Chapter 80: Washing Face

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Washing Face

"Tuantuan, go on over. You can play with Little Guo’er for a bit." Mrs. Deng set her down, a glimmer of hope rising in her heart again. If Bu Guo could accept Tuantuan, it wasn’t impossible for Deng Yuyuan to marry into their family. That way, Little Guo’er would gain a mother to care for her and a younger playmate.

If Bu Jun weren’t already a widower with a daughter, he would actually be a suitable match for Deng Hualing. It was a pity. Lingling was so young; she couldn’t marry an older man on his second marriage. This marriage was the perfect opportunity for Deng Yuyuan to marry up. She would have someone to rely on for the rest of her life, and the Deng family could also rise in status.

If Deng Yuyuan could marry out of her league, it would be her good fortune. With a woman’s intuition, Mrs. Deng felt in her bones that Bu Jun was definitely satisfied with Deng Yuyuan’s looks. It just depended on whether Deng Yuyuan could win his heart later on.

"But Mommy said..." Tuantuan didn’t understand. She was interrupted halfway through her sentence.

"What’s wrong with you, kid? Why are you so timid and petty? What’s the big deal about keeping her company?" Deng Hua Yu’s tone was extremely rude, hurling the harsh words right at Tuantuan.

Tears welled up in Tuantuan’s eyes again, but she didn’t cry. Instead, she obediently walked over to Little Guo’er.

"Mommy said I can call her if anything happens, but I don’t want to be a little troublemaker or cause trouble for her," Tuantuan thought sadly.

The adults’ words were etched into tiny Tuantuan’s heart. She instinctively hated this home. She hated her uncle, her grandparents, her aunt, and the man and little girl sitting across from her.

Little Guo’er shared some lean meat she didn’t like with her. Tuantuan took it and held it in her hand, not putting it in her mouth.

Little Guo’er pinched Tuantuan’s cheek without holding back her strength, turning it red. "Tuantuan, you’re so cute! Can you come to my house to play with me?"

She turned to her father, her tone demanding. "Daddy, can I invite her over to play?"

"Of course you can," Bu Jun said to her gently, his gaze growing increasingly satisfied as he looked at Tuantuan. He had some ties with the Deng family, so he could just have them drop Tuantuan off every afternoon. It would save Little Guo’er from being lonely after school.

The adults watched Tuantuan and Little Guo’er interact, smiling and flattering each other about how the two children were destined to be friends, having a blast right after meeting.

Tuantuan dodged Little Guo’er’s hand. Just as she stepped back, Deng Hua Yu pushed her forward from behind.

Tuantuan had no choice but to say, "You pinched me so hard it hurts. If you’re gentler, I’ll play with you."

"Alright." Little Guo’er lessened her force, touching her face softly. "Can you smile for me? I saw two little dimples at the corners of your mouth when you smiled earlier."

Tuantuan couldn’t help but pout. "But Tuantuan can’t smile right now." It was already hard enough for her to hold back her tears!

Little Guo’er genuinely liked Tuantuan. Ignoring her refusal, she grabbed a quail egg and shoved it into Tuantuan’s hand. "Why aren’t you eating?"

Standing in front of her, Tuantuan kept her eyes glued to Little Guo’er’s legs, terrified that her swinging calves would hit her. "Tuantuan... Tuantuan will take it home to eat."

"Nanny Wang says poor families have habits like that. It’s okay, you eat first. I’ll give you more later." Little Guo’er’s gaze suddenly lingered on Tuantuan’s face.

Earlier, Tuantuan had been too far away for her to see clearly. Now that Tuantuan was standing right next to her, she noticed a smudge of dirt on Tuantuan’s face from who-knew-where, making her look even cuter.

However, her teacher at school had taught her that children needed to wash up before eating; otherwise, they would get a tummy ache.

Tuantuan didn’t want to eat. Mommy had just told her she couldn’t eat other people’s saliva, and Little Guo’er’s spoon had her saliva on it. Tuantuan couldn’t eat it.

She squeezed the quail egg and braised pork tightly. "Why doesn’t Grandma’s house have a big dog like the neighbor granny?" she thought in despair. "Whenever I didn’t want to finish my snacks before, I would secretly feed them to the big dog."

Just as Tuantuan was still racking her brain for an excuse, a sudden chill splashed across her face.

Little Guo’er had poured a bowl of water right onto Tuantuan’s face. "Your face was a little dirty," she said matter-of-factly. "I helped you wash it, so now you can eat."

The adults were startled. Deng Hua Yu hurriedly pulled Tuantuan away, and Bu Jun also pulled Little Guo’er back, a hint of displeasure in his tone. "Don’t play with water. What if you get your own clothes wet? It’s cold now, and you could easily get sick."

The water trickled down Tuantuan’s cheeks, sliding past her neck and soaking into her clothes. Tuantuan shivered. Her two-year-old brain couldn’t process this situation at all. With water droplets clinging to her long, curled baby eyelashes, she could only follow Little Guo’er’s logic and thank her. "Thank you. Is Tuantuan’s face clean now?"

Little Guo’er scrutinized Tuantuan’s face and reached out to poke it. "It’s clean, but you still need to wash your hands."

Deng Hualing refilled the bowl with water and placed it in front of Little Guo’er.

Mrs. Deng opened her mouth to say something, but after exchanging a glance with Mr. Deng, she shut it again.

Tuantuan’s eyes remained fixed on that bowl of water until her line of sight was blocked by the corner of the table.

The collar of her cotton jacket had absorbed the water. It was wet and uncomfortable.

"Tuantuan probably can’t eat anything right now. Tuantuan needs to go change clothes first. My clothes are wet." After saying this, Tuantuan turned around. She looked down at her two occupied hands and, finding nowhere else to put the food, simply dumped it on Deng Hua Yu’s lap before running over to knock on Deng Yuyuan’s door.

"Hey, you brat!" Deng Hua Yu leaped out of his chair. The cold, greasy meat and quail egg swiftly tumbled to the floor.

The Deng family didn’t mind Tuantuan’s abrupt departure at all. Instead, they comforted Little Guo’er, telling her to wait for her little sister, who would be right back to play with her.

"Alright," Little Guo’er replied. Her big eyes remained fixed in Tuantuan’s direction, reluctant to look away.

"Look at that. These two little ones get along so well," Mr. Deng joked with Bu Jun.

Tuantuan walked up to the door, deliberately using the back of her hand to knock. "Mommy, Mommy! Tuantuan’s clothes are wet. I need to change."

"Okay, step away from the door, Tuantuan. Mommy is coming out." Deng Yuyuan had just finished packing the last few items into her woven bamboo basket. Slinging it over her back, she opened the door.

Tuantuan stood about a meter away from the door. The loose strands of hair around her forehead and ears were plastered damply to the sides of her face, still dripping. The collar of her clothes had darkened from the soaked-in water.

The little girl still didn’t realize anything was wrong. If her hands hadn’t been dirty, she would have wiped her face first before coming to find her mother.

Deng Yuyuan took out a clean handkerchief and gently wiped Tuantuan’s face. "What happened, Tuantuan? Why is your little face all wet?" she asked softly.

"Little Guo’er just washed Tuantuan’s face." Tuantuan stood still, happily narrowing her eyes as she enjoyed the comfortable pressure of her mother wiping her face.

Mrs. Deng tried to smooth things over, raising her voice. "Little Guo’er is just so helpful! They’re playing so well together, haha."

[The liquid on her face is water.]

"Help me test the liquid on the table," Deng Yuyuan told the AI customer service.