Chapter 182: Her energy.
Her energy made the whole room feel lighter. Even Bai Li, who was usually more reserved, found herself smiling more than usual. She even reached over once and lightly patted the little girl’s head. That tiny action seemed to make the little girl even happier, because she immediately leaned toward Bai Li and called her auntie again in that soft, sweet voice.
After lunch, there was still a little time before the usual afternoon nap. Bai Li was already thinking about leaving, but the little one clearly did not want her to go yet. She kept tugging at Bai Li’s sleeve and asking her to stay a little longer, and Bai Li, seeing that she still had some free time, agreed to sit with them for a while. The little girl then happily dragged out her cat toy, put it in Bai Li’s hands, and told her all kinds of little stories about it. She said the cat doll liked sleeping on the sofa, liked eating fish, and had to be patted gently or it would get upset. Bai Li listened seriously the whole time, even though she knew most of the story was probably made up on the spot. Still, the way the child told it made everything feel real enough.
At one point, the little girl suddenly crawled closer, then pressed her little mouth to Bai Li’s ear and whispered, "Auntie, can you stay with me a little longer?"
Bai Li’s heart gave a tiny jump for no clear reason. The child’s breath was warm and the whisper was so close that it made her instantly lower her voice too, like she was being pulled into a secret. "I can stay a little longer," Bai Li replied softly, almost without thinking.
The little girl immediately brightened and hugged her arm. "Then Auntie can’t leave too fast."
Yan Cijin, who had just come out of the kitchen with a towel in her hand, happened to hear that last bit. She looked over and found Bai Li sitting there with the little girl hanging on her arm like a tiny koala. For some reason, that scene looked unexpectedly pleasing to the eye. Yan Cijin stood still for half a second before she looked away, but not before Bai Li noticed. Bai Li did not say anything, yet her fingers moved slightly on the sofa cushion. It was strange. Just being looked at by Yan Cijin in that quiet way somehow made her feel a little unsteady. Not enough to be embarrassing, just enough to be noticeable.
The little one soon got bored of the sofa and started playing with her kitten toy again. She held it up proudly and told Bai Li to watch. "Auntie, look at my kitten. It’s so soft."
Bai Li leaned closer to look at it. Her expression warmed again. "It is soft."
The little girl was very satisfied with that answer and hugged the toy even tighter. After a while, she started rubbing against Bai Li again, acting all cute and affectionate. "Auntie, come closer. I want to whisper something to you."
Bai Li was genuinely amused by this. Such a tiny child already knew how to whisper like she had some huge secret. "Okay," Bai Li said and leaned down.
The little girl made a circle with her little hands beside her mouth and whispered, "Auntie, I want to drink Wahaha. Mommy won’t let me eat snacks, can you help me, Auntie?"
Bai Li blinked once, then almost laughed. So that was what this was about.
It turned out the little glutton had eaten a strawberry candy that morning, and Yan Cijin was worried that giving her more snacks would be bad for her health, so she had refused the little girl’s request to drink Wahaha so early in the day. But the child had clearly not given up. Since Mommy would not agree, she ran straight to her auntie instead. That was actually very clever in its own childish way.
Bai Li looked at her in surprise and then smiled. "So that’s what you wanted."
The little girl nodded hard, her eyes wide and pleading.
"Okay, I’ll get it for you now," Bai Li said. "Wait here."
"Yay! I love Auntie the most!" The little girl immediately started acting cute and affectionate, hugging Bai Li and rubbing against her like she was trying to make sure Bai Li would not forget her promise.
Bai Li poked the little girl’s cheek lightly to make her sit still, then stood up and went to the kitchen.
Yan Cijin was tidying up the table there, and when she saw Bai Li come in, she asked naturally, "Are you thirsty? Let me get you some water."
"No, no," Bai Li said quickly, then realized she was being too obvious and coughed lightly. "Where did you put all the snacks?"
Yan Cijin took two steps toward her, and her gaze swept over Bai Li in a way that made Bai Li suddenly feel a little stiff. "Did LiLi ask you for snacks?"
Bai Li touched the back of her neck. For some reason, standing under Yan Cijin’s gaze made her feel a little nervous, even though she usually did not get nervous about this kind of thing. She lowered her voice and said 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.
Bai Li pursed her lips and went quiet.
She had not meant to sound sneaky, but the moment Yan Cijin looked at her like that, she somehow lost her nerve. She clearly was not afraid of zombies or blood or anything dangerous, yet standing here and asking for a bottle of Wahaha for a little girl somehow made her feel like she was doing something guilty. Yan Cijin, seeing her reaction, could not help finding it funny.
.
.
.
To be continued.
Stay tuned.
