After Mo Li’s headache, he started running a fever. With two “patients” in the house, Mo Fang was afraid Luo Wangshu might accidentally care one of them to death while he wasn’t around, so he specifically went to the village chief to ask someone to come help.
That left Li Miaomiao and Luo Wangshu playing together. As for what they were playing, only the two of them knew.
“Auntie, why don’t you go out and play?” Li Miaomiao squatted under the tree with Luo Wangshu, drawing circles in the dirt with tree branches.
Luo Wangshu glanced at her. He wanted to go out, but could he? The villagers had seen him before, but they still rejected him deep down. Go out and play? Where would he even go?
“Don’t want to.” No matter how upset he felt, he couldn’t dump those feelings on a child. After thinking for a bit, he asked, “Then why don’t you go play with the other kids?”
Li Miaomiao lowered her head and softly said, “Dad doesn’t let me play with other people.”
“Why?” Luo Wangshu’s hand drawing circles paused.
Li Miaomiao poked at the dirt with her stick, loneliness filling her eyes. “Don’t know. Before, when I played with other children, Dad got really angry.”
Luo Wangshu coughed awkwardly. This was another family’s business, so he couldn’t interfere too much. He only said, “Then we’ll play together from now on.”
“Okay.” Li Miaomiao’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. “Miaomiao likes being with Auntie the most.”
“…Um, Miaomiao, can you call me Uncle from now on?” Auntie… he really couldn’t accept that.
Li Miaomiao tilted her head at him. “Why? Uncle said I should call you Auntie.”
“Well…” Luo Wangshu actually couldn’t think of a good reason to convince her. He silently sighed in his heart. In this broken world, whatever.
“Auntie, wanna play hide-and-seek?”
“Huh?” Luo Wangshu looked blank.
Li Miaomiao seriously explained, “One person hides and one person looks. The one looking isn’t allowed to peek. You can only start looking after the person hiding says ‘Ready.’ I saw other kids playing it on the wall before. It’s super fun. Let’s play together?”
Luo Wangshu felt this game had absolutely no meaning at all, but the words of refusal reached his mouth and got swallowed back down.
“Alright then. Is Miaomiao hiding or searching?”
“Auntie searches for Miaomiao, okay?” Those grape-like eyes looked at him eagerly. What else could Luo Wangshu do? Naturally, he agreed.
The courtyard wasn’t big. Almost the moment Li Miaomiao made a sound, Luo Wangshu already knew where she was hiding. But he still seriously searched elsewhere.
“Miaomiao, where are you?”
Li Miaomiao honestly answered him, “Auntie! Here!”
Luo Wangshu couldn’t help laughing as he pulled her out from behind the big tree. Li Miaomiao looked at him with admiration.
“Auntie, you’re so amazing.”
“Mhm, mhm. Want to keep playing?”
“Yes! This time I’ll look for Auntie.” Li Miaomiao bounced over to the doorway and covered her eyes with both hands. “I’m ready, Auntie!”
Luo Wangshu shouted “Ready!” from one direction, then quickly ran to hide under the big tree.
Just as he expected, Li Miaomiao excitedly ran toward that direction. After searching for a long time without finding him, she scratched her head in confusion.
“Huh? Auntie, where are you?”
“Here!” Luo Wangshu shouted from one side of the tree, successfully drawing Li Miaomiao over. But she still couldn’t find him. The two circled around the tree two or three times while Luo Wangshu struggled to hold back his laughter.
Kids really were fun.
Unable to find him no matter what, Li Miaomiao started panicking.
“Auntie, where are you?”
Luo Wangshu replied from the other side of the tree, “Inside the tree.”
“Really?” Li Miaomiao’s eyes widened.
Luo Wangshu circled behind her and gently picked her up. Li Miaomiao cried out in surprise, “Ah! Auntie!”
Luo Wangshu spun her around several times, making her burst into giggles.
Inside the house, Mo Fang was getting a headache listening to them. How did these two end up playing so well together?
Madam Xu wiped down Li Hu’s body and smiled. “Ali’s wife sure is lively.”
Mo Fang awkwardly laughed. “That’s just how he is. Ignore them.”
“Haha… Anyone who can play so well with children can’t be bad. You should count your blessings.”
Mo Fang smiled without saying anything, which counted as agreement. The person might be a little useless, but at least his character was good, and he was willing to work. He didn’t have all those crooked schemes in his heart.
Actually, the reason was simply because Mo Fang hadn’t known Luo Wangshu long enough. How could someone who managed to safely survive to adulthood under the hands of the legal wife in a wealthy household after his own mother died possibly be simple? He just no longer wanted to use those survival methods anymore.
The sun gradually climbed higher. Luo Wangshu and Li Miaomiao eventually got tired from playing and lay together on the vine-woven chair under the tree to rest. The autumn wind rustled softly as leaves danced lightly through the air before falling to the ground.
It had been so long since Luo Wangshu had played this freely.
The corners of his lips lifted slightly. The little girl in his arms slept peacefully. Through layers of leaves, he could see the unpolluted blue sky. Like a sapphire, it was truly beautiful.
“Then I’ll head back first. If there’s anything, just call for me.” Madam Xu stood at the entrance holding a bowl of pickled vegetables while speaking to Mo Fang.
“Mhm, thanks for your hard work. Walk carefully.”
“Alrighty!”
When Mo Fang returned to the courtyard, he saw Luo Wangshu and Li Miaomiao sleeping soundly. Shaking his head, he went to steam some coarse buns.
Two days later, Mo Li finally woke up, holding his head as dizziness assaulted him.
“Mo Li? You finally woke up.” As Luo Wangshu spoke, he reached over to feel his forehead. Mm, the fever was gone.
Mo Li forced a smile. Something seemed to flash through his mind, but it moved too fast to catch. Forget it. He shook his head and tossed those images aside.
“Wife, I’m hungry.” Mo Li pitifully grabbed Luo Wangshu’s hand.
“There are still two steamed buns in the pot. If you want them, I’ll get them for you.” Luo Wangshu gently stroked his fluffy head. All the things he’d planned to say had been forgotten completely.
“Go together.”
Mo Li sniffed around Luo Wangshu like a giant dog for quite a while before finally saying aggrievedly, “Wife, did you hug someone else?”
“Huh?” Luo Wangshu looked at him strangely. After thinking for a long while, he finally remembered hugging Miaomiao not long ago. His face darkened as he pushed Mo Li away. “You’re already this old. Stay farther away.”
“I won’t!” Mo Li puffed up his lips and threw a childish tantrum.
Honestly speaking, when a child made that expression, it was cute. But when a giant man nearly one meter ninety did it, it simply assaulted the eyes. Goosebumps everywhere, alright?!
Suppressing his disgust, Luo Wangshu forced a stern face. “Behave, or I won’t give you food.”
“Wuwu… Wife, you’re bullying me. Waaah—”
A grown man who cried at the drop of a hat…
Luo Wangshu stared at the sky, feeling thoroughly shattered inside and out. Did the fever fry his brain even more this time?
Faced with this situation, Luo Wangshu could only patiently coax him.
“There there, don’t cry. Hug hug, no crying, no crying.”
“Mhm, let’s go eat steamed buns.” The tears came quickly and disappeared just as quickly. Luo Wangshu said he was hugging him, but in reality, it was Mo Li carrying Luo Wangshu over to eat.
When they ran into Mo Fang, Luo Wangshu looked at him pleadingly.
Explain! Why did he get even dumber than before?!
Mo Fang could only helplessly shake his head. Every time Mo Li got headaches, he would definitely develop a fever. After the fever passed, he would definitely become childish and willful like a little kid.
That was exactly why, despite Mo Li’s immense strength and cooking skills, he ultimately could only farm for a living. When he wasn’t acting stupid, he was reliable in every possible way. But once the stupidity kicked in, everything was ruined.
Luo Wangshu felt like he’d raised a son. Then when Li Miaomiao came over, he felt like he’d suddenly gained both a “son” and a “daughter.”
The most helpless part was that the “son” and “daughter” even fought with each other.
Over a swing.
“Alright, Mo Li. Let Miaomiao play for a while.”
A full-grown man fighting a little girl over a swing—the sight was simply too painful to look at.
Mo Li snorted. “No!”
“Waaah—bad uncle!” Li Miaomiao angrily plopped onto the ground and burst into tears. The sound practically pierced through eardrums.
After enduring it for a long time, Luo Wangshu finally exploded.
“Enough!”
Mo Fang, who had been leisurely smoking and watching the show for a while now, didn’t say anything after hearing the shout. Anyway, when Luo Wangshu had children in the future, it would probably look pretty similar. This could count as early practice.
After being yelled at by Luo Wangshu, both Mo Li and Li Miaomiao lowered their heads and stopped talking.
“You two really are… Do you even know how much effort I put into making this swing? I found the ropes. I found the board. And now you two are hogging it and not letting me play? Move aside. Either I play first, or I destroy it and nobody gets to play!”
The big one and the small one stared at the furious Luo Wangshu with identical blank expressions.
One looked silly.
The other looked adorably dumb.
In the end, since Luo Wangshu was also unhappy, they unanimously agreed to let Luo Wangshu play first while Mo Li and Miaomiao pushed him.
“Waaah—higher!” Luo Wangshu shouted excitedly. The feeling of flying was amazing.
Mo Li pushed with all his strength while asking, “Had enough yet?”
“No—higher!”
Having become addicted to the fun, Luo Wangshu naturally refused to get off so easily. Thus, amid repeated cries of “Higher!” a sudden crack rang out.
In an instant, Luo Wangshu’s world flipped upside down.
Mo Li and Li Miaomiao’s mouths hung open wide enough to fit a duck egg inside. Even Mo Fang rarely looked this stunned.
Bang—
Grass flew everywhere.
“Hiss—” Luo Wangshu lay sprawled in the pile of grass, still shaken.
Li Miaomiao turned pale with shock. “Uncle! Auntie flew away!”
Mo Li hurried over to check on him. “Wife, Wife, are you alright?”
Luo Wangshu crawled out of the grass pile, blankly making an “Ah?” sound before asking, “What happened to me?”
Li Miaomiao looked at him with sparkling, worshipful eyes. “Auntie, you went ‘whoosh’ and flew just now!”
Flew…
Luo Wangshu silently looked at the snapped tree branch. For one brief moment, he really had flown.
Mo Fang also walked over. “Silly kid, you alright? Fall stupid?”
Luo Wangshu: “…I’m fine.”
Okay. If not for the pile of straw beneath him, he probably would’ve become permanently crippled.
“Uncle, Miaomiao wants to fly too.” Li Miaomiao blinked as she tugged on Mo Li’s sleeve.
Luo Wangshu, supporting his aching back as he climbed out of the grass pile, quickly grabbed her.
“Miaomiao, don’t. It’s dangerous. The higher you fly, the worse you fall.”
Mo Li also looked very regretful. “I wanted to try too.”
Meanwhile, Mo Fang earnestly said, “For that swing, use thicker ropes next time. Tie it to a higher, sturdier branch. Don’t go falling again.”
Luo Wangshu felt as though four giant words were written across his body—
Negative Example.