Chapter 411 - 358: Doll
Chapter 411: Chapter 358: Doll
Ai Wenli looked up, her cheeks flushed. ’I’m so pathetic,’ she thought. She wasn’t usually the shy type, yet her heart would pound and her face would burn whenever she was in front of Tang Qingshan. She glanced at Xiao Man and Hao Hao, her smile gentle.
"Mom, Qingshan and I are of one mind. His thoughts represent mine! Xiao Man and Hao Hao are our family’s sweet treasures—so sensible and cute. I’ll do my best to be a perfect mother and shower them with love!"
Tang Qingshan smiled, giving Ai Wenli an approving look. In response, Ai Wenli’s face grew as red as a ripe apple.
Grandma Tang: "..."
Xiao Man tilted her head to size up Tang Haocheng, who was right beside her, and said, "I think ’sweet treasures’ should be chubby, fair-skinned, sweet-smelling little cuties. Hao Hao is like a little old man. How does he look like a ’sweet treasure’? He’s not the least bit cute!"
Tang Haocheng, who had been frowning in silent calculation, froze for a second. He gave Xiao Man a light shove. "I’m a little old man? What about you? You’re my ’old’ sister, so you’re definitely not a ’sweet treasure’ either!"
Xiao Man clapped her hands. "Exactly! We’re both grown up and we know everything. You can’t fool either of us. We’re no fun and definitely not cute! No wonder I felt like something was missing at home. We don’t have a lively, adorable little baby! Dad, Mrs. Ai, you should listen to Grandma and hurry up and give us a baby!"
Ai Wenli pressed her lips together and said nothing, genuinely embarrassed this time. Tang Qingshan said, "Wanting a baby is easy, isn’t it? The Overseas Chinese Store is full of pretty dolls that can even blink automatically. You can bathe them and change their clothes. I remember asking you when I took you shopping, and you absolutely refused to get one. Now you want one? Fine, I’ll have Mrs. Ai take you to buy one another day!"
"Those are just plastic dolls, I don’t want one!" Xiao Man pouted.
Hao Hao suddenly remembered something and broke into a wide grin. He reached out and ruffled Xiao Man’s hair. "My ’old’ sister is afraid of plastic dolls! Last time we went to the department store to buy clothes, she suddenly saw two dressed-up plastic mannequins behind a glass door, and it scared her so much she immediately gave them a wide berth..."
Xiao Man playfully punched Hao Hao. "Nobody will think you’re mute if you just keep your mouth shut!"
The others looked at Xiao Man and burst out laughing. Grandma Tang chided her gently, "You silly child, they’re just mannequins. What’s there to be afraid of?"
"I wasn’t scared, I just..." Xiao Man caught a glimpse of Mr. Tang and Mrs. Ai both looking at her, their eyes full of affection. Her heart stirred. She immediately abandoned Hao Hao and ran to Mrs. Ai’s side, shaking her arm and wheedling, "I just don’t like fake dolls! I want a real baby who can talk and laugh and is cute and fun. You have to have one for me!"
Tang Haohao chimed in, "Yeah, have two! I want one too! One for my sister and one for me!"
Grandma Tang was grinning from ear to ear. "I think that’s a great idea! Two it is! Tell your eldest uncle and his wife to hurry up and have them, and Grandma will raise them for you!"
Tang Qingshan: "..."
Ai Wenli: "..."
’What is this? Are they talking about having babies or ordering toys?’
After returning to Beijing from Liaozhou, Xiao Man made a trip to the Gu Mansion, met up with a few of her regular friends, and then started preparing for her journey to G Province. While packing her suitcase, she came across a few new dresses and skirts from Yang Liu’er and Aunt Weiwei. ’I should return the favor,’ she thought, ’and I ought to go see Weiwei, too.’ So she packed some specialties from the Northeast, added a few freshly made pastries, and took a bus to Aunt Weiwei’s clothing store.
Yang Liu’er had given her the address to Weiwei’s home, but it was too far away. Besides, since they were business owners, they might not be home during the day. Going to the clothing store was the safer bet.
Sure enough, Weiwei, his aunt Lu Jianling, and Yang Liu’er were all in the shop. It was Noon, and there weren’t many shoppers in the mall. Weiwei had just woken up from his afternoon nap, his little face all rosy. He ate two of the pastries Aunt Xiao Man had brought but refused to drink any plain water. He said to Xiao Man, "It’s too hot, Aunt Xiao Man. How about I take you to get a cold drink?"
He had such a serious look on his face, even though he was clearly the one who wanted a drink, not just offering to take someone else. Everyone was amused. Xiao Man smiled. "Cold drinks cost money. Are you treating, or am I?"
Weiwei thought for a moment, glanced at his own aunt, then fixed his gaze on Yang Liu’er and said, "Aunt Yang has money. She’ll treat!"
"Why should Aunt Yang treat? Isn’t your aunt the owner? She’s the one with the most money!"
Weiwei shook his head. "My aunt’s money is my aunt’s, but Aunt Yang’s money is Weiwei’s!"
His logic was that if Aunt Yang treated, it was as good as Weiwei treating!
Yang Liu’er had been holding a water bottle, intending to give Weiwei a drink. When he refused, she took a sip herself. But when she heard his declaration, she sprayed the water everywhere, sputtering and coughing. "My money? How did my money become Weiwei’s?"
Weiwei tilted his little chin up, full of confidence. "You said it the other day: ’We shouldn’t waste our money. We have to save it. In the future, it’ll all be Weiwei’s!’"
Yang Liu’er’s jaw dropped. She slapped her thigh. "I’m doomed, I’m doomed! I was just saying that, but this kid actually believed me! Does this mean all my money is going to be his from now on?"
Xiao Man covered her mouth to keep from laughing, while Lu Jianling was doubled over. "Well, who told you to say that? If you didn’t want him to spend it, you should’ve just hidden the money. Why trick him by saying you were saving it all for him? Hahaha... I’m telling you, the kids from our Old Lu Family are very literal; what’s said is said, and they’re not easily fooled!"
Yang Liu’er put a hand to her forehead. "That’s not it... I just thought that toy wasn’t worth so much money, so I was just trying to coax him... Ugh! This has become such a mess. How am I ever going to explain this clearly?"
She reached out and tapped Weiwei’s little nose, chiding, "You little rascal! Does saying it’s yours automatically make it yours?"
Weiwei pounced into Yang Liu’er’s arms like a little tiger, whining playfully as he shouted, "What’s yours is mine! It is mine!"
Yang Liu’er was squatting, and Weiwei’s pounce knocked her right onto the floor. Luckily, the floor was wiped clean every day. She let out a shriek but wasn’t angry at all, quickly protecting Weiwei to keep him from falling. The two of them scrambled up, laughing and roughhousing. Yang Liu’er carefully dusted Weiwei off and straightened his clothes, and Weiwei, in a moment of perceptiveness, asked, "Auntie, did you get hurt? I’m sorry, Weiwei was wrong..."
Seeing Xiao Man watching the two of them, Lu Jianling smiled and said, "Don’t worry! This big one and this little one are always like this; they’re just having fun. I don’t know how it happened, but they just hit it off so well. I raised Weiwei, and he’s rarely clingy, but now he just loves sticking to Liu’er. He wants to eat and sleep with her, and if Liu’er comes home a little late from night school, he’ll even start crying! If Liu’er wasn’t so young, you’d think they were mother and son!"
Xiao Man didn’t know how to respond to Lu Jianling, so she could only give a dry laugh and remain silent. Inwardly, however, her feelings were a bit complicated. ’Yang Liu’er once said that Weiwei was like her son from a past life. The reason he’s so attached to her is obviously because she treats him like her own child, loving him with all her heart. And since the boy is motherless, this sudden, overwhelming maternal love falling from the sky is surely a good thing for a four- or five-year-old. I just hope nothing major happens in Yang Liu’er’s life, especially nothing that would bring trouble or distress to Weiwei.’