CH 27.1

Early the next morning, Mother Hua woke up to discover that Little Miaomiao was already awake. Not only was she awake, but she was also properly dressed. During this time, Little Miaomiao sat on the balcony and observed the pomegranate plants.

The pomegranate seeds were planted inside large flower pots on the balcony. These seeds weren’t the same pomegranates that Little Miaomiao brought home, but rather, they were the ones that Father Hua bought from an online shop.

Little Miaomiao always believed that the seeds were the same ones that she brought home, so she engrossed herself in their care. She would come out to observe them everyday.

Mother Hua approached her and crouched down next to her, “Miaomiao has grown a little bit more today.”

Mother Hua uttered something akin to a pun.

The pomegranate seedling and her little seedling have grown up a bit.*

Little Miaomiao hummed and embraced her mother, acting like a baby.

Mother Hua planted a kiss on her forehead and hugged her back, “Are you hungry? Why did you wake up so early today?”

Little Miaomiao didn’t tell her about her nightmare. Instead, she just nodded at her mother’s question regarding her hunger. Therefore, Mother Hua entered the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Father Hua was still asleep. He returned from the hospital after midnight, so he wouldn’t be able to go to the hot springs with them.

Mother Hua didn’t think much about this because she had been living this kind of life for a long time. She was well aware that Father Hua was busy with his work even before their marriage.

Soon, they heard the ring of the doorbell. While walking towards the door, Mother Hua uttered, “It must be your tablemate.”

When she opened the door, she saw Zhou Yuan standing outside with his mother.

“Hello, please come in. I’m Miaomiao’s mother.”

Mother Hua stretched out her hand to greet Zhou Yuan’s mother. Usually, it was Zhou Yuan’s father who came to pick Zhou Yuan up from school, so they weren’t acquainted with each other.

Zhou Yuan’s mother was a very enthusiastic and buoyant person. After a brief conversation in their group chat, the two of them added each other on WeChat. During their chat, they discovered that the two families lived close to each other. It only took 10 minutes to travel from one house to the other. So, they decided to have a meeting at Miaomiao’s house.

At first, Little Miaomiao’s nervousness and apprehension consumed her, but they subsided a lot after she saw Zhou Yuan. This was the first time someone came to her house to play.

Zhou Yuan and his mother settled themselves on the sofa. Mother Hua retired to another room to begin packing the luggage.

Little Miaomiao was a little apprehensive of Zhou Yuan’s mother. She didn’t have the courage to sit in the same room with her. Originally, she wanted to follow her mother into the other room to help her pack the luggage.

But Zhou Yuan was also present. Little Miaomiao instinctively felt that avoiding them wasn’t polite, so she sat on the sofa to accompany Zhou Yuan and his mother.

After figuring out how her son procured the three little red flowers, Mother Zhou immediately developed a liking for the little girl, especially after noticing her timidity, which caused her fondness for her to grow. She never thought about having another child, but after getting a good look at Little Miaomiao, she felt a sort of temptation to have a second child.

At this moment, she noticed three little red flowers adorned on the wall, so Mother Zhou could not resist teasing, “Miaomiao got three little red flowers. That’s amazing!”

Little Miaomiao felt a little embarrassed. Embarrassment always overtook her when others praised her.

Mother Zhou continued, “Miaomiao, you sit at the same table with Zhou Yuan, right? Does he listen to the teacher during class? Does he answer the teacher’s question seriously?”

When Little Miaomiao processed her questions, she lowered her head and thought to herself that she had to respond to these questions with care.

…What if I answer incorrectly…What if Zhou Yuan gets a beating after they return…

She quickly recalled what her other classmates said about Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan is very smart, Zhou Yuan loves children…

Then, she practiced it silently twice within her heart.

Zhou Yuan listens to his teacher at school. He raises his hand to answer the teacher’s questions seriously.

She silently practiced it two more times to ensure that no mistakes would slip out.

Then, she lowered her head and whispered, “Zhou Yuan is very smart…Zhou Yuan loves children…Zhou Yuan listens to his teacher at school…Zhou Yuan raises his hand to answer the teacher’s questions seriously.”

She racked her brains and showered Zhou Yuan with fulsome praise.

Finally, Little Miaomiao said nervously, “Eat the fruit…”

Her remarks sounded unreasonable, and immediately after she had spouted those words, a wave of nervousness and fright completely washed over her.

Zhou Yuan felt a little uncomfortable, “Mom, don’t scare her, she’s just a child.”

Adults spoke casually, but children interpreted every statement in earnest. Sometimes, this caused them to fret.

Mother Zhou watched the two little ones sitting together. Due to Miaomiao’s answer, she felt that the little girl aroused pity, but now she felt even worse for teasing her.

Her son was now acting like a little boy and not like a little, old man.

Fortunately, at this moment, Mother Hua came out of the room. She packed a large suitcase and dragged it out.

They drove off together in the car they had rented in advance.

Little Miaomiao and Zhou Yuan sat together in the backseat. At first, this seating arrangement unsettled Mother Hua. Then, she thought that the two children shared a good sense of companionship with each other. She, an adult, shouldn’t interfere with them.

Therefore, the adults sat in the front, and the two children sat in the back. Mother Hua noticed that Zhou Yuan meticulously fastened the seat belt around Miaomiao.

Mother Zhou also witnessed this scene and said to her, “My son acted like a little adult since he was a child.”

The two children began conversing quietly in the back.

Little Miaomiao feared being overheard by Mother Zhou, so she leaned closer to Zhou Yuan’s ear and whispered quietly, “Zhou Yuan, did your family find out that you never raise your hand to answer questions at school?”

Miaomiao didn’t think there was anything wrong with not raising her hand to answer questions at school, but it still vexed her that Zhou Yuan could incur reproaches or a beating from his mother.

Zhou Yuan detected her nervosity and fear, so he leaned towards her, covered his mouth with one hand and whispered, “They don’t know.”

The two mothers discovered their two children whispering to each other. 

Adorned with smiles on their faces, they both believed their children were naive and innocent.

Mother Hua felt very happy that Little Miaomiao now had a good friend who cared about her.

And Mother Zhou was happy that her son finally befriended someone of the same age. She was also full of glee because her son had finally regained the innocence and joy that was befitting of a child.

Therefore, the two adults conversed with each other jauntily.

The hot springs of Qui Ming Mountains were very famous. The mountain roads meandered into many twists and turns, and large trees adorned both sides of the road, creating a natural barrier. The deeper they drove, the more they marvelled at the ineffable beauty of the surrounding scenery.

They soon arrived at their destination.

Deng Feng and Jingjing had already arrived. They came separately, so they arrived faster than Zhou Yuan and Little Miaomiao.

There was a large hotel on the mountain. Jingjing’s mother booked a presidential suite beforehand which had a large living room and four bedrooms. She conjectured that each family will occupy one bedroom. It just so happened that, from all four families, only the mothers came, so they could just sleep with their child.

The Chinese character for Miaomiao’s name ‘苗’ means ‘seedling’.