A Villainous Childhood Sweetheart At Four And A Half - Chapter 10

Everything Ning Song had experienced in the past told her that no matter what, she should never easily hold expectations toward other people.

The closest people in the world to anyone were none other than their parents. But after Ning Song’s parents divorced, her mother had resolutely chosen to take her older brother and leave, showing not the slightest reluctance to part with Ning Song.

She was left to her father, and after the divorce, her father’s temper became stranger and stranger. The only things he left on Ning Song’s body were increasingly severe injuries and scoldings.

Even parents, the people with the closest relationship to her, could not give Ning Song the response she hoped for.

Let alone anyone else.

But perhaps Pei Hanying meant something a little different to her, so when Ning Song asked that question just now, it was still hard to avoid carrying a bit of expectation toward her.

She longed to receive Pei Hanying’s approval.

So after hearing Pei Hanying’s reply, Ning Song’s lashes trembled. Her dark jade-green pupils were hidden by more than half, shielding the mist that rose in her cat eyes.

Somewhat embarrassed, she released the corner of Pei Hanying’s clothes she had been holding and lowered her eyes to stare at the snowfield marked by a trail of footprints.

The little girl worked hard to calm her tone and said softly, “I’m sorry.”

Ning Song’s heart, which had originally been beating a little fast, was drenched through by a basin of cold water. It fell wetly into her chest, leaving only the faintest rise and fall.

She had known it. She should not have expected anything.

Only, her heart seemed to have fallen ill. Icy snowflakes had drifted into her body and were about to freeze her heart solid.

Pei Hanying looked at her, wilted like a tiny sprout, and began reflecting on whether what she had said just now had been too much.

A few seconds later, she hesitantly asked, “Ning Song, are you okay?”

Hearing her own name, Ning Song reacted half a beat slowly. She lifted her head to look at Pei Hanying and forced out a smile.

She answered, “Miss, I’m fine. Should we go back now?”

Pei Hanying looked at the somewhat fake smile on the little girl’s face and lightly furrowed her brows.

Although Ning Song was beautiful, and even her fake smile looked soft and cute, in Pei Hanying’s eyes, the other girl’s smile looked rather ugly.

She was already good at disguising her emotions at such a young age. As expected of the little villain.

And even her way of addressing Pei Hanying had changed. Sure, she was very “fine.”

After meeting Ning Song’s gaze, Pei Hanying watched the little girl lower her head again.

Pei Hanying thoughtfully wondered if she was unhappy because of what she had said just now.

The words she wanted to explain reached her lips, but when she thought back to her ultimate goal, Pei Hanying still swallowed them down again.

Her goal was to put distance between herself and Ning Song, to make sure the child stopped always leaning toward her.

Ning Song’s reaction now should be exactly what she wanted.

After thinking this through, Pei Hanying pretended not to see Ning Song’s low spirits and followed along with what Ning Song had just said.

“Mm. Let’s go back.”

Pei Hanying’s move was indeed effective. For the entire afternoon, as she wandered around the Pei family’s huge living room, no matter what noise she made, Ning Song’s figure did not appear beside her again.

She had asked Xia Ting and learned that Ning Song had stayed in her room the whole time without going out.

As long as the two of them kept this kind of distance, then after Ning Song recovered from her injuries and returned to the Ning family, Pei Hanying would be able to cut off her relationship with Ning Song. The two of them would no longer have any unnecessary involvement.

Pei Hanying ignored the strange little feeling that had appeared in her heart and did not want to explore what that feeling came from.

Very soon, she shifted her attention and focused on other things.

By evening, when they ate dinner, they each ate their own food.

When Pei Hanying encountered dishes she did not like, she swallowed them down with a frown.

Ning Song, meanwhile, did not speak at all. The dining table seemed extremely quiet.

Pei Yuan also noticed that something was a little off. After glancing at Pei Hanying, she picked up food for each of the two little ones.

Looking at Ning Song’s thin wrist, she reminded her, “Xiao Song, eat a little more. You’re too thin.”

Ning Song nodded obediently.

After dinner, they rested for a while, and Pei Hanying was taken upstairs to bathe.

Thinking of the scene at dinner tonight, Pei Yuan walked to the guest room where Ning Song was staying and knocked on the door. Only after hearing Ning Song’s voice from inside did she push the door open and enter.

The little girl stood not far behind the door. After seeing Pei Yuan come in, she lifted her head and smiled at her.

“Auntie Pei.”

Pei Yuan curved her lips and smiled at her.

She bent down and picked the little girl up in one motion.

The little girl weighed almost nothing in her arms, light as air.

Holding the little girl, Pei Yuan sat down by the bed, placed Ning Song on her lap, and touched the wound on Ning Song’s face.

The medicine prescribed by the family doctor was the best. Now the wounds on her face and body were gradually fading. The gloom that had clung to the child also receded, revealing a bit of cuteness.

Pei Yuan only liked her own family’s child, but facing a child like Ning Song, obedient and pitiful, she still felt heartache.

She rubbed the little girl’s hair, her voice gentle. “Did Xiao Song have a little disagreement with Yingbao today?”

Ning Song sat on Pei Yuan’s lap, feeling the softness of her body, and even her cheeks flushed red.

Auntie Pei felt so soft and so warm.

She also had a very nice scent, like… the scent of a mother.

Thinking this, she pursed her lips and finally shook her head. “No.”

She and Pei Hanying had no real relationship to begin with, so how could there be any talk of having a little disagreement?

But Pei Yuan did not believe this.

After all, she knew the daughter she had given birth to. Today, at the dining table, the two of them had indeed seemed off.

She did not want to make things difficult for the little girl, so she did not continue asking. Instead, she gently smoothed Ning Song’s hair and asked her a few questions.

“Are you used to staying at Auntie’s house?”

Ning Song nodded, then lifted her head and smiled at her. Those cat eyes curved into crescents, carrying a bit more brightness.

Only now did she show a hint of what a child her age should look like.

Pei Yuan asked a few more simple questions, and finally said,

“Yingbao has a bad temper. If she says anything, don’t take it to heart. Just ignore her.”

“Xiao Song, during this time, stay at Auntie’s house and recover properly. You have to be happy every day and not overthink things, understood?”

Ning Song replied softly, “Auntie, I know. There’s nothing bad about Miss.”

“Thank you, Auntie.” She said this with incomparable sincerity.

Hearing the way Ning Song addressed Pei Hanying, Pei Yuan rubbed her forehead.

She held the child and placed her to the side, then bent down and kissed her forehead.

“Then Xiao Song should sleep early tonight. Auntie won’t disturb your rest anymore.”

After saying this, Pei Yuan left the room.

The door was gently closed. Ning Song touched the space between her brows, where warmth still remained.

The corners of her lips lifted lightly, but her nose uncontrollably began to sting. That sour feeling almost corroded her entire body. Somewhat embarrassed, she wiped away the tears spilling from the corners of her eyes.

Auntie Pei was so good. She should not be throwing a tantrum with Pei Hanying even more.

She should be like everyone else in the Pei family, holding Pei Hanying in the palm of her hand.

She sniffled softly, carried a stool to the bathroom, washed her face, and only then lay down to sleep.

The next morning, after waking up early, the only people visible in the Pei home were a few maids cleaning and making breakfast.

Wrapped in thick clothes, Ning Song took advantage of no one paying attention and went to the backyard. After placing the piece of cardboard she held on the ground, she grabbed snow with her small hands and, bit by bit, pressed it firmly together with force.

She was tiny, and once she crouched behind the flower bushes, it was very hard to notice her. On top of that, it was only a little past six now, and the sky was still gray and dim. No one noticed her presence at all.

Her little hands were frozen bright red by the snow. Ning Song breathed warm air into her palms, and after they warmed up a little, she continued shaping the snowman.

More than half an hour later, the little girl’s exposed ears, cheeks, and palms were all red, but her eyes were bright.

She blinked lightly, shaking off the icy snowflakes on her lashes, and carefully lifted the delicate little snowman standing on the cardboard.

The snowman had been shaped to look endearingly silly. Although it was small, it seemed even cuter because of that.

She breathed out a white cloud of air and carried the little snowman into the house, then took the elevator to Pei Hanying’s bedroom door.

Standing at the door, she was still a little nervous. Seeing that the little snowman was about to melt from the warmth, she finally grew a little anxious and gently knocked on the door.

In her daze, Pei Hanying heard the knocking. She rolled over in her blankets, somewhat reluctant to get up.

It’s so warm inside the blanket, she sighed inwardly.

But after the knocking sounded from outside the door, no one came in.

Who was it?

Pei Hanying struggled for a while. In the end, she still sat up, put on her jacket, ran over, and pulled the door open.

After the door was opened, the little girl’s face appeared in front of her, mixed with a bit of icy frost and snow.

Pei Hanying looked at her red cheeks and red hands, and her sleepiness instantly vanished.

Ning Song looked at her and nervously swallowed. Then she held the little snowman out in front of her.

She said in a small voice, “Miss, this is a snowman I made by myself. Do you like it?”

Pei Hanying glanced at the endearingly silly snowman. Compared to the one she and Pei Yuan had built last time, this one was much cuter.

But her gaze still did not remain on it for long. Looking at Ning Song, Pei Hanying suddenly really wanted to sigh.

Ning Song looked at Pei Hanying’s unmoved face, and the bit of joy in her heart instantly sank.

She immediately pressed her lips together, and the hand holding up the snowman also lowered.

Even if it was something she made by hand, Pei Hanying still did not like it?

That made sense. What good things had the Pei family’s young miss not seen before?

She held back the urge to cry. She could no longer hold the cardboard steadily, and the snowman slid downward, about to fall to the floor and be smashed to pieces.

Just like Ning Song, broken and battered, unable to be liked by anyone.

Only, the snowman that had been about to fall to the floor was finally caught by a hand.

Looking up along that hand, Pei Hanying was currently frowning.

Pei Hanying hurriedly caught the falling snowman and shivered from the cold in her palm. Feeling the icy temperature, she stood up. Her other warm hand reached out and cupped one of Ning Song’s ears, slowly driving away the cold from her earlobe.

She had not expected Ning Song to run out in the freezing cold because of something she had said and personally make a snowman. Somewhat exasperated, she said,

“Ning Song, are you an idiot?”