Chapter 19: Mother Wang's Odd Behavior

Once again, the boy slept soundly until dawn. Irritated, he grasped the black strands atop his head and bit down hard on the little one's tender lips. With a vigorous swipe of her chubby little paw—smack!—she landed a hit square on his handsome face, muttering, “Stinky mosquito!”

The plump little dumpling rolled over and went back to sleep, her sleeping posture truly atrocious! Little did she know it was the boy, like an octopus, holding her so tightly that she constantly dreamed of some monkey monster trying to catch her.

The boy, wearing a displeased expression, grumbled silently in his mind. “Cuckoo, cuckoo.” Two bird calls sounded again. Checking the time, he knew it was time to leave. The little one rolled over once more; her eyelashes fluttered, and she slightly opened her eyes. Huh? Why was there a shadowy figure? Squinting drowsily, she opened her eyes wide. Ah! It was the monkey monster!

Summoning her secret skill, “Spring Roll Wrap!” she rolled herself into a fiery red spring roll. Then she turned her head—huh? The monkey monster was gone? Rubbing her sleepy eyes and looking again, she found nothing unusual and peacefully drifted back to sleep.

The boy emerged from the shadows and couldn’t resist leaving a bite mark on the little one’s tender cheek. “Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo!” The strange bird called thrice. Without time to erase the evidence, the boy used his lightness skill to slip away.

Her stomach grumbled, waking the little one—she was so hungry. Glancing out the window, sunlight poured onto the swing, which cast no shadow!

The swing had been made by her general father’s own hands, and he had taught her how to tell the time by its shadow. No shadow meant it was noon! Oh no! She had missed a meal!

She and her father had pinky promised to eat every day, to grow strong, and to wait for father and mother’s return. Her round, chubby body hurriedly climbed down from the bed and grabbed her clothes from the bedside cabinet, dressing one piece at a time.

After she was fully dressed, she noticed something strange. Huh? Why hadn’t Maid Wang or Little Taro come to wake her? They had never forgotten before. What was going on?

Lingwei, with her uneven clothes dragging, headed straight to the kitchen. By habit, Maid Wang should be there preparing lunch.

Her stomach grumbled again. Lingwei paused and gently patted her unruly belly. “Belly, belly, don’t make noise! No noise! You’ll embarrass your owner. I’ll starve you if you keep it up!”

The belly grumbled again, refusing to obey. Lingwei sighed, patted it, rubbed it, and hurried on toward the kitchen.

“Maid Wang, Maid Wang…” Even before she reached, the sound of bustling came from the kitchen. Maid Wang quickly wiped her face, grabbed a knife, and efficiently chopped vegetables and meat, just as usual.

Lingwei rushed in. “Maid Wang, my belly’s hungry. Listen, it won’t listen to me—it keeps making noise even though I told it not to.”

Maid Wang turned with a loving smile. “Little mistress, Maid Wang was so busy she forgot to wake you up. Come here, I made you some lotus leaf porridge.”

The little one took the small bowl and gulped it down in one go. Maid Wang watched anxiously, fearing Lingwei might choke.

Just as this thought crossed Maid Wang’s mind, cough, cough—little one really did choke.

Her face flushed red, unable to stop coughing, tears streaming down her cheeks. Maid Wang patted her back tenderly. “Little mistress, take it slow.”

Coughing incessantly, the little one felt as if she had died and come back to life before finally catching her breath.

Wiping away her tears, she looked at Maid Wang’s reddened eyes with puzzlement. “Maid Wang, why are you crying? Lingwei’s okay now.”

Maid Wang hurriedly wiped her tears away. “Not crying, really not. It’s just the smoke got in my eyes.”

Little one glanced skeptically at the half-cut vegetables on the stove and then at the unlit fire. “Maid Wang, don’t try to fool me. You definitely cried. Why did you cry?”