"But, I’m not you, so my thoughts aren’t that important."
Bai Zhi really thought this way, recognizing that everyone has their own thoughts and hers did not necessarily reflect Ye Xiu’s.
"Xingxing, saying that makes me feel even more useless."
Ye Xiu almost felt like laughing—was Xingxing trying to comfort her, or bring her down?
"Don’t think like that. Everyone says you’re a good teacher."
Bai Zhi wasn’t really good at comforting people, but that was all she could say.
Ye Xiu lowered her head, acknowledging that she wasn’t a good mother.
Ye Xiu’s mood fell even further, and Bai Zhi felt uncomfortable, unsure of how to offer comfort.
"Actually, I’m a bit curious."
Bai Zhi thought she could only keep talking to shift the topic—or perhaps she should go make something tasty for her?
"Curious about what?"
Ye Xiu looked at Xingxing with doubt, but it seemed that talking with Xingxing had gradually calmed her down.
Bai Zhi stopped walking and looked seriously at Ye Xiu, scrutinizing her.
Just when Ye Xiu thought there might be something dirty on her face, Bai Zhi spoke.
Her expression conflicted, she finally spoke.
"Curious, how did you fall for him? You two don’t seem like you’re from the same world. Did you perhaps have poor eyesight back then?"
How was she supposed to respond to that? She suspected Xingxing was criticizing her, but she didn’t seem to have any evidence.
"Could it be, he was handsome before?"
Surely he couldn’t have been that attractive, given the features he was born with.
An ordinary weed couldn’t turn into a flower, could it? Genes are fixed, after all.
Bai Da, at best, just looked naive and honest.
What did Ye Xiu see in him?
"Cough cough..." Ye Xiu coughed awkwardly before slowly speaking.
"He used to be quite handsome."
He was passable at least, since Bai Yu and Bai Ye could also look good.
"So, it was his looks that caught your eye?"
Bai Zhi blinked, watching Ye Xiu as she continued speaking, genuinely curious.
"Cough cough cough, how could that be? I fell for him as a person."
Ye Xiu felt awkward again. Why could Xingxing ask such a serious question without even smiling a bit?
No, no, that wasn’t the point—the point was, Xingxing was only ten, right? Why would she ask such a question?
"It’s difficult to answer, you don’t have to."
Bai Zhi saw that Ye Xiu hadn’t responded yet, and she kept alternating between frowning and looking resigned. Was it that difficult to answer?
"No, it’s not, it’s not that hard."
Ye Xiu thought Xingxing was upset and quickly spoke. She thought seriously for a bit, then looked toward the distant hills.
"Xingxing, those days were hard, especially for your grandfather, since his identity was somewhat special. When I came to the village, I was not well-received.
If not for being on your grandmother’s household registration, perhaps those times would have been even tougher.
Back then, it was only your father and another uncle who worked alongside me, not minding that I slowed them down."
Ye Xiu hadn’t indulged in such reminiscence for a long time. After all, she had attended high school, which prepared her to become a teacher.
At that time, she was just a teenage girl who suddenly encountered upheaval, followed her mother back to her hometown, and was then driven out to fend for herself in this village.
It could be said that no one else could have done better than Ye Xiu.