SWNOVELXO 112. Grade Schoolers Are the Best!
“Ah, I’m exhausted!”
Ling Ning slumped face-first onto the table, looking utterly worn out. Ever since she’d agreed to Yang Bing’s conditions, her already busy life had become even more hectic.
From morning on, she had squeezed every bit of time out of her day—even cutting down on lazing in bed. After what happened with Xiaoxue, Ling Ning no longer felt comfortable letting her two little ones go to school alone, so she decided to get up early to drop them off. Then she’d either go to her own school to write or do some advance studying. Thankfully, Xu Qing took care of her homework, and Xia You helped with note-taking—otherwise, she’d be even more overwhelmed.
During classes, if the material was something she already knew, she’d take out her phone and start typing her novel. If she heard something she didn’t understand or had forgotten, she’d pay attention. Even her precious lunch break was mostly taken up by writing.
After school, she would pick up the two little ones, take them home, and after dinner, she’d head straight to Yang Bing’s place to teach Xiaoxue and receive her own modeling training.
Speaking of training, that was even more exhausting. It included posture training, walking practice, sitting, body sculpting—so many different exercises, and they all drained her energy.
After training, she’d return home, take a shower, and finally have a little bit of time to browse the internet, read the news, visit that major same-sex social site, or write more, before going to sleep.
“What’s up? You’ve been looking kind of down these past few days,” Xu Qing asked curiously.
Ling Ning looked dead inside. “It’s nothing, just that my life is a bit too full right now.”
Sometimes Ling Ning wondered—she was a transmigrator, so why didn’t she get a cheat ability? Other transmigrators seemed to come with photographic memory or the ability to become famous just by plagiarizing a book or singing a song. But her? She had to work multiple jobs just to support herself and her daughter. The one cheat ability she had was blocked in less than a month.
Ling Ning felt like she was letting down the league of transmigrators. What’s the point of transmigrating if you don’t have any cheat powers? She might as well be a salted fish.
Anyway, today was Saturday, and tomorrow was finally a day off. And what did a day off mean? It meant she could go to work, which meant money! The thought of making money reinvigorated her. In this materialistic world, only cash still held some warmth.
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Weekend.
With Qin Qing traveling abroad and nothing going on with He Miao Miao, Ling Ning decided to head to the cafe to earn a little extra cash.
“Mom, we want to come too!”
Just as Ling Ning was about to leave, she realized her daughter and Qin Sirou were already up and dressed, ready to go.
Ling Ning thought for a moment, then smiled. “Alright, but you two can’t cause trouble, okay? If you do, that mean auntie will kick you out.” Yep, she was talking about Chu Mengyao.
The two little ones nodded enthusiastically at Ling Ning’s words.
Perhaps because Ling Ning was no longer sleeping in, she took her time to have breakfast with the little ones at a nearby place. By the time they slowly strolled to the cafe, it wasn’t even open yet. But Chu Mengyao was already getting ready to open up.
“Oh, it’s Ling Ning. Wait, you actually brought these two little ones along?”
Chu Mengyao was surprised to see the two little girls. She wanted to play with them, but Ling Ning had already instilled in them the idea that Chu Mengyao was the “big bad villain.” So as soon as they saw her approaching, the little girls immediately assumed Chu Mengyao was up to no good.
“Am I really that scary?” Chu Mengyao muttered, watching the two adorable little ones hiding behind Ling Ning. She touched her face, then took out a pocket mirror for a quick look—still as beautiful as always.
“Ahem, I’m gonna go change now.” As Ling Ning was about to head off to change into her uniform, she suddenly thought of something and turned back. “Sister Mengyao, do you have any maid outfits in kid sizes?”
“Kid sizes…? Oh!”
Chu Mengyao glanced at the two little girls and understood what Ling Ning meant. After thinking for a moment, she remembered—there should be some. They’d once made a smaller version for Luo Xiaoning, but it had ended up being too small.
“I’ll go check.”
With that, Chu Mengyao tossed the broom she was holding aside and rushed into the changing room. It wasn’t long before she came back out with two small maid outfits.
“See, I knew I had them. They were made when I made that outfit for the idiot, but they ended up too small, so they’ve just been sitting there. They should fit now.” She handed the maid outfits to Ling Ning.
“Didn’t you two say you wanted to wear maid outfits? Come on, I’ll help you put them on.”
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“Mom, do I look good?”
After putting on her maid outfit, Ling Ye spun around in place, looking expectantly at Ling Ning.
“You look great. Ye Ye looks cute in anything~” Ling Ning said, patting her daughter’s head affectionately, feeling the soft texture of her hair as her smile grew even warmer.
“Sister Ling, what about me?”
Qin Sirou, mimicking Ling Ye, also spun around. However, she got a bit carried away, lost her balance, and nearly fell. Thankfully, Ling Ning was quick enough to catch her.
“You look lovely too, Sirou—absolutely adorable.”
When Ling Ning emerged from the changing room with the two little ones dressed in maid outfits, Chu Mengyao took one look and immediately ran off to the bathroom, covering her nose. As she ran, she muttered to herself, “This is too much. It’s too cute—I can’t handle it.” “Grade schooler maid outfits are the best!” “Grade schoolers are amazing.”
Hearing this, Ling Ning couldn’t help but think of someone still lounging in the ‘Land of Eternal Silence,’ looking like a perpetual elementary school student. And considering Chu Mengyao’s reaction just now, Ling Ning reached a conclusion.
“Chu Mengyao is a perverted, loli-obsessed yuri freak,” she declared silently in her heart.
“Ye Ye, Sirou, come here for a moment,” Ling Ning called the two curious little ones over, her face serious.
“What’s up?” they both asked, tilting their heads in unison.
Taking a deep breath, Ling Ning spoke seriously. “From now on, stay away from that big sister, okay? If she gives you anything to eat, make sure to tell me first.”
“Basically, just think of her as one of those monsters disguised as a normal person from ‘Xiao Ai.’ Got it?”
“Got it!” Ling Ye didn’t fully understand what her Mom was saying, but as long as she followed her Mom’s instructions, it would be fine.
When Chu Mengyao returned from the bathroom, she noticed that the way the two little ones were looking at her had changed. It was like they were staring at some kind of monster with tentacles. Wait, why tentacles?
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Author’s Note:
Second update of the day. This salted fish’s heart is bleeding.