. Su Lingyue also knew that she would be shocked upon hearing the news. If someone else had asked, she wouldn't have said anything. But, after all, this was Aunt Liu.

The person who had treated her like a daughter after her mother had left.

Now that she knew she was going back to her hometown.

Su Lingyue just wanted to let her know that she was doing well.

Aunt Liu was tongue-tied for a while before saying, "Good--" then staring at the picture, she added, "It's like, I've seen her somewhere before."

Su Lingyue looked at the picture. "Really?"

She didn’t think much of it because Ji Zhiyi had been frequently appearing in news reports and on TV these past few years. So, she wasn't that concerned. Aunt Liu stared at Ji Zhiyi's picture, a strong sense of familiarity came over her.

She had just been wearing a hat and mask, she hadn’t recognized her.

Looking at the photo now, the feeling was getting stronger and stronger.

But she was getting old.

She couldn't really remember.

Su Lingyue guessed that she had seen her on the news or somewhere, smiling, finishing the chicken soup and getting up. "I’m going to go see my mom.”

Only then did Aunt Liu snap back. “Ah, okay.”

Su Lingyue went up to the second floor.

The room at the end of the hallway was hers, with her mother’s room next to it.

Back then, Zhou Shiyu had wanted to move in, but that man didn't allow it. So, nothing in this room had been moved. Everything was still as it was. Su Lingyue had initially thought that man missed her mother, which was why he hadn't allowed Zhou Shiyu to move in. It was later that she realized, he had just thought it was unlucky.

Standing at the door, thinking about this, she still laughed out of anger.

Su Lingyue pushed open the door. The furnishings inside were unchanged. She would also run into this room in the middle of the night, imagining herself sleeping in her mother’s arms. Su Lingyue walked in, sat on the bed, and looked up at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling. She inexplicably thought of Ji Zhiyi’s chandelier.

She took a picture and sent it to Ji Zhiyi.

Ji Zhiyi replied, "Hmm?"

Su Lingyue: "Isn't it like the chandelier in your house?"

It wasn't like it at all.

But Ji Zhiyi agreed. "Yeah, it is."

Su Lingyue was amused by her. She was good at coaxing people. She gathered her complex emotions and left the room, turning her head to see her room. She pushed open the door. Aunt Liu had cleaned the mirror, and her reflection was visible in it. Su Lingyue’s fingers trailed along the side of the bed and the dressing table, moving little by little. This room held most of her memories. Coming in now felt like a lifetime ago.

There was movement downstairs. Su Lingyue snapped back to reality. Just when she was about to leave, she glanced at a door.

A secret room that opened into her room.

Although it was called a secret room, it was more like a storage room. Su Lingyue used to throw her presents in there. She didn't know if Aunt Liu had cleaned it. Su Lingyue pushed open the door and saw that the gifts inside were neatly stacked. She still remembered that she used to receive the most love letters. Every time she came back, she would throw them in there, and Aunt Liu would say, "When you need encouragement in the future, you can take them out and look at them.”

She hadn't understood. "Why would I look at them when I need encouragement?"

“They’re the feelings of the people who like you.” Aunt Liu said to her. “Their love will give you strength.”

She had used to laugh at Aunt Liu for reading too many chicken soup stories.

Thinking back now, Su Lingyue shook her head and laughed. When she was just about to close the door, she noticed a hat hanging on the wall. There were nails along half the wall, with bags and other gifts hanging on them. The hat wasn’t very noticeable. But—just because Ji Zhiyi had been wearing a hat tonight, she took a second look. She walked over.

She remembered this hat.

It was the one that stubborn girl had given her. She had even misunderstood Yang Zhizhi.

Su Lingyue casually grabbed the hat. Perhaps because Aunt Liu had been cleaning it, there was no dust, but the color wasn't as pure anymore, it was very mottled. She thought about that girl putting the hat on her head, raised an eyebrow, and pinched the brim of the hat, touching a rough, uneven surface.

She frowned and turned the hat over.

On the inside of the brim of the black baseball cap, there were actually some words embroidered on it.

It was embroidered with black thread, blending with the hat's color. At a glance, it wasn't obvious. If she hadn't touched it, she probably wouldn't have noticed it.

Su Lingyue looked down, adjusting the angle to the light, and looked at the embroidered words.

Under the light, the embroidered words shimmered. They were blurred and then quickly cleared up. Su Lingyue gripped the hat tightly. On it was embroidered: Ji Zhiyi.

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