The Cause

Snapping out of her reverie, Yu Ling carried an empty basin out and quickly brought in a basin of warm water. She came to the bed and wrung out a wet handkerchief before carefully wiping the sweat off her mother’s forehead.

Then, she put down the towel and sat quietly by the bed to look at her. The more she looked at her, the more her heart ached. It had been a long time since she had looked at her mother directly. She didn’t even know when dark circles and wrinkles had appeared on her face, and when she had started to look so sickly.

Yu Ling had always known that her mother loved her very much, but she didn’t know why she suddenly became so strict with her.

Thinking back carefully, all these changes seemed to have happened three months after they arrived on this island.

—-

It was another brand new day. Yu Ling was busy working and had not seen her mother for the entire day. A group of esteemed guests had arrived on the island. While serving them, she was rewarded with an apple.

This was the first time Yu Ling had seen a fruit. Oh, no, it wasn’t the first time she had seen it. She had seen other people eating it but she didn’t get a chance to touch the fruit. When she saw other people eating apples, she could only envy them and secretly swallow her saliva while imagining the taste.

After receiving the reward, Yu Ling happily hid the apple. Then, she looked around for her mother, hoping to share it with her.

But at this moment, a girl who was not much older than her appeared. Behind her were two girls of the same age. They stopped Yu Ling arrogantly.

When Yu Ling saw them, the hand holding the apple, which was wrapped in her arms, started trembling subconsciously. She took a step back warily. It was them again!

She didn’t know when it started, but the three of them had been targeting her and making things difficult for her. From time to time, they would come around to make things difficult for her. Whenever they bumped into her, they would mock her. Sometimes, they would even throw stones or mud at her.

Yu Ling frowned and asked nervously, “What do you want?”

“Hmph, dirty girl, shouldn’t you be working now? Are you slacking off?!”

The young lady who was leading the group, looked at Yu Ling in disdain. This girl looked dirty all year round. Her clothes were always dirty and androgynous-looking. How annoying. Just looking at her made one feel like hitting her.

“I…”

Yu Ling subconsciously wanted to retort, but she remembered what her mother had said. She swallowed her words, deciding to leave and ignore the girls.

However, when the leader of the group saw her like this, she felt that she was an easy target. Coincidentally, she had nothing to do now, so her interest was piqued and she was prepared to teach Yu Ling a lesson.

The three children, who were slightly older than Yu Ling, maliciously teased her until she was covered in mud and footprints.

Even so, Yu Ling’s hands were still tightly wrapped in her arms. Even though she had been pushed to the ground with mud thrown at her, she showed no signs of unwrapping her arms. Instead, she tightened her grip.

The leader of the group saw her trying to conceal her hands within her arms. Her shrewd eyes darted around and she guessed that Yu Ling must be hiding something precious. She gave the other two girls a look.

The other two understood and stepped forward tacitly. Each of them grabbed one of Yu Ling’s arms and restrained her in a surrendering posture.

The young lady in the lead slowly walked forward and sized her up. She didn’t seem to take the other party’s vigilant gaze seriously. In the end, her gaze locked onto the bulge in Yu Ling’s arms.

“Aye, what’s this?”

The girl taking the lead smiled and reached at the bulge.

Yu Ling was extremely anxious. If she saw what she was hiding, she wouldn’t even get to keep the apple skin. No! No! She still had to keep it for her mother!

Just as the girl was about to touch her clothes, Yu Ling used all her strength to break free and pushed the leader of the group down to the ground.

After the two lackeys recovered from their shock, they forgot about teaching Yu Ling a lesson. Instead, they hurriedly went to help their leader up.

Yu Ling’s sudden bout of courage had completely disappeared. Instead, she looked very apologetic now, as if she was sorry for pushing the girl down. She had forgotten about how the girls had bullied her earlier on.

However, she was still happy to feel the apple in her arms. Before the three of them could react, Yu Ling immediately ran in the opposite direction. By the time the three of them realized what had happened, Yu Ling was long gone.

There was nothing the girls could do. Yu Ling had already run away, leaving only a cloud of dust behind her. The three of them were so angry that they started cursing. Judging from the words that came out of their mouths and the vicious looks on their faces, they did not look like children in their teens at all.

Behind a big tree not far away, the pale Zhao Yuyan loosened her clenched fists. She looked at Yu Ling’s running back view and her heart ached for her daughter. Shortly after, she left too.

Yu Ling managed to get away from the girls and returned to her residence. She waited excitedly for her mother to come back. From time to time, she would look out anxiously to see if she was there.

While waiting, she even took the time to clean herself up. She was afraid that her appearance would make her mother worry.

Then, she held onto the apple that had just been washed and waited quietly. Even though she was dying to taste the apple, she had to wait for her mother to come back and eat with her.

Not long after, Zhao Yuyan returned.

As soon as Yu Ling saw her mother appear, she immediately took out the intact apple in her arms. “Mother, this is for you!”

Zhao Yuyan’s face was pale as she looked at the small hands that were stretched out towards her. She wasn’t paying attention to the apple. Instead, she was focusing on those rough little hands. Those hands should have been soft and fair, but they were now rough from years of manual work. As a mother, how could she bear to accept this?

Yu Ling was supposed to be the daughter of an official, but now, she was suffering along with her. At such a young age, she had to work non-stop. She should be living a luxurious life, but here she is, putting up with such bullying just to protect an apple.

It was only an apple. The apple that she despised the most in the past had now become a delicacy that Yu Ling could only dream of…

At the thought of this, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

At this moment, tears that had been accumulating for the past ten years streamed down Zhao Yuyan’s face.

Resentment, anger, sadness, helplessness, and powerlessness were all mixed together, pushing her to her limits.

Yu Ling seemed to be in a daze. Her hands, which were holding the apple, were trembling. Zhao Yuyan slowly squatted down and hugged her tightly. Her grip was so strong that it seemed like she was going to break the girl in half.

However, the sensible Yu Ling did not struggle. She could feel the uneasiness coming from her mother and knew that she was not feeling well. Therefore, she endured the discomfort at her waist while holding the apple tightly in her hands. She would wait for her mother to calm down before giving it to her.

Her free little hands patted her mother’s back from time to time. The little Yu Ling was using her wee bit of strength to comfort her mother.

That night, Yu Ling and Zhao Yuyan shared the apple that was preserved by Yu Ling’s bravery.

Zhao Yuyan felt that the apple was the sweetest, most delicious, and most unforgettable apple she had ever eaten in her life or even her next life. At the same time, she eventually made up her mind.

After that day, Zhao Yuyan seemed to have become a different person. The gentle smile on her face disappeared and she became extremely strict with Yu Ling.

In the past, she had always taught the girl to endure when she encountered trouble. Her advice to her was to take a step back and give in to others. But now, it has changed. The mantra was, if no one provoked her, she would not offend them. If anyone provoked her, she must definitely fight back.

She shared with her everything, from how she should conduct herself to how she should get along with people.

She was a complete doting mother in the past, but now she had become the strictest mother to Yu Ling.

Yu Ling could not accept her sudden coldness.

Zhao Yuyan could see the girl’s tears and fears, but she had to be ruthless.

If she were in good health, she would definitely not treat Yu Ling like this. But she knew that she was not going to live long, how was Yu Ling going to survive on her own?