The moment Luoluo saw her, she instinctively scooped up the little turtle and hid it tightly behind the hem of her tiny skirt.
Then, looking at her mother’s unhappy face, she immediately held out the piece of pancake in her hand without hesitation.
“Mommy, eat pancake.”
Sheng Manzhu said nothing and didn’t take the pancake. Instead, her brows furrowed even tighter as she glanced disdainfully over Luoluo’s messy little face and dirty little hands.
Luoluo stretched her tiny hand forward again, blinking her big eyes at her mother.
“Mommy, if you don’t eat, your tummy will get hungry.”
Something about those innocent eyes, full of dependence and trust, seemed to sting Sheng Manzhu’s heart.
Thinking of the car the Lin family had sent to pick her up—which would arrive any minute now—she quickly suppressed that strange discomfort. Bending down stiffly, she picked Luoluo up in her arms.
Luoluo’s tiny body stiffened for a moment, then she looked at her mother in surprise, two deep dimples blooming on her little face.
Carrying her, Sheng Manzhu hurried to the sofa in the living room. The moment they arrived, she almost immediately put Luoluo down, as if throwing away a scalding hot potato.
She sat silently beside her for a while before finally speaking.
“Luoluo…”
“Mommy, Luoluo’s here!” Luoluo instantly lifted her head, her bright eyes sparkling as she looked at her mother, unable to hide the happiness in her voice.
Sheng Manzhu leaned back slightly, widening the distance between them. After a pause, she finally said,
“Luoluo… from now on, you must be obedient and take good care of yourself.”
“Mhm! Luoluo is the most obedient!” Luoluo nodded vigorously, the little tuft of hair on top of her head bouncing along.
She stretched out her chubby little fingers and began counting seriously.
“Luoluo will take good care of herself, and also take care of Mommy, Granny Wang, Grandpa… um… and Uncle, Auntie, Big Brother…”
She tried hard to count every member of the family.
Facing those naïve, innocent eyes, Sheng Manzhu’s throat tightened. She abruptly stood up.
“That’s enough. Just remember what Mommy said. Be good.”
After speaking, she didn’t look at Luoluo again. Picking up the wicker suitcase that had long been waiting by the door, she stepped away in her high heels and left without turning back.
The smile on Luoluo’s face froze instantly. Her big eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.
She called softly, “Mommy?”
Sheng Manzhu didn’t pause even slightly. She opened the front door and walked out.
“Mommy!” Luoluo’s voice suddenly rose sharply, trembling with panic and tears.
Her tiny body slid quickly off the sofa. Hugging the little turtle, she stumbled after her on short little legs.
“Mommy, wait for Luoluo! Mommy—”
The tiny figure staggered out the front door, but tripped over the high doorstep and fell heavily onto the polished stone floor with a loud thud.
A burning pain shot through her knees and palms, and the turtle rolled out of her hands.
“Waaah! Mommy, it hurts!”
Luoluo cried loudly in pain, struggling to get back up. Tears poured down like broken strings of pearls, blurring her vision.
She wiped at her eyes with her chubby little hand, only to see the red taillights of the military jeep disappearing at the end of the alley.
“Mommy! Waaahhh—!”
Luoluo’s heartbroken cries echoed in front of the empty house as her tiny body curled up on the ground.
The little turtle slowly crawled over beside her and gently nudged her with its shell.
“Little crybaby, stop crying. Your mommy left.”
Hearing that only made Luoluo cry even harder, almost unable to breathe.
No one knew how long she cried. By the time her throat had gone hoarse and the sky had begun to darken, Luoluo finally stopped sobbing.
She hugged her knees and sat on the ground, turning toward the empty house as she choked out,
“Little Wu Dui… where did Mommy go? Does she not want Luoluo anymore?”
Her voice was thick with tears.
“And Grandpa… Granny Wang… do they not want Luoluo either?”
She lowered her head and buried her little face in her knees, her shoulders trembling with quiet sobs.
The little turtle rubbed its head against her leg.
“D-Didn’t you say you wanted to be friends with me? I’m your friend now. You still have me.”
Luoluo lifted her tear-filled eyes to look at the turtle and scooped it into her arms.
“It’s getting dark. Let’s go inside,” the turtle said from her embrace.
“Mhm… I want to go look in Mommy’s room.”
Still sniffling, Luoluo walked back inside.
Holding onto the stair railing, she struggled to lift her short little legs, climbing the stairs one step at a time.
Luoluo didn’t share a room with her mother. Her own room was downstairs, next to Granny Wang’s servant room.
She remembered Granny Wang once telling her that she wasn’t allowed to enter Mommy’s room casually.
Standing at the doorway, she hesitated for a moment before pushing open the half-closed door with her tiny hand.
The sight before her instantly made her little mouth droop again, tears filling her eyes.
Empty.
Everything was empty.
Mommy’s dressing table used to be covered in shiny, pretty things, but now it was completely bare.
The beautiful dresses hanging on the rack were gone too. Even Mommy’s favorite cushion had disappeared.
“Waaah… Mommy’s things are all gone…”
Luoluo couldn’t stop herself from crying again.
Hugging the little turtle, she plopped down on the floor beneath the dressing table, the tiny child curled miserably into the corner as she sobbed.
The turtle was squeezed so tightly it struggled free from her arms and dropped onto the floor.
Shaking its head, it crawled around the room, its little green bean-like eyes scanning the surroundings.
Suddenly, it shouted excitedly,
“Little crybaby, stop crying! There’s treasure! A huge treasure! Come quickly!”
Luoluo’s crying softened a little. From between her arms, a pair of watery eyes peeked out as she looked around blankly.
“Little Wu Dui, where are you?”
“Here! Over here! Under the bed!”
The turtle hurriedly called out again.
“Come quickly! There’s something good!”
Luoluo was temporarily distracted by curiosity. She wiped her tears messily and crawled toward the bed on both hands and knees.
She moved quickly and reached the bedside in just a few moments.
“Here, crawl inside,” the turtle said from under the bed, stretching its neck toward her.
Luoluo immediately lay flat on the floor and curiously poked her little head under the bed.
“Achoo!”
There was too much dust underneath, making her sneeze.
“Hurry up and crawl in!” the turtle urged again, stretching its neck toward the right.
Luoluo’s round little body crawled farther inside, but her tiny belly suddenly got stuck beneath the bedframe.
“Ow!”
Luoluo cried out in surprise. Quickly, she flattened herself lower, changing from crawling on her knees to wriggling forward on her belly like a little caterpillar, inching her way inside with effort.
Her tiny bottom wiggled side to side, making her look both clumsy and adorable.
“Little crybaby, you crawl so fast!” the turtle exclaimed, its tiny green-bean eyes full of envy for her “turtle life.”
It had taken forever for the turtle to crawl here, but Little Crybaby only needed a few wiggles to arrive.
“I already said my name is Luoluo! I’m not Little Crybaby!”
Annoyed, Luoluo reached out her little hand and pushed the turtle’s proudly raised head back down.