Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Lin Ran carried her things and followed Lin Nuan, her heart beating rapidly…


  It had been so many years, and she had no idea what Ji Yun would look like now!

  In Lin Ran’s memory, Ji Yun always tied her hair up in a low ponytail, but her hair was messy and as dry as a weed. Also, there was always filth on her face…


  Only right after a shower would Ji Yun’s hair appear smoother, and her face cleaner.

  Lin Ran tried hard to recall Ji Yun’s clean facial features, but she couldn’t. It was like she had never seen it before.

  Perhaps, the most vivid memory of Ji Yun in Lin Ran’s heart was that of a typical lunatic. The way she looked clean and fresh after a shower… was such a blurry memory that she couldn’t even put together the silhouette of such an image.

  The door opened, and a middle-aged woman in a white nurse uniform welcomed them. She smiled and addressed Fu Huai’an and Lin Nuan as Sir and Madam, then nodded at Lin Ran. “How do you do, Miss Lin…”


  Lin Nuan could have called previously, so it wasn’t surprising the caregiver knew of her surname.

  “Madam is in the backyard, and the young lass is keeping her company!” the caregiver said to Lin Nuan.

  “Okay! It’s been hard on you all.” Lin Nuan gave a light smile.

  Lin Nuan accompanied Lin Ran to the backyard. In the garden, Ji Yun was wearing a white high-collared sweater that was covered by a black shawl as she sat on a swing.

  In her arms was a barbie doll, and she was staring blankly at some green horned holly in the distance.

  After seeing Ji Yun for the first time in several years, separated by Lin Nuan, Fu Huai’an… and the little garden, Lin Ran almost didn’t dare to confirm that it was Ji Yun.

  Ji Yun was dressed neatly and elegantly as she quietly sat there. Her facial features were exquisite, exuding an elegant aura. If it weren’t for the barbie doll in her arms that contrasted her dignified and elegant aura, Lin Ran would have thought she was looking at a wealthy woman like Liang Mulan.

  Lin Ran couldn’t associate the present Ji Yun with the lunatic Ji Yun of the past.

  If it weren’t for Ji Yun’s familiar-looking facial features, Lin Ran would have thought Lin Nuan had brought her to the wrong person.

  Fu Huai’an’s phone vibrated, so he left to take the call; only then did Lin Ran come back to her senses.

  So it turned out, under all that filth, Ji Yun… had such a beautiful face. Lin Ran had never noticed this when she was blinded by rage in her heart.

  It was little wonder Lin Nuan turned out to be so beautiful; she must have inherited those exquisite facial features from Ji Yun.

  While she was sitting on the swing with a blank look, Ji Yun’s eyes suddenly moved. She lowered her head to look at the barbie doll in her arms and smiled, a gentle look in her eyes.

  She gently caressed the doll’s body, humming a tune to coax a child to sleep…


  Ji Yun’s familiar voice entered Lin Ran’s ears, crushing her heart in an instant. She couldn’t help but raise her hands to cover her lips, turning around and facing Ji Yun with her back, not looking at her. She forced herself to hold back her tears and the sound of sobbing.

  It had been many years since Lin Ran heard such a gentle and melodious voice, as well as a song like this. But once Ji Yun opened her mouth, Lin Ran felt as if she was transported back to when she was little, when she would snuggle against Ji Yun’s arms and pester her to sing her songs to coax her to sleep.

  Her most vivid memory was from one summer when they had lit the mosquito coil and lowered the mosquito net, and she was lying on the mat and hugging Ji Yun’s arm. In the dark, facing Ji Yun, taking in the scent of her body mixed with the smell of prickly heat powder, Lin Ran felt especially at ease!

  Ji Yun would gently pat her on her tiny bottom and sing her songs to coax her to sleep. She remembered that Ji Yun knew songs that her friends’ mothers didn’t know!

  Once, Lin Ran was proud of that.

  At that time, their mother-daughter bond was deep!

  Lin Ran had forgotten about those warm feelings for very many years. Suddenly hearing such a tune now, it was like a sharp knife that was tearing Lin Ran’s heart apart, making her feel remorse about how she had treated Ji Yun so cruelly and acted so insensibly! How she had tormented Ji Yun’s pure motherly love towards her.

  Lin Nuan saw how Lin Ran turned around and didn’t dare to look at Ji Yun, her shoulders trembling. She said in a soft voice, “Go over and sit with Mom!”


  Lin Ran gritted her teeth and quickly wiped away her tears. She nodded but didn’t make a sound because her nose was all blocked up.

  The caregiver supported Ji Yun as she walked her to some rattan chairs under a large umbrella. She placed a soft cushion against the back of the chair, then served up some snacks—fruit and hot tea.

  Even though Ji Yun wouldn’t reply, the caregiver still gently told Ji Yun what she was going to do next…


  Lin Nuan stood under the roof and watched Lin Ran head down the stairs and sit beside Ji Yun. She then left to give Lin Ran and Ji Yun some space.

  It was already late autumn in Haicheng, so it felt a little cold where the villa was located.

  Lin Ran took out Ji Yun’s favorite snacks and placed them on the little round table.

  It took Lin Ran some effort to source these snacks because the shop selling them had relocated long ago. Lin Ran only found out its new address after asking around everywhere.

  Before either spoke, Ji Yun’s eyes brightened up when she saw the snacks on the table…


  She murmured as she picked up a piece of osmanthus cake, “Ran Ran’s favorite!”


  Ji Yun then delivered the osmanthus cake to the doll’s mouth and coaxed in a soft and gentle voice, “Ran Ran’s favorite! Eat… eat!”


  Seeing that the doll refused to eat, Ji Yun picked up a piece of layered cake. “Ran Ran likes this! Ran Ran, eat!”


  Lin Ran froze. She thought these were Ji Yun’s favorites!

  All of the memories that were covered by a layer of dust emerged in her mind…


  When Lin Ran was young, she had a favorite food every period!

  Such as this sweet Hibiscus cake—because Lin Ran’s family was poor when she was little, she liked sweet foods very much, so she liked this!

  Thousand layer cake was Lin Ran’s favorite when she was seven or eight!

  Osmanthus cake was Lin Ran’s favorite when she was ten or so!

  Dragon’s beard candy was Lin Ran’s favorite when she was eleven!

  Hawthorn cake was Lin Ran’s favorite at seventeen. This was because she started becoming beauty-conscious at that age and had heard that hawthorn cake helped one lose weight!

  Lin Ran’s eyes trembled as she watched Ji Yun bring cake after cake to the doll’s mouth to test. Her eyes turned watery in an instant.

  “Mom…” Lin Ran gently called out in a low voice. Her voice was choked, and her tears flooded down like a string of broken pearls.

  However, Ji Yun remained in her own world, as if she hadn’t heard Lin Ran call her.

  Lin Ran felt like her heart was being pierced by a knife and was bleeding.

  When she left, Ji Yun wasn’t like this; at that time, Ji Yun could still recognize her…


  Lin Ran couldn’t resist grabbing Ji Yun’s hand, not minding the bits of food on Ji Yun’s fingers as she placed her petite face into Ji Yun’s warm palm, her voice sounding awfully choked. “I am Ran Ran! Mom… I’m Ran Ran! Ran Ran is the one here!”


  Ji Yun’s gaze was wandering among the snacks, looking for one she had yet to try feeding to the doll.

  Seeing the hawthorn cake, Ji Yun naturally retracted her hand from Lin Ran’s hand and picked up a piece to deliver to the doll’s mouth. “Ran Ran, eat!”