Chapter 167: Simple and Wonderful

"Qiu'er, Xi'er, could you please plug up that little sand trench first?"

Qin Hao asked with a helpless, somewhat broken smile, feeling as though he had been tricked by Xi'er, this silly little darling.

Originally, he thought the large sand pit Little Xi'er talked about was only big to little ones like them, but small to him. As it turned out... heh... it was actually half a meter wide!

Originally, he thought he would quickly fill the sand pit using that little water bucket belonging to the little girl named Mengmeng. As it turned out... heh... this sand absorbed water faster than anyone could imagine!

Originally, he finally saw the hope of the sand pit filling up with water. As it turned out... heh... the three little rascals actually connected the dug-out sand trench and the sand pit right at that moment!

Qin Hao felt like he was falling apart. Even the donkeys of the production teams were never worked this hard!

"Brother Hao, are you tired from carrying the water?"

Hearing this, Little Qiu'er, who was leading Little Dong'er to extend the little sand trench, raised her little head and blinked her big eyes at him.

Qin Hao: "...... No... not tired!"

Good grief, with that little look in your eyes, would I dare say I'm tired? You were this close to saying the words, "You're so weak."

"Hiahia... Keep it up, Brother Hao! Xi'er's little trench is going to be full of water very soon. You're doing great!"

Little Xi'er cheered innocently in her milky voice. Beside her, the little girl named Mengmeng also had flushed cheeks, looking extremely excited.

"Sigh..."

Qin Hao sighed, mentally and physically exhausted. Glancing at Wen Xiaorou, who was squatting beside the little ones, he picked up his small bucket and prepared to fetch more water from the seaside, but right at that moment, Wen Xiaorou suddenly spoke up.

First, she smiled at Qin Hao, and then turned to the little ones, saying softly, "Qiu'er, Xi'er, let's stop playing with the sand pit for now. Let's go drink some water and eat some fruit. Afterward, Brother Hao and Big Sister will take you to wade in the ocean waves!"

"Wade in the ocean waves!"

Little Xi'er raised her little head in pleasant surprise, pointing her tiny finger toward the beach and asking, "Is that where we're going?"

Wen Xiaorou nodded. "Yes, indeed."

"Hiahia... We're going to wade in the waves!"

Little Xi'er burst into excited laughter. She had long been fascinated by those rolling and receding waves, but Brother Hao wouldn't let them play there, and they had promised him they wouldn't.

Good kids, obedient darlings—a promise made must be kept. Despite her longing, she had held back all this time, and now, the opportunity had finally arrived!

"Mengmeng, Qiu'er, let's go drink some water quickly! Once we finish our water, we're going over there to play!"

Excitedly, Little Xi'er grabbed little Mengmeng's small hand, then called out to Little Qiu'er and Little Dong'er. Holding hands, they all ran happily toward the sun umbrella.

"Phew..."

Seeing this, Qin Hao let out a long breath of relief. He looked at Wen Xiaorou and said, "Thank you."

Wen Xiaorou gave him an eye-roll, then picked up the small shovel the little ones had discarded. Walking toward the resting area, she remarked speechlessly:

"Are you an idiot? If you're tired, can't you just say so? You deserved to suffer."

"Hehe..." Qin Hao stepped closer to her and chuckled. "Isn't it because you were here? With you around, how could I possibly be tired!"

"Such a smooth-talker..." Wen Xiaorou's face flushed shyly as she murmured softly, quickening her pace a little.

"Hehe, getting tired was worth it after all. Not bad!" Qin Hao watched her retreating figure and chuckled under his breath.

"Mengmeng, have some water. Big Sister says little friends should drink lots of water and less juice so they can grow tall!"

Beneath the sun umbrella, Little Xi'er handed her little bunny water bottle to Little Mengmeng, speaking with adorable earnestness.

"Mmm-hmm, you drink first, Xi'er," Little Mengmeng said, tilting her head slightly.

"Hiahia... You're Xi'er's good friend. Good friends drink first!"

"Mmm-hmm, you're so nice, Xi'er," Little Mengmeng said happily as she took the small bottle.

"Hiahia..."

Winning Little Mengmeng's praise made Little Xi'er's smile even sweeter and more adorable.

"Drink slowly, Donger."

Nearby, Little Qiu'er was holding her little frog water bottle, carefully feeding water to Little Dong'er sip by sip.

The little one appeared very loving and responsible. Whenever they went out to play, she was constantly taking care of her younger sister.

At this moment, Qin Hao and Wen Xiaorou also walked over. Seeing that the little ones had finished their water, they took out snacks and fruit for them to eat and rest for a while.

"Come, come, time for watermelon! It's chilled and very refreshing!"

Just as everyone was chatting, laughing, eating, and resting, a voice suddenly rang out from behind them.

Turning their heads, they saw a handsome young man with a buzz cut walking over, carrying a tray of sliced watermelon.

"Big Brother!"

Looking at the approaching young man, Qin Hao paused in momentary confusion, only to hear a tiny, milky voice pipe up beside him—it was Little Mengmeng.

"Did you have fun playing? Look, your little face is all red."

Using his free hand, the young man gently patted the head of little Mengmeng, who had run up to him, and then smiled warmly at Qin Hao and the others.

"Hello everyone, I'm Mengmeng's older brother, Jiang Xiaolang."

"Jiang Xiaolang?!"

Before the others could recover their wits at these words, Qin Hao, who had been momentarily stunned, cried out in surprise, "How are you related to Jiang Xiaoxue?"

"Uh..." Jiang Xiaolang blinked in a daze, looking at him. "You know my sister?!"

"Goodness! It really is you! I was wondering why you looked a bit familiar!"

Qin Hao stood up with a smile. "I'm Qin Hao, from Qin's Entertainment!"

"Oh, oh..."

Jiang Xiaolang made a sound of sudden realization, then said with an awkward expression, "Sorry, ha, never heard of you, don't know you..."

Qin Hao: ......

You really are something else. If you've never heard of me and don't know me, what are you making that sound of realization for?!

"Hehe... Um, could you let me put down the watermelon first? Look, the little ones are already licking their lips," Jiang Xiaolang said with a dry laugh, feeling a bit intimidated by Qin Hao's gaze.

"Put it on the table,"

Wen Xiaorou chimed in with a smile. "I really didn't expect you to be Jiang Xiaoxue's younger brother. I happen to be a fan of your sister's, you know."

"Haha... Is that so?" Jiang Xiaolang put down the watermelon and smiled. "If my sister knew she had such a pretty fan, she'd definitely be thrilled!"

Wen Xiaorou: (*'▽'*)??

Qin Hao: "You're quite the smooth talker, aren't you?"

Jiang Xiaolang: (??_??)

...

Matters between adults were far too complicated, but children were much simpler. Sharing food and sharing toys were the most important ways they knew to be good friends.

Case in point: since Little Xi'er had shared her water with Little Mengmeng earlier, it was now Little Mengmeng's turn to return the favor.

"Xi'er, you can have this big piece of watermelon. It's sweet, cool, and super delicious!"

Little Mengmeng picked out the largest slice of watermelon and handed it to Little Xi'er.

"Hiahia... Thank you, Mengmeng!"

Little Xi'er took it happily, then let out an enthusiastic little cheer and took a bite.

"So sweet, it's so yummy!"

"Mmm-hmm!"

Little Mengmeng bounced with joy, then picked up another slice and handed it to Little Qiu'er. "Qiu'er, you have some too. It's really good!"

"Mmm-hmm, thank you, Mengmeng. I'll feed Dong'er first, you eat too."

Little Qiu'er said with a sweet smile. With that, she brought the watermelon close to the mouth of Little Dong'er, who was tugging at the hem of her pants, and spoke in a gentle, milky voice:

"Dong'er, take a bite. Once you're done eating, Big Sister will take you to play."

"Mmph~"

Little Dong'er lowered her head and took a bite. Then, raising her little face smeared with watermelon juice, she babbled:

"Big Sister~ eat~~"

"Tee-hee..."

...

After finishing the watermelon and resting a bit longer, Little Xi'er couldn't sit still any longer. She bounced over to Wen Xiaorou, grabbed her hand, and shook it gently as she whined in a soft, milky voice:

"Sister Xiaorou..."

"Alright, alright, I'll take you out to play."

Wen Xiaorou smiled and gently tapped the tip of Little Xi'er's nose. Immediately after, accompanied by Qin Hao and Jiang Xiaolang, she led the little ones to the beach to wade in the waves.

Wave after wave rolled in, and wave after wave of children's laughter echoed along the shore.

When the waves came in, they retreated with squeates of delightful surprise; when the waves receded, they chased after them with milky cheers, never growing tired of the game.

This was their happiness—so simple yet wonderfully magical.