Chapter 111
A soft and gentle voice, unwavering and firm.
Simple words, repeated multiple times, followed by a brief pause.
Cheng Tingyan looked at the slightly dazed little chubby bunny and asked, “It was toothpaste, right?”
“… ” Wei Maomao scratched her ear, which was ticklish from Cheng Tingyan’s breath, and chuckled helplessly. “Yes, it was toothpaste.”
Cheng Tingyan relaxed, satisfied, and lay down properly.
Wei Maomao rolled over, snuggled closer to Cheng Tingyan, and zoned out, recharging her energy.
Life… was truly tiring.
From full of energy to listless, like a deflated balloon.
Cheng Tingyan reached out and smoothed the little chubby bunny’s messy, soft hair. “If you’re tired, then sleep.”
Wei Maomao stared blankly at the ceiling, she was tired, but not sleepy. She didn’t know what “good” solution Wen Xiang had come up with, but she felt that no matter what it was, it was unlikely to have an immediate effect.
It was her who prematurely burst that bitter pill.
Without her, perhaps those toys that were given away would just be a small, slightly painful memory for Wen Dongyu. Or maybe the accumulated disappointment would only erupt years later, when Wen Dongyu had grown up and had a more mature mind, he would be able to handle it better…
These past few days, Wei Maomao had been avoiding it, she didn’t dare to think about those “what ifs.”
But Wen Xiang’s efforts today forced her to face it.
Wei Maomao raised her hand, it looked short, chubby, and ordinary.
She had personally created those forks in the road, leading the Wen family to a different path than in her previous life… Was it for better? Or for worse?
“Not sleeping, what are you thinking about?”
A delicate, childish hand reached out and pulled down Wei Maomao’s raised paw, accompanied by a curious voice.
“Thinking about Uncle Wen and Wen Dongyu?” Cheng Tingyan asked softly, holding the little chubby paw.
“Mmm…” Wei Maomao didn’t deny it. “I wonder how they’re doing now.”
“Uncle Wen will try his best.” Cheng Tingyan said, squeezing the little dimple on the chubby paw. “You answered Uncle Wen’s questions very well, don’t worry.”
“Sigh…” Wei Maomao buried her face in Cheng Tingyan’s pillow. “I didn’t answer anything, I didn’t know what to say. What if Uncle Wen’s solution doesn’t work, will they… stay like that for a long time?” Then she would truly…
“It’s okay, Maomao.” Cheng Tingyan said softly, stroking the little chubby bunny’s messy hair. “Shen Zilin has already promised to take care of Wen Dongyu, everything will be fine.”
“It’s my fault, I made Wen Dongyu think about talking to Uncle Wen about protecting his property, then they had a fight… If it wasn’t for me…” Wei Maomao, her worries easing from the stroking, mumbled into the pillow.
Cheng Tingyan’s hand, stroking the soft hair, paused.
So it wasn’t just worry, but also self-blame.
“No, it’s not. Before you mentioned property, when they were at home, Uncle Wen had already given away Wen Dongyu’s toys. Even if you hadn’t said anything, they wouldn’t have argued that day, but they would have argued eventually.” Cheng Tingyan sat up, rolled the little chubby bunny over so she was facing up, and said seriously, “Maomao, it’s not your fault, you can’t just take the blame.”
Wei Maomao smiled wryly. Yes, the existence of the bitter pill wasn’t her fault. Her fault was that she seemed to have changed the timing of its explosion, pushing things towards an unknown future.
“Maomao, did you hear what I said?” Cheng Tingyan asked, shaking the little chubby bunny.
The little chubby belly and legs jiggled from the shaking.
So cute~~~
Cheng Tingyan pursed her lips, suppressing the cuteness for now, and stared seriously. “Maomao?”
“Mmm, I heard you.” Wei Maomao said, pulling Cheng Tingyan’s hand, trying to make her lie down again.
However…
Wei Maomao looked at Cheng Tingyan, who was sitting firmly, unmoved by her pulling, in surprise.
“Maomao, it’s not your fault.” Cheng Tingyan repeated solemnly.
Wei Maomao: “… “
Why was she suddenly so serious?
Cheng Tingyan looked at her intently, but didn’t see agreement in the little chubby bunny’s eyes.
This wouldn’t do… Cheng Tingyan’s heart sank.
Right…
“It’s my fault.” Cheng Tingyan said, gripping the little chubby paw tightly. “Maomao, the first time you mentioned protecting your property, it was for me, right? That day when we first arrived here. So, it’s my fault, not yours.”
“No…” Wei Maomao was shocked by the six-year-old Yan Yan’s logic, she took a moment to process it before denying it.
“It’s my fault.” Cheng Tingyan leaned closer and covered the little chubby bunny’s mouth, repeating seriously, “It’s my fault… My fault… My…”
Wei Maomao: “… “
Was this really necessary? Toothpaste needed to be cleared, mistakes also needed to be cleared, but her brain couldn’t be cleansed like this.
She struggled.
It was futile…
Wei Maomao was once again surprised by the weakness of her three-year-old body.
After being forcefully brainwashed several times, when Cheng Tingyan asked again, “Maomao, it’s not your fault, you can’t just take the blame. Do you understand?” Wei Maomao, focusing all her skills on acting, nodded sincerely.
The hand covering her mouth loosened, Cheng Tingyan let out a sigh of relief, stroked the little chubby bunny’s face, and lay down again.
Wei Maomao cautiously moved away, creating some distance between them, she even pulled the blanket on the bed as a temporary barrier, then said weakly, “Yan Yan, it’s not your…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Cheng Tingyan sat up again.
Wei Maomao quickly moved further away, her hands extended defensively. “It’s not your fault! I was the one who said it, it has nothing to do with you!”
“It’s my fault!” Cheng Tingyan shouted.
Wei Maomao was stunned.
This was the first time Cheng Tingyan had spoken so loudly, and… to her.
Was she…
Being scolded…
Her already tired three-year-old body couldn’t handle this kind of shock.
Before her mind could even process the meaning of the words, her body reacted to the tone.
Sadness and grievance overwhelmed her.
By the time Wei Maomao regained control of her scattered thoughts, the stinging and blurring in her eyes were beyond her control.
Sob, sob, sob… This useless body, how could she cry just because someone raised their voice at her!
And in front of Yan Yan, how embarrassing!
It was too late, Wei Maomao could only bury her face in the pillow.
The six-year-old Cheng Tingyan couldn’t imagine Wei Maomao’s thoughts at this moment.
She only saw… the little chubby bunny crying.
And it seemed… she was the one who scared her…
The warmth in her heart instantly vanished.
Cheng Tingyan, panicked and anxious, tried to pull the little chubby bunny over, but she seemed to be glued to the pillow, she couldn’t turn her face around.
“I’m sorry, Maomao, did I scare you with my loud voice?”
“I didn’t mean to scold you… Don’t cry…”
“Maomao… Maomao?”
“Don’t cry, I was wrong!”
…
Wei Maomao didn’t want Cheng Tingyan to see her crying like a weakling, but she couldn’t ignore those words of self-blame.
“You’re not wrong!” Wei Maomao said, rubbing her face against the pillow and turning over.
“I’m wrong…” Cheng Tingyan hesitated, but seeing the large teardrops still rolling down the little chubby bunny’s cheeks, she quickly nodded in agreement. “I’m not wrong!”
This time, it was Wei Maomao’s turn to nod in satisfaction.
But this three-year-old body, why couldn’t she stop crying!
However, thanks to these endless tears, Wei Maomao regained control of the brainwashing game.
And to soothe the crying little chubby bunny, Cheng Tingyan naturally answered all of Wei Maomao’s questions.
Soon, Wei Maomao figured out the reason behind Cheng Tingyan’s sudden firmness and dominance, which had even scared her weak three-year-old self.
“When my mom was hospitalized, there was an auntie in the bed next to us, she looked healthier than Mom. Mom could only lie in bed, while the auntie could walk around with crutches. The doctor told the auntie not to walk around, but she didn’t listen.”
“One night, the auntie went out, and when she came back, she was dirty. Mom asked her what happened, she said she fell, it was fine, she would just sleep.”
“The next day, the auntie didn’t wake up, she was taken away.”
“Mom said she was dead.”
“An uncle came and helped to pack the auntie’s things. He cried while packing, saying it was all his fault. If he had told the auntie not to walk around more often, she wouldn’t have hit her head. If he had stayed with her that night, he would have noticed her head injury, they could have called the doctor sooner, they wouldn’t have let her sleep.”
“The uncle said a lot, he looked terrifying… like a puppet…”
“When Mom was discharged, she heard from the doctor that the uncle had died. Because he felt it was his fault that the auntie died, so he killed himself.”
“The doctor said the uncle took other people’s mistakes as his own, he was in too much pain. People shouldn’t always blame themselves, they should think about whether it’s other people’s fault.”
“Maomao, don’t be in pain. It’s not your fault, it can be mine. Because I don’t feel pain.”
“I won’t die.”
…
“People shouldn’t always blame themselves, they should think about whether it’s other people’s fault.” Cheng Tingyan had said this to her in her previous life too, but she didn’t mention that it came from such… a story.
And Wei Maomao never expected that Cheng Tingyan’s sudden seriousness and dominance stemmed from such a… horror story.
It was truly horrifying, whether it was Yan Yan, who was only three or four years old at the time, left alone in the hospital with the nurses, witnessing everything, making this incident a part of her clear childhood memories, or the story, similar to a suicide pact, that triggered Wei Maomao’s unpleasant memories and associations… It was all horrifying.
So horrifying that it instantly stopped the tears of her three-year-old body, which always cried uncontrollably.
But no matter how terrifying that incident was, what Wei Maomao cared about was the person in front of her, trembling slightly from the memory, yet rejecting her attempts to interrupt, insisting on finishing the whole story.
And those words, “Maomao, don’t be in pain. It’s not your fault, it can be mine. Because I don’t feel pain. I won’t die.”
Was this the reason why Yan Yan was so serious and determined, so stubbornly trying to “take the blame”?
The six-year-old Yan Yan, she couldn’t differentiate between different kinds of mistakes.
The Wen family’s situation, if it truly turned out badly, she would feel guilty and want to help make amends, but… it wasn’t something she would die for.
And…
Wei Maomao looked at the hand she had unconsciously grabbed tightly.
It was cold, ice-cold.
That was the temperature of a very nervous Yan Yan.
Wei Maomao wanted to say that no matter if she felt pain, how much pain, no matter how painful it was, she wouldn’t die, after all, she had already found the best Yan Yan in the world.
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