She still slowly approached him, not looking at his expression, and gently hugged him.
"Thank you, Officer Chen," she said softly, burying her head against his shoulder.
The man was a little surprised, but then he returned the embrace, lowering his head to kiss her forehead. "You don't mind the smell of smoke on me anymore?" he asked in a low voice.
She shook her head gently, then thought of something and looked up at him, asking earnestly, "How come I didn't know you smoked?"
"I don't smoke often. If you don't like it, I'll quit."
"Mm, I don't like it."
"Okay, I'll quit."
He smiled, looking at her beautiful appearance at that moment, and lowered his head to kiss her lips.
Today ended on a happy note.
The store manager pulled Su Yue aside and asked a photographer with experience in the store to take a few pictures, stating they would be used in the company's annual report as a case study for their styling.
Su Yue also got the original files, and since she was short on material lately, she could use them to post on social media.
When she got home that evening, Chen Ziming said there was something going on at the station and he had to go. Bored, Su Yue took a bath, lay on her bed, and started editing photos.
Her mother suddenly called.
"Mom," she said after answering.
"Yueyue, are you going to have summer vacation soon?" Jiang Ling was drinking tea on the balcony at home. Su Minghua had gone out to dinner with friends, leaving her alone and a little bored.
"Yes, in two weeks." She answered truthfully.
She had complex feelings towards her mother.
She must love her mother.
Jiang Ling was married off by her family at seventeen and soon became pregnant with Su Yue. Su Yue's biological father was good to her at first, but then he developed a drinking habit.
When drunk, he would come home and beat her.
At those times, she would lock Su Yue in the bathroom, telling her to bolt the door so she wouldn't get hurt.
But a few times, it was too late. Su Yue saw her mother bleeding from being beaten and would cry out, trying to protect her. The drunkard would then shift his attention to her, swinging his fists.
At such moments, Jiang Ling would rush forward, shielding Su Yue in her arms, and beg the drunkard to stop for a moment, to settle her daughter, and she would come back to let him vent.
This nightmarish period lasted until she was five. One day, the drunkard never came home again; instead, the police showed up.
When five-year-old Su Yue learned that man was dead, she actually smiled. All she could think about was her mother and that they wouldn't have to be beaten anymore.
However, the following days were not easy either. Their apartment was rented. Previously, the drunkard paid the rent monthly and provided some living expenses, allowing mother and daughter to barely make ends meet.
But the rent was due soon, and living expenses were dwindling. Su Yue was still in kindergarten, and tuition and food fees were pending.
The people she should have called grandfather and grandmother ignored them. Jiang Ling's family was far away, lived in poverty, and practiced male chauvinism. They had cut ties with her after she got married.
With no other option, Jiang Ling found a job as a service worker with accommodation. She took Su Yue with her, and they squeezed onto a small bunk bed, enduring it for two years.
Fortunately, the aunts in the staff dormitory were very fond of Su Yue. They would take turns picking her up, buying her snacks, and even taking her out to play during their days off. The boss was also kind-hearted. During Su Yue's vacations, he let her play in the store, do her homework in an empty private room, and when he wasn't busy, he would have the chef make her delicious meals to give her some nourishment.
Whenever she recalled that time, Su Yue would stare blankly at the sky. Over ten years had passed, and she had lost contact with those aunts and uncles, but their kindness had truly warmed her otherwise tragic childhood.
She also missed her mother even more. As a child, she didn't understand, but now that she was an adult, she could comprehend how much her mother had endured and suffered to create a space for her to survive and grow.
But later, Su Minghua appeared. She thought it was a gift from fate, but she didn't expect him to have such sordid intentions.
She didn't want to tell her mother. Seeing her mother happy, and thinking of the grievances she had suffered in the past, she couldn't bear to see her heartbroken again.
But her mother always sided with Su Minghua, listening to everything he said, including arrangements for her life. This made her very resistant and sad for a long time. Especially recently, when her mother pretended to be ill to trick her home, she showed her resistance, but her mother still pushed her to talk to Su Minghua.
It made her, suddenly, hate her a little.
With these complex emotions, she hadn't really talked to her mother in a long time.