[Little Devil, I don’t like this talk of ‘belonging to’ anyone. Even if fate ties us together, it just means we have one more connection than others, and we might spend a bit more time together than other people do.]
“Yaya, don’t be angry. I won’t say things like that anymore.”
Huo Jiusi anxiously grabbed Yaya’s hand. “I won’t do anything you don’t like, and I won’t say anything you don’t like.”
[You promise? No going back on your word! Of course, if there’s anything about me that you don’t like, you can tell me too. If I’m willing to change, I will. If I’m not willing, you can’t force me!]
Yaya lifted her chin, like a proud little kitten.
A kitten wouldn’t care whether others liked it or not; a kitten always just does its own thing.
“How could there possibly be anything about you that I don’t like? I like everything about you. I like whatever you say and whatever you do!”
Huo Jiusi wasn’t just saying this to placate Yaya; it was his sincere feeling.
[Hehe, that’s more like it.]
Yaya pointed out the window: [Little Devil, I want to go out and play.]
“Okay.”
Ye Zhiqiu was under the grape arbor, crocheting a shoe for Yaya, when Tian Man hurried over. “Zhiqiu.”
“Sister-in-law?”
Tian Man glanced at Huo Jiusi and Yaya playing nearby, then pulled Ye Zhiqiu out of the courtyard. “Zhiqiu, we’ve known each other so long, don’t mind me speaking plainly. I’ll get straight to the point. What’s going on between you and Chen Can?”
“Chen Can?”
“Someone is spreading a rumor that you and Chen Can are having an affair, and they’re describing it in vivid detail.”
Tian Man said worriedly, “I believe in your character, and those who know you believe it too. But I work in news, so I understand all too well how terrifying a rumor repeated by three people can be.”
“Especially with this kind of thing—it’s very damaging to your reputation.”
“Sister-in-law, thank you. I know who’s spreading it.”
“Who?”
“Xu Wan.”
Ye Zhiqiu briefly explained what happened the day before. Tian Man frowned. “This kind of thing is hard to clear up. If it’s not handled properly, it could still harm you.”
“Sister-in-law, I have a plan.”
Tian Man’s brow relaxed, and she smiled. “If you say you have a plan, then I won’t worry. But is there any way I can help?”
“Sister-in-law, not for now. If there is, I won’t stand on ceremony with you.”
“That’s right! What are we to each other? If you get formal with me, I’ll be annoyed.”
“Jiusi! Yaya! We’re here!”
Tan Bei’s voice came from a nearby thicket. Then she and Tan Nan emerged from it. Seeing Tian Man, the two instinctively tried to run.
Tian Man stopped them. “Nan Nan! Bei Bei! Come here!”
“Mom.”
“Mommy.”
Tan Nan, holding Tan Bei’s hand, the two stood before Tian Man with their heads lowered.
Tian Man picked bits of grass off their clothes. “Did you come through the air-raid shelter again?”
“Mommy, brother said taking the air-raid shelter is a shortcut.”
“How many times have I told you two not to play in the air-raid shelter? It’s not safe. What if there’s a bad person hiding in there?”
Tian Man looked at Tan Nan. “Nan Nan, Bei Bei is still young and doesn’t understand, but how can you not know better?”
“Mom, I was wrong.” Tan Nan’s attitude in admitting fault was excellent.
A mother knows her son best. Tian Man was quite helpless. “Wrong this time, but you’ll dare again next time, right?”
Tan Nan looked up and grinned, but halfway through his smile, he realized his mother wasn’t joking. He immediately said, “Mom, I won’t dare next time.”
“If there’s a next time, I’ll have your dad break your legs.” Tian Man deliberately tried to scare Tan Nan.
But Tan Bei chimed in from the side, “Mommy, you won’t. You and Daddy can’t bear to hit me and brother.”
“That’s when you haven’t done anything wrong. If you do something wrong, no matter how much it pains us, we have to give you a beating to teach you a lesson!”
Tian Man poked Tan Nan’s forehead. “Have you already forgotten about last time when you went to play in the garage? You can’t go to dangerous places!”
Mentioning that incident immediately made both Tan Nan and Tan Bei behave.
Tian Man instructed the children, “Go play with Jiusi and Yaya. Remember to come home for dinner. I have things to do today, so your dad will cook when he gets back.”
“Mom, tell Dad to just get food from the cafeteria instead. Don’t let him cook; it’s terrible.” Tan Nan grabbed Tian Man’s hand.
Tan Bei grabbed her other hand, nodding vigorously. “Yeah, yeah! Daddy’s cooking is really awful. Mommy, don’t let Daddy cook.”
Tian Man couldn’t help but laugh and agree. “Alright, I’ll call your dad as soon as I get back.”
After Tian Man had gone a fair distance, Tan Nan and Tan Bei ran into the courtyard. Tan Nan took a bunch of toys out of his army-green satchel. “Jiusi, check out my collection.”
Tan Bei, meanwhile, pulled many hair clips from her bag. She held one up to Yaya’s hair. “Oh, Yaya, you look so pretty with this clip, just as pretty as me.”
“Now try this one. Hmm, also very pretty.”
“Yaya, when you’re a little bigger, can I braid your hair? Just like my mommy does mine.”
Beside them, Tan Nan was insistently trying to teach Huo Jiusi how to play with a slingshot.
“Jiusi, watch closely.”
Tan Nan picked up a small pebble from the ground, aimed at a crabapple on the crabapple tree, and shot.
He missed the crabapple but hit a nearby leaf.
“This slingshot my dad made for me is a bit too tight. My strength is still small, so I can’t shoot far.”
Tan Nan handed the slingshot to Huo Jiusi. “Just play like this. You try.”
Huo Jiusi tried it. It was indeed tight, but not unplayable.
He also picked up a small pebble and aimed at a crabapple on the tree, though he aimed for ones higher up than Tan Nan had.
A few at the top had turned red. He had originally planned to get a ladder and pick them for Yaya in a few days.
Whoosh—
The pebble shot out, hit a small branch, and the crabapples on it fell.
Tan Nan reacted quickly, running forward to catch them with the front of his shirt.
“Jiusi, you’re good!” Tan Nan’s eyes shone brightly. “Can you hit it every time like that?”
“Not necessarily.”
“Then try again.”
Tan Nan pointed to the big poplar tree outside the courtyard. “Just hit the tree.”
The big poplar was even farther than the high part of the crabapple tree, but Huo Jiusi seemed confident. His slingshot technique was clean and sharp.
Seeing him hit it again, Tan Nan jumped up excitedly. “Wow, Jiusi, you’re amazing! Even better than that stupid Ox!”
“Jiusi, next time I have a contest with that stupid Ox, will you help me? With you on my team, we’ll definitely beat him!”
“We’ll see what I’m doing then.”
Huo Jiusi returned the slingshot to Tan Nan. He took the crabapples, went inside to wash them, then took a small bite of one himself to make sure it wasn’t sour before handing it to Yaya.
Yaya didn’t have teeth yet, so she could only hold it and taste the flavor.
Still, this made her very happy. Mainly because that infant formula milk powder was truly unpleasant—it had almost no taste.
She especially missed the meals Little Devil used to specially make for her back then. They were super delicious.
