After the Sickly Child Differentiates into A - Chapter 20

The tall, snow-cold woman carried the frail child on her back, sprinting down the track at an astonishing speed.

The wind swept past Lin Li’s ears, carrying Sun Xiaoxiao’s cheers and the exclamations of others.

The sister running before her was entirely different from her usual self Lin Li couldn’t quite describe it, only that her heartbeat quickened with every passing second.

She could hear the thunderous pounding of her own heart.

She was exhilarated.

Wen Jingzhi’s breathing was slightly heavier than usual as she ran. The icy aura of snow mingled with the heat of her breath, like molten lava surging deep beneath a pristine, snow-covered mountain.

This feeling was long-lost, but not unwelcome.

The finish line drew nearer.

Even while clinging to Wen Jingzhi’s back, Lin Li could feel the “mad” speed. She watched as her sister overtook one person after another, sprinting with unwavering determination, yet never missing a single colored marker.

Damn, so cool!

As the person experiencing Wen Jingzhi’s sprint up close, Lin Li was utterly captivated by her speed and agility. She couldn’t help but voice her most genuine admiration in her heart.

She, who should have been a burden, was now being carried by Wen Jingzhi, racing through the wind.

Once again, she felt the exhilaration of running at full speed, the sharp, urgent gasps for air, the wind whipping against her, and the sensation of piercing through the air with her sister’s momentum, as if she were about to take flight against the wind.

In a daze, it felt as though she had once again grasped that elusive, seemingly unattainable.

Freedom.

They reached the finish line.

Wen Jingzhi came to a stop, breathing lightly, a fine sheen of sweat glistening at her temples. She didn’t set Lin Li down, and the latter didn’t urge her to.

Perched on the “giant’s” shoulders, Lin Li gazed back at the “colorful” track they had just run. Her once-dull eyes were now completely alight, and the smile on her wind-chilled face grew wider and wider so full of joy, so vibrant.

The thrill still buzzed in her head.

She wanted to laugh heartily with her hands on her hips, just like her grandmother. She wanted to stand at the edge of a cliff and shout at the top of her lungs.

For the first time in over ten months since arriving at the Wen family, the lifelessness in her eyes was finally ignited by Wen Jingzhi.

Even as the light in her eyes dimmed once more, a spark remained deep within.

Perhaps one day in the future, that spark would grow into a blazing fire, setting her eyes completely ablaze.

Lin Li tightened her arms around Wen Jingzhi’s neck, burying her face in the crook of her shoulder. As the excitement gradually faded, she let out a short, soft laugh.

So amazing, sister.

How could she be this incredible?

So utterly cool.

“Thank you, sister.” For letting her feel the wind of running once again.

Wen Jingzhi’s breathing had already steadied. She heard the child’s barely contained laugh, full of happiness, and she heard the words of gratitude, but she didn’t respond. Instead, she lowered her gaze and allowed a faint smile to curve her lips.

Today’s behavior was far from composed. If Wen Xihe were still here, she would surely have teased her about it.

“Lin Li! Sister Jingzhi!” Sun Xiaoxiao squeezed through the crowd, waving as she approached.

Wen Jingzhi crouched down to set Lin Li on her feet, only standing up again once the child was steady.

“Sister Jingzhi, you’re amazing!” Sun Xiaoxiao exclaimed excitedly as she made her way over. “First place! You ran so fast, and you hit every marker! The teacher could barely keep up with the scoring!”

“So incredible! You were fantastic!”

The children kept repeating the same compliments. Wen Jingzhi lowered her head to adjust her cuffs, thanked them politely, then led the two children away from the track. She found the teacher in charge of the activity and voluntarily requested that both her and Lin Li’s results be disqualified.

The game rules required both parent and child to run together, so Wen Jingzhi’s action technically counted as cheating.

Fortunately, Lin Li wasn’t interested in the small prizes, and the teacher was quite understanding. Although their score wasn’t recorded, Lin Li still received a prize, a small felt bear the size of a child’s palm.

Lin Li wasn’t interested in the felt toy and handed it to Wen Jingzhi like a treasure: “Sister won this.”

Wen Jingzhi raised an eyebrow but didn’t take it: “Don’t you like it?”

“You don’t want it, Lin Li?!” Sun Xiaoxiao loved the little bear. She had also received a felt toy, but hers was a rabbit, she preferred the bear.

Normally, if Wen Jingzhi didn’t want it, Lin Li would have casually given it to Sun Xiaoxiao. But this time, she didn’t want to give it to anyone else.

It held a different meaning.

Sun Xiaoxiao didn’t actually want to swap; she was just confused. Her little mind couldn’t understand why her friend didn’t like the adorable bear. She scrunched up her face: “The bear is so cute, are you sure you don’t like it?”

What’s so cute about it?

Lin Li flashed her signature smile and changed the subject: “Aren’t you going to play anymore?”

Of course she was!

Sun Xiaoxiao had several more games she wanted to try and hoped to play with Lin Li. After hesitating for a few seconds, she asked, “Do you want to come play the games with me?”

“No,” Lin Li shook her head. “I’m tired.”

Since when was she tired?

Little liar.

Wen Jingzhi watched as she smiled softly at Sun Xiaoxiao, even allowing the other girl to hold her hand briefly in a comforting gesture. It was a well-practiced routine of “politely brushing off” that left Sun Xiaoxiao running off happily, without a trace of sadness from being rejected. Wen Jingzhi sighed inwardly, feeling complicated.

“Sister, are you sure you don’t want it?” Lin Li offered the felt bear to Wen Jingzhi again.

Wen Jingzhi shook her head: “You keep it.”

“Okay, thank you, sister.”

Lin Li tucked the felt bear into her pants pocket, went to the registration desk to retrieve her puppy from the teacher, and followed Wen Jingzhi back to the rest area.

Perhaps some of the earlier excitement and joy still lingered. When they returned to the rest area, although Lin Li remained quiet while playing with the puppy, there was a bit more vitality about her, the kind typical of a normal ten-year-old. Her smile also seemed less forced.

Wen Jingzhi noticed that the sadness and heaviness around her had faded and felt satisfied.

At least she was a little happier now.

The activity continued smoothly. Sun Xiaoxiao would run over to play with the puppy alongside Lin Li after each game, then dash off again when the next one started.

She had the boundless energy characteristic of children her age.

In comparison, her own little one seemed far less energetic.

Wen Jingzhi sat beside Lin Li, occasionally glancing at the activities or checking her phone for messages. Most of the time, her gaze lingered on Lin Li, observing and contemplating almost imperceptibly.

At 11:30, the activity ended, and everyone gathered on the steps with a banner hanging on the wall behind them.

It was time for a group photo.

Wen Jingzhi arrived late, holding Lin Li’s hand. The teacher in charge of taking photos spotted Lin Li and smiled, pointing to the leftmost spot in the front row: “This little one can stand here.”

The parent was quite tall, but the child was a bit.

The front row wouldn’t be blocked by others, and the edge position was less likely to obstruct anyone else. It was a suitable spot.

Wen Jingzhi led Lin Li to their spot, and as his gaze swept over the slightly obvious resentment on Lin Li’s face, he couldn’t help but let out a soft, breathy laugh.

It seemed this little one was quite dissatisfied with their height.

Hearing that laugh, Lin Li furrowed their brows and looked up at Wen Jingzhi, a hint of reproach in their eyes that they weren’t even aware of.

It was almost like a pout.

Wen Jingzhi raised an eyebrow and curved his lips into a smile.

“Ready for the photo!”

“3”

“2”

Lin Li was still looking up when a gentle breeze swept by, lifting a few stray strands of hair that stuck up from the child’s head. Wen Jingzhi’s lips quirked slightly as he raised his left hand, pressing his palm against the unruly hair and giving it a gentle ruffle.

The person whose head was being ruffled lifted their gaze to the beautiful face before them, which wore a tender smile, and slowly widened their eyes, their pupils trembling.

“1, Say cheese!”

The moment was frozen in the frame.

“Parents, please stand in two rows, we’re about to take the photo!”

“Lin Li’s grandma, are you ready?”

On the worn-out school playground, over a dozen adults and children stood in two rows on the faded, cracked rubber track. An elderly woman with white hair, leaning on a cane, held the hand of a little girl around six years old, standing about two meters away from the group. Hearing the photographer’s call, the grandmother lifted her cane with her right hand and gently tapped the little girl’s calf with the tip, smiling as she said, “Still upset?”

The little girl’s face was flushed with healthy color, her cheeks still chubby with baby fat, giving her a soft, round appearance. She looked up at her grandmother, huffing angrily, “I don’t want to stand in front of Wang Ergou!”

“That idiot jerk, he ambushed me last time!”

Hearing the familiar curse words, the grandmother guiltily glanced toward the teacher nearby, cleared her throat, and lowered her voice. “Keep it down. I taught you to curse for when you can’t win a fight.”

“And we’re in front of the teacher now. If he hears you, he might think you’re a troublemaker and not want to teach you anymore.”

“Besides, didn’t you already beat him? Why are you still mad?”

The little girl’s expression instantly turned awkward. She bit her lip and mumbled a few indistinct words: “I didn’t out-curse him.”

She only knew a few phrases, and at such a young age, she couldn’t improvise or truly understand the meaning of the curses, she could only repeat them verbatim.

“Ahem!” The grandmother seemed like she wanted to laugh but was afraid of making the child even angrier. She turned her face away to suppress a smile, holding back her laughter as she said, “It’s alright. Grandma will teach you a few more phrases when we get home. Next time, you’ll definitely out-curse him!”

“You’re laughing!” The grandmother couldn’t hold back her smile, which made the little girl puff out her cheeks in frustration. “Grandma, you should be on my side!”

“Alright, alright, I’m on our Xiao You’s side.”

“Grandma, don’t brush me off!”

“Hahahahaha, Grandma isn’t brushing you off, Xiao You. Don’t misunderstand me.”

“Then teach me a few phrases right now! I’ll go curse him out later!”

“Hmm…”

“Lin Li’s grandma, are you ready? It’s time for the photo!”

The teacher’s urging came again.

“We’ll teach you at home, at home. Let’s take the photo first.”

The grandmother quickly led the fuming little girl over, standing at the far left of the front row.

Right behind the little girl was the so-called Wang Ergou, the tallest among the group of kids. The boy had thick eyebrows and somewhat unruly features. When he saw Lin Li take her place, he grinned mischievously and taunted, “Lin Li, how come you’re not growing at all? Are you gonna stay this short forever?”

Lin Li was so angry that she turned around, ready to unleash a tirade. But her grandmother raised a hand and pressed it firmly onto Lin Li’s head, stopping her. Turning her face slightly, the grandmother’s gentle expression vanished, replaced by a sharp, piercing glare directed at the little boy. The boy, intimidated by that gaze as if it had weathered countless battles took a step back in fear, shrinking his neck and turning pale.

“Grandma!” Lin Li reached up and grabbed the hand resting on her head. Though the hand wasn’t heavy or forceful, it felt like an immovable iron weight, impossible to budge. She pouted discontentedly, “Let go, please!”

“Come on, look over here!”

“Three”

“Two”

“Alright, alright, let’s not be angry now.” The grandmother turned slightly, smiling down at the fuming child beneath her hand, and whispered softly, “When we get home, Grandma will teach you something new guaranteed to make him cry.”

“One, cheese!”

The moment froze in the frame.

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