After the Divorce, I Ended Up with My Ex-Husband’s "White Moonlight" [Transmigration] - Chapter 40

“Qin Shi!” Ning Qi opened the door, and a little girl immediately bounced into view. She had two braided pigtails fastened with strawberry clips and wore a pale pink dress. Her eyes were round and bright.

“Is this your cousin?” Ning Qi looked at the child with delight.

Before Qin Shi could even introduce her, the girl called out in a soft, sweet voice, “Hello, Sister Ning! You can call me Xiao Yu’er.”

She held a small bag in her hands. After greeting Ning Qi, she reached out with a chubby little hand to offer it. “This is my favorite cake! Mama made it herself.”

“Come on in!” Ning Qi took the gift, thanked her, and watched as the little girl naturally took her hand and led her into the apartment.

The night before, while chatting on their phones, Ning Qi had asked about the cousin. Qin Shi had immediately asked if she wanted to meet her. Ning Qi had done some research on basic piano pedagogy; in her past life, her parents had hired master teachers for her, so teaching a child the basics should be no problem. Since Qin Shi was so confident in her, Ning Qi felt much more at ease.

“Would you like some water?” Ning Qi lifted Xiao Yu’er onto the sofa. The girl was light, and Ning Qi moved her easily.

“Yes, please,” Xiao Yu’er answered obediently.

“Wait just a second, then.” Ning Qi turned to get some warm water.

“Aren’t you going to ask if your girlfriend is thirsty?” Qin Shi leaned against the counter, picking up a glass of her own.

Oh. She really had forgotten. From the moment they walked in, she hadn’t even had a chance to speak to Qin Shi. Wait, why do I feel like I’ve abandoned her?

The feeling was definitely a hallucination, but it didn’t stop Ning Qi’s feet. She hurried to take the glass from Qin Shi’s hand. “I’m asking! I’m asking right now. Qin Shi, you must be thirsty. I’ll pour you a glass immediately.”

Qin Shi dodged, letting Ning Qi’s hand meet empty air. “You should look after your guest first.”

“She’s not a guest,” Ning Qi said, glancing back at Xiao Yu’er, who was watching them. Ning Qi gave the girl a warm smile.

“Oh?” Qin Shi sounded curious. “Then what is she to you?”

Ning Qi made a show of deep thought, stroking her chin. “She’s my girlfriend’s cousin…” She patted her chest proudly. “So naturally, she’s my sister, too.”

“How can a sister be compared to a mere guest, right?”

Seeing the corners of Qin Shi’s mouth tilt upward in satisfaction, Ning Qi grinned. she grabbed a straw and brought the water over to Xiao Yu’er. “Do you want to drink from the glass or use this?”

“Sister Ning, I want to use the straw!”

“I’ll set it up for you, then.” Ning Qi unwrapped it. She didn’t have kid-friendly cups, but luckily she’d bought some straws recently.

Qin Shi had explained that while they were cousins, their grandfathers were brothers, so the branches weren’t extremely close. However, over the last few years, Xiao Yu’er’s parents had started spending summers in C City, so the families saw more of each other. Xiao Yu’er had taken a liking to Qin Shi and followed her everywhere.

“She’s such a well-behaved girl,” Ning Qi remarked. Xiao Yu’er was sitting quietly on a small stool playing a game, not making any fuss. Ning Qi wondered if this was the same “handful” Qin Shi had described.

“That’s only because she isn’t comfortable with you yet,” Qin Shi laughed. “When she first stayed with me, she was ‘well-behaved’ in my study too.”

“Regardless, I really like her.” Ning Qi didn’t hide her favoritism.

“Your affections move quite fast,” Qin Shi remarked.

“Ahem.” Ning Qi corrected her. “Who could refuse a cute little girl?” She gave Qin Shi a mischievous look. “If you had been this cute as a child, I’m sure I would have liked you then, too.”

“But you probably weren’t the ‘cute’ type.” Ning Qi imagined a tiny Qin Shi and started giggling. Based on how Qin Shi reacted to “childish” things now, she probably had mature tastes even as a toddler.

“What type do you think I was, then?”

“Probably the gentle type,” Ning Qi mused. “Or maybe the ‘cool’ type.” The more she thought about it, the more it fit; the Qin Shi in the original novel was a cold, distant goddess, after all. Though that “coldness” had vanished in Ning Qi’s eyes, she could still see traces of it from their first meetings.

“In that case,” Qin Shi nodded, seemingly pleased. “It’s quite an achievement that I managed to make you change your ‘preferred type.'”

“You…”

Seriously, the self-confidence! After just one night apart, Qin Shi’s narcissism seemed to have leveled up.

“Why don’t you consider that your other virtues are so great they’ve made me overlook your lack of ‘cuteness’?”

“That would also be a credit to my skills,” Qin Shi agreed solemnly.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Ning Qi went over to sit on a small stool next to Xiao Yu’er, watching her work on a puzzle.

“Sister Ning, I finished!” the girl cheered.

“Wonderful job!”

Setting the puzzle aside, Xiao Yu’er asked, “Sister Ning, are you going to teach me piano?”

“That’s right.”

“But I don’t want to learn piano.” Xiao Yu’er’s face crumpled. “It’s too hard. I’ll never learn it!”

Ning Qi looked at Qin Shi for help, but Qin Shi offered nothing. Ning Qi turned back and asked softly, “Then why did you come here to learn with me?”

“Because Sister Qin said that if I stayed home, Mama would find a very strict teacher. But if I came here, I could learn from a ‘pretty sister.'” Xiao Yu’er relayed Qin Shi’s words verbatim, right in front of her.

Ning Qi stared at the girl, then laughed internally. Well, you’re certainly honest! And very practical.

“And I really did find a pretty lady, so I know Sister Qin didn’t lie to me.” Xiao Yu’er cheered, then blinked her big eyes. “Sister Ning, can I play a little longer?”

“Sure,” Ning Qi said weakly.

“Yay! Sister Ning, I love you!”

I don’t need that kind of love, thank you, Ning Qi thought, though the girl’s sweet talk was undeniably charming.

Qin Shi walked over and knelt down. “Xiao Yu’er, you can’t just say those three words to anyone.”

“Why not?” the girl asked, not stopping her game. “Mama says that to me all the time at home.”

“That’s different,” Qin Shi corrected.

“How is it different?” Xiao Yu’er stopped her game and looked up earnestly.

“Qin Shi…” Ning Qi tugged at the corner of Qin Shi’s shirt, signaling her to stop. She didn’t think they should be discussing the nuances of romantic vs. familial love with a child.

“The emotion is different,” Qin Shi answered anyway, taking the question seriously.

“Oh.” Xiao Yu’er looked back at her toys for a few seconds, then looked up again. “Sister Qin, have you said it to Sister Ning?”

Ning Qi: “…”

This is why you don’t talk to kids about this! Ning Qi looked away, her face heating up. But Xiao Yu’er’s next words nearly gave her a heart attack.

“Papa says ‘I love you’ to Mama. Sister Qin, didn’t you say when we were coming over that you and Sister Ning have that kind of relationship? So why don’t you say it?”

Ning Qi’s annoyance turned into a strange sense of vindictive satisfaction when she saw Qin Shi rendered speechless. That’s what you get for talking nonsense to a child all day. Karma!

“You’re right.” After a brief pause, Qin Shi actually agreed with the child’s logic. Then, she turned to look directly at Ning Qi.

Wait… what is she doing? Ning Qi saw Qin Shi’s lips begin to move and had a very bad feeling.

“I love you,” Qin Shi said. She was facing Ning Qi, and there was no doubt who the words were for. Her pace was steady, her voice clear. It was impossible to ignore.

Ning Qi froze on the spot. It wasn’t until Xiao Yu’er chirped, “That’s just how Papa says it to Mama!” that she snapped out of it.

Her face was now completely crimson. She ducked her head, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her whole.

Qin Shi, however, wasn’t shy at all. She acted as if she hadn’t just dropped a bombshell. She turned back to Xiao Yu’er and said calmly, “So, next time, you aren’t allowed to say those three words to Sister Ning, okay?”

“I know, Sister Qin!” Xiao Yu’er, sensing the shift in the “territory,” answered quickly.

“Good girl.” Qin Shi was immensely satisfied. “You can play for a while longer.”

“Sister Qin, you’re the best!”

The child’s attention quickly shifted to a new toy. As for Qin Shi standing up to walk away, that was no longer her concern.

“Let’s go.” Seeing Ning Qi still frozen on the tiny stool, her head buried low, Qin Shi laughed and gently pulled her up.