Second watch.

-------------

"I really can’t confirm the arrangements for next Friday, but I’ll do my best..." Lin Wenbin smiled and ruffled Yingying’s hair, "You’re quite a smart girl. Tell Uncle what you want, and after you finish the competition, Uncle will buy it for you."

"I don’t lack anything right now..." The little girl hesitated for a moment, then looked slightly apprehensive at Lin Wenbin, "Uncle, can I use this reward for someone else?"

Lin Wenbin nodded: "Of course you can."

"I want a pair of reading glasses, not those heavy ones with big lenses..." The little girl made an effort to gesture, "I mean the kind with thin frames and lenses only as big as the oval of an egg when it’s laid sideways."

"Okay." Lin Wenbin looked at her curiously, "Who are you planning to give the reading glasses to?"

"To my grandma..." The little girl replied while sneaking a glance at Chuxia. Seeing that she didn’t seem upset, she continued, "Last time when Grandma came to visit me, she bumped into a tree and got a bump on her forehead."

"Why didn’t you tell Grandpa?" Chuxia asked seriously, "Yingying, you’ve been home for quite a while now. Everyone cares about you, and no one dislikes your grandma. You can talk about things like this directly."

"Grandma told me not to say anything..." With a sigh like a little adult, the girl looked pitifully at Chuxia, "Auntie, I told Grandma that everyone at home is really nice to me, but Grandma still didn’t let me say anything. I don’t want her to worry."

"Grandma came to see you at school, right?"

"Yes." The girl looked apprehensive, "Auntie, it’s not that I didn’t say anything on purpose. Grandma said if I told, she wouldn’t come to see me anymore."

"Have you thought about how to give her the glasses?"

"No." The little girl hung her head, "But I don’t want her to bump her head again."

"Yingying is a filial child, and this is commendable, but as you grow older, Yingying, you will need to learn to have your own opinions. Grandma doesn’t let you talk because she doesn’t understand our family. You can explain it to her, right?"

Yingying looked miserably at Chuxia: "Auntie, I told Grandma, but she didn’t believe me. She said I’m just a child and don’t understand things, and I should just listen to her. She even said that if I don’t listen to her, she wouldn’t come to see me again."

It seems that the old lady uses this tactic all the time, threatening not to visit no matter the issue. Indeed, she means well for her granddaughter, but such misunderstandings, if prolonged, will surely affect Yingying’s relationship with the Zhou family members.

"Do you think there’s any truth in what Grandma said?" Chuxia gently probed.

"I..." The little girl looked pitifully at Chuxia, "I don’t know."

Sure enough, Chuxia guessed it right. When a child says that, it means that she has already partly believed what Lu Yuer said. With a bit of thought, Chuxia was almost certain, and she turned the little girl’s shoulders to face her directly: "Did Grandma tell you that the Zhou family has more little brothers and sisters, and later they wouldn’t care about you as much as they do now?"

"Yes." The girl looked guilty at Chuxia, "Auntie, I still really like the little brothers and sisters, but..." she bit her lip, "But when I was at Grandma’s house before, because of the little brothers and sisters, no one wanted to pay attention to me."

"Don’t worry, no matter how many little brothers and sisters there are in the Zhou family, everyone will love Yingying just like before. Auntie promises you, no lies."

"Really?" The girl’s eyes lit up, "Auntie, can we pinky swear?"

"Of course!"

The big and little fingers hooked together, and after solemnly pulling, the smile on the little girl’s face brightened again. This shows that Lu Yuer’s words had a significant impact on the child over this period.

The little thoughts of a child, Chuxia could fully understand.

She remembered when a female classmate once told her that when her brother was born, she was really scared, because when her mother was pregnant, many people teased her, saying that later everyone would only like her little brother and not her.

At that time, her female classmate even thought about how to take the little brother out of her mother’s belly and secretly tried to dig her mother’s belly at night.

Fortunately, the child was small and weak, and the adults woke up easily, so there was no serious consequence.

Later, when the brother was born, the elder’s focus naturally shifted to the younger child. Her classmate said that she most hoped her brother would disappear from the world back then.

And at that time, the female classmate was only six years old.

It wasn’t until she was ten, and her brother kept sticking to her and was genuinely affectionate towards her, that she gradually found him endearing and accepted him.

This is still with her biological parents, who only have one younger brother.

Yingying was originally of a sensitive nature, and now she lives with Zhou Shanping and his wife. To make matters worse, Wang Lei is pregnant, so it would be strange if Yingying didn’t worry.

Speaking of which, Lu Yuer is quite selfish. She should know how insecure such a big child can feel, but luckily, Yingying’s personality has changed tremendously due to everyone’s influence. If she were still like before, she might have done something to Wang Lei, which truly would have been a grave mistake.

It seems this matter should be informed to Old Madam Zhou and discussed with Lu Yuer, otherwise, if she continues to educate Yingying like this, sooner or later there would be trouble.

In the evening, Chuxia returned home and told this matter to Old Madam Zhou.

The old lady was silent for a long time, sighed heavily, and patted Chuxia’s shoulder: "Xia, it’s really rare for someone your age to think so comprehensively.

Yingying is at the perfect age for shaping her personality. This child has been living with Lu Yuer since childhood, so she naturally feels closer to her. If she’s constantly instructed like this, it’s inevitable that she’ll stray off path in the future.

Grandma can also understand Lu Yuer’s intention. She hopes Yingying grows up to be a versatile child, but she can’t always be by Yingying’s side. Such one-sided education will definitely go against her intentions.

Don’t worry, on a free day, Grandma will go to visit Yingying’s Grandma with your Third Uncle. Speaking of it, Lu Yuer’s days aren’t easy now, and she doesn’t have a bad heart. If we can help her a bit, we’ll help her, which may also lessen the resentment in her heart."

Chuxia scratched her head in a bit of a dilemma: "Grandma, why do I feel like I’m tattling and being a snitch?"

"What nonsense are you talking..." Old Madam Zhou glared at her discontentedly, "You are doing this for the harmony of our entire family. How can you say it’s tattling and being a snitch?"

"Hehe..." Chuxia laughed triumphantly, "Grandma, you fell into my trap, I was teasing you, and you actually believed it, hahaha..."

Old Madam Zhou: "..."

...

In no time, it was the day of Luo Xiaoqiong’s return for the third time, and everyone got up early, eagerly waiting. Due to observing hometown customs these days, Chuxia hadn’t been able to go over, but her anticipation was naturally the same as everyone else’s.

Of course, the person most looking forward to it was Fat Auntie. She hardly ate breakfast and sat in the hall, craning her neck every now and then to look outside. Dagang’s Grandma kept laughing, saying she was about to turn into a long-necked donkey.

"Auntie, just laugh at me..." Fat Aunt laughed helplessly, "At least you could describe me more nicely, a goose’s neck is quite long too, why must you liken me to a donkey?"

Dagang’s Grandpa chuckled and chimed in: "It’s already good she didn’t compare you to a mule, you should be content."

Fat Aunt: "..."

Luo Gangshun looked amused at his wife: "You know what kind of temperament your in-laws have, and you know what temperament Qiliang has. Why are you so anxious? Let me tell you, Meiying married over there and will only live better than before, certainly not worse."

"I understand the reasoning, but knowing is one thing, doing is another thing..." Fat Aunt glared at her husband, "You just don’t add to the chaos."

Amidst everyone’s anticipation, Luo Xiaoqiong and Zhao Qiliang entered cheerfully.

Seeing her daughter for the first time dispelled any little anxiety Fat Aunt had.

Indeed, she always knew what kind of people her daughter’s husband’s family were, but after all, they hadn’t shared a pot, and her daughter was of a straightforward nature... Actually, despite thinking this way, she found herself amusing. Even if there were conflicts, it wouldn’t be right after the wedding; what was she aiming for?

Now seeing her daughter’s happy little face, she felt her prior behavior even more ridiculous.

"Mom!" After putting down her things and greeting all the elders, Luo Xiaoqiong rushed into Fat Aunt’s arms, patting her back one after another, "Mom, I missed you."

"Stop saying sweet things, that smile on your face is about to fall off, yet you say you missed me, can you really care?" Fat Aunt said this, but she turned her daughter’s face to look carefully.

"Mom..." Luo Xiaoqiong felt uncomfortable being watched, blushed and tried to break away, "It’s not like we haven’t seen each other for long, why are you doing this, it’s so embarrassing."

"I’m your mom, what’s there to be embarrassed about?" Fat Aunt looked at her daughter speechlessly, "Just married and you’ve become distant from mom? What would happen in the future then?"

"Mom, Xiaoqiong hasn’t stopped mentioning you these past days..." Zhao Qiliang hurriedly stepped forward to help his wife, "If it weren’t for the customs, she would’ve come over to see you long ago.

Last night after dinner she ran to bed, saying she wanted to sleep early and get up early, but even until the wee hours, she was tossing and turning like a pancake, and she got up before five o’clock this morning. My mom was afraid I’d done something wrong to upset her, she even pulled me aside to ask in secret."

"Hehe..." Luo Xiaoqiong chuckled awkwardly, "Mom, Qiliang’s family all treat me really well, but knowing dad and mom are here, I just especially long to see you guys. My brother is bad too; he lives in the same courtyard but doesn’t come over to see me. It’s so annoying!" (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users can go to m.qidian.com to read.)