“Caixuan, what’s wrong? You look lost.”
“Mother, I, I…” Xu Caitong, still not fully awake, accidentally called her mom ‘Mother’.
“Caixuan, why are you calling me ‘Mother’? You’ve never called me that before,” Ya Ping said, worried, as she observed her daughter’s strange behavior but couldn’t pinpoint what was off.
“Mom,” Xu Caitong lowered her head, confused herself about her own state.
“Alright, Caixuan, there’s a crowd of neighbors downstairs who’ve come to see you. They heard you’re back. Haven’t you changed clothes yet? Go change and come down quickly.” Xu Caitong nodded, turned back into her room, and sat on the bed. She was indeed back home, but she hadn’t adjusted to reality yet. She was happy to see her parents again, but beneath the happiness, a faint sorrow welled up.
“Caixuan, Caixuan,” Ya Ping called out several times from downstairs with no response. She asked Lin Ma to go up and invite the young lady down. Lin Ma opened Caitong’s door, where Caitong sat dazed on the bed, still in her old clothes. Lin Ma approached gently, calling out a few times before Caitong slowly lifted her head, staring blankly at Lin Ma.
“Miss, Madam is calling you downstairs.”
“Oh,” Xu Caitong jumped off the bed, “I’ll come down after changing.”
As she spoke, she went to her wardrobe to find clothes. She picked out a light blue suit and went to the bathroom to change. As she undressed, she touched the necklace Liu Bugun had given her, tears falling as she caressed the pearls. Why did she have to come back? When she wanted to return, she couldn’t, and now when she didn’t want to, she was forced back.
“Miss, are you ready?” Lin Ma knocked on the door.
