Watching this scene, Xu Shu was so furious she burst out laughing.
Just as she was about to speak again, Jiang Zheng tugged at her sleeve and whispered, “Never mind. Nothing happened to the child. Don’t scare her.”
Xu Shu took a deep breath, trying her best to calm down.
Watching his sweet, soft little girl about to be snatched away right under his nose by the neighbor’s brat, Jiang Zheng crouched down and looked at his daughter with feigned sorrow. “Xianxian, don’t you even want Daddy anymore?”
The little bundle of joy stole a glance in Xu Shu’s direction, her lips pouting in utter distress. Shu Shu was going to spank her, and Daddy wasn’t even protecting her.
Daddy’s mean!
Seeing the hurt and resentful look in his daughter’s eyes, Jiang Zheng couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry.
“Sweetheart, it’s not that Daddy won’t help you—it’s just that the mistake you made this time was really too big.
Even Daddy can’t protect you from this one.”
“You snuck out on your own and scared both Mommy and Daddy to death. Mommy was just being strict because she was worried about you,” Jiang Zheng tried to reason with his little girl.
“Hmph!” The little girl snorted loudly, refusing to listen.
Seeing that his little girl wasn’t budging, Jiang Zheng had a sudden idea. He pulled a lollipop out of his pocket and waved it in front of her. “Sweetie, look what I have here. Daddy bought this just for you. Am I a good daddy?”
The little girl’s eyes lit up instantly, but she still stubbornly insisted, “Hmph, I don’t want it.” She was still mad!
But her eyes were fixed intently on the lollipop in his hand.
Just then, Xu Shu’s phone rang. It was Ning Wanwan calling: “Have you found the kids yet?”
Xu Shu: “Found them. Don’t worry. Yan Yan and Xian Xian are together, and both kids are fine.”
Ning Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief. “As long as they’re safe, that’s all that matters. Make sure you talk to them gently—don’t lose your temper. They’re still little; you don’t want to scare them.”
She was mainly worried that Xianxian might be frightened; as for her own little rascal, she wasn’t concerned.
Nothing had yet come along that could scare that boy.
After hanging up, Xu Shu looked at her little girl with a complex expression.
Jiang Zheng ruffled the little girl’s hair and said earnestly, “Sweetie, Mom really loves you very much. She was worried because she was afraid you might be in danger. If you think Mom was too harsh on you, Dad will talk to her when he gets home and ask her to be gentler from now on, okay?”
“But you know, you snuck out of kindergarten today, and Mom, Dad, and all the teachers were really worried. You can’t do that again.”
Jiang Xian pouted and whispered, “I know I was wrong!”
“Good girl.”
Jiang Zheng handed her the lollipop and smiled. “Admitting your mistake makes you a good kid. Come on, let’s go home together. I won’t scold you today.”
The little girl sniffled as she took the candy and put it in her mouth. Tears still clung to her eyelashes. She stole a glance in Xu Shu’s direction and asked pitifully, “ “Is she still going to spank Xianxian?”
“No, she won’t!”
Jiang Zheng took out a tissue and wiped the tears from his daughter’s tear-stained face, then turned to Xu Shu and said, “As long as the child is okay, let’s go home first and talk about it later.”
Xu Shu shot him a disapproving glare.
It was all his fault for spoiling that little brat.
Just wait until she gets into even bigger trouble later—let’s see how he handles it then.
She thought the matter was settled, but just as the little girl finished her candy, she suddenly blurted out, “Can I stay at Yan Yan’s house from now on?”
Jiang Zheng: …
Stay? Of course she could stay.
Ning Wanwan, who had just arrived, was overjoyed to hear the little girl wanted to stay at her house. She immediately beamed and said she was welcome to stay whenever she wanted, however she wanted.
That very night, the little girl hugged her little blanket, tucked her little frog into her pocket, and called her dog over before heading next door.
Morning light filtered through the gaps in the curtains, spilling onto the floral carpet. The soft, delicate little girl rubbed her eyes as she climbed out of bed. Tears still clung to the corners of her eyes, and her curled lashes cast butterfly-shaped shadows on her eyelids.
“Huh, where’s Yan Yan?” Jiang Xian looked around but didn’t see Shen Yan anywhere. She climbed out of bed and walked out of the room barefoot.
When she reached the living room, she was startled by a stranger just as she was about to speak.
A man was reclining on the linen-colored sofa, a halo of golden light outlining his handsome features. The shadow cast by his brow bone made his almond-shaped eyes appear even more slender.
The scent of silver osmanthus outside the window was strong, yet it couldn’t mask the crisp, icy scent of pine and cypress mixed with melted snow emanating from him.
Perhaps hearing her footsteps, the man lifted his head and looked in Jiang Xian’s direction.
Jiang Xian saw him too, and her eyes, which had been sleepy just moments ago, lit up.
What a handsome man!
Shen Song’an stared for a moment at the little pink bundle that had suddenly appeared in the living room, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
The next second, his son rose from his chair, quickly fetched a pair of slippers from his room, and held them out to the little girl, his face set in a serious expression. “Put them on.”
“Okay!” The little girl obediently slipped the shoes on.
Shen Yan then grabbed a bottle from the table and handed it to her.
A hint of surprise flashed in Shen Song’an’s eyes.
Ever since he’d walked in, the little brat hadn’t said a single word, yet now that the little girl had come out, he was fetching shoes and handing her a bottle.
Was this really his son?
“Uncle, who are you?”
Jiang Xian stared at Shen Song’an curiously for a few moments, then, clutching the bottle, crawled over to the sofa next to him and plopped down. She kept wiggling her chubby little legs while gulping down milk with a “gulp, gulp, gulp—” sound. With her big, round eyes wide and sparkling, she chatted away with Shen Song’an as if they’d known each other forever.
This little girl sure was bold.
Shen Song’an was instantly intrigued and smiled as he struck up a conversation: “Hello, I’m Yanyan’s dad. Little one, whose child are you?”
“Uncle, my name is Xianxian. I’m Yanyan’s little wife.”
“You’re Yanyan’s little wife?” Shen Song’an stared at the little girl in front of him in surprise, then glanced at his own little boy, who had returned to his seat.
The little girl nodded her head vigorously: “Auntie said that Yan Yan is going to be Xian Xian’s husband, so Xian Xian will be Yan Yan’s little wife from now on.”
The more Shen Song’an looked at her, the more he realized how clever this little girl was. No wonder both his son and his wife liked her so much. He immediately took a white gold bracelet from his wrist and slipped it onto the girl’s hand. “Here, this is a gift from Uncle. Xianxian, you must take good care of it.”
The bracelet was a bit too big for the little girl’s wrist, so Shen Song’an wrapped it around twice.
A small metal plate hung from the bracelet, engraved with the character “Shen” in a simple yet bold style.
“Thank you, Uncle.” This uncle was so kind—he’d given Xianxian a gift the moment they met.
Jiang Xian decided she liked this “Uncle.”
Ning Wanwan came out of the kitchen just in time to see this scene. When she got a clear look at the bracelet on Jiang Xian’s wrist, she couldn’t help but glance at Shen Song’an in surprise.