After Xia Lan finished showering, Qin Yu took Meng Qiqi into the bathroom, undressed him, rinsed him with warm water, then used soap to scrub his entire body before rinsing him off again.
"..." This was the first time Meng Qiqi had ever taken a bath so quickly in his life. In the past, when Grandma Xu bathed him, she would carefully wipe his body several times before she would let him go.
I was a little cold after taking off my clothes, and I was just about to warm myself up with hot water when it was all over.
"Uncle, do you always take a bath like this?" Meng Qiqi asked, blinking her big eyes in confusion as Qin Yu bathed her using the same method he used to bathe him.
"Otherwise, how are you going to take a bath?" Qin Yu dried Meng Qiqi's hair with a towel and dressed her in his own little clothes.
"Uncle, I've worn these clothes all day and haven't washed them yet! They're dirty," Meng Qiqi reminded him.
"Then why are you naked?" Qin Yu glanced at Meng Qiqi.
There aren't any clothes for Meng Qiqi at home! We can't just leave him naked!
"...Or you can wear mine?" Qin Yu looked at his clothes, and Meng Qiqi looked at Qin Yu's big coat, then at her own, and decisively shook her head in refusal.
"I'll just wear my old clothes!"
Meng Qiqi found it very novel; this was his first time experiencing it.
Qin Yu carried Meng Qiqi back to the bedroom. Xia Lan was drying her hair. Qin Yu carried Meng Qiqi to the bed, and then Qin Yu went to help Xia Lan dry her hair.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Meng Qiqi felt the softness of the blanket and couldn't help but roll around on the bed.
After rolling around, Meng Qiqi immediately looked at Qin Yu and Xia Lan. Seeing that they didn't react, Meng Qiqi became bolder and rolled around on the blanket.
From the moment he started recognizing people, he was taken care of by Grandma Xu every day. Grandma Xu wouldn't let him do anything, always saying that he was still a baby.
This was the first time he had ever felt the sensation of 'freedom'.
Qin Yu and Xia Lan heard the noise from the bed. When they turned around, they saw Meng Qiqi playfully rolling around on the bed. She rolled around a few times, but because she was not good at it, she ended up rolling to her side.
I finally managed to roll over and almost fell off the bed, but thankfully my body stopped at the edge of the bed.
Meng Qiqi was stunned for a moment, then happily jumped into the quilt.
Xia Lan and Qin Yu watched Meng Qiqi play like this for half an hour without urging him, letting him toss and turn all over the bed.
When Meng Qiqi finally noticed them, she froze instantly, slowly lowering her head as if waiting for the two to scold her.
"Do you still want to play?" Xia Lan asked Meng Qiqi with a smile, without saying anything bad about him.
“…I want to.” Hearing that Xia Lan didn’t seem angry, Meng Qiqi cautiously looked up at Xia Lan.
Xia Lan smiled and told him to keep playing, but Meng Qiqi just chuckled and sat still.
"Have you never played like this at home?" Xia Lan asked Meng Qiqi curiously.
The way he acted just now was like a child who had done something wrong for the first time—nervous and excited, but then afraid and lowering his head after being discovered.
"Grandma Xu won't let me do that, saying I'll get hurt," Meng Qiqi replied, glancing at Xia Lan.
His voice was clearly filled with incomprehension. Why wouldn't Grandma Xu let him do anything, even though he wasn't injured!
"Where is Mom?" Xia Lan asked, puzzled.
"Xiuxiu's gone to sleep! I'm sleeping with Grandma Xu, she'll take care of me," Meng Qiqi replied, patting the spot next to her, signaling Xia Lan to get into bed quickly.
"Why do you call her Xiuxiu instead of Mom?" Xia Lan lay down on the bed next to Meng Qiqi, looking at the precocious little one in her arms.
“Because Mom is so beautiful, I feel that calling her ‘Xiuxiu Mom’ would make her sound old.” Meng Qiqi’s eyes sparkled as she spoke of her mother.
"You love your mother very much!" Xia Lan hadn't expected this reason; this child was truly astonishing.
"Of course! Mom is the most beautiful mom in the world. Dad said that I'm a little man and I have to protect Mom and not make her angry," Meng Qiqi said proudly.
Then, as if remembering something, she pouted unhappily, feeling indignant on behalf of her mother.
"But he himself never comes home, which makes Xiuxiu cry."
Qin Yu lay down beside Xia Lan and said calmly, "He has to protect his country; he can't be by your side every day."
"Uncle, do you know my dad?" Upon hearing Qin Yu's words, Meng Qiqi immediately got up and looked at Qin Yu.
"What is my dad like outside?"
"You haven't seen it before?" Xia Lan was taken aback and looked at Meng Qiqi.
Meng Qiqi lowered her head sadly. "I can only see my father twice a year."
They rarely met, let alone spent time together, so Meng Qiqi only knew that her father's name was Meng Jianguo, and that was all she knew.
He doesn't like his father because his mother always secretly sheds tears because of him.
"You'll see your dad tomorrow!" Qin Yu said, ruffling Meng Qiqi's hair.
Meng Qiqi suddenly stopped talking and silently lay down next to Xia Lan, leaning against Xia Lan's chest.
"What's wrong?" Xia Lan sensed that Meng Qiqi's mood was off; the child was happy one moment and disappointed the next.
"I think Dad doesn't like me," Meng Qiqi finally said slowly after Xia Lan asked her repeatedly.
Xia Lan and Qin Yu were taken aback. "Why do you think your father doesn't like you?"
“He always looks so fierce when he looks at me. He smiles at my mom, but he never smiles at me…” Meng Qiqi clutched Xia Lan’s clothes with her little hands, her eyes full of grievance.
Xia Lan stroked Meng Qiqi's head. "Do you think this uncle next to me is fierce?"
“Not fierce.” Meng Qiqi shook her head.
"Then why do you think he's not fierce?" Xia Lan asked with a smile.
“He’s just like the uncle next to Dad! Just like Dad, he likes to do this…” Meng Qiqi imitated Meng Jianguo’s serious expression.
To be honest, it does look a bit like Qin Yu's sullen face.
Xia Lan couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"They really are exactly the same."
"I didn't do that."
Qin Yu refused to admit it.
“Uncle is a good person, Qiqi isn’t afraid,” Meng Qiqi said with a smile, her gaze towards Qin Yu filled with trust.
Perhaps it was because Qin Yu had served in the military, and the air of someone who had been a soldier was familiar to Meng Qiqi, which is why she was willing to trust Qin Yu.
“Then your father is a good person too! Look at your Uncle Qin, he doesn’t smile much, and he can be scary when he has a stern face, but you’re not afraid of him, so your father is very likely the same way!” Xia Lan analyzed to Meng Qiqi.
“But he only smiles at Xiuxiu…” Meng Qiqi felt that Xia Lan was wrong.
Xia Lan looked at Qin Yu helplessly.
Qin Yu glanced at Meng Qiqi calmly. "Maybe I was afraid of scaring you."
Meng Qiqi looked at Qin Yu, tilting her head in confusion.
"Whenever Uncle meets children, he's afraid they'll cry from his presence, so he avoids looking at them." Qin Yu could understand Meng Jianguo somewhat.
In the eyes of the children, he was a fearsome figure.
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