Jiaozi: “…”
After a long pause, how could five-year-old Jiaozi be a match for the shrewd Shen Yingying?
With just one bluff, Jiaozi gave himself away, stammering as he asked her, “Sister Yingying, is… your hearing really that good? You can hear from so far away…”
“Of course! Otherwise, why would it be called ‘ears that catch the wind’?” Shen Yingying replied with absolute certainty, then continued to spin her tale, “As long as it’s something your Uncle Xie said, I can hear it all clearly…”
“Can you hear others clearly too?”
The childish voice carried a hint of probing. Shen Yingying could almost picture Jiaozi’s worried little face as he sat in the back seat, nearly bursting into laughter.
She said, “Not really, I can only hear your Uncle Xie clearly. Now, tell me what Uncle Xie said, and let me see if our Jiaozi is telling the truth…”
“Alright…” Jiaozi sighed helplessly, his childish voice recounting what Xie Fangzhu had told him:
“Uncle Xie told me that Sister Yingying, your brain isn’t very sharp.”
“You always like to run around and then can’t find your way home, so he asked me to keep an eye on you.”
“If you run off, I’m supposed to hurry to the meat shop to find my dad for help…”
“Uncle Xie also said you’re very timid.”
“If you get lost and can’t find your way home, you’ll cry sadly.”
“He told me to be a little hero and make sure to protect you until you get home…”
Shen Yingying: “…”
Jiaozi asked nervously from behind, “Sister Yingying, is what I said the same as what you heard?”
Shen Yingying gritted her teeth: “…Yes, very good. Jiaozi is an honest little boy, well done!”
As she spoke, she had already mentally flogged Xie Fangzhu eight hundred times in her heart. That Xie dog, she knew he was up to no good!
No wonder she thought it was strange today when Xie Fangzhu suddenly invited her out for breakfast.
And then he pretended to be the good guy by asking her to take the little kid home—that completely went against his ruthless villain persona!
Turns out he was afraid she’d run off again after he went down the mine, so he deliberately brought her to the cafeteria and had her take Jiaozi, the “mobile surveillance device,” home.
Setting up a “mobile surveillance device” was one thing, but he even told the “device” that her brain wasn’t working properly!
Making her sound like a fool—how ethical was that?
And he was seriously underestimating her. If she really wanted to run, could a mere child stop her?
Suddenly, her rebellious streak kicked in.
Not that she actually planned to run—after all, in this era, running away would just get her caught as a vagrant.
She just wanted to challenge Xie Fangzhu’s arrogance.
So, she said to Jiaozi, “Jiaozi, look, Sister has been going to the cafeteria and coming back home by herself before, and I haven’t gotten lost again. Actually, Uncle Xie was lying to you. He was afraid I’d sneak off to the department store to buy candy and ruin my teeth…”
“Really?” Jiaozi’s voice from behind still carried a childish lilt, as if he was genuinely considering the truth of her words. After a long pause, he said, “Hmm, that seems right. Before, when I was going home, I always saw Sister Yingying walking to the cafeteria alone…””Right?!” Shen Yingying smiled silently, her eyes darting around as she continued, “Jiaozi, let me discuss something with you. After I drop you off at home, I’m going to the department store to buy some candy. Don’t tell your dad, and when I come back, I’ll share half with you. How about that?”
Shen Yingying had thought this offer would tempt the little boy, Jiaozi, since for children, candy was a rare treat, usually only available during holidays and festivals.
Unexpectedly, the five-year-old Jiaozi was resolute. As soon as she finished speaking, he firmly refused, “No!”
He said, “Sister Yingying, even though you won’t get lost, I promised Uncle Xie that no matter what you say, I can’t let you run off.”
Shen Yingying: “…” This kid is really stubborn.
“What if I give you a little more? I’ll buy ten pieces, and you get nine while I take one?”
“Sorry, Sister Yingying, I can’t agree to that.” Jiaozi’s voice was unusually firm.
Shen Yingying thought to herself that this kid had such strong willpower at such a young age—he was bound to do great things in the future.
So, she upped the ante: “What if I add a can of lychee preserves? That stuff is delicious. Not only will I bring you candy, but I’ll also buy you a can of lychee preserves. It’s really tasty.”
Jiaozi had eaten lychee preserves before, but only when he was sick. His mother usually couldn’t bear to buy them for him otherwise.
The thought of being able to eat sweet lychee preserves without being sick made his eyes light up.
“Sister, so you’re giving me nine candies and one can of lychee preserves in total?”
“Of course! As long as you promise not to tell your dad, I’ll buy them for you.” Shen Yingying raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself that kids were still kids—easy to coax.
But just as she thought this, Jiaozi’s voice chimed in again: “Sister Yingying promised me nine candies and two chocolates, so Uncle Xie will give me double that. Two nines plus two twos… equals…”
One of the little arms wrapped around her waist loosened, as if he had deliberately freed a hand to do the math.
Shen Yingying suddenly realized something. “…What else did your Uncle Xie promise you?”
Jiaozi answered innocently, “Uncle Xie said that no matter what benefits you offer me, I shouldn’t agree to let you go anywhere else. Whatever you promise me, Uncle Xie will give me double when he comes back…”
Shen Yingying: “…”
In this negotiation where Xie Fangzhu wasn’t even present, Shen Yingying suffered a crushing defeat.
She felt indignant, thinking to herself, what was the point of having someone watch her on the road?
Once she got home, she could run off in a matter of minutes, couldn’t she?
With this thought, she felt a bit more balanced. But as they approached Jiaozi’s house, her smug smile faded.
The door to Jiaozi’s house was tightly shut, and sitting on a bench beside it was a young girl.
The girl looked about the same age as her, around eighteen or nineteen, slightly plump. She wore a checkered dacron shirt and loose straight-leg pants, with two braids hanging down her chest.
Her face was round, her eyebrows dark and thick, and her eyes beneath them were bright. She was quite pretty, but there was an inexplicably naive air about her, giving off the illusion of a simple beauty.
Seeing Shen Yingying ride up on her bicycle, the girl immediately stood up, leaning on a crutch placed beside her.
As for this girl, because many people had talked about her, the original host had heard quite a bit, and there were many memories of her in the original host’s mind.She was Chen Wenxing’s daughter, named Chen Qingqing, eighteen years old. Two years ago, she went to the countryside to join the production team. After a year there, she broke her leg and was sent back on medical leave.
After returning, because of her leg problem, no factory or unit was willing to hire someone with a disability like her. She had already been staying at home for over a year.
Perhaps because she hadn’t gone out for too long, Chen Qingqing’s eyes were bright but timid. She looked at Shen Yingying, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s: “Yingying… you’re back…”
The original host and Chen Qingqing had no connection at all—they hadn’t even spoken. Yet, Chen Qingqing now seemed to be waiting here specifically for her.
Shen Yingying suddenly remembered the sentence she heard at Chen Wenxing’s doorstep this morning: “I’ll make sure to keep a close watch for you.”
So, the one being watched closely was her, Shen Yingying!
“…”
She was impressed. One link after another—Xie Fangzhu had really arranged everything perfectly for her.