Chapter 89: Don't Regret It

"Then..." Chen Daliu glanced toward the kitchen door, afraid the waitress inside might come out, see the little mistress alone, and start bullying her.

Bai Xi followed his gaze for a moment before quickly saying, "It's fine. Would she really have the nerve to bully a child like me? Go on, hurry."

Chen Daliu worried. With most people, perhaps not—but that waitress from earlier, she just might.

"Stop dawdling!" Bai Xi planted her hands on her hips, pretending to be angry.

Chen Daliu knew well that once Bai Xi made up her mind, no one could change it. He could only nod, reminding her anxiously, "Miss, please don't wander off. I'll be back to get you soon. No matter who talks to you or tells you to go somewhere, don't believe them..."

No matter how clever or assertive the little mistress was, she was still just a child. If she truly encountered someone with bad intentions, how could she possibly handle it?

"Alright, alright, I know," Bai Xi waved him off impatiently. "I'm not a three-year-old; I won't get fooled that easily."

Chen Daliu's mouth twitched. He wanted to say, five and three years old aren't all that different.

He left, glancing back every few steps. Even though Bai Xi found his fussiness exasperating, she couldn’t bring herself to get angry.

The moment Chen Daliu stepped out of the state-run restaurant, he sprinted toward the ox cart.

Chen Xiaocong had been circling the cart out of boredom when he suddenly spotted someone running toward him. Looking closely, he saw it was his father, and was instantly stunned.

"Father?"

"Where's the little mistress?" Chen Daliu had no time to deal with his son's shock. He began rummaging through the cart's frame, shouting, "Quick, quick! Did you see the little mistress's hair ribbon? She said she lost it in the cart and asked me to find it."

Chen Xiaocong snapped back to reality and hurriedly shook his head. "No, I haven't seen it."

"Then don't just stand there—help me look!"

"Oh, right." Chen Xiaocong started searching as well, asking as he did, "Dad, where's the little mistress?"

"She's in the restaurant."

Thinking Bai Xi was having breakfast, Chen Xiaocong didn't ask further but still worried aloud, "Dad, it's not good to leave her alone—we should hurry back."

"I know, stop talking so much and help me find her hair ribbon!" Chen Daliu was so anxious he wished he could split himself in two—one to stay with the little mistress, the other to search for the ribbon. With his son still chattering away, he had no patience at all.

Even after being scolded, Chen Xiaocong didn't get upset and kept searching through the cart. Together, they shook out the blankets and animal skins, then sifted through the straw beneath.

Chen Daliu had no idea that, while he fretted over Bai Xi being bullied, she had briskly made her way to the kitchen door as soon as he left the restaurant, lifted the curtain, and called inside.

"I saw you."

Inside, the waitress was leaning against the stove, cracking sunflower seeds.

No one knows what they had just been talking about, but the waitress playfully hit the chef, who only laughed. He was mixing two eggs with a bit of cornmeal, preparing a bowl of egg-corn porridge for the two of them to share.

Eggs were counted, but as the chef, he could always sneak an egg or two without anyone noticing. After all, no customer would check whether he used half an egg or a whole one in a dish.

Suddenly, startled by the soft, childish voice, both turned to see Bai Xi standing at the door, watching them.

"Go, go! What are you doing here, kid? This is the kitchen," the waitress snapped, waving Bai Xi away.

"Are you really going to chase me out?" Bai Xi smiled, her lips curving mischievously.

"What, you think we're going to let you live here?" The chef, still rattled from the scare, showed no kindness. "Go on, get out!"

Bai Xi nodded. "Alright, but don’t regret it later."

"I think I just saw someone in a blue uniform and a peaked cap go by. I’ll go tell them someone’s stealing public food and fooling around in here," Bai Xi said loudly, making a show of leaving but walking very slowly.

The two of them went pale with fright, hastily calling her back. They exchanged a glance, and the waitress quickly tried to stop Bai Xi.

"Wait! Child, who are you accusing of fooling around and stealing food?"

Bai Xi turned and looked them over, tilting her head with an innocent, sweet smile—but her words made their hearts race in fear.

"Who do you think I’m talking about?" Her tone was teasing, but her eyes darted meaningfully between them.

If they hadn't been stealing food, it wouldn't matter. But they had, and while the rest was just teasing, their lighthearted banter could be misconstrued. Today, there should have been three people working, but the other kitchen assistant was late, so the two of them had decided to make something for themselves—only to be caught by Bai Xi.

The chef, alarmed, brandished his long spoon at Bai Xi. "If you dare make things up, I’ll throw you in the slop bucket!"

Bai Xi, unruffled, nodded and opened her mouth to shout, "Someone help, someone’s—"

"Wait, wait—please!" The waitress, now ashen, dropped her seeds and lunged for Bai Xi.

But Bai Xi nimbly sidestepped, dodging the waitress’s grasp.

She darted behind the round table, close to the door, clearly ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

"What do you want? Don’t come any closer or I’ll shout again!" Bai Xi threatened, tilting her head back as if to call out.

"If you do, I’ll throw you in the stove, you hear me?" the chef barked, waving his spoon.

"Alright," Bai Xi replied blandly, glancing up. "Help—"

"Stop! Please, I beg you, don’t shout," the waitress pleaded, waving her hands frantically, then snapped at the chef, "Can’t you stop talking?!"

Getting caught stealing public food could cost them their jobs, and if rumors spread about fooling around, she’d lose not only her new boyfriend, but might end up publicly shamed as well.

The chef realized how serious things had gotten. He hadn’t expected a little kid to be this bold and impossible to intimidate, and his face darkened with anger.

Bai Xi didn’t shout again, simply staring at the two of them.

"We weren’t stealing food, and we weren’t fooling around!" the waitress protested.

When Bai Xi said nothing, only kept watching, the chef finally couldn’t hold back. "You little brat, what do you know? Stop making things up in here."