Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhou Ling stared at Cheng Zhiyan, who was standing there outside her front door. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Pick up Xiaotu?”
“Uh huh…” Cheng Zhiyan nodded. He was wearing a crisp white shirt, and the soft moonlight illuminated his handsome face.
Blinking her eyes as she stared at Cheng Zhiyan, Xiaotu was simply bowled over by how handsome Brother Orange Juice was.
“Zhou Ling…” Zhou Yue popped her head out of the door next to theirs and beamed at Xiaotu’s mother as she said, “Just let Xiaotu come over and play for a while. Aren’t you preparing for the medical qualification exam? Since Xiaotu’s father isn’t at home, with Xiaotu here you can’t focus on your studies for a bit. Let the two children play together, and you can seize this chance to do some studying.”
“My little rascal is extremely naughty. I’m afraid that she’ll get into mischief at your place,” Zhou Ling said helplessly as she continued to hold Xiaotu in her arms.
“That’s all right. I’ll watch over her, and Yan Yan will play with her as well.” Zhou Yue shrugged her shoulders and said to Zhou Ling, “You don’t have to be so formal and polite with me.”
“All right.”
Zhou Ling stooped down, placed Xiaotu gently on the ground, and gave her some instructions about how to behave. Only then did she finally agree to let her go home with Cheng Zhiyan and Zhou Yue.
Zhou Yue stood at her door and watched with amusement as Cheng Zhiyan led Xiaotu, who was bouncing up and down, toward her, hand in hand. The contrast between their tall and short figures, with their silhouettes reflected by the moonlight, resembled two little saplings that had sprouted from the ground of a bleak wilderness and had relied on each other, embracing the hardships of thunderstorms and the baptism of sunlight together.
For just a moment, it flashed through her mind that even if these two children did end up together in the future, it wouldn’t be so bad at all.
Since her son was so handsome and Xiaotu was so adorable, upon reflection, they did sort of have the look of a couple. The longer Zhou Yue looked at them, the more they appeared to have been made for each other.
After Xiaotu and Cheng Zhiyan entered the house, Zhou Yue closed the door. Then, upon seeing all the things that Xiaotu was clutching in her arms, she asked with puzzlement, “Xiaotu, what are all those things that you’ve brought in your arms?”
“This is my milk powder and my milk bottle.” Upon seeing that she had successfully reached her intended destination, Xiaotu promptly dropped her milk powder and milk bottle on the ground and said in a babyish voice, “This is what I drink before bed.” Then she pointed at the sleeping teddy bear in her arms and explained, “And this is my dear friend, Xiong Xiong. Every night, I hug him as I fall asleep.”
“Oh…” Zhou Yue nodded. She couldn’t resist teasing her, and she grinned mischievously as she asked Xiaotu, “Didn’t you say that you were going to sleep with Brother Orange Juice tonight? So what about your dear friend Xiong Xiong? Will he be sad because he won’t be able to sleep with you tonight?”
Xiaotu lifted her head and gazed at Zhou Yue with an innocent expression as she answered in a clear voice, “Auntie Zhou, this is merely a toy bear. It’s not a human, so it can’t feel sadness.”
“Uh…”
All right, Zhou Yue hadn’t expected that kids were so smart nowadays…
Upon second thought, she realized that when her son had been three years old, he hadn’t been able to articulate his words this clearly. Also, when he did express his thoughts, he often used repetitive phrasing. “I guess it’s true what they say, that girls are indeed more clever than boys.”
Zhou Yue couldn’t help but stoop down and take Xiaotu in her arms. She pinched her soft, little cheek gently. Then she patted her on the head and said, “Go now, play with Brother Orange Juice.”