I Am Home

She opened her closet and contemplated on what to wear. She could only wear flat and soft shoes, but such footwear would easily get soaked in this weather. It was also tedious to match with an outfit.

She drew back the curtains to take a look. It was not raining, but the sky was very gloomy. The smell of petrichor permeated the air.

Wushuang looked down at her pathetic foot.

She decided to prioritize comfort above all things.

She eventually decided on a light green wool dress and a pair of tights paired with light green snow boots. Her straight hair rested on her shoulders. She put a light layer of lip balm, grabbed her coat, and headed out with no makeup.

She took the opportunity and checked herself out in the three-hundred-and-sixty-degree mirrors in the elevator. She looked just like she did when she first entered university. She often wore this dress when she was in university. Although she appeared the same, her frame of mind had changed quite significantly. Contrastingly, she preferred this forward-looking self of hers.

She clenched her fist and did a fist pump. Jing Wushuang, you would only get better!

She used the DiDi app once more and in about a half-hour, she reached the Xia family house.

The Xia house was located among a cluster of villas in the old part of the city. It was a three-and-a-half-story villa with a large courtyard in front, with a large green yard filled with various flowers and plants that bloomed across seasons. A swing was erected in the courtyard. Her grandfather took up gardening after he retired and loved it. As a result, the yard looked even more beautiful.

This was the place where Wushuang lived for ten years, though she had chosen to live on campus since high school. Since then, she only visited occasionally.

No sooner did Wushuang step into the yard, she heard a hearty, ringing laugh. "Grandpa's little darling is back. Come, come, let me see you."

"Grandpa, I'm back."

Wushuang approached Xia Jingshan with a radiant smile and lovingly held his arm.

Xia Jingshan put on a fierce expression on his face and patted the back of her hand, "Naughty girl. Why don't you come back home? And what's wrong with your foot?"

He noticed that she was walking very unnaturally.

"It's nothing. I sprained it a few days ago, but it's all better now."

His face grew stern when he heard this. He initially pretended to be displeased to scare her, but it became real. "You didn't even return home when you were injured? Why am I only hearing about this now?"

As he spoke, he shifted more of her body weight onto himself. "Be careful with that foot. Don't put too much weight on it."

Wushuang felt warm; her grandfather sincerely loved her. She stroked his arm coquettishly. "I know, I know. I was afraid Grandpa would worry. It's not a big deal."

"Sigh, my delicate darling granddaughter is out there all alone. How could I not worry? At least there were other students on campus the last time. Why not just move back home? That unreliable mother of yours is really something…" Every time Xia Jingshan saw his granddaughter suffering, he would start to complain about his daughter.

Wushuang had heard this countless times since she graduated.

Wushuang knew that behind these complaints was, in fact, a way to disguise him missing her mother. In a softer and more relaxed tone, she assured him as she replied, "I know Grandpa loves me, and I'm happy that my mother is doing well. It's more convenient to go to the office from my apartment. Do you have the heart to see me drive for an hour every day to work? That's excluding time in traffic. Isn't everything fine just the way it is?"

"Alright, alright, alright. You're my most obedient precious darling. Anything for you." Faced with his favorite granddaughter, Xia Jingshan was able to compromise to no end.