Chapter 118: Bai Lingyue Wants to Cry

On the first floor of the small shop, Bai Lingyue stretched her body as she watched the last of the customers trickle out. She turned her head toward Tan Jin’er, who was busy tidying up the stall, and asked in a curious, hushed tone, "Sister Jin’er, how much did we make today?"

"How would I know?" Tan Jin’er laughed. "It’s all with Brother Qing. Why don’t you go ask him?"

"I’m not going!" Bai Lingyue stuck out her tongue playfully. She then glanced at Li Wanxiao, who was sitting in the shop, and whispered, "Sister Jin’er, who is she…?"

"She’s the mother of Niannian, a good friend of the little ones."

Tan Jin’er took Bai Lingyue by the hand, led her over to Li Wanxiao, and introduced them. Soon, the three women were chatting and laughing together. As they talked, Bai Lingyue tilted her head, listening intently, and suddenly looked puzzled. "Huh? How come we can’t hear Xiaobai and the others? Could they have fallen asleep?"

"That can't be right. Let’s go check," Tan Jin’er said, equally confused.

The three of them were just about to head upstairs when Yang Qing and Qin Xue returned.

"Brother Qing, Sister Xue…"

"Yang Qing…"

Tan Jin’er and Li Wanxiao spoke at the same time. Yang Qing nodded and smiled at Tan Jin’er before turning his gaze to Li Wanxiao. "I’m sorry, I had some business to attend to today and only just got back. I’m afraid I haven’t been the best host, please don’t mind."

"It’s fine," Li Wanxiao waved her hand with a smile. "I just brought Niannian over to play. There was nothing important, so you just go ahead with what you need to do."

After saying this, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes as she looked at Qin Xue. "And this is… your girlfriend?"

"Gulp!"

Yang Qing’s face flushed instantly. He glanced at Qin Xue and nodded. "Yes, this is Qin Xue. She works at the television station."

Hearing this, Li Wanxiao didn't wait for Yang Qing to introduce them. She reached out to Qin Xue with a smile and said, "Hello, Qin Xue. I’m Li Wanxiao, a friend of Yang Qing’s."

"Hello, Sister Wanxiao."

Qin Xue smiled and shook her hand. The two women began to chat in low voices; perhaps because of their similar family backgrounds, they hit it off exceptionally well.

Yang Qing turned to Tan Jin’er and Bai Lingyue with an apologetic look. "You must be exhausted today. Come on, let’s go find the little ones and Brother Bai and the others. I’ll treat you all to a big feast."

"A big feast!" Bai Lingyue’s eyes lit up. "I want to eat skewers!"

"Skewers?!" Yang Qing laughed. "Can you call that a big feast? At the very least, we should have hot pot!"

Bai Lingyue: "..."

Tan Jin’er: "Haha…"

As they talked, they reached the second floor, but when they looked inside, they didn't see the little ones.

"Huh? Where are Qiu’er and the others?" Yang Qing wondered aloud.

Tan Jin’er and Bai Lingyue looked around curiously as well. Seeing no sign of the children and hearing not even a squeak of their tiny voices, they grew suspicious.

"Could they really have played themselves to sleep?" Tan Jin’er asked.

"Hiahiahia…"

The moment she finished speaking, Xiao Xi’er’s signature, infectious laugh erupted from inside.

The three of them exchanged a look and headed toward the sound. Meanwhile, Qin Xue and Li Wanxiao joined them on the second floor and followed along.

"They're in our room…"

Hearing Xiao Xi’er’s laughter, Bai Lingyue quickened her pace. She arrived at the door, and upon seeing the scene inside, her eyes widened in shock.

The others who followed behind also gasped in unison.

Inside the room, the five little dolls each had a facial mask plastered onto their faces—Xiaobai and Xi’er even had three or four layered on!

At that moment, Xiao Dong’er was sitting on the floor, busily tearing open mask packaging with a "rip-rip" sound. Once finished, she would hand them to little Niannian, who would happily pass them to little Qiu’er. Qiu’er would then stick the masks onto Xiao Xi’er’s little belly.

Yes, onto her belly—because Xiao Xi’er had lifted her shirt, exposing her soft, pale tummy as she lay on her back on the floor, making it easy for Qiu’er to apply them.

As for our friend Xiaobai, she was using a lipstick to draw a watch on her little wrist. She had already drawn one for all four dolls and was now busy drawing one for herself.

The five little ones were playing happily and with complete focus. In their world, joy and fun required one hundred percent dedication. They were so absorbed that they didn't even notice the arrival of Bai Lingyue and the others.

Yang Qing found it hard to watch. He knew the masks and lipstick were Bai Lingyue’s, as the naturally beautiful Jin’er never wore makeup and had never bought such things. He watched as Bai Lingyue’s fists clenched and unclenched, then clenched again, seeing her eyes begin to mist over with frustration. He felt he couldn't let the little ones continue their mischief, so he gave a dry cough.

"Qiu’er, Xiaobai, Xi’er…"

"Whoosh!"

Hearing Yang Qing’s voice, the three little ones stiffened. They turned their heads, masks still stuck to their faces, and stared back.

Xiao Xi’er’s "hiahia" laughter came to a sudden halt. She rolled over and scrambled to her feet, then "whooshed" to hide behind Xiaobai, peeking out timidly.

Only little Dong’er was fearless; she wiggled her little bottom and ran toward Yang Qing, chirping and asking to be picked up.

Yang Qing bent down, scooped up Dong’er, removed the mask from her tiny face, and turned to leave.

"Ahem… well, Dong’er is hungry, I’m going to go feed her. You all… heh… Lingyue, Jin’er, take it easy…"

Yang Qing fled. Qin Xue watched his retreating figure and gave a soft laugh, then looked at the little ones in the room with a suppressed smile.

Li Wanxiao was left speechless, looking at her daughter and the chaotic state of the room, unsure of how to speak.

The atmosphere hung in a tense stalemate.

The four little ones looked at the about-to-explode Bai Lingyue, sensing they had done something wrong, and huddled together in a circle.

"Hoo!"

After a long while, Bai Lingyue let out a heavy breath. She forced a smile, but hesitated, eventually turning to Tan Jin’er. "Sister Jin’er, you handle this."

Tan Jin’er: "..."

Helplessly, she rubbed her throbbing temples and looked at Niannian, who was hiding behind Qiu’er and Xiaobai. "Niannian, come over to your mother first. You’re a little guest here."

Niannian paused. She moved to take a step, then hesitated and retreated, saying in a tiny voice, "No, I’m good friends with Qiu’er, Xiaobai, and Xi’er."

"This…"

Tan Jin’er felt defeated. She turned to Li Wanxiao, who laughed happily and said, "Jin’er, you don’t need to draw such clear lines. If they do something wrong, they need to be taught. You go ahead."

Tan Jin’er: "..."

How am I supposed to teach them now! With a mother standing there not saying a word, how can I possibly open my mouth!

She turned to Qin Xue and pleaded, "Sister Xue, why don't you..."

"Me?!"

Qin Xue was stunned. How did it end up back on her? She didn't have the heart to scold these little darlings either! Just as she was about to shake her head and refuse, she saw Qiu’er looking at her, and her heart softened.

"Fine, I’ll give them a little lesson. Um… perhaps you all should step out for a moment?"

Tan Jin’er, Bai Lingyue, and Li Wanxiao: "..."

Step out it is. They knew she didn't have the heart to scold them either—the scolding would be a pretense, and the comforting would be the real goal!

The three women left. Qin Xue entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"Alright, it’s okay now."

Qin Xue smiled gently as she peeled the masks off the children’s faces and straightened Xiao Xi’er’s shirt. "You did something wrong, do you know that?"

"We know…" the four little ones nodded in unison.

"And do you know what you did wrong?"

"We don't know…" the four little ones shook their heads in unison.

Qin Xue: "..." She sighed. "These masks and the lipstick were bought by Sister Lingyue with her hard-earned money. You wasted them by playing like this. That isn’t right, do you understand?"

Qin Xue stroked each of their little heads, her voice soft. "We need to be obedient, sensible, and happy children. We must learn to be frugal and not waste things."

After Qin Xue finished, Xi’er and Niannian still seemed only half-aware, but Qiu’er and Xiaobai truly understood.

Because of the money!

These two little ones were quite sensitive about that, and looking at the masks scattered all over the floor, they felt quite distressed.

"Sister Qin, we know we were wrong. Qiu’er… Qiu’er will save her money to pay Sister Lingyue back," Qiu’er said sadly.

"I… me too!" Xiaobai said, irritably tugging at her watermelon-cut hair.

"Xi’er… Xi’er will save money too…"

"Niannian… Niannian…"

As all four little ones spoke up, Qin Xue smiled warmly. "If we know we were wrong, we are good children. You won't make the same mistake again. You don’t need to save money for Sister Lingyue, but you do need to do two things."

"What two things, Sister Qin?" Qiu’er asked obediently.

Qin Xue: "The first thing is to go apologize to Sister Lingyue right now, say you’re sorry, ask for her forgiveness, and promise her that you won’t do it again. The second thing is to clean up the room."

Qin Xue pointed to the messy room. "Look, you’ve made such a mess. Don’t you think you should clean it up?"

"Mm-hmm!" The four little ones nodded together.

"Good," Qin Xue smiled. "Then let’s get to work!"

"Okay!"