Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  “It’s okay, take it slow. When you really master it one day, it will blow your mind because it makes everything so easy!” Xie Jingqian elbowed Lin Nuan’s arm with smug confidence. “Come on, let’s go have breakfast!”


  As she spoke, her gaze fell on the bedside table. There was a single rose on the table and a note under the rose.

  Lin Nuan’s head was throbbing. She massaged her temples, regretting drinking so much last night.

  “I need to rest for a while more,” Lin Nuan said in a fatigued voice.

  Xie Jingqian had just as much to drink as her last night, but she seemed well today. Lin Nuan realized that it was true that different people had different capacities for liquor.

  “Idol, you’re not a very good drinker!” Xie Jingqian didn’t insist on Lin Nuan going. She stood up and walked to the bedside table to pick up the rose and note.

  Droplets of morning dew were sprinkled on the fresh rose, which was blooming beautifully.

  It was Fu Huai’an’s firm handwriting on the white post-it note.

  ‘Mrs. Fu, remember to have your breakfast. Give me a call when you’re awake, and I’ll be back to fetch you. From your hubby, Mr. Fu.’


  Xie Jingqian raised her head and turned to look at Lin Nuan, who was still massaging her temples. She didn’t speak and placed the rose and note back on the table quietly.

  It was a surprise from Mr. Fu to Mrs. Fu, and Mrs. Fu should be the one who discovered it for herself.

  Seeing how miserable Lin Nuan looked, Xie Jingqian glanced at her watch and told Lin Nuan to have a good rest and that she was leaving.

  It was Xie Jingqian and Ji Zibai’s wedding tomorrow, and she had to rush back to the Xie family mansion in the countryside to make preparations. Before she left, Xie Jingqian said to Lin Nuan, “Please be there earlier tomorrow, see you at the hall!”


  Lin Nuan nodded. She got up and sent Xie Jingqian to the door before going back to the room and laying down on the bed to continue sleeping.

  Lin Nuan finally woke up again at around 10:30 a.m. Her head was no longer throbbing as badly, but she still felt groggy.

  She went into the bathroom and supported herself against the marble tabletop of the bathroom sink. With brows furrowed, she closed her eyes to slow down the throbbing in her head.

  When she felt better, Lin Nuan opened her eyes and brushed her teeth. As she looked at herself in the mirror, under the warm lights, she saw that her hair was disheveled and frizzy. Her silk pajamas were full of creases, and she looked unkempt.

  Lin Nuan bit on her toothbrush as she arranged her hair with her hands and tied it into a ponytail with the hair tie on her wrist. She was just about to start brushing her teeth when she stopped short, the hand that was clutching the toothpaste tensing up…


  She looked at herself in the mirror… she was wearing silk pajamas.

  Lin Nuan lowered her head and glanced at her pajamas; she couldn’t recall when she had changed into pajamas last night.

  She remembered that she and Xie Jingqian drank too much and had fallen asleep by the windows. Later… she vaguely recalled having seen Fu Huai’an, and she went to the bathroom and…


  Lin Nuan suddenly recalled Fu Huai’an carrying her into the bathroom, and she had sat on the toilet bowl and relieved herself in front of him. He had been the one who helped her wash her face and hands!

  Her heart was racing. It wasn’t so bad to have Fu Huai’an help her change out of her clothes, but how could she have relieved herself on the toilet bowl in front of him? It was so embarrassing!

  Lin Nuan wiped the foam from the edge of her mouth. Her face was burning hot, and she could not keep still.

  Her head started throbbing along with the thumping of her heart. She shut her eyes as she felt immense regret over having drank too much. Alcohol could really do great harm.

  Her phone, which was lying on top of the bedside table, rang. Lin Nuan spit out the foam, put the toothbrush down, and wiped her mouth with a tissue as she walked over briskly to pick it up.

  It was a number she had never seen before.

  Lin Nuan answered the call. “Hello…”


  “Mama!”


  It was Tuan Tuan’s kiddish voice on the other end of the line.

  Lin Nuan was taken aback. Wasn’t Tuan Tuan supposed to be at kindergarten at this time?

  She was worried that perhaps something had cropped up at school and that the kindergarten teacher had called to talk to her. Her heart beat faster.

  “Tuan Tuan? What happened?” Lin Nuan tried to suppress the worry in her voice.

  Tuan Tuan and Little Candy were hiding under the flower terrace at the kindergarten, squatting and huddled together as Tuan Tuan’s small hands held onto the phone. He blinked at the screen and leaned forward to whisper into the phone, as if he was worried that someone might hear him, “I miss Mama.”


  Saying that brought tears to his eyes, and they turned red as he squatted under the plants.

  He didn’t want Little Candy to see his tears and quickly wiped them away with the back of his hand.

  Last night, Tuan Tuan wanted to video call Mama, but Lin Nuan didn’t reply to Auntie Li’s WeChat message. Auntie Li thought that Lin Nuan and Fu Huai’an might be getting intimate since they didn’t have a child around. She didn’t want to disturb them, so she had coaxed Tuan Tuan into going to bed.

  Early this morning, Tuan Tuan arrived at school, feeling gloomy as he sprawled on the table. The “gang leader” in school, Little Candy, had dragged her chair over and forcefully threatened Tuan Tuan’s classmate sitting next to him to swap places. Then, she laid her face on the table like Tuan Tuan and asked cheerily, “What game are you playing? Count me in!”


  Tuan Tuan wanted to ignore Little Candy, but he couldn’t resist her incessant buzzing around him like a little bee.

  Finally, Little Candy heard about how Tuan Tuan was feeling down because he didn’t manage to video call his mama last night. Little Candy then told Tuan Tuan cryptically that she had a secret weapon that could help Tuan Tuan speak to his mama!

  Tuan Tuan looked baffled. Little Candy dragged Tuan Tuan to the flower terrace and took off her jacket. There was a mobile phone tied to her back.

  Little Candy sat on the ground, huffing, and puffing as she untied the knot on her chest.

  Tuan Tuan squatted next to Little Candy and stared at her without blinking. Finally, Little Candy managed to untie the knot, and the phone fell onto the ground.

  Little Candy stuck out her butt as she bent over to pick up the phone and passed it to Tuan Tuan.

  Tuan Tuan knew this was a mobile phone. He opened his eyes wide as he looked at Little Candy in envy. “You have a phone…”


  Tuan Tuan didn’t have one, but he really wanted one. Then, he could contact Mama anytime he wanted!

  But Papa said that Tuan Tuan was too young to have a phone.

  Little Candy said boastfully, “This belongs to my mama. I wanted to take revenge on her for hitting me! So, I stole her phone this morning before I left the house!”


  Little Candy’s mother didn’t use the phone much, and it was just lying there!

  Little Candy had wanted to steal her mother’s shoes, but after some consideration… she realized that her mom had other pairs of shoes that she could wear. So, in the end, Little Candy decided to steal her phone as she only had the one.

  The strange thing was, one whole morning had passed, but her mother didn’t storm to the school in anger to look for her phone. Little Candy wondered if the phone wasn’t working.

  Little Candy blew away the dust on the phone and said to Tuan Tuan, “Let me teach you how to use this.”


  Merry Christmas Eve everyone!!!????????