"Impossible," Fang Miaomiao said, lying on the bed with one foot dangling off the edge, swinging back and forth idly. "I never lie. Grandma told me so."
Every night, when her grandmother went out to check the crops, she would earnestly tell Fang Miaomiao that children who went out at night would be snatched away by the big bad wolf.
"Really?"
"Of course," Fang Miaomiao tilted her head, raising an eyebrow at Wen Yan'an. "When you grow up, you can go out at night."
"How old is 'grown up'?"
Fang Miaomiao thought for a moment. "Is 10 years old considered grown up?"
Hearing this, Wen Yan'an felt a wave of grievance surge within him.
He glanced at Fang Miaomiao, then placed a pillow on her side of the bed, lay down, and turned his back to her.
Fang Miaomiao was unaware of the complex emotions swirling in the little one's heart. At this moment, she was wondering why Fang Yan Huan's parents had asked Fang Yan Huan to take her back.
She remembered that this plot wasn't in the book. Could she have missed it?
Wen Yan'an waited for a long time without receiving any comfort. He spoke, both angry and wronged, "You don't even comfort me."
Fang Miaomiao was pulled back from her thoughts by his voice. "Huh? What's wrong?"
"I'm only five, and it will be a long time until I'm ten."
Fang Miaomiao was stunned. A long time is a long time, what's the big deal?
"You!"
How could she be so indifferent? Did she not want to go out with him at night? Was she not cute, not well-behaved?
The more he thought about it, the more wronged Wen Yan'an felt, and he began to sob.
Fang Miaomiao was confused, very confused. She turned around and looked at the small, yet stubborn back of the child, who was quietly sobbing.
He looked like a abandoned little beast, curled up and licking his wounds alone, which made her feel a bit flustered.
She thought for a moment, mimicking how her grandmother used to hug her when she was little, and reached out to embrace the child. "Don't cry, okay?"
"I, I still have a long way to go before I grow up."
Fang Miaomiao was perplexed, and even more so, she found it hard to suppress a laugh. "Why are you so fixated on growing up?"
"Only when I grow up can I go out to play with you."
As he spoke, Wen Yan'an turned around, wrapped his arms around Fang Miaomiao's waist, and rested his head on her chest. "I want to go out and play with you."
His soft, cooing voice, coupled with the faint milky scent from his nose.
Fang Miaomiao felt the milky fragrance from the embrace and her body tensed involuntarily. "We can go out during the day too. Besides, you're just a child."
At night, one should sleep early. If he ran out with her at night and didn't grow tall, wouldn't Wen Zhi Yan come after her with a knife?
Wen Yan'an didn't say anything, but Fang Miaomiao could feel his faint sense of disappointment.
Her heart softened. She gently patted Wen Yan'an's back. "Be good, it's time to sleep. Otherwise, you won't grow tall. As for going out to play, there will be plenty of time. Don't rush."
Wen Yan'an's fingers slowly curled into fists. "Will you always be by my side?"
Always stay with him and his father.
Fang Miaomiao lowered her eyelids. She couldn't, and wouldn't, give him a definite answer to that question.
"Little rascal, go to sleep."
It had to be said, Wen Yan'an was like a steamed bun; he was quite comfortable to hug while sleeping.
Fang Miaomiao, who had fallen asleep without a care in the world, naturally didn't know that after she fell asleep, Wen Yan'an had stared at the mosquito net above for a long time before succumbing to sleepiness and closing his eyes.
The next morning.
Fang Miaomiao was woken by a knock on the door.
The "bun" in her arms frowned at the sound and burrowed into her embrace.
Fang Miaomiao patted Wen Yan'an's back soothingly, then got up to open the door.
Standing at the door was Fang Yan Huan, dressed neatly. "The director said the guests are arriving soon, and the live broadcast will also begin. Is it convenient for the staff to enter your room for filming?"
Fang Miaomiao leaned limply against the doorframe, nodding her head vaguely. "Mm, come in."
After speaking, without waiting for Fang Yan Huan's reply, she closed her eyes and, relying on her familiarity with the room, turned back inside, took off her shoes, and got into bed.
Fang Yan Huan's eyes twitched as she watched this. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but Fang Miaomiao seemed to have changed a bit. Although she was still lazy and disinclined to interact with people, she gave Fang Yan Huan a sense that Fang Miaomiao was different from before.
Thinking this, Fang Yan Huan turned and looked at Chen Tian Ming, who was coming out into the yard and busying himself with the others.
After watching for a while, she left.
"Sleepy," Wen Yan'an burrowed into Fang Miaomiao's embrace with all his might, mumbling continuously.
Fang Miaomiao gently patted Wen Yan'an's back. "It's okay, sleep a little longer."
Based on her understanding of Chen Tian Ming, the guests arriving soon meant at least two or three more hours, possibly even arriving for lunch.
They shouldn't have to worry about lunch today, so they could sleep in.
Waking up early was too difficult for her, so she usually chose to stay up late.
She didn't know how long she slept, but she clearly felt staff members tiptoeing into her room, placing something down, and then tiptoeing out.
[The live broadcast has started? So soon? So easy? This show is too rough. Luckily I set up live broadcast notifications, otherwise I would have missed it.]
[Good morning. By the way, does anyone know what happened yesterday? Based on my incredibly accurate intuition, I feel like something definitely kicked off after Fang Miaomiao finished cooking yesterday.]
[Who knows? As soon as the live broadcast started, I came in and all I saw was a mosquito net. Where is my Fang Miaomiao?]
[Isn't that obvious? Fang Miaomiao is definitely still sleeping. I don't know why the production team opened the live broadcast so early. Isn't this just encouraging me to slack off at work? The production team is too wicked.]
[Tsk tsk tsk, you bunch of Fang Miaomiao's deluded fans. Your master makes money sleeping, but what about you? You're still working hard. Speaking of which, you pity your master, would your master pity you and send you his movie salary, you dogs?]
[What the hell, upstairs, are you sick? I finally got up early and see a wild dog that hasn't been leashed barking. What, are you so eager to come out and defend your master?]
[Talking to a dog that only knows how to bark wildly, you expect it to understand human language? In this situation, just directly @ the administrator and let them handle it.]
[I don't know if the administrator is working this early.]
[I'm here. Already kicked. We work when Young Madam works.]
[I have to say, I'm envious.]
After sleeping for a while longer, Fang Miaomiao's mind finally cleared up a bit. "Good morning. How long have you been awake?"
Wen Yan'an shook his head obediently. "I don't know."
"Oh, stay here for a while. I need to collect myself."
Wen Yan'an's obedient nod made Fang Miaomiao's heart soften. She reached out and stroked the top of his head. "Little one, why are you so well-behaved?"
After lingering in bed for a while, Fang Miaomiao finally got up and took Wen Yan'an to the well to wash up.