"Sister, can Baobao sleep here tonight?"
Ji Baby buried his face in the pillow for a while. Before Le Tong could respond, he sat up, kicked off his shoes, rolled onto the bed, and tumbled around for a bit before finally sitting quietly to take the juice Le Tong handed him.
The juice was sothing Le Tong asked Luo Yuanyuan to buy in advance and put in the fridge. Besides that, she also prepared a lengthy list of groceries for Luo Yuanyuan to prepare for her.
Now, Le Tong was opening the fridge to check if all the ingredients were accounted for.
"Baobao, what do you want for lunch?"
Le Tong called out loudly from the open fridge to the little guy outside the kitchen.
"Whatever sister makes, Baobao will eat!"
Ji Baby suddenly dashed in, startling Le Tong.
"Noodles? Or rice?" Le Tong turned to look at him.
Ji Baby dodged under Le Tong’s arm, his eyes widening at the sight of the fully stocked fridge, swallowing a gulp of saliva.
"Sister, can Baobao have so rice?"
The little foodie looked up longingly at Le Tong.
Le Tong tapped his nose and nodded with a smile.
"Of course, just say what you want."
Over ti, Le Tong got to know Baobao’s preferences quite well, so most of the food in the fridge was stuff Ji Baby loved to eat.
"Will it tire sister out?!"
Ji Baby worried for Le Tong but couldn’t resist the growling hunger inside him, making his eyes glance hesitantly at Le Tong.
"Sister took a long nap on the plane and isn’t tired at all."
Even if Le Tong was exhausted, she wouldn’t bear to let Baobao go hungry.
"Really not tired, sister? Then Baobao wants so rice..." Ji Baby couldn’t help but lick his lips.
Le Tong smiled, kissed him on the lips, patted his bottom, and said, "Go play, Baobao. Sister will cook now."
Ji Baby was obedient, responded with an ’Oh’, and walked out quietly.
Le Tong thought about what to cook, taking out the ingredients from the fridge, when suddenly she heard a "pat-pat-pat" sound from outside. Assuming Ji Baby was playing rowdily outside, she was about to check when the sound reached the kitchen door. In a flash, Ji Baby’s little face popped in.
"Sister, Baobao wants to help you."
Le Tong looked over and laughed!
The little guy had found a small bamboo stool from sowhere and was dragging it to the kitchen door. The "pat-pat" was likely the sound made by dragging the stool.
"What can Baobao do?"
Le Tong asked, and Ji Baby had already dragged the stool into the kitchen, deftly climbing on it.
"Baobao doesn’t know, but Sister can teach Baobao..."
Ji Baby was quite honest, but his sincerity was all the more precious.
Le Tong couldn’t refuse his good intentions and placed a few bell peppers in front of him.
"Baobao, what do you think this is?"
Ji Baby picked one up and looked at it, "Pepper, lantern! Hahaha..." He couldn’t help but laugh at himself after saying it.
Le Tong was amused by him and laughed for a while before saying, "Baobao is right, this is a type of pepper, also called a bell pepper."
Le Tong took a small knife, halved the bell pepper, removed the seeds, and chopped it into small pieces.
After showing him once, Le Tong went about her tasks while Ji Baby clumsily but diligently followed the demonstrated steps, taking more than ten minutes to clean and chop all the bell peppers into pieces.
"Sister, I’m done cutting!"
Ji Baby cheerfully held up a plate of chopped bell pepper pieces in front of Le Tong. She took a look; though the pieces varied in size and were irregularly shaped, for a first-tir, it was quite an achievent.
"Hmm, Baobao is amazing, thank you!"
After the praise, she gave him another kiss on the lips for encouragent.
Fired up by the praise, Ji Baby eagerly helped Le Tong, peeling garlic and washing vegetables. The two of them were at it in the kitchen for over an hour before finally finishing a lunch of three dishes and a soup.
On any other day, Le Tong could have done it all in about half an hour by herself, but because Baobao wanted to help, she deliberately slowed her pace. For her, the goal was not just to make food but to cherish the unforgettable monts spent with Baobao.
The al, crafted through their teamwork in the kitchen, tasted especially delicious to Baobao.
"Sister, will you often co back to cook for Baobao?" Baobao asked, full of hope in his eyes, as he ate.
Unsure of how to respond, Le Tong fumbled and eventually said, "Sister will try her best!"
Of course, Baobao wasn’t satisfied with this answer, but he didn’t dare ask for more, fearing he might push his luck and make his sister ignore him.
This self-discipline of Ji Baby pained Le Tong, yet left her helpless.
After dinner, Le Tong helped the yawning Ji Baby wash his face. She removed his jacket and tucked him into bed.
Only his small face was exposed, and after another yawn, he sleepily asked Le Tong,
"Sister, can Baobao sleep with you tonight?"
Le Tong tucked him in snuggly and didn’t answer directly, "Sleep tight, and when you wake up, sister will teach you how to make Tangyuan."
She wouldn’t dare ntion Baobao’s request to stay overnight with Ji Rui.
For now, she just hoped to see Baobao occasionally like this, not daring to ask or wish for anything more.
Snuggled in the warm bed, Ji Baby soon fell asleep, his little nose and lips twitching with each breath. Le Tong couldn’t resist leaning down to plant a few more kisses on him.
Though she found her habit of acting like a kissing fanatic odd, she couldn’t bring herself to stop.
As Baobao slept, Le Tong returned to the kitchen to continue working. With a flight back to D Province tomorrow night, she had to hurry and prepare so of Baobao’s favorite dishes for him to take ho and enjoy slowly.
As she did so, Le Tong thought of her mother.
Starting in middle school, Le Tong boarded at school and returned ho every weekend. Every Monday, when her mother dropped her off at the school bus, she would hand her a large bag filled with food packed in airtight containers.
Just like what she was doing for Baobao now.
[Late night update. Zhu Zi has carefully read through every ssage, thanks to all the support from Zhu Zi’s girls. However, due to tight writing schedules, ssages are typically replied to once every one or two days. The thoughtful sentints have been received, thank you all.]
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