Upon arriving at the pastry shop and after they had ordered, Xia Meilin and Li Bingbing started playing for the bet they made earlier. In fact, they didn't even order for themselves. They rushed to the nearest table and jumped right into the battle. Xia Sinian read the entire menu for them. After deciphering their orders, which consisted of a series of some parfait and slices of cakes, he placed the orders.
At the end, Li Bingbing won against Xia Meilin. "You better ready your wallet, sissy, I'm going to empty it in a month!" smiled Li Bingbing while closing her eyes.
Money wasn't a problem for Xia Meilin, but she was still sulking because she wasn't able to get the rare item that Li Bingbing had. Oh well.
Xia Meilin still felt dejected even after some time flew by. Li Bingbing tapped her shoulder, "Don't forget to apologize to me, bitch."
Xia Meilin turned and pursed her lips. She didn't want to apologize since it wasn't her fault, but a bet is a bet and she lost. "I'm sorry..." said Xia Meilin through her gritted teeth and half-closed mouth. She looked like a child who broke a vase.
Li Bingbing snickered at her, "What was that? I can't hear you, were you saying something?"
Xia Meilin's hand was itching to wipe that smug look on Li Bingbing face. She took a deep breath to suppress her raging temper. "I'm sorry for slapping you, Ms. Li."
Li Bingbing grinned after hearing her apology, so she leaned and placed her pink lips on Xia Meilin's pale cheek as a gesture of her acceptance, "You're forgiven, Meimei."
Xia Meilin sighed heavily. How can she not forgive her when Li Bingbing was being like this? To be honest, she found Li Bingbing interesting and different from the other girls because Li Bingbing was the most straightforward person she has ever met. She preferred this type of friend than those white lotuses. Li Bingbing was the best friend and sister she always wanted to have.
Li Bingbing felt the same for Xia Meilin after she got to know her better. That's why, when Xia Meilin slapped her, she didn't get angry. Quite the opposite, she felt almost happy.
She has been sleeping in Xia Meilin's place for a few nights now, and that's why she found out that this girl had a bad temper whenever she was woken up in the wrong way. Li Bingbing found that hilarious, though.
"What time are we going to meet tomorrow?" asked Xia Sinian.
"Let's meet up at ten in the morning in front of the school." Li Bingbing grinned.
"We can just pick you up from your place." Xia Meilin suggested.
Li Bingbing chuckled, "That would be really great, but do you know where my place is?"
"We can drop you there after this."
Li Bingbing's smile twitched when she heard what Xia Meilin said. "No, not today. I'll just send you the directions to my home tonight."
"Why don't you want us to drop you there today? I would love to meet your parents too," pouted Xia Meilin.
"Some other time, Meimei."
When Xia Meilin noticed the way Li Bingbing looked and spoke, she did not pursue the subject any further. She did not want to make her friend feel uncomfortable. She must have her reasons, right? Xia Meilin tossed the thought to the back of her mind and carried her eyes to her phone.
Xia Sinian stared at Li Bingbing for what seemed hours to him before he offered her his fries, "Have some."
----
When Li Bingbing entered her small and simple home, the first thing that greeted her the pungent smell of alcohol that bombarded her nose. She did not bother to trace the source of the notorious smell because it was evident from where, or rather, from whom the smell came from.
Li Bingbing frowned when she saw her mother sleeping on the couch with bottles of beer spread out on the floor. Some of the drinks were knocked over, staining the floor in random spots. The walls suffered from stains as well. How the hell did her mother even manage to stain that walls? Glass shards covered the entirety of the room. Cursing under her breath, Li Bingbing carefully moved her feet around the room and started cleaning up the chaos.
This was one of the reasons why she preferred to stay at in Xia Meilin's place overnight. Since Li Bingbing was a neat freak, she couldn't stand seeing her house in mess as if she were in the zoo. But she couldnt just ditch her mother. Shes not like that ex-father of hers. So, she would always come back and sort out the mess. Nevertheless, it still wasnt pleasant to be greeted under these conditions, but what can she do?
After cleaning everything, Li Bingbing made sure every corner was clean. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, Li Bingbing limped to the kitchen where she prepared their dinner. She wasn't a great cook at all, so she can only cook simple things like eggs, hotdog, and instant noodles.
She placed the food on the table and went to wake her mother, "Ms. Mu, wake up, dinner is ready." Her mother didnt exactly wake up, so she had to shake her until she did.
Mu Xijiu groaned as her heavy body restricted her movement. She squinted her eyes open and smiled like a foolish person, "Bingbing, you're here." She reached out, circled her hands around Li Bingbings waist, and pulled her daughter into a hug.
Li Bingbing didn't fight back; instead, she stayed still and allowed her mother to embrace her.
Li Bingbing has always wanted to take her mother's surname, not her father's. Unfortunately, her mother wouldn't allow it because, even if she was cheated by the man she loved, Mu Xijiu still loved him. Li Bingbing always questioned her irrational behavior. They even got into many arguments about getting over her first ex-husband. But no matter how hard Bingbing tried, her mothers stance didnt budge. As a result, Li Bingbing stopped pursuing the matter.
"You look just like your fath—"
"That's enough." Li Bingbing cut off her mother with a monotonous tone. She didn't want to hear what her mother was about to say because she hated being compared to her father with a passion.
She pulled away from Mu Xijiu and stood up, "You stink, go clean yourself before you have your dinner."
Li Bingbing turned and carried herself to her room to change clothes. Instead of wearing a house attire, Li Bingbing changed into her casual attire. She wore an off-shoulder, long-sleeved shirt and denim tight jeans. She grabbed her bag from the hanger and went out of her room.
By the time she changed her clothes, her mother finished having her bath. She was wearing a plain white gown that kissed the floor. Her hair was unkempt, and her eyes carried bags darker than the night sky.
"Where are you going?"
"Work," answered Li Bingbing as she smoothly slipped her feet into her sneakers.
Mu Xijiu lowered her head after hearing her daughter's answer. She shouldn't have asked that question because she already knew where she was going. She couldnt help it, though. She wanted to hear her voice
"Bingbing, I'm sorry for... being a useless mother." She whispered the latter part of her apology as she suffered in regret. She was supposed to be the one that worked for them, but every time she found a job, she would always be fired after a few days because she would always space out in the middle of her work.
"Don't worry, I'm already used with it," answered Li Bingbing coldly before walking towards the door.
"Won't you at least have dinner together with me?"
Li Bingbing paused and turned to face her mother. Seeing her mothers pained face and empty eyes, Li Bingbings heart softened because she knew that she couldn't leave her this way.
She went back in, sat on the table, and patted the seat next to her, "Come, let's eat."