Although Su Qingluan always liked to pamper her younger sister, she was indeed a little angry this time.
If she had bought the book herself, she could just buy another one. However, the book that Su Xueyan had turned into a "thousand-layer pastry" was borrowed from Mu Xingzhi.
Su Qingluan has always understood that the meaning and value of books in this era are incomparable to those in her previous life. They are more precious items and can even be considered "precious property."
What's more, she was not sure whether the borrowed manuscript was a unique copy or not.
Although Su Qingluan knew rationally that precious and unique copies would not be easily loaned out, but thinking of Mu Xingzhi's approachable personality and his "responsiveness" style as described by the villagers, Su Qingluan was very unsure whether this young man with a very "nice guy" style of doing things would know how to refuse.
What if this is really a unique copy...
In any case, Su Qingluan decided to take the "direct evidence" - that is, the book, and bring her younger sister to apologize to Mu Xingzhi.
Su Qingluan's mind was filled with chaotic thoughts as she listened to her sister's incoherent explanation.
Actually, it’s not a big deal. It all comes down to the curiosity of children.
The only "large piece of furniture" in Su Qingluan's room was a storage box at the head of the bed that opened upwards. The box was filled with various sundries, and when it was placed at the head of the bed, the lid closed, making it very flat. Su Qingluan used the box as a bedside table.
So occasionally, Su Qingluan would put some miscellaneous items on the lid of the box - such as bottles and jars or tea bowls for drinking water.
Little Su Xueyan would occasionally enter Su Qingluan's room, but Su Qingluan didn't mind much. For one thing, the furnishings in her room—or the entire Su family—were all visible, leaving nothing to hide. And for another, discussing privacy with a little girl who was only three years old was a bit premature.
The most important thing is that Su Qingluan always thought that the little girl was well-behaved and never rummaged around in her room, so there was no need to warn her specifically.
But since she started borrowing books from Mu Xingzhi, she was always very careful to prevent the books from being damaged. She even put the books back into the box beside the bed after each reading. It would be difficult to explain if she damaged other people's books.
She even specifically told her younger brothers and sisters not to rummage through the bedside tables in her room because they contained important books.
Su Xuanhe himself had no great interest in books, and since he entered Master Zhou's school, he had homework every day and had no time to fool around in her room.
However, the always well-behaved little girl, out of curiosity, wanted to see what interesting books were in her elder sister's box. So, while Su Qingluan was out on business with her parents, she slipped into her elder sister's room, wanting to "find out what was going on."
Normally, when Su Qingluan goes out, in order to prevent rain from suddenly falling into the room during the day, Su Qingluan would lower the windows of her room. This resulted in her room being dim even during the day.
What's more, the storage box at the head of the bed is painted dark brown, and after being washed away by time, it has become a mottled color mixed with wood color and tan.
The tea bowl that Su Qingluan used to drink water was made of coarse porcelain, palm-sized, and also dark brown. It was just this small thing, placed in the corner of the bedside storage box against the wall.
Originally, Su Qingluan placed the tea bowl against the wall to prevent herself from accidentally knocking it over and wetting the bed, but this time it had the opposite effect.
Originally, as Su Xueyan lifted the lid of the box, the teacup would have rolled to the side, but the wall blocked it. Due to the subtle interaction force, the teacup, which should have fallen outward, fell back inward with a "gulp--splash..."
The half cup of water in it was not wasted at all, and it was all given to the people in the box.
Some spare clothes and winter clothes that are not needed temporarily have to be taken out to dry and washed, and the book placed on the top is not spared and has become a very wrinkled "thousand-layer pastry".
"After all, you took the trouble to get this book. Why don't you come and take a look at it?" Su Qingluan looked down at her sister's little whorl of hair.
The little girl sobbed and shook her head.
"Why don't you watch it again?"
"Look... I don't understand..." Her voice sounded aggrieved and pitiful, but Su Qingluan didn't intend to let this go: If she couldn't take this opportunity to make the little girl understand that she shouldn't touch things that she's not allowed to turn over, then there's no guarantee that she would get into trouble in the future, or even anger someone she shouldn't anger.
She squatted down and looked into her sister's tearful eyes, which were hidden by her lowered head. "Since you were curious about the book, why didn't you come and ask me, but instead went to look through my cabinet yourself?"
“…”
"kindness?"
"...Because my sister wouldn't let me touch that book, but she never hid anything from me before..." The little girl's voice was still very aggrieved, but she didn't cry or make a fuss because she knew she was wrong.
Su Qingluan understood in her heart: it turned out that the little girl was unhappy because she felt that there was a "secret" between her and her.
She thought for a moment and explained in words that were easier for children to understand: "But you also have little secrets that you can't tell others - like secretly spitting out the roots of spinach..."
"Sister!" The little girl raised her head angrily.
"See, no one likes having their 'little secrets' revealed." In fact, Su Qingluan knew that these two events could not be strictly compared horizontally, but children did not have such strong logical thinking abilities after all, so she could only use what she had experienced as an example.
Finally, the little girl nodded: "Sister, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have rummaged through things without your consent..."
Su Qingluan nodded: "That's it. Next time if you are curious about what's in my room, you can ask me directly. If I can tell you, I will tell you."
"Yes! I understand!" Su Xueyan nodded vigorously. When she raised her little face, she looked a little more energetic than before. She asked cautiously, "So, sister, have you forgiven me?"
"Well..." Su Qingluan sighed, "Before I forgive you, we actually have to seek forgiveness from another person..."
"What...?" The little girl's big eyes were filled with confusion.
"I borrowed this book from Mr. Mu, so go wash your face and wipe away your tears right now. We're going to Mr. Mu's house to apologize."
However, Su Qingluan was unsure: Would just apologizing really be enough?
I hope this book is not the only one in the collection - she prayed silently in her heart.
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