novelraw Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Chapter 37
After summer vacation began, it seemed like everywhere in the whole world you could see parents taking their kids out.
Only in the Liu household was it Liu Wenjie who was taking care of the children with his mom.
After getting the certificate and coming home during the break, being celebrated happily by Dad and Mom for a whole night, time unknowingly passed another week.
Today the sunlight was bright and beautiful, the pigeons in the estate cooing on the rooftops, in pairs, incubating birds and laying eggs.
Liu Wenjie, little Xia Ying, and Lin Xiaoli sat cross-legged on the bed and took out a newly bought deck of playing cards.
Lin Xiaoli smiled: "Little Xia Ying, do you know how to play Landlord?"
Little Xia Ying timidly shook her head: "I don't."
"It's very simple, Aunt will teach you how to play." She said to her son: "Then our little Older Brother Xiaojie will be the landlord, okay? Mom and little Xia Ying will be on the same team."
Liu Wenjie, who had originally been reading a book, grumbled as he was dragged up to play: "Fine, then let's draw cards."
While drawing cards, Lin Xiaoli explained the rules to little Xia Ying, who listened in a daze.
After drawing, Lin Xiaoli said: "Little Xia Ying goes first."
Liu Wenjie was surprised: "Doesn't the landlord go first?"
Lin Xiaoli said matter-of-factly: "But the landlord is the one I gave birth to, so what I say goes."
Liu Wenjie opened his mouth, speechless: "....."
Lin Xiaoli directed little Xia Ying: "Play a small card first, play a three—this way it's easier to win."
Little Xia Ying took out a card and placed it on the bed. Lin Xiaoli reminded: "You have to say the move's name, otherwise it's not cool." She personally demonstrated by slamming the card back onto the bed with grand momentum: "A three!" Then she grinned: "Like this, you try."
Little Xia Ying answered, copying Lin Xiaoli's manner, lifting the card and slamming it on the bed with a cute voice: "A three!"
"Amazing, amazing!" Mom clapped to encourage: "Next it's my turn, Aunt plays a four, then it's your turn again, you play a five, Aunt plays a six—bigger numbers beat smaller ones."
Liu Wenjie squatted there like a statue: "???"
What were they doing? What was the point of calling me here?
"Mom, shouldn't it be my turn soon?"
Lin Xiaoli finally remembered her son was also here: "Oh, it is Xiaojie's turn, I forgot about you—Xiaojie, go."
Liu Wenjie threw all his cards away in disgust: "Spring."
Lin Xiaoli was startled: "Ah?" She threw her cards away and hugged little Xia Ying crying: "We lost, Older Brother Wenjie is bullying us!"
Liu Wenjie sometimes felt his mom's mental age might be even younger than Xia Ying's. Besides, technically farmers can't call "spring" when they still have cards to play, but since Mom was cheating anyway, none of that mattered.
They hadn't played many rounds when a phone call came; it seemed some part-time job left the childish Lin Xiaoli no choice but to leave the battlefield.
She even handed the two of them a platter of fairy fruit: "I have to go handle something—you two play, little Xia Ying, eat more fruit, it's good for your skin."
"Thank you, Aunt."
With Lin Xiaoli gone, Liu Wenjie looked at the obedient Xia Ying sitting there holding playing cards: "So do you understand how to play now?"
Little Xia Ying nodded then shook her head: "I understand a little—it's basically that the farmers play first, and the landlord can only play on the fifth round, right?"
Liu Wenjie blinked: "I think you should try to play games with my mom as little as possible in the future, or she'll lead you astray sooner or later."
Little Xia Ying didn't understand.
Someone put down the cards and suggested reading instead, so he picked up a book and leaned against the headboard; little Xia Ying slowly scooted over next to Liu Wenjie and sat pressed against him.
Liu Wenjie reminded: "Pick a book to read too; Mom bought me a lot of fairy-tale books I'm too lazy to read, maybe you'll like them."
Little Xia Ying heard this, found Snow White, opened it, and sat curled up eating cherry tomatoes, chewing slowly.
About three minutes later Liu Wenjie noticed she hadn't turned a page and curiously turned his head.
"What are you doing?"
The sudden voice startled Xia Ying; she bit the cherry tomato hard, and juice splattered onto Liu Wenjie's hair and face, seeds and bright red streaks together.
Realizing what happened, little Xia Ying hurried to apologize, frantic: "Sorry, sorry Older Brother Wenjie!"
Liu Wenjie decided the brat had definitely been abnormal lately.
He walked out of the bedroom to the restroom.
Little Xia Ying nervously used Tissue to wipe the juice from Liu Wenjie's hair.
Liu Wenjie said he could do it himself.
But little Xia Ying felt very guilty: "Really sorry, Older Brother Wenjie... I got you dirty, how can I make it up to you?"
"Make it up?" Liu Wenjie snorted coldly—how could she compensate for the life that had been disrupted?
Once upon a time every holiday he could still be happy doing whatever he wanted by himself, but now, at home there was Xia Ying, at school there was Xu Feifei.
Even though he had the Rejection System, his carefree life was gone forever!
"Have you been worried about something lately?" He looked at Xia Ying, who was busy wiping his hair, and asked.
Xia Ying's hands paused for a moment: "No."
"Anyone who lies is a puppy."
Little Xia Ying froze, then saw Liu Wenjie's sharp eyes in the mirror and hesitantly opened her small mouth: "Woof woof..." Blushing, she lowered her head with the Tissue that had wiped his hair: "I won't dare again."
Liu Wenjie chuckled:
"What exactly is it? You've been gloomy lately and it's affecting my mood—if something's wrong, just say it."
Nervously scooping water in her hands, little Xia Ying stood on tiptoe to wash Liu Wenjie's face, mustered her courage and asked: "Did... did Xu Feifei become good friends with Older Brother Wenjie?"
"Hmm?"
"I mean Xu Feifei..."
Little Xia Ying's voice inexplicably became hoarse, emotions surging: "I... I heard people say Xu Feifei and Older Brother Wenjie are childhood sweethearts." She sniffled inexplicably: "Is it true..."
Liu Wenjie was shocked: "You're crying?"
Little Xia Ying felt more and more wronged; tears started swimming in her eyes, and her words choked. She stared straight at Liu Wenjie and lowered her arms:
"Is... is it true? Does Older Brother Wenjie like playing with Xu Feifei more? Then... then what about me?"
Even though he had lived again, Liu Wenjie still couldn't figure out what these girls were thinking, or why tears fell so easily.
He said dumbly: "She and I are just classmates; we're not even together on normal days, how could we be childhood sweethearts?"
Little Xia Ying wiped her tears with the back of her hand; her originally tense mood suddenly burst into laughter upon hearing this: "Really? If Older Brother Wenjie lies, he's a puppy."
"You didn't learn cards, but you learned this pretty quickly."
"This is simple," she said with grievance.
Liu Wenjie bonked her on the head with a bang; the little girl yelped in pain.
After wiping the juice off his face, they returned to the bed. Liu Wenjie saw that her tears came and went quickly, arms crossed over his chest:
"So the only reason you've been gloomy lately is just this? Even your grades dropped for such a tiny thing?"
After crying, the area around little Xia Ying's eyes was red. She sat with legs spread in a duck pose.
She said something Liu Wenjie half understood: "It's not a small thing—there's only one Older Brother Wenjie; if he's gone, he's really gone... I can give anything to others, but not Older Brother Wenjie."
Liu Wenjie was full of question marks.
This brat was being mystifying.
On this day Liu Wenjie really didn't understand what she was trying to say—until about another week passed.
One day when Liu Wenjie and Mom came back from grocery shopping, he unexpectedly saw a strange woman knocking on the neighbor's door, wearing a red dress. Liu Wenjie didn't recognize her, but with just a side profile he knew exactly who she was.
After so many years, this was the first time Liu Wenjie saw little Xia Ying's mom; she looked like a very fierce person.