Chapter 72 Mao Mao isn't scared at all!
The next day. Early morning.
Mao Mao slept soundly for a long time and opened her eyes wide with energy.
The first thing that caught her eye was the face of her mother lying next to her.
"Mother?"
Xia Xiaoxiang lowered her head and kissed her cheek: "Mother is here."
Mao Mao clutched the blanket, her eyes wide open: "Mother, what are you doing here?"
Xia Xiaoxiang, who had stayed up all night watching over her: "..."
"You heartless brat, you chased me away the moment you opened your eyes."
Xia Xiaoxiang slapped her chubby bottom in annoyance, causing Mao Mao to cry out "Ouch!" and wriggle into a ball under the covers, trying to hide.
No wonder Mao Mao found it strange.
She was a little girl who loved to sleep in, but her mother got up very early. Every day, when Mao Mao opened her eyes in bed, Xia Xiaoxiang had already gotten up.
And that's not the only strange thing.
When Mao Mao got up, her mother rubbed her face and applied a fragrant face cream. She sat on the edge of the bed, her little feet swinging happily in mid-air as she watched Xia Xiaoxiang take clothes out of the wardrobe.
"This one? Or this one?" Xia Xiaoxiang asked, holding several clothes hangers. "Which one should I wear today?"
Mao Mao looked left and right, liking everything, her round little face torn between the two.
Before they could make a decision, there was a gentle knock on the door.
The third concubine poked her head in: "Is Mao Mao awake?... Oh! She's awake!" When she saw Mao Mao, her face lit up with a smile, and she pushed open the door and gracefully walked in.
Mao Mao greeted obediently, "Good morning, Fourth Mama."
Good morning, baby.
What's the third concubine doing here?
Let's braid Mao Mao's hair.
The little girl's soft, fine hair was gathered in the third concubine's hands and skillfully braided into an exquisite plait. Incidentally, she also commented on the clothes in Xia Xiaoxiang's hands: "Wearing this dress on my left, I just learned a new braiding style from a magazine."
The mother and daughter nodded repeatedly.
The big white cat slipped in through the crack in the open door, its tail held high. It ran to Mao Mao's side and scratched at her little feet with its two fluffy front paws, making Mao Mao giggle with ticklishness.
Hearing the laughter, the second concubine also walked over: "Mao Mao is awake?"
For some reason, the whole family is focused on Mao Mao today.
As soon as her mother carried her to the dining room and she sat down, the plate in front of her was piled high with food, so much that it was about to overflow.
Mao Mao shouted anxiously, "Enough! Enough!"
Even Mao Mao can't eat anymore!
Lou Hongjian spread butter on a slice of bread and held it to her lips, "Here, Mao Mao, ah—"
Mao Mao opened her mouth wide, and the bread was put into her mouth. She reached out to take it, but before she could touch the bread, Lou Hongjian pushed her little hand back: "Don't move, brother will feed you."
Mao Mao's cheeks were bulging from eating, but before she could swallow, her aunt had already picked up a dumpling and handed it to her: "Here, Mao Mao—"
She quickly swallowed what was in her mouth and went to get more dumplings. Then, milk, sausage, eggs, Chinese and Western dishes were all offered to her, and Mao Mao's mouth was overwhelmed with the variety.
After breakfast, her round little belly was so full that she could hardly walk.
After breakfast, he was surrounded by the wives.
The first wife held a book in her hand: "Mao Mao, shall I read to you?"
Second concubine: "I'll go get a few records."
Third concubine: "How about we go outside—"
Before he could even finish explaining what he was going out to do, the others unanimously refused: "No way!"
Third concubine, shut up.
Mao Mao sat in the center, looking blankly at her mothers.
Even if she's a pampered little baby, she's received way too much pampering today.
Old Madam Lou said in a deep voice, "Everyone, disperse, don't frighten her."
The ladies moved back a little.
"Go and get my opera records," Madam Lou instructed the maid.
The phonograph is a wonderful thing.
In addition to Western music records, the album also includes excerpts from many famous opera singers. Madam Lou loved listening to opera, and when she couldn't go to the theater, she would play records at home.
She lowered her head and asked her granddaughter with a kind smile, "Would you like some snacks? Grandma had some freshly baked snacks bought this morning, they're still warm. Let's have some snacks, listen to some opera, and we won't go anywhere else."
Mao Mao blankly replied, "Oh."
"Um……"
After pondering for a while, Madam Lou bent down, picked up the large white cat at her feet, and placed it in her arms.
Old Madam Lou: "You can play with the cat too."
Big white cat: "Meow~~~"
Mao Mao struggled to hold the big fat cat with her two little hands, then looked up at Old Madam Lou.
Lou Hongjian appeared at the entrance to the small living room: "Mao Mao? Do you want to go play with your brother?"
...
Second floor.
Lou Yansui's room.
There was a knock on the door, and a little voice came through the crack: "Brother, fourth brother."
Lou Yansui was leaning against the headboard reading something when she heard the sound. She looked up and sat up straight: "Mao Mao?"
"Brother, it's me."
"Come in quickly."
The door clicked open from the outside, and Mao Mao's little body squeezed in before turning around and closing the door again.
"elder brother!"
Mao Mao ran to the bedside with her short legs, held onto the edge of the bed with both hands, and struggled to lift one of her little feet up, trying to reach the bed. First, she climbed up one foot, then she put her upper body up as well, climbing up with both hands and feet.
After she sat down next to her brother, she let out a long, tired sigh.
Lou Yansui softened her tone: "Mao Mao, what brings you here?"
"Brother." She leaned against Lou Yansui affectionately, "I haven't seen you all day."
Lou Yansui paused.
Ever since he left his room, he has had the maid carry him downstairs every morning. But not today.
"I'm..." Lou Yansui said hesitantly, "I'm... um, I'm writing a story."
Mao Mao looked up in surprise: "Is it a story about Mao Mao?"
"Yes."
"Brother, I want to hear it."
"Okay, brother will read it to you."
The completed manuscript was on the desk, scattered all over the floor in the chaos yesterday, but had been picked up and tidied up. However, Lou Yansui didn't need to retrieve it, as she could recite her story perfectly from memory.
He held his sister in his arms, recalled the new developments in the story, quickly organized his thoughts, and told the story again.
Halfway through the conversation.
"Maomao——Maomao——"
The third concubine's voice rang out from outside the door.
Lou Yansui paused, listening to the voice of the third concubine passing by the door, but did not receive a response from the little girl in his arms.
He looked down in confusion and saw Mao Mao crawl into his blanket, hugging her head, covering her mouth, and curling up nervously.
"Maomao?"
"Shh!" Mao Mao said nervously in a breathy voice, "Brother, don't speak."
Lou Yansui: "..."
The third concubine walked past the door, then circled back, her puzzled voice drifting in: "Strange, where did he go?"
Mao Mao's eyes were wide open, and she was so nervous that she held her breath, her little face turning red.
Lou Yansui only dug her out of bed after hearing the sound of her high heels clicking away into the distance: "Alright, she's gone."
"call--"
Mao Mao immediately relaxed, her little body went limp, and she nestled into her brother's arms as if she had no bones.
"So you weren't thinking about me after all." Lou Yansui laughed. "You were avoiding someone."
Mao Mao blinked guiltily, fidgeting with her chubby fingers, too embarrassed to look up at her brother.
But...but...
The mothers are acting strange today.
Although they usually care about her meals and playtime, today they showed her an extraordinary amount of care. One mother is giving her double the care, and five mothers and one grandmother... that's many, many times more!
There's only one Mao Mao, and we're almost overwhelmed!
Lou Yansui patted her little head: "Don't worry, they won't come if you hide here with me."
"Uh-huh!"
Lou Yansui paused, her gaze complex: "Mao Mao, were you...were you scared yesterday?"
"yesterday?"
"You were kidnapped by bad guys yesterday, were you very scared?" Lou Yansui said in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry, Mao Mao, there's nothing your brother can do."
"elder brother?"
Mao Mao tilted her head, her dark eyes looking at him with a puzzled expression.
But for the first time, Lou Yansui dared not meet her eyes. She was afraid that she would see something she didn't want to see in those innocent and clear eyes.
Fear, apprehension, or blame.
Or like him, shrouded in a recurring nightmare.
A three-year-old little girl is still a blank sheet of paper, and her first stroke of color should not be a gray shadow.
But……
Suddenly, her palm was gently nudged, as if a fluffy little animal had rubbed against it. Mao Mao then voluntarily placed her head into his palm.
"Brother, I'm not scared." Mao Mao snuggled affectionately into his arms. "I know you'll come to save me! Mao Mao isn't scared at all!"
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