Ling Ze suddenly looked up at Xing Zhaozhao, his eyes red: "I'm not going back. He never cares about me. If he knows I'm missing, then let him worry. Let him worry to death. If you want to take me back, I'll run away, run away to a place where none of you can find me."
After saying that, he grabbed Hongyu, who was sitting next to him, and refused to let go, as if to say, "If you want to take me away, I'll take the one in my arms with me."
Aunt Hao looked surprised: "Hey, this little guy's really going to take this seriously."
Xing Zhaozhao frowned, looking at Ling Ze, her head throbbing with pain.
Hong Yu, who was being held hostage, was completely bewildered. What did this have to do with him?
"What should we do, Zhao Zhao?" Aunt Hao turned to ask Xing Zhao Zhao. "To be honest, although this child is naughty, he is also a pitiful one. His mother is gone, and his father is too busy to take care of him. Who knows what kind of grievances he has suffered in places where the adults can't see, that has made the child so anxious."
Xing Zhaozhao was at a loss for what to do. In any case, she definitely couldn't let this little guy run off to a place they couldn't find. If she really had to choose, she would definitely keep a close eye on this child, while as for Ling Xiao, she could only let him worry for now.
Ling Ze looked at Xing Zhaozhao pitifully, waiting for her to make the final decision.
Xing Zhaozhao looked at Ling Ze's helpless, red eyes, and sighed helplessly, saying, "Alright then, you can stay here with me for now."
Ling Ze let out a sob and rushed over to hug Xing Zhaozhao tightly.
Xing Zhaozhao patted his little back reassuringly: "You're really brave, a little kid like you, daring to leave yourself outside alone so late at night."
Ling Ze snuggled against Xing Zhaozhao and said, "Anyway, I was often alone at home before."
Xing Zhaozhao's heart tightened. She patted his head and asked with concern, "You haven't eaten anything since you came out yesterday afternoon, have you? Are you hungry?"
Before Ling Ze could say anything, his stomach growled, answering for him.
The little guy blushed with embarrassment.
Xing Zhaozhao chuckled: "I'll go get you something to eat first, then we'll eat in a bit."
After saying that, seeing that he was all dirty, Xing Zhaozhao looked at Fu Lan and instructed, "Give him a bath and change his clothes."
"Judging from his build, he's about the same size as Dafei. Let him wear Dafei's clothes first." She looked Ling Ze up and down, then looked at Hongfei for his opinion, "Is that alright, Dafei?"
Hongfei nodded, having no objection: "Mm."
"I'll go prepare the bathwater," Fu Lan said, turning and heading to the kitchen.
Aunt Hao rolled up her sleeves, wanting to help: "Then I'll give this little guy a bath."
Ling Ze declined, saying, "No need. I'm a big kid now, I can take a bath by myself."
Aunt Hao: "..."
Having no further opportunity to use her skills, Aunt Hao bid farewell to Xing Zhaozhao and returned home.
Xing Zhaozhao was going to the cellar to get something, and she took Aunt Hao out on the way.
"Zhao Zhao, although this child came to you on his own, no matter how irresponsible his father is, he is still their only son. If he goes missing, they will definitely be worried. Even if you know each other, you'd better keep that in mind to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings over time," Aunt Hao instructed Xing Zhao Zhao.
Xing Zhaozhao nodded: "Don't worry, Auntie, I understand. I plan to send a message to her father tomorrow and ask him to come and pick her up."
Seeing that Xing Zhaozhao had already made up her mind, Aunt Hao was relieved: "It's good that you know what you're doing."
After seeing Aunt Hao off, Xing Zhaozhao went to the cellar and took out the vegetables for lunch and the toys for the two children, and also brought two cakes.
Hongyu has a very keen sense of smell. As soon as Xing Zhaozhao walked into the house with the cake, he sniffed and smelled it. His eyes lit up, and without even putting on his shoes, he jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed) and pounced on Xing Zhaozhao: "Mom, I smell sweet cream! Did you buy another cake?"
"You eat one piece with your brother, and save one piece for Brother Lingze," Xing Zhaozhao instructed.
Hongyu looked unhappy: "Why do I have to share a piece with my brother? Why does that mean brother who wants to steal his sister get to eat a piece all by himself?"
“Because that little boy hasn’t eaten anything since yesterday, even if he eats a piece by himself, he can still finish his meal later. If you and your brother eat too much, you won’t be able to eat later and you’ll get a beating. Do you want to not be able to eat later and get a beating from Mom? Or do you want to obediently share a piece with your brother?” Xing Zhaozhao asked him.
Hongyu rubbed his bottom; although he hadn't been beaten yet, it was already starting to ache slightly.
He looked dejected and said, "Then I'll share a piece with my brother."
Xing Zhaozhao smiled and patted his head: "Good boy, Mom will prepare some delicious snacks for you this afternoon."
Hongyu's little face immediately broke into a smile again: "Thank you, Mom."
"Here, and the toys you wanted. Send one set to your cousin in Beijing, and keep the other set for yourselves." Xing Zhaozhao handed over the toys Gao Mingcheng had prepared for them.
Hongyu took it and was even happier: "Wow, there's a little frog and a tank, I love it!"
"Did I buy it?" He looked at Xing Zhaozhao expectantly.
Xing Zhaozhao's eyes flashed, and she nodded: "You bought it."
Hongyu said smugly, "As expected of the clever me."
After saying that, he immediately took the gift and went to find his brother: "Brother, look, the gift I bought."
Xing Zhaozhao looked at the cake that had been left in her hand: "..." Now that she has a gift, she doesn't even want the cake anymore?
The thought had barely crossed her mind when the little guy who had just run off came back and took the cake from her hand: "I forgot, there's still cake."
Xing Zhaozhao: "..." It seems she was overthinking it.
"Mom, can we take those toys outside to play?" Hongyu didn't forget that he had another important question to ask.
Xing Zhaozhao nodded: "Those are fine."
"Yay!" Hongyu turned around and ran away happily. "Brother, brother, after we finish eating, let's go play in the village down the mountain."
Xing Zhaozhao: "..." She knew it.
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