Chapter 10 – The Fan Was for Their Use at Night

“The one beside it is the spicy one. If you like it, take a longer piece, but don’t eat too much.” Xi Youyou patiently instructed, while the elderly couple stood to the side.

Xu Xiu actually wanted to say that they shouldn’t be so extravagant. Even if they had money, this wasn’t how it should be spent!

But she also felt that this was quite nice.

Now, looking at the table full of colorful, aromatic dishes, she was at a loss for words.

She wanted to persuade Xi Youyou not to be so wasteful, but what if speaking up made her unhappy and caused chaos in the household again? What then?

“Mom.” Xi Youyou didn’t notice any of this. After finishing her instructions to the children, she went to serve the rice. While doing so, she said: “The meat wasn’t expensive, so I bought a bit more. Later, I’ll trouble you to help me marinate the leftover meat.”

“As for the ribs, we won’t eat them tomorrow. Let’s make soup with them the day after tomorrow. We’ll add the pork bones too, to help nourish the children.”

There was nothing to object to in this arrangement, so Xu Xiu swallowed the words she was about to say and simply responded: “Alright.”

Dinner was a very pleasant affair. After they finished eating, the children ran around in the courtyard, and Xi Youyou washed the dishes.

By the time she was done, it was already dark.

The two little ones were still in the main hall, enjoying the breeze from the fan.

They wanted to enjoy it a bit longer—because later, they definitely wouldn’t be able to anymore. It would be too hot when it was time to sleep.

Both Da Bao and Xiao Bao were thinking the same thing: the fan should be for Xi Youyou tonight. If tomorrow morning Xi Youyou could bring out the fan again for everyone to use, that would be wonderful.

Of course, Xi Youyou had no idea about the hopes in the children’s hearts.

Because the weather was quite hot, she boiled some hot water while washing the dishes. After finishing up, she came over to call the two children for a bath.

After the past couple of days, Xiao Bao had already become certain that Xi Youyou wouldn’t hit her anymore. She stepped forward and held her hand, ready to go.

She was still small, but she also thought, if there was no fan at night, taking a bath might help her sleep more comfortably.

“Xiao Bao!” Da Bao, clever beyond his years, suddenly seemed to think of something and shouted in alarm.

Xiao Bao turned back to look at him.

“I’ll go find some clothes first. You two wait for me, and we’ll go take a bath together.” Xi Youyou couldn’t understand what secret the siblings were trying to share between themselves. Since she needed to get clothes anyway, she just left first.

Da Bao ran over, grabbed his sister’s tiny hand, and leaned in to whisper into her ear: “She was only being nice to us because she wanted to buy the fan.”

“You silly Xiao Bao! Now that she’s already bought it, who’s to say she won’t beat us up during bath time? You’re still going?”

Da Bao didn’t really understand what it meant to have ulterior motives. He only knew that Xi Youyou had already achieved her goal—the fan had been bought and brought home.

Which meant… she might now show her true colors.

When Xiao Bao heard that, her little brain started to turn things over. The more she thought about it, the more her body gave a small shiver.

Xi Youyou didn’t know what the siblings were whispering about, but she didn’t bother to ask. After grabbing the clothes, she came out and held their hands, leading them into her room.

The two little ones walked with heavy steps. Xiao Bao would occasionally glance up at Xi Youyou, trying her hardest to convince herself that what her brother said couldn’t be true.

She didn’t think Comrade Xi Youyou was pretending!

Even though they’d mentally prepared themselves, when it was time for the two of them to bathe together, they were still anxious and jittery. Xiao Bao didn’t laugh or play with the water and bubbles like she used to.

“What’s wrong?” Xi Youyou quickly noticed that something was off with the kids.

After days of her consistent efforts, Xiao Bao no longer rejected her as strongly.

So why did they now look like they’d just been frightened again?

She had checked in the mirror—there was nothing dirty on her face.

She was confused. The two children sat in the basin like little quails, heads bowed.

“What’s wrong?” Xi Youyou asked softly, leaning in to kiss Xiao Bao on the cheek. “You can tell me anything.”

Hmm?

The kiss made her cheek feel a little itchy—but it was also really nice.

When Xiao Bao saw Xi Youyou lean down just now, she thought she was about to get hit. Instead, she got kissed. Her little face flushed red.

She thought about it, then blurted out what had been on her mind. “Comrade Xi Youyou, Grandpa and Grandma already gave you money to buy the fan. Why are you still being so nice to us?”

Huh?

Xi Youyou was completely baffled by Xiao Bao’s question.

What kind of question was that?

“What does that have to do with the fan?”

She asked casually, but the two kids didn’t answer her again. So she let it go and focused on carefully washing Xiao Bao’s hair and cleaning her body.

Then she did the same for Da Bao.

After drying them off and putting on their lotion, she dressed them, and brought them to Xu Xiu and Jiang Fenglin’s room.

Everything was done smoothly and naturally, leaving Da Bao and Xiao Bao a little stunned.

Especially Xiao Bao.

As she watched Xi Youyou carry them onto Grandpa and Grandma’s bed and then get up to leave, she tugged on her brother’s sleeve and whispered: “Brother… didn’t you say Comrade Xi Youyou was going to hit us?”

“She will!”

“Maybe she just hasn’t decided where to hit us yet—or what part to hit.”

Da Bao’s face was dead serious. He couldn’t believe that Xi Youyou would have absolutely no reaction. She must be plotting something in her heart.

“She won’t.” Xiao Bao pouted. She didn’t even know where the certainty came from, but she felt it deep down—Xi Youyou was no longer the same mother from before.

“She—” Da Bao was about to argue back again when Xi Youyou walked into the room carrying the electric fan. She found a suitable spot, plugged in the power strip, and set up the fan for them.

Watching her bend down to adjust the fan, her face full of gentle care, Xiao Bao’s heart thumped twice in her chest.

Comrade Xi Youyou was so gentle… Wouldn’t it be wonderful to sleep in her arms?

A touch of longing quietly bloomed in Xiao Bao’s heart.

Once Xi Youyou finished setting everything up, she looked up and saw the two children staring at her in disbelief, their eyes filled with confusion and surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

Xi Youyou sat down on the edge of the bed. Da Bao, feeling the cool breeze from the rotating fan, wasn’t used to it. He lowered his head slightly.

“Why did you bring the fan over?”

Xi Youyou chuckled as soon as she heard the question. “It’s for you guys to use. If I don’t bring it over, what’s the point of just leaving it in my room?”

“It’s probably really hot when two people sleep together at night. I sleep alone, so I’m fine. I don’t need the fan.”

Hearing Da Bao’s question, and thinking back on everything that had happened today, Xi Youyou more or less figured out what was going on. But she didn’t say it outright.

She smiled softly, watching the two little ones listen to her explanation with utterly baffled expressions.

Seizing the moment, she gave Xiao Bao’s cheek a gentle pinch—it was so soft and bouncy.

So satisfying.

No wonder so many of her friends used to love petting cats and said it felt amazing. Turns out, pinching babies was just as satisfying!

The two children were still sitting stiffly on the bed.

They hadn’t quite processed what Xi Youyou had just said when she suddenly pinched them.

But she didn’t pinch hard—it didn’t hurt. It wasn’t a punishment.

“Brother.” Xiao Bao murmured, finding that being pinched by Xi Youyou actually felt kind of nice: “did we maybe misunderstand Comrade Xi Youyou? She doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”

Her voice was small. When Da Bao heard it, the two of them instinctively turned their heads to look at the fan sitting on the cabinet.

“That can’t be right…”

Da Bao’s voice dragged out, full of doubt. “This doesn’t seem like her.”