Song's Mother, also known as Zhou Sisi, was momentarily stunned. Gazing into her son's pure eyes, she suddenly understood what he meant.
She felt like laughing, yet also wanted to cry. Covering her mouth, she waved at the saleswoman, "Buy it all, buy everything."
It seemed like Jiang Yan had given her a son who could express himself.
After Lu Yuliang returned, Zhou Sisi took her to try on clothes for Jiang Yan. Lu Yuliang thought the two children would look cute together in matching outfits, so she planned to purchase them.
However, when Lu Yuliang was about to pay, Zhou Sisi pulled her away, saying she had already paid for them, as a gift for the children's first meeting.
Jiang Yan was wearing a red embroidered horse-face dress with a white furry vest, the red and white contrasting beautifully with her soft, chubby face, making her utterly adorable.
Song Li'an wore a matching top and pants, livening up his usually inexpressive face. Even without speaking, he appeared demure and endearing.
They planned to have a meal before heading back, so they parked the car and went to find a restaurant together.
The two children walked ahead, wearing the same outfits, yet their personalities vastly differed.
A few days earlier, when Jiang Yan's grandfather with the big beard brought her to buy a cake, she had befriended everyone along the way.
Her outfit was eye-catching, and many people recognized her.
Jiang Yan would loudly greet them, "Hello, aunty! We're not twins, he's my brother!"
Zhou Sisi watched the silent Song Li'an and thought to herself, "This is already good progress, we'll take it one day at a time."
Suddenly, Jiang Yan reached out and tapped Song Li'an, telling him, "Say hello to the aunty!"
Song Li'an hesitated for a moment but eventually said, "Hello, aunty."
The woman didn't understand the children's personalities but smiled and replied, "How smart and polite you both are, such good children."
Zhou Sisi tightly gripped Lu Yuliang's arm, her voice somewhat muffled as she said, "Your child must be an angel sent by the heavens, right?"
Lu Yuliang was perplexed, unsure why this beautiful woman, who had seemed gloomy a moment ago, was suddenly acting so intimate with her. She could only humor her, "Well, we're Asian, so even if he was sent to us, it would have been by the Goddess of Mercy, or at least the Mother Goddess..."
Zhou Sisi bit her lip and twisted Lu Yuliang's arm, thinking, "Woman, you've just ruined my attempt at being emotional."
Jiang Yan, dressed in her pretty little dress, happily pulled Song Li'an along as they walked ahead. Then, they stopped in front of a hot pot fish restaurant. After exchanging glances with Song Li'an for half a minute, Jiang Yan turned back and said, "Mom, my brother wants to eat fish."
Lu Yuliang didn't indulge her, bluntly calling out her daughter's usual tactic, "Don't pin your own desires on your brother. An'an, auntie is asking you, do you want to eat fish?"
Song Li'an looked at Jiang Yan, blinked his eyes, and obediently said, "I want to eat..."
"Aww!" Lu Yuliang was utterly charmed. She pushed Zhou Sisi, "Your son is so well-behaved! Smart and thoughtful."
Zhou Sisi thought to herself, "Only towards your daughter. Usually, he's aloof with me. I can't say that out loud, or I'll lose face as a mother."
So, the group ended up having a piping hot hot pot fish meal. The local restaurants tended to be generous, leaving leftovers even for small portions, which were packed for them to take home.
Lu Yuliang, the skilled mother, deflected responsibility, saying to her family, "I had planned for us to eat at home, but who knew Jiang Yan wouldn't leave the hot pot fish restaurant..."
The adults all laughed merrily at Jiang Yan's expense.
Before Jiang Yan could protest, her father scooped her up and nuzzled her cheek with his rough face. Pretending to be fierce to tease his daughter, he said, "Sneaking off to eat fish behind Dad's back? Huh? Are you a greedy little cat?"
Jiang Yan rested on his shoulder and whispered, "I didn't sneak, I got you some pig's blood soup to take home."
Her father laughed heartily, finding his little cotton ball utterly endearing. Jiang Yan squinted her eyes and smiled, feeling her charm was as potent as ever.
...
That night, the neighborhood children gathered to play with sparklers.
Heart-shaped, star-shaped, they looked so beautiful when lit. Jiang Yan ran over to watch.
The other children were very welcoming, giving her a sparkler and helping her light it.
A sparkler burns for less than a minute, its bright, dazzling sparks flaring in the dark night before quickly fading away. Jiang Yan made a wish on the sparks, hoping for the same happiness year after year.
After making her wish, she ran back to get candies for the other children.
The porch light was dim, so she didn't see Song Li'an approaching her, clutching a sparkler.
After giving out the candies and saying thanks, Jiang Yan was called back by Lu Yuliang to go to bed.
Song Li'an had seen Jiang Yan chatting and laughing with the other children, just like she did with him. He stood in the dark street for a while, slowly blinking his eyes, before returning.
Zhou Sisi asked him curiously, "Did Jiang Yan go to sleep? How come she didn't play with the sparklers?"
Song Li'an mumbled an "mm" and put the unopened sparkler away. He then took off his shoes and socks, ready to go to bed.
...
A few days later, Zhou Sisi suddenly approached Lu Yuliang with her phone, saying the group chat had compiled a list of children who hadn't received their vaccinations, and both children were on it.
In other words, Jiang Yan and Song Li'an needed to get vaccinated.