Firecrackers went off all night outside. On the Lantern Festival, a day for family reunions, the little boy stayed up all night guarding his brother's body.

Squeak!

The rotten door was pushed open with a dull thud.

As soon as Aunt Zhang came in, she saw the little dumpling kneeling next to her brother.

This child knelt all night!

Aunt Zhang and her husband Zhuzi couldn't help but tear up.

"Little dumpling, get up quickly, you'll hurt yourself kneeling like that."

Aunt Zhang rushed over and hugged the little dumpling in her arms; its tiny body was so cold it made people shiver.

The little dumpling moved its stiff arm, gently pushed Aunt Zhang away, and said woodenly:

“If Little Dumpling doesn’t get up, and I keep kneeling, Fuling will give my brother back to me.”

She didn't want her brother to leave; their mother was gone, and her brother couldn't leave again!

Her mother had said that Fuling was a deity who protected children, and she believed that as long as she begged Fuling, Fuling would return her brother to her.

Hearing the little dumpling's innocent thoughts, Aunt Zhang felt even more pain in her heart.

If there truly are blessed spirits in this world, how could they bear to let such a well-behaved child suffer!

Aunt Zhang turned around to wipe her tears and gestured to Zhu Zi to carry the body away.

People can't come back to life after they're dead. Leaving the body here will only make the little one more heartbroken.

Zhu Zi sighed and reached out to lift the body away.

When the little boy saw that he was going to take his brother away, his little hands, which were turning purple from the cold, immediately protected his brother.

Her eyes were red and pleading with the pillar, "Uncle, please don't take my brother away!"

"Let the little dumpling kneel. When I've had enough kneeling, my brother will come back."

The baby's pitiful appearance brought tears to the eyes of even a grown man like Zhu Zi.

She was just a four-year-old child, without parents, and her only brother had fallen into the river and drowned...

Zhu Zi simply couldn't bring himself to do it again.

"Alright, little dumpling, Uncle can leave your brother here, but you have to promise Uncle that we'll put a blanket under you and kneel down, okay?"

Hearing that her brother could stay, the little dumpling's dull eyes finally brightened a bit, but then she lowered her head again in distress.

Kneeling on the quilt? Won't Fuling think she's not sincere enough and then refuse to return her brother to her?

Seeing the little boy's head drooping, Aunt Zhang had no choice but to try to persuade him:

“If we don’t put a blanket under you, the little dumpling will get sick. When your brother comes back and sees you’re sick, he’ll be unhappy.”

The little dumpling suddenly raised its head and replied, "Okay! Little dumpling, don't be angry with your brother."

She wants her brother to be happy forever, and Fuling should forgive her.

With the little girl's permission, Aunt Zhang quickly brought over the blanket from the bed and placed it under her knees.

Then they brought over a cotton-padded jacket and draped it over the little dumpling.

It seemed the little dumpling hadn't eaten all night, so Aunt Zhang and Zhuzi rushed home to start a fire and cook.

The little dumpling clasped its hands together and murmured, "Please, spirit, let my brother come back."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a thunderclap suddenly resounded in the sky.

The older brother, who was lying on the ground, suddenly swayed.

The little dumpling rubbed its eyes, afraid that it had seen wrong.

But she wasn't mistaken!

Suddenly, the older brother's body began to convulse violently, and he kept shouting, "Little dumpling! Grab my hand! Little dumpling..."

Hearing her brother calling her name, the little girl immediately reached out and grabbed his hand.

Pearl-like tears fell in a soft, rhythmic patter onto the back of her hand.

"Brother, Little Dumpling is here!"

The little dumpling shouted excitedly and happily.

Upon hearing her words, the brother trembled violently, suddenly opened his eyes wide, and sat up from the ground.

"Brother!" the little dumpling exclaimed, immediately throwing herself into her brother's arms and sobbing.

"Waaaaah, brother, you're back! Fuling really gave you back to me!"

Mu Jinnian stared blankly at the small mud house in front of him.

When the emperor died, the country was in chaos. Didn't he and his sister encounter bandits on their escape route?

His little dumpling even fell off a cliff because of this, and he was stabbed through the heart by a bandit...

Suddenly, a small thing started moving in his arms. Mu Jinnian looked down and saw it.

A fluffy little head was crying in his arms.

Little dumpling! It's his little dumpling!

The little dumpling was picked up from Mu Jinnian's arms, its face covered with tears and snot, its red nose twitching.

"Brother~" the little dumpling called out in a childish voice.

Mu Jinnian felt a pain in her throat and almost burst into tears.

He was reborn four years in the past, and his little dumpling is still perfectly fine.

Mu Jinnian held the little dumpling in his arms with a heavy heart, as if he were holding the most precious treasure in the world.

The warm, comforting embrace startled the little one, making him forget to cry.

How long has it been since her brother hugged her like this?

It seems that ever since her mother disappeared, her depressed brother has never hugged her again.

"ah!!"

A scream shattered the warm atmosphere between the brother and sister.

Aunt Zhang, one hand on the doorframe and the other holding a bowl of hot porridge, looked at Mu Jinnian in horror, her lips trembling as she spoke:

"It's a zombie! It's a zombie!"

The little girl was overjoyed when her brother came back. She imitated Aunt Zhang's words and said with a smile, "He's come back to life! My brother has come back to life!"

The sound startled Aunt Zhang so much that she almost fainted. She turned around to run away, but found her legs were weak.

Mu Jinnian helplessly rubbed the little dumpling's head. He knew that this four-year-old child definitely didn't understand the meaning of "coming back to life".

Hearing Aunt Zhang's call, Zhu Zi rushed over.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?... Ah!! It's come back to life!"

The little dumpling was amused by the two shouts and opened its little mouth as if to shout along.

To prevent the misunderstanding from escalating, Mu Jinnian quickly reached out and covered the little dumpling's mouth.

The little dumpling, with the lower half of its face covered by a large hand, had only two big, black grape-like eyes staring intently at the pillar.

“Aunt Zhang, Uncle Zhu, it’s me, Anian. I didn’t come back to life. I’m alive and well,” Mu Jinnian explained.

Upon hearing Mu Jinnian's voice, Aunt Zhang and Zhu Zi exchanged a suspicious glance.

"Honey, do you think what he said is true?"

Zhu Zi slapped his thigh.

"My dear wife, have you ever heard a dead person talk? This must be Anian!"

Aunt Zhang breathed a sigh of relief, her wildly beating heart finally calming down.

“A-Nian, we all thought you…” Aunt Zhang paused sadly, “Never mind, let’s not talk about those unlucky things. Now that we see you’re alright, your uncle and I are relieved.”

Aunt Zhang handed the freshly cooked hot porridge to Mu Jinnian. She didn't know he had woken up and only served him a bowl.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Zi immediately got up and went home to get another bowl.

Mu Jinnian blew on the hot porridge before handing it to the little dumpling in his arms.

The little dumpling pushed the bowl away, looked up at Mu Jinnian, and said, "Brother just woke up, brother should drink first."

Mu Jinnian rubbed the little dumpling's fluffy head and said affectionately, "Be good, little dumpling, drink first."

"Mmm, little dumpling, be a good boy." The little dumpling nodded and brought his little mouth to the edge of the bowl to sip.

After the hot porridge, which his brother had blew on to bring it to just the right temperature, was eaten, the little dumpling's chill was immediately dispelled.

"It's so warm, so warm! Brother, drink up!"

Aunt Zhang watched the brother and sister each sip their porridge and couldn't help but shed tears.

Heaven has eyes; it didn't leave this poor child alone in the world!

Aunt Zhang wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

“A-Nian, you’re still weak after waking up. Drink this porridge quickly. Your uncle has brought another bowl. Little Tuanzi won’t go hungry.”

"Yes! Brother, drink up, the little dumpling won't go hungry."

The little dumpling pushed the bowl to her brother, blinking her little eyes as if she wanted to make sure he finished it all.

Mu Jinnian's heart tightened; his little dumpling was so sensible at such a young age.

Children who are loved usually whine for candy, but her little dumpling gave him his hot porridge.

It is said that children who suffer hardship learn to be independent early. I blame myself for losing my memory and mother in my past life, which made me so depressed that my little dumpling had to start supporting the family and earning money at such a young age.

Thinking of this, Mu Jinnian wished he could slap himself twice.

He made up his mind that now that he had been reborn and regained his memories, he would never let Xiao Tuanzi suffer again. He wanted to make Xiao Tuanzi the happiest little princess in the world.