A Change of Heart

"Please stop him!"

Jilan caught Mrs. Qiyuan's angry attack with her bare hands, saying helplessly, "Please, could you listen to my explanation before attacking? We are siblings."

"Brother and sister? Who would believe that? Her surname is clearly Green, a foreign name. You can't fool an adult with something like that!" Mrs. Qiyuan's visual shock went straight to her amygdala, and her anger overwhelmed her reason. "Enough talk. Get out of here! You're not welcome here!"

"Alright, alright, I'll leave now." Jilan didn't want to argue with her pointlessly, so she comforted Mrs. Qiyuan and pulled Fran back step by step.

"If I had known this would happen, I should have found a hotel I didn't know. Did I lose my mind and come to this hotel where the owner has a manic-depressive disorder?"

As Jilan was thinking this, she was about to take Fran out when she noticed that the hand holding Fran's hand suddenly felt heavier. Jilan glanced at her and saw that Fran had closed her eyes at some point, her little head nodding forward, as if she was really sleepy.

Jilan gently picked up Fran and was about to turn around with her when Mrs. Qiyuan put down her flute and sighed, "Wait, you don't need to go any further. I'll let you check in."

"Mrs. Qiyuan? What's wrong with you?" Jilan didn't understand her sudden change in mood.

"No matter what, we can't let a sleeping child spend the night outside; it's very dangerous." Mrs. Qiyuan returned to the counter, quickly filled out the form, and handed it to Jilan. "Here's the receipt. Pay me tomorrow. Let the child sleep tonight."

Faced with Mrs. Qiyuan's sudden kindness, Jilan, though suspicious, still accepted the receipt. "Then, thank you for your help."

Mrs. Qiyuan locked the door and led Jilan to a Japanese-style room. She opened the wooden door and, while making a bed for Jilan on the tatami mats, said, "Didn't you want a room? There are two quilts here; one for you and one for this child. Although I don't know your relationship with this child,..."

Mrs. Qiyuan pulled out a kitchen knife from somewhere and smiled gently at Jilan, saying, "If I hear any unusual noises tonight, or if anyone tries to find my Xiaoyou while I'm asleep, please bear with me."

"I understand." The lady of this house is indeed quite neurotic, Jilan thought to herself, nodding while breaking out in a cold sweat.

Jilan opened her eyes to a wooden ceiling with yellowed marks, clearly indicating the room's age. The owner, however, seemed to have taken great care, keeping the room spotless. A small head appeared on the edge of Jilan's vision. Fran rubbed her eyes, then laughed and jumped into Jilan's arms.

Good morning, Dad!

Fran was wearing a white lace nightgown, her long golden hair flowing smoothly down her back, a few strands falling onto Jilan's face and tickling him.

"Good morning, Fran." Jilan touched Fran's hair, then fumbled for the watch on the bedside table and held it to her face.

Seven o'clock in the morning.

The appointment with Fujiwara Takumi was at nine o'clock, which was still early, but since Jilan's good biological clock had woken him up, he wouldn't go back to sleep.

Jilan sat up and touched Fran in front of her, whispering, "Fran, have you slept enough? Do you want to sleep a little longer?"

Fran opened her eyes, smiled, and flashed a peace sign. "Energy replenished, ready to set off anytime!"

"Uh, let's get up then."

I really don't know what strange thing Erina taught her.

Jilan muttered to herself, then got dressed and washed up before going outside, leaving Fran to change her clothes alone.

Although Fran's mind is still in its infancy, her behavior patterns are already mature, and she can do things like dressing herself independently.

By the way, Fran was already asleep last night. Jilan helped Fran change her clothes with her eyes closed, and there was no strange reaction at all.

The Qiyuan Inn was deserted; apart from Jilan, there were no other guests. Jilan had glanced at the registration form last night while filling it out, and it showed only a dozen or so names that had been registered since June, including duplicates like her own. Jilan couldn't help but wonder if these guests could really support the mother and daughter.

Good morning, Jilan.

When Jilan arrived at the hall, she saw Mrs. Qiyuan cleaning. Her gentle smile made Jilan even think that her neurotic behavior yesterday was just an illusion.

Jilan glanced around the hall and saw Xiaoyou eating breakfast at the table. She immediately understood and nodded readily, "Good morning, Mrs. Qiyuan."

Perhaps Mrs. Qiyuan didn't want to show her impolite side to Xiaoyou.

Mrs. Qiyuan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Jilan didn't mention anything about last night. After thinking it over all night, she calmed down and realized that she was just being unreasonable. After all, there are many people in this world with unusual fetishes. As long as it doesn't affect her and her daughter, she should ignore it.

Both harbored ulterior motives, yet simultaneously smiled at each other.

"Mr. Jilan, would you like some breakfast from our shop? It might be a little bland, but it's definitely nutritious, and the child should like it," Mrs. Qiyuan said with a smile.

"Then I'll have to trouble you." Jilan also had the same smile on his face. He originally wanted to wait for Fran to finish washing up before going to Fujiwara's shop for breakfast, but it was still early, and that guy might not be up yet, so eating here would be just right.

Mrs. Qiyuan seemed to have been thinking about this all along. As soon as Jilan agreed, she brought out the food from the kitchen. As she had said, it was very light: white rice, pickled fish, natto, dried plums, and miso soup.

Although there weren't many items, it was still quite a hassle to prepare. Jilan had been living alone since junior high school, and every morning she would have toast with eggs and bacon. It had been a long time since she had eaten such a classic Japanese breakfast.

It's nice to change things up once in a while.

Thinking this, Jilan took her tray and sat down next to Xiaoyou, who was eating and watching the animation she had recorded the night before. She greeted her with a smile, "Good morning, Xiaoyou. It's been a long time."

"I'm sorry for what I did to my mother," Xiaoyou said, her eyes glued to the superhero cartoon.

"Huh? What did your mother do?" Jilan asked, puzzled, looking down at the plate. "Was this breakfast really that bad?"

"I heard everything that happened last night," Xiaoyou said, stirring her miso soup with a spoon while squinting. "My mom probably thinks you're a bad person again. I apologize on her behalf; she's always been very sensitive about things concerning me."

He's really mature.

Jilan's eyelids twitched, but she maintained her smile, "How could that be? I understand your mother perfectly. I would have done the same if I were in her shoes."

"I don't believe it. What a hypocrite," Xiaoyou snorted, calmly adding, "If I were in that situation, I'd be filled with resentment towards that person and wouldn't forgive them easily."