After completing breakfast, Li Xue took her daughter to her room to dress her up for school. This was their daily routine to begin. Though the little girl Li Wei was very young, she knew well the benefits of being an early riser.
She believed everything that her mother had said to her. If her mother called her an angel, then she would believe that she was an angel and if she called her a devil, then she would behave like one. She was really an obedient girl to her mother.
The little girl looked at her mother who was braiding her hair again in a different style headband. She looked at herself in the mirror as she asked, "Mama, my hair is the same as you, so soft and dark. But then, why is my face not the same as yours? You look so beautiful like a princess in a Barbie world, but why am I not like you? Why do you and I look so different?"
If the same question was asked by some other child, then it wouldn't have mattered much as the facial characteristic of the children and parents sometimes don't match. But since it was her daughter who was asking this question, she felt really guilty.
Though there was no doubt that she was her daughter, whom she had given birth to and brought up, the sperm donor was someone she didn't know. And no matter how much she denies that fact, it will always be her fault that she didn't know who was the father of her child.
"But I find my angel more beautiful than me. Do you know there is a saying in English? Will you learn it for me?", Li Xue asked as she straightened her daughter's bangs, some in front while pushing some behind her ears.
Li Wei nodded her head obediently as if she would definitely learn whatever her mother wants her to.
"The saying is, 'Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder'. That means whether you are beautiful or not is decided by the person who is looking at you. If I am beautiful in your eyes, then it's your eyes that are beautiful to see the beauty within me. And the same goes for me. To me no one is as beautiful as my angel", she said and pulled her up to let her stand on her feet.
Standing on her feet she really felt too little. Her height was only reaching the waist of her mother.
The girl was staring at her mother as if there were still some questions lingering in her mind. "What? Is there something in your mind? I have told you that you don't have to keep your questions inside. I will always try to answer your queries in the best way possible", she said as she bent down to match her daughter's height and caressed her head lovingly.
Li Wei looked at her mother and blinked her eyes and without saying anything, she leaned forwards and gave two light kisses on Li Xue's eyes. "I got it Mama. Your eyes are the most beautiful eyes in this world. Because you always tell me to be more beautiful and everything around us. And now I understand your tricks".
Li Xue smiled, looking at her daughter who has taken her words in a different way through which her little brain could comprehend it. But what did she mean by her last sentence? Sometimes she herself can't get what her little brain is thinking. "Tricks?", she asked to get the girl's thoughts a little clearer.
"Hmmm. You are playing good tricks so that my eyes become as beautiful as yours. That's why you always ask me to find good in everything even in those bitter medicines", Li Wei said it in such an adorable way that there was no way one could resist lovingly pinching her chubby cheeks.
The little girl repeated the same action of her mother, pinching her mother's cheeks with the little strength she had.
"You have really become a sweet talker now. Did your teachers also teach you these things too?" Li Xue asked, narrowing her eyes at her angel who was the only reason behind her smiles.
"Mama, you said it's wrong to give your credits to someone else until it is very very very necessary. Then how could you give your credits to someone else?" Li Wei put her hand on her hips imitating the posture of a mother reprimanding her child, "Because you always let me have those delicious sweet desserts, I have a sweet mouth. Your desserts are so sweet and yummy that they always make me feel sweet from the inside"
Looking at her little one in such a cute posture, a satisfied smile spread across her lips. She lifted her hands up in surrender, "Fine it's my fault. I am responsible for everything you have today. Your good habits or bad habits are all because I made you like this. Right? Are you happy now? Now will you allow Mama to go and change her dress? We are getting late"
Li Wei nodded her head as she gave one last kiss on her mother's cheek. Kissing her mother was something that the little girl enjoyed very much.
Soon, the mother and daughter duo left the house. After leaving the girl at her school, Li Xue quickly went to the restaurant where she worked as the head dessert chef.
After she arrived here in this unknown city, she had only this skill through which she could earn her and her baby's living. She started from the lowest but now she has grown to the fullest only because she has a reason in her life, her daughter.
The sunshine that brought life to her lifeless soul made her life even more beautiful than before. Her daughter became the reason for which she wanted to live.
When she entered the restaurant, the atmosphere inside was very lively, as if there was some sort of celebration going on.
"Good morning, Sister Xue", everyone greeted in unison.
Li Xue gave a slight nod in response to their greeting, but she was still trying to figure out what was actually going on inside. "This is…"
"These celebration arrangements are for you, Mam", a staff member with a beautiful English accent said, giving a gentlemanly bow to her.
"For me?"
They all nodded again in unison and screamed, "Congratulations on your promotion!! We are so happy and proud of you".