Xiaotu listened and listened to the song Cheng Zhiyan was singing to her, and then, finally, drowsily, fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, the sky brightened. Sunlight shone through the heavy curtains, adding a light layer of shadows to everything in the room.
Xiaotu, who had been sleeping heavily, suddenly opened her eyes. She turned around to glance at Cheng Zhiyan, who was sleeping quietly, and rolled off the bed.
She stepped on the floor beneath the bed with her bare feet and felt around for her slippers. She put them on and rushed to go back to her own house.
As soon as she opened the door of Cheng Zhiyan’s house, Xiaotu instantly felt the chilly air blowing around her.
It was really…really cold…
Xiaotu started to shiver since she was only wearing a light cotton sweater. Then, just as she was about to step outside the door, she was suddenly enveloped in a bear hug.
“Brother Orange Juice?” Xiaotu couldn’t help but cry out in surprise when she turned around and saw that it was the still half-asleep Cheng Zhiyan who was standing behind her.
“You planned on sneaking out dressed like this?” Cheng Zhiyan said in a scolding tone. Since he was still drowsy, his voice sounded a little hoarse.
“Uh…I wanted to go home to see whether or not my daddy has returned yet,” Xiaotu said in a low voice as she looked at the glowering expression on Cheng Zhiyan’s face.
“Didn’t I explain to you what was going on already? Yesterday, your mother went to pick up your father. After they get back today, the first thing they’ll do is come to my house to pick you up.” Cheng Zhiyan picked her up and placed her on his shoulders, closed the door and headed upstairs as he said, “How early is it? Are you trying to get completely frozen by sneaking out at this hour?”
“I simply…wanted a sneak peek…” Xiaotu explained.
“If you’d wanted a sneak peek, you should have at least put your clothes on.” Cheng Zhiyan carried Xiaotu right back to his bedroom.
As soon as he opened the bedroom door, a blast of warm air instantly blew into their faces.
Cheng Zhiyan couldn’t help but shiver.
Fortunately, Xiaotu had made too much noise when she was searching for her slippers on the floor and had woken him up. As a result, he’d gone downstairs to look for her. He hadn’t even been out of the bedroom for very long, and he already felt so cold. If she’d managed to go outside, she definitely would have caught cold.
Cheng Zhiyan refused to discuss this with her any longer. He tossed Xiaotu on the bed, retrieved her blanket and tucked her in. Only then did he go back to bed as well.
“So, so, so…so cold…” Xiaotu’s teeth chattered as she buried herself in the covers.
“So you think it’s cold, huh?” Cheng Zhiyan rolled his eyes at her as he continued to scold. “Yet weren’t you about to go out the door while only wearing a cotton sweater?”
“A moment…a moment ago it didn’t feel so cold…,” Xiaotu trembled as she replied.
Cheng Zhiyan had no idea what to say to her so he turned off the lights and said reproachfully, “Go back to sleep, your mommy and daddy won’t arrive until around noon.”
“Why haven’t they gotten back yet?” Xiaotu kept on arguing.
“Your mother went to Nanjing to pick up your father. I asked my father yesterday, and he said the bus ride from Nanjing to here takes at least four hours. So no matter how you calculate it, they won’t be arriving until noon. So you should just get some peaceful sleep.” Cheng Zhiyan turned around and said nothing further.
Noon…
While wrapped in her blanket, Xiaotu’s large eyes stared at the ceiling. Ah…time goes by so slowly…