Chapter 105: I Want a Little Monkey (Please Subscribe)

*Clink!*

Bai Zhijun dropped in a game token, and little Xi'er began wiggling the joystick to swing the claw inside the doll machine.

At this moment, little Xi'er's small face was tense and serious, her tiny mouth pursed tightly as if she were summoning all her strength.

The claw inside the machine swung back and forth but just wouldn't drop, making Xiaobai, who was watching from the side, stomp her feet in frustration.

"You silly goose, just drop it! Drop it already! You're driving me crazy!"

But little Xi'er replied in a very serious, babyish voice, "Xiaobai, Xi'er wants to catch that little monkey."

"A monkey?!"

Xiaobai looked closer and immediately became exasperated. She roared in her childish voice, "Are you silly? Are you stupid? The little monkey is buried at the bottom, how are you going to catch it? Just drop the claw!"

*Click!*

Startled by Xiaobai's shout, little Xi'er shivered, her tiny hand jerked, and the claw dropped straight down.

"It's a little puppy! Xi'er, hurry and pull it out!"

Seeing that Xi'er had accidentally grabbed a little puppy, little Qiu'er cried out in pleasant surprise, "We can give it to Dong'er! Dong'er loves puppies the most!"

"Mhm, mhm! Hiahia..."

Little Xi'er giggled heartily, then steered the claw as it wobbled upward.

"Slowly, slowly..."

As the claw rose, little Qiu'er and Xiaobai watched tensely. With every wobble, the two little ones held their breath and let out quiet, anxious squeals.

*Clunk!*

Finally, the puppy successfully dropped into the prize chute. Little Xi'er excitedly pulled it out, hugging it in her arms as she laughed, "Hiahia!"

"Isn't Xi'er so awesome? Xi'er is just too awesome!"

The little girl laughed heartily as she praised herself, then handed the puppy to the equally delighted little Qiu'er. Grinning widely, she said, "Qiu'er, you give the little puppy to Dong'er. Dong'er will definitely be super happy!"

"Mhm!" Little Qiu'er smiled happily. "Dong'er will definitely be very happy. Xi'er, you should give it to her. You caught it, and you're Dong'er's big sister too!"

"Hiahia... I'm Dong'er's big sister, I want to give the little puppy to Dong'er, hiahia..."

Little Xi'er jumped up and down, laughing with joy. Her little face was brimming with excitement. Being able to give the puppy she caught with her own hands to little Dong'er made her feel like she was floating on air.

"Hoho... it's my turn now!"

While little Xi'er and little Qiu'er were celebrating, young Xiaobai grinned, grabbed the joystick with her small hand, and turned to look at Bai Zhijun.

"Dad! Hurry up and put in the shiny round thing! Yours truly is going to catch a doll!"

Bai Zhijun immediately gave her a stern, fatherly stare. "You silly girl! What 'shiny round thing'? Those are game tokens! And if you say 'yours truly' again, I'll spank your little bottom!"

"I know, I know! Hurry up!"

Young Xiaobai urged him impatiently, completely unfazed by her father's threat.

After all, she was her father's little padded jacket. Even if this jacket was a bit drafty, it was still a jacket, wasn't it?

Seeing his silly daughter's attitude, Bai Zhijun felt utterly helpless. He casually dropped in another game token.

"Hoho..."

Xiaobai laughed excitedly, then went wild on the joystick like a fierce tiger. The result...

"Hiahia... Xiaobai! You didn't catch a doll! Xi'er did! Hiahia... Xi'er is just too awesome!"

Xiaobai: →_→

As little Xi'er laughed, Xiaobai gave her a stare of "love," and the little girl immediately covered her mouth with a look of mock terror.

With Xi'er silenced, Xiaobai withdrew her loving stare, rolled up her little sleeves, and prepared to get serious.

"Dad! Again! Yours truly refuses to believe it!"

Just then, little Xi'er's voice rang out again.

"Xiaobai, it's Qiu'er's turn next."

Xiaobai: π_π

Little Qiu'er: "Heehee..."

"Qiu'er, you go ahead."

Young Xiaobai rolled down her sleeves again and stepped aside.

"Xiaobai, you can go first. I'm not in a hurry," little Qiu'er said with a smile, only to be pulled forward by Xiaobai.

"Come on, one turn each!"

"Heehee..."

Little Qiu'er smiled happily and began to operate the joystick. Holding her newly caught puppy, little Xi'er bounced beside Xiaobai, calling out in her baby voice, "Qiu'er, get the little monkey! Get the little monkey..."

***

While the three little ones were happily catching dolls at the mall, the atmosphere in the studio was tense.

Wearing headphones, Qin Xue and Wang Ying watched Yang Qing and Li Dongning playing together inside the recording booth with serious expressions.

The song "On the Tip of My Heart, and Off Again" had already been recorded five times. Five consecutive failures, and they were currently on their sixth attempt.

"Do you think they'll make it this time?"

In the corner, Fang Du and Wang Ming chatted in hushed tones. Fang Du watched Yang Qing perform and said in a low voice, "Brother Qing seems out of form today. He's a bit impatient."

"Yeah, indeed." Wang Ming nodded thoughtfully. "Do you think he misses Qiu'er and the others?"

"Well... surely not to this extent?" Fang Du was taken aback.

"Not necessarily." Wang Ming shook his head slightly, then looked at Fang Du. "Call Jin'er and ask what the little ones are up to."

"You're a pal!"

Hearing this, Fang Du was delighted. He immediately dialed Tan Jin'er's number, but hung up in less than a minute, leaving Wang Ming completely bewildered.

"You're... already done?!"

"Yeah. Jin'er said the three little ones—Qiu'er and the others—were taken out to play by Brother Bai. Xia'er and Chun'er are doing their homework, and Dong'er is... uh... playing in the mud."

"Right."

Hearing this, Wang Ming looked at him listlessly. "You only asked that? Nothing else?"

Fang Du said, speechless, "No. Weren't you sitting right next to me? You'd know if I asked anything else."

"You... fine. With your emotional intelligence... sigh!" Wang Ming sighed heavily, feeling exasperated on Fang Du's behalf.

While the two were chatting, Yang Qing and Li Dongning's duet drew to a close. Finally, with a lingering, melodious chord, the performance ended, and the two quickly stepped out of the booth.

"How was it?"

The moment he emerged, Yang Qing asked with some urgency. Li Dongning also looked at Wang Ying anxiously.

"Yes!" Wang Ying took off her headphones, a smile spreading across her face. "The recording is perfect!"

"Whew!"

Hearing this, Yang Qing let out a long breath. He then turned to Li Dongning. "Dongning, let's keep going and record the next song."

Li Dongning was stunned. He looked at Yang Qing blankly. "Keep recording? Maybe... we should take a break."

Yang Qing immediately waved his hand. "No need, I—"

Before he could finish, Qin Xue interrupted him.

"Qing, take a break. You're rushing a bit. Are you thinking about Qiu'er and the others?"

"I... yeah," Yang Qing admitted, nodding. "I left in such a hurry this morning that I didn't even say goodbye to them, so... I'm sorry."

Yang Qing apologized sincerely, especially to Li Dongning. He knew his state of mind had caused issues, but... he really couldn't control it.

"It's fine, I understand," Li Dongning waved it off with a smile. "Why don't you call them first? Doesn't Qiu'er have a smartwatch?"

"Yeah, give her a call," Fang Du chimed in with a laugh. "I just asked Jin'er. Chun'er and Xia'er are doing their homework, and Qiu'er and the others were taken out to play by Brother Bai."

"Brother Bai?!"

Hearing this, Yang Qing was slightly taken aback, then quickly said, "Then I'll call Qiu'er to check on them."

With that, he eagerly dialed little Qiu'er's smartwatch.

Back at the mall, the two little girls, Qiu'er and Xi'er, were jumping up and down in a happy embrace when her little watch suddenly rang.

*Beep!*

She picked up, asking in a pleasantly surprised, babyish voice, "Hello? Is that you, Big Brother?"

"It's me, Qiu'er. Did you miss me? Where are you guys playing? It sounds a bit noisy over there."

Hearing Yang Qing's voice, the two little girls jumped with excitement and began to chatter away, taking turns to speak.

"Big Brother... we're in a huge mall! Uncle Bai, Auntie Bai, and Sister Lingyue brought us here. We're catching dolls, heehee..."

"Hiahia... Brother Qing, Xi'er caught a little puppy! Xi'er is so awesome! Xi'er wants to give it to Dong'er, hiahia... Xi'er is so happy!"

"Heehee... Qiu'er caught a little monkey too. Qiu'er gave the little monkey to Xi'er, and Xi'er loves the little monkey so much!"

"Hiahia... Xiaobai is so pitiful, hiahia..."

"You silly goose! I'm gonna spank your bottom! You're driving me crazy!"

Xiaobai's fiercely adorable baby roar exploded over the line.