Chapter 39
The mont they stepped out of the residential building, the scorching heat of sumr hit them head-on.
Liu Wenjie looked up at the sky, then turned to glance at the adorably clueless little Xia Ying behind him.
"Want an ice cream?"
Little Xia Ying nodded gently.
He led the little brat to the supermarket downstairs in the estate, and the two of them leaned over the freezer scanning for targets.
Liu Wenjie grabbed an Arsenal; little Xia Ying picked a Green Tongue.
Ten yuan down, eight left.
Before they even stepped outside, the two of them tore open the wrappers, front and back, and tossed them into the nearby trash can.
Who knew little Xia Ying would suddenly shout, mumbling a cry for soone: "Ah! Wah-wah, Older Brother~ help~ it's stuck~"
Liu Wenjie realized her tongue had frozen to the popsicle.
Speechless: "You really are a genius. Don't yank it—wait a bit and it'll co unstuck."
Little Xia Ying was obedient, and soon the popsicle lted enough for her to free herself.
Covering her mouth for a mont, she then started eating again.
Perhaps he really had lost his childish heart; Liu Wenjie watched the other kids outside the estate chasing and laughing, endlessly climbing up and down a pillar, never getting bored.
He truly couldn't play that childishly anymore.
Thinking like an adult: "Today there's a market, right? It's not far—let's go wander around?"
Little Xia Ying had no objections; wherever Liu Wenjie went, she went.
Trotting close behind Liu Wenjie, today's market was still fairly lively, crowded and noisy.
Yet not long after Liu Wenjie and little Xia Ying entered the market, because there were so many adults and Xia Ying was so timid, Liu Wenjie turned his head and found she had fallen quite far behind.
The little brat was weaving through the crowd to catch up.
"Older Brother Wenjie, slow down... there are so many people, I can't catch you."
Liu Wenjie wolfed down his popsicle in three bites: "Hold onto my shirt."
"Mm!" She grabbed a corner of Liu Wenjie's clothes tightly, and the older boy slowed his pace so she wouldn't get left behind.
The two began looking left and right, seeing what fun things the market had today.
They found a goldfish stall; the two squatted to look, little Xia Ying eating her popsicle, full of curiosity.
They passed a seafood stall, and little Xia Ying pointed at the half-dead shrimp.
"Older Brother Wenjie, look, those shrimp look like they're about to die."
The vendor waved his hand: "Shoo, shoo, kid, don't talk nonsense, these are all live shrimp! Jumping around lively!"
Little Xia Ying ducked behind Liu Wenjie in fright, making the grown man feel guilty when he saw such a cute brat: "Uncle wasn't scolding you, but if you say that I can't sell them. Here, take a little shrimp to play with."
Liu Wenjie chuckled.
Halfway along they passed a stall selling hair clips, ribbons, and knick-knacks; little Xia Ying's eyes lit up.
Her feet might as well have been tied to a statue—she couldn't move, dazzled by the dazzling array.
Liu Wenjie asked: "What do you like?"
Little Xia Ying looked at Liu Wenjie and, for the first ti today, smiled: "I'll just look, Older Brother Wenjie. This shop has lots of things I've never seen."
Seeing how much she liked them, Liu Wenjie wanted to buy her one.
But the mont little Xia Ying heard he was going to buy sothing, she shyly pushed him away: "No, no, I really just want to look—let's go further in."
They passed a grilled pure-at-sausage stall; this ti little Xia Ying was so greedy she couldn't walk, pupils sparkling.
Compared to novel little trinkets, little Xia Ying clearly preferred food.
This ti Liu Wenjie bought her one and she didn't refuse, only saying: "Thank you, Older Brother Wenjie. When I grow up and earn money I'll buy you yummy food too."
"What'll you buy ?"
"Anything you want—I'll buy you whatever you want."
Liu Wenjie munched the sausage: "Feels like a huge promise."
Little Xia Ying blinked, thinking she'd misheard: "Promise? What promise?"
"Nothing. I'm just saying you've still got a long way to grow up."
They were nearly out of money, but at the very end they saw a stall selling giant lotus leaves. No idea what they were for—cooking maybe?
But Liu Wenjie thought it was novel—such a big leaf.
Bought it!
Money spent, they left the market only to find the sun blazing everywhere.
They randomly found a shady spot in front of a closed shop and sat down.
Little Xia Ying held the lotus leaf's stem with both hands like an umbrella, and the leaf shaded the two of them from wind and rain—even though the sky was clear.
"Why'd you buy a leaf, Older Brother Wenjie?"
Liu Wenjie countered: "Don't you think it's huge?"
"It's really big."
"Exactly. Boys like big stuff—chs, pets, ga bosses, the bigger the better."
Little Xia Ying didn't really get what he was saying, but she laughed anyway.
"What are you laughing at? Questioning my taste?" he asked.
Little Xia Ying quickly shook her head, happily rising on tiptoe, looking down at her toes in her sandals: "No, I'm just happy when I'm with Older Brother Wenjie—I want to stay with you every day."
Liu Wenjie opened the sunflower seeds and gave her so, watching the pedestrians on the road co and go for a long while.
Liu Wenjie suddenly asked: "I saw your mom ca this morning?"
Little Xia Ying, munching seeds and holding the slightly wilted lotus leaf, replied: "She ca, but I didn't open the door. I didn't see Mom."
"You didn't see her? Why? It must've been hard for her to co see you, right?"
Little Xia Ying swallowed the seeds and looked at the ground, her voice soft: "Dad and Mom don't like anymore—I can feel they don't want around, so I didn't see them. I don't want to make them unhappy because of ."
Liu Wenjie sighed; this brat was surprisingly mature emotionally. Even in kindergarten she had been the sa, always thinking of others early on, just unable to say it.
"What about you—do you want to see her or not?"
The question stumped little Xia Ying. She didn't answer for a long ti, finally turning to Liu Wenjie for help: "If Older Brother Wenjie were , what would you do?"
"?" Liu Wenjie laughed without hesitation: "As long as I keep my basic principles, I'd do whatever makes happy. I wouldn't let sothing like this bother —my own happiness is the most important."
Little Xia Ying stared at Liu Wenjie, eyes dazed.
After half a minute she softly said: "Older Brother Wenjie... you took the whole lotus leaf—I'm getting sunburned. Let's find another place to sit."
Liu Wenjie grinned wickedly: "I think it's pretty cool under the leaf—just endure it for a bit."
She pleaded: "Just give a tiny bit..."
"No."
[Congratulations, Host has gained 1 Stamina]
"Give a little."
Baked by the sun, little Xia Ying had to snuggle close to Liu Wenjie, grabbing a tiny corner of the wilted lotus leaf to shield her head—only then did it feel better.
Liu Wenjie admired his foresight: "See, this is the benefit of big things—big enough to shade two people. Worth every yuan."
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