“Xiaohua… Xiaohua.” Hearing the crying, Lianying rushed into the room. She instinctively thought Xiaohua was hurt or upset, and looked toward the bed—
“Boo hoo hoo, hoo hoo hoo, Big Sis…” Wuhua sat up obediently, gently wiping her tears with her hands. She was crying while wiping them away.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Sis is right here.” Lianying took three steps in two, sat down beside her—
“Don’t cry, don’t cry. Don’t cry, don’t cry.” She pulled Wuhua into her arms, patting her back while soothing her.
“Hoo… sniff, sniffle… Lianying, sis…” Wuhua called out softly, sniffling at the same time.
Seeing Lianying, her sobbing gradually calmed down. Then she hugged her tightly.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Sis is always here. Good girl.” Lianying looked at her tenderly and patted her head.
‘I’ve heard about this… it must be separation anxiety.’
‘Hmph. Just a fever makes her like this? How interesting.’
‘Oh no, no. I can’t think that Xiaohua being sick is a good thing…’
Lianying quickly coughed twice to interrupt her own thoughts, but still couldn’t help smiling.
“Hm? You’ve sweated quite a bit again.” Her hand resting on Wuhua’s back, Lianying felt it was soaked through.
“If it’s just a low-grade fever, how about a bath? Maybe it’ll help you recover faster.” Lianying murmured to herself. Taking her hand, she led her into the bathroom.
…
…
In the blink of an eye, Wuhua was soaking in the bathtub full of hot water that Lianying had prepared for her. She closed her eyes, looking comfortable and carefree.
“Let’s leave your hair for tomorrow. We don’t want you catching a chill.” Saying this, Lianying had Wuhua stand up. As the hot water streamed off her—
In the rising steam, her flawless, almost translucent skin with a hint of pink. Under the warm bathroom light, it created a unique color and atmosphere.
The girl’s body had not yet developed. Her cute figure and tiny buds drew Lianying’s gaze and appraisal—
Even though they were both female, and literally had a “mother-daughter” relationship, Lianying still felt a little shy and her heart raced.
‘So beautiful.’
Her silver-white hair, draped over her shoulders like moonlight, hung wet and damp behind her. Round eyes, a touch of cherry-colored thin lips, and a plump, baozi-shaped face. In short, she had an extremely cute face.
Her expression, dull from the fever, showed no change. She made no movement, staying obediently passive. She remained silent, only pursing her little lips and looking at Lianying.
Like a dress-up doll from childhood, now suddenly grown up and come to life, standing right in front of her—
“Lianying sis…” Just as Lianying was lost in admiring what seemed like a work of art, Wuhua, feeling cold, couldn’t help speaking up.
“S-sorry. I’ll wash you right away…!” Snapping back to reality, Lianying quickly squeezed body wash into her palm.
After making a simple lather, she applied it evenly over Wuhua’s body. Her skin was delicate and smooth; Lianying’s hands slid across it as if gliding on ice. When she reached the chest area—
“…” Wuhua nervously covered her chest with her hands, not letting Lianying continue.
“Wh-what’s wrong?” Lianying asked curiously, thinking she might have hurt her somewhere.
Wuhua glanced at Lianying a few times, especially at a certain part, then slowly spoke:
“Why… is your chest so big, Sis… but mine is so small.”
.
.
For a moment, the two of them fell silent. In the bathroom, you could even hear the sound of water droplets falling.
“…It’s because… well, this… um.” Lianying blushed and looked around nervously, unable to think of an explanation.
“When… when you grow up, yours will get big too.” She finally managed to choke out a reply.
“Will it become as big as Lianying sis’s?” Wuhua pressed on.
“Guh… Sis doesn’t know if her own is considered big…” Lianying, flustered and blushing, tried to soothe her while brushing off the question.
“It definitely will, mm! Xiaohua might even end up bigger than Sis.”
Still circling around the delicate topic, they said strange things to each other. Lianying managed to get Wuhua back into bed before she caught a chill.
…
“Now comes the most important step, Xiaohua.” Lianying stood by the bed, tucking Wuhua in and adjusting her position.
“If you rest for a day and go to sleep early, you’ll get better whether it’s a fever or a cold.”
With that, she stood up and was about to turn off the light and leave. But her hand was caught by Wuhua.
“Sis… I want a story.” Wuhua demanded in a childish tone.
“…Compared to Xiaohua’s other wishes, this one is pretty ordinary.” Lianying, who had been dealing with Wuhua all day, smiled and shrugged.
“Of course. I think there are fairy tale books on the shelf.”
Lianying walked over, took out a thick book, opened it on her lap.
“How about this story—it’s about a dragon, a prince, and a princess.” Lianying suggested.
“No, no. I feel like the princess will turn into a dragon in the end.” Having some strange shadow, Wuhua flatly refused.
“Huh? Is that so? If you don’t like it…” Lianying gave up and chose a well-known tale instead.
…
…
“…And so, the little tadpoles successfully found their mother. Before they knew it, they had turned into frogs, living happily ever after with their mother.”
Finishing, Lianying gently closed the book and was about to stand up.
“Lianying sis, why did the frog mom abandon her little tadpole babies?” Wuhua raised her hand from under the covers to ask.
“Wasn’t the frog worried that the tadpoles wouldn’t be able to find her?”
“Uh… well…” Lianying didn’t know the answer either, and started to think. Then she noticed something was off.
“Um, Xiaohua. After a story, you should go to sleep obediently.” Having not heard any sound for a while, she thought Wuhua had fallen asleep.
“No, no. I’m not sleepy. I want to hear Lianying sis talk.” Wuhua shook her head stubbornly.
“Alright, alright. But you have to promise Sis, just a little longer, okay?” After getting Wuhua’s nodding promise, Lianying thought for a moment before slowly speaking.
.
“I think… the frog mom actually didn’t really abandon the little tadpoles.” She sat on the chair, fingers intertwined. Her somewhat vacant gaze unconsciously lowered.
“After all, no parent would be cruel enough to abandon their own child, right? I think that’s the same even for animals. Let alone humans, who have feelings and wisdom.”
“The frog mom must have had no choice but to leave them temporarily. Even though she didn’t fulfill the duty of raising them, she still gave them precious life.”
“The little tadpoles are sensible kids; they naturally understand their mother’s hardships. That’s why they insist on going on the journey to find their mom.”
“Without complaints or stubbornness, they tolerate and understand each other. Supporting and affirming one another’s efforts. Lianying sis believes that’s the family relationship we should learn from.”
“What do you think, Xiaohua?” After delivering her long-winded understanding, Lianying lifted her head to look at Wuhua.
“—, —” Wuhua had her eyes closed, expression peaceful, breathing in a steady rhythm. She had fallen asleep sometime during the speech.
“…How sly, making Sis entertain herself like this.” Even so, Lianying still had a smile on her face—
She stood up and approached the other side of Wuhua. Slowly leaning in, she gave her a gentle, loving, and precious kiss on the forehead.
“Good night, my dearest Xiaohua.” To avoid waking her, Lianying whispered softly in her ear.
“Good night… Lianying…” Not fully asleep yet, Wuhua unconsciously responded as if talking in her sleep.
“—” Just hearing her voice was enough. Lianying didn’t disturb her further. She stood up and walked toward the door.
But, just a few steps away from Wuhua’s back.
.
.
“Mom.”
A childish voice, along with a simple word made of two syllables, reached Lianying’s ears. It exploded in her mind like a pebble thrown into a pond, stirring ripples one after another.
Lianying turned around abruptly, looking at the sleeping Wuhua. Indescribable emotions kept building up, surging in her chest. She even forgot what she wanted to say.
All her efforts had been recognized. In that moment, joy, relief, anticipation, and excitement all mixed together.
Gradually, the corners of her eyes grew moist. The view of Wuhua became blurry, as if returning to the scene of their first meeting at the church—
‘Take care of me from now on.’ A familiar voice echoed in her memory.
And Lianying once again made the choice she had hoped for.
“…Yeah!”
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