C4 (4)

Seven years later, at the tea room.

"Pfft..." Ziqing couldn't swallow her floral tea and ended up spraying it toward Youyou, who was sitting across from her. Luckily, Youyou deftly dodged, avoiding any tea stains. With a calm expression, she pulled out a few napkins and handed them to Ziqing. "Is this how you welcome me after seven years?"

"It's not April Fool's Day today. Are you pulling my leg?" Ziqing asked as she wiped the tea from her mouth, eyeing Youyou skeptically.

"Exactly! It's not April Fool's, so I'm not joking," Youyou replied with a serious tone, her face showing no hint of deceit or humor.

Still, Ziqing found it hard to believe. She looked Youyou up and down. "Can you blame me for being skeptical? Do you look in the mirror every day? With that tiny waist and those curves, who would believe you're a mom? No one would buy it!"

Youyou took a small sip from her teacup, her tone slightly smug. "I've always been naturally beautiful. My figure has always been like this, what can I say?"

"Ugh..." Ziqing pouted in disbelief. "Look at you, all smug. Your tail's practically wagging. I suggest you tone down the pride a bit!"

"Heh..." Youyou chuckled softly. "Alright, enough about me. How have you been all these years? Still single?"

Ziqing's eyes darted around, trying to deflect. Half-jokingly, she said, "No way I'm still single at my age. If I didn't have a boyfriend by now, people might think there's something wrong with me."

"You've got a boyfriend? What kind of guy is he? Someone who really caught your eye?" Youyou asked, her curiosity piqued, pressing for details.

Ziqing glanced at her, feeling a bit guilty, and then realized she might have been too nosy. "I guess I'm being too inquisitive."

"You'll find out about my situation eventually. But you—it's been seven years, and you come back dropping a bombshell on me. Is your child a boy or a girl?" Ziqing asked with genuine interest.

"A boy."

"He's already six, right?"

"Yeah, six," Youyou replied, taking a sip of tea, as if she were discussing someone else's child, completely detached.

Now it was Ziqing's turn to be curious. She looked at Youyou and asked, "You said the child isn't Zirui's. So, who's the father?"

Youyou stayed silent, and Ziqing awkwardly laughed. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I just never imagined you'd really break up with Zirui. Back then, your relationship was something we all envied. He treated you so well, it made us all jealous..."

Mid-sentence, she realized she had spoken too much: "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up Zirui. I just..."

"It's okay, it's all in the past now. I've moved on," Youyou replied with a nonchalant smile.

"By the way, what kind of work are you doing? Raising a child on your own must be tough," Ziqing asked, looking at her with genuine concern.

"I do hourly jobs, tutoring, and sell things at the night market. I also pick up odd jobs here and there. Basically, I'm busy working all day long without a steady job."