Tang Quan's niece was being noisy all this morning demanding him to take her to a new ice cream bar.
"Uncle, I have found a famous ice cream parlor. That's quite cool. The decoration is also neat and pretty. We can take a lot of photos there." A little kid reached out her small hands to her uncle, who was busy engaging in a battle.
Quan didn't even break eye contact from the computer screen, "I'll skip it. I just want to play games."
"No! We are going to eat there. Get ready yourself! You have thirty minutes! Or you know what I'll do." She got out and shut the door violently with a bang.
Quan had no choice but to prepare himself to get out. Or she would complain to Tang Renshu. It was still a better decision to go by himself without getting the nagging from his grandfather.
When they reached the shop, they were stuck at the entrance because they didn't book a table in advance.
Tang Quan negotiated with his niece, "Let's go to another place. There's no space for us here."
"No, I want to have the ice cream only in this shop!" His niece didn't even blink an eye about his persuasion.
A sales girl apologized. "I am so sorry for your inconvenience."
"Miss, do you have any spare table and a chair? Just one seat is enough! My niece was craving ice cream that was sold here for a long time." Tang Quan pleaded dejectedly.
His niece rolled her eyes at him, "Humph!! Pathetic! Begging a staff? Aren't you a member of the Tang family? I am ashamed of you." She deliberately covered her face with her palms.
Tang Quan had no idea what he should do and shifted his head back and forth between the waitress and the kid. He wore a frustrated expression and turned his head towards the crowded place and unexpectedly his eyes met a pair of familiar eyes. He excitedly rushed towards his friends holding his niece in his hand.
The girls were sitting at a booth that was available for four customers. He asked them a favor to let them sit.
The arrogant little kid frowned in disdain. "I don't want to dine together with strangers at the same table. Make them leave!"
"That's not how it works. If you want a seat, you should request the others politely. Yaoyao, we are not in a favorable condition now." He tried his best to discipline his unrefined niece.
"I hate to repeat twice!" She folded her arms and pouted. Her furrowed brow showed how much she despised the idea.
Quan was in a tight spot. He had no clue how to handle the little girl.
Xiulan could feel his helplessness and at the end, she blurted out, "Although I want to let you have the table, I can't because I like ice cream more than you do."
"I love it more!" The little girl retorted swiftly.
Xiulan followed the same movements, folded her arms and challenged the little girl, "Then prove it to me!"
The kid didn't seem to like her bold attitude and scowled at her, "How can I prove it?"
"If you really love ice cream in this parlor, you will be willing to sit even with strangers because you don't want to lose a chance to taste the delicacy. You can't have a cake and eat it too! If you don't have the nerve to do it, then it's completely fine. You just have to get out of here because first come first served. I am doing you a favor by giving you a chance. So take it." Zhang Xiulan provoked her on purpose. Such a spoiled and high-maintenance kid wouldn't back off easily or swallow her pride for a place.
"Fine." The kid took a seat opposite Hualing while staring deeply at Xiulan's soul through her big eyes which gave her goosebumps and made her ponder, 'What a scary kid!'
Nevertheless, she couldn't be petty with a child and greeted her while waving her palm in the air, "Hi, nice to meet you, Yaoyao. " She heard Quan call her Yaoyao a while ago.
The kid pulled a stern face and didn't even bother to look at her back.
Instead, a weird distorted voice suddenly popped up beside her. "Hey, it's great meeting you too. My name is Tang Yaoyao and I don't talk to strangers. I'm a little princess who even Grandpa Tang dare not offend me." Tang Quan imitated his niece's tone of talking.
Xiulan chuckled and Hualing shook her head slowly while wearing a light smile.
He returned to his normal voice and finished his dramatic introduction, "Well, she's my niece, the one and only daughter of my oldest brother."
While he was busy ridiculing his niece, a waiter came to collect the orders. Tang Yaoyao went ahead and ordered everything at her fingertip.
"Hey, you can't eat too much! If you get sick your great-grandfather will bury me alive." He felt his lifespan shortening by leaps and bounds.
Yaoyao didn't even seem to get disturbed by his noise and continued to order one after another. His two friends laughed quietly upon his misery.
Almost immediately, the food was served.
The little girl was about to gobble all up while Hualing suddenly uttered, "Why are your teeth so white and healthy?"
Xiulan answered adorably, "Because I avoided eating too many sweets when I was young!"
"Aya, my stomach has flared up and I'm starting to have a sore throat!" Hualing's busy hand rubbed her tummy and then her throat softly. She even faked a cough at the end of her words.
Xiulan put down her spoon in frustration and admonished her friend, "That's why I told you to order a smaller size. Now, look! you are suffering."
Quan confusedly gazed at them. He couldn't understand what they were talking about. Even though Hualing said she was sick, she obviously didn't actually sound like that.
Clever Yaoyao pressed her lips into a thin line and squinted at the annoying portrayal in front of her, "Fine! I will only eat a scoop per cup. Drop your act already!" She just wanted to savor a variety of tastes. There was no way she could finish all the ice cream she ordered. An annoying group of grown-ups went overboard and made a mountain out of a molehill.
Only then, the three adults sighed in relief and the dumb uncle got the message of their play.
"Good girl." Hualing patted Yaoyao's little head gently while beaming brightly.
"How about me? I deserve a reward too." Xiulan shoved her soft cheek near her friend. Hualing pecked her on the cheek lovingly.
Out of the blue, the little girl whispered in a quavering voice, "My dad used to pat my head and kiss me like that too. Now he…" She couldn't control her composure anymore and stopped talking. Her eyes were glistening with tears, with another word and they would flow out. Her little head lowered dejectedly as if to hide her emotions from the strangers she just met.
The two ladies were flustered upon seeing her reaction. Just a while ago, the kid was so high and mighty. But now, she was like a lost kid who was abandoned mercilessly by her own father.
Regarding the yard and the child's uncultured behaviors which reflected how one's parents handled the kid, Xiulan didn't have a good impression of her father. Now, it was getting worse.
Since it was a tricky situation, Xiulan knew that she wouldn't be able to handle it. So she gave a look to her friend hinting her to coax the kid to which Hualing nodded.
Hualing could sympathize with the kid entirely as she was also an orphan herself. She had already prepared the words of consolation in her mind. When she was about to speak out, her uncle interrupted boringly.
"Stop your mushy act! Your father just left you at our home last night because he has a business trip to attend to. After he had returned, he would surely shower you with love and kiss you until you were satisfied."
His two friends were perplexed by his abrupt reaction and disclosure.
"Hahaha, you guys got fooled by me." Yaoyao pointed her finger at them and cackled loudly.
Afterward, all of them followed her and a giggling sound filled the atmosphere.
In the process, all of a sudden, Xiulan saw Li Jianyu's smile on the man and the kid in front of her. They kind of looked similar in her eyes. She had seen Quan laughing before, but she had never recalled Li Jianyu while facing him. However, when the two people opposite her beamed at the same time, side by side, it strangely reminded her of Li Jianyu. She shook the thoughts off her head, 'Maybe, I am just missing him.'