It was almost seven o'clock when I got back to Lu Yan's house. Summer days are always long, and the sun was still hanging in the western sky for a long time, with patches of rosy light dyeing the vast sky. The front door of Lu Yan's house was ajar, and there was no one in the living room or kitchen.

Chu Chu placed her chubby little hand in Lan Qingyue's palm. Her loose hair swayed with her wobbly figure. The little one looked around the empty room with wide eyes and asked, "Mommy, where did Auntie and Sister Lu Yan go~~~"

She had already eaten dinner, but there was no one at home.

Lu Yan locked the door and took Chu Chu's chubby little hand. "Let's go upstairs and take a look. Maybe Auntie and Sister Lu Yan are harvesting rice upstairs."

"Mmm, Chuchu wants to harvest rice too~~~" Chuchu nodded her little chin, strutted up the stairs with her head held high, and stopped and turned around after each step, "Mommy, Chuchu is faster than you, you have to hurry up~~~"

Lan Qingyue: "...I deliberately walked behind you, otherwise I would have reached the rooftop long ago."

Pshaw, with your short legs, I can walk faster than you even in high heels.

Chu Chu shook her head, her chubby cheeks jiggling, "I don't care, I'm just faster than Mommy~~~"

She had already reached the corner of the stairs, while Lan Qingyue was still standing on the first floor. Even if her mother had long legs, she couldn't catch up with her.

The little guy was thinking smugly when he suddenly felt his feet dangling in the air. He had been grabbed by Lan Qingyue. Lan Qingyue turned around and placed Chu Chu on the corner table. He went upstairs first and, when he reached the second floor, he put his hands on the railing and waved to the bewildered little boy. "Little Fatty, hurry up, or you won't be able to catch up with me!"

"Mommy~~~" The little guy came to his senses, his little voice trembling, his hands gripping the stair railing, his short legs raised high, taking a break after each step.

The stairs in Lu Yan's house are very high; even someone with long legs like Lan Qingyue struggles to climb two or three steps at a time.

Lan Qingyue, her face beaming with undisguised joy, waved to Chu Chu in high spirits, "Hurry up, little chubby! Auntie and Sister Lu Yan are harvesting rice on the rooftop. If you walk too slowly, you won't be able to help."

The houses in the countryside are not soundproof; you can hear the sound of roof slabs scraping against the cement floor from downstairs, it's so clear.

Perhaps finding it a bit troublesome to hold onto the stair railing, Chuchu decided to use all fours, gripping the steps with both hands, her little bottom sticking out as she climbed up one step at a time, all the while softly and sweetly whining, "Mommy, wait for Chuchu! Chuchu needs to harvest the rice~~~"

Lan Qingyue said, "Okay, then you come up first. You need to climb to the roof to harvest the rice."

"Mmm, one, two, three, go for it! One, two, three, Chuchu is the best~~~"

The little one was quite good at encouraging herself. She laboriously climbed to the second floor, her chubby little hands covered in dust, and immediately hugged Lan Qingyue's leg. Her chubby face pressed against her thigh, making her look distorted, and the little one proudly announced, "Mommy, Chuchu climbed to the second floor!"

Climb one more floor and you'll reach the rooftop!

"This is only the second floor."

There's another floor.

Lan Qingyue went into the room and changed into a pair of canvas flats. Chu Chu lay on the door, adorably sucking her thumb, "Mommy~~~ You haven't praised me yet~~~"

Lan Qingyue chuckled, covering Chu Chu's fluffy head with her hand and ruffling her hair. "Alright, alright, you've reached the second floor. You're great. Now climb slowly, I'll go to the rooftop first."

After putting on flat shoes, Lan Qingyue became much more agile and disappeared by the time she reached the third floor.