The book she remembered in her mind seemed to be turning. In its pages, the descriptions of death for Mr. and Mrs. Bai, her uncle and aunt, and even her mother and herself, had been erased. Many blank pages were inserted into the subsequent apocalyptic storyline.
But in the ending, the female lead still stood alone atop a high earthen mound, lonely and cold.
’While we haven’t changed the ultimate outcome, the path of fate really has been altered.’
’Is this a perk from the Underworld, too? Oh my gosh, this is amazing.’
Ye Yunyun didn’t know it, but she was the only ordinary ghost to linger in the Underworld for thousands of years. Over that vast expanse of time, even without actively cultivating, she had developed some minor supernatural abilities and gained a slight understanding of the principles of fate.
Soon, her body temperature quickly returned to normal, and her little face became rosy again.
She nuzzled her little cheek against her mother’s, wanting her to feel her normal temperature.
’I’m okay, Mama.’
The Bai family members who heard Ye Yunyun’s thoughts felt a weight lift from their hearts, but they still couldn’t fully relax.
Ye Yunyun was now of mortal flesh. Even if there was something wondrous about her, a child’s body couldn’t just fluctuate between hot and cold like that.
Sure enough, before long, Ye Yunyun’s little face grew redder and redder.
The doctor had already made a house call. She was running a high fever.
She was given an emergency injection, and after they watched over her for a night, her fever finally broke.
The next day, Ye Yunyun was a bit listless, so Bai Xi stayed home with her.
Wrapped in a small blanket, Ye Yunyun looked like a tiny caterpillar. Her mother held her in her arms as they played with a ball of yarn on the sofa.
Bai Xi was in charge of knitting, and Ye Yunyun was in charge of making trouble. However, the little rascal rarely moved, spending most of her time in a daze, only occasionally tugging on her mother’s yarn.
"Although Bao Bao is sick today, I already arranged for the older brother and sister to come over. So when they get here in a bit, could Bao Bao please not fall asleep and play with them for a little while, okay?"
’An older brother and sister? Who are they?’
Bai Xi gently explained to her, "It’s Brother Wu Chen, who Bao Bao met when you went out with your aunt, and Sister Hong Xue."
’Hong Xue? Wait, isn’t she the famous anti-human villain from the apocalypse?’
Bai Xi frowned. Hong Xue was the child who had been harassed by Bai Banhe. She was normally gentle and mild-mannered. How could she become a major villain?
’Could it be someone with the same name?’
Bai Xi continued to explain, "She’s one of the underprivileged students our family sponsors. Sister Hong Xue’s parents died when she was young, so she lives in a welfare home. She’s in her first year of middle school now."
"She’s coming over with Brother Wu Chen. They can play with Bao Bao, and the two of them can also interact and study together. Mama is so brilliant for thinking of this!"
It took Bai Xi quite a bit of effort to convince Hong Xue to come. Hong Xue’s eyes showed she really wanted to, but the director of the home was vehemently opposed, worried about the emergence of a second "person in charge." Bai Xi only managed to get the director to relent after donating a large sum of money and supplies.
But it was fine. The Bai family had been planning to anonymously donate supplies to a nearby welfare home anyway.
Hearing her mother’s words, Ye Yunyun started to doubt herself.
’That doesn’t sound like her. I remember in the story, when Hong Xue talked about her past, she only said she grew up in a red-light district. It’s probably just someone with the same name, hehe.’
’If only we could bust that red-light district. We could save so many people!’
Bai Xi sighed. Her precious baby’s idea was wonderful and innocent, but reality was cruel. Even if she wanted to help, she had no idea how.
The two kids arrived as scheduled, dressed in completely opposite styles. Wu Chen wore a black shirt and black pants, and his exposed arms were muscular.
Hong Xue, on the other hand, wore a high-collared, long-sleeved shirt and long pants. Bai Xi just assumed that because the girl had just gone through that incident and had some psychological trauma, combined with the drop in temperature, she had dressed that way.
The two said in unison, "Hello, Auntie. Hello, little one."
"Hello, you two. This is Ye Yunyun. You can just call her Xiao Yunduo," Bai Xi said with a smile, taking Ye Yunyun’s little hand and guiding her to wave hello.
Ye Yunyun stared at them blankly with her big, grape-like black eyes, her gaze sluggish.
Neither of the two teenagers was naturally outgoing, so they were a bit timid and reserved.
Bai Xi decided to help them break the ice. "Xiao Xue, would you like to hold your little sister? Xiao Chen has already held her before."
Hong Xue’s head snapped up. "Of course!" she replied.
Hong Xue carefully reached out and took the baby. She had held many children at the welfare home, but this was the first time she’d held one so cherubic and chubby. The baby felt so soft, as if even her bones were pliable, lying limply against her. The warmth of her breath seemed to stick to Hong Xue’s skin.
’Why are Sister’s clothes so scratchy?’
Ye Yunyun started to squirm restlessly, her little hands grabbing at random.
’It’s itchy.’
Bai Xi also noticed something was wrong with Ye Yunyun. Her arms and legs were starting to turn red; she must be having an allergic reaction.
"Give Xiao Yunduo to me. Holding her for a little while is enough. I don’t want you to get tired," she said.
She glanced at their clothes. At least Wu Chen had the wonton shop owner looking after him and was wearing pure cotton. Hong Xue’s clothes, however, were of very poor quality. Bai Xi had accidentally brushed against them and found them scratchy too. She didn’t know how the girl could stand it.
An accident happened as she took Ye Yunyun back. Hong Xue’s clothing snagged, catching on a decorative chain on Ye Yunyun’s little jacket.
In an instant, the collar of her shirt was pulled open, and Bai Xi saw dense red marks.
!!!
’Bai Banhe had already been dealt with. Why are there still marks on the little girl?’
"Xiao Chen, why don’t you take Xiao Yunduo to the playroom? Xiao Xue and I need to have a little talk."
Bai Xi tried to hand Ye Yunyun to Wu Chen, but she clung tightly to her mother’s arm with both hands, kicking her legs wildly like a struggling little frog.
’No, I want to stay too!’
Wu Chen lowered his gaze to Ye Yunyun’s kicking little feet, which were snow-white, and silently took hold of one.
’?’
"Bao Bao isn’t wearing socks. Her feet are ice-cold," Wu Chen explained.
Bai Xi tapped her head. Right, she had originally covered Ye Yunyun with a small blanket, but she had kicked it off while squirming just now.
"Go with Brother to put on some socks. This is grown-up talk time now. Little babies aren’t allowed to cause trouble!" Bai Xi said, pretending to be angry as she warned Ye Yunyun.
Ye Yunyun stared at her blankly as huge tears rolled down from her eyes, and she soon started to sob.
’Does Mama hate me now?’
Ye Yunyun thought of her past life. Her female master had also gotten angry with her because she had done something wrong, and that was how she went from being a future little shadow guard to a little medicine person.
’Does Mama not want her anymore? Does she think she’s a bad baby too?’
Bai Xi fumbled for a soft tissue and wiped her tears. "Bao Bao, Mama was just joking with you. I’m sorry, it was Mama’s fault. Mama shouldn’t have scared Bao Bao. Bao Bao is the best baby in the whole world."
Hong Xue suddenly said, "Auntie, you can just ask me directly. There’s no need to be evasive. I’m already dirty. That’s a fact. You don’t have to whisper about it."