The air suddenly solidified, and the vast garden became very quiet, very quiet…
It was so quiet that even the sound of petals falling was clearly audible, lingering for a full three seconds.
A gentle breeze blew, and pink petals drifted leisurely.
“whoosh — whoosh —”
It was as if the wind couldn’t bear to break this subtle yet tense atmosphere.
In the distance, the maids pruning the flowers keenly sensed this unusual silence.
They instinctively lightened their movements, and even their breathing became careful.
But that wasn’t all.
Ziya still tilted her small face up, gazing blankly at Bai Li.
Her cheeks were as red as ripe, succulent cherries, and her long eyelashes trembled nervously.
She had gathered all her courage just to say that sentence.
She had practiced it 1,000 times in her heart, pondering every word and every phrase…
But the moment it actually came out, she felt much more nervous than she had during the National Restoration, when she stood on the stage to address all the subjects of the kingdom as the Monarch of a Kingdom.
She looked at Bai Li with wide eyes.
Her clear gaze was a mixture of expectation, anxiety, and a hint of fear that was about to overflow, terrified that she would hear a heartbreaking rejection in the next second.
That was a wish she had hidden for a long time, and it was also her softest luxury…
Bai Li opened her mouth, but for a long while, she couldn’t utter a single word.
Her heart was in turmoil, and her thoughts were racing.
‘Does Ziya… want to call me Mother?’
She looked down at Ziya, who was currently the Monarch of a Kingdom yet clinging to her like a kitten, and her heart was filled with mixed emotions.
She had watched Ziya grow step by step, staying by her side as her Father and protecting her. But the word “Mother”…
“It really came too suddenly.”
“She could even easily imagine that if her other two daughters were present, they would surely double over with laughter… right?”
Actually, on second thought, they probably wouldn’t; they would only laugh at Ziya for being naive…
They all only wanted Bai Li to be their daughter, while Ziya, after wandering through various thoughts, only wanted her to be her Mother.
In the beginning, Ziya had pushed for the transformation with the intention of making Bai Li her daughter to repay her for raising her.
But after this period of separation and longing, she finally saw clearly what her heart truly desired…
It wasn’t a swap of status or an impulse.
She wanted a mother she could rely on, someone who could take care of her gently.
She suddenly understood that she wasn’t old enough to be Bai Li’s mother, and she didn’t want to rush to grow up anymore.
She could think about those distant things later as she gradually grew up.
At this moment, she only wanted to hold onto the warmth in front of her.
Seeing that Bai Li remained silent for a long time, Ziya’s face slowly slumped.
Her originally bright eyes dimmed, her ears drooped listlessly, and her voice choked with grievance and deep insecurity.
“Fa… Father… Is it not okay…?”
“If not… then… I’ll just be good and call you Father… “sob”…”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller until her head was almost buried in her chest.
Her shoulders trembled slightly, making her look like a small, abandoned animal with no home to go to.
The courage she had gathered earlier had long since vanished in the prolonged silence, leaving only grievance and fear in her heart.
The moment Bai Li saw her tearful and pitiful appearance, her heart instantly softened into a pool of water.
“How could she care about embarrassment or shock anymore?”
She hurriedly reached out to cup her small face, her thumb gently caressing her flushed cheeks.
“It’s not that it’s not okay, Ziya. Don’t be sad.”
Her voice remained as gentle as water, though it held a bit of helpless and doting laughter.
“It’s just… you suddenly said that, and it took me a moment to come back to my senses.”
Ziya snapped her head up.
Her eyes instantly regained their luster like stars lighting up in the dark night, filled with both surprise and joy.
“Re-Really? Father isn’t angry?”
“How could I be angry?”
Bai Li couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“It’s just that I’ve always stayed by your side as your Father. Why did you suddenly want to change and call me Mother?”
“…”
Asked for a reason, Ziya’s cheeks grew hot again, and her heart drummed.
She stole a glance at Rongrong nearby, then quickly lowered her head and whispered in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.
“Be-Because I heard from Rongrong that she’s had her mother’s love since she was little…”
“She said that mothers tell gentle bedtime stories, hold their children as they sleep peacefully, and are even more gentle and meticulous than fathers…”
“I… I want a mother like that too…”
“And Father already treats me so well, being gentle and beautiful. You’re exactly the same as the mother I’ve imagined in my heart countless times…”
Her voice became fainter and fainter.
By the time she finished, she practically buried her entire face in Bai Li’s embrace.
Her soft tone was full of unreserved reliance and attachment.
Those were the sincere words she had hidden for so long, her purest aspiration.
At this moment, Bai Li’s heart was wrapped in layers of warm current, becoming completely soft, as if filled with the gentlest affection in the world.
She sighed softly and pulled Ziya tightly into her arms, letting her lean against her shoulder peacefully.
“Silly child.”
“Whether you call me Father or Mother, I will stay by your side, love you with everything I have, and never leave you.”
Leaning in her embrace, Ziya’s nose felt sore, and tears almost escaped her eyes.
It wasn’t because she was sad, but because she was too happy.
She tightly hugged Bai Li’s waist and buried her face in her warm neck, speaking muffledly with a hint of cautious testing.
“Then… can I call you…?”
“Ma… Mother…?”
Those last two words were as light as a feather, yet they drifted clearly into Bai Li’s ears and landed on the tip of her heart.
Bai Li’s body stiffened slightly.
Then, she let out a helpless and gentle laugh, her voice so soft it seemed as if it could drip water.
‘Sigh, this child… I really can’t do anything about her.’
“Fine, fine, let her have her way. “
Who told this little one to always be so well-behaved and sensible, yet now be so full of joy and expectation?
‘Anyway… it’s only temporary, right?’
‘Yes, it must be temporary.’
‘Sooner or later, I will find a way to change back and return to being my original self.’
‘For now, I’ll just… satisfy the obedient and pitiful Xiao Ziya for a while.’
Bai Li thought, somewhat self-deceivingly.