Wen Ruanqing’s soft murmur could barely be heard, but Feng Ye’s tears cascaded down instantly. Walking over to Wen Ruanqing, Feng Ye crouched down and gently stroked her forehead, the end of her voice trembling:
“Mommy is here—”
The doctors quickly examined Wen Ruanqing. Fortunately, the results were good. She no longer needed to be hooked up to all those tubes on her body, though special attention still had to be paid to her heart.
“Little Sister.”
Wen Tingyin crawled over to Wen Ruanqing’s side, carefully lying down next to her. Hooking her fingers into Wen Ruanqing’s small hand, she pulled out a smile: “You’re awake.”
Wen Ruanqing looked at the ceiling first. Having been comatose for so long, her head felt dizzy and her reaction to receiving information was slow. Turning her head to look at Wen Tingyin, she smiled after a few seconds: “Sis…”
It was her sister.
Huo Yinli was also leaning over the edge of the bed, staring at Wen Ruanqing without making a sound. Holding that bracelet, she turned her head to look at Wen Si beside her: “Auntie Wen, can I put this on Little Sister?”
Wen Si nodded, patting Huo Yinli: “You may.”
“Little Sister.”
Huo Yinli finally called out to Wen Ruanqing, keeping her voice light for fear of startling her. Seeing Wen Ruanqing turn her head, she held her small hand and slowly put the bracelet on her: “When I was sick, my mommy and mother went to pray for this for me. After I put it on, I stopped getting sick.”
“Don’t get sick anymore either, okay?”
Huo Yinli did not understand why Wen Ruanqing always got sick; she only knew that she had to find a way to keep her from getting sick.
Wen Ruanqing turned her head to look at Huo Yinli. Her breathing was a bit erratic, but it was better than at the very beginning. Her hand gripped Huo Yinli’s finger, let go, and then gripped it again, letting go, as if she were responding to her.
“It’s time to go eat.”
Seeing that Wen Ruanqing was starting to doze off again, Feng Ye picked up Wen Tingyin and took Huo Yinli’s hand: “If you don’t eat, your tummy will feel uncomfortable.”
Wen Tingyin and Huo Yinli finally stopped walking with hesitant, halting steps. Their emotions shifted quite quickly; they were happy now, with smiles all over their faces.
“Mommy, I’m hungry.”
Wen Tingyin acted coquettishly toward Feng Ye: “Will Little Sister eat food too?”
Feng Ye answered: “She will.”
Huo Yinli also spoke up: “Auntie Feng, I’m hungry too.”
Feng Ye: “Alright, let’s go eat…”
The voices of the three people drifted further and further away. The gaze that Wen Ruanqing had followed them with was also brought back. Her vision landed on Wen Si, the corners of her mouth curling upward slightly. Her eyelids began to fight each other again. Ah… so sleepy. She struggled to keep her eyelids open, but Wen Si’s figure began to blur once more.
What was going on?
“Go to sleep, little baby.”
Wen Si tucked the blanket in around Wen Ruanqing, her voice exceptionally gentle: “Mother is watching over you.”
Her little baby had lost weight again; the flesh they had worked so hard to nurse onto her was gone once more. The hospital gown looked extraordinarily baggy on Wen Ruanqing. Her skin was pale, and it even looked a bit yellowish due to the lack of color. Looking at Wen Ruanqing’s appearance, the heartache in Wen Si’s eyes could not be hidden.
“Cui Wangku—little sister Cui, I don’t know if you remember her—her surgery was a success, so you must get well quickly too.”
Wen Si wiped Wen Ruanqing’s little face with a towel, then leaned down and kissed her forehead: “We are all waiting for you to come home.”
Whether it was Mommy and Mother, or her two older sisters, everyone was waiting for Wen Ruanqing to come home.
Wen Ruanqing stayed in the hospital for another three days. The doctors only allowed her to be discharged after confirming that her condition was brought under control, except that she had even more medicine to take.
It was almost November now, and most of the trees outside had withered and turned yellow. Wen Ruanqing was bundled up tightly, shrinking into Wen Si’s arms, looking around listlessly. It wasn’t until she saw the yellow leaves that she reached out her hand and made an “ah” sound.
“For you!”
Wen Tingyin picked out a standard-looking leaf from the ground, and then had Feng Ye take her to the restroom to wash it clean. After wiping it dry with a paper towel to ensure it wasn’t dirty, she handed it to Wen Ruanqing.
Wen Ruanqing was dressed in tender pink today. She was more sensitive to the cold than ordinary people, so she wore a thick pink coat with pale yellow little wings on the edges of the pockets on both sides. She also wore a pink kitten hat on her head, making her look incredibly soft as a whole.
“Thanks!”
Receiving the leaf, Wen Ruanqing was extremely excited. She swayed her body happily as she looked at it: “Mother.”
“Yes, a little leaf!”
Wen Si carried Wen Ruanqing into the car, saying: “Sister brought you a gift, you will be able to see it when we get back.”
Wen Ruanqing pinched the leaf with both hands. Having previously discovered that it would break if she used too much force, she began to restrain her strength. Her finger poked the little leaf, her gaze resting on the scenery outside the entire time.
Going home, going home!
Play!
“We’re home!”
Wen Tingyin was the first to bounce down, opening her arms toward Wen Ruanqing: “Little Sister.”
Huo Yinli hadn’t gone out today, so at this moment, she was standing at the doorway holding a huge stuffed animal.
That stuffed animal did not have long fur, just short little plush fuzz. It wasn’t small, standing about half as tall as Huo Yinli. She strained to poke her head out to look at Wen Ruanqing: “Little Sister!”
Wen Ruanqing was led forward by the hand by Wen Tingyin. Seeing the stuffed animal that was as tall as she was, she was stunned. Right now, many things appeared super big in front of her eyes.
“I am giving this to you.”
Wen Tingyin looked down at Wen Ruanqing with a face full of anticipation: “Do you like it?”
But Wen Ruanqing only tilted her head up. After a few seconds of silence, by the time she reacted, she began to shed tears: “Wah…”
“Huh?”
Huo Yinli was stunned. Watching Feng Ye hold Wen Ruanqing to comfort her, her face was filled with complete incomprehension.
Wen Tingyin was also stunned, looking at Feng Ye and Wen Si helplessly: “Mommy.”
“Little Sister is crying.”
Wen Tingyin’s voice became small, her face full of disappointment: “I didn’t scare her.”
Naturally, Wen Ruanqing had not been scared to tears by Wen Tingyin. Her body size was quite small, so when she tilted her head up to look at that large stuffed animal, it felt as though a huge beast was looking down at her. Looking pitch-black, it was super terrifying.
Wen Ruanqing could not handle it at all. She was directly scared to tears, her body sobbing in spasms, feeling extremely aggrieved.
“When viewed from Little Sister’s perspective, this little lamb plushie looks extraordinarily big.”
Wen Si squatted down and made a frightening gesture: “It goes awoooo.”
Hearing those words, Huo Yinli nodded. She squeezed the stuffed animal with force, attempting to press it down smaller. Seeing this, Wen Tingyin also joined in. The two of them squeezed with all their might: “Yee-eaah!”
Wen Ruanqing’s attention was caught by the commotion made by Huo Yinli and Wen Tingyin. Opening her mouth wide, she watched them press down on the stuffed animal with rapt concentration: “Sister.”
“What’s wrong?”
Wen Tingyin was panting for breath because she used too much strength, but she did not forget to answer Wen Ruanqing’s question: “Wait until Sister presses it a bit smaller.”
Watching them use strength, Wen Ruanqing could not help but exert force as well. She clenched both hands into little fists, her face full of earnestness:
“Yee-eaah—”