Knowing full well that her daughter was a "stingy girl," Sun Lifang began her act, grabbing her arm and saying, "Stop looking, come help Mom look at the picture book."

"Let's pick out one for our younger siblings. Which one should we buy?"

The picture book is full of clothes for five- or six-year-old children; you can tell at a glance—

Unfortunately, the little rascal didn't even look at it, turning her head away and stubbornly saying, "Mom, you can choose for yourself. I... I still need to read my book."

I've been reading for ages without turning a single page.

That's true; the stimulation might not be enough.

Thinking about it, Sun Lifang continued her performance, "The Lunar New Year is in two months. What will happen to my younger siblings when they come out and don't have any clothes?"

"Never mind, I'll wait for your father to come back so we can discuss it together."

"Let's discuss what clothes to buy for our baby."

Zhou Xinya turned her head away from her mother, said "Oh," and lowered her eyes to reply softly, "Okay."

What could she say?

Should we ask Mom and Dad not to buy clothes for our younger siblings?

That's impossible; people would say I'm immature.

But--

Zhou Xinya opened her sore eyes, letting tears well up in them, and dared not turn around.

She wanted to know if her mother had bought it for her, but she didn't dare to ask.

What if it doesn't?

What if Mom says, "You already have a lot of clothes, let your younger siblings see them first, and we'll take you to buy more for Chinese New Year."

What should I do if my mother says that?

Logically and emotionally, these words are not wrong, but—

She didn't want her mother's love to be taken away by others, and she didn't want her mother to call other people "baby".

You can only have one baby.

She wanted her parents to care only about her and love only her.

But that was clearly impossible, so Zhou Xinya didn't turn around.

Suppressing her tears, she headed towards the door to be alone for a while.

Unfortunately, she couldn't leave; someone grabbed her coat and bunny hat.

Suddenly, her mother's voice came from behind, "Are you crying?"