Chapter 30: Crying
"...No." Jiang Duan spat out these two words, his expression indifferent. However, within a few seconds, he somehow lowered his eyelashes and turned his head to the side, leaving Nian Nian with a soft black-haired head, quiet and silent.
Nian Nian was puzzled. He was at the age where he was curious about everything. He didn't understand why Jiang Duan didn't like the "hmm" but kept saying it. Unfortunately, before he could ask the question, Jiang Duan turned his head away again.
Those eyes, as still as the surface of a windless lake, didn't look directly at Nian Nian, but remained lowered. Jiang Duan tucked his chin in awkwardly, curling his fingers. "Don't you like it?"
Perhaps because they didn't talk often, he didn't speak fast to Nian Nian.
The little one's eyes were filled with confusion: "Nian Nian, do you like it?"
“…”
Jiang Duan seemed to be annoyed by him again, and turned away awkwardly: "You said yes first."
"Um...oh." Nian Nian recalled in a daze, and there was still a vague impression in her mind that she had done this before.
Well, it seems that Nian Nian really likes it.
Nian Nian convinced himself once again, and agreed with Jiang Duan's point of view: "Nian Nian, I like Nian Ya. I also like You You."
His new friends.
Jiang Duan pursed his lips and said nothing. When he heard the first half of the sentence, an expression of "See, I told you it was like this" clearly flashed across his face. However, the second half of the sentence "I like Youyou" caught him off guard and his face flushed red.
Cheng Huili watched Jiang Duan's expression change completely. She marveled inwardly: How could there be such a child in the world who could stir emotions like this? He could only say a few words, yet his heartbeat fluctuated with them.
Her son Jiang Duan, who has facial paralysis, is almost learning the Peking Opera's facial changes, with all kinds of colors flashing back and forth on his face.
Nian Nian was still exerting her power. He climbed onto Jiang Duan's shoulders without hesitation, touched his red cheek with his fingers, and let out a small "ah".
"Brother, are you hot?" Nian Nian's eyes were full of concern.
Jiang Duan didn't know what was wrong with him. The heat on his face wouldn't subside, and his breathing became a little faster: "No."
Unexpectedly, after ruling out the possibility of fever, this question aroused Nian Nian's deeper concern: "Brother, are you sick?"
The fair skin quickly became congested, which was a rare sight. He was afraid that Jiang Duan was sick.
Jiang Duan bit his lower lip hard, his expression almost failing him. He was only three years old, how could he know if his cheeks were constantly burning or if he was sick? Even now, he suspected he was ill.
His face was burning.
Cheng Huili saw this and couldn't help laughing, but the next moment she got a look of shame and anger from her son.
She quickly put on a serious expression, cleared her throat and said, "Don't worry, Nian Nian. Brother is not sick, he's just embarrassed."
A hot and red face means you are embarrassed.
Nian Nian's little brain finally understood. He nodded, as if seeing through the truth. He touched his face, which was 36 degrees Celsius, blinked his big eyes, and felt it carefully. It wasn't hot at all. He concluded, "Well, Nian Nian, you're welcome."
"Hahahahahahaha." The laughter of the three adults overlapped and rang clearly in the ears of the two little guys.
Nian Nian and Jiang Duan looked at each other, their faces turned red and white, both of them looked confused.
The few of them chatted and laughed freely. As the hour hand of the wall-mounted clock gradually approached twelve, Jiang Shengjun, thinking that the child was hungry, said, "Eri, I'll have some tea with your uncle. You take Nian Nian and Du An to the restaurant first. I've asked Auntie at home to prepare dinner in advance."
"Okay." Cheng Huili skillfully hugged the one-year-old Nian Nian in her arms. Jiang Duan consciously grabbed his mother's clothes and followed.
The Jiang family's dining table is different from the Shi family's rectangular dining table that is always covered with a floral tablecloth. It is a solid wood double-layer concentric circular table with a rotatable upper layer.
Jiang Duan sat down at his usual dining spot, not rushing to pick up his chopsticks, but instead turning the rotating table to scan the dishes. Cheng Huili didn't sit down, but instead gestured for the servants to bring over the high chair Jiang Duan had used when he was one or two years old, so she could hold Nian Nian for a while longer.
"Aunt Cheng, please hug Nian Nian first, and then sit in your brother's chair to eat, okay?" Cheng Huili smiled and spoke in an intimate tone.
Nian Nian is already likable, not to mention that she can get along well with Jiang Duan. With the double buff, Cheng Huili now thinks that Nian Nian is good in every way and likes her very much.
"Yes, Auntie," Nian Nian replied casually, her eyes drawn to Jiang Duan's elegant table-turning technique. He was jealous and eager to try, "Nian Nian, touch it too."
Asking one person for help was not enough, he also called out to Jiang Duan: "Brother, Nian Nian, please touch me."
Jiang Duan's lips twitched slightly, his eyes glanced at Nian Nian and paused for a few seconds, and finally looked at Cheng Huili - seek your mother's opinion before doing anything.
This is what Cheng Huili taught him.
As for Nian Nian, he was too young, and her words didn't count, even if Nian Nian was his friend, Jiang Duan thought.
"Brother, Youyou." Nian Nian tried to awaken Jiang Duan's conscience of friendship.
Jiang Duan refused to give in.
Seeing that this trick didn't work, Nian Nian kicked her legs and acted coquettishly towards Cheng Huili: "Auntie, Auntie, Nian Nian, touch me."
"Hahaha, okay, then let Nian Nian touch it." Cheng Huili leaned towards the table and bent over it. "Did Nian Nian touch it?"
"Hmm." Nian Nian tried to reach out with her hands, grabbing the edge of the table and pushing sideways, both of her fat lumps exerting force, "Hmm——"
After tremendous effort, the tabletop barely turned half a circle. Nian Nian panted heavily, as if she was exhausted. After a moment of hesitation, she let go and gave up.
He suddenly sniffed, tears welling up in his eyes: "Wow... Nian Nian, little woo woo..."
Being too young to push the fun table overwhelmed the little one, especially since his new friends could push it.
Nian Nian felt sadder and sadder as he thought about it. He even thought that if Yuan Yuan was here, she would definitely be able to push the rotating table.
"Wow, wow, wow..." He was too sad to help himself.
The smiling little white face turned pink from crying, like a crying peach, pitiful and cute. Cheng Huili looked distressed, hugged him and straightened his waist, frequently wiping his tears: "It's the table that's too bad, how could it grow so big? It must be bullying on purpose, don't cry, don't cry."
Jiang Duan just stared at the pitifully weeping Nian Nian without saying a word. Someone who didn't know the situation would have thought he was aloof and indifferent.
But really, he just didn't understand. He didn't understand why Nian Nian started crying just because she turned the table. He rarely cried because nothing made him sad. If a painting got ruined, he'd just repaint it. If he lost something he loved, he'd just buy a new one. He never had to be sad. He couldn't learn to be sad.
But Cheng Huili seemed to have told him that crying meant the person was sad and needed comfort. He couldn't learn to be sad, but he could try to learn to comfort.
Jiang Duan gathered his thoughts, took two steps forward, and stood in front of Nian Nian and Cheng Huili. With a calm expression, he began his comforting method:
"Nian Nian."
Nian Nian and Cheng Huili, who were sobbing, looked at him. Cheng Huili suddenly had an ominous premonition.
The next second, her son Jiang Duan said, "It's normal that the smaller one can't push the larger one. I'm bigger than you, so I can turn the table."
Nian Nian's nose flushed as she uttered a "woosh." She was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears.
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