Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

  Shen Yao stayed backstage for a long time without coming out. Ms. Xu waited outside for a while and frowned while mumbling to herself.

  “Isn’t she ready yet?”


  “Sangsang.” Ms. Liu saw and smiled as she waved at the little girl, telling her to come over.

  Ye Sang heard someone calling her name and immediately jotted over, leaning her meaty little face in, “Teacher!”


  “Good girl,” Ms. Liu couldn’t help but pinch her cheeks, “Can you check on Yaoyao?”


  Ye Sang was the only one who could talk with Shen Yao.

  The little girl stayed inside for so long that they were worried.

  Ye Sang nodded obediently, “Okay.”


  She stood up from her seat slowly and leisurely headed backstage with her short legs.

  Ms. Xu couldn’t help but comment, “This child……”


  “She’s so obedient.”


  And she wondered how her parents taught her.

  Ms. Liu sighed, “Don’t ask. The answer would be because she’s other people’s child.”


  They weren’t good enough to have a child like this.

  *

  As everybody knows, Ye Sang has no sense of direction. She wandered in circles and wasted more than ten minutes, running into other classes’ backstage on the way.

  Through many difficulties, the little thing finally found their class’s backstage.

  She yawned softly and her hair stuck up from sleepiness.

  “Sister,” Ye Sang walked over in her short legs and poked her head out, glancing around with bright eyes. She saw Shen Yao’s red eyes and asked, “W-What are you doing?”


  Shen Yao closed her eyes slightly and raised an eyebrow at Ye Sang’s voice, her eyes finally regaining her pride.

  “Nothing.”


  The little girl glanced at her coldly, sounding unkind.

  “What are you doing here?”


  Ye Sang came out from behind the curtains and looked up, “The teacher asked Sangsang to come.”


  Shen Yao heard “teacher” and frowned. She moved her fingers slightly and felt heart-piercing pain.

  She bit her lips in silence.

  Ye Sang was sleepy but after running an errand, she regained some energy.

  The little thing was rather sensitive in human emotions. She pouted and looked at Shen Yao with her pretty and dark eyes, lowering her voice, “Sister, are you sad?”


  Shen Yao looked at her without speaking.

  Although she was an idiot in other areas, she was rather sensitive with emotions.

  “No.” The little girl denied coldly and pulled a fake smile, “But do you really think young ladies like us feel something such as unhappiness?”


  She needed to learn how to observe others and mask herself.

  Even if she was face slapped in front of a crowd, she still needed to smile.

  “.……” Ye Sang sank into confusion.

  “But……” The little thing slowly leaned in closer and spoke in a low voice, “A young lady can be upset and sad too.”


  She whispered in her milky voice, “Only monks don’t feel anything.”


  “.……” As expected, Shen Yao choked.

  She was slightly touched. She looked up and pushed away the little thing in disdain. Then, she pulled her lips and smiled lightly, “Not a monk.”


  “It’s just because we have different living environments. I don’t want to grow up, but I don’t have a choice either.”


  Shen Yao continued clearly:

  “My mother said everything I’m learning now is paving my future.”


  As for the future Shen Shanshan talks about, it was nothing else but to marry rich.

  In other words, she never had a choice with her life since her birth.

  As for her mother, the only thing Shen Yao could do was obedience.

  “But……” Ye Sang tilted her head to the side and stretched out her soft and white fingers, pulling her clothes lightly. Seeing that Shen Yao didn’t push her away, she plucked the courage to stand closer.

  The little thing slowly hugged her and her sweet voice sounded softer than ever as she commented in confusion, “But sister, you aren’t happy at all.”


  Ye Sang’s cat eyes were bright.

  She couldn’t understand why the first thing a child learned was to live up to people’s expectations before they learned how to grow up.

  The little thing was a soft ball and she buried her head in Shen Yao’s arms, feeling warm and healing like a little sun.

  “.……” Shen Yao was caught off guard.

  She froze slightly and looked at the little ball in her arms. She moved her mouth but she couldn’t argue back.

  ——But sister, you aren’t happy at all.

  Ye Sang’s words stirred up thoughts in Shen Yao’s mind. The little girl stared at Ye Sang and her pupils shrank.

  After a while, Shen Yao’s fingers moved slightly and the sharp pain made tears roll down her cheeks. She rested her chin on Ye Sang’s shoulder and smiled lightly through tears.

  “You are right.”


  “I’m not as excellent as all of you think, I’m human too.”


  She was forced to be obedient, to be mature, and to live up to their expectations.

  But no one asked if she was happy or not.

  She didn’t want to grow up, and she was bound to fail to live to her mother’s expectations.

  “.……”


  Ye Sang saw Shen Yao’s red and swollen fingers, she puffed her cheeks and childishly blew on it, “Sister, Sangsang will blow it for you so it doesn’t hurt.”


  The little thing softly blew on it a few times and swayed her head, obediently let Shen Yao hug her without moving.

  She understood what her sister needed right now was a hug.

  *

  As expected, Shen Yao wiped away her tears after a few minutes and laughed lightly, feeling much better than before.

  Her eyes were still red and swollen. She watched the little thing childishly blowing her fingers, and she couldn’t help but smile a little, feeling her heart soften.

  The little girl spoke in a soft manner she never showed before,

  “Don’t bother, it’s useless.”


  Shen Yao finished her sentence and smiled, leading the little thing out.

  The teachers were anxiously waiting for them and she sighed seeing that they were back. She quickly asked, “What happened? What took you so long?”


  Ye Sang’s strand of hair stood up on her head and her eyes were clear and bright, “Sister is hurt.”


  Ms. Liu was surprised, “Injured?”


  She quickly checked and saw the red marks on the little girl’s pale and thin fingertips. Some of the more severe ones were starting to seep blood.

  Ms. Liu inhaled coldly.

  How long did she spend practicing?

  “You are only six……” She mumbled, “You don’t have to do this much.”


  There was no way Shen Yao could go on the stage like this.

  But they couldn’t cancel their program like this.

  The most urgent task right now was to find someone who could replace Shen Yao’s position.