Lu Suzhen froze for a moment. Looking at the rare seriousness and heartache on Xiao Lu’s face, she silently stepped aside and pulled Xiao He away to kill the chicken and make soup.
Xiao Lu sat beside the bed, imitating the way Lu Suzhen had done it earlier. He soaked a cloth in warm water and awkwardly—but carefully—wiped down Luoluo’s body, little face, and limbs, doing his best to control his strength.
After cleaning her up, he quickly went to Xiao Shan’s room and dug out a treasured jar of medicinal ointment.
Dipping his fingers into the ointment, he held his breath as he gently spread it over Luoluo’s purple bruises.
The instant the cool medicine touched her skin, Luoluo instinctively shrank back a little.
“Did I hurt you?” Xiao Lu immediately stopped, asking nervously.
Luoluo shook her head and looked up at him with wide eyes.
“If Daddy blows on it… Luoluo won’t hurt anymore…”
Xiao Lu froze.
Meeting her pure, trusting gaze, he hesitated briefly before lowering his head and awkwardly blowing softly on the bruises.
“Daddy blowing… tickles…” Luoluo giggled at the sensation, but the laughter tugged at her injuries and made her hiss softly in pain.
Seeing her smile, the deeply furrowed brows Xiao Lu had worn all day finally relaxed.
The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.
His movements gradually became steadier, and even applying the medicine slowly turned more practiced.
The little turtle quietly lay beside Luoluo, its tiny green-bean eyes fixed on Xiao Lu’s every movement.
Its little head spun rapidly with thoughts.
How could it find a moment when nobody was around so Luoluo could secretly drink and apply some spirit spring water?
The bruises on Luoluo’s body looked terrifying. That little fool must be hurting badly.
And the turtle’s heart hurt badly too.
After finishing with the medicine, Xiao Lu changed Luoluo into a clean set of clothes.
Perhaps because she had cried herself exhausted, Luoluo soon fell asleep in his arms, one tiny hand unconsciously clutching one of his fingers.
Xiao Lu didn’t pull his hand away.
Instead, he gently carried her back to the bed in her little room. Only after she had truly fallen into deep sleep did he carefully withdraw his finger.
Although Luoluo had said she wasn’t afraid anymore, Xiao Lu worried she might have nightmares from the shock.
So he stayed in the room instead of leaving, quietly guarding her bedside.
Sure enough, before long, sleeping Luoluo began tossing restlessly.
Tearful cries escaped her lips in her sleep.
“Mommy, don’t go… wait for Luoluo… wuuu…”
“Don’t step on Little Wu Dui… don’t hit Luoluo… Luoluo hurts… wuuu…”
“Daddy… Grandma… Big Uncle… hug… Luoluo hurts…”
…
Tear stains streaked her little face. She slept terribly uneasily.
A sharp ache rose in Xiao Lu’s chest.
Awkward yet extremely careful, he picked her up and held her against his chest, gently patting her back.
He wanted to say something comforting.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
In the end, all he could do was quietly hold her and pace slowly around the room, rocking her gently so she could sleep more peacefully.
Xiao Lu had never imagined there would come a day when he’d be doing something like this.
Back in the past, if anyone had told him Xiao Lu would one day hold a little milk-baby in his arms and pace around a room coaxing her to sleep, he’d have punched them in the face to wake them up.
What nonsense.
Him soothing a child?
He’d rather go earn work points in the fields.
But now…
Thankfully nobody could see him.
Otherwise, how could the mighty reputation of Guhe Village’s number-one rogue possibly survive?
“Brother Lu…”
The moment that thought crossed his mind, the voice of Genzi—one of the village tagalongs—came from the doorway.
Genzi poked his head inside. The moment he saw the scene in the room, he looked like he’d seen a ghost.
“Lu… Lu… Brother Lu?!”
Xiao Lu’s face instantly heated up.
The little dumpling in his arms suddenly felt oddly scorching hot.
Forcing a stern expression onto his face, he shot Genzi a vicious glare, signaling him not to speak.
Then he lowered his head and noticed Luoluo’s breathing gradually steadying, her sleep-mumbling finally stopping.
Only then did he carefully place her back on the bed.
He picked up the little turtle that had crawled to the foot of the bed and returned it to Luoluo’s pillow before sneaking quietly out of the room.
As he shut the door, Xiao Lu looked at Genzi—who had already withdrawn his head and was waiting outside—and the soft secret tenderness from earlier was instantly replaced by embarrassment at being caught.
Once they reached the yard and confirmed they wouldn’t wake Luoluo, Xiao Lu impatiently asked:
“What do you want? Hurry up and say it.”
Genzi was still immersed in the shocking image of Brother Lu carrying a child and coaxing her to sleep, unable to recover.
Xiao Lu smacked the back of his head.
“What’re you spacing out for? Talk!”
Only then did Genzi snap back to reality. He grinned foolishly at Xiao Lu.
“Brother Lu, so this is that little girl you picked up in town? What’s this? She needs you to coax her to sleep too? Never thought… heh… Brother Lu actually had this skill. Born to be a dad… heh heh…”
“Ahem…”
Xiao Lu coughed awkwardly, his ears burning hot.
To cover it up, he smacked Genzi on the back of the head again.
“What the hell do you know? Cut the crap. What’d you come here for? Hurry up, I’m busy.”
Genzi finally stopped fooling around and leaned closer to whisper the “important business.”
“Brother Lu, Fuzi sent word. Tonight there’s a gambling round at his family’s old woodshed by the village entrance. Wants us to come play a few hands.”
The moment he heard about the gambling game, Xiao Lu’s eyes lit up.
Sneaking out late at night for a few rounds had long been a favorite pastime among their gang of idle young men.
Normally, he would’ve agreed without a second thought.
But tonight…
Xiao Lu hesitated and glanced toward Luoluo’s tightly shut door. Irritated, he scratched at his hair.
He vaguely remembered overhearing the village barefoot doctor once say that small children who suffered major fright were prone to developing fevers at night.
That troublesome little thing had just gone through such a terrible ordeal today.
Her body was covered in injuries.
What if she developed a fever tonight and he wasn’t home?
His older brother couldn’t move around, Xiao He still wasn’t dependable enough, and his mother alone might not be able to handle it.
Genzi waited for the usual crisp “Let’s go” from Brother Lu.
Instead, he watched Xiao Lu irritably claw at his hair while staring at the closed door for several long seconds.
“Not going.”
Xiao Lu’s voice sounded obviously dry and conflicted.
“Huh?” Genzi thought he’d misheard. “Brother Lu, Fuzi’s game is gonna be rich. Heard Old Li’s wastrel son is coming too, carrying the money his dad just gave him—”
“I said I’m not going.”
Xiao Lu suddenly raised his voice, then immediately lowered it again as he nervously glanced back at the little room to make sure there was no movement inside.
Only then did he continue in a low, irritated tone:
“Got water in your ears? Get lost. Stop yelling here. If you wake my daughter up, I’ll beat your ass.”
Genzi was stunned by the sudden burst of anger. Shrinking his neck, he muttered quietly:
“If you’re not going, then fine. Why so fierce? That little girl can’t possibly matter more than—”
The second half of his sentence died under Xiao Lu’s knife-like glare.
Awkwardly scratching his head, he said:
“Then… then I’ll go by myself?”
“Go or don’t go, I don’t give a damn. Stop bothering me.”
Xiao Lu waved him off impatiently like he was shooing flies away.
In truth, he was afraid that if Genzi stayed any longer and kept persuading him, he might really end up abandoning everything and going.
Genzi walked away while constantly glancing back, muttering to himself in confusion.
What kind of spell had Brother Lu fallen under?
Usually, for something this good, he’d always be the first one there.
No.
Before heading out tonight, he’d come back and ask again.
Even if Brother Lu had been possessed, by then he should’ve recovered.
Genzi refused to believe it.
Someone as tough as Brother Lu couldn’t possibly be so easily tied down by a tiny little girl and suddenly become somebody’s father.