A Warm and Cute Strike (GL) - Chapter 4

The morning breeze drifted through the open window and into the room.

It was a gorgeously decorated, pink-hued bedroom. A gentle gust lightly brushed aside the pink mosquito netting draped over the European-style princess bed in the center of the room.

The child sleeping on the bed rolled over, her small pink fists tucked beside her face, pressing into her cute baby fat. Because she was a restless sleeper, the sheets were wrapped tightly around her body. Her slightly curly, shoulder-length hair was scattered across the headboard, making her look like a sleeping little mermaid.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of violent knocks shattered the silence, and the “little mermaid” jolted awake. She blinked, rubbing her eyes sleepily with her tiny hands as she let out a small yawn.

“Xiang Qingnuan, still not up?! The sun is practically burning your backside! I’m working myself to death all morning while you’re just taking it easy!”

The bedroom door swung open, and the nanny, Auntie Chen, appeared. Looking exactly like a wicked witch from a fairy tale, she stared with eyes as round as copper coins, the loose skin on her face trembling from the force of her shouting. “If you don’t get up now, I’m throwing your breakfast away!”

Her words sent a jolt through Xiang Qingnuan, waking her up instantly. She knew the “mean auntie” always kept her word; if she didn’t get up now, she really might not have anything to eat later.

She struggled with her little body and found the sheets were coiled around her again. Not panicking, she skillfully rolled across the large bed; by the time she reached the other edge, she had unraveled herself from the bedding.

Stepping onto the small stool by the bedside, she climbed down from the high bed and ran to the door in her little slippers, looking up at the grim-faced woman.

Auntie Chen glanced at the girl’s nightgown and rolled her eyes. “Go down and eat. Wash your own bowl when you’re done.”

Xiang Qingnuan nodded obediently and smoothed her messy hair before running downstairs. Her breakfast was already set on a small stool next to the dining table.

It was just a bowl of plain white congee.

Xiang Qingnuan sniffed. Following the aroma in the air, she stood on her tiptoes to see the food on the dining table. She knew that was Auntie Chen’s breakfast—besides the same congee, there were golden fried eggs, slightly charred sausages, and steaming hot buns…

She couldn’t help but swallow her saliva as her empty stomach let out a sympathetic growl. She peeked toward the stairs; Auntie Chen hadn’t come down yet, likely busy doing laundry on the third-floor balcony.

She looked at the food on the table, then back at the stairs. Finally, she couldn’t resist. She climbed onto a chair, grabbed two steaming buns, stuffed them into her nightgown pockets, and quickly scrambled back down to the floor to pick up her congee.

The bowl was hot, turning her small hands bright red. she quickly set it back down.

After a moment of hesitation, she climbed back onto the chair, grabbed an empty plate from the table, and set the bowl of congee on top of it. Only then did she lift the plate and run toward the second floor, moving as carefully yet as quickly as she could.

Almost there, almost there…

“What are you doing?”

The little girl froze, nearly spilling the congee in her hands. Auntie Chen was walking down from the third floor. Seeing the girl’s suspicious behavior, she barked out a harsh reprimand.

“The congee is too hot, I want to drink it in my room.” Xiang Qingnuan tried her best to stay calm. She turned around and looked at her, forcing a cute smile.

The smile carried a hint of piteous pleading without a trace of guilt; even the sharp-eyed Auntie Chen was fooled. Not that she felt any pity—she simply felt the child was too clever. Her own granddaughter was older than this girl but couldn’t speak nearly as articulately.

Her eyes flashed with even more disgust as she waved her hand impatiently. “Go, go! Bring the bowl down and wash it yourself when you’re done. If I see you’ve made a mess of that room, you’re in for it!”

“Mhm, I won’t.”

Xiang Qingnuan nodded in promise and hurried forward. Her pockets were in the front; she couldn’t let them be seen.

“Wait!” Auntie Chen called out again.

Xiang Qingnuan paused and turned back nonchalantly. “Does Auntie need something else?”

“Hang the clothes in the washing machine later.”

“Okay.” Xiang Qingnuan nodded obediently.

Only then did Auntie Chen turn and head downstairs. Xiang Qingnuan dashed into her bedroom, set the plate and congee on the floor, and shut the door. She dragged a stool over and—click—locked the door from the inside.

Only then did she finally relax, her body trembling slightly from a mix of nerves and excitement.

She listened for any movement outside. Sure enough, a moment later, thumping footsteps approached her door, and the handle began to rattle.

Xiang Qingnuan quickly covered her ears with her small hands.

Finding the door locked, the woman outside began to curse in a fit of rage. “Open this door! You little brat, learning to steal at such a young age? I’ve never seen such a wicked child!”

Auntie Chen cursed for a while longer. She didn’t have her keys on her and was too lazy to go downstairs to get them. Eventually, she gave up and walked away, still grumbling.

Silence returned to the hallway. The little girl finally lowered her hands, moved the congee to her small dining table, and pulled the two buns from her pockets.

The buns weren’t as hot as before, but they still held a bit of warmth and a faint meaty aroma.

Xiang Qingnuan was starving. She tore off pieces of the white bread and stuffed them into her mouth, but her expression wasn’t as happy as it had been when she ate the sugar cakes yesterday.

She chewed with her head down, mumbling something incoherently.

“I’m not a bad child!” she suddenly shouted toward the door.

Large teardrops rolled from her eyes, sliding down her cheeks and into her mouth, tasting bitter and salty. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, took another bite of the bun, and repeated stubbornly:

“I’m not a bad child…”

Finally, she finished the “stolen” bun with her congee and hid the remaining one with the sugar cakes from yesterday.

She went into the bathroom to wash her face, cleaning away the tear tracks and the sniffles. Then, she walked over to the fish tank to feed her pet. This was a birthday gift from her father. She had promised him she would take good care of it, and she always did.

“Fishy, you have to eat well. I won’t let you go hungry.” The girl tapped the transparent tank, watching the little goldfish blow bubbles. A smile finally returned to her face.

The chubby fish swam around the glass tank, its body a brilliant, shimmering gold. It didn’t eat the food floating on the surface; instead, it swam through the water plants toward the finger the girl had placed against the glass.

Under the girl’s watchful eyes, the fish “kissed” her fingertip through the glass.

Xiang Qingnuan laughed happily. She traced the tank with her finger as if stroking the goldfish, and the little fish cooperated, pressing its large head against the spot, appearing remarkably intelligent.

“Fishy, you seem to have become prettier!” Xiang Qingnuan rested her chin in her hands, leaning in close to look.

The little fish seemed to get shy, hiding among the water plants and peeking out at her.

“Are you being shy?” Xiang Qingnuan burst into laughter, her sweet, milky voice full of joy.

As she laughed, her expression suddenly turned lonely. “Tell me, when will Mommy come back? And Daddy too… I haven’t seen him in so long.”

As if it understood, the goldfish swam out from the plants and touched the glass with its fin, as if comforting her.

However, her loneliness lasted only a moment before she smiled again. “Fishy, let me tell you—Sister Wen taught me how to use Weibo yesterday. Now when I miss Mommy and Daddy, I can see them there!”

She grabbed her tablet and opened her following list. The updates were still from yesterday, but she was still happy. “Look, this is Daddy! He’s smiling so happily, so I’m happy too…”

In the room, the little girl and her goldfish chattered away in “child-talk,” as if they had endless things to say.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The rude pounding on the door started again, making Xiang Qingnuan jump.

“Xiang Qingnuan, are you opening this door or not? I’m counting to three. If you don’t open it by then, I won’t be so easy to talk to once I get in!”

Auntie Chen’s angry voice rang out, and she began to count.

“One!”

“Two!”

Before she could reach three, Xiang Qingnuan heard the metallic jingle of keys—Auntie Chen was looking for the spare!