I hesitated for a moment, but in the end I took the lighter from Yunwei.
With a gentle press of the thumb, the flame shot out with a "whoosh".
Xiaomi wanted to say something more, but Yunwei stopped her.
As the flames drew closer, a flicker of fear crossed Yunwei's eyes, but she gritted her teeth and refused to back down.
Soon, the flame licked her fingers.
Instantly, a faint aroma of meat filled the air.
Yunwei's face turned deathly pale instantly, and her brows furrowed tightly.
The muscles on his face twitched slightly from the pain, and his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Even so, she endured it without letting out a scream, though her lips were bitten until they turned white and bled slightly.
"Enough!"
Xiaomi slapped the lighter away.
Pointing with heartache at the rapidly swelling blisters on Yun Wei's fingers, her voice became shrill with excitement.
"Chen Yan, look what you've done! She's in so much pain, and you still could do that!"
I stared blankly at the shocking blisters on Yunwei's fingers, and for a moment, my throat felt blocked, and I couldn't say a word.
The bubbles looked particularly glaring in the dim light, as if silently condemning my actions.
The facts speak for themselves: she is definitely not a paper doll.
I guessed wrong.
"Yunwei, I..."
I opened my mouth, wanting to apologize, but my throat felt like it was choked by something, and I couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.
Yunwei gently shook her head, enduring the pain, and forced a smile: "Brother Chen, it's really nothing. I know you did it for our safety."
The atmosphere was particularly oppressive during dinner that evening.
I originally wanted to ask Yun Weilingmei where her home is, but now I'm too embarrassed to ask.
Xiaomi sat across from me, her eyes still lingering with dissatisfaction. She gave me the cold shoulder, eating each bite of her food heavily, as if venting her anger at me.
I didn't pay any attention to her and just silently ate the rice in my bowl.
As I said before, I won't easily trust anyone, even if I might have really wronged Yunwei this time.
...
At night, the village was eerily quiet, with only the occasional bark of a dog.
I tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. Had I really guessed wrong?
Suddenly, a faint noise came from outside the window.
I sat up alertly, walked quietly to the window, and looked out through the crack.
In the moonlight, a dark shadow flashed by at lightning speed. I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was seeing things.
When I turned around again, I found the little girl sitting on my bed.
She rested her chin on her hands, tilted her head, and looked at me with a smile, her little feet dangling back and forth. When did this girl run in?
I was filled with doubt, yet inexplicably felt at ease.
I don't know why, but seeing her made me feel warm inside.
This is an emotion I've never felt before.
It was like a ray of light shining into my long-closed world.
She is the only warm light that can illuminate my heart.
Her smile and her innocence gradually melted the thick layer of ice in my heart, allowing me to experience a unique warmth and kindness for the first time.
"Little girl, when did you get here?"
I pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, taking her chubby little hand in my hand.
The touch was icy cold, which made my heart skip a beat.
"You're so stupid, you bad uncle!"
The little girl blinked her big, watery eyes and pouted, "I just came in, and you didn't even notice! You're so silly!"
After saying that, she looked like a pitiful little girl who had made a mistake, hanging her head and carefully handing me the grass slingshot I had given her last time, her voice trembling with tears.
"Bad uncle, boohoo, I accidentally broke it. I've been trying to fix it for ages, but I just can't."
She became more and more aggrieved as she spoke, her eyes quickly reddening and tears welling up in them.
She sniffed, rubbed her eyes with her little hands, and looked at me pitifully: "Bad uncle, please don't be angry with me, okay?"
Looking at the little girl's tear-streaked face, yet filled with expectation, my heart instantly softened.
He chuckled and patted her head: "Silly girl, how could Uncle blame you? This slingshot is broken. Uncle will make you an even better one, I guarantee it will work even better than the last one!"
The little girl's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing this.
The tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes hadn't dried when she grinned.
She suddenly pounced on me, grabbed my arm and shook it vigorously, her voice soft and sweet.
"You're the best, you bad uncle!"
As she spoke, she magically pulled a large handful of grass from her pocket and handed it to me. "Uncle, how about we use this to make a slingshot?"
The moment I saw that bundle of grass, my heart skipped a beat, and a nameless unease welled up inside me.
The grass had an unusual color and a very peculiar shape, but I couldn't be sure of my guess for the time being.
I took the grass and asked her, "Girl, where did you get this grass from?"
"It was pulled up right behind the house, Uncle. Is this grass bad? Can't it be used to make a grass stem slingshot?"
I quickly shook my head and said yes, but Uncle can find more materials to make a better one for you.
When we were in the wild, using grass stems to make a slingshot to coax her was a last resort.
But now that Yunwei has plenty of tools and materials at home, it's not difficult to make a decent slingshot.
It's very easy to make this thing; basically, any child over five years old in the village can do it.
Use a knife to smooth and flatten the branch, then carefully tie the rubber band to both ends of the branch and adjust the elasticity. That's basically it.
The little girl sat right next to me, staring at me intently, her face full of curiosity and anticipation.
When I handed the finished slingshot to the little girl, she jumped up and ran around the house, gripping it tightly with both hands.
One moment it was aiming at the corner of the wall, and the next it was jumping around waving it.
Seeing how much fun she was having, I took the opportunity to ask her, "Little girl, how about I trade you this new slingshot for this blade of grass?"
The little girl's mind was completely on the new slingshot, and she nodded in agreement without even thinking, "Okay, okay!"
After saying that, she handed me the broken grass slingshot again: "Uncle Bad Guy, could you make this into a necklace and hang it around my neck? That way, when Uncle Bad Guy goes back, I'll think of him whenever I see this."
As I worked on turning the broken slingshot into a necklace, I asked a question.
"Girl, Uncle also wants to ask you, why did you suddenly leave when we entered the village yesterday?"
The little girl fiddled with the slingshot in her hand, saying without looking up, "There are bad people in the village. Grandma doesn't allow me to stay in the village, so I sneaked out tonight."
(PS: This chapter is for the 30th follow-up chapter. If you want an extra chapter, my darlings, hurry up and follow me! Ten more followers mean one more chapter. Just reach 50 followers and that's enough. Don't drive me crazy! (*?▽?*))
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