A pair of slender hands reached over and lifted Jiujiu from in front of him.
"Jiujiu's head hurts; does mommy need to press it for you to feel better? No need for daddy's help, he's all thumbs with his fingers too thick. Our Jiujiu's skin is soft like tofu pudding; you need to hold her gently and knead softly. Only then will it be comfortable, right?" Lu Fengxuan said tenderly as she hummed a song softly through her nose.
Jiujiu snuggled in her arms and sleepily nodded her head.
Already tired, she quickly felt drowsy under the gentle lull of Lu Fengxuan's voice.
Yu Chiyin's gaze slowly fell on her little hands. His index finger and thumb pressed gently against Jiujiu's temples, with a soft yet methodical force. After massaging for a short while, Jiujiu's breathing gradually steadied, and she fell into a deep sleep.
His memories suddenly flashed back to ten years ago—
A dilapidated village in the deep mountains.
In the bitterly cold straw hut, a seventeen-year-old boy burned with fever. The young girl gently lifted him, gave him water to drink, massaged him, and soothed his pain.
In his groggy state, he opened his eyes, and from that moment on, it was as though time stood still...
When he awoke, daylight had fully broken.
The warm sunlight streamed in through the window. Lu Fengxuan stretched comfortably and was met with a wet kiss on her face.
Jiujiu held a doll in her arms, her eyes curved into crescent moons, "Mommy, good morning."
"Good morning, my little treasure." Lu Fengxuan hugged her back, giving her a kiss before getting out of bed.
Her gaze swept over the sofa, where the thin blanket had been tidied up, leaving only two pink cushions behind.
Last night, Jiujiu was extremely restless, occasionally whimpering, so she had held and soothed her all night.
Perhaps out of distrust, Yu Chiyin also stayed over, making do with a night's sleep on the sofa. It seemed he had left early.
"Jiujiu, today you can get out of bed and move around a bit. Mommy is going to wash up and then make breakfast for us."
Xiaoyi deliberately waited for her to leave before entering his sister's room. Hearing his sister exclaim, "Brother!" Jiujiu was thrilled.
"Jiujiu, why do you turn against me as quickly as Daddy does?" Xiaoyi stood by the bed, hands on hips in frustration. "We had an agreement to punish her severely this time and not forgive her so easily. Otherwise, she will never learn her lesson."
Jiujiu spoke with an aggrieved voice, "But, Mommy says she knows her mistake, and the teacher said that knowing your mistake means you can change, shan mo, mo, mo..."
"Dayan."
"Right, dayan!" Backed by the teacher's words, Jiujiu straightened her little back.
Xiaoyi said in exasperation, "Silly Jiujiu, you're too easily fooled. From now on, listen to me; you can't be so soft-hearted. Otherwise, next time, we won't have a mommy."
He lifted Jiujiu out of the bed, placing his little chubby hand on top of his sister's head, "Be good Jiujiu, and listen..."
Meanwhile.
After freshening up and changing into a dress, Lu Fengxuan was ready to head downstairs.
As she approached the door, she encountered the butler coming to report: "Madam, Miss Lu is here, waiting for you downstairs."
Lu Sirong.
In the end, she couldn't contain herself and came to snoop for information.
Lu Fengxuan lifted her lip slightly; a chill flashed in her cool eyes, her fingernails digging fiercely into the palm of her hand unfelt.
"Madam?" The butler's inquiring gaze came over.
Noticing the way she mentioned Lu Sirong, Lu Fengxuan bent slightly forward, but faced her with less of the humility she had displayed earlier.
Her expression grew colder, "I'm busy right now; tell her to come back later."
"Madam..." The butler was surprised, but one look into Lu Fengxuan's icy eyes set his heart racing.
"Yes, I will go and inform Miss Lu."
Faced with her suddenly oppressive presence, the butler respectfully bowed and withdrew.