Note: As in the previous chapter, all instances of Ms. Wu would actually have meant "Big Sister Wu" (吴姐) to denotes a close relationship that Mo Sui has yet to display with anyone else. Mo Sui's assistant later makes a brief appearance and uses the same term of endearment to Agent Wu (吴姐) and Mo Sui (莫穗姐) in the same way as Mo Sui does.

Dr. Lin’s psychology clinic was not located in a populated area. He was the only doctor in the clinic, and only saw patients by appointment. Here, it was impossible to come across anyone other than the doctor or the nurses. Thus, Mo Sui pushed open the door without any reservations.

As she opened the door, a clear and pleasing chime rang out within the clinic. A young nurse tidying patient records at the reception looked up at Mo Sui, who stood tall and slender, wearing a simple knit short-sleeve and lightly-flared jeans that outlined her good figure. To the nurse, every gesture of hers seemed to emanate loftiness from her very bones.

Mo Sui approached the nurse. She did not take off her sunglasses or hat, leaving most of her face obscured, showing only her pale and delicate skin.

“Appointment for 10AM.”

The nurse confirmed the information, then gestured Mo Sui inside and warmly said, “Ms. Mo, I’ll take you there.”

Mo Sui paused in her steps. She usually went in by herself. In this line of work, patient privacy was of utmost importance. The staff turnover was quite low, and in the end, there were only a few staff members, each of whom were highly professional and spoke little. She’d met with this little nurse quite a few times already, so why was she suddenly so friendly this time?

Mo Sui didn’t inquire further. She walked towards the consultation room. Still, out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that the nurse seemed to want to say something, before closing her mouth again, flushing all the way to her ears.

Some time later, the nurse finally plucked up her courage. “Ms. Mo, I really like—”

This was something Mo Sui had long grown accustomed to, having so many fans. She was about to give some perfunctory thanks, but what the little nurse said next made her swallow her words.

“—your intern daughter, An An!” the nurse managed to say. She visibly relaxed.

Mo Sui: “...”

“An An is really too cute! I’ve never seen a child this cute or this loveable. Ms. Mo, you have to treat her well!”

Mo Sui: “...Okay.”

... ...

The consultation room was very simple. The warm lighting inside was comforting and made people feel at ease.

Dr. Lin invited Mo Sui to sit down. He smiled warmly and said, “Ms. Mo, how have you been these days?”

Mo Sui removed her hat and sunglasses to reveal her impossibly perfect face. What followed was a regular consultation. Even without Dr. Lin saying so, she could feel that her mental state had stabilized, and that the tense nerves throughout her body were slowly relaxing.

“Talking, crying and getting angry are all ways of letting you vent out your negative emotions. But it’s also very clear that these methods don’t suit you.” Dr. Lin clasped his hands together and tilted slightly forward. “So, we then look for other ways, such as your current variety show.

“You’ve been living under public scrutiny since your teen years. This time, face the pain in the manner you are used to, and overcome it.

“Ms. Mo, your situation has already improved by a lot. You’ve cut down on alcohol, and your sleep is improving. These are all good signs.”

Mo Sui said, “But I still have some reservations about the child. I’m afraid I’ll hurt her.”

“You won’t. If you were the sort of person who would hurt others, then you wouldn’t have tormented yourself for so long.” Dr. Lin smiled again and said, “I’ve watched the clips online. You made her food, brought her a water bottle, and even knew not to let kids eat too much cake before bedtime.”

Cake... Mo Sui’s gaze wavered.

Seeing the irritation flash in her eyes, Dr. Lin smiled even wider. “Occasionally breaking past a strict way of living, and learning to indulge yourself moderately, is also a form of treatment.

“Delicious food, music, exercise, even taking care of hygiene and cleanliness... all those can help your mood.

“Ms. Mo, don’t punish yourself anymore. The accident that year was not your fault.”

At the mention of that accident, Mo Sui’s gaze dimmed. She lowered her eyes and turned her face away.

Dr. Lin didn’t continue on, and gave her time to think on it. He couldn’t help recalling the scene when Mo Sui first came to the clinic. At the time, she hadn’t slept for several days, and her face was ashen. It was her first time trying to seek out a doctor’s help. But she was too conflicted: on one hand, she realized she needed treatment; on the other, she refused to let a doctor into her inner world.

Dr. Lin spent a long year slowly building Mo Sui’s trust in him. In his capacity as a professional, he recommended she accept the invitation from the variety show 《 Intern Parents 》and try to undo the knot in her heart.

Dr. Lin believed he made the right recommendation. After all, the last time he brought up “the accident that year,” Mo Sui became very emotional. Her reaction this time was much better; this was a good sign.

... ...

An An felt that being with the agent auntie wasn’t as interesting as being with her intern mother. Even though her intern mother was usually silent, while Auntie Wu had lots to say, An An still preferred to follow her intern mother around instead.

The little dumpling had just learned to read the clock with Auntie Wu’s help. She looked up at the wall clock again and again, waiting for her intern mother to come home.

After making An An lunch, Ms. Wu let the kid sit and eat at the dining table by herself, and went to clean up the kitchen. Half an hour after eating lunch, it was time for a midday nap. The little dumpling returned to the children’s room obediently without needing to be coaxed. She dozed off while holding the plushie.

Meanwhile, it was still early. Ms. Wu took out a mop and a cleaning rag, and began to clean the apartment inside out.

The audience were originally waiting for Mo Sui to return, just like An An. But as they waited, the livestream’s vibe changed. The more Ms. Wu cleaned, the more she got into it. She began to explain to the audience with a pair of regular plastic gloves on.

“The stain on this surface is hard to clean. But add a bit of vinegar and baking soda, and the stain will be easily wiped off. It can even kill germs.

“The kitchen hood is the hardest to clean. Just line a few layers of paper towel or saran wrap inside and it won’t accumulate grease anymore.

“And also...”

The variety show livestream morphed into a housekeeping livestream. For a while, the audience couldn’t decide whether to click out of the livestream room, or stay and wait for Mo Sui to come back. No one expected that, as they watched on, they themselves grew interested. In the end, quite a few people silently went to look for their own baking soda and saran wrap.

So, it turned out that cleaning could be quite relaxing?

... ...

Mo Sui returned not long after An An woke up from her nap. She’d just walked in, and was looking for a pair of slippers, when she saw a chubby figure suddenly appear like the wind.

Before she could react, there was already a pair of slippers by her feet. An An smiled up at her widely with adorably neat white milk teeth, face pink like a little peach.

Mo Sui froze for a moment. From childhood, she had always been and gone about alone^[1]. She’d never had anyone waiting at home for her.

But obviously, now there was An An waiting for her to come back.

【 Ahhh, another day of wanting to bring the cub home and raise myself. 】
【 An An really likes Mo Sui, right? Else, why would she stick this intern mother the most? Conspiracy theory, could the program team have told her to do so... 】
【 Little kids don’t know understand things like program results or scripts. Anyone who’s nice to her, she’ll stick to them. Mo Sui’s personality is a little cold, but she treats An An well. It’s not as if liking the kid means she has to say it. 】
【 The kid is young, but she’s not dumb. Her heart is clear like a mirror. 】

Some viewers still wanted to argue in the bullet comments area, but at the healing sight of An An’s warm smile, could only pull their fingers back from their phones’ onscreen keyboard.

And not just the viewers, even Mo Sui herself felt like a strange feeling arose in her heart, as if someone had gently brushed a feather across it.

“An An was happily playing with the doll before, but then she’d asked me every five minutes if you’d returned or not.

“She really loves that toy, but as soon as she heard you open the door, she immediately ran over.

“It’s strange, you’ve only been together for about a day and a half, right? How come you’re getting along so well?”

Ms. Wu was working hard on brainwashing the audience members. Ever since the matter of Mo Sui secretly eating cake blew up on trending topics, she’d realized that a female celebrity who usually ate like a glutton would never be able to trend even if she ate a huge Manchu-Han Imperial Feast ^[2].

That Mo Sui did trend was firstly because of her Movie Empress Halo, and secondly because she suddenly no longer seemed so lofty and out of reach. Similarly, for a cold and reserved person to get along with cute little cub, that should also give the same feeling, right?

Ms. Wu continued to speak along those lines, until Mo Sui finally cut in heartlessly. “Ms. Wu, have you brought the lipstick to my aunt for me yet?”

Only then did Ms. Wu remember. “I forgot. Beside that shade of lipstick, you also wanted to add a set of skincare products, right? It’s too late now, how about I go tomorrow—”

“There’s still time, please hurry.” Mo Sui passed over Ms. Wu’s laptop and escorted her out.

【 She finally left, that agent is really noisy. 】
【 Although she’s a good person, but she really wouldn’t stop talking... 】
【 Mo Sui is the type to have a cold exterior and a soft interior. Yesterday her aunt asked for the same shade of lipstick, she still remembers it now. 】
【 I also want to wear the same shade as the movie empress! 】
【 +1 upstairs 】

After the elevator reached the basement, Ms. Wu went to start the car, preparing to bring the lipstick over to the artist’s aunt. At that moment, just as the car started, her phone rang. It was Mo Sui’s personal assistant.

“Ms. Wu, I think Ms. Mo Sui forgot something. She said her husband would be on a business trip for three days, but today’s already the third day of live filming.”

She’d forgotten about this as well.

“There are more and more viewers in the live broadcast room, there will definitely be people who’ll remember that. Ms. Wu, has Ms. Mo Sui’s husband returned from his trip yet?”

Ms. Wu lapsed into silence. She’d already reached out to Mr. Gu’s assistant, and learned that he hadn’t left on any business trip. Simply put, Mo Sui didn’t want him to join the show, and had found some random excuse.

To be honest, Ms. Wu didn’t want the two of them to appear together either. Most people probably imagined the movie empress’ marriage as a beautiful scene straight out of a fairytale. But though Mo Sui and Mr. Gu seemed to be a match for each other from the outside, their marriage was actually on the verge of collapsing. Just thinking about it made her head hurt.

She couldn’t let this dirty laundry be aired out in public. A dozen or so days of filming would pass by quickly. If she could delay his appearance, then let her. Still, just how long could she delay it for?

... ...

Indeed, the bullet comment area were already bringing up the movie empress’ husband. It was only that they had only just started discussing him, when someone knocked at the door.

The door opened to a beautiful face. Ruan Qingqing gave Mo Sui a big hug. “Sui Sui, we’re finally on a show together.”

Mo Sui didn’t hug her back. Her hand remained frozen mid-air, as if stunned. At her side, Ruan Qingqing’s daughter Qiqi also gave An An a big hug.

【 So Ruan Qingqing and Mo Sui were already friends? 】
【 This mother-daughter pair is so cute, just like two little suns, so warm and friendly! 】
【 I really love Ruan Qingqing and Qiqi, I thought they were only joining tomorrow, I didn’t expect them to come on this quickly! 】

An An blinked. She looked curiously at Qiqi and Ruan Qingqing, before finally realizing something.

Before, she thought Zhuang Ruyin seemed familiar, because she’d seen this “cannon fodder who couldn’t last three days” in a dream.

And as for this auntie who’d just moved in, the little dumpling was even more familiar.