Yu Ning gazed at the deepening night outside, her fingers resting on the cashier's counter, rubbing together restlessly as she struggled with her thoughts.
Take one last look, just one last look.
But soon another voice in my head said...
Why look at her? What's so interesting about her? She has so many people who love her; she doesn't need such cheap love from you.
Yu Ning paused her stroking fingertips, and inwardly sneered as she pulled out 050, who was lurking in her sea of consciousness: "Dare to make another sound."
Distracted by 050, Yu Ning slowly clenched her fist.
Regardless, she might be on her deathbed anyway, so why would she care about these things?
As soon as she turned around, she saw the little dumpling right in front of her, its two tiny hands cupped together, its bright eyes looking up at her, and it whispered carefully:
"Sister Yu Ning, can we eat now?"
Chaochao squatted down beside her legs. Seeing that the girl did not react, she used one of her small hands to tug at Yu Ning's apron, while her other hand was still holding up the small half of the cake that was placed on a clean tissue.
It's the piece that Yu Ning just refused.
Chaochao kept the food uneaten, even though she dared not eat a large bite of what she had saved up on her plate.
050's computer was so loud from the vibrations that it was getting hot and rumbling. Annoyed, it grumbled, "Why is my heart beating so loudly...?"
Recovering from her brief moment of stunned silence, Yu Ning avoided the little dumpling's eager gaze from below. "Ahem... I already said, you can't eat here."
"I know."
Chaochao's eyes were still bright. She pointed to the space under the front desk next to her and enthusiastically offered suggestions.
"Sister Yu Ning, you can hide in here and eat."
The little dumpling looked very serious, as if to say, "Sister, look, don't I have a lot of ideas?"
Yu Ning: "..." Are you sure you're not joking?
To reassure her older sister, Chaochao confidently shared her own experience: "It's true, I often hide in the cupboard to eat, and neither my dad nor my aunt can find out."
She's very experienced in this area.
Sister, you can just trust me.
System: ...Yes, when Aunt Ning was tidying up the clothes, she found some suspicious cookie crumbs in the closet and thought it was a baby mouse that had come to the house.
After sharing her valuable experience, the little dumpling said confidently, "If we hide here, the shop manager and boss won't be able to see us. No one but me will know that Sister Yu Ning is eating."
"Sister, please eat..." she said, tilting the small cake higher, her eyes deliberately looking away, swallowing silently as she held her breath. "I'll stay here with you..."
She'll want to eat it if I don't eat it soon, boohoo.
If she could just eat those millet beans, she wouldn't be so greedy.
—I'll stay here with you.
For the first time, Yu Ning did not deny that the little dumpling's soft and sweet words struck her heart hard.
Her eyelashes trembled, but she gently pushed away Chaochao's small hand and said calmly, "There are security cameras in the store, so it's still not okay."
Chaochao looked down at her little hand, which had been rejected for the second time, and pouted dejectedly.
But she couldn't wait for Yu Ning to get off work, because her dad was waiting for her to come home and keep him company.
After twice refusing the child's sincere invitation, Yu Ning gradually felt a sense of guilt.
"You should still..." She opened her mouth to say something, but was suddenly interrupted by a visiting customer.
Chaochao had been looking up with her little face, hoping that her older sister Yu Ning would say something like she regretted it, but after only three words, she saw her sister go off to do something else without saying a word. The little dumpling turned away dejectedly.
She needs to go home, otherwise her dad will make a fuss.
Yu Ning smiled as she handed the customer the packaged dessert, then turned around to look for Xiao Tuanzi. She saw her walking heavily back to her seat, but then the smile on her face suddenly froze.
Just as Xiaotuanzi was passing by the well-arranged green wall, the hemp rope hanging high up on the potted green ivy was slowly breaking. Amidst Yu Ning's deafening heartbeat under her intense tension, the details of the rope breaking seemed to play in slow motion.
But in reality, everything happens in the blink of an eye.
Click—
The system emitted a sharp popping sound:
"Ahhhhh, Chaochao, get out of the way!"
Xiaoqi spoke too fast, and Chaochao, who hadn't heard what it said, slowed down.
Yu Ning, whose face turned deathly pale, opened her mouth.
She didn't know how she did it.
Before her mind could even process what was happening, her body had already rushed forward, bent down and tightly embraced the bewildered Chaochao, closing her eyes completely.
Others in the store who noticed the unusual behavior covered their mouths in dismay, letting out gasps of surprise; some even closed their eyes in fright.
The potted plant plummeted straight down, and just 0.5 seconds before it was about to land on Yu Ning's shoulder, it suddenly tilted slightly to one side. At that moment, Wang Jie arrived and waved to move the potted plant aside.
Bang bang—
First, she heard Yu Ning calling her name urgently, and then the crisp, deafening sound of ceramic shattering entered Chaochao's ears.
Confused and unaware of what was happening, she looked up and saw the girl clinging to her tightly trembling slightly, her eyes closed as if she were trapped in a dark nightmare. Unable to see Yu Ning's face, she could only raise her hand to stroke her cheek, finding it icy cold. "Sister... Sister?"
The little boy asked hesitantly, but after waiting a while without receiving a response from Yu Ning, he inevitably started to get anxious.
As she struggled to turn around and look.
Yu Ning slowly loosened her arms that were binding Chaochao. Her pale, sharp face was lowered, and her fingertips trembled uncontrollably, as if she was afraid of being discovered by Chaochao. She turned her hands behind her back, glanced at the fragments, clay and green vines scattered not far from her feet, and tried her best to calm her trembling voice.
She wanted to say, "Chaochao, go home first. It's getting dark, don't worry your family."
In reality, however, after taking a deep breath, Yu Ning could only say succinctly, "Chao Chao...you, you should go."
Only in this way can her...her loss of composure be concealed.
To Chaochao, the girl's suppressed voice was extremely cold and almost cruel, telling her to leave in a gloomy tone.
By this time, Chaochao had figured things out and roughly understood the situation. Yu Ning's words left the little girl somewhat bewildered, but she still wanted to check around her sister to see if she was injured.
At this moment, another colleague of Yu Ning stepped in to take charge. She first calmed the still-shaken customers, and then turned to Yu Ning and whispered some instructions:
"You look scared too, go home first. I'll talk to the manager. Anyway, there aren't many people at night, so I can take care of things here."
Yu Ning responded softly, afraid that the little dumpling would notice something amiss. She quickly untied her apron and took off her hat. Before leaving, she paused and looked at Wang Jie.
"Thanks."
She said.
Wang Jie's expression was a bit strange.
She thought she saw the potted plant momentarily suspended in mid-air during the crisis, before strangely tilting to the side. Fortunately, she appeared just in time, and everyone assumed she was the one who intercepted it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
