NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 104
Before Lu Yuliang had a chance to say anything, she saw tears welling up in Song Li'an's eyes. He even leaned over the bed, reaching out to check Jiang Yan's breathing.
The late-arriving Zhou Sisi leaned against Lu Yuliang, both of them looking puzzled. These two parents were quite easygoing, preferring to watch the spectacle unfold first when something happened.
Lu Yuliang whispered to her: "What's going on with Li'an? He's crying."
Zhou Sisi stroked her chin thoughtfully: "I just told him that Yan fainted from the shot, but he didn't know what that meant, so I told him it means she passed out..."
"Does he know what passing out means?" Lu Yuliang asked.
Zhou Sisi suddenly grabbed Lu Yuliang's arm, suppressing a laugh: "Look at him, he's checking Yan's breathing."
Jiang Yan herself wasn't scared at all, even as the kids getting shots next to her were crying hoarsely. But just after she got her shot, she suddenly felt dizzy.
Leaning against Lu Yuliang, she clutched her clothes and said with effort: "Mom... I feel a bit dizzy."
The doctor saw this and quickly said: "She's fainted from the shot, quick, quick, let her lie down on the bed."
And so, the opening scene unfolded.
Fainting from a shot is only temporary dizziness. Jiang Yan lay down for a while and soon felt better. Suddenly, she felt an itch above her mouth. She slowly raised her hand to scratch it, only to encounter a small hand.
She opened her eyes innocently, gazing deeply into the tear-streaked eyes of the little crybaby Song Li'an.
Jiang Yan: ...
The little crybaby's eyes seemed to light up for a moment, then he reached out to poke Jiang Yan's eyes, as if to check if they were really open.
His hand almost went into Jiang Yan's eye, scaring her into sitting up and backing away, crying out for help: "Mom, Mom..."
The two irresponsible parents, under the gaze of the doctors and other parents, were laughing in a huddle.
...
During the New Year's Eve dinner, Jiang Yan gorged herself and even pocketed a handful of red envelopes. But in the end, Lu Yuliang took them away from her.
Lu Yuliang said: "Mom will keep them for you until you grow up."
When Song Li'an arrived, Jiang Yan was angrily chewing on cotton candy, accusing her mom of tricking kids.
Lu Yuliang's ears pricked up at this. She took out a small gold rabbit pendant necklace from a box and put it on Jiang Yan, saying: "Here, here, a New Year's gift. This makes up for it, right? It's gold, so don't lose it."
Jiang Yan admired the novelty, while Lu Yuliang called Song Li'an over: "Li'an has one too. You're both the Year of the Rabbit, so I bought matching ones."
When Lu Yuliang bought them, she had in mind the outfit Zhou Sisi got for the New Year's countdown.
Song Li'an slowly turned his wrist, looking at the new little rabbit, politely squinting his eyes in a smile. He looked so obedient, even saying: "Thank you, Auntie."
The two kids, both dressed in red outfits, were utterly adorable, like dolls from a New Year's painting that drew people's affection. As soon as they went out, people kept exclaiming: "They really look like siblings, like brother and sister."
Hearing this, Jiang Yan remembered some matters and forced Song Li'an to call her "sister."
But Song Li'an was so stubborn, even when Jiang Yan pinched his cheeks, he wouldn't change it. The only time he didn't call her "sister" was when Jiang Yan forced him not to call her that, and he blurted out: "Baby."
Jiang Yan: ...
Jiang Yan gave up. He was just too soft. If she bullied him further, she'd start feeling guilty.
...
Everyone saw Song Li'an slowly coming out of his shell.
Before, if you spoke to him, he rarely reacted, at most giving a polite "Mmm." Now, he would go and tattle on Jiang Yan to Lu Yuliang: "Jiang Yan ate candy again."
This infuriated Jiang Yan. If Lu Yuliang hadn't accidentally let it slip, she would have thought someone had planted a surveillance camera on her!
Never would she have guessed that her betrayer was the one she trusted most!
When the first snow arrived, Jiang Yan marched over to Song Li'an's house in her little round leather shoes. Under Zhou Sisi's tearful gaze, she held a toy sword to his neck.
Furiously, she demanded: "Was it you who told my mom I ate candy?! Don't lie to me, I already know... My mom told me everything..."
Before Jiang Yan could finish, Song Li'an stood still with the sword at his neck. He only sniffled, and when he spoke next, his childish voice carried a hint of tears, as if deeply wronged yet holding it in like a pitiful little thing: "It was me."
Jiang Yan awkwardly lowered the sword, sneaking a glance at Song's mom. Zhou Sisi pretended not to see, smiling at her before leaving to cut some fruit.
With the adult gone, Jiang Yan regained her arrogance. Mainly because she was used to Song Li'an crying.
She tossed the toy sword to the ground, plopping herself onto Song Li'an's chair with a sullen look: "What are you crying for? It's clearly you who betrayed me."
Song Li'an seemed even more upset, black eyes brimming with tears that threatened to spill over as he covered them with his little short hands, choking back sobs: "Auntie Lu said... if I didn't tell her, your teeth... would look like a rabbit's..."
Jiang Yan knew what he meant. In cartoons, rabbits only had two front teeth. Lu Yuliang often used this to scare her, saying that rabbits lost all their other teeth from eating too much candy.
But it didn't scare Jiang Yan; instead, it frightened Song Li'an.
The little boy was such a crybaby, looking almost heartbroken. Jiang Yan could only mumble her forgiveness.