Transmigrated as the Top-Tier Alpha's Secretly Married Ex-Wife - Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Su Tuantuan returned to her hometown secretly, without telling anyone, not even Sister Zhou.

She couldn’t exactly explain why she was going back. Perhaps it was simply to visit her grandmother, or perhaps it was to retrieve the memories that didn’t belong to her.

When she stood in front of the old house, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

The house was very dilapidated, locked, and untouched since the old lady passed away years ago, with no other relatives coming to pay respects. Su Tuantuan unlocked it. The small single room was covered with newspapers to keep the dust off, and stepping inside, everything was thick with dust.

She tried to open the rusted, broken window, but it wouldn’t budge after several attempts. Mo Xian had to push hard, releasing a cloud of dust onto both of them. Su Tuantuan inhaled a lungful of dust and started choking.

Mo Xian handed her a disposable surgical mask. “Put this on.”

Su Tuantuan silently took it and put it on, then started uncovering all the newspapers.

The small single room wasn’t big: a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk were all it contained.

A small folding table stood against the wall, looking quite old. The wall was covered with many faded posters, clearly featuring the former Mo Xian.

A honeycomb briquette stove leaned in the corner. Su Tuantuan could almost imagine the grandmother and granddaughter huddling around it for warmth in the winter.

It was strange.

She wasn’t the original “Su Tuantuan,” yet when she closed her eyes, her grandmother’s face was clearly visible.

Her grandmother’s portrait was kept in the wardrobe. The wardrobe didn’t hold many clothes, revealing how poor their life was. Su Tuantuan sat quietly by the bed for a while, and Mo Xian didn’t interrupt her thoughts.

As the sky gradually darkened, perhaps having sat long enough, Su Tuantuan got up to leave. Mo Xian, standing nearby, made a move, but Su Tuantuan stopped her. “I’m stepping out for a bit. Wait here.”

Su Tuantuan returned shortly with a bucket and a mop, and she started repeatedly mopping the dusty cement floor.

The room clearly looked like the original owner had meticulously tidied it up. There was no trash, and everything was intact and in its proper place. Mo Xian found a rag and started wiping the windows and desk, which Su Tuantuan didn’t stop. They worked until it was nearly dark, and then heard voices in the hallway.

Then a man’s voice called out, “Tuanzi? You’re back?”

Su Tuantuan straightened up, resting her elbow on the mop, and looked over. A man with graying hair waved at her. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back? Do you see Uncle Liang as an outsider? Aunt Liu said you came to borrow a mop. I figured you haven’t been back in two years, and now you’re cleaning. No one lives here anyway.”

The man also noticed Mo Xian beside her. “Isn’t this… isn’t that… who is that? The idol! Your Aunt Liu made braised pork for you. Come up to the house for dinner later!”

Su Tuantuan paused, then accepted. “Okay.”

She bent down to continue cleaning. The man chuckled. “Alright, I won’t bother you two anymore. Come up after you finish. I’ll ask Pingping to come down and help you.”

The man went upstairs, and soon after, a girl of fifteen or sixteen came down. She was wearing a school uniform with her hair tied in a ponytail. Before she even entered the room, she called out “Sister!” But seeing Mo Xian, she became a bit shy.

Su Tuantuan figured this was Pingping. She briefly introduced Mo Xian. Pingping didn’t mind having an idol around and happily cleaned with Su Tuantuan, chattering away.

When they were mostly finished, Pingping helped carry the bucket and mop home. Her family lived on the second floor, right above. Pingping swung her ponytail and called out “Mom and Dad!” with high spirits. The door wasn’t locked. She pushed it open and welcomed Su Tuantuan and Mo Xian inside.

Su Tuantuan also felt a familiar comfort here.

“Smells so good!”

Pingping went to the kitchen to help, then brought out fruit to entertain the guests. “Sister Tuanzi, I wore the sailor uniform you ordered for me last time to the school art performance this year. It was a sensation! They even recorded a video of me.”

Pingping excitedly got her tablet to show Su Tuantuan. Su Tuantuan responded and sat on the sofa with her.

Pingping clicked on the video. Su Tuantuan watched for a while. Mo Xian went to the kitchen to ask if they needed help. Su Tuantuan, staring at the girl dancing on the screen, whispered, “Pingping, when did I come back last time?”

Pingping tilted her head, thinking. “Two years ago, I think. You bought me the sailor uniform around then too.”

Su Tuantuan stroked her head. “You’ve grown taller.”

Pingping grinned.

Just then, Uncle Liang came out of the kitchen carrying a dish. He motioned for Mo Xian to come out and eat some fruit. Su Tuantuan asked, “Uncle Liang, is the convenience store business doing well?”

“Well? Not really. They say this whole area is going to be demolished soon. Not many people go there anymore. The night market was torn down last year. It gets by every day, but it’s not a bother.”

Uncle Liang smiled. “You’ve been too busy with work these past two years. I see your movies and TV shows coming out all the time. Young people, focusing on your career is right! You have a future. You can’t be stuck in this small place forever!”

Su Tuantuan smiled weakly. Aunt Liu came out with the last dish. “I’ve been cooking since the afternoon when I heard you were back. Come on, see if these are all your favorites?”

Pingping pulled her over. Su Tuantuan called Mo Xian over. The table was set with five dishes: a plate of braised pork, one of shredded potatoes with green peppers, one of braised chicken wings, one of steamed fish, and a plate of braised prawns.

Pingping was scooping rice. “My classmates are so envious that I have an actress sister. They keep asking me how to get into acting school, but their parents definitely won’t let them. Besides, they’re not pretty, so they have no chance!”

Su Tuantuan was amused and ruffled her hair. She chose some dishes for Mo Xian, unsure if Mo Xian would like the home cooking. She ate slowly. The flavors felt strangely familiar.

It seemed that long ago, Uncle Liang and Aunt Liu hired the original owner to work at the convenience store, only on holidays and during lunch breaks and after school, so the original owner could study there.

Essentially, this family covered her lunch and dinner.

When her grandmother was sick in high school, cooking was difficult. They were helping her with the greatest kindness.

Su Tuantuan stopped eating mid-meal. Aunt Liu put two large prawns on her plate. “Is it not tasty? Don’t mind my cooking, dear. I haven’t improved at all over the years.”

Su Tuantuan buried her face in her rice bowl, tears falling onto the rice. She tried to control her emotions and said, “No, it’s fine.”

She thought she could hold it in, but she couldn’t. She put down her chopsticks and rushed to the bathroom, closing the door and splashing cold water on her face.

She turned on the light and looked at herself in the mirror.

She felt like a stranger, so strange.

Yet everything here was so clear and vivid.

Her memories of reality were gradually fading. She found that the more familiar this place felt, the easier it was to forget things from the real world.

This stemmed from fear.

And from the unknown.

She stood dazed for a while, then heard a knock. Mo Xian asked from outside, “Tuantuan, are you okay?”

Su Tuantuan wiped away a tear and adjusted her mood. She took a deep breath, telling herself that from now on, no matter what, she would just be Su Tuantuan.

The Su Tuantuan who was stubborn and willful for love.

She would just be her.

Su Tuantuan said muffledly, “I’m fine.”

She quickly composed herself and went out. Aunt Liu’s eyes were also red. Uncle Liang, who was smoking, immediately put out his cigarette when he saw her. “Tuanzi, did something happen to you?”

Su Tuantuan shook her head and sat down again. “I’m just happy.”

She smiled, although she didn’t look happy at all.

“I’m very happy to be back here and to see Uncle Liang, Aunt Liu, and Pingping again. I’ll come back to see you all more often from now on.”

She raised the glass of juice. “This place feels like home. Thank you so much for all the help you’ve given me, Uncle Liang and Aunt Liu…”

“Why are you saying all this?”

Aunt Liu also smiled. “Tuantuan, we watched you grow up. We know you’re a child who has always been preoccupied, doesn’t like to talk to people, and likes to shoulder everything on your own.”

“But we are all here. We can’t help with big things, but we can help with what we can.”

“Just come back whenever you miss home. Even though Grandma is gone, Uncle and Aunt, and your sister, can still keep you company for a while.”

Su Tuantuan smiled, raising her juice glass. “Cheers.”

The family’s glasses clinked together. Mo Xian looked at her and grasped her hand under the table.

Su Tuantuan smiled back at her, a smile of both comfort and contentment.

No matter what.

She brought Mo Xian here.

Not just to help herself accept the past, but also to let Mo Xian accept all of it.

Su Tuantuan slept with Pingping that night. Mo Xian slept on Pingping’s bed. Aunt Liu pulled Su Tuantuan aside for a private chat. Su Tuantuan agreed to her suggestions. Aunt Liu then went to change the sheets for Mo Xian and told Pingping to take clean bedding downstairs to sleep.

The energetic child insisted on chatting with Su Tuantuan in bed, but Su Tuantuan finally said she was tired, and Pingping relented. She closed her eyes and was asleep immediately.

Su Tuantuan couldn’t sleep.

She put on a coat and went out. The weather hadn’t warmed up; cold wind whipped into her collar. She was wearing the woolen slippers knitted by Aunt Liu.

She hugged her coat around her and walked a circuit around the old courtyard, finally stopping just outside the brick wall by the entrance, where she lit a cigarette.

The motorcycle repair shop across the way and the small noodle shop were all closed.

There were no streetlights, only two light bulbs hanging by the door, casting her shadow long behind her. A few dogs barked in the night. It was too late, and even the moon was hidden.

Extremely faint footsteps sounded behind her.

She didn’t turn around, knowing it must be Mo Xian.

Mo Xian was wearing a thick cotton-padded coat and brought out a warmer jacket for Su Tuantuan, placing it over her existing coat. Su Tuantuan whispered, “Mo Xian, I feel like I lost so much in the past two years, and now I’m just beginning to find a little bit of it back.”

She felt insecure everywhere.

Even in the real world, she had no deep attachment to her birth parents.

But returning to this run-down place, seeing the tiny room, seeing Uncle Liang and Aunt Liu’s family, she felt like this was her belonging.

Like the nest a weary bird should return to.

Mo Xian took the cigarette from Su Tuantuan’s mouth, put it in her own, and took a puff. “People always lose things, but they also always find some things back. To be able to find things again is a great fortune. If something can’t be found, then you can’t force it.”

Su Tuantuan looked up at her.

Mo Xian looked back at her. Their eyes were hidden in the darkness. The wind blew. The cigarette was almost finished. Mo Xian stamped out the butt. “I came to Lincheng a long time ago.”

Su Tuantuan didn’t speak, listening quietly.

Their shadows merged again, embracing.

“I had just signed a contract then. I didn’t know what the future held. I was nervous, but I didn’t have high expectations. I ran out after arguing with someone, and it started raining. I went into a convenience store.”

“I saw a girl there, buried in memorizing lines, eating instant noodles while she studied. She might not have been very smart, repeating one word many times, and then—”

She paused. “I saw the handwritten labels the girl in the convenience store had made, with small drawings on each product. I thought to myself.”

“A person who can hold onto love and thrive in adversity, how bad can she possibly be?”

Mo Xian looked down and smiled. “So, I gave her a lollipop.”

“It was so long ago that I can barely remember, but today, I saw the notes you wrote on the poster.”

Mo Xian apologized sincerely. “I never recognized that it was you. And I never expected that I would have such an… such an unusual encounter with a convenience store girl.”

She had originally forgotten the incident.

But she wasn’t the kind of person to easily give lollipops to strangers.

So, once the location and context were established, she recalled the tiny detail.

“I’m sorry.”

Mo Xian touched Su Tuantuan’s cheek, which was cold from the wind. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to know you sooner.”