Start Anew

Chapter 10: Behind Her Smile

Chen Jiaxin's POV

I stared blankly at the ceiling as both of my eyes adjusted from the light coming from the window.

The skin under my eyes felt a little painful and there's no doubt that it was because of last night's excessive crying.

Xiyi who was still sleeping was curled up beside me. He must be tired from all the troubles yesterday.

I stood up from our bed then walked towards the bathroom. I looked at my reflection on the mirror and was not even surprised to see the horrible state of my face.

My eyes were puffy while my hair was a little messy.

So I immediately fixed myself and changed my clothes.

I decided to apply some cream on my face hoping that it would help me hide any traces of swelling.

I wouldn't want anyone to worry about me.

Especially my mother.

I fixed my hair a little then took one last glance at Xiyi before I instantly left the room.

I head downstairs and saw my mom in the kitchen.

"Ma, you're up early."

"Oh, Jiaxin. Where's Xiyi?"

"He's still sleeping. He's probably tired from yesterday. You need some help?"

"Eyy, no need. I can handle this. I just need to cook one more dish and we can have our breakfast then," she said smiling at me. "Oh by the way, why don't you go at the seaside now, your cousin and her son went there just a while ago. Jia Fang brought the puppy with him."

"Oh, I almost forgot about the puppy! Is Jia Fang okay?"

"That's why Zishan took him out, to help him relax. Jia Fang is still a little kid. He'll get over it, don't worry."

"Okay. Are you sure you don't need a hand?"

"Eyy come on, you go out already! I'll wake up Xiyi or Jia Tiancai if I ever need some help. Don't bother about me."

I knew she won't stop pursuading me to go out if I ever decide to stay here. So I only smiled at her and quickly head outside.

I went straight towards the seaside and immediately saw my cousin and Jia Fang.

He was holding the puppy's leash as it ran around him.

There were also other kids playing with him who were probably fascinated by the puppy's charm as well.

"Jiaxin!" I heard my cousin calling my name as I walked towards them.

"Auntie Jiaxin, did you sleep well? Look at Xiaogou! Papa brought him a leash. Look!"

"Oh, I didn't know you had already named him. Xiaogou perfectly suits him," I said as I patted the puppy's head.

"Where's Uncle Xiyi?"

"Your uncle was still sleeping when I left the house. He sleeps like a log."

Jia Fang threw me a confused look because of my use of words and just ignored me. He then continued playing with Xiaogou together with his two other friends.

"Is still no one looking for the puppy?" I asked my cousin after making sure that her son can no longer hear us.

"The police officer told me he'd give me a call if there's any news about the puppy's owner," she said then gave me an apologetic look. "I know it's bad of me to wish that his real owner would no longer search for him. But I really do hope that he can stay with us, Jia Fang was already attached to him. He was so busy last night thinking for a proper name until he finally came up with Xiaogou. It helped him get distracted from what happened yesterday."