"Okay, okay."
After her mother left, Xu Chacha pulled her arms back and brought her chubby little face close to the camera. She pouted her pink lips and touched the screen, making a clear "mua" sound.
Xu Chacha smiled sweetly, "I'll leave a kiss here first, and give the birthday present to Auntie tomorrow!"
"Received, thank you Chacha."
After hanging up the phone, Wen Mubai felt inexplicably relieved.
She stared at the cake on the coffee table, then tried to put another piece in her mouth with her fork, a smile automatically spreading across her lips.
Mmm, it's sweet.
Chapter 19
The reason why Xu Chacha went to bed early and got up early and started taking care of her health from the age of seven is because she died suddenly in her previous life.
In order to earn money as soon as possible so that she could live independently from her aunt's house, Xu Chacha rushed to two fashion week rehearsals and evening shows in three days, and her total sleep time was no more than five hours.
She remembered that after she stepped off the stage, her head was buzzing and she had tinnitus. She thought it was her old problem of low blood sugar acting up again, and she was even thinking of buying a cake to treat herself on the way back. She never expected that this time she would just die.
Therefore, Xu Chacha cherishes her hard-won new opportunity.
However, she didn't go to bed on time today, which was unusual for her. She stuffed the lamp into the quilt, curled up in a ball, and fiddled with two red strings in her hands.
She had thought it over. Wen Mubai certainly didn't lack expensive gifts, but she didn't want to give a perfunctory one. After thinking for a long time, she finally had an idea when she saw the wooden beaded red string that Wen Mubai had given her on her right hand.
On her phone were knitting tutorials she had found online. The instructor had taught her very carefully, but handicrafts are the kind of thing that you can learn just by looking at them, but you can't do them well once you start.
Xu Chacha breathed on her bare fingers, somewhat complaining to her mother why her nails were cut so short that they couldn't hold the rope end.
"Just follow me like this... then like this... and finally tie a slipknot at the end, and a simple and delicate bracelet is done!" The blogger's cheerful voice came through the receiver. Her nimble hands seemed to magically create a beautiful and neat four-strand braid in just a few strokes.
"How is it simple!" Xu Chacha angrily threw down the rope in her hand.
She struggled for almost half an hour, but couldn't even tie a basic knot, and her fingers were chafed raw.
What's most infuriating is that the screen is filled with comments like "Returned after learning", "It's really simple", and "Thank you, blogger", as if they are collectively mocking her clumsiness.
Xu Chacha sulked to herself for a while, then shamelessly picked up the rope again.
Her childish face scrunched up, her eyes more serious than ever before.
"I refuse to believe that I can't even make a bracelet properly."
...
Because she went to bed late the night before, Xu Chacha was unable to get up on time the next day.
When Wen Mubai was led inside by Butler Zhang, her room was still tightly closed.
"Miss is still sleeping. Please sit and wait a while while I go to wake her."
"It's alright, there's still half an hour before class starts, let her sleep." Wen Mubai took out the books he brought and sat down on the sofa.
Just before nine o'clock, there was finally some noise from upstairs.
Xu Chacha was wearing a light pink nightgown, with marks from sleeping on the pillow still on her face. She wasn't wearing shoes and was running down the stairs barefoot.
"What should I do? What should I do? I overslept."
"Oh my, Miss!" Butler Zhang was startled when he saw her appearance and quickly went over to pick her up. "No rush, it's not nine o'clock yet, let's have breakfast first."
"That's good, that's good." Xu Chacha patted her chest in relief, then leaned close to Butler Zhang's ear mysteriously, "Has Auntie arrived yet? I prepared a birthday present for her, she'll be so surprised when she sees it!"
"It was quite a surprise." Wen Mubai, who had been quiet all along, closed his book and stood up. "Today I caught a little lazybones."
Xu Chacha's happy smile froze on her face, and she said awkwardly, "Auntie, when did you arrive?"
"I forgot to mention, Miss Wen arrived half an hour ago," Butler Zhang added a moment later.
"Put me down! Put me down!" Xu Chacha covered her burning cheeks with both hands. "I haven't brushed my teeth, washed my face, or combed my hair yet. I can't be seen by anyone."
"Such a heavy idol image at such a young age." Wen Mubai squatted down in front of her. "Auntie has seen everything she needed to see, there's no use in covering it up anymore."
Xu Chacha stood with her hands behind her back, her left foot stepping on her right, her round toes awkwardly intertwined, and her small heels tinged with a pretty light pink, just like her face.
"I'm usually very pretty."
"You look beautiful now." Wen Mubai ruffled her messy hair. "Eat first, then we'll have class."
"I eat very quickly, Auntie, wait for me." Xu Chacha obediently ran to the dining table and started gulping down her milk.
She is extremely dissatisfied with her height and now drinks a large glass of milk every morning and evening.
After eating three xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), Xu Chacha let out a burp, wiped her mouth, and stood up.
By this time, Butler Zhang had already found the slippers that she had thrown off. She knelt down and helped her put them on, saying, "Miss, let me comb your hair for you."
Every time Xu Chacha wakes up, her hair is all sticky and looks like a golden lion's mane.
"Auntie, comb my hair." Xu Chacha covered her head and hid behind Wen Mubai. "Grandma, you should go and rest."
"Alright, then call me if you get hungry, Miss."
"Mmm." Xu Chacha nodded.
Wen Mubai took her little hand and walked back to the room, then picked up the pink cushion comb from the dressing table and combed her hair.
Xu Cha's hair was longer than when they first met; when tied up, it reached down to her collarbone.
“Grandma Zhang’s hair-tying is so painful,” Xu Chacha complained to her in a low voice, frowning and making an exaggerated expression. “She pulls on the scalp really tightly.”
Wen Mubai could picture the scene from her description. It seemed that the older generation thought it was better to tie one's hair up tightly so that it wouldn't fall out easily.
"Then Auntie, tie it a little looser."
"Auntie is fine." Xu Chacha swung her feet. "Auntie's hair doesn't hurt at all when she braids it."
"Thank you for the compliment, my little darling."
The child didn't have much hair, so after Wen Mubai tied it up, he casually wrapped it into a small bun for Xu Chacha and secured it with a hair tie.
It's hot, so putting my hair up makes me look more energetic.
Xu Chacha shook her head in front of the mirror, quite satisfied with Wen Mubai's cooking skills.
"Oh right, my gift." Xu Chacha tiptoed off the chair, jumped onto the bed, and stuck her bottom out to feel for her bracelet in the pillow.
"Found it!" Xu Chacha blinked, eagerly awaiting Wen Mubai's evaluation, as if presenting a treasure to him.
In her palm was a thin red string bracelet. The design was simple, but its charm lay in its delicate and small size. Upon closer inspection, one could see a few uneven spots on it, which were traces of hand-made work.
"Did you do this?" Wen Mubai asked. (GZH: lesbian2088, all yuri resources are available)
"Mmm," Xu Chacha said, "It might still be a little ugly, but it's the best one I've ever made. Auntie, don't you like it?"
She tilted her head back and stared at Wen Mubai's face, which revealed neither joy nor anger.
"I like it," Wen Mubai said softly.
Looking at this bracelet, you can imagine how this little one clumsily wove it little by little.
They're definitely adorably earnest.
"I'm glad you like it!" Xu Chacha's soft, chubby hands picked up the rope and put it on Wen Mubai's hand. "The previous lollipops don't count. This is Chacha's token of love for Auntie."
It's all thanks to Wen Mubai for saving her; most of what she has now is due to his kindness.
Wen Mubai couldn't hide his amusement, and said in a helpless tone, "I already told you this isn't a token of love, you idiot."
"I'm not stupid." Xu Chacha said seriously.
Wen Mubai noticed the dark circles under her eyes; they were very light, but they stood out against her milky-white skin.
He raised his hand and pinched her puffed-up cheeks, the feel of which was as good as ever. "So, you silly girl, you stayed up all night braiding bracelets last night and that's why you woke up late today?"
“Yes…” Xu Chacha’s voice lowered.
"Thank you." Wen Mubai lowered his head, brushed aside her soft bangs, and touched her forehead with his lips. "Auntie will cherish it."
Xu Chacha finally smiled happily, completely forgetting about being called an "idiot." She raised her head, lifted her chin, and kissed Wen Mubai on the cheek.
Happy birthday, Auntie! May you be happy today, happy tomorrow, and may you only live good days from now on!
Wen Mubai smiled and affectionately hooked her nose.
"You're so sweet-talking."
Chapter 20
Wen Mubai was an exceptionally dedicated teacher, so much so that Xu Chacha felt she would be letting him down if she didn't improve her grades.
So, in the second test two weeks later, she got a little carried away and accidentally raised her average score for the three subjects to ninety.
When Xu's mother saw the score, she was overjoyed and tried to stuff a thick wad of money into Wen Mubai's pocket as payment for his lessons, but Wen Mubai refused.
"I didn't do much. Cha Cha is smart and understands things immediately."
Wen Mubai was unwilling to accept the money, but Xu's parents couldn't accept this favor for nothing.
Upon returning home, Xu's father increased his investment in the film adaptation of her short story, raising the project's budget from a low-budget art film to that of a commercial film released during the Spring Festival.
School starts in September, but the entrance exam for new students is usually held half a month before the start of the semester. Xu's mother enrolled Xu Chacha in A Primary School, and to be on the safe side, she also chose several other good primary schools so that Xu Chacha would have a backup plan if she didn't pass the exam.
During those days, Xu Chacha studied very hard, getting up early and working late. She had to make sure that her level of effort matched her score of 90 so as not to arouse suspicion.
On the day of the test, Xu Chacha brought her own pink thermos, which contained American ginseng and goji berries, good for brightening the eyes and keeping her alert. If she felt sleepy during the test, she would take a sip.
Today, Xu's mother dressed her in a black and white lace dress, which looked more formal, and paired it with shiny leather shoes.
Are the new shoes uncomfortable?
Xu Chacha bounced around twice on the spot, her braids flicking, "It feels so good."
"That's good." Xu's mother gave her a few final words of advice in the car, "Concentrate during the exam, don't look around, and if you can't write something, leave it for later..."
These were all phrases that Xu Chacha knew so well she could almost recite them by heart, but she still listened attentively as her mother finished speaking, adding, "I know, Chacha isn't nervous."
"Hmm, don't worry, Chacha is so smart, she'll definitely pass the exam."