Are You Treating Her Especially Well?

Night

Three hours after Ding Yebai left, Yang Zhi returned home carrying her bag.

The moment she entered, she saw Qiqi studying in the courtyard.

She walked over, bent down to look at her profile, then pulled over a small stool and sat beside her.

"What are you writing, Qiqi?"

"Ah, Sister Yang Zhi!"

Qiqi broke into a delighted smile at the sight of Yang Zhi, grinning from ear to ear.

Yang Zhi stroked her head.

"Look, Sister Yang Zhi. Did I write it well?"

As she spoke, she held out her homework notebook for Yang Zhi to see.

The entire page of practice squares contained only one character: [person].

It was actually written quite well—neat and square.

Yang Zhi smiled when she saw it. "You wrote it very well."

"Right? It's because this character is super easy to write. [Person] is my favorite character to write."

Yang Zhi froze for a moment, then pointed at the [person] in the practice square and said softly, "The character [person] is easy to write, but being a person isn't easy."

Qiqi set her notebook on the table and asked, "Huh?"

"Even such a simple-looking character has a deeper meaning."

"What is it?"

Using her pen, Yang Zhi wrote in a fresh practice square, stroke by stroke, explaining as she wrote, "We should be like the character [person]. Always striving upward, while keeping our feet firmly on the ground."

"Oh, oh, oh, oh~ So that's what it means."

"Mm."

"Don't worry, Sister Yang Zhi. Qiqi will definitely become a very outstanding grown-up!"

"Alright, I believe in you."

It was that familiar head pat again.

Qiqi blinked her big, dark eyes at Yang Zhi. After thinking for a long time, she finally asked, "Come to think of it, does Sister Yang Zhi ever feel sad?"

"Why do you suddenly ask that?"

"Because whenever I'm sad, I want to find Mom, Older Sister, or Grandma. But I've never seen Sister Yang Zhi look for anyone."

Yang Zhi smiled gently and answered in a tender voice, "Everyone has times when they feel bad. What matters is how you work through it. When that happens, Sister Yang Zhi goes to Grandma."

"..."

Qiqi still felt that Sister Yang Zhi was a little pitiful. Grandma was wonderful, but she was still from a different generation.

"Ah..." Qiqi had a whole lot to say, but when the words reached her lips, all that came out was a sigh.

"What are you sighing for?"

Her expression remained as gentle and calm as ever.

That warm smile, like the sunshine of spring and summer, seemed as though it would never leave her face, no matter how much pain she was in.

In truth, whenever Yang Zhi thought of her mother, it felt as if needles were piercing her heart.

Unlike other children who had lost their mothers at a young age, she had shared a deep bond with her own mother.

And her mother had indeed used her body—her life—to protect her.

When she was little, she would cry whenever she read the text messages her mother had left behind. After growing up, she had gotten much better at controlling her emotions.

Ring, ring, ring—

Just then, her phone rang. Yang Zhi took the chance to leave and answer it, hurriedly ending the topic.

Qiqi stared blankly at her retreating figure, then let out another sigh after a long while.

Ten minutes later, the call ended.

It was another call from the school... and another endless pile of course assignments.

After hanging up, Yang Zhi forced a faint smile. As she walked into the backyard, she happened to see Grandma sitting at the stone table.

"Grandma..."

"Xiao Zhi, you're here."

Grandma closed her book and placed it on her lap. Her narrowed eyes looked especially kind and benevolent.

Yang Zhi walked over and sat beside her.

The moment she sat down, before she could even warm the seat, Grandma spoke. "I heard everything you said to Qiqi."

Yang Zhi froze for a moment, then gave a quiet smile. Her hands rested naturally on her knees as she found herself at a loss for words.

Grandma asked, "Does your mom's phone still have battery?"

"Yes. It does. I've kept it charged." Yang Zhi hurriedly took an old-fashioned phone out of her bag.

It was a phone model from over a decade ago, old enough to be sold for scrap.

Once she turned it on, she could see the text message Mom had left Yang Zhi back then.

Yang Zhi carried it with her at all times, treating it as a treasure. To her, this phone was the most, most, most precious thing in the world.

Grandma said, "Make sure you protect it."

"Mm."

After saying that, she paused. Her eyes lowered, her lashes trembling softly.

Grandma knew what her little granddaughter was thinking.

Tap—

Grandma suddenly took Yang Zhi's hand.

Yang Zhi looked over and met Grandma's eyes.

Grandma said, "Xiao Zhi..."

Yang Zhi immediately shook her head. "I'm fine." Then she forced out a strained smile, her eyes curving into little bridges. "It's just... sometimes... I still can't help thinking about Mom. Thinking that if there hadn't been a me, maybe she could have lived a better life."

She paused, then gave a laugh and smiled brightly. "Without me, at least she wouldn't have died."

She deliberately said it in a gentle, easy tone, hoping it would not make those words sound tragic, nor let Grandma notice how sad she was.

Grandma said, "Xiao Zhi, Grandma will always be with you."

Seeing that Yang Zhi's emotions had eased, the kindly old woman tightened her grip and held her hand more firmly.

Grandma said, "And I think that even if your mom had known she would one day die protecting her daughter in an earthquake, she still would have made the same choice."

As Yang Zhi listened, her eyes reddened. Her tears were like dew on leaves in the early morning—one gentle touch, and they would immediately fall.

"All moms are like that." Grandma reached up to touch Yang Zhi's face, pinching the bridge of her high nose and stroking her big eyes. "There, there, don't cry. Since our Xiao Zhi was lucky enough to survive, you should use these eyes to see the beauty of this world for your mom. Watch the sunrise and sunset, watch winter pass and spring return. All right?"

"Mm." After a long silence, Yang Zhi finally said it.

"Hehe, wasn't what Grandma said just now especially cool?"

"Hm?" Yang Zhi stared blankly for a while, her bright, watery eyes widening slightly. A few seconds later, her eyes curved into a smile again. "Mm. It was."

Grandma said, "A lifetime is very long, and there are many things worth living for. Take something recent, for example..."

"Like what?"

Since Grandma deliberately left the rest unsaid, Yang Zhi grew curious.

"Like today. That boy was the one who brought Qiqi home, and he even cooked porridge for Qiqi and me. Very delicious porridge. I'd say it was no worse than yours."

"A boy? Ding Yebai?" Yang Zhi asked in surprise.

Grandma said, "We're not really close to him, but he was still kind enough to do all that. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that besides being a good child himself, it was also because you've been good to him. After all, sincerity goes both ways."

"Been good to him?" Yang Zhi quietly repeated Grandma's words. Then she lifted her head, as calm as ever. "No. Grandma, you misunderstood. We just told him everything we knew. We were only communicating normally."

"Ahahaha... then that's exactly it."

"Exactly what?"

"Because whenever our Xiao Zhi communicates normally, she's already radiating charm."

"You have no idea how charming a girl like you is—fair and soft, gentle and sweet, speaking so softly."

"Grandma... don't talk nonsense."

"You're surrounded by endless kindness. Be a little happier."

"..."

Unable to bear any more of Grandma's praise, Yang Zhi wiped away her tears, rose to her feet, and headed toward the bedroom with her bag over her shoulder.

Halfway there, she suddenly slowed and said lightly, "Besides... even if I were good to him, it would only be right. I already owe Senior Sister a favor, and he's Senior Sister's younger brother."

"Hm? What did you say, Xiao Zhi?"

"Nothing. It's cold. Grandma, go back and rest early. Don't catch a chill."

"Okay."

Grandma straightened herself, lowered her head, and slowly opened the book. Quietly, she looked at the passage on the page.

[In truth, you had already read the script of your life in heaven. Yet you still chose this script because you believed there was something in this life worth living for.]

After a long while, she raised her head to look at the sky and sighed.

"Even knowing the script would turn out like this, you still chose it."

"My child, are you doing well over there?"