Chapter 100: Little Baby

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Little Baby

"The deliveryman is an old acquaintance of yours and Zhang Ci Hao. To think he’d screw you over like this," the system noted.

It turned out the woman was named Niu Qing. She had taken a liking to a deliveryman from Baitu Town, but her family looked down on her boyfriend. Her relationship with her family had once dropped to the freezing point.

After failing the college entrance exam, she heard that one of her friends had stolen someone else’s identity to go to university, and she got a wicked idea.

When choosing a target to replace, she specifically picked someone going to an out-of-province university. Even if the victim tried to verify what happened, it would take a lot of effort, and they would most likely give up.

Once she established a foothold in Beijing, she would call her boyfriend over so they could build a life together. Because her family and her boyfriend had worked together to pull off the identity theft, their attitude toward the deliveryman softened. As long as the young couple could make something of themselves in Beijing, her family would no longer oppose their relationship.

Her plan would have likely succeeded—had she targeted anyone other than Deng Yuyuan.

Unfortunately for her, heaven had eyes.

Deng Yuyuan didn’t plan to intervene in what remained. The woman’s dismal ending was already set in stone, and Deng Yuyuan had no desire to dirty her own hands.

There was a cotton candy vendor by the roadside. Each serving was about the size of a fist. Since the vendor used plain white sugar, the color couldn’t be changed.

Deng Yuyuan bought one to try and found it tasted quite good. She paid extra to have the vendor make four double-sized ones. Since he was about to close his stall, he not only threw in an extra small one for free, but he also made the four large ones nearly three times the normal size.

Seeing that Deng Yuyuan was pretty and slender, the vendor urged her to hurry home after buying, warning her not to stay out after dark since the sun had already set.

Deng Yuyuan thanked him and ate another one before walking back to the Wei Family’s home, carrying two cotton candies in each hand. Thankfully, she had the foresight to order the supersized versions; by the time she arrived, they had shrunk but were still slightly larger than a fist.

As soon as the nanny opened the door, Deng Yuyuan spotted a tiny bundle sitting on the threshold.

The nanny said, "Ms. Deng, Tuantuan refuses to eat. She said she has to wait for you to come back. We even brought her food over to the doorway, but she still won’t eat."

"I’m sorry. Tuantuan has caused you trouble," Deng Yuyuan said, bowing apologetically.

The nanny hurriedly supported her and lowered her voice. "Ms. Deng, please don’t be like this. We completely understand.

"The young masters haven’t eaten either. They said it wouldn’t be fair, so... aside from the old master and the old madam having a few sips of porridge, no one has started dinner. Please don’t mind us for spoiling the children."

Sitting on the threshold, Tuantuan had her back to Deng Yuyuan, showing only her messy hair. It was obvious the child had played like crazy that afternoon.

Deng Yuyuan stepped forward and held a cotton candy in front of her. "Tuantuan, why are you pouting? Who made our little darling angry?"

Before Tuantuan could express her anger, her little tongue darted out to lick her lips.

"What is this?" she thought. "I’ve never seen it before. I want to eat it."

"Hmph, so you still remember you have a little darling? It’s already dark!" Tuantuan slapped her own thigh to show just how angry she was.

Mommy had promised to pick her up, but it was already dark! It was time for dinner!

Aunt Wei had even told her to eat first, saying that if Mommy didn’t come, Tuantuan could sleep there. That had scared Tuantuan so much she didn’t even dare to eat.

"It’s my fault for being late. Can Tuantuan forgive Mommy this once? Hmm? Come here and let Mommy kiss your little cheeks."

Deng Yuyuan waved the cotton candy in her hand. Tuantuan’s eyes followed it like a magnet, though she still remembered to tap both sides of her face. "You have to kiss both sides, and my forehead too."

After receiving her kisses, the little darling’s anger finally dissipated. She led her mother inside to hand out the cotton candy. Since Deng Yuyuan was worried it would melt quickly and knew it wouldn’t take up much room in their stomachs, she decided to just let the kids eat it before dinner.

The two Wei brothers got one each, Tuantuan got one, and Mommy got one.

Holding her cotton candy, Deng Yuyuan smiled and said to Tuantuan, "Let’s wash the cotton candy before eating it. Mommy brought it from outside without any packaging, so it’s a little dirty."

"Okay!" Tuantuan really liked this fluffy white cotton candy. She closed her newly opened mouth and called out to the two brothers, "Brother, Xiaoqi, let’s go wash them."

Hearing the differing forms of address, Deng Yuyuan raised an eyebrow.

Mrs. Wei shook her head at her. Deng Yuyuan understood immediately; this was probably Wei Shu’s idea again.

Wei Qi said, "Tuantuan, I don’t think cotton candy can be washed."

Deng Yuyuan chimed in, "It’s fine, Tuantuan. Go wash it by yourself."

Tuantuan looked at Wei Shu. His face was a mixture of conflicting emotions. Finally, he took a deep breath and blurted, "Your mom is tricking you! If you wash it, you won’t have anything to eat!"

Tuantuan shouted back, "Your mom is tricking you! Hmph, I’ll go wash it myself!"

Having played there all afternoon, Tuantuan already knew where to wash her hands. She trotted over to turn on the faucet.

Grandpa Wei coughed, and Grandma Wei couldn’t help but cough as well. Soon, a chorus of polite coughing echoed through the room.

Deng Yuyuan sat down gracefully, still finding the time to reassure everyone, "It’s fine. I’ll coax her later."

Those words earned her several glares and eye rolls.

"Is this how you act as a mother?" the system asked.

Deng Yuyuan touched her nose. "Don’t look at their outward disapproval. Aside from the two kids, not a single adult has spoken up to stop me."

Adults were all secretly wicked.

She laid her cards on the table: she had bought four cotton candies just so she could tease Tuantuan!

A mournful wail soon erupted from the sink.

Tuantuan ran back, sobbing and sniffling, holding a bare, dripping wet stick in her hand.

Wei Shu used a small handkerchief to wipe her eyes. "I told you, your mom is a big meanie. She was tricking you."

Tuantuan cried even harder. "Your mom is the meanie! I don’t want you to wipe my tears anymore!"

Tuantuan stepped back a few paces, then remembered something. She snatched the small handkerchief from Wei Shu’s hand, threw herself into Deng Yuyuan’s arms, and scrambled onto her mother’s lap on all fours. Finding a comfortable spot to sit, she demanded, "Mommy is bad! Bad Mommy has to wipe Tuantuan’s tears."

"WAAAH, Tuantuan really isn’t your little darling anymore. You don’t have Tuantuan in your heart."

Deng Yuyuan offered her own cotton candy to Tuantuan with one hand, but Tuantuan was no longer craving it. With her other hand, Deng Yuyuan tried to wipe the girl’s tears with the handkerchief, but Tuantuan refused that too, shaking her puffy little face like a rattle drum.

Left with no other choice, Deng Yuyuan spread her hands open, waiting to see what this little darling actually wanted to do.

Tuantuan raised her sleeves, which were stained black from playing, but paused. Instead, she used her collar to wipe away her tears. Then, she pressed her left ear tightly against her mother’s chest. "I’m going to check if Mommy still has Tuantuan in her heart right now!"

The rhythm of Deng Yuyuan’s heartbeat resonated in Tuantuan’s ear. Deng Yuyuan’s voice also sounded right beside her. "So, is Tuantuan done checking?"

Tuantuan... Tuantuan was already lost in the soothing sound.

Deng Yuyuan put down the handkerchief, tore off a small piece of cotton candy, and fed it to Tuantuan. Tuantuan obediently opened her little mouth and ate it.

"That’s not fair," Wei Shu muttered, complaining to Wei’s mother in a low voice. "She also called her own mom a bad mom, but she wouldn’t let me say it and even yelled at me."