Chapter Forty-Six: The Weeping Child

Polar Ocean World, Yangcheng.

At the entrance gate, more than thirty people stood in line, waiting to pass the ticket check. Suddenly, a little girl in the middle of the queue began to fidget—her name was Xier.

She swayed her tiny body, her adorable head bobbing as she looked back behind her.

Behind her was Xiaoqiu, who felt dizzy from all the swaying and grabbed Xier’s hand, saying, “Xier, stop moving. Don’t be impatient, it’ll be our turn soon.”

“No, no!” Xier waved her hand and replied in her childish voice, “I’m not impatient. There’s a little child crying. Qiu, listen.”

Hmm?

Xiaoqiu’s face froze as she listened carefully, and sure enough, she heard a faint little cry. She was immediately surprised:

“There really is a little one crying!”

“Uh-huh. Qiu, let’s go see her. Maybe she can’t find her daddy.”

Xier nodded her head like a chick pecking at food, urgently pulling Xiaoqiu’s hand. “She can’t find her daddy, she must be scared.”

“No, she won’t be.”

Seeing Xier’s anxious little face, Xiaoqiu comforted her like a tiny adult. “All the children here are brought by adults, just like we have Sister Qin and Sister Jin.”

“If she has sisters, why is she crying?”

“No,” Xiaoqiu patiently explained, “I mean adults, maybe her parents or her brother.”

Xier listened, as if she suddenly understood something. Her face tensed up. “Oh, I know. Maybe her daddy isn’t here anymore, and she misses him, so she cries. When I miss my daddy, I cry too.”

Xiaoqiu: (◎_◎;)

What is Xier thinking? Why is it always about finding or missing her daddy?

Why does not having a daddy make you cry? Xiaoqiu doesn’t have a daddy, but she doesn’t cry. She only cries when she misses her grandma or brother.

Whoosh!

As Xiaoqiu was lost in thought, her grip loosened, and Xier darted out of the queue.

“Xier!”

She shouted loudly, then chased after her.

Behind them, Qin Xue and Tan Jin’er, who had been chatting, stared blankly in shock.

What just happened?!

How did two little ones dash off while they weren’t paying attention?

Full of worry and confusion, the two women forgot about the queue and hurried out to look. They soon spotted Xier and Xiaoqiu five or six meters away, where the girls had stopped.

“I’ll go check,” Tan Jin’er said helplessly. She didn’t even need to ask; she already suspected Xier was up to something again.

“Let’s go together.” Qin Xue, holding little Dong’er in her arms, smiled as she looked at the girls. “They must have heard the little one crying.”

“Yes, that’s… typical Xier,” Tan Jin’er shook her head, half laughing, half crying.

Qin Xue chuckled softly. The two women walked toward the girls, but before they reached them, they heard Xier’s childish voice:

“Little baby, why are you crying? Is your daddy gone too? Do you miss him?”

Tan Jin’er: …

Qin Xue: ~giggle~

The man holding the crying little girl: ?!

I’m gone?! When did I disappear? How come I don’t know about it?

He looked down at Xier, wondering where this adorable little girl had come from.

Well, since she’s so cute, I’ll forgive her childish words.

He gave a forced smile, offering a friendly grin. “Hehe… little one, I’m her daddy.”

“You’re her daddy?” Xier looked puzzled. “Then why is she crying? Did you not let her ride horsey? You should let her ride horsey so she won’t cry!”

The man: …

Should I let her ride horsey here? What about my dignity?

He stared wordlessly at the little girl, then asked, “Little one, where are your adults?”

“My adults? My sisters are over there!”

Xier turned her head, pointed her finger, and saw Tan Jin’er covering her face and Qin Xue laughing out loud just a few meters away.

The man curiously craned his neck to look, and was instantly stunned. Such beautiful women!

“Uncle, is your little baby hungry? Here, let her have this bear biscuit,”

At that moment, Xiaoqiu spoke up. The man snapped out of it, smiled at Qin Xue and Tan Jin’er, nodded, and looked at Xiaoqiu. He was about to speak, but suddenly realized his daughter had stopped crying and was reaching for the biscuit.

“Wow! The little baby isn’t crying anymore. Qiu, you’re amazing!”

Xier exclaimed in delight, then rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a bag of bear biscuits.

“Little baby, here, eat this. Don’t cry anymore.”

She jumped up adorably, trying to hand the bear biscuits to the little girl, but… oh, she couldn’t reach.

“Thank you, you’re all so cute,”

The man smiled at Xier, who was bouncing but couldn’t reach, took the bear biscuits from her, and then reached into his backpack, pulling out two palm-sized teddy bear dolls and handing them to the girls.

“This is for you. Go find your sisters now.”

“Heehee… thank you, uncle! Little baby might get thirsty from eating bear biscuits, so give her some water!”

“Haha… thank you, uncle! Take good care of your little baby!”

“Mmm, I will. Thank you, too. Go back now.”

The little baby stopped crying and happily munched on bear biscuits. The two girls were overjoyed, as if they had accomplished something important.

Laughing, their tiny legs pattered as they rushed back to Qin Xue and Tan Jin’er.

“Haha! Sister! Xier calmed a little baby! Xier is amazing! Look, I even got a teddy bear!”

Little Xier, nestled in Tan Jin’er’s arms, proudly showed off her bear, sharing her joy.

Tan Jin’er looked at the laughing little girl in her arms, unsure whether to scold or praise her.

Xiaoqiu beamed up at Qin Xue, then handed her teddy bear to Dong’er.

Back in line, Tan Jin’er spoke sternly to Xier:

“No more running off, or I won’t take you to see the penguins. Do you understand?”

“Oh… I understand.”

Scolded by her sister, Xier felt aggrieved and lowered her head.

She didn’t know what she had done wrong. She gave the little baby her precious bear biscuits, and the baby stopped crying.

She was so amazing, yet her sister didn’t praise her, only scolded her. Why?

Her little heart ached and she wanted to cry.

“Xier,”

Just as she hung her head in sadness, Xiaoqiu’s voice sounded. She looked up to see a bag of bear biscuits being handed to her.

“Xier, here, eat these.”

“Qiu…”

Xier stared at the biscuits, and suddenly couldn’t hold back her feelings anymore. She pursed her lips and cried, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Suddenly, Xier was crying. Tan Jin’er, standing behind the girls, felt a sharp pang of guilt.

She knew she had been too harsh earlier. She crouched down to hug and comfort Xier, but Xiaoqiu beat her to it.

“Don’t cry, Xier, don’t cry,”

Xiaoqiu wrapped her arms around Xier, soothing her in a gentle voice:

“Don’t cry. Sister Jin’er isn’t scolding you, she’s worried about you. She’s afraid you’ll get lost, and if you did, she’d be heartbroken.”

“Really…? Sister isn’t scolding me?” Xier raised her tearful little face.

“Mmm, really.”

Xiaoqiu nodded earnestly. “Sister Jin’er loves you so much. How could she scold you? You’re her little darling.

Just like we’re our brother’s little darlings. They love us very, very much, and they’re worried about us because we’re still children.”

“But… but…”

Xier’s voice choked with emotion, but suddenly she was swept up in a familiar, warm embrace.

“Xier, I’m sorry. Sister… Sister shouldn’t have said that.”

Tan Jin’er hugged the little girl tightly, her eyes red as she choked up:

“You’re so kind and considerate, and yet I… I scolded you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

“Sister…”

Hearing her sister’s words, Xier’s little heart suddenly brightened. She wiped her tears, gently wrapped her arms around Tan Jin’er’s neck.

“Sister, Xier won’t cry anymore. I’ll listen to you from now on. Sister, I love you.”

Smack.

She pressed her little lips to Tan Jin’er’s cheek, grinning with a gap where her front tooth was missing.