Before eight o'clock in the evening, Chaochao picked up the remote control and turned off the TV without hesitation, saying goodnight to her beloved drama.

As I ran back to my room to change into my pajamas, the little one was still muttering, "I need to go to sleep early, go to sleep..."

"Heave-ho."

She pulled the clothes off her head in one go, shook her messy hair, and was about to put on her pajamas when she noticed a small, dark stain on the collar of the short-sleeved shirt she had just taken off.

What is this?

Chaochao frowned and examined the dark brown and black color of the fabric inside and out.

Did she accidentally get chocolate on her clothes while eating it?

Chaochao then shook her head.

But she didn't eat any chocolate today!

The little dumpling, still puzzled, changed into her pajamas, muttered to herself, and went into the bathroom to pick up the toothbrush with toothpaste already squeezed onto the counter.

Huo Qin, who was checking her makeup remover and skincare products, glanced up and noticed out of the corner of her eye that the little dumpling's eyeshadow in the mirror was not only smudged but also had several patches of tanned foundation rubbed off. "..."

Thud—

The little dumpling, who was about to brush her teeth, suddenly raised her head and looked around in a panic. "What happened? Is there a power outage?"

The bedroom light was clearly on.

Just as the little dumpling raised her eyes in confusion, about to look at the mirror in front of her, her head was suddenly pressed down by icy fingers, and she suddenly felt a mountain pressing down on her: "?"

Could she be the little monkey trapped under the Five Finger Mountain?

Huo Qin's calm voice rang out in the dim light.

"Dark circles under the eyes should not be exposed to light."

"But I turned on the lights while I was watching TV!"

Chao Chao was shocked.

"...The bathroom lighting is quite unique."

Chaochao, who had been on tenterhooks, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Huo Qin lifted the little dumpling off the stool, and then, in the dim light, gently removed the foundation that had smudged around her eyes. After finishing all the washing and grooming procedures, he carried Chaochao to the bed and turned on only one bedside lamp.

"Don't look in the mirror, or your dark circles will get worse."

This time, Huo Qin didn't even bother to come up with a "scientific explanation," and Chaochao, sitting in bed, blindly nodded her head:

"I know, Daddy! I definitely won't watch it!"

Huo Qin: "..."

Not liking to use your brain has its advantages.

Huo Qin was, after all, an adult and didn't have the habit of going to bed early, around 8 or 9 pm. He leaned against the headboard, his long eyes lowered, quickly reading the financial reports on his tablet.

The child next to me, tossing and turning in bed, was clearly still awake after listening to a bedtime story.

“Daddy…”

Unable to sleep, Chaochao nudged Huo Qin's arm.

"Um?"

Will my dark circles be gone tomorrow?

She raised her fair, delicate face and asked with a worried expression.

"Um."

Upon hearing this, the little dumpling, who had suddenly felt lost about the future late at night, felt relieved. As she turned over and prepared to close her eyes, she couldn't help but reach out and touch the rabbit on her bedside table, as well as the little sheep doll that Jiang Chi had given her.

A minute later, unable to fall asleep, she turned over:

"Daddy, will it really be gone tomorrow?"

Huo Qin swiped down on the screen and still hummed in agreement.

"Did it just disappear completely, or did it move to your forehead?"

"If you keep asking and I'm still not asleep, then it's hard to say."

Huo Qin spoke calmly.

The chattering little dumpling beside me immediately fell silent, its two tiny hands resting on my belly as it peacefully drifted off to sleep.

...

As dawn broke, Chaochao listened to the gray chirping of birds in the courtyard below. She opened her eyes contentedly after a good night's sleep, blinked once at the familiar ceiling, then blinked again…

Then he hurriedly got up and rushed into the toilet.

"ah!"

This time it was a cry of surprise.

Upon discovering that her dark circles had truly disappeared, Chaochao was in a mood as bright as the sunshine. Wearing adorable pajamas and sporting a slicked-back hairstyle, she squatted in the yard feeding the birds.

"Grey Grey, eat more, you're not fat."

Chaochao pushed a plate of grains in front of the round gray magpie.

"Really, look how thin your face has become from hunger."

The system examined it carefully.

Chaochao, are you sure it's not because of the gray-black feathers that have grown on the sides of its cheeks?

Commonly known as, shadow.

Initially hesitant, Huihui, under the little dumpling's sugar-coated nagging, hopped and skipped towards the plate and began to peck at it.

Seeing this, Chaochao stood up with satisfaction, shuffling off in her slippers towards the kitchen, her little voice full of excitement:

"Auntie, auntie, I want to drink two cups of soy milk today!"

In a great mood, Chaochao even knocked on the door next door, then pounced onto Jiang Chi's bed like a deep-sea torpedo falling into a lake, "Brother, look, my 'circle' is gone!"

The reality was that Jiang Chi, who was lying in bed asleep, wasn't bounced up; instead, it was the smaller Chao Chao who landed on the bed and was bounced away like a gummy bear.

At the critical moment, Jiang Chi, who was squinting, reached out and pulled her back, saving her from the tragic fate of rolling face-up onto the carpet.

Jiang Chi, whose brain hadn't yet booted up but whose muscles were forced to awaken, turned his head expressionlessly and met the little dumpling's silly, grinning face.

"..." Jiang Chi rubbed his temples and took a breath. "My little ancestor, you really are my ancestor..."

Although her dark circles have disappeared, their aftereffects remain. For example, after taking a nap, Chaochao suddenly realized that her sudden dark circles must be somewhat related to the poisoning.

The black stain on her collar when she took off her clothes last night must have been the toxins excreted from her body.

The more the little dumpling thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

It's like the poisonous blood spat out by fairies in those flying-around TV dramas.

So much so that on the second day after surviving the ordeal, when eating...

"Wait a minute, Auntie."

Chaochao solemnly stopped Aunt Ning from serving rice, and pulled out a green agate silver hairpin from behind her back.

Huo Qin and Jiang Chi: "..."

This is what Aunt Ning found in the gift storeroom this morning. She originally wanted a silver needle, but instead of a fine silver needle, she found a silver hairpin that a guest had given her last time.

Let the little one play for a short while, and be careful not to hurt himself.

Aunt Ning thought the little dumpling was for dressing up, but she never expected...

Today's Chinese meal is served in small bowls, one serving per person.

Chaochao picked up the sterilized silver hairpin, her expression solemn as if she were performing a solemn ceremony, and carefully poked each dish in the small bowl in front of her.

Seeing that the base of the silver hairpin remained unchanged, the tense expression on his face gradually relaxed.

Until she poked it into the small bowl in front of her.

A white hairpin goes in, a black hairpin comes out.

The little dumpling, who was about to enjoy her meal in peace, suddenly froze with a relaxed smile, her pupils dilating in shock: "...It's poisonous!!"

Huo Qin: "..."

Jiang Chi: "..."

Is it possible that you poked a sesame-filled glutinous rice ball?