Chapter 52

I tiptoed out with my cup, and as soon as I locked the door, I turned around and saw two girls standing at the door, which startled me.

"Brother!" My sister jumped to my side. "I've finally found you!"

I asked hesitantly, "You...are looking for me?"

My sister nodded. Looking at the two of them, I suddenly realized that the food was still in Shuangshan Mingyu's clothes that hadn't been taken off. I hadn't been able to take it from her earlier. Seeing that I couldn't find a single piece of fabric with pockets on my clothes, she put the food back on herself with satisfaction.

But it wasn't a good time to go in and get it now, since I didn't have his key. I crouched down to their eye level: "Is something wrong? Was the cable you used poor quality, so it broke?"

"The owner of this house is asleep. Shall we move over to the side?"

The two sisters wore matching pale yellow dresses adorned with their own colorful line drawings, which were quite beautiful.

They actually look alike, but the older sister is always smiling while the younger sister is shy. Even though they never deliberately try to show any particular expression, you can still barely tell who is who.

They were still as adorable as ever. As we walked and talked, the older sister complained, "How could you think of us like that?" She blinked, and with a jump, her skirt blossomed into a flower shape. "Guess what we brought you!"

"Didn't I bring snacks? But I haven't eaten them yet. However, since it was your choice, I figured they must be delicious, so I wanted to thank you in advance." I said, racking my brains for a moment, and finally managed to find an answer. "Hmm... the previous snacks were processed snacks sold outside, so this time it might be unprocessed? Like something you made for me yourself?"

"You guessed right." The older sister laughed, and the younger sister couldn't help but squint. I then realized that the younger sister hadn't moved closer to me at all, and her hands had been behind her back the whole time.

"Is it behind your sister?" I asked curiously, unable to resist teasing them, "Why are you looking for me again? Is there something you need my help with?"

The older sister shook her head seriously, pushed her younger sister in front of me, and then the two of them stood shoulder to shoulder, holding hands, with their hands outside the frame behind their backs.

"Three, two, one—"

A small white bear appeared before me as the two of them bent over, baring their teeth.

"Just like you made it, this is your teddy bear!" The older sister grinned proudly, her smile carefree. "My little sister and I made it together. The fabric was taken from our childhood dolls, and the eyes are our two favorite beads!"

My younger sister looked at me expectantly, but before that, she secretly glared at her older sister, probably because she was unhappy with the title "little sister"—twins always argue about who is older, just like the children in my family.

“Because our toys from when we were little were all old, our parents said they were going to throw them away. But we didn’t want them to be thrown away. Even though we don’t remember them, they must have been with us for a long time,” the younger sister said. “We thought of what the teacher said in class about ‘recycling’.”

The older sister interjected, "But they're not 'useless,' and we have no intention of throwing 'trash' at you!"

They're so cute! My heart softened, and I took them, patting them on the shoulder: "You can stand up now. Be careful not to hurt your back if you do that for too long."

The teddy bear has a very soft texture, not the smoothness of a mass-produced industrial product, but rather the worn look of it having been washed many times with laundry detergent. You can see the meticulous care put into it, but some large stitches still appear, corresponding to smaller marks on the other side; their functions are very clearly defined.

The cotton inside was stuffed so fluffy by the two of them that it would leave a deep dent if you squeezed it. The eyes were a black bead coated with a layer of clear nail polish with glitter and another bright gold bead filled with tiny air bubbles.

“It’s really beautiful,” I said. “I’m just missing a doll like this on my bed.”

"Hehe." The older sister scratched her head. "I'm glad you like it. Make sure you take good care of it, because we both really put a lot of effort into making it!"

I sincerely said, "This is the best gift and the most wonderful surprise I have received in a long time."

Seeing that the conversation was heading towards an awkward situation of mutual compliments, I quickly changed the subject and asked the question that I was most concerned about: "Why did you think of asking him—the owner of that house, the very tall guy—to give me the things?"

"Because he said he and you are the best of friends in the world." The older sister pouted, and the younger sister shook her head, not very happy either. "Although we don't believe it, Auntie seemed really happy and even gave him food to give to you. We were afraid we wouldn't be able to find you in the end, so we had to ask him for help."

"Then we followed him." The younger sister slightly raised her chin, looking embarrassed but also stubborn, and said, "We waited for you here."

I patted her head and said, "He must have found out a long time ago. Don't be afraid, but don't do this again next time. If someone with ulterior motives takes advantage of you, you might never see us again. When you're out and about, your safety should always be your top priority."

"Okay, okay, brother, you're even more nagging than Mom and Dad!" My sister grabbed my wrist, moved my hand from my sister's head to hers, and gave me a few loud pats. "We're even! We're even! Let me tell you, if you treat us unfairly again, the witch with the pumpkin lantern will knock on your door in the middle of the night—"

Before I could even recover from the force of her grip, the two of them had already run far away hand in hand.

My younger sister, who was a bit slower, turned around and yelled at me—which was so unlike her usual self—her face was almost as red as a tomato: "We have to go home! Don't bully the doll!"

"Hey!" I wonder if they can still hear me. I've disturbed the peace too. "I've got it all figured out. Be careful!"

Standing there, I felt a little inexplicably tug at my hair, deeply appreciating the absurdity and joy of being with children.

"Qinghe is becoming more and more popular, which is great."

A voice rang out behind me, startling me again. I hoped no one would treat me like that when I got home. Still shaken, I turned around and saw my landlady standing there, smiling kindly.

"Hello, Auntie." Remembering Shuangshan Mingyu, I said guiltily, "What brings you here?"

"I can hear your voices, young people! You're so energetic!" the aunt exclaimed. "It's better this way. You were too rigid before, never listening to anyone, and your eyes were terrifying..."

She looked at me gently and changed the subject: "Mr. Shuangshan gave you what I made, right? He always wants to get in touch with you, but he doesn't know how. I didn't mean well but did something wrong, did I? You are still too young, and I really can't keep up with that kind of lively thinking."

“It’s fine,” I said. “I get along with him quite well. I just came from his house.” I pointed to the house hidden deep in the alley behind her. “Don’t be so sure. He’s only about ten years old. He’s still young.”

She glared at me: "Eighteen or nineteen is also ten years old? Your math is terrible."

I chuckled sheepishly.

The landlady waved her sleeve to shoo away the mosquitoes and said to me, "Anyway, in the end, I'm definitely going to help you. No matter what happens, if I'm the one who caused it, I'll definitely take full responsibility for you, so don't have any reservations, do whatever you want."

She spoke with a calm, slightly sad tone, and a firm tenderness that only a mother could give.

My shoe soles involuntarily rubbed against the ground, drawing a small circle.