“Slurp, slurp…”
Three-year-old Jiang Xian was crouched in the doghouse in her backyard, licking an ice cream and watching the people coming and going next door, her dark, shiny eyes brimming with curiosity.
The little girl had her hair tied in two pigtails. Her chubby, round face was framed by big, grape-like eyes that sparkled as if they could speak. A ring of ice cream smeared around her mouth made her look just like a little tabby cat.
Mom and Dad had said she could only have one stick of ice cream a day, but today she’d already sneaked her third.
But it didn’t matter. As long as she hid it well and Mom and Dad didn’t find out, no one would know she’d been eating secretly.
She was quite the little smarty-pants.
Jiang Xian licked the last bit of ice cream with relish, then ran her tongue back and forth along the middle of the stick before crawling out of the doghouse and scampering toward the yard gate, where another tiny figure was waiting.
Shen Yan was crouched by the gate playing with ants, using a small stick to draw a circle around them. Whenever they crawled out, he would flick them back inside.
Once
Twice
……
The three hundred and eighty-eighth time
……
……
The 1,999th time
……
His childish little face bore a determination and detachment uncharacteristic of his age.
Jiang Xian walked over and circled him once.
Then she crouched down beside him, cupping her face with her chubby little hands and staring intently at him.
He’s so handsome—even more so than her doll.
I love him!!!
Jiang Xian blinked, tilted her little head, and looked left and right.
Hmm, looks like nobody wants him.
The little girl’s dark, shiny eyes grew brighter and brighter. A moment later, she stood up, ran straight behind Shen Yan, grabbed him under the arms, and wobbled as she dragged him back to the doghouse.
No one wants him, so I’ll take him home.
I’ll hide him and play with him in secret.
Little Shen Yan was suddenly scooped up. His beautiful eyes lifted slightly as he glanced at the lotus-root-like little hands clutching his chest. His face remained calm, but after a moment, his long eyelashes drooped, and he seemed lost in thought.
The little girl carried him back to the doghouse, then used her soft little hands to dig out a pile of toys from the corner, piling them all in front of Shen Yan as if presenting a treasure.
A plush teddy bear, a frisbee, a squeaky chick… and a smooth, bare bone.
Little Shen Yan glanced at them but didn’t move.
Is he not interested?
Jiang Xian blinked her big, puzzled eyes, then seemed to think of something. She fumbled with the little pocket on her chest and reached inside, pulling something out with her tiny hand.
Before Shen Yan could react, something was shoved into his hand.
Soft,
cool,
and slippery.
It was, to his surprise, a toad.
The toad was wearing a little pink dress, with a flower tied to its head.
It was puffing out its cheeks, staring at him with two big, round eyes.
The two of them—one human, one toad—stared at each other.
A moment later, Shen Yan suddenly smiled.
Revealing a pair of sharp little fangs.
He looked innocent and harmless.
Jiang Xian smiled too.
He liked the little frog—that was wonderful!
“Jiang Xianxian—”
Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed through the room.
“Did you sneak another ice cream? Don’t let me catch you, or I’ll spank your little bottom until it blooms.”
Her tiny body froze instantly, even trembling uncontrollably. Her big, round eyes were filled with panic, her little mouth slightly agape, like a startled little rabbit. Her two small hands quickly covered her little bottom.
No, no, Xianxian doesn’t want to get spanked.
The little girl stuck her bottom out, ready to crawl out of the dog bed, but halfway through, she remembered the “new toy” she’d just picked up was still inside. She scuttled back, grabbed the other, and ran off together.
In the carefully decorated, pink and delicate princess room, a big golden dog was lying on the bed.
“Big dog, get down.”
The little girl grabbed the dog’s tail and dragged it off the bed.
Crawling onto the bed on all fours, she quickly burrowed under the covers, but not before lifting a corner of the blanket to wave at Shen Yan: “Hurry, hurry, hide under the covers!”
Shen Yan’s beautiful eyes flickered slightly, and he actually followed her under the covers.
It was pitch black under the covers, and the two little ones huddled close together, their heads pressed against each other.
“Croak, croak—”
The toad held in the human child’s hand suddenly croaked twice.
“Shh, don’t make a sound!”
A tiny hand reached out and covered the toad’s mouth. Jiang Xian whispered, “We can’t let Shushu find out!”
Shushu’s spankings hurt so, so much!
After saying that, she slowly crawled from the center of the covers toward the edge, secretly peeking out through a small slit.
She waited a long time, but the dreaded footsteps never came.
Thank goodness, Mom didn’t come to catch her.
Jiang Xian immediately crawled out from under the covers, not forgetting to pull Shen Yan out as well, and said, “Let’s play with the dolls!”
“Doll play”…
What’s that?
“Woof!”
Before Shen Yan could react, the dog with a little bow on its head squeezed over, wagging its tail wildly.
A few minutes later, Shen Yan was sitting on the floor, with the dog lying next to him and the frog crouching beside the dog.
A boy, a dog, and a frog, all sitting in a row.
Jiang Xian sat across from them, with a pile of little dresses and hair clips laid out in front of her.
The little girl was excitedly holding up a tiny pink clip, trying to pin it into Shen Yan’s hair.
Next door.
Ning Wanwan watched as the movers finished setting up the last piece of furniture, and finally let out a sigh of relief.
The move is finally over!
She just hoped they’d be able to stay here a little longer this time.
Wait a minute, she felt like she’d forgotten something.
What was it she’d forgotten?
She couldn’t think of it right away; it was probably something unimportant.
If she couldn’t remember, she’d just let it go.
She was just about to head to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee.
“Wan, where’s your son?”
She heard her best friend’s voice ring out from the living room.
Ning Wanwan finally remembered what she’d forgotten.
She’d forgotten her own son.
But it wasn’t a big deal.
The little guy liked his peace and quiet; he was surely hiding somewhere by himself.
Her best friend, however, had searched the house inside and out and couldn’t find any sign of the little guy.
She stormed into the kitchen, grabbed Ning Wanwan’s arm, and dragged her out: “Oh no, Yanyan’s really gone. You guys just moved here and don’t know the neighborhood yet—he might have gotten lost. Come on, let’s go look for him.”
“It’s fine. We have security cameras in the yard. If that little rascal ran out, the cameras would’ve caught him.”
Ning Wanwan wasn’t the least bit worried.
Don’t let his small stature fool you—that little rascal is anything but naive.
If human traffickers could get away with it, he certainly wouldn’t be the one to get lost.
A few minutes later, the two of them stared at the surveillance footage, exchanging bewildered glances.
This…
“I’m not seeing things, am I?” Ning Wanwan looked utterly shocked.
Her son, who’s practically a young man, was just snatched away in broad daylight?
A moment later, she burst out laughing: “Tell me, how on earth is that girl so strong?”
She actually managed to pick up a little boy as big as herself.
And the key thing is, the little brat didn’t even make a peep.
He just let her carry him off like that?
“Alright, I’m going to check on the neighbors. I hope he hasn’t torn their place apart right after moving in.”
“How can you talk about your own son like that?” her best friend said, torn between laughter and exasperation.
Ning Wanwan felt a twinge of irritation.
Did she really not know what kind of creature she’d given birth to???