Chapter 119: Little Crybaby

Chapter 119: Chapter 119: Little Crybaby

Deng Yuyuan shrugged. "It’s too late for that. The bed is already dirty, so just make do for the night.

"Don’t think too much. Kids who don’t sleep early won’t grow tall."

Deng Yuyuan gently patted her head. "There’s only the emergency room at night. It won’t do much good to go to the hospital for your injury right now. Once all the doctors are at work tomorrow, I’ll take you to get it checked. Hopefully, it’ll be a sunny day."

"No need, no need," Wu Ying said, her voice rising in anxiety. "It’s my crippled foot that’s injured. It was never going to get better anyway, so just leave it alone. It’ll heal on its own after a while. There’s no need to waste money at the hospital." She said this even as her teeth chattered from the pain, large beads of sweat continuously breaking out on her forehead.

Deng Yuyuan took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her face. "Even a crippled foot needs to be cared for properly. Otherwise, your bones will ache relentlessly every time it’s cloudy or raining.

"Go to sleep. Stop worrying about it. You won’t come up with a good solution no matter how much you think about it, so just stop." She then manually closed Wu Ying’s eyes for her.

Wu Ying didn’t know what to say. She had always been clumsy with words since childhood. Instead, she silently counted her savings in her head, wondering if she could afford to pay for the soiled bedding.

This kind of high-end quilt must be incredibly expensive. She had only seen something like it when she lived with the Bai family. Even the Bai family daughter’s expensive dresses weren’t as soft and smooth as this quilt’s fabric.

Deng Yuyuan stood in place for a moment. She lit a stick of calming incense bought from the farm system’s shop. After confirming that Wu Ying’s breathing had evened out—despite the lingering look of pain on her face—she quietly pushed the door open. She first cleaned up Wu Ying’s house a little, then opened her umbrella and headed toward a public payphone.

She wouldn’t be able to go back tonight and could only ask the Wei family to look after Tuantuan. Deng Yuyuan felt a bit dazed; it seemed that ever since she left Dazhang Village, the already meager amount of time she spent with Tuantuan had been compressed even further.

She looked up at the sky, then hesitated as she glanced back at the alley where Wu Ying was. Should she return to the Wei family tonight and let Wu Ying sleep alone until dawn?

Perhaps she could just come over here early tomorrow morning.

The rain grew heavier.

The nearest payphone was about two kilometers away, so Deng Yuyuan simply ran through the rain.

She made the call, explaining that a neighbor had fallen ill and asking the Wei family to help take care of Tuantuan for the night. Finally, she asked them to call Tuantuan over so she could tell the little girl herself. Otherwise, the child wouldn’t believe that her mother wasn’t coming home tonight.

"Hello, Mommy!" A deafeningly loud child’s voice came through the receiver.

Deng Yuyuan hummed in response. "Yes, Tuantuan. I’m so sorry, but Mommy can’t come home today. My neighbor is sick..."

"Hello! Mommy! Hello!" Tuantuan gripped the receiver with both hands, shouting incredibly loudly right into the mouthpiece. The Wei family hurriedly helped her adjust her posture.

"Tuantuan, hold this next to your ear. Don’t eat it," Wei’s mother whispered to her.

Tuantuan tensed her little face and obediently listened to her mother. "Tuantuan understands! Tuantuan will miss Mommy so much tonight. I’ll even miss you in my dreams! Mommy has to miss Tuantuan too. Your dreams have to be all about Tuantuan."

Hearing Tuantuan’s steady tone, Deng Yuyuan’s heart settled. "Mommy will miss Tuantuan very, very much."

"Also," Tuantuan added, "next time you go out in heavy rain, you have to take Tuantuan with you. You can’t leave Tuantuan behind. Even if I become a little drenched chicken, there should be a big drenched chicken keeping me company.

"But Tuantuan is a good Tuantuan. I didn’t let the little chicks get rained on. Tuantuan carried them inside."

"Okay. Next time Mommy does anything, I’ll take Tuantuan with me," Deng Yuyuan promised.

Tuantuan giggled and said goodnight to her mother before returning the phone. She watched with wide, round eyes as the receiver was placed back on the hook, then asked, "Is Mommy still on the other side of the phone?"

Wei’s mother shook her head, indicating that Deng Yuyuan had already hung up. "Which nanny does Tuantuan want to help you take a bath today?"

Tuantuan licked her little lips, looked up, and without any warning, burst into loud wails. "WAAAAHHH! Mommy doesn’t want Tuantuan anymore! WAAAAH—"

It was the first time the Wei family had seen Tuantuan throw a tantrum. They panicked, completely at a loss as they stood there trying to coax her. Tuantuan showed no intention of stopping until her cries choked up, turning into heaving sobs, though large tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"WAAAAH, goodbye, everyone. Tuantuan is going to find Mommy." Tuantuan’s feet had barely hit the floor, and she had only taken two steps before Mr. Wei scooped her up into his arms.

"I’ll take you to find Mommy, okay?"

"No, WAAAAH! If you do, Mommy will think Tuantuan is a bad kid. Tuantuan has to go find her by herself," Tuantuan said, her voice still thick with tears.

"If you go out right now, Mommy will think you’re a bad kid too," Wei Shu said, spinning anxiously around his father’s legs.

"Hmph! Mommy doesn’t even want Tuantuan anymore, so Tuantuan doesn’t care if Mommy thinks I’m a good kid or not!" Tuantuan continued to struggle with all her might in Mr. Wei’s arms, her solid little body swinging back and forth in midair.

Sure enough, whenever it came to her mother, Tuantuan lost all logic and reason, acting entirely on her own whims.

Wei Shu felt a little jealous, but coaxing Tuantuan was more important right now. Meanwhile, the nanny held a little water bottle, trying to get the exhausted, crying Tuantuan to hydrate.

Wei’s mother comforted her. "Mommy said she’s coming to see you tomorrow. How could she not want you?"

Tuantuan refused to listen. "Today, Mommy left Tuantuan behind at the drop of a hat! Next time, she really won’t want Tuantuan! I don’t want to stay here anymore! From now on, Tuantuan is going to accompany Mommy to class during the day! Tuantuan isn’t going to be obedient anymore! Tuantuan stayed here so obediently, but Mommy still didn’t come to pick Tuantuan up!

"Tuantuan isn’t staying here anymore!" she announced her decision, tears still streaming down her face.

Wei Yin suddenly spoke up. "Tuantuan, your mommy is calling you to the phone." At some point, she had picked up the receiver again and held it to her ear.

Tuantuan hiccuped in surprise. She finally raised her hand, wiping her tears with her sleeve, and grabbed Mr. Wei’s hand, signaling him to bring her over so she could answer the phone.

However, Wei Yin didn’t hand the phone to her. Ignoring Tuantuan’s eager, pleading gaze, she said casually into the receiver, "Tuantuan is throwing a tantrum and says she’s going over to find you."

"No, no, WAAAAH! Tuantuan isn’t!" Tuantuan cried, shaking her head frantically.

"I was just joking," Wei Yin changed her tune. "Tuantuan is being very good and is being taken to take a bath right now. What time are you picking Tuantuan up tomorrow?

"Mhm, okay." Wei Yin hung up the phone. Tuantuan’s eyes darted back and forth, following her every movement.

"If you cry too much, your eyes will be all swollen tomorrow. What should I tell Sister Xiao Yuan when she asks about it?" Wei Yin leaned in and asked Tuantuan.

Tuantuan’s eyes were still fixed on the phone. "Mommy doesn’t love Tuantuan anymore," she mumbled softly, full of grievance.

"It’s okay. I’ll share my mommy with you. You can treat my mommy as your new mommy from now on." Wei Shu’s sudden burst of generosity left Tuantuan completely stunned.