Sitting next to Jiang Mingxi, Song Lan opened the shoebox.
Jiang Mingxi's arms were too weak to support him, so Song Lan put a pillow under his arm and he leaned on it.
From this height, you can just see what's inside the shoebox.
Jiang Mingxi was speechless. "What's wrong with you? Why is the box full of junk?"
Song Lan reached out and ruffled Jiang Mingxi's hair.
Picking up a square stone from the box, I said, "This was shortly after my mom and brother had their accident. I wasn't quite mentally stable then, and I kept thinking about why my mom pushed me down that road."
"When you're obsessed with something, you can't think straight and you want to die."
"Once, my brother took me to the suburbs to fly kites. I saw a river there, and for some reason, my first reaction upon seeing it was that I wanted to jump in."
Jiang Mingxi stared at Song Lan in shock.
Last time at the Regent Hotel by the sea, Song Lan talked about her childhood, but not in such detail.
Looking tenderly at the rock, Song Lan smiled at Jiang Mingxi and said, "Later, I met a little boy by the river, about three or four years old, crying for his mother. He was crying so pitifully that I didn't dare to jump in, afraid that I would scare him."
I picked up the prettiest stone from the riverbank and gave it to him, telling him it was a star in the sky, and that children with stars have mothers.
"This is the star he gave me, he dug it out of dog poop, saying that not only will I have my mom with me, but I'll also have a dog with me."
Jiang Mingxi:...
What a despicable child!
I was both amused and exasperated, and I felt really sorry for Song Lan.
He took a lollipop out of the box. "What about this one? Who sent it?"
Song Lan scratched the long-expired lollipop with her fingers. "This was given to me by a kid when I was in high school. He said eating this would make me happy."
As she spoke, Song Lan looked at Jiang Mingxi.
"My high school has a really nice name, it's called Mingde High School."
Jiang Mingxi's expression suddenly changed.
My eyes were filled with shock.
What's it called?
Mingde High School?
Isn't this the school he attended before he transmigrated into the book?
Before he transmigrated into the book, he met a transfer student here. That transfer student was exceptionally good-looking...
Mingde High School... is it that common?
"Here's a lollipop! It'll make you happy!"
You eat it.
"The orphanage director wouldn't let me eat it because my teeth hurt and I can't eat candy. I bought it especially for you. Please eat it, don't be upset. It's normal to lose a competition. I lost a tug-of-war competition at the orphanage a few days ago, but I didn't cry."
"Are you unhappy because everyone else had their mothers come to watch the game, but you didn't? Don't be unhappy. Even though your mother didn't come, your grandfather and your brother did. I didn't have my grandfather and brother at my tug-of-war competition. See, you're much luckier than me."
Jiang Mingxi looked at Song Lan with some confusion.
These comforting words, both familiar and strange, seeped into his mind.
This is... what he said?
Who did he talk to?
His gaze fell on a book inside the box.
How to be a good mother.
Jiang Mingxi:...
My eye twitched.
"How could you actually read this kind of book!"
Song Lan smiled and pinched Jiang Mingxi's chin, then bent down and kissed him on the lips.
"I used to know a kid, and this was a gift he gave me for my birthday one year."
Jiang Mingxi:...
"If my mom were here, she wouldn't have treated me like that! If I had fallen, she would have picked me up!" The child glared angrily at the older boy in front of him.
The older brother looked at him helplessly, "You're eleven years old. Getting up on your own after falling down is something every normal person should do!"
"You're not a good mother!" The child stomped his feet, tears streaming down his face. "You can't be a good mother! You're not a good mother!"
The older brother angrily flicked his head, "I'm not a good mother, why did I bring you out to buy clothes? I'm not a good mother, why did I bring you to the movies? I'm not a good mother, why did I bring you to eat?"
The child got angry and pointed to a couple kissing next to them, "He also takes her shopping, to the movies, and out to eat!"
Big brother:...
She quickly covered his eyes, saying, "This is not something you should see!"
They quickly left the scene with their little darling.
"I'm going to the bookstore. My brother A-Wang wants a copy of Harry Potter, and I want to give it to him!"
She was just criticizing the other person for not being a good mother, and now she's insisting on going to the bookstore.
As soon as I entered the bookstore...
Pointing to a book titled "How to Be a Good Mother" displayed at the very front of the bookstore, the little darling declared emphatically, "I'm going to give this to you as a birthday present. You should learn from it how to be a mother!"
The older brother pinched his cheek speechlessly, "Today isn't my birthday."
The little darling shook her head, "No, it has to be your birthday today!"
How can this be so unreasonable!
Jiang Mingxi was panting heavily.
What an unlucky kid!
Still a little angry, Jiang Mingxi moved her tired, aching fingers and opened the book—
I hope you can be a reliable mother!
A birthday greeting immediately caught Jiang Mingxi's eye.
The crooked and distorted characters looked like tiny insects crawling on them.
Signed: Xiaoxi.
"Auntie, do you have a pen? I'd like to borrow one!" A child, a little over ten years old, grinned and asked the bookstore clerk with an innocent look.
Who could resist such an obedient child?
The sales clerk smiled and handed him a pen.
He looked smugly at the older brother next to him, who was speechless with anger.
In front of everyone, she bent over in front of the bookshelf and wrote, stroke by stroke. "I hope you can be a reliable mother!"
Finished writing.
With a smug look on his face, he picked up the book and patted it on his older brother's chest, " Song Lan, happy birthday!"
Jiang Mingxi blinked, staring at the crooked words in front of her.
She blinked again and looked up at Song Lan.
Song Lan's gaze was just as it had been back then, tinged with helplessness yet filled with indulgence, as she looked at him tenderly and asked, "Am I not a good mother?"
Jiang Mingxi felt a lump in her throat.
Dragging her aching body, she lunged towards Song Lan.
He seemed to remember.
I remember everything.
He didn't transmigrate into the book; he wasn't Jiang Mingxi.
He is Bai Yunxi.
(The main story is finished, see you in the epilogue, my darlings~)