Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?

Chapter 1242: Chapter 1238: A Lively Day

"Waaah~ waaah~ ooh~ ooh~"

Tang Tang sat in the very center of the living room with her legs spread, head tipped back and throat straining as she howled dryly, tears and drool mixing together and smearing all over her face. Her little chest heaved up and down; she was crying with extra effort.

She hadn’t caught Dou Dou, and the black mustache on her face wouldn’t come off. The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt, and her crying grew louder and louder.

Ruan Huichun, who had been chewing on his own tiny fist in the stroller beside her, stopped at once when he heard his sister cry, then opened his mouth and joined in with a wail of "waaah," the two little ones crying in turn, one after the other.

Grandma came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of fruit. At a glance she saw Tang Tang crying like a little tear-drenched mess, immediately put the fruit plate down on the table, hurried over, and reached out to smack Shen Siyuan on the arm: "What’s wrong with you? How did you make Tang Tang cry like this?"

Shen Siyuan was torn between laughing and crying: "Grandma, why are you hitting me? It was Dou Dou’s fault."

"Then why didn’t you do something about it... huh?" Grandma didn’t finish her sentence before suddenly turning to look out the window.

The originally cloudless blue sky had somehow already turned overcast.

Dark, heavy clouds rolled in quickly from the horizon. The wind picked up in an instant, whipping the living-room curtains so they flapped, the papers on the table flicking through several pages, and even the clothes rack on the balcony swayed and clanged.

"That’s odd, the weather forecast this morning said it’d be sunny all day. How can it change just like that?" Grandma muttered with a frown.

Shen Siyuan had a good idea why and turned his head to look at Tang Tang on the floor.

The little one was still craning her neck and bawling, her chubby little hands flailing up and down, her face flushed red from crying.

Dou Dou was hiding behind the sofa, only half her head visible, her fingers picking at the seam in the upholstery as she stared at Tang Tang with big, anxious eyes.

She wanted to go over and apologize, but seeing how Tang Tang was shaking all over with rage, she got a bit scared. Her short little legs shuffled back and forth, and she didn’t dare move for a long time.

Mao Sanmei was in the kitchen. She was deaf and mute; she couldn’t hear sounds, and if she didn’t see it, she had no way of knowing the child was crying.

So the work she could do was limited to cooking, cleaning, or caring for elderly people with some mobility. Children were absolutely off-limits—it was too dangerous.

But there were so many people at home, and Tang Tang was usually very well-behaved, so there was no need for her to worry much on a daily basis.

Ruan Hongzhuang also couldn’t take it anymore and said to Shen Siyuan, "You go coax her, quickly. You’re not scaring Dou Dou, you’re scaring Tang Tang."

"Okay, okay, I’ll go."

Helpless, Shen Siyuan got up, walked over to Tang Tang, and crouched down in front of her.

He had just opened his mouth when he froze.

The black mustache on Tang Tang’s face had been washed into blotches by her tears and drool. The thick black handlebar mustache had blurred into a big smudge; the goatee on her chin was only half left, revealing the pale skin underneath.

Shen Siyuan couldn’t help looking astonished.

This was ink from the Judge’s Pen—once it hit, it took root; no ordinary mortal flesh could wipe it off.

But now, Tang Tang had only cried for a few minutes, and ordinary tears had actually washed the Judge’s Pen’s ink away.

He said nothing, just lifted his hand and grabbed at the air; a few tissues appeared in his palm.

He reached out, pulled Tang Tang up from the floor, and rubbed the tissues over her face.

"Stop crying. If you cry any more, you’ll really turn into a big smudge-face."

Wherever the tissues passed, the black ink was immediately carried away. The originally blotchy little face instantly revealed fair, delicate skin.

After a few tissues, most of the "mustache" on Tang Tang’s face was gone; only a faint mark was left at the corner of her eye.

"Bad... Dou Dou..." Tang Tang hiccupped and sniffled, not forgetting to tattle. Her little fists were clenched tight. "Hit... hit bad Dou Dou."

"Got it, got it, I’ll beat her up later." Shen Siyuan picked her up and, in one motion, tugged off the drool-soaked bib around her neck. "Come on, let’s go to the bathroom and wash up. Then you won’t be ugly anymore."

Carrying Tang Tang into the bathroom, Shen Siyuan turned on the tap, wet a towel with some warm water, and gently wiped off the remaining grime on her face.

Tang Tang obediently tilted her head back and let him wipe, still muttering under her breath as she cursed Dou Dou.

When he was done, Shen Siyuan set her down on the sink counter and pointed at the mirror. "Look, all better, right?"

Tang Tang immediately leaned closer to the mirror, her round eyes darting left and right. She reached up to touch her own face, and once she confirmed the black mustache was truly gone, she instantly broke into a smile through the tears, letting out a goofy "hia~ hia~" laugh.

She spun in a little circle in front of the mirror, then stroked her own cheeks, absolutely delighted with herself.

Then she turned her head, stuck her little face up close to Shen Siyuan, and puckered her lips, clearly asking for a kiss.

Shen Siyuan deliberately turned his head away, pretending to be disgusted. "Nope, you’re filthy."

The little one immediately widened her round eyes, as if to say: I’m mad now, you know.

Then she used all her strength to twist his head back toward her and pressed her own chubby, soft pink face against his.

Just then, a little head poked out from the bathroom doorway.

Dou Dou clung to the doorframe, showing only half her face as she peeked quietly inside.

Seeing that Tang Tang wasn’t crying anymore and the mustache on her face was gone, she let out a breath of relief and subconsciously snorted with laughter.

That little laugh was immediately heard by Tang Tang.

The smile on Tang Tang’s face vanished at once. She turned and glared at Dou Dou, pointed a tiny finger at her, and shouted in her milky voice, "Bad Dou Dou, stop right there..."

Dou Dou jumped in fright and spun around to run, her short legs pumping at top speed.

Tang Tang struggled in Shen Siyuan’s arms, trying to get down.

Shen Siyuan simply set her down.

"Bad Dou Dou, don’t run." The little one immediately started chasing after her on her own stubby legs.

Shen Siyuan followed them out of the bathroom and lifted his head to look out the window.

At some point, the dark clouds had dispersed and the wind had died down.

Golden sunlight streamed in through the windows, spilling onto the floor and stretching the shadows of the two little ones chasing each other long and thin.

In the living room, Tang Tang was chasing Dou Dou around the sofa, while Ruan Huichun had stopped crying, flailing his limbs and giggling in the stroller.

Just then, there was noise at the door—it was his mother-in-law Jiang Yingxue and his own mother Huang Huijuan, back from a shopping trip.

Behind them were Ruan Xiangqian and Shen Jianjun, both loaded with bags, hauling a huge pile of stuff.

"Oh my, has Huichun been a good boy at home?" Jiang Yingxue went to check on her son first thing.

Grandma looked a bit displeased and said quite bluntly, "Hongzhuang is pregnant now. How can you two go off to have fun and leave the baby with her?"

"Uh..." Jiang Yingxue looked a bit embarrassed.

She turned to look at Huang Huijuan, who immediately averted her gaze and refused to meet her eyes.

She had argued with the old lady for most of her life and had never won; now that Grandma had Shen Siyuan backing her up, she was even less of a match.

Thinking of this, she shot Shen Siyuan a fierce glare.

Shen Siyuan: ...

What did I do to deserve that look?

Seeing that this in-law was no help at all, Jiang Yingxue could only turn to Shen Siyuan.

Shen Siyuan: ...

"Sigh... Grandma..." Shen Siyuan had just opened his mouth.

"You be quiet."

"Got it."

"I’m not pulling rank here, but this isn’t your first time being mothers. How can you still not have any sense? You’re not young girls anymore, yet you’re out shopping every day. What’s so great about shopping..." Grandma slipped into lecture mode.

Shen Siyuan quietly snuck off toward the balcony, while Ruan Hongzhuang sat to the side with the fruit Grandma had just brought out, nibbling away as she watched her own mom get scolded, laughing the whole time.

This time Taozi had learned her lesson and didn’t stay to join the fun. When she saw Shen Siyuan heading for the balcony, she hurried after him.