Ning Wanwan put the candy into the little girl’s chest pocket, patted her head, and said, “Xianxian, why don’t you play with Yanyan for a while? Auntie will bake you some cookies, okay?”
“Thank you, pretty Auntie,” Jiang Xian said sweetly.
Her pale, delicate little hand reached into the pouch, pulled out a piece of candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into Shen Yan’s mouth, then unwrapped another and popped it into her own little mouth.
So sweet!
The little girl’s eyes crinkled with happiness, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling.
Ning Wanwan couldn’t help but smile along with her.
The process of making the cookies wasn’t complicated.
With candy in their little mouths, the two followed Ning Wanwan around like little tails.
When it came time to shape the cookies, the little girl looked at the cookie cutters in Ning Wanwan’s hands, eager to try: “Auntie, Xianxian can do it. Let Xianxian do it.”
“Okay, but you have to wash your hands first,” Ning Wanwan reminded her with a smile.
The two little ones held hands and went to wash up, then came running back in a flash.
“Auntie, Xianxian’s all washed up!” The little girl held out her clean hands to Ning Wanwan.
Ning Wanwan leaned in close: “Mmm, let me smell—they smell so good!”
The little girl giggled uncontrollably.
Ning Wanwan found two little aprons and tied them on the two little ones.
The two little ones’ main job was to press the cookie cutters onto the dough, and one by one, cute and fun-shaped cookies were cut out.
“Xianxian is so smart!” Ning Wanwan praised with a smile.
The little girl lifted her face, beaming with pride at the compliment!
Ning Wanwan glanced at her own son beside her: “Yan Yan is great too!”
But the little brat just gave her a cold stare—it felt like he was mocking her.
Ning Wanwan: (｀⌒′メ)
Hey, I’ve got a temper, you know.
Sure enough, sons are the most annoying!
The beautifully shaped cookies were placed on a baking sheet and put into the oven. Ning Wanwan told Shen Yan to take Jiang Xian out to play for a while and call them back once the cookies were done.
But the little girl wouldn’t go anywhere; she just crouched eagerly in front of the oven, keeping watch.
Before long, the aroma of cookies wafted out of the kitchen.
Jiang Xian swallowed hard, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at Ning Wanwan. “Auntie, are the cookies done yet?”
“Just a little longer. They’ll be ready soon,” Ning Wanwan said with a smile.
“Mm-hmm, Xianxian wants to smell them first!” The little girl sniffed hard with her tiny nose, as if she wanted to suck all the scent right into her tummy.
It really did smell so good!
Drool began to drip uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth.
Ning Wanwan watched from the side, unable to contain her amusement.
This little girl really is a greedy little glutton!
Shen Yan, standing nearby, calmly picked up a napkin and wiped the drool from her face.
Ning Wanwan found it even funnier.
The little rascal actually knows how to take care of others.
Don’t let his quiet demeanor fool you—he’s got quite the bossy streak. At such a young age, no one in the house dares to cross him, not even his own mother, who often finds herself at a loss with him.
Sometimes Ning Wanwan even wondered if her Meng Po soup had been watered down when she was reincarnated.
Otherwise, how could such a tiny little brat have so many tricks up his sleeve?
Ever since her son was born, Ning Wanwan had noticed he was different from other children. The little guy never cried or threw tantrums; he was exceptionally quiet, and no matter how she tried to amuse him, he would never smile.
For a while, Ning Wanwan even suspected she’d given birth to a mentally disabled child.
But once the little guy got a bit older, she started to suspect that she was the one with the disability.
“Ding—”
Finally, the oven emitted a crisp beep.
The little girl’s eyes lit up instantly, her cat-like eyes sparkling as she looked at Ning Wanwan.
Ning Wanwan found it amusing. She put on oven mitts, opened the oven, and took out the baking sheet.
Instantly, the kitchen filled with an even richer, milky aroma.
The golden-brown cookies looked incredibly tempting.
“Auntie, can I have some?”
Jiang Xian’s little nose was practically touching the cookies.
Her dark, round eyes followed Ning Wanwan’s every move.
“They’re ready, but they need to cool down a bit before you can eat them.”
Ning Wanwan let the cookies cool slightly, then placed them on a plate and divided them between the two little ones.
Shen Yan didn’t want any; he gave them all to Jiang Xian.
Jiang Xian held the slightly warm cookies in her soft little hands. She first brought them to her lips, blew on them a couple of times, then popped them into her mouth, eating with a look of pure satisfaction.
“Yan Yan, here you go!” She occasionally picked one up to feed to Shen Yan.
He opened his mouth and ate it every time.
This was the first time Ning Wanwan had ever seen the little rascal be so cooperative.
The last time he’d been this well-behaved was before his first birthday.
Ever since the little rascal developed a sense of self, Ning Wanwan felt like the ancestral graves of the Shen family were billowing black smoke every single day.
“How old are you, Xianxian?” Ning Wanwan asked with a smile, watching the little girl eat so happily.
“I’m three years old this year!” Jiang Xian’s mouth was stuffed full of cookies, and she answered with a slur.
Ning Wanwan glanced at her son.
The two little ones were about the same age, but the little girl clearly had a more blessed appearance, while her own little boy was all skinny arms and legs.
No wonder the little girl had just picked him up and carried him away.
Ning Wanwan decided to save a copy of the surveillance footage later and show it to the two kids when they were a bit older.
Jiang Xian finished her cookie and reached out to take Shen Yan’s hand.
“Let’s go! We’re heading home!”
Shen Yan followed her out without a second thought.
Not a hint of hesitation.
Ning Wanwan found it both exasperating and amusing.
He just went off with a stranger like that!
She really had raised this son for nothing.
Xu Shu was also a bit baffled as she watched the two little ones come back hand in hand.
Wait, how did she bring him back already?
Jiang Xian: “Auntie gave Yanyan to her, so of course I’m going home with her!”
Xu Shu decided to give the little girl a good talking-to.
You can’t just pick things up and bring them home.
Especially not other people’s children.
The little girl held her hands over her ears: “I’m not listening! I’m not listening!”
Xu Shu deliberately put on a stern face and threatened, “Naughty children get a spanking.” With that, she gave her little bottom a symbolic tap.
“Waaah—”
The next second, the villa was filled with the little girl’s earth-shattering wails.
That wailing was as loud as an air-raid siren.
Xu Shu’s head instantly felt like it had been stung by a bee, buzzing incessantly.
Fortunately, Jiang Dad, who had just returned home, promptly pulled out a piece of chocolate. It took him a Herculean effort, but he finally managed to calm his daughter down.
Jiang Xian clutched the dark chocolate bar tightly in her hand, took a big bite that knocked off half of it, and then handed the remaining half to Shen Yan.
The little girl’s eyes were red and swollen from crying, and her nose was bright red, making her look just like a pitiful little rabbit.
Sniffling, she held the chocolate out in front of Shen Yan.
Shen Yan looked at the half-bar of chocolate in her hand, his gaze slowly drifting to the clearly visible teeth marks on it.
He furrowed his handsome little brow slightly, a hint of hesitation and uncertainty in his eyes, as if he were considering whether or not to eat the chocolate smeared with her saliva.
It was a long time before he finally opened his mouth under her urging gaze.
“Isn’t it really good?”
Jiang Xian sniffled and licked her finger, her eyes—fresh from crying—glistening as if washed with water as she looked at him.
It took little Shen Yan quite a while before he managed to utter a labored “Mm-hmm.”