After everyone had left, Sister Wang sat down to help Xiao Yu with her physical therapy. As she worked, she asked, “So, am I done after today?”

Xiao Yu shook her head. “Not if you’re willing. I’d like you to come with me when I move. I’d like to keep you on until I’ve fully recovered.” She gave Sister Wang a soft smile, then let her gaze drift toward the window, eyes unfocused, as she passively allowed the movements.

404, you’ve really left me in a mess this time, haven’t you?

Teacher Yi already has half the battlefield under her control—how am I supposed to pluck this glorious white lotus out of the way?

And the piano… when can I start playing again? What if I have no talent at all? Then what? Ughhh…

Xiao Yu’s mind spiraled with frustration. Step one: move into the Ji household.

—

The next day, Ji Yu happily dragged Ji Xuan into the hospital room. She looked up at Xiao Yu and said cheerfully, “Mommy, Auntie Ban is helping you with your discharge paperwork.”

Xiao Yu nodded and asked, “Has Miss Ban gotten married yet?”

Ji Yu shook her head. “Nope, not yet!”

Xiao Yu said gently, “If she’s not married, you should call her Sister Ban, not Auntie Ban.”

Ji Yu frowned. “But she’s almost thirty! Teacher Yi said that once someone’s over twenty, they’re an auntie. Hmph, I’m not going to lie!”

Xiao Yu gave her a serious nod. “Then can you promise to never lie for the rest of your life?” Calling every woman over twenty ‘auntie’? That’s a great way to make people dislike you before you even walk in the door.

Ji Yu puffed out her chest proudly. “Of course I can!” Then she turned to Xiao Ruoguang and asked, “Can you?”

Xiao Ruoguang answered honestly, “Nope! I’ve already lied before.”

Ji Yu pointed a finger at him and turned to Ji Xuan accusingly. “Daddy, he’s not a good kid anymore! Teacher Yi said good kids aren’t supposed to lie.”

Xiao Yu smoothly jumped in. “Yesterday, Xiaoguang drank the soup Uncle Sun from next door made himself. He didn’t like it but told Uncle Sun it was delicious.”

Ji Yu looked scandalized. “Lying is wrong!”

Xiao Yu nodded. “It is. But Uncle Sun was really thankful. If Xiaoguang had told him it tasted bad, Uncle Sun would’ve been really hurt. Eventually, he realized on his own that the soup wasn’t great—but he was still grateful that Xiaoguang cared enough to be kind about it. That way, he wasn’t as sad.”

Ji Yu’s eyes widened. “Lying… can be a way of caring about someone?”

On the side, Sun Hao stared speechlessly at Xiao Yu, who didn’t seem to care at all and continued, “That’s right. That’s why people say not to lie—because lying means you’re being naughty. But sometimes, a kind lie can actually make you a better, more thoughtful child.”

It was the first time Ji Yu had ever heard such a thing. She looked shocked. “Then… what exactly is a kind lie?”

Xiao Yu smiled. “Like how Xiaoguang told Uncle Sun his soup was tasty so Uncle Sun wouldn’t feel bad. Or like how you could call Miss Ban ‘Sister’ Ban to make her happy.”

Ji Yu paused, then gave in. “Alright, I get it. From now on, if they’re not married, I’ll call them ‘sister.’” She tilted her head curiously. “But then how did Uncle Sun find out his soup wasn’t good?”

Xiao Yu gave her a warm, motherly smile and replied, “I told him. It really was absolutely awful.”

Ji Xuan: “…”

Ji Yu: “…”

Ji Xuan coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. “Did you already packed your things?”

Xiao Yu turned to look at him and said flatly, “Can’t you check for yourself? Do I look like I’m in any condition to help you right now?”

Ji Xuan: “…”

He turned to Sister Wang. “Could you help pack her things? Xiao Yu said she wants to bring you along. My place is a bit far, so we’ll increase your pay. Until Xiao Yu’s recovered, we’re counting on you.”

Sister Wang was easygoing and nodded enthusiastically. “Alright! There’s not much, most of it was donated by kind people from the city. It’s easy to pack, but what about those bottles and jars? Do you still need them?”

“Bottles and jars?” Ji Xuan asked, confused.

Xiao Ruoguang immediately raised his hand. “They’re mine, they’re mine! Before Daddy came, we didn’t have any money! The cleaning lady said if I collect 50 empty bottles, she’d give me 2 yuan. I’m only 14 bottles short of 50!”

Ji Yu frowned and said, “Silly, she tricked you into picking up trash!”

Xiao Ruoguang tilted his head and asked, “What does ‘picking up trash’ mean?”

Ji Yu put her hands on her hips and looked up as she explained, “It means picking up things other people threw away!”

Xiao Ruoguang thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. “Then I’m not picking up trash.”

Ji Yu was taken aback. How is that not picking up trash? She turned curiously to Ji Xuan and asked, “Daddy, isn’t collecting bottles picking up trash?”

Ji Xuan didn’t answer her. Instead, he looked at the pile of bottles under the bed and asked Xiao Ruoguang, “Where did you get all these from?”

Xiao Ruoguang smiled sweetly and said, “I went to other rooms and asked people for bottles they were about to finish. I’d ask if they still wanted them, and if they didn’t, they’d give them to me. A lot of them didn’t want them anymore. I rinse the empty bottles and put them in a big bag. Once I have fifty, I trade them with the auntie for money. That’s not trash collecting, right?”

Ji Xuan patted his head silently. Then he turned to Xiao Yu, his gaze cold. “Why didn’t you call me earlier?”

Xiao Yu replied calmly, “Because I couldn’t.”

Ji Xuan: “…” Was that little joke worth it? Feeling proud of yourself?

Just then, Ban Zhenye walked in. “Mr. Ji, everything’s ready. The car is waiting outside. Should we head out?”

Ji Xuan turned to Auntie Wang and said, “Forget about the empty bottles—just tidy up the rest. I’ll take her out first.”

Auntie Wang acknowledged with a quick nod, and Ji Xuan told Ban Zhenye to ask the hospital for a wheelchair. Ban Zhenye left to do that.

Xiao Yu then said, “Why bother with a wheelchair? You can just carry me—I’m really light now anyway.”

“You want me to carry you?” Ji Xuan was genuinely surprised. He knew how stubborn Xiao Yu could be. If she weren’t so headstrong, she wouldn’t have raised a child alone for three years without ever looking back.

“Of course I do,” Xiao Yu said with a grin. “Getting carried out looks way cooler. A wheelchair is way too lame.”

Ji Xuan said, “…You do know I don’t hit women, right?” Honestly, that line was just asking for a smack.

Xiao Yu nodded. “Of course.” Then, with a mischievous glint in her eye, she added, “But surely you don’t refuse to carry women too, right?”

That double entendre left Ji Xuan speechless.

Seeing his blank expression, Xiao Yu feigned surprise. “Wait—do you only carry men?”

Ji Xuan: “…” Damn it. With a resigned sigh, he stepped forward and scooped her up, telling Auntie Wang to watch the kids.

On the way out, Ji Xuan asked, “Do you regret it?”

“Regret what?”

Ji Xuan said bluntly, “Divorcing me—was that a mistake?”

He waited for a response, but after a few seconds of silence, he looked down and saw Xiao Yu staring at him in shock. Then she finally spoke:

“You’ve got some nerve.”

Ji Xuan’s immediate thought was: Hold it together. You can’t just toss her out—what would you tell the kids?

Then, unable to stop himself, he asked with a hint of masochism, “Do you… want to get back together?”

Xiao Yu replied instantly, “In your dreams. No bouquet of roses, no getting down on one knee, no shouting ‘Xiao Yu, I love you!’ three times, no grand proposal with heartfelt vows—and you expect a remarriage? Not a chance!”

Ji Xuan: “…” Still can’t throw her out. The kids are watching.

=^_^=