Xie Zhuo told the story of the monkey picking corn tonight. Before he finished the story, Da Bao was already almost asleep.
Her long, slender eyelashes rested obediently on her lower eyelids, and she was muttering something under her breath.
He looked so cute. Xie Zhuo tucked his exposed arm under the blanket before turning to look at Xiao Bao.
Xiao Bao was actually sleepy, but he kept his eyes wide open to keep himself from falling asleep.
Xie Zhuo frowned slightly as she looked at him, then moved closer to Xiao Bao, her voice low and gentle, "Isn't Xiao Bao sleepy?"
“I’m not sleepy,” Xiao Bao blinked hard, then turned his head to look at Xie Zhuo, “Uncle hasn’t finished his story yet.”
“We’ll tell the story tomorrow,” Xie Zhuo said. “Can Xiao Bao and his third uncle talk about something else tonight?”
Xiao Bao looked at him.
"Hmm?" Xie Zhuo reached out and pinched his little face. "Not talking? Don't you want to talk to your third uncle?"
"No," Xiao Bao replied in a very low voice after a few seconds.
“No,” Xie Zhuo’s hand was still on his face, pinching it lightly. “Then, is something on Xiao Bao’s mind? He hasn’t seemed very happy lately.”
Xiao Bao suddenly sat up and looked at Xie Zhuo with wide eyes, as if he had been frightened.
Xie Zhuo was also startled by his sudden movement, his hand still hanging in mid-air. "What's wrong?"
Xiao Bao was still glaring at him.
"Lie down, or you'll wake your brother up again," Xie Zhuo reached out and hugged him, then lay back down on the pillow. "Why are you still so easily startled?"
Xiao Bao wanted to see Xie Zhuo's expression, but he was held down by Xie Zhuo's big hand and couldn't move at all.
"You can talk to your third uncle and third aunt about anything," Xie Zhuo continued. "No matter what you say or do, your third uncle won't be angry, but the premise is that you have to trust your third uncle and third aunt."
Xiao Bao stopped struggling and nestled obediently in Xie Zhuo's arms.
Nearly a minute later, he spoke again in a very low voice, "I dreamt of my mother, Third Uncle."
"Huh?" Xie Zhuo was taken aback.
“I dreamt that my mother didn’t want me anymore,” Xiao Bao said. “I cried for a long time, but she just didn’t want me.”
Xie Zhuo wanted to say something, but felt a tear fall on his shoulder, and his heart felt as if it had been stabbed by something.
"I'm afraid to sleep at night," Xiao Bao sobbed, his voice choked with emotion. Perhaps because Xie Zhuo had told him not to wake Da Bao, he had been trying hard to keep his voice down, "afraid that she still doesn't want me in my dreams."
"It's okay, baby," Xie Zhuo didn't care about the older child anymore and quickly sat the younger child up to help him catch his breath. "If you want to cry, just cry. Don't hold it in."
Hearing him say that, Xiao Bao still held back until he saw Da Bao rub his eyes and look at them with a slightly confused expression. Then he finally burst into tears.
It's alright, my brother woke up on his own, so he wasn't woken up by him.
When Da Bao saw Xiao Bao crying, he jumped up from the kang (a heated brick bed) and asked Xie Zhuo anxiously, "Why did Xiao Bao suddenly cry?"
“My brother had a nightmare,” Xie Zhuo said.
Upon hearing this, Da Bao quickly went over to comfort him.
Xu Yan also heard Xiao Bao crying. When she went over to see, Xiao Bao's eyes were almost swollen from crying, and she immediately felt heartbroken.
“Come here, let your third aunt give you a hug,” Xu Yan said. After Xie Zhuo gave a brief account of what had happened, she scooped both children into her arms.
"With my third aunt sleeping with me tonight, I definitely won't have nightmares," Xu Yan said.
The two adults and two children slept on the same kang (heated brick bed) tonight.
After all that commotion, it was already one or two in the morning. Xie Zhuo looked at the two little brats who had fallen asleep again, and his face was extremely grim.
Xu Yan's expression wasn't very pleasant either.
“Why don’t you go and see their mothers again before it gets too cold,” Xu Yan frowned, “to find out what’s going on. Things aren’t done this way. There has to be an explanation.”
"If they clearly state that they don't want to..."
Xu Yan glanced at the two sleeping children halfway through her sentence before continuing, "If they clearly state that they don't want the two children anymore, then they should never appear in front of them again."
"If they really have any difficulties, it would be best if they could take some time to come and see Da Bao and Xiao Bao."
“What’s the point of leaving it like this forever?”
"Hmm," Xie Zhuo frowned, then nodded after listening to Xu Yan finish speaking.
The next morning, Da Bao was the first to wake up. Although he went to bed late the night before, it didn't stop him from opening his eyes full of energy as soon as it was light.
Then Xiao Bao woke up too.
The two boys stared in surprise at their third uncle and third aunt sleeping on the kang (a heated brick bed).
"You're awake so early?" Xie Zhuo was also awake.
Then, she casually pulled Da Bao over and kissed him on his smooth cheek. While Da Bao was still in a daze, she did the same to Xiao Bao and kissed him on the cheek as well.
The two children squatted beside him, looking dazed. Xie Zhuo carefully kissed Xu Yan's forehead again. After getting off the kang (heated brick bed) and putting on his shoes, he picked up the two children and carried them out of the house.
When Xu Yan woke up, breakfast was almost ready.
She blinked and stared at the window for a long time before realizing that all four of them had slept in Da Bao and Xiao Bao's room last night.
When Xu Yan put on her shoes and went to wash up, Da Bao and Xiao Bao were chasing each other outside the gate, their eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter. When they saw her get up, they both ran in laughing.
"Third Aunt," Da Bao and Xiao Bao said in a good mood.
"Hey," Xu Yan responded, "Why are you so happy?"
"I'm having sweet porridge this morning," Xiao Bao said sweetly.
“Yes, that’s certainly something to be happy about,” Xu Yan said with a smile.
When Xu Yan finished washing up and went to the kitchen, she lowered her voice and asked softly, "Why are those two so happy?"
"Maybe it's because he likes to drink porridge?" Xie Zhu guessed, then smiled when he saw Xu Yan's obviously disbelieving expression. "I don't know either."
Regardless, the family of four was in a good mood that morning, and no one mentioned what happened last night. It wasn't until Xie Zhuo returned from taking Da Bao and Xiao Bao to school on his bicycle that the two of them discussed when to go out.
"Why don't we go early and come back early?" Xu Yan said.
“Hmm,” Xie Zhuo said, flipping through the calendar.
More than half of the year has passed, and what was originally a thick stack of calendars has now been torn into two thin months.
In a few days, it will officially be November.
That's what he said, but for the next week, Xie Zhu didn't go to the captain to get a letter of introduction, saying he wanted to wait until after Xiao Bao's birthday before going.
Xiao Bao's birthday is November 8th, which is the sixth day of the tenth lunar month, the beginning of winter.
Da Bao and Xiao Bao were born in the same year, but if you count them, Da Bao is almost a year older than Xiao Bao. One was born in spring, and the other was born in winter.
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