"Mom, look at the painting I made."
The young girl held up her painting proudly in front of her mother, excitedly showing off the result she had spent several days working on.
However, the woman, focused on matching her jewelry, merely glanced indifferently at the painting her daughter was holding high above her head.
Because the little girl was struggling to lift it higher than her own height, her originally soft white hands were trembling slightly along with the painting she held.
"Oh my, Zhezhi, your painting is so good."
The little girl instantly lit up with excitement and jumped in place.
"This one compared to the last one..."
But before she could finish, the woman had already stood up and walked over to the enormous wardrobe, beginning to pick out clothes to decorate herself with.
"Very good. You painted very well. Before the guests arrive, paint a few more, alright?"
What the woman called "Mother" failed to notice was that the moment those words left her mouth, the tiny girl had already frozen in place, staring blankly ahead in confusion.
Seeing no response from her daughter, the woman's tone immediately grew more irritated. Impatiently, she pushed little Zhezhi back toward her room.
"Buy whatever art supplies you need. We can afford even the most expensive things. Be good, now go paint."
Although the woman's voice sounded gentle, like she was coaxing her daughter, little Zhezhi couldn't hear even the slightest trace of affection in it.
The crisp sound of the door shutting interrupted the words she wanted to say but couldn't bring herself to speak. The helpless girl clutched the scroll in her arms tightly, her knuckles turning pale from the force.
But looking at the tightly closed door before her, she ultimately lacked the courage to open it.
———
Half a day passed quickly.
The prison called "the door" quietly opened with the turn of the handle.
"M-Mom..."
The girl, immersed in her painting, turned around in surprise and delight. But when she saw the flattering yet vaguely arrogant smile on the woman's face, she suddenly felt as though her mother stood impossibly far away from her.
"Hurry, the guests have all arrived. Go change clothes."
In a daze, little Zhezhi was dressed in luxurious garments before being pushed in front of a room full of guests.
Faced with so many gazes, envy, jealousy, ridicule, flattery...
Little Zhezhi wanted to run away, but the woman called Mother grabbed her tightly instead.
Looking at her daughter's timid, awkward appearance, she seemed to once again see their poor, miserable past, their dull and cheap souls.
Ignoring the girl's weak resistance, she dragged her by the hand and brought her to the center of the crowd.
A talented daughter was their source of pride, and their final hope of climbing above others.
"Our Zhezhi has been gifted since she was little. Even without a teacher, her paintings were selected for exhibitions."
Little Zhezhi raised her face and saw the proud smile on her mother's face. Every movement she made radiated elegance and nobility.
"Pfft!"
A faint snicker suddenly cut through the smoky, suffocating atmosphere of the room and reached little Zhezhi's ears.
At such a high-end gathering filled with distinguished guests, that mocking laugh should have been insignificant.
Yet little Zhezhi noticed it immediately.
She lifted her face and searched around until her eyes finally landed on a red figure seated behind the crowd of guests.
At the feet of that red-clad woman, a little white-haired dumpling rolled over in front of her.
"Master, Master, let's go home already. This is boring."
"Oh?"
"Look at that woman. Her movements are so stiff. You can tell at a glance she copied all that just to squeeze into 'high society.' Every single one of those people's a parasite."
The woman in red covered her mouth with a smile, unable to resist teasing him.
"But your master also counts as part of the 'high society' you're talking about."
The little white-haired dumpling froze for a second and immediately tried to run, only to get grabbed by the collar by the red-clad woman...
"You'd also like a painting? Of course that's no problem. Zhezhi can finish one in less than a day. Any theme is fine, just leave it to her."
As she spoke, Mother shoved little Zhezhi forward again, while the girl was still enviously staring at the white-haired dumpling's "loving parent-child relationship."
"Come on, Zhezhi, show everyone your painting skills."
Countless eyes instantly focused on the young girl. Zhezhi wanted to retreat, but there was nowhere to run.
For the first time, the hand holding her brush trembled slightly.
She couldn't bring herself to paint for a long while.
Seeing this, Mother secretly tugged at her while still maintaining a smile toward the guests.
"Please don't worry. Zhezhi is just thinking over the composition. She'll start painting any moment now..."
"Hello, ma'am."
A childish voice mercilessly interrupted the woman.
Looking down, she saw a handsome young boy standing in front of her.
Being interrupted so abruptly already annoyed her, and the fact it was by a child made her instinctively want to lash out.
"Whose child are you? How dare you..."
But the moment she saw the red-haired young woman walking through the parted crowd toward her, she realized she had acted rashly again. She hurriedly apologized.
"Lady Magistrate? Lady Magistrate honoring our humble home with your presence truly brightens this poor residence. Please forgive me for offending your son."
The red-haired woman merely smiled without correcting her misunderstanding. Instead, she lowered her head and looked at the little white-haired dumpling beside her.
Receiving his master's approval, the little boy grinned smugly, lifted his face, and innocently asked the woman, "Auntie, can I take this little sister outside to play?"
"Yes, yes, of course. Zhezhi has plenty of time."
As she spoke, Mother pushed her daughter again.
She had long heard of the "child bride" custom among the upper class. If they could latch onto the Magistrate's circle, then they would truly rise above their station.
A stranger suddenly approaching naturally frightened little Zhezhi, and she instinctively tried to hide behind her mother.
But no matter how she resisted, her mother kept pushing her to the front.
And her mother insisted on pushing her out for one simple reason.
Because she was her mother.
At that moment, a warm little hand quietly grasped her trembling, icy-cold fingers.
"My name's Zane. Wanna go play together?"
As he spoke, Zane blinked at little Zhezhi, then grabbed her hand and ran toward the outside.
In that instant, little Zhezhi seemed to understand what he meant, and allowed herself to be pulled away from that murky place.
Before leaving, she looked back at her mother once.
Not only was she completely unconcerned for her daughter's safety, she had already enthusiastically begun chatting with the Magistrate. The radiant smile on her face was one little Zhezhi had never seen before.
Fresh air rushed into little Zhezhi's chest, washing away all the murkiness clogging it. As she ran quickly, taking huge breaths, the gloom in her heart gradually scattered.
"Um..."
Hearing Zhezhi speak, Zane finally stopped running. He scratched the back of his head and gave her an apologetic smile.
"Sorry. You looked like you were about to cry, so I just dragged you out of there..." In truth, Zane didn't really have much experience dealing with girls. Then suddenly, he clapped his hands together with an idea.
"How about we go find Sister Xi? She's probably reading right now, but she should come out and get some fresh air too."
With that, he grabbed Zhezhi's hand again and ran forward.
By now, Zhezhi could no longer remember exactly what Zane had taken her to do that day.
But she still clearly remembered one thing.
That day was the day she smiled the most in her entire childhood.
[🎉 Shoutout to Ph4t0m for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]