chapter 3

Two small eggs were no problem, Pei Manman ate them in big bites, quickly finishing them all.

His hungry stomach was filled with food, his body felt greatly satisfied, even his body temperature seemed to rise, gradually becoming warm and cozy.

He just wasn’t full.

The little guy had never tasted such fragrant fried eggs, he simply couldn’t get enough.

He had just whetted his appetite, and he wanted to eat more.

But after finishing his food, his lost rationality returned.

A human child’s brain can’t load too many things at the same time, at least Pei Manman often felt this way.

When he was resisting temptation, he endured with all his might.

When he failed to resist, his mind was filled with fried eggs.

After finishing the fried eggs, he regretted giving in to temptation.

He felt like he shouldn’t have eaten.

Because he just couldn’t eat too much at other people’s houses, eating too much would make them dislike him.

Oh no.

He had actually finished everything; he must have been disliked by Ling Yue.

But the cheese scent still lingered on the small hand that had grabbed the fried egg, it was irrefutable evidence.

Pei Manman cautiously looked at Ling Yue, forgetting how gently she had persuaded him to eat more.

Until he met Ling Yue’s gentle eyebrows and eyes again, listening to her say in a soft voice, “Slowly, you finished everything, you’re so good, you’re amazing.”

“…”

The little guy blinked in disbelief.

So, here, finishing your food is something to be praised for?

“Aunt guesses you’re not full yet, but we’ll have lunch soon. Because lunch is also very delicious, so let’s not eat anything else for now, save some room for lunch.”

“By the way, Aunt has prepared a room for you, Slowly, go take a look and see if you like it?”

Actually, Pei Manman didn’t quite understand.

Although he could understand long sentences, when two things were said quickly together, his not-so-agile little brain couldn’t keep up.

But at this moment, whatever Ling Yue said was right, whatever she said, he would nod.

Then he was led by Ling Yue’s hand to change into a pair of fluffy white indoor slippers.

At this time, he remembered young Master Lu Shiqi’s disdain, seeing the still dirty floor, Pei Manman shyly apologized, “Sorry, I, I stepped on it…”

He secretly glanced at Lu Shiqi.

But when he met Lu Shiqi’s cold and disdainful gaze, he quickly withdrew his gaze and lowered his head.

He looked clearly afraid.

Lu Shiqi didn’t like having a strange child in the house, it was Ling Yue who insisted on doing this, so he had to reluctantly accept it.

Seeing Pei Manman’s appearance, his inner displeasure surged even more wildly.

Little green tea.

This is definitely little green tea.

Lu Shiqi learned this concept from TV, referring to a certain type of person who appears innocent and pitiful, but is actually scheming and cunning, simply using their appearance and behavior to disguise themselves.

Isn’t that just this poor little ghost in front of him?

Lu Shiqi was about to directly question him, but Ling Yue followed Pei Manman’s gaze and stopped him in time with her eyes.

Hmph, as expected.

He’s just putting on a show for his mom, little green tea.

Lu Shiqi disdainfully turned his face away, although he managed to keep his mouth shut, he looked down on Pei Manman even more.

Ling Yue rubbed the little guy’s head, “It’s okay, it’s because Aunt came out late and didn’t get you slippers in time.”

Ling Yue found that the little guy was very timid, so she didn’t mention the floor anymore, she just said, “From now on, these slippers are yours, they have a little bunny pattern, aren’t they cute?”

Pei Manman lowered his head to look at the new slippers, he couldn’t help but wiggle his toes in the slippers, and the fluffy bunny ears on the slippers moved along with him.

They were really cute.

He had never worn such cute slippers before.

Pei Manman quietly replied, “… Yeah.”

Not only were they cute, but they were also warm.

His cold little feet were instantly enveloped by the thick and warm fluff.

The feel of the slippers was soft and squishy, like stepping on playdough.

They were even warmer and more comfortable than his cotton shoes.

“Do you like bunnies, slowly?”

Pei Manman stared at the fluffy bunny head, shyly replied, “… Yeah, I like them.”

“That’s great, then from now on, the first thing you do when you come home is to remember to change into your bunny slippers, okay?”

Pei Manman nodded seriously, “… Yeah, okay.”

This was the first rule of his new home, he would definitely remember it well.

“Then let’s go see your room now.”

She was thinking of helping him unpack his luggage, but the little guy didn’t have any luggage, he just had this one set of clothes on him.

Other people at least had a bag when they moved in, but he didn’t even have a small backpack.

Looking closer, the child’s short and thin fingers were covered with red and swollen chilblains, at least ten of them.

Did they not even bother to give him a pair of gloves?

Ling Yue doted on Lu Shiqi; it was hard to imagine that anyone would be so cruel to a child.

But the clothes Pei Manman was wearing, his frostbitten hands, the old-fashioned cotton shoes, and the socks with holes on his feet—all these proved that the child had a very difficult time before.

The Lu family villa was very large, with a Rococo style decoration, the whole set was grand and beautiful, but it was a bit extravagant.

But for Pei Manman, this was definitely the closest he had ever been to a fairytale palace.

Ling Yue had prepared a small guest room, which had been simply decorated with cartoon wallpaper, a car-shaped single bed, and a set of children’s table and chairs and a low bookshelf.

Compared to other parts of the Lu family, this room seemed simple and plain, but Pei Manman had never had a private space before, his eyes were filled with disbelief.

He had always slept with the children in his relatives’ houses.

If the space was big enough, they would put a folding cot for him on the side, if not, he could only sleep on the floor.

Now, he was sleeping on the floor, squeezed into a small gap between the bed and the wall.

Fortunately, he was thin enough to fit, but he couldn’t stretch out his limbs.

So, he had never imagined that he could have a bed of his own, or even a room of his own.

It was like a dream.

“From here, over to this room, is Slowly’s toy room.”

The guest room was small, but it was connected to a small storage room that hadn’t been used yet, and Ling Yue had transformed it into a child’s toy room.

“Look, there are a lot of toys here, they’re all yours from now on. And these picture books are also yours.”

The floor was covered with thick cartoon foam pads, allowing children to jump around freely, even if they fell, they wouldn’t get hurt or bruised.

Although the toys and picture books were all Lu Shiqi’s leftovers, he had so many things when he was little, and many of them were still 90% new.

“Do you like it, slowly?”

Ling Yue’s question didn’t get a response, because the little guy was completely overwhelmed and couldn’t come to his senses for a while.

Pei Manman stood at the junction of the two rooms, feeling that the space here was simply too big, his eyes couldn’t take it all in…

Such a big room, so many toys and picture books, were they all for him?

Was it real?

Even in a dream, he wouldn’t dare to dream so extravagantly.

Pei Manman was a very easy child to please, at this moment, he firmly believed that Ling Yue was a good person, a very, very good person.

But his reaction was a bit slow, which caused Lu Shiqi’s dissatisfaction.

Before Ling Yue could say anything, Lu Shiqi said, “I’m talking to you, don’t you know how to answer?”

“At least say thank you.”

“So rude.”

Pei Manman was startled and finally came to his senses.

He turned his head to meet Lu Shiqi’s cold eyes, and instinctively hid behind Ling Yue.

If Ling Yue was a good person, then Lu Shiqi must be a bad person.

He didn’t have a good face for him, and he spoke rudely.

Pei Manman was really a little afraid of him.

Ling Yue frowned slightly, her tone to Lu Shiqi was a little stricter, “Xiaoqi, you’re the one being rude, you can’t do that anymore.”

“Slowly is still young, you can’t bully him.”

“…”

Looking at Pei Manman behind Ling Yue, Lu Shiqi felt his impatience and annoyance increase rapidly.

Little green tea, so annoying.

He’s so poor and so rude, he just knows how to act pitiful, why did he come here and take away all his mom’s attention?

Ling Yue was usually busy with work, and she didn’t spend much time with him. Finally, she could rest at home for a while, but this little green tea ruined it all.

“If you have nothing to do, you can go to the kitchen and see if there’s anything you want to eat for lunch, let the chef make it for you.”

Lu Shiqi quickly replied, “I’m not going, I’m staying here.”

He wanted to stay here, personally watching the little green tea, to prevent him from seducing Ling Yue.

“Then stay here well, don’t scare Slowly.”

Ling Yue still couldn’t bear to be harsh on him, she only scolded him once, then softened her tone.

“Slowly just arrived, he’s not familiar with the place yet, Mom hopes you two can get along well, okay?”

“…”

Lu Shiqi was full of reluctance in his heart, but if he really said it out loud, it would make him look petty.

“Hmph.”

Lu Shiqi snorted unhappily, he still looked difficult to get along with, but he didn’t say anything else for the time being.

Ling Yue successfully took Pei Manman on a tour of the house, getting familiar with his living environment.

And Pei Manman, with Ling Yue’s protection, and after confirming that Ling Yue was a gentle good person, gradually let go of his apprehension and was able to have simple interactions and communication.

After touring the house, almost an hour and a half had passed, it was lunch time, and the last place they saw was the dining room.

“This is where we eat, we’ll eat here from now on.”

Pei Manman was short and small, although he was five years old, he looked like a three-year-old.

He couldn’t fit in a children’s chair, and a regular chair was a bit high for him, he needed to raise his hand to reach the table, the sight was quite pitiful.

To make it easier for him, Ling Yue put several cushions on the chair, and so his special dining chair was decided.

Lunch wasn’t very lavish, just simple home-cooked food.

Four dishes and one soup, two meat and two vegetables.

Braised beef brisket that was soft and flavorful, and braised chicken wings with a rich sauce.

Garlic stir-fried bok choy and oil-braised bamboo shoots.

And a bowl of light and fresh mushroom soup.

Lu Shiqi was not interested, he sat down and used his chopsticks to pick at the rice in his bowl, eating about three or five grains per bite—at least he was still eating, which was already considered giving face.

In stark contrast to him was Pei Manman.

The little guy’s expressions only seemed to change vividly when he was facing food. Looking at the table of home-cooked dishes, his eyes were filled with eager anticipation.