Chapter 68: The Best of Now

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“Little Bai, don’t be afraid. The little penguins won’t bite, they’re really cute!”

Today, the aquarium’s little penguins were once again greeted by a few adorable children eager to feed them.

As the slightly older one, Little Xi’er followed closely behind Little Bai, her tiny mouth chattering nonstop like a little old mother.

Little Bai was both exasperated and helpless—she couldn’t bring herself to scold this well-meaning chatterbox, after all, Xi’er was only trying to help.

Meanwhile, Little Qiu’er had transformed into a hands-on teacher, demonstrating the proper way to feed the penguins to her two older sisters, Little Chun’er and Little Xia’er.

Nearby, the young aquarium attendant watched in silence, smiling in amusement at the scene. These little ones were just too adorable.

Especially the one dressed so festively and talking a mile a minute—she remembered this child.

She recalled that only a few days ago, this same child had visited for the first time and, terrified, dropped all the krill on the ground when feeding the penguins.

And now, she was consoling another little one, telling her not to be afraid. How truly endearing and amusing.

Little Bai was about to start feeding, and Little Xi’er was so excited she couldn’t just chatter—her little body bounced up and down as she anxiously called out that this wasn’t the right way, and that the penguin might bite her hand. She insisted it should be done like this, like that…

Startled, Little Bai’s hand trembled and she dropped the krill, which was instantly devoured by a nearby penguin.

Little Bai: “…Stop! You little rascal! Can you please be quiet? If you keep talking, I’ll smack your little bottom!”

“Whoosh!”

Little Xi’er instantly covered her mouth with one hand and her bottom with the other, her little face looking timidly at Little Bai.

Little Bai glanced over: “Silly goose! Here, you feed the penguins, and I’ll watch and learn!”

With that, she handed the bucket of krill to Little Xi’er.

Flustered, Little Xi’er immediately abandoned her defensive posture and waved her hands, squealing, “No, no, Little Bai, I’m scared! The penguins will bite my hand!”

She shrieked and darted behind Little Qiu’er, hiding herself among the three Yang sisters, then poked her little head out to steal a glance at Little Bai.

Little Bai: …

Outside the barrier, Qin Xue and her two companions watched Little Xi’er’s comical and adorable antics and burst into laughter.

“Xi’er is getting cuter by the day, truly a little bundle of joy,” Qin Xue said with a smile.

“More like naughtier every day,” Tan Jin’er shook her head with a resigned smile. “And this little one is so sensitive, with her own little thoughts.”

“That’s a good thing,” Mother Bai said, smiling at Tan Jin’er. “Jin’er, you might not realize it, but since you and Xi’er joined us, Qiu’er and the others have become much more cheerful, their laughter more frequent.”

She sighed, “These little ones have had a tough life. To be able to play so happily and freely now was once beyond their wildest dreams.”

“Especially Little Qiu’er. Her days used to be spent waking up early to help Qingzi take her sisters to school, then going to buy pancakes with him. Despite being so small, she also had to care for Little Dong’er. Thankfully, Dong’er is a sensible child and never caused trouble.”

“At noon, when Qingzi didn’t come home, she would sit on a little chair with Dong’er in her arms and nap. When she woke, she’d help Qingzi collect money—her favorite task.”

“Do you know why she loved collecting money? Not because of poverty—at her age, how could she even understand what that meant?”

Mother Bai’s gaze grew gentle as she looked toward the grinning Little Qiu’er. “It was because she wanted to go to school, because she felt envious and lonely.”

“Her only playmate was Little Bai. Every time she returned from helping Qingzi, she would sit at the courtyard gate, waiting and watching for Little Bai to come home from school.”

“I remember once she waited a long time, but Little Bai never came. She went to ask Little Bai’s father why she hadn’t returned—was she lost? Should she go find her? Little Bai’s father told her…”

At this, Mother Bai’s eyes reddened as she looked at the other two women. “He told that little one, ‘Little Bai was invited to a classmate’s birthday and will be staying over tonight, so she won’t be coming home.’”

“I remember when she left that day, she seemed to have lost her soul. Her little face was blank, her anticipation and smile gone, because… she had only Little Bai for a friend, but Little Bai had others.”

“After that, she didn’t seek out Little Bai for days. Until one day, Qingzi came to the shop to buy noodles. Old Bai saw his worried expression and asked what was wrong. Qingzi just shook his head, saying he didn’t know.”

“He said Little Qiu’er hadn’t smiled for days, her whole spirit dulled. He had taken her to the hospital, but aside from some malnutrition, there was nothing else seriously wrong. He was considering taking her to see a fortune-teller and asked Old Bai if he knew a reliable one, saying money wasn’t an issue.”

“Little Bai overheard this and ran like mad to Qingzi’s house. When Qingzi and I arrived, we found the two little ones crying in each other’s arms.”

“From then on, Little Bai never went to her classmate’s house again, always coming home on time. And Little Qiu’er regained her cheerful smile. Yet she also quietly developed a fondness for counting and saving money, reporting to Little Bai every day how much she had collected.”

“One day, curious, I asked Little Bai why Qiu’er did this. Little Bai, with a sly smile, told me she had said to Qiu’er: ‘When you save enough, you can come to kindergarten with me and make lots of friends to play with us.’”

At this point, Mother Bai looked at the three little ones feeding the penguins hand-in-hand. She wiped her red eyes and said tenderly, “Little Bai and Qiu’er are more mature and affectionate than we realize. So, Jin’er, Xi’er as she is now is just perfect—her laughter brings happiness and warmth to this family. That’s all Qingzi ever hoped for.”

“You don’t have to push her to grow up or be sensible. The two children beside her will accompany her through both.”

Tan Jin’er fell silent after listening to Mother Bai.

Yes, ever since she met Yang Qing and Xi’er joined Qiu’er and the others, she had witnessed their perseverance and kindness, and the girls’ thoughtfulness and sweetness.

So she tried her best to do everything she could, pushing herself to grow and mature, hoping to shelter this new family as Yang Qing did.

At the same time, she subconsciously pushed her little sister, wanting Xi’er to grow up and be sensible, to be as well-behaved and clever as Qiu’er, instead of being so silly and naive.

Was she wrong? Not really. She was just too impatient, forgetting that growth takes time and experience.

“Xi’er… yes, just as she is now is best—happy, carefree, without worries…”

Tan Jin’er smiled. At that moment, as she watched the bouncing, squealing Xi’er, her eyes were filled with loving tenderness, all impatience gone.

Meanwhile, Qin Xue silently watched the grinning Little Qiu’er, her eyes full of pity.

She had learned of Yang Qing’s hardships raising four younger sisters alone and had always assumed that Qiu’er’s fondness for money was because of poverty. She hadn’t realized…

She hadn’t realized this little girl’s feelings came from such a touching place.

But thinking it over, Mother Bai was right—a child of three couldn’t possibly comprehend “poverty.”

It was all about fear and hope.

Loneliness made her afraid—afraid to lose her only friend. And from that fear grew hope—the hope of going to school with her only friend, of making more friends together.