Chapter 18: Too Painful to Recall

"Alright, alright, I don't need you here anymore. Go back to your own business," Bai Xi waved her hand impatiently to send Chen Rui away.

Faced with Bai Xi's obvious sulking, Chen Rui coaxed her gently a few times. When Bai Xi turned over and gave her the cold shoulder, Chen Rui could only leave the treehouse helplessly.

After descending from the treehouse, Chen Rui didn't leave right away. She paced back and forth underneath for quite a while. Only when she saw that Bai Xi neither came down nor called for anyone did she finally feel at ease and walk away.

Up in the treehouse, Bai Xi rolled her eyes at the corner of the window and snorted, "I knew that little girl wouldn't feel at ease."

Bai Xi truly had no intention of going up the mountain now. It was obvious—she was alone and not very strong. What could she possibly do up there? Even if she managed to hunt something, she couldn't bring it back.

After the rain passed, the weather heated up quickly. Besides those working in the fields, the only ones who couldn't sit still were groups of little rascals running wild all over the village.

By the time Bai Xi came down from the treehouse, the sun was nearly setting. Chen Daliu hurried over, his face grave. He handed Bai Xi half a pound of White Rabbit milk candies, asked about her situation as usual, and seeing she was well, rushed off again.

Watching his hurried demeanor, Bai Xi felt curious. Just then, she spotted a group of little scamps who'd been running around all day, and beckoned them over.

The leader was Little Shun. When Bai Xi called him, he hesitated but came over nonetheless.

"Grand-aunt, you wanted me?" If Little Shun looked in the mirror, he'd definitely see the reluctance on his face. In his heart, he muttered, Please, grand-aunt, don't make me take you along to play. It's no fun with her.

Since Little Shun was summoned, the others exchanged glances, not daring to run away and leave him alone; otherwise, next time they wouldn't be able to play together. So they huddled around Bai Xi like quails, obediently greeting her.

"Hello, grand-aunt."
"Grand-aunt."
"Grand-aunt..."

All these boys were the ones punished to kneel in the ancestral hall last time. It hadn't even been a few days, and they were already bouncing around again. But seeing Bai Xi still made them nervous.

Their parents had warned them: if anything happened to grand-aunt, or even a minor mishap, they'd be severely punished.

After a hot summer day of running, all of them were sweaty. Bai Xi, with her sharp sense of smell, wrinkled her nose as they approached and waved them to stand downwind.

She looked at Little Shun and asked, "You lead everyone around, teasing cats and dogs. What's the point?"

Little Shun nodded immediately, "Yes, yes, there's no point!"

As he nodded, he signaled to the others to echo his words.

So Bai Xi watched them nod in unison like quails, earnestly cooperating.

"Yeah, it's really boring."
"Right, especially dull."
"I'm just about to go home."
"Mm, me too."

Did they really think she was only five?

Bai Xi suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and said irritably, "...If it's so dull, why are you running around?"

Little Shun: "Uh..."

After all, they were just children; their emotions couldn't be hidden. They looked at each other awkwardly, forced a silly smile, and stayed silent.

In truth, Little Shun was simply afraid Bai Xi would get bored and want to join them.

When he played with the others, bumps and scrapes were no big deal—they were all boys, and even if he got hurt, he wouldn't get scolded. But with grand-aunt, it was a different story.

It wasn't just last time when grand-aunt fell into the creek—take the time before that: they were collecting bird eggs, grand-aunt stood under the tree, the nest accidentally dropped, and the eggs hit grand-aunt on the head. They all got punished.

Then there was the time before that: playing hide-and-seek, grand-aunt hid herself, fell asleep from waiting too long, and they couldn't find her. As night fell, the whole village was mobilized to search. That time, their bottoms suffered too.

And the time before that, grand-aunt found a smooth river stone she liked and wanted to take it home. Little Six saw it and told the village chief, so they got scolded again.

Of course, grand-aunt got punished, but they didn't escape either. According to their fathers, it was a lesson—so they'd remember not to touch grand-aunt's things.

And the time before that...

No matter what, right or wrong, as long as grand-aunt was involved, they were always the ones to get beaten.

Still, Little Shun and the others didn't dislike Bai Xi. After all, she was pretty, round-faced, fair and tender, just like the lucky doll in New Year paintings—everyone liked her.

It was just that sometimes, when they played wildly, they couldn't take care of a girl.

Especially since grand-aunt was still so small, she couldn't run fast or keep up.

If Bai Xi knew what Little Shun and the others were thinking, she'd be furious enough to drag the flower spirit back for a beating. She had left, but all the foolish things she used to do were now blamed on Bai Xi. How could she stand such embarrassing nonsense?

We have plenty of fun, but we can't bring grand-aunt along. Little Shun thought, but obediently said, "Grand-aunt, we're just about to head home."

After speaking, Little Shun and the others were about to dash off, but Bai Xi called them back after only two steps.

"What's the rush?" Bai Xi snorted. "Afraid I'll follow you?"

Little Shun and his friends shook their heads, smiling foolishly.

Seeing this, Bai Xi's eyes sparkled. "Really? Then I'll go with you."

"Ah? Grand-aunt?"
"Please, no..."

Immediately, they groaned in protest.

Bai Xi put her chubby hands on her hips, pretending to be angry. "What's wrong? Are you saying you don't want me to join you?"

Because she was short, she felt she lacked authority. Glancing around, she saw a wooden stump nearby and climbed onto it. Now, she stood half a head taller than Little Shun and his friends.

She continued to stand hands-on-hips, glaring at them, clearly ready to get angry if they didn't give a satisfactory answer.

"No, no..." They shook their heads like rattles.

"Of course not, grand-aunt. How could we dislike you?"

Truthfully, grand-aunt was wonderful—fair, delicate, and clean. Having her play along meant prestige; if she joined them, they'd look so impressive. But the number of spankings was also higher.

These past few days, they’d been swimming in the river or climbing trees and mountains—activities they couldn’t include grand-aunt in. Otherwise, they'd end up sleeping on their stomachs again.

"Grand-aunt, we, um, we..." Little Shun grew flustered, unable to think of what to say.

From a distance, others could see Bai Xi, hands on hips, speaking to Little Shun and his friends, who stood in a row, heads bowed, hands waving, faces pitiful, as if being scolded harshly.

Some were curious, but dared not come closer. They only thought the scene was rather amusing.