Chapter 5

That meal ended up being the most Lu Shiqi had eaten in recent times.

After he actually finished the three chicken nuggets, Ling Yue, true to her word, gave him the whole plate of fried chicken nuggets.

Lu Shiqi’s childish spite had completely suppressed his rationality.

Although he didn’t like it and didn’t want to eat it, to make Pei Manman uncomfortable, he did his best, not only finishing almost all the fried chicken nuggets, but also eating several pieces of beef and a few chicken wings.

But his spite didn’t have a good outcome.

He had really eaten too much.

His stomach was stuffed with too much food, he felt like his brain was covered in oil, he was uncomfortable from head to toe.

And he hadn’t made Pei Manman uncomfortable at all.

Only he himself was uncomfortable.

He thought that when he took the chicken nuggets back, Pei Manman would be reluctant, maybe even cry and throw a tantrum, making a scene.

He didn’t expect Pei Manman to be so obedient, without any struggle or resistance, he just handed over the things that had already been given to him.

His innocent and pitiful eyes were looking at him, anyone could see that he was reluctant.

But he didn’t say a word of complaint, he was submissive, as if he was used to this kind of thing.

Lu Shiqi felt it was boring.

If the other person didn’t resist, it wouldn’t be considered a confrontation, let alone Pei Manman’s meek and submissive appearance, it was as if he was being unilaterally domineering and bullying.

Bullying this poor little ghost wouldn’t give him a sense of accomplishment.

Unless this was some kind of green tea tactic?

Then it would be another matter, he would need to observe for a while.

Of course, the most infuriating thing was that the chef had betrayed him.

After he had finished so much food, thinking that he could at least put an end to Pei Manman’s desire for fried chicken nuggets, the chef stood by the side, with a rare smile of satisfaction on his face, and said, “There’s more in the kitchen, I’ll go get some.”

Lu Shiqi: “…”

A few minutes later, the chef came out with a second plate of fried chicken.

Because Lu Shiqi hadn’t even finished the first plate, the chef simply didn’t ask him, this time he directly placed it in front of Pei Manman.

The little guy immediately brightened up, and in the end, he not only got to eat everything he wanted, but also gained the sympathy and liking of Ling Yue and the chef.

He’s definitely a scheming little green tea!

Lu Shiqi thought unhappily, before the family situation became even more unfavorable to him, he had to find a way to get rid of this little green tea!

…

After a hearty meal, Pei Manman felt comfortable both physically and mentally.

Then he started to feel sleepy and wanted to go to sleep.

By now, his body was completely warm, his always cold little hands were starting to have blood circulation, his palms were hot.

But the chilblains were itchy and uncomfortable, making him want to scratch them.

Ling Yue had already had someone buy chilblain ointment, she washed the child’s face and hands, and carefully applied the ointment for him, “The ointment will make the itch go away, Slowly, you have to hold back, don’t scratch it, it’ll be bad if you scratch it open.”

Ling Yue said exaggeratedly, “If you scratch it open, your skin will rot, it’ll be very painful!”

Pei Manman listened attentively and nodded, believing it, “… I, I know, I won’t scratch my hand!”

The little guy’s way of expressing himself was unique, he had heard it a few times today, and Ling Yue found it quite interesting.

But once you got used to it, you could actually understand.

“Yes, don’t scratch your hand,” Ling Yue said, “Slowly, you can take a nap here, Aunt will stay with you.”

The living room was comfortably warm, you could sleep on a cushion.

Mainly, Ling Yue wanted to watch the little guy personally, she wasn’t comfortable with him sleeping alone in the room.

During the meal, Pei Manman took off his ill-fitting old cotton jacket.

Underneath was a half-old, half-new brown wool sweater, with loose threads coming out in several places.

The pattern on the chest was also old-fashioned, with a cartoon lion that looked a bit silly.

But the quality of this sweater was still okay, it felt decent to the touch, but it was unclear how long Pei Manman had worn it, the cuffs and hems were already discolored from dirt.

Ling Yue couldn’t stand it anymore, she just wanted to roll up the sweater and throw it as far away as possible.

But afraid of hurting the little guy’s self-esteem, she held back until nap time, quickly taking off the sweater and the undershirt underneath, and then changed him into a set of Lu Shiqi’s old clothes.

Although they were also a bit big, the fabric was soft and warm, much more comfortable than the clothes Pei Manman had worn before.

Plus, the living room was comfortably warm, the blanket was soft and comfortable, Pei Manman was warm all over, and he soon fell fast asleep.

Winter could be so warm.

It was so comfortable to eat and take a nap.

Although he still felt uncomfortable and nervous in the unfamiliar environment, all the feelings Ling Yue gave him were gentleness and acceptance. He saw Ling Yue beside him before closing his eyes, so Pei Manman slept soundly and peacefully.

The excessive burden that his small body had been carrying was finally temporarily lifted at this moment.

He fell into a deep sleep, didn’t even dream, and slept for three hours straight.

He woke up to see the palace-like decor of the house, he was confused and couldn’t react, thinking that this was his dream.

“Slowly, you’re finally awake?”

Hearing Ling Yue’s voice, his consciousness gradually became clear, the memories of the morning reappeared in his mind.

The body and mind are vulnerable after waking up from sleep, he turned his head and saw Ling Yue smiling at him, the little guy inexplicably wanted to cry.

An indescribable sense of grievance welled up in his heart, and a blurry mist quickly formed in front of his eyes.

But he couldn’t.

“I can’t cry,” he thought.

“Crying brings bad luck.”

“Good children shouldn’t cry easily.”

Pei Manman didn’t want to bring bad luck to Ling Yue, he tried his best to hold back, and finally managed to swallow his tears back.

He blinked his eyes, and to cover it up, he spoke to Ling Yue stiffly, “… I, I fell asleep just now, and now I’m awake.”

But because his way of speaking was too cute, Ling Yue didn’t notice anything else.

“Did you sleep well, slowly? Did you have any nightmares?”

Pei Manman quickly shook his head.

He wanted to say that he slept well and didn’t have any nightmares, but because he hadn’t had any good dreams, or even dreams at all, he didn’t know how to phrase it.

“Since you’re awake, let’s go take a bath first, then try on the new clothes. Aunt has prepared some new clothes for Slowly; she wants to see how they look on you.”

While the little guy was taking a nap, Ling Yue had already had someone quickly buy new clothes and wash and dry them.

But the child also needed to be washed.

Afraid that Pei Manman would think too much, she quickly added, “After you take a bath and try on the clothes, we’ll have some snacks.”

“You’ve been sleeping for so long, Slowly, you must be hungry, how about a piece of cake? Don’t eat too much, we’re having dinner tonight.”

The little guy, unable to grasp the key points of a bunch of words, just nodded obediently and agreed, then was led by Ling Yue to take a bath.

The bathroom was already warm, the folding bathtub was filled with hot water, and two tubes of fruit-scented essential oil were added, along with some small toys. Ling Yue personally scrubbed Pei Manman cleans from head to toe.

The good child was very cooperative even when taking a bath.

Ling Yue hadn’t bathed a child in a long time, and a few times she didn’t control her strength well, rubbing Pei Manman’s skin red.

But the little guy didn’t change his expression, he let Ling Yue rub and scrub him, without saying a word.

After taking a bath and drying his hair, the little guy was successfully reborn, he was completely different from the little boy who had walked in that morning.

It’s true that people depend on clothes, and this applies to human children as well.

After changing into new clothes, the cute appearance that had been hidden by the old clothes and his timid and introverted nature was finally revealed.

Now his face was rosy, white with a hint of pink, like a pale pink peach, just a little less round, a bit thinner.

The clothes were a set of goose-yellow pajamas, the color was soft, and it surprisingly matched his skin tone, making his face look even whiter.

It was also fluffy and warm, making him even cuter.

Most importantly, after spending half a day together, Pei Manman was no longer as apprehensive and timid as he was when he first arrived, he was now much more relaxed, and his whole demeanor became brighter.

Because Ling Yue had been praising him.

He was praised for eating, praised for sleeping, even praised for taking a bath, and after changing into new clothes, he was praised so much he felt like he was going to float away.

Even the most self-conscious child couldn’t resist so much praise.

Pei Manman was praised until he had some confidence, after putting on the new clothes, he actually preened in front of the mirror for a while.

“Aunt, it’s bunnies.”

The goose-yellow clothes had white bunny patterns on them, Pei Manman tried to count them, but there were too many, he couldn’t count them at all.

He poked at them with his short little fingers, one by one, but after a few seconds, he got confused again, and in the end, he could only say,

“There are so many bunnies.”

Ling Yue chuckled, applying children’s face cream for him, “Yes, there are so many bunnies… Bunnies are cute, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, cute.”

Pei Manman liked bunnies, he looked at the clothes, then at the slippers, now they were all his favorite bunnies, he felt a sense of satisfaction that he couldn’t describe.

But his cheek suddenly felt a sting.

Pei Manman hadn’t used face cream before, he started to smell the creamy scent, and he thought it smelled really good, but it seemed like there were needles hidden in it, it actually stung his face.

“Aunt… it hurts, it hurts a little.”

Even so, he didn’t move to dodge, he obediently stood there, just quietly reporting his feelings.

Ling Yue immediately blew on it for him, although it didn’t do much to relieve the pain, she then explained, “This is called face cream, it’s used to protect your skin.”

“The wind outside is very cold, right? Slowly, your face has been dried out by the wind, so it hurts a little when you put it on.”

“It won’t hurt after you apply it a few more times, then it won’t hurt even when you’re in the wind, don’t worry.”

Pei Manman blinked his eyes.

Although he didn’t like being hurt, he was willing to believe Ling Yue.

“Okay, let’s go eat cake, there’s strawberry cake today, do you like it?”

Hearing about strawberry cake, the sting on his cheek instantly dissipated, his blinking eyes had a bit of watery anticipation, Pei Manman shyly but firmly nodded.

“Yeah… I like it.”

“That’s great, let’s go eat cake now.”

When Ling Yue led Pei Manman out of the bathroom, they bumped into Lu Shiqi who was just coming downstairs.

Lu Shiqi had been sulking all afternoon, his expression was still sour, and he looked disdainful.

But when his cold gaze swept over Pei Manman, it was instantly replaced by an unconcealed shock.

The timid and poor little ghost from this morning was gone.

Now Pei Manman’s cheeks were pink and white, clean and bright, like a peach.

He was wearing a fluffy goose-yellow new outfit, his eyes were dark and bright, his expression was natural and relaxed, with a touch of naive cuteness.

Lu Shiqi almost didn’t recognize him.