Chapter 10

Bai Tongsheng quickly chewed two mouthfuls and swallowed the fish.

She stood up, walked into the kitchen, and dumped the barely touched rice along with the fish on top straight into the trash can.

Bai Shuangshuang, who was still in the middle of arguing with Xu Qin, spotted the motion with her sharp eyes and called out at once. “Bai Tongsheng, did you just throw out the rice?”

Bai Tongsheng rinsed out her mouth. Hearing the shout, she pulled a funny face at her before darting out of the kitchen and racing upstairs.

Bai Shuangshuang’s face darkened. She set down her bowl and chopsticks to give chase, but Xu Qin held her back. “If she really can’t eat any more, don’t force her.”

“But she can’t just toss it like that! Sister Qin, don’t hold me back—we can’t let her get into the habit of wasting food.”

Xu Qin agreed she had a point. She had just loosened her grip when Bai Shuangshuang bolted upstairs.

A little while later, Bai Shuangshuang came back down.

Her expression had softened somewhat.

Xu Qin didn’t ask how the “lesson” had gone. “The rice is getting cold. Eat up, then head upstairs to rest. I’ll drive you to school in the morning.”

Bai Shuangshuang started to protest, but Xu Qin gave her a stern look, so she nodded reluctantly.

~~~

Bai Shuangshuang didn’t return to Bai Tongsheng’s room until after her shower.

She hadn’t closed the door completely when she left earlier; it still stood ajar, which meant the girl inside hadn’t stepped out at all in the meantime.

The moment she pushed the door open, Little Firecracker—who had been sprawled on her stomach fiddling with the tablet—shoved the device under the covers with her quick ears. She buried her head in a flash, leaving only the back of her skull poking out.

Bai Shuangshuang caught every one of her sneaky little moves and nearly burst out laughing.

She walked over to the bed. Before she could even touch her, the girl twisted away and burrowed deeper under the quilt.

Pulling up a chair, Bai Shuangshuang sat down and patted the lump. “It was just one swat on the butt. You planning to hole up in here forever now?”

Bai Tongsheng flung the covers back with a dramatic whoosh. Her pretty face was smudged like a calico cat’s, brimming with grievance and pent-up frustration as she griped, “You spanked my butt again! Even Mom’s never spanked me there!”

Bai Shuangshuang was momentarily speechless. She had come upstairs planning only to give the girl a stern talking-to, but somehow she hadn’t been able to resist landing a swat after all. As for why… well, best not to dwell on it.

Her one lingering thought was just how soft a little kid’s bottom really was.

Catching herself on that stray bit of nonsense, Bai Shuangshuang shook her head sharply to clear it away.

“You’re shaking your head? You spanked me and now you’re denying it! Bai Shuangshuang! You—you’re not human!”

No way was she admitting what had just crossed her mind. Clearing her throat awkwardly, she looked away with uncharacteristic guilt. “That was impulsive of me. I apologize. I’m sorry.”

Bai Tongsheng, who had been standing there with hands on hips like she owned the heavens, deflated like a punctured balloon. She pursed her lips, squirming uncomfortably. “Wh-what are you apologizing for out of nowhere? Even if you do, I-I’m still not apologizing to you.”

“Oh? If you hadn’t dumped the rice, I wouldn’t have spanked you in the first place. So if we’re tallying it up, Bai Tongsheng, none of this would have happened if you hadn’t wasted the food. Next time I catch you doing it, just try me—I’ll snap a photo of that red, swollen butt of yours and send it straight to Uncle and Auntie.”

Bai Shuangshuang watched the girl’s face puff up like a bloated pufferfish and realized she was starting to feel downright juvenile.

Threatening a six-year-old wasn’t exactly mature behavior for someone in her twenties.

But ever since Bai Tongsheng’s change of heart, it felt like she’d been sliding further and further down this childish road…

In the end, she didn’t manage to extract any promise from Bai Tongsheng along the lines of “I won’t waste food anymore.” The girl always went by her whims—if she truly didn’t want to do something, no amount of prodding would change her mind.

Bai Shuangshuang knew that all too well. With persuasion clearly futile, she sighed and rose from the chair. “Fine, suit yourself. I’m heading back.”

This time, Bai Tongsheng didn’t come scampering after her.

~~~

Xu Qin had finished cleaning up and gone home by then. The house was empty now except for Bai Shuangshuang and Bai Tongsheng.

She always turned in right at ten. With some time still to kill, she set an alarm on her phone.

She set the phone aside, picked up the book she’d only gotten halfway through earlier that day, flipped it open to the marked page, and settled in to read quietly under the glow of the overhead light.

Her phone rang before the alarm could go off.

She had just finished a chapter and was about to set the book down when she noticed the call. Glancing at the screen, she paused in surprise but picked up anyway. “You’re right next door. Whatever it is, why not just come say it to my face?”

Bai Tongsheng let out an awkward little hum. “Bai Shuangshuang, I can apologize to you.”

Apologize?

“You owe an apology to the farmers, not me.”

“……”

“Bai Shuangshuang! How am I supposed to keep the conversation going if you pull that?”

With a sharp click, Little Firecracker hung up the phone.

Bai Shuangshuang clutched her phone for a long moment before she snapped out of it, a mix of amusement and exasperation washing over her. Bai Tongsheng’s temper was as rotten as ever, and it always flared up for the most inexplicable reasons.

She glanced at the time on her phone. Five minutes to ten. She’d just finished a chapter of her book, and if she kept reading, she’d no doubt lie awake itching to know what came next. So she set the book aside and turned off the ten o’clock alarm.

She’d barely settled back onto the bed when a furious pounding erupted at her door—bang bang bang.

“Bai Shuangshuang! Don’t you dare go to sleep! Open up! Bai Shuangshuang! Open the door!”

The force behind those knocks didn’t match her scrawny little frame one bit.

Bai Shuangshuang opened the door, and Bai Tongsheng shoved past her, wriggling inside. Little Milk Doll had just showered, her skin still carrying the sweet scent of milky body wash.

Bai Tongsheng scrambled onto the bed with nimble ease, burrowing under the covers until she was tucked in tight. Only then did she issue her command: “Turn off the light. I’m going to sleep.”

Bai Shuangshuang: ???

She marched over and yanked the blanket away. “Go sleep in your own room. Why’d you come barging in here? Didn’t you promise to stay in your safe—whatever, just go back.”

She’d meant to remind her to stick to her safe zone, but one look at Bai Tongsheng’s earlier shameless antics made her drop it. Straight to the eviction notice instead.

Bai Tongsheng clung to the other end of the blanket like her life depended on it, refusing to budge. “I’m sleeping here tonight. I already apologized, so you have to let me stay!”

“Am I deaf or something? When exactly did you apologize?”

Bai Tongsheng beamed with smug satisfaction. “I said it into the phone after I hung up. Doesn’t matter—I said it!”

Bai Shuangshuang didn’t bother haggling over the details. “Fine, apology accepted. But I never said you could crash here, so out you go. Now.”

Bai Tongsheng whipped her head away in defiance, her hands locked onto the blanket.

Years from now, Bai Tongsheng would tower half a head over Bai Shuangshuang. But right now? She didn’t stand a chance. Bai Shuangshuang wrested the blanket free without breaking a sweat and flung it to the foot of the bed.

Force wasn’t working? No problem—Bai Tongsheng’s talent for dramatic turnarounds was pitch-perfect. In the blink of an eye, she threw her head back and wailed at the top of her lungs.

Bai Shuangshuang froze. Bai Tongsheng twisted around, tears streaming as she fixed her gaze on her.

They locked eyes in a standoff for nearly three full minutes. Finally, Bai Shuangshuang exhaled sharply, skirted the bed, and flicked off the light.

The hallway light spilled in, keeping the room from total darkness.

Hidden from Bai Shuangshuang’s view, Bai Tongsheng flashed a victorious grin. Scheme accomplished.

But her triumph was short-lived.

Bai Shuangshuang circled back and hoisted her up like a sack of potatoes—clean, efficient, no hesitation. Before Bai Tongsheng could even yelp, she was hauled out the door. The instant her feet hit the floor, the door slammed shut with a resounding bang.

Two seconds ticked by. Then the hallway exploded with heartbroken howls that could wake the dead.

“Bai Shuangshuang! I’m telling Mom on you! Bai Shuangshuang, I’m never speaking to you again!”

The room’s soundproofing did its job; the cries filtered in at a normal pitch. Bai Shuangshuang shook out the blanket and sank into bed, body finally relaxing.

Her hands shook, though. She clenched her fists, fighting the urge to fling the door open.

Bai Tongsheng’s wails tapered off. She rubbed her belly—gurgle gurgle. Hunger pangs hit hard.

The sting of rejection plus her stomach’s revolt turned her fake sobs real. No more theatrical bawling—just quiet, pitiful whimpers, like a kitten mewling in the rain.

“Bai Shuangshuang… I’m hungry. I wanna eat something.”

Sobbing softly, she sank into a squat. The hallway light bathed her in a heartbreaking aura of misery.

She lost track of time—how long she cried, how long she called out. Her stomach finally screamed defeat. Propping herself against the wall, she dragged herself upright, swiped at her damp cheeks, and whispered, “Bai Shuangshuang… I’m really never talking to you again.”

The words were so faint, she could hardly hear them herself.

No sooner had she spoken than the door creaked open. The figure inside loomed half in shadow, eyes dark and unreadable.

Bai Tongsheng’s lip quivered as she heard the question: “Noodles? Or something else?”

That voice carried a world of unspoken weight, mirroring the tangled storm in her gaze.