Liang Shi instinctively covered the silver bracelet on his wrist.
After a while, Su Yu, accompanied by the woman, came over and greeted Rainbow, "Zhou Caihong, have you finished your craft project?"
Rainbow frowned slightly, "Just got out of school..."
"I'm done," Su Yu said. "My mom drew the template for me, and I cut it out quickly."
“Oh,” Rainbow praised without any emotion, “Your mother is amazing.”
Su Yu: "...?"
Not receiving the expected praise, she frowned and snorted, "You're so boring."
As soon as she finished speaking, the woman gently patted her shoulder. "Ayu, you can't be rude."
"Ugh~" Su Yu whimpered pitifully.
The woman apologized to Rainbow on Su Yu's behalf: "I'm sorry, Rainbow, Su Yu spoke without thinking."
“It’s okay, Auntie.” Rainbow smiled sweetly, but her words were particularly hurtful: “She was like this in kindergarten too.”
The woman's expression changed slightly, and her tone became somewhat awkward: "I'm so sorry."
"It's alright, kids will be kids, they all love to compare themselves to others," Rainbow said calmly.
Liang Shi sat to the side, sighing helplessly. If she were to have a daughter like Rainbow in the future, she really wouldn't know how to raise her. It seemed that Zhou Li's method was the most straightforward and effective: let her develop freely and do whatever she liked.
The woman, upon hearing this, did not show the mocking or disdainful look that most adults would. Instead, she became interested and asked gently, "And what about you? Don't you like to compare yourself to others?"
Rainbow paused for two seconds: "Occasionally."
Liang Shi: "..."
Rainbow has a great advantage: she knows how to face her inner self.
It's probably because of the childlike nature that still lingers in their bones; it won't completely disappear no matter how high their IQ is.
She is able to be as honest as 80% of adults.
"Mom, look!" Before the woman could speak again, Su Yu couldn't wait to complain, "She's always like this."
As Su Yu spoke, she began to imitate Rainbow's tone, saying, "It's okay, it's fine, okay, thank you, no need, I don't like it."
Liang Shi listened from the side and couldn't help but glance at Rainbow.
Rainbow frowned, pursed her lips, and looked like she was suffering from a deep grudge, as if she was considering whether to interrupt the other girl's "parroting" in front of her mother.
Fortunately, Su Yu stopped before Rainbow ran out of patience.
Su Yu, acting like a little adult, crossed her arms and looked at Rainbow, "Zhou Caihong, are you very angry?"
Rainbow nearly crushed the paper cup in his hand, but glanced at the woman next to Su Yu and almost gritted his teeth as he said, "No."
"Look," Su Yu said again, "she's like this every day, sitting at the same table with her is really..."
Su Yu looked up at the sky, "How boring..."
Before he could even utter the word "ah," the woman slapped him on the forehead.
Su Yu was immediately taken aback, blinking her eyes rapidly. Her delicate, beautiful face, which would have evoked pity in anyone who saw it, suddenly fell, making her look extremely aggrieved. "Mom!"
"What?" The woman stood there, hands in her coat pockets, as if to stop the child from acting spoiled, and looked sternly at Su Yu. "Apologize to your deskmate."
Su Yu pouted, "No."
“Apologize to your deskmate, and I’ll apologize to you,” the woman said.
Su Yu hesitated and began to think.
“No need, Auntie,” Rainbow said first. “She’s always like this, I’m used to it.”
The woman looked embarrassed.
After a long silence, she sighed helplessly, "I often heard Su Yu mention you, saying that you are very smart. Now that I've met you, I can see that you are indeed extraordinary."
She paused after speaking, then said, "I'm sorry, you sounded too mature, and I couldn't help but speak to you in a more literary way. I was just praising you..."
“It’s okay, I understand.” Rainbow took a sip of cola and swallowed it before saying, “You’re praising me for being special.”
Rainbow has heard countless compliments since she was a child.
This little thing about women is nothing to her.
After a brief moment of surprise, the woman finally couldn't help but turn her gaze to the only adult at the table.
Looking at Liang Shi, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Your daughter is such a good teacher."
Liang Shi, who had been sitting there watching the show, was speechless.
Liang Shi looked bewildered, then realized what was happening and almost simultaneously denied it with Rainbow.
“I am not her mother.”
"She is not my mother."
After they finished speaking, the two met eyes. Rainbow shrugged helplessly and then went back to eating.
"Huh?" The woman was left bewildered.
Liang Shi lowered his sleeve slightly to cover the silver bracelet on his left wrist, stood up, and extended his right hand to the woman to introduce himself, "Hello, I am Liang Shi, a colleague of Zhou Caihong's mother."
He deliberately emphasized the word "child" when he said it.
It's not that she often forgets.
Rainbow's words and actions really don't resemble those of a child.
Many adults often forget that she is only five years old when they talk to her.
The woman reached out and shook her hand. "Hello, Su Yu's mother, Su Mu."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lingdang asked in confusion, "Auntie, why is she called Su Yu? I heard Shen Yiran say that her name is Sheng Yu."
Upon hearing those two words, the woman's eyelashes trembled slightly.
It was a very subtle change, but for Liang Shi, who had been observing her with utmost attention since she entered the room, this small change did not escape her notice.
At the same time, Liang Shi mentally gave Lingdang a thumbs up.
That was an absolute godsend.
Su Yu and Sheng Yu.
One person has two names, and they are completely unrelated surnames.
The Su Mu standing before them was clearly Su Yao.
The saying "Time never defeats a beauty" is perfectly embodied in her.
Her appearance hasn't changed much.
Su Yu scoffed, "Why can't I be called Su Yu? I have two names, is that not allowed?!"
"If it's okay, then it's okay," Bell scoffed. "I'm just curious, why are you being so fierce?"
Su Yu: "...I'm fierce! Hehehe! You actually hang out with Shen Yiran, you're not a good person!"
When Shen Yiran was mentioned, Lingdang got all excited. She stood up, but she was only about as tall as the table, which made her look rather unimpressive. So she climbed onto the sofa using both her hands and feet.
She had some difficulty climbing by herself, but Rainbow secretly lent a helping hand.
None of these little movements escaped Liang Shi's notice; she only felt a headache coming on.
Lingdang glared at Su Yu, hands on her hips, "What's wrong with me playing with Shen Yiran? She's so pretty! I just like playing with her. You're not a good person! Only bad people have multiple nicknames! Just like Brother Bear!"
Liang Shi: "?"
who?
She was completely confused.
Su Yu immediately understood, "You're the one who's like Brother Bear!"
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Liang Shi immediately picked Lingdang up from the sofa and said to Su Mu with a forced smile, "Sorry, Lingdang is a bit impatient."
"It's alright, your daughter is very cute," Su Mu smiled. "It's just that my son is too naughty."
Liang Shi: "..."
She felt embarrassed again, saying, "This isn't my daughter either."
Su Mu asked in surprise, "Huh?"
Liang Shi explained helplessly, "This is my niece."
Su Mu: "...Oh."
Su Mu's doubts could be heard from the rapidly descending final note.
Liang Shi realized for the first time that in other people's eyes, she was someone who could give birth to such a big daughter!
But... raising children is so tiring.
She experienced it firsthand.
After calming Lingdang down, Su Yu started throwing a tantrum, looking quite angry.
But Su Mu ignored him and looked at the bell, saying, "Little friend, it's not only bad people who have two names. The Moon Rabbit also has a name called Frost Flower, right?"
Liang Shi knew about the Moon Rabbit.
It's from the animated series "Rabbit Doesn't Cry".
It seems that Lingdang and Su Yu were arguing about this cartoon.
Liang Shi felt that he was not out of touch with the times, but at most out of touch with the children.
Su Mu patiently explained to Lingdang, "Su Yu has two names because her father and I each gave her one, so she has two."
Seeing that Su Mu was so nice, Lingdang immediately apologized awkwardly, "I'm sorry, Auntie, I didn't mean to say that."
"I know." Su Mu smiled gently, then squatted down to look at Su Yu. "Ayu, don't you think you should say something too?"
She was closer this time, and Liang Shi could see her profile from his angle.
Underneath the dark blue coat was a light gray knit sweater, loose and baggy.
Su Mu was slender with delicate collarbones. She wore a silver necklace around her neck. From the side, one could vaguely see what looked like a tattoo on the right side of her collarbone, but it was obscured by her clothes.