"Yes, she asked me to accompany her for half a month," Yitian answered thoughtfully, tilting her head.
Two parallel timelines of memories filled her little head, and I was worried that it would confuse her.
At this moment, seeing her articulate and clear, I felt relieved. Follow current novels on NoveI~Fire.net
The little girl, though young, was exceptionally bright and quick-witted.
Plus, she was brave, with memories of talking to the baby in her belly and playing with a little snake, yet she wasn't scared at all.
It seems, she's bound to do great things in the future.
To ease my mother's mind, I asked with a smiling face, "Is that beautiful auntie nice to you?"
"The beautiful auntie is very gentle, and she gave me yummy food to eat," Yitian replied with her childish, milky voice.
Finally, my mom felt reassured, so she called to ask for a half-day leave from the supermarket manager and informed Yitian's mother, Mingwen, to come to pick her up.
Worried that my mom couldn't handle it alone, I also took half a day off.
By the time Mingwen arrived,
We handed Yitian back to Mingwen together.
Mingwen looked somewhat doubtful as she asked, "She can recognize me now, right?"
"Yes, she can." Deep down, I wasn't very sure and didn't have much confidence.
Even after Yitian's memory had recovered, she still saw me as her mother.
While waiting for Mingwen to come, my mom and I taught Yitian many times.
Only then did she nod, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Mingwen picked up Yitian and placed her on her lap, "Xiao Tian, do you recognize Mommy?"
"I do, Mommy, you like my brother more than me, and you yelled at me, calling me a drag," Li Yitian responded blankly, void of any ripple in her gaze.
My heart clinched tightly; it seemed Yitian's family favored boys over girls.
Xiao Yitian saying such things in front of me, I figured it was her simple way of trying to make me pity her, hoping I would keep her by my side.
But after all, she's just a child.
Only when she grew up would she realize that, as much as I wanted to, I was powerless to keep her with me.
Mingwen felt extremely awkward, frowning as she scolded, "You hold grudges, don't you? Your father and I have never starved you."
"I do hold grudges, I remember all the instances when you treated my brother better! Although you never starved me, when we had chicken legs, my brother got the bigger ones, and I got the small ones," Li Yitian murmured softly, "I eat slowly, and by the time my brother finished his, even my little chicken leg would become his."
At that moment, my chest ached unbearably, and I could only think of stealing Yitian away to raise her myself.
"Your brother is younger, still growing, what's wrong with letting him have a little more?" Mingwen, utterly embarrassed, admonished Yitian.
I coughed lightly, "Yitian is still little, don't be so harsh on her."
"How can a child not be disciplined? Even when Kong Rong was young, he knew to let others have the better pears," Mingwen said dissatisfied.
My hand clenched into a fist time and again, ultimately acknowledging my helplessness, I wrote a note for Yitian, "Sweetheart, here's your sister's phone number and WeChat ID. Make sure you remember it, even if you lose the paper. If you miss your sister, you can still reach out to me."
"Sister, I will always, always remember you, and the little brother in your belly." Yitian took the paper from me, her tiny arms wrapping around my neck.
In a voice only the two of us could hear, I said, "Mm, your sister will remember Yitian, too."
"I will always remember how my sister protected me without regard for her own life, remember that my sister is the person in this world who cares and loves Yitian the most."
Yitian's voice choked up, holding me even tighter.