Baobao woke up after more than an hour. When he found himself in unfamiliar surroundings, he called out loudly. "Sister, Sister!"
Le Tong, who was in the kitchen, was startled. She rushed out with her apron still on and hurried to the bed.
Ji Baby, with sleepy eyes, stopped yelling as soon as he saw Le Tong. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed his face against her stomach.
Le Tong, worried the apron would dirty his face, gently pushed him away, cupping his face softly, and asked in a gentle voice, "Baby, did you have a nightmare?"
His cries earlier sounded as if he had been frightened.
Ji Baby shook his head, his eyes still a bit dazed, not quite fully awake.
"Sister, where is this place?"
Le Tong kissed him, "This is Sister’s ho."
It seed that Baobao, used to living in a large luxurious house, wasn’t quite comfortable with this small, worn-out dwelling.
"Oh..."
Ji Baby finally fully woke up. He obediently got out of bed, washed his face, and when he ca out, he was no longer confused. His eyes looked like he was a few years older, like a little adult.
Le Tong had almost finished her work in the kitchen, so she took off her apron, washed her hands, walked out, and found a few photo albums on the bookshelf. She sat on the sofa with Baobao to look through them together.
"Baby, these are Sister’s childhood photos. This is Sister’s mom..."
Le Tong pointed to a group photo taken when she was five or six, sitting next to her mother. Back then, she was still a carefree little girl, only interested in eating and playing. If truth be told, she felt that Baobao was more sensible and intelligent than she was at that age.
Ji Baby seriously looked at Mrs. Le’s face, then raised his head to look at Le Tong. "Grandma is beautiful too, just like Sister now."
Le Tong looked a lot like her mother, especially when she smiled, her eyes curved in a strikingly similar way.
"Yes, she was very beautiful." Le Tong looked at her mother’s bright smile, feeling a bit dazed.
"Where is she now? Why hasn’t Baobao seen her?" Ji Baby tilted his head and asked curiously.
Le Tong had never talked to Baobao about her mother because, for a five-year-old child, death was a cruel and heavy subject.
Le Tong reached out, ruffling Baobao’s hair, "She went to heaven."
Ji Baby fell silent, staring at the photo for several seconds before reaching out to tightly wrap his arms around Le Tong’s waist.
Le Tong knew he was trying to comfort her.
"Silly Baobao, Sister is okay."
Le Tong gently lowered her gaze, resting her face against his soft hair, looking at the understanding little Baobao.
It’s said that a person’s hair reflects their personality. Soft hair often suggests a delicate and gentle disposition, while hard hair often indicates a blunt and temperantal nature.
It seed this saying might not be entirely unfounded.
Although outsiders called Baobao a little Demon, Le Tong saw that his outbursts and roughness were more of a self-defense chanism against malice. In private, he was a sensitive and considerate little fellow.
Many tis, his maturity was heart-wrenching!
"Grandma was a good mom, right?" Baobao murmured.
"Yes, she was a good mom. She loved Sister very much, so she is quietly watching over Sister from heaven..."
Le Tong had always firmly believed in this, so she worked hard to live well so that her mom in heaven wouldn’t be sad.
Ji Baby looked up at Le Tong.
"Sister, will Baobao’s mommy also quietly watch over Baobao like Sister’s mommy?"
The eager hope in Baobao’s eyes made Le Tong burst into tears instantly!
She turned her face away secretly, using the back of her hand to wipe away the tears that unexpectedly flowed, then took a deep breath before turning back to kiss Baobao’s forehead.
"Yes, Baobao’s mommy will definitely do the sa and quietly watch over you. So, Baobao needs to be good, okay?"
Ji Baby reached out to touch her face, "Mm, Baobao knows. Sister, don’t cry. Baobao will hug you!"
As he said this, Ji Baby gently patted her back a few tis with his small hands.
He thought Le Tong was sad rembering her mom. Little did he know, it was his own words that opened Le Tong’s floodgates.
Le Tong’s sadness didn’t last long. She brought Baobao here not to be sad, but to let him learn more about her.
She hoped to bring nothing but joy and positive energy to Baobao, rather than negative emotions filled with sorrow and lancholy.
She knew better than anyone that the happiness she possessed was essentially stolen happiness. She didn’t know how long she could accompany Baobao, but she hoped that whether it was a day or a year, what she left with Baobao would be beautiful mories, not harm!
The thought of Baobao having to comfort her made Le Tong feel quite feeble, so she quickly adjusted her mood. The two of them sat closely together, heads leaning against each other, continuing to look at the old and new photos. Le Tong pointed to the pictures, telling Baobao many funny and silly stories from her childhood, making Baobao giggle, occasionally pinching Le Tong’s face, teasing her as "silly Sister."
After looking through the albums, Le Tong led Baobao back to the kitchen, took out rice flour and fillings for making tangyuan, and the two of them, with four hands, played around on the countertop, covering each other’s faces and bodies with white flour. Now and then, they lowered their heads to knead the dough, looked at each other with flour-covered faces like cats, and couldn’t help but burst into the sa laughter.
They spent nearly two hours playfully in the kitchen, finally finishing the tangyuan. Le Tong’s tangyuan were perfectly round and uniform in size, while Baobao’s displayed various shapes and sizes, so oval, so nearly square, but none were round. So resembled cats, others snakes, but not a single one looked like tangyuan.
With the water boiling, Le Tong and Baobao each put their handmade tangyuan into the pot, and soon, an array of oddly shaped tangyuan filled the pot.
Le Tong served them up, each taking a big bowl, and brought them to the coffee table. Sitting on small stools, they took turns feeding each other until both bowls were empty. Only then did Le Tong take the bowls away, wash them, and pack the leftover tangyuan and other food she’d made for Baobao into a thermal container.
"Baobao, let’s go, I’ll take you ho!"
At that mont, Baobao was stretching like a snake, lying on the sofa. Hearing this from Le Tong, he pouted and complained, "Sister, Baobao wants to sleep here."
"No, I’ll take you ho!" In this regard, Le Tong was firm with no room for negotiation.
Because she had promised Ji Rui not to overly interfere with their lives.
[Fourth update, ti is a bit tight today, so there should only be four updates. Goodnight everyone, muah!]
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