"Zhouzhou, be good, come out and come to Grandma."
Qin Peilan beckoned towards the crack in the door, trying her best to soften her voice.
"Let Grandma see what you're holding in your hand, okay?"
Sure enough, as soon as He Wanrou left, Zhouzhou's tense little body visibly relaxed.
She looked up at Zhou Qiqi, and after receiving an encouraging look from Zhou Qiqi, although she was still a little hesitant, she slowly moved forward and handed the drawing paper in her hand to Qin Peilan.
The elderly couple looked down and saw that the drawing paper contained two people in old-fashioned military uniforms, drawn with colored pens. Their heads were drawn large, and their bodies were small.
Beside the two of them, a crooked five-star red flag was drawn.
Although the proportions are exaggerated, the facial features, the figure and temperament are clearly those of the elderly couple!
Qin Peilan was so excited that her hands trembled slightly. She looked at the painting, then at Zhouzhou, and asked in a trembling voice:
"Zhouzhou, this...this drawing is...is it us? You drew a picture for Grandpa and Grandma?"
The little girl was startled by her grandmother's excited emotions, but she wasn't afraid. Instead, she nodded emphatically.
Then, she tilted her little face up and smiled gently at them, then silently opened her little mouth and made two clear mouth shapes.
"Grandpa...Grandma".
"What?!!"
Qin Peilan suddenly grabbed her husband's arm, so excited that she became incoherent.
"Zhenbang! Just now... just now, did Zhouzhou laugh and then call us? Am I seeing things? Zhouzhou, she... she..."
Even the usually serious Shen Zhenbang had tears in his eyes, and nodded in a hoarse but absolutely firm voice:
"Yes! He smiled! And he called us! I saw it clearly, his lips were lip-syncing to Grandpa and Grandma!"
Qin Peilan was so happy she didn't know what to do. Suddenly remembering she hadn't responded to the child yet, she quickly replied:
"Hey! Hey! Yes! I'm your grandma! I'm your grandma!"
After saying that, she excitedly nudged her husband beside her and urged him on:
"And what about you! You old man, the children are calling you, why didn't you even answer?"
Qin Peilan used considerable force in this collision, catching Shen Zhenbang off guard. He quickly bent down, looked at his granddaughter, and solemnly replied:
"Hey! Hey! Grandpa's here! Grandpa's here, good boy!"
The elderly couple looked at each other, their eyes glistening with tears of emotion.
Although Zhouzhou didn't make a sound, that was enough!
You should know that during the two years they spent with Zhouzhou, she was like a lifeless porcelain doll. She rarely opened her mouth, let alone greeted anyone, and her eyes were always empty.
They tried everything, but couldn't even stir up the slightest ripple.
But now...
The child can not only draw and laugh, she's even... willing to speak!
Even if it's just silent lip movements, this is a huge improvement!
In his excitement, Shen Zhenbang suddenly remembered something. He suppressed his turbulent emotions, looked at Zhou Qiqi, and asked urgently:
"Qiqi, what... what's going on now? The child can mouth words? Why didn't you mention that earlier?"
Zhou Qiqi's eyes welled up with tears as she watched this deeply moving scene unfold before her.
She stepped forward, reached out and ruffled Zhouzhou's little head, making her hair all messy, and said with a smile:
"This brings us to the topic of painting. This is the second small attempt I've made to guide her since she started learning to paint. I was planning to tell you about it later and give you a surprise."
"I didn't expect this little girl to be able to resist spoiling the plot for me!"
Shen Zhenbang paused for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly, clearly not understanding this new term, and asked:
"Spoilers, what does spoiler mean?"
Zhou Qiqi inwardly groaned, realizing she'd spoken too quickly again, and quickly tried to make amends with a smile:
"Ah, it means... it means revealing the surprise in advance!"
Shen Zhenbang was still frowning. How could this be related to spoilers?
Shen Huaichuan, standing to the side, naturally put his arm around Zhou Qiqi's shoulder and explained to his father with a smile,
“Dad, it’s just like when you watch ‘Wu Song’. Before the movie even ends, someone has already told you how it ends.”
"Wu Song" was the most-watched TV series at the time. Shen Zhenbang had also watched it at the sanatorium and immediately understood. He nodded and said:
"Oh, I see. That's a pretty fresh and interesting term."
He was still pondering the new word, but Qin Peilan next to him was too excited to care about anything else.
Her eyes were still red, and she opened her arms, wanting to give her granddaughter a big hug.
Zhouzhou was much more relaxed now than when she first came in. Although she wasn't born yet, she didn't resist at all and naturally hugged her grandma back.
She even mimicked what her grandfather had done earlier, reaching out her little hand to gently pat Qin Peilan's back twice, as if to comfort her.
"This girl..."
Seeing his granddaughter's mature behavior, Shen Zhenbang smiled, a rare sight. His heart melted, and he reached out to pat her head and even hug her.
But Zhouzhou had her back to him and didn't see what he was doing.
Before Shen Zhenbang could even pick her up, she gently stepped out of her grandmother's arms, ran to Zhou Qiqi's side, tugged at her clothes, and then pointed towards the bathroom.
Zhou Qiqi immediately understood what she meant and explained to the elderly couple with a smile:
"Uncle, Auntie, Zhouzhou is telling me it's time to take a bath and go to bed. We can go boil some water too."
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