twenty three

Just now, the young man on duty at the cake shop called Zhong Wan and said that a woman brought her child to cause trouble, claiming that the cakes in the shop were made with inferior ingredients, which caused her child to fall seriously ill.

Zhong Wan could only remain speechless, unable to make any other expression.

Originally, this matter had nothing to do with her, since it wasn't the first time she had encountered it. However, the proprietress hadn't been in the store much lately, so Zhong Wan, as the most senior person, became the acting store manager.

I heard that the store is in complete chaos right now, and one of the doors has been smashed. The police are on their way, and the two employees in the store had no other choice but to call her.

"Babies, please be quiet for a while. Can you stay in your rooms and watch cartoons quietly?"

She didn't have time to take the children to the noodle shop anymore, and luckily they weren't unruly kids, so she simply took them all to the shop.

"Mom, aren't we going to go find Auntie?" Mumu asked.

"Why don't you stay with Mom today? Come with Mom to work."

"good!"

The three children were very happy to hear this; spending a day with their mother was the happiest thing in the world.

The three of them stopped talking as soon as they started walking down the street, keeping their mouths shut. Sometimes, when Cai Cai couldn't hold it in any longer, he would cover his mouth with his hand and open his eyes wide.

Zhong Wan noticed and couldn't help but chuckle, "You can talk now, and Mom will talk to you when you can't talk anymore."

Cai Cai took her hand down and asked her, "Mommy, where are we going?"

Zhong Wan guessed that he might want to ask what she did for a living, so she said, "I went to see Mom make a cake. It was the kind of pretty little cake you ate before."

"I want to eat."

"I want to too!"

Cai Cai and Xiao He are the most cravings.

"If you behave well, I'll buy it for you later."

They all agreed.

...

Before she even got into the store, Zhong Wan heard the commotion inside. Afraid of scaring the three children, she said, "It's okay, it's okay, don't be afraid." Fortunately, the children were a bit slow to react and didn't understand what an argument was. Perhaps they didn't even know what an argument was.

As soon as she stepped into the store, the young man who had called her came up to her and said, "Sister Wan, you're finally here! She's been refusing to leave, demanding an explanation. What should we do?"

The other person had tears in their eyes, clearly experiencing something like this for the first time. Like a bee that couldn't find its way, they could only buzz around anxiously.

Just as Xiao Liang was about to reach out with both hands, he heard a cry of "Ouch!" He looked down and saw that he had accidentally hit the head of a little girl who had appeared out of nowhere.

"You hit me, you should apologize!"

Xiaohe covered her head, glared angrily at the other person, and left a bad impression on him.

Before Xiao Liang could figure out where this child came from, he blurted out, "I'm sorry!"

"snort!"

Xiao He thought to herself: It's okay if I don't go back.

"Xiao He, Uncle didn't mean it."

Zhong Wan rubbed her hair and then treated it as if the matter was over.

Xiao Liang still looked puzzled, so she took the initiative to say, "My daughter, I brought her along today."

"What about these two?"

He pointed to the equally beautiful Mumu and Caicai beside his legs.

"They are my children too."

"Heavens above, Sister Wan, when did you get pregnant? Why didn't you tell me?"

The main reason is that Zhong Wan exudes a youthful aura that doesn't seem like someone who has already experienced the mundane realities of married life. Her marriage was shocking enough, let alone raising three children.

"There's nothing to say, we'll talk later. I'll take them inside first and come out right away."

Zhong Wan was afraid of saying too much and making a mistake, so he asked the three children to greet him and then immediately took them to the lounge.

"The water cup is here, and the cookies are here too. You three can talk and play for a while. Mom will come over in a little while. Remember, don't touch anything else, and don't wander off. Cai Cai and Xiao He, listen to your older sister."

She quickly gave a few instructions and left the lounge. She had intended to give them her phone to watch cartoons, but then thought better of it. Who knew if those three clever kids would accidentally click on something they shouldn't be watching?

After Zhong Wan left, she closed the door but didn't lock it, so they could use the restroom if they needed to.

The three little ones sat on the sofa, looking around the room. It wasn't very big, but there were a lot of things. Their mother told them not to touch or move anything, and they just sat there obediently.

Time passed by, and even adults get bored, let alone children. Cai Cai was the first to get restless. She got up and went to Mu Mu's side to ask her if she wanted something to eat. Mu Mu was also a little hungry, so she took out some biscuits and they each ate one.

Cai Cai sat on the ground drinking water while holding her water bottle, her short legs swinging back and forth. She told them, "I miss my mom."

"I miss my mom too."

Hearing her younger siblings' voices, Cai Cai seemed thoughtful: "But we can't look for our mother now."

"Cai Cai is bored."

The three of them didn't know how to play games, and they had run out of snacks. They chatted idly, sometimes on completely different wavelengths. They had been sitting there for a long time and were about to reach their limit of patience, but Zhong Wan still hadn't arrived.

Xiao He was brave; she rushed straight to the door and said, "I'm going to find my mom."

There are no toys or snacks here, and no familiar adults to play with. How can a child stay still? It's already a miracle that they haven't made a huge fuss.

"You shouldn't go."

Mumu got off the sofa and ran over to stop her from opening the door. The two children were not even as tall as the doorknob, and they had to stand on tiptoe to turn it. When the two sisters were arguing, they accidentally opened the door. Mumu pulled the door with too much force and knocked Xiaohe to the ground.

Xiao He sat down on the ground with a thud, her nose hurting from the impact, and she cried loudly in pain.

"Awooo—"

"My sister is bad."

Mumu was shocked and panicked. She closed the door, hugged her sister, and wiped the tears from her face with both hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

She wanted to pick up Xiaohe, but her little sister was too big to lift. So, Mumu called Caicai to come quickly, and the two of them worked together to lift the little lotus baby who was throwing a tantrum.

During the process, Cai Cai didn't control her strength well and pinched Xiao He's arm, causing her to cry even harder. "Little Green Vegetable is bad too, you're all bad, I want to find my mom."

Feeling wronged, Xiao He got up from the ground and tried to rush out the door, but Mu Mu and Cai Cai, feeling guilty, held her and wouldn't let her go.

"Xiao He, I'm sorry, would you like to eat an orange?" Mu Mu coaxed gently.

"Huh?" Hearing that there was food, Xiaohe stopped crying and asked in a daze, "Sister, aren't you Orange?"

"Yes, how about I turn into an orange for you to eat?"

Xiao He's tear-streaked face suddenly broke into a smile, and Grandma said, "Okay."

Cai Cai asked anxiously, "Sister, can Cai Cai eat this?"

Mumu thought for a moment, "If I can conjure two, I'll give you one." Anyway, she can't eat it herself.

When spirits are emotionally agitated, they are more likely to manifest their true forms. Younger spirits usually do not yet have the ability to manifest their entire true form at any time. Therefore, at this moment, Mumu can only try to recall happy and important events and mobilize the spiritual energy within her body to achieve what she wants to do.

Cai Cai and Xiao He stood in front of her, observing intently. Xiao He muttered, "I really want to eat an orange. Can you conjure one up, sister?"

After a while, Cai Cai grabbed her younger sister's hand and exclaimed, "Oh!" to show her: "Sister has leaves on her head!"

The lush green leaf trembled slightly, as if startled, and slowly drifted to the ground. Suddenly, a golden orange, about the size of a child's palm, rolled down behind Mumu. It was quite adorable.

Mu Mu was overjoyed that she could actually conjure it up. To make up for accidentally hurting Xiao He earlier, she picked it up and gave it to her: "Little sister, here you go."

"Sister, you're so kind!"

Xiao He held the small, exquisite orange and carefully kissed it. It was given to her by her older sister, and she was going to eat it all!

"Sister, what about Cai Cai? Cai Cai isn't here."

Poor little Cai Cai spread out his two hands, empty, hoping that his sister could conjure one for him too.

Mumu touched her hair in distress, "Give me a little more time, I can't conjure it up right now."

“Okay.” Cai Cai pouted.

-

"I still don't know how the three kids are doing. They must be getting impatient waiting for so long."

"Sister Wan, your child is so well-behaved, he hasn't bothered you for so long." Xiao Liang, feeling relieved after dealing with the mess, followed behind Zhong Wan, planning to treat her and the children to lunch. He felt really bad for accidentally hitting that cute baby earlier.

"They are very obedient."

Zhong Wan opened the door with a smile, saying, "The babies are hungry..."

Before she could finish the last two words, her smile froze on her face, her eyes narrowed, a half-smile playing on her lips.

"What are you doing?" she asked through gritted teeth, the rich, fruity aroma wafting from her nose impossible to ignore.

The lounge wasn't exactly a mess or a disaster, but it wasn't exactly tidy either; in fact, Zhong Wan thought it was even worse. She stared at the twenty or so small oranges on the floor, two of them with orange juice still stuck to their lips, and for the first time, she felt a surge of anger towards her own children.

However, it was extinguished in just one second.

When Mumu noticed her coming, she quickly picked up two oranges from the ground, completely unaware of her mistake, and handed them to her with a smile: "Mom, here are some oranges for you, these two are the biggest."

She couldn't give birth at all, at least not for this moment.

"Oh my god! You bought so many oranges! Can I have one?"

Zhong Wan hadn't figured out how to handle the situation when Xiao Liang's voice suddenly rang in her ears.

Xiao Liang thought that Cheng Zizhong bought the oranges for the children to eat, and seeing that there were still many left, he wanted to ask for one.

"OK."

The generous Mumu picked up one nearby and said, "Here you go." She gave it to him.

"Thank you, what's your name?"

"Mumu".

"That sounds really nice." Xiao Liang wanted to get along well with the three children, so she continued to greet the two babies behind her: "Hi, hello."

But Cai Cai and Xiao He were so engrossed in eating the sweet oranges that they didn't pay any attention to him. Xiao Liang was heartbroken and clutched his chest, pretending to be injured.

Zhong Wan was used to his flamboyance, but she didn't have time to offer emotional support right now, so she made an excuse: "Xiao Liang, go cut the strawberries first, I have an order to finish later."

"Sister Xingwan, I'll bake some bread for you while I'm at it."

"Thanks."

As soon as he left, Zhong Wan immediately put on a slightly serious expression, hugged Mu Mu from behind, lifted her to the corner of the wall, squatted down and said, "You didn't behave well today."