As the morning sun shines on the ground, a gray magpie lying on a branch lazily preens its feathers.

In the living room, Chaochao carried a little yellow duck backpack, wore a milky white sweatshirt with blue jeans, and had her hair tied in double buns, making her little face look even rounder and cuter.

"Daddy, Auntie, I'm going out!"

Lingling invited Chaochao to her house to play. Just thinking about seeing her friend made Chaochao excited and he started taking little steps in place.

"Wait, let Auntie check again to make sure everything is packed."

Aunt Ning opened her little backpack and checked everything, "Water bottle, candy, wet wipes... all done, Miss Chaochao, have fun."

Looking at Huo Qin leisurely sipping his coffee, Chaochao exclaimed, "Daddy, I'm leaving!"

Huo Qin, flipping through the magazine, said, "Hmm, go ahead."

Chaochao pouted, "Oh dear, Daddy's so silly, he forgot again!"

She jogged over, climbed onto the sofa, and planted a kiss on the man's sharp profile. "Daddy, you're so silly!"

Little did they know the subtle curve of Huo Qin's other lip.

Chaochao jumped off the sofa. "I'll leave the little grass to Daddy. When the sun gets too strong, you have to move it away, or it will get sunburned."

After seeing Huo Qin nod in his own eyes and arranging all the housework, Chaochao finally felt at ease and went on her long trip.

...

Lingling was waiting at the door ten minutes before Chaochao arrived.

As soon as Chaochao got out of the car, Lingling opened her arms and exclaimed, "Chaochao!"

Chaochao: "Lingling!"

The two embraced each other warmly.

Lingling's mother watched the two children's long-awaited reunion from the doorway, finding it both strange and amusing. She waved them in, saying, "Come on in, don't you call each other every day?"

Lingling led Chaochao inside, muttering, "You can only hear someone's voice on the phone; it can't compare to meeting them in person."

Her hands had long been unable to resist gently pinching Chaochao's chubby cheeks.

Ah, this familiar feel!

Thinking of a certain competitor, Lingling asked seriously, "Chaochao, you haven't been calling Ji Shize much, have you?"

Chaochao was stunned for a moment, then saw the red light in Lingling's eyes, and suddenly it dawned on her. She nodded emphatically: "Yes, no more than you, Lingling!"

"That's more like it." Lingling smiled smugly. "Come, come, let me show you around my house."

As she entered, Chaochao politely greeted Lingling's mother.

The little dumpling's adorable and cute appearance brings joy to everyone who sees it.

Lingling's mother smiled and said, "Oh, good morning, Aunt Wei will get you some milk right away."

Lingling's home is also very large, a duplex villa, but it doesn't feel empty. Everywhere you look, there are traces of Lingling's growth, making it warm and lovely.

Lingling acted like a little tour guide, showing Chaochao around her bedroom, toy room, and music room, and showing her her treasured dolls. Every time Chaochao saw one, she would enthusiastically exclaim "Wow!"

Lingling's vanity swelled up, and she pressed her hand down, "Okay, okay, that's all."

Despite saying that, I couldn't help but ask, "What do you think?"

Chaochao nodded firmly, her big, dark eyes full of sincerity: "It's awesome! Chaochao wants to live here too!"

Although she knew her toy room couldn't compare to Chaochao's "castle," Lingling was still overjoyed to hear her little sister say she loved her home.

When she led Chaochao back to the living room to eat fruit, Lingling's heart immediately sank when she saw the snacks on the coffee table.

Lingling's mother had already set out the food and patted Chaochao's head, saying, "Eat whatever you want. Tell Auntie what you want."

Seeing her mother sitting on the other side of the recliner looking at her phone, Lingling sighed.

"well……"

Chaochao, munching on a cocoa cookie, looked at her friend with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong, Lingling?"

After some hesitation, Lingling leaned close to Chaochao's ear and whispered, "I suspect my family is going to go bankrupt."

"Huh?" Chaochao's eyes widened in shock, then she asked, "What is bankruptcy?"

Lingling: "...That's right, sigh, my family is going to run out of money."

The system listened with confusion. The book didn't say that the Wei family's company was going to go bankrupt. Could it be the butterfly effect?

Chaochao didn't understand either, and asked in a low voice, "How did you know?"

Lingling picked up a bag of durian pie from the table. "Mom, do you want some?"

Mother Wei waved her hand, "I'm not eating, you guys eat."

Upon receiving the answer, Lingling turned around with an expression that said, "See, that's how it is."

“My mom has been eating so little lately, she even stopped eating her favorite durian pie… And, I overheard my parents talking about selling things in the house to get money when I went to the bathroom last night…”

Chaochao's dark eyes widened in disbelief. She hadn't expected Lingling's family to be in such dire straits, and suddenly the cookies in her mouth lost their flavor.

She subconsciously thought about her own home. Tangtang didn't skimp on her meals and still ate just as much. So, Daddy shouldn't be bankrupt, right? ... Except for something a little strange, several times at night, half-asleep, Chaochao would find her father sneaking out of his room, not knowing what he was doing.

Chaochao sniffed carefully around him and could smell a faint earthy scent.

Hmph.

He must have gone to dig in the dirt behind her back! And Dad even scolded her! He clearly likes it too!

Chaochao recalled Jingcheng's phone call earlier and asked worriedly, "Lingling, has your family been scammed?"

There's not even enough food left to eat.

Lingling was stunned. "Scam? No way, my parents downloaded the national anti-fraud app."

Chaochao didn't understand what was being said, but that didn't stop her from being respectful and writing "anti-fraud love butt" down in her little notebook.

That way, I won't be tricked out of my meals in the future.

As for why Anti-Fraud likes butts, Chaochao doesn't understand. Maybe that's why it won't be fooled!

"So what are you going to do next?" Chaochao tilted her head.

"I plan to earn money to support my family." Lingling glanced cautiously at her mother, then covered her mouth and whispered in Chaochao's ear.

Chaochao's expression went from blank to suddenly understanding, and finally to admiration.

Be like: (O_O) →( ⊙ o ⊙ )→\\(≧▽≦)/

"Do you want to come with me?" Lingling invited online.

Chaochao's eyes sparkled, and without hesitation, she exclaimed, "Yes!"

While Wei's mother was playing on her phone, the two of them secretly packed their bags. Lingling said, "Mom, Chaochao and I are going to play at the playground in our neighborhood."

Mother Wei nodded: "Sure, but don't go too far, okay?" Lingling used to like to run to the slides in the amusement park, so Mother Wei wasn't too worried.

But she didn't notice that the two children went to the park, which was only a dozen meters away from their home, and both of them strangely carried small bags on their backs.

Lingling heard the weakness in her mother's voice, which strengthened her resolve.

After the two children left, Wei's mother struggled to exit a food review page, thinking, "I can't look at this anymore, I won't lose weight if I keep looking, I'd better go buy a bag instead..."