Chapter 178: Thirsty?
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"Hehe." The little one rubbed against Yan Cijin sweetly, not even a little embarrassed. She knew she liked meat, and she was perfectly fine admitting it. Children were often like this. They were more honest than adults in a lot of ways, and because of that honesty, they could make people laugh without meaning to.
"You play with LiLi, I’ll go prepare the food. Is noodles okay for lunch?" Yan Cijin looked at Bai Li and asked.
"Sure, I’m fine with anything." Bai Li replied with a smile.
"Me too!" The little girl chimed in right after her, making all the adults laugh. Her voice was so energetic that it immediately lightened the atmosphere. Even Yan Laojin, who had been a little serious because she was thinking about food storage, could not help smiling.
Yan Cijin and Yan Laojin went to prepare the food, while the little girl took out her kitten doll and asked Bai Li to watch her play. The kitten doll was small and soft, and it looked like the child loved it a lot. The little girl held it carefully with both hands first, then hugged it to her chest like it was something very precious. She looked up at Bai Li and shook the doll gently.
"Auntie, look at my kitten, it’s so soft." The little girl said, rubbing the kitten against Bai Li’s arm.
Bai Li looked down at the toy and then at the child’s bright face. She realized that the little girl’s happiness was very simple. A favorite toy, a person she liked, a warm room, and a little bit of attention were enough to make her smile like that. Bai Li’s eyes were full of smiles too. She had always thought children were trouble. Noisy, sticky, and hard to deal with. But now that she was actually sitting here and watching this little girl behave so naturally, she found herself thinking something different. How come she had never realized how cute children were before?
Maybe it was because she had never slowed down long enough to notice.
Maybe it was because the world had always been too busy, too cold, and too full of useless noise.
After playing for a while, the little girl started rubbing against Bai Li again, acting all cute and affectionate. She leaned in close, then looked around first as if checking whether anyone was listening. Her tiny little hands curled up near her mouth in a dramatic whispering pose.
"Auntie, come closer, I want to whisper something to you."
Bai Li found the little girl amusing. Such a tiny child already knew how to whisper. That alone made her feel like laughing a little. She leaned down and put her ear close to the little girl. The little girl made a circle with her little hands and then whispered in Bai Li’s ear, "Auntie, I want to drink Wahaha. Mommy won’t let me eat snacks, can you help me, Auntie?"
The little girl’s voice was so serious that Bai Li almost laughed right there. The child had eaten a strawberry candy that morning, and Yan Cijin was worried that eating more snacks would be bad for the little one’s health, so she refused the little girl’s request to drink Wahaha so early in the morning. But the little one kept thinking about it. Since Mommy would not let her drink it, she came to her auntie instead. The whole strategy was written all over her tiny face, and somehow that made it even harder to refuse her.
Bai Li wondered what was wrong for a second, then understood immediately. It turned out the little glutton wanted to drink Wahaha. The answer was so simple that Bai Li almost wanted to smile again. "Okay, I’ll get it for you now, okay?"
"Yay! I love Auntie the most!" The little girl immediately started acting cute and affectionate, hugging Bai Li and rubbing against her. Her little arms wrapped around Bai Li’s waist as much as they could reach, and her whole body seemed to wiggle with excitement. Bai Li lightly poked the child’s cheek to make her get up, and then she stood up and went to the kitchen.
Even though the kitchen was only a few steps away, Bai Li could still feel the little girl’s eyes following her. It made her steps a little lighter. For some reason, she had the odd feeling that she was being needed in a very direct, very innocent way. That feeling was not heavy. It was warm. It made her chest feel a little tighter in a way she could not fully explain.
Seeing her come in, Yan Cijin asked, "Are you thirsty? Let me get you some water."
"No, no, where did you put all the snacks?" Bai Li coughed lightly and asked.
Yan Cijin took two steps toward Bai Li, her gaze sweeping over her. She looked at Bai Li with a bit of suspicion mixed with concern, like she was trying to figure out whether Bai Li was lying or whether the little girl had really asked for something. "Did LiLi ask you for snacks?"
Bai Li touched the back of her neck. Feeling a little nervous under Yan Cijin’s gaze, she whispered in defense, "Yeah, a little won’t hurt. As long as I don’t eat too much, it won’t affect my health. Kids all like snacks."
"What are you saying? Speak louder!" Yan Cijin raised an eyebrow and asked.
Bai Li pursed her lips and remained silent.
That tiny moment made the air between them feel a little strange. Not bad. Just strange in a way that was hard to ignore. Bai Li could hear her own heartbeat for a second, steady but a little louder than usual. Yan Cijin was standing close enough that Bai Li could smell a faint clean scent coming off her, mixed with the smell of the kitchen and the warm air of the apartment. It was not enough to do anything dramatic,
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TO BE CONTINUED.
