Chapter 21: Jiang Xiaotan, Come Here!

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5310224
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

The night was deep, and Ji Lianxing lay in Jiang Shu's arms, quietly counting the rhythm of Jiang Shu's breathing. The frequency was gentle, and she should be sleeping quite well.  

As for Ji Lianxing, it was another sleepless night.  

The small bedroom was filled with Jiang Shu's scent. Tiny fragrant molecules entered Ji Lianxing's nostrils and slowly spread, stirring her mind and keeping her wide awake.  

She stared blankly at the “Cliff Walk” by Monet on the bedroom wall. The oil painting was covered by a layer of black in the night, and the reds and blues, whites and greens, all turned into hidden shades of gray under the rendering of the night.  

Ji Lianxing felt that her feelings for Jiang Shu were like this painting: seemingly bright in color, but in the absence of light, it could only be a mass of gray.

Her mind was chaotic, filled with random thoughts. She tossed and turned until 2 or 3 a.m. before finally falling asleep.  

In the morning, Jiang Shu vaguely heard the "ding dong ding dong" sound of the doorbell. Groggily, she opened her eyes, and the sound became clearer. She reached for her phone on the nightstand and saw three missed calls, the time showing 7:20 a.m.  

The only one who would call this early was Jiang Xiaotan. As she had said yesterday, very, very early.  

Jiang Shu propped herself up and glanced at Ji Lianxing. The little hedgehog was curled up into a ball, one hand resting on the thin blanket, the other pressed under her face, looking peaceful and fast asleep. Jiang Shu stared at her sleeping face for two seconds, feeling a kind of tempting beauty in Ji Lianxing's slumber. Unable to resist, she gave her a quick peck on the cheek before getting out of bed.  

As she went downstairs, the doorbell kept ringing, and the pressing frequency had clearly turned impatient.

"Coming." Jiang Shu called as she walked, and when she opened the door, she first saw Li Xiangyan, then Jiang Xiaotan.  

The older one was holding the younger one's hand, and the one who had been pressing the doorbell impatiently was Li Xiangyan.  

"Shushu!!!" Jiang Xiaotan let go of Li Xiangyan's hand and rushed toward Jiang Shu, hugging her leg. "I’ve been knocking for fifteen minutes!! You said you would open the door for me yesterday!" Her childish voice carried a hint of anxiety, clearly having waited for a long time.  

Jiang Shu bent down and hugged Jiang Xiaotan in her arms, soothing her, "It’s Auntie's fault, I fell asleep. I didn’t expect you to come so early."  

"Tsk." Li Xiangyan smirked, his tone mocking, "President Jiang must be tired."  

Jiang Shu ignored him and instead asked Xiaotan if she had eaten breakfast yet.  

"Not yet, I’m hungry, hungry!" Jiang Xiaotan waved her chubby little hands and drew a large circle in the air, saying, "I want to eat this much."

From the feel of it, Jiang Shu didn’t think Jiang Xiaotan’s weight had changed. She wasn’t sure if Zhou Xuelan and Jiang Yidong had watched her diet, but after a week, Jiang Xiaotan didn’t seem to have gained weight. It looked like the diet changes would take time.  

She put Jiang Xiaotan down and let them go inside first.  

Li Xiangyan looked unhappy, still mad about what happened yesterday, but Jiang Shu knew he wasn’t really angry.  

"Don’t be mad, it’s not a big deal," Jiang Shu said, looking at him.  

Li Xiangyan forced a smile, "Choosing love over friendship, basic operation. My life is hard, I know."  

"Stop playing the sad story. Take Jiang Xiaotan to play for a while. I’ll make breakfast."  

Li Xiangyan looked at Jiang Xiaotan. The little one was running around the house, then stopped by Jiang Shu’s treadmill, looking like she wanted to start running.

"No!" Li Xiangyan stopped her in time. "Little one, come here and play with Uncle Li~"  

Li Xiangyan was very patient with Jiang Xiaotan. He asked her to go to the study and get the Lego, and they played together in the living room.  

Meanwhile, Jiang Shu was in the kitchen making breakfast for four people. She always ate healthy—low oil, low sugar, and good fats—so it was hard for her to gain weight.  

Twenty minutes later.  

"Breakfast is ready."  

Jiang Xiaotan put down the Lego in her hands and immediately ran to the kitchen. Jiang Shu stopped her, "Go wash your hands in the bathroom."  

So, Jiang Xiaotan immediately turned around, running to the bathroom. Her small feet made thumping sounds on the floor as she ran.

Li Xiangyan sighed, "She really is active when it comes to eating..."  

Jiang Shu nodded, "Being active is a good thing, but getting too fat is not. I plan to adjust her diet properly."  

After washing her hands, Jiang Xiaotan saw the four servings of breakfast on the table and asked Jiang Shu, "Shushu, did you make two servings for me?"  

"No, there's another sister upstairs," Jiang Shu glanced at the time, it was almost eight o'clock. Aren't young people supposed to sleep in on weekends? She wondered if she should wake Ji Lianxing up for breakfast.  

When Jiang Xiaotan heard there was another sister upstairs, her eyes instantly brightened. The breakfast on her plate no longer seemed appetizing, and she turned to run upstairs.  

The whole process took less than two seconds, and neither Jiang Shu nor Li Xiangyan reacted in time. All they saw was a round little figure rushing upstairs.  

"Huh?" Jiang Shu realized what happened and immediately followed, "Jiang Xiaotan, stop right now!"  

"I'm going to wake her up for breakfast!!!" The stairs made a clanging sound as Jiang Xiaotan rushed up.

Jiang Shu was surprised. This child?? She couldn't quite keep up with Jiang Xiaotan's pace. This child, although chubby and short, was surprisingly quick.  

She saw Jiang Xiaotan rush upstairs in just a few moments, straight into the room. Kids are like this—once they have an idea, they immediately act on it without thinking too much.  

So when Ji Lianxing was half awake and half asleep, she suddenly heard the door open. She groggily opened her eyes and saw a round little girl running toward her. The child seemed to hit the brakes suddenly, breathing heavily as she stood by the bed, staring at Ji Lianxing.  

Jiang Xiaotan stared at Ji Lianxing for a few seconds, watching her eyes slowly open.  

"Sister!"

The voice was so childish, so clear, so real. It didn't feel like a dream. Ji Lianxing was already mostly awake, but she was still a bit confused. Who was this?  

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5310224
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

"Ah?" She propped herself up, and the blanket naturally fell off, revealing her pink pajamas with a cute little bunny on it.  

Jiang Xiaotan leaned in close to Ji Lianxing, carefully examining the bunny on the pajamas, then her gaze shifted to Ji Lianxing's face, smiling brightly. "Sister, Shushu sent me to call you for breakfast."  

"Shushu?" Ji Lianxing was completely confused.

"Jiang Shushu." Jiang Xiaotan repeated. Sometimes she called her Shushu, other times she called her Jiang Shushu.  

Oh, this was Jiang Shu's daughter—no, niece. Ji Lianxing adjusted her hair, lifted the blanket, and got off the bed. She glanced at the time, it was 7:50, and let out a sigh of relief.  

Jiang Xiaotan smiled at her the whole time, that genuine, heartfelt smile children often show.  

"Sister~"  

"Ah." Ji Lianxing didn’t know how to respond to a child. She was the youngest in her family and didn’t have any younger siblings. Looking at Jiang Xiaotan, she suddenly didn’t know what to do. "What’s your name?"  

"Sister, my name is Jiang Xiaotan." Jiang Xiaotan reached out to grab Ji Lianxing’s hand. Her chubby hand was soft and tender.

Ji Lianxing had to squat down to be on the same level with her. As a result, Jiang Xiaotan was very proactive and leaned into her arms, just like she did with Jiang Shu.  

"Sister, can you hug me?"  

This child didn’t seem shy at all. Ji Lianxing stretched out her arms and held her, trying to pick her up, but she seemed a little heavy and it was a bit difficult. So, Ji Lianxing gave up and simply held her gently.  

"Sister, you are so beautiful." Jiang Xiaotan reached out and lightly poked Ji Lianxing's face with her fingertips, her gaze seemed to ask, "Is your beauty real?"  

Ji Lianxing looked into her eyes, and with her tone, she felt the child was quite sweet in her words.  

"It is real beauty." Jiang Xiaotan, still not satisfied, added, "More beautiful than before."

Ji Lianxing froze for a moment, carefully considering the words, and seemed to understand the meaning behind them.  

Jiang Xiaotan seemed to want to say something more, but her gaze shifted and she noticed Jiang Shu standing at the door, staring at her with a strange look.  

"Shushu!"  

Jiang Shu waved at her. "Jiang Xiaotan, come here."

Author's Note:

Jiang Xiaotan: On the morning of October 27, 2021, I was inexplicably hit by Shushu, for an unknown reason.  

Jiang Shu: Unknown reason? Looks like I went too easy on you.

Xiao Ji: Are you done? Once you're done, Jiang Shu, come over here, it's my turn to hit.

[By the way, tomorrow will be V, and there will be three chapters updated, which is 10,000 words. Everyone remember to check it out! The update time should be around 6 PM.]