Chapter 37: A Fluffy Little Face

Congcong’s cheeks were puffed out as he chewed his steamed bun with great effort, looking for all the world like a little hamster.

While eating, he didn't forget to look up and ask Qiu Yiyao, "Sister Yaoyao... when... when is my mommy coming back?"

Qiu Yiyao felt a bit awkward. Qiu Shengming had only asked her to look after Congcong at home and hadn't revealed anything else. As for Bai Peiyu, he had vanished early in the morning, so who was she supposed to ask? Seeing the look of anticipation in Congcong's eyes, she couldn't bear to disappoint him and comforted him, "Soon, she must be on her way."

"Really?"

Congcong was delighted and enthusiastically held out the bun, now only a third left, toward her. "Sister Yaoyao, you have some too."

"No, no, I'm already full." She had already wolfed down two buns earlier; her appetite wasn't large, and she would be overstuffed if she ate more.

Seeing her refuse, Congcong shoved the rest of the bun into his mouth, stood up, and tugged Qiu Yiyao toward the door. She knew he wanted to go back and wait for his mother.

The moment they sat down on chairs outside Li Zhen’s house, Grandma Wang emerged from the back door, holding a plate and looking anxious. Before she even reached them, she called out, "Yaoyao, has something happened to Sister Zhen?"

The sight of Grandma Wang immediately brought back that night—the terrifying image of her mouth smeared with chicken blood—and a wave of revulsion washed over Qiu Yiyao. But to keep her own plans from being discovered, she forced herself to push those unpleasant memories aside. She stood up and recounted the events of the morning to Grandma Wang.

"No wonder I heard the child crying this morning; I thought Congcong was being scolded by his mother. Sigh, how could she just disappear like that?"

*That’s what I should be asking you,* Qiu Yiyao thought to herself. *How would an outsider like me know?*

She glanced down at the plate of dumplings in Grandma Wang’s hands and asked casually, "Grandma Wang, where are you taking those?"

"Oh, I made these dumplings this morning. You should have a taste; they’re chicken filling. They’re Congcong’s favorite." Grandma Wang held the plate out toward them.

Hearing they were chicken, Qiu Yiyao swallowed hard—not from hunger, but from a sudden wave of nausea. She didn't dislike chicken, but the thought of that hen—the one with half its belly eaten away, which had suddenly stretched its neck and stared at her with beady eyes—made her skin crawl.

Congcong, hearing they were his favorite chicken dumplings, stood on tiptoe and impatiently grabbed one from the plate to pop into his mouth. Grandma Wang chuckled, patted his little head, and asked, "How is it? Is it good?"

Congcong nodded repeatedly, his mouth too full to speak.

Grandma Wang turned to Qiu Yiyao. "Yaoyao, you try one too and see how you like Grandma’s cooking."

Qiu Yiyao couldn't bring herself to eat it. She waved her hand, declining on the excuse that she wasn't hungry.

Just as they were talking, Qiu Shengming appeared in the distance, helping Li Zhen walk slowly from the direction of the street corner. Qiu Yiyao had sharp eyes; she spotted them first and called out, "Sister Zhen and the others are back!"

Grandma Wang put down the plate and hurried over. "How could you be hurt this badly? Did you offend someone?"

Li Zhen was hurt? Qiu Yiyao was surprised. Wanting to see more clearly, she moved forward quietly.

Li Zhen didn't look well; her lips were drained of all color. Her right arm was wrapped in gauze, and even though her left hand was pressing against the wound, blood was still seeping through her fingers.

"Sister Zhen, are you okay? Your arm is bleeding."

Li Zhen managed a weak smile. "I'm fine. Old Qiu said you were helping look after Congcong at home. Thank you so much."

"It's just a small favor, no need to thank me. But are you really all right? Should you go to the hospital?"

Before Li Zhen could answer, Qiu Shengming cut in, "We’ve already been to the hospital. The doctor said it's nothing serious. I’ll re-bandage it for her in a moment; she’ll be fine."

He looked back and saw Congcong standing behind them with his lower lip stuck out. The boy had been so excited for his mother to return, but now that she was back, he felt a bit resentful that she had left him all alone.

"Yaoyao, why don't you take Congcong to our place to play for a while?"

Qiu Yiyao understood his meaning; he didn't want Congcong to be scared when he changed Li Zhen’s bandages. However, she was desperate to know how Li Zhen had been injured—was it from the dog that night, or something else? She remained rooted to the spot.

Qiu Shengming, unaware of her true thoughts, assumed she was just shaken by seeing Li Zhen’s injury and nudged her arm. "Your Sister Zhen is fine, don't worry."

"Oh, alright." Qiu Yiyao sighed, turned around, and took Congcong’s hand. "Come on, Sister will take you to play something fun."

Congcong glanced at Li Zhen, feeling aggrieved, but seeing that his mother looked exhausted, he obediently followed Qiu Yiyao.

...

Qiu Yiyao hid by the window, peeking through a corner of the curtain. Li Zhen’s front door was wide open, but there was no one in the living room; they were likely in the bedroom.

Qiu Yiyao scratched her ear, feeling restless. She had intended to sneak off to the police station today, but now she was stuck as an unpaid nanny. And she still had no idea what was going on with Li Zhen.

Congcong, who was sitting on the bed watching cartoons on his phone, looked up at her, puzzled. "Sister Yaoyao, don't you like cartoons?"

Qiu Yiyao felt a headache coming on. Who actually enjoyed such childish things? But to avoid hurting Congcong’s feelings, she feigned interest, climbed onto the bed, and sat beside him. "Sister loves cartoons! Let’s watch together."

Congcong clapped his little hands happily. "Okay, okay!" He even politely offered the phone to her. "Sister Yaoyao, you can pick whatever you want to watch."

Qiu Yiyao didn't know whether to laugh or cry; for such a young boy, he was quite generous. She didn't take the phone. "It's fine, whatever Congcong likes, Sister likes too."

Hearing this, Congcong stopped talking and focused on the animation. But before long, Qiu Yiyao began to yawn from boredom, so she simply pulled on an eye mask and lay down to sleep.

She drifted off quickly. In her hazy, dreamlike state, she saw a boy wearing a white fur coat sitting beside her, intently watching the phone. Suddenly, the boy turned to look at her—it was Congcong.

He smiled at her, but in an instant, tufts of white fur began to sprout from his round, smooth face. They grew rapidly, covering his entire face until he looked like some kind of small animal.

"Sister Yaoyao."

Congcong "crawled" toward her, lowered his head, and began to lick her face with his tongue.