[1]
The Nancy Empress heard out this whole string of a story.
She roughly guessed just what had happened.
It must have been Nannan's own idea, to come here looking for her family, looking for her mommy.
Only, unexpectedly, she had run into Zhao Chen.
As for how Nannan came to be Zhao Chen's child,
the secret behind it was probably known only to Chu Xuan herself.
"Mommy, are you angry?" Nannan looked at Chu Xuan, who was walking somewhat hurriedly, and asked carefully.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because Mommy has never walked this fast before. Is it because Nannan suddenly came to find Mommy that Mommy is angry with Nannan? If that's it, then Nannan will go back, and Mommy won't be angry, okay?" Nannan tugged at the hem of Chu Xuan's clothes and said timidly.
In front of outsiders, Nannan behaved like a big child.
But in front of Chu Xuan, she was a little marshmallow.
"Mommy isn't angry. Did Nannan miss Mommy?" Chu Xuan pinched Nannan's cheek.
She put Nannan into a hover car and sat beside her.
The hover car shut its doors and began flying by itself toward Chu Xuan's residence in the Dragon Palace Starport.
As leaders of the Fierce Dragon Kingdom, people like them
all had residences of their own in the Dragon Palace Starport,
for resting in when they came here.
"Mm, Nannan missed Mommy very much. Though Mommy video-calls Nannan, Nannan wants to hug Mommy, wants to smell Mommy's nice smell. Nannan wanted to see Mommy."
As she spoke, Nannan took a drawing out of her backpack.
This one was a color drawing, and in it were Nannan and Chu Xuan, standing on a beach.
And beside them was a barbecue grill with steaming grilled meat on it, and a figure with its back to the viewer.
"Mommy's birthday is in a few days. Nannan wanted to give Mommy a birthday present. Mommy, don't be unhappy. Take your birthday present. Nannan will go back right now. Nannan will be good and do as she's told, and wait at home for Mommy." Nannan held out the color drawing before Chu Xuan.
Gazing at this drawing, Chu Xuan felt as if her heart had been blown through by the super-cannon of a T10 starship.
She caught her daughter up in her arms.
"Nannan did nothing wrong, and Mommy isn't angry with Nannan either. It's Mommy's fault; Mommy hasn't been by Nannan's side. Nannan doesn't have to go either. Didn't Nannan want to celebrate Mommy's birthday? Then stay here, all right? Stay a few more days with Mommy." Chu Xuan held back the tears in her eyes.
She knew very well she owed her daughter far too much.
Nannan had lived from infancy without a father, and even the time Chu Xuan herself had spent by Nannan's side, all these years together, might not come to a month.
She was not a proper mother.
And Nannan was very sensible, never fussing, never making trouble.
Every day she would send her messages; even when Chu Xuan did not reply, she never had a word of complaint.
She just kept sending them every day, rain or shine,
telling her what she had eaten today, what happy things had happened to her at school.
And from first to last there had never appeared that one sentence:
she… missed Mommy.
Though this sentence was never written,
every word Nannan sent every day was saying it at every moment.
Only she knew, sensible as she was, that when Mommy saw those words, Mommy would hurt.
If Mommy hurt, Nannan would be unhappy.
So Nannan did not send them.