The door to the main room was wide open, and outside, the rain poured down like a waterfall. The raindrops were blown into the room by the wind, bringing a chill.

Fang Qiao walked over and closed the door, shutting out the sound of the rain.

Sweetie was still staring blankly in the direction of the door when Fang Qiao put his arm around her shoulder and said, "Don't just stand there, let's eat, or the food will get cold."

Sweetie pursed her lips, nodded obediently, and followed Fang Qiao to the restaurant without saying a word.

Fang Qiao served her a bowl of noodles, placed it in front of her, and handed her a pair of chopsticks.

Sweetie took the chopsticks, hesitated for a long time, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Auntie, can't Meow Meow live in our house like Niao Niao?"

Fang Qiao paused for a moment, then decided to tell the truth: "Auntie doesn't know."

Sweetie is six years old now, and there are some things she can understand.

Fang Qiao said, "Miaomiao is not a cat; it is a very special tiger. Its fate is not something we can decide."

"Alright then." Sweetie lowered her eyes, said nothing more, picked up her chopsticks and mechanically stuffed noodles into her mouth.

Fang Qiao sighed. She could tell that Tian Tian really liked the white tiger cub, and she must have been very sad to see it taken away.

But that white tiger cub is different from Niao Niao. It is unruly and risks getting out of control at any time, so keeping it at home is too dangerous.

Fang Qiao patted Tian Tian's head reassuringly and didn't say anything more.

At times like these, no amount of comforting words from adults will help. It's best to let the child process her emotions on her own; she'll figure it out eventually.

After dinner, Little Vermilion Bird flew out in the rain, and Xiao Jing cleared the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them. Fang Qiao brought a basin of water and helped the children wash their hands and faces. Chuan Chuan and Yue Yue, in particular, were not yet skilled at using spoons, and by the end of the meal, their mouths and faces were covered in smears, so they needed special care.

It was raining outside and the night was a bit chilly. Fang Qiao urged the children to wash their feet and change into long-sleeved pajamas before sending them all to bed.

When children get sleepy, they fall asleep in no time. They lie sprawled out, heads facing in all directions.

Fortunately, the temperature wasn't too low yet, and they were all wearing long-sleeved pajamas, so they wouldn't get cold. Fang Qiao didn't move them, and simply draped a small blanket over each child's stomach.

After the children were asleep, Fang Qiao finally had time to tidy herself up.

She went downstairs to brush her teeth, wash her face and body, changed into her pajamas, and sat in front of the dressing table to apply face cream.

A flash of lightning streaked past the window, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.

Fang Qiao glanced at the clock on the wall. The hour hand was about to point to eight o'clock. The power was about to go out, so she quickly got into bed, turned off the light, and lay down.

Before going to sleep, she took out a communication talisman and infused it with spiritual energy, as usual.

The communication talisman didn't respond, probably because Cheng Baidong had gone to some place with no signal again.

Fang Qiao was used to it. She casually tossed the communication talisman into her spatial storage, turned over, hugged the child beside her, and closed her eyes.

I slept without any dreams.

When I woke up the next morning, it was already light.

Little Zhuque had returned from outside sometime earlier and was fast asleep at the foot of the bed.

The sound of rain still pattering outside the window continued. Fang Qiao looked out the window and saw that the sky was still a bit overcast, but the dark clouds that had covered the sky had already dispersed. She estimated that the rain would stop soon.

Today is Saturday, a workday, and the radio announced that the troublemaking tiger cubs have been caught, so Fang Qiao has to go to work, and Tian Tian has to go to class; they can't sleep in anymore.

Fang Qiao went downstairs to wash up first, then combed Tian Tian's hair. After Xiao Jing prepared breakfast, she went upstairs again to wake up the children.

After breakfast, the rain had mostly stopped.

Sweetie and Chen Yan went to school together, while Fang Qiao took An'an and the twins to work at the daycare.

When we arrived at the nursery, Wang Yun was already there. She was pouring water from a thermos into a teapot. The hot water in the thermos was too hot and could easily burn the children. The nursery always poured the hot water into the teapot in advance to let it cool down, and then added hot water when the children were ready to drink it, so that the temperature was just right for them.

As soon as they entered the house, An'an, Chuan Chuan, and Yue Yue let go of Fang Qiao's hand and happily went to play with their friends.

Fang Qiao walked over to Wang Yun, opened the lid of the teapot for her, and asked, "Where's Xin Xin? Why didn't you bring her today?"

Xin Xin is the name of Wang Yun's daughter. She loves to laugh, so she was named Xin Xin.

“Her grandma is looking after her at home,” Wang Yun explained with a smile. “It just rained, and it’s a bit chilly outside, so her grandma is worried she’ll catch a cold.”

Fang Qiao nodded: "It's a bit chilly outside. Xin Xin is too young, so it's best to be careful. If it weren't for the fact that my three kids can't stay at home, I wouldn't be willing to bring them here."

The two chatted as they worked, when Director Gu from the logistics department arrived with some bad news.

She clapped her hands in the yard, gathered the six childcare workers in the corridor, and announced, "Everyone stayed home and rested yesterday, so we won't be taking Sunday off. We'll be working as usual tomorrow."

The caregivers immediately burst into wails.

Yang Baozhen: "Oh dear, if we don't get a day off tomorrow, does that mean we have to work eight days in a row?"

"It rained yesterday and the clothes didn't dry. My four kids' clothes, which I've had for a week, are still piled up on the floor unwashed. I was planning to spend the morning doing laundry tomorrow, but now I don't even have time to do that."

Even Huang Qiaohui, who is usually the most honest, couldn't help but complain: "I stayed at home all day yesterday because of the rain and didn't get anything done. If I had known that I would have to take a day off, I would have preferred not to take the day off."

"You can't say that," Fang Qiao said. "We didn't catch the tiger yesterday, so who would dare go to work?"

“That’s true.” Huang Qiaohui sighed and said, “It’s all that tiger’s fault yesterday. Why did it have to run away from the zoo when it was perfectly fine there?”

Wang Yun asked, "When was that tiger caught yesterday? I didn't hear a sound."

Huang Qiaohui shook her head: "I don't know, I didn't hear any noise either, it was very quiet, it's very strange."