Xu Chacha did just that. She took a deep breath, let go of Wen Mubai's hand, and ran into the gardenia field.
Gardenias usually bloom until July or August and then fade away. Now, the landscape is lush and green, with only a few surviving white flowers scattered about.
Xu Chacha squatted down beside a gardenia that hadn't yet faded, and sniffed its light and pleasant fragrance. She finally understood why her mother was so obsessed with perfume.
A pleasant scent is a magical thing that can instantly change your mood.
Wen Mubai stood behind Xu Chacha, who was curled up in a small ball, and her figure blocked most of the sunlight. "Come earlier next summer, it will be even more beautiful here."
Xu Chacha gently touched the flower bud with her chubby fingers, but it was unexpectedly knocked off. She tensed up and frantically grabbed at it in the air, managing to save it before it fell to the ground.
"call……"
Wen Mubai witnessed her silly antics the whole time and smiled lightly, "You like it?"
"I like it." Xu Chacha nodded, holding the white flower bud. "I'm giving it to Auntie."
Wen Mubai took it, pinched a section of the stem under the flower and played with it between her fingers. She remembered the flower wreath that Xu Chacha had given her yesterday.
"Teach Auntie how you made that flower wreath before."
“Okay.” Xu Chacha collected several whole and long enough flower stems, removed the excess large leaves, and gave a handful to Wen Mubai. “It’s very simple, Auntie, just follow me step by step.”
Ever since she helped Wen Mubai braid a bracelet, she has fallen in love with this kind of handicraft and often searches for it on video websites. She learned this during that time.
"Take out two sticks first, and make a circle around one of them." Xu Chacha's hands were small but her movements were quite nimble. She demonstrated and handed the sticks to Wen Mubai, asking him to do as she was told.
"Okay, all done." Wen Mubai showed it to her. "Check it, little teacher?"
“Yes.” Xu Chacha nodded. “Then take out another one, make the same loop, and wrap it around again. Continue doing this until you feel it’s long enough, then finish it off.”
"good."
Once she mastered the method, Wen Mubai moved quickly, her two fingers moving so nimbly they flashed by, and in no time, a beautiful and delicate flower wreath was completed under her hands.
"How do we finish this?" She turned to ask Xu Chacha, but found the little one frowning, looking at the half-finished product in her hand as if facing a formidable enemy.
As the wreaths became thicker, the number of stems that needed to be handled increased, and her small hands kept slipping out.
"Why were you so fast?" Xu Chacha asked incredulously. "Is this really your first time doing this?"
Wen Mubai smiled but said nothing. He took hers, quickly wrapped it up, and handed it back to her. "Continue teaching, teacher."
Xu Chacha was a little annoyed. Wen Mubai's actions, which surpassed even his teacher's, had completely destroyed a young man's passion for handicrafts.
Some people are just exceptionally good at everything they do; it's so frustrating.
"To finish, just wrap it around like this, and then tuck the tail into the small loop at the front." The finishing touch was relatively simple, and Xu Chacha did it herself while demonstrating.
"Is it pretty?" Wen Mubai held the finished flower wreath in his palm and invited Xu Chacha to admire it together.
"Beautiful..." It's even more beautiful than what she made.
Wen Mubai's wreath seemed to have the distance between each flower calculated, and the stems and leaves were also tightly and neatly intertwined, instantly surpassing Xu Chacha's work full of "casual beauty".
Wen Mubai put the gardenia that Xu Chacha had given her into the wreath and placed it on her head, saying, "It looks even better this way."
Xu Chacha touched the flower wreath on her head, her eyes shining.
Wen Mubai took out his phone, pointed the camera at her, and said, "Smile."
Xu Chacha professionally flashed her bright white teeth and even gave a silly "V" sign.
...
On the morning of the Lantern Festival, Xu's mother came to pick up Xu Chacha and gave Wen Mubai a ride home. Before leaving, the old man filled Xu Chacha's little schoolbag and pockets with osmanthus cakes and left her his phone number.
"Call Grandpa whenever you have time, or come over to visit. Grandpa is always here."
“Okay, I’ll call Grandpa often.” Xu Chacha patted her chest. “I guarantee I’ll complete the mission.”
Wen Mubai originally wanted to leave the old man's place and go straight home, but the Xu family insisted that she stay and play with them. Even Xu's father said that he would provide her with food and lodging so that she could stay and relax.
Knowing they meant well, and considering this was one of the few free times she had, Wen Mubai ultimately chose to stay.
And she was lucky, because some guests had cancelled their stays due to the previous heavy rain, so she was able to make up for it.
True to his word, Mr. Xu immediately took out his wallet and paid for three days' room for her. Ignoring Wen Mubai's attempts to refuse, he picked up her suitcase and said, "Your dad said that your uncle will take good care of you. It's alright."
Wen Mubai felt unfamiliar with his enthusiasm, and after hesitating for a long time, he said, "I'll just pay you for the room."
Xu's mother patted her shoulder from behind, "You really feel bad about it. Auntie will ask your dad for the money later. There's no reason for a junior to pay when we go out to play, especially since you're a great benefactor to our family."
Wen Mubai really didn't know what to say. She had met with Xu's parents quite a few times before, but it was always just mutual flattery. She didn't know why, but recently their behavior seemed to be getting weirder and weirder, which she found hard to handle.
She gave Xu Yanshu, who was silently standing behind her, a questioning look.
Forced to tie her hair into pigtails, Xu Yanshu spread her hands and shrugged at her, mouthing: What are you looking at? I'm a "victim" too.
After settling Wen Mubai in and setting a time for dinner, Xu's mother and the others led Xu Chacha back to their room.
Xu Chacha has been away for the past two days, and she's been feeling really bored. As soon as she came in, she hugged the baby's face and kissed it like crazy.
Under the onslaught of relentless kisses, Xu Chacha's young heart suffered repeated and intense trauma. She even suspected that if she had returned a day later, her parents would have taken her home in a helicopter, just like the domineering CEOs in Mary Sue novels.
"Come here, let Daddy take a look. Have you lost weight?" Xu's father stepped forward and gave Xu Chacha his familiar lift.
Her body was suspended in the air, her feet swaying weakly off the ground. "Dad, I'm only staying at Grandpa's house for one day, and Grandpa is very good to me. I've had a good meal."
Although she witnessed it firsthand, Wen Mubai almost blew up the kitchen.
"Dad is worried that you won't adapt to the new environment."
Xu Chacha suppressed a glare: Then I have nothing to say.
"Are you tired? Do you want to take a nap? We'll call you when it's time to eat." Xu's mother always felt that her child seemed to have some dark circles under his eyes.
"I'm not tired, I slept a lot." Xu Chacha shook her head.
“That’s perfect, let’s go somewhere with Dad,” said Xu’s father.
"Where to?" Xu Chacha looked up at him.
Anyway, we're going out to see the lantern festival tonight, so we might as well go somewhere together then.
"Let me introduce you to an uncle."
"Oh, okay." Life is tough, so she has to go out and sell smiles again, huh?
When Xu's mother heard this, she looked incredulous and said, "Aren't you childish?"
Mr. Xu avoided her death stare, showing no remorse whatsoever, and said, "I was just taking the kids for a walk before dinner."
Xu Chacha didn't understand the conversation between the two, but she wasn't in a hurry. She would soon find out what her mother meant by "childish".
She was led by Xu's father and walked back and forth near the elevator nearly three or four times. During this time, she asked several times, "Dad, where are we?"
Mr. Xu told her with a serious expression, "We are taking a walk."
"Then why not go to the beach?"
"The air here is fresh." Xu's father lied to the child without batting an eye.
Mr. Xu lowered his head, as if he was sending a message to someone, and then the elevator came down from the eighth floor shortly afterward.
Xu Chacha noticed that her father was clearly very interested in this elevator. When the elevator was about to arrive, he even picked her up from the ground.
"Ding—" The elevator doors opened, and a man holding a cell phone stepped out.
"Old Xu, you texted me saying something's up? What is it?"
Mr. Xu took a step forward while holding Xu Chacha in his arms, his smug little expression practically screaming that he wanted to show off Xu Chacha's face right in front of him.
"Look, this is my youngest daughter, Xu Chacha."
The man looked puzzled. "Oh, I see it. What's wrong?"
"Didn't you say last time that you wanted to see her?"
"Yes...that's right." Aren't those just a few polite words exchanged when you meet someone?
"Now you see," Xu's father said, turning to Xu Chacha. "This is Uncle Yang. Say hello."
Xu Chacha waved to him, flashing her standard business smile, "Hello, Uncle Yang."
Old Yang finally understood what this person meant.
It's not enough for him to show off his kids at private gatherings with his buddies; he also has to text him to come down and show them off in person?
But……
"Uncle, are you coming to play too?"
"Uncle's beach shorts are so fashionable!"
"Uncle, would you like some osmanthus cake? It was a gift from my grandfather, and it's really delicious."
"..." No way, Lao Yang, you have a daughter, how can you be charmed by some little girl outside? Even if she has bright eyes, can talk, has a sweet tongue, and knows how to get things done, but—
What's wrong with eating some osmanthus cake, right?
Old Yang reached out and took it, revealing a kind smile like that of an old father. "Thank you, Little Chacha. My favorite thing to eat is osmanthus cake."
Mr. Xu: "Don't you have diabetes?"
...
At 6 p.m., the group had dinner and set off for the lantern festival.
Xu's mother specially changed Xu Chacha into a light outfit so that she could move around easily. White sneakers paired with a light blue knee-length dress made her look cute and energetic.
Xu Chacha also brought her little schoolbag, but Wen Mubai took it from her as soon as she went out.
"Auntie will help you get it."
The hotel was only two intersections away from the lantern festival venue, and there were many other people who had set off with them. Even though it was already dark, there were more pedestrians than during the day.
"Baby, come here, Mommy will hold you." Xu's mother was worried that Xu Chacha would get lost if she walked behind.
Xu Chacha shook her head while holding Wen Mubai's hand, "I won't get lost if I stay with Auntie, and I'm big enough that I don't need to be carried."
As soon as she finished speaking, she pointed to a balloon shooting stall that you often see in amusement parks, "Auntie, can you come with me to play that?"
Mrs. Xu made a move to follow, but Mr. Xu stopped her, saying, "If the child wants to play, we shouldn't go with him."
Xu's mother thought about it and agreed. Wen Mubai was probably feeling quite depressed right now, and having Xu Chacha with him might cheer him up. The presence of the elders would only make the atmosphere more awkward.
"Yan Shu, do you want to go play too? Mom will give you some cash."