"Sister, I’m looking for my brother," the little boy quickly raised his hands, "Really, I’m not a thief, I’m not here to steal anything, I’m here to find someone, truly here to find my brother..." But his voice trailed off, getting smaller and smaller because Conghua was about to pounce and bite.
"Conghua, go away," Qin Xiangnuan kicked Conghua’s little belly, "Go stay inside the house."
Conghua whimpered and reluctantly went inside the house.
Finally, there was no more barking in the yard.
The little boy also heaved a sigh of relief, even patting his little chest exaggeratedly. That really scared him to death.
Qin Xiangnuan truly felt she recognized the kid; the more she looked at his eyes and eyebrows, the more familiar they seemed. At last, she remembered where she’d seen him before - he looked somewhat similar to Jian Zhiqing, especially the eyebrows - they were identical. She finally dug up such a character from her memory.
She asked tentatively.
"Eh?" The little boy blinked, "Sister, you know me, how do you know my nickname? But I’ve long stopped being called Tangtang, my name is Jian Zhiqin now."
"Really." Qin Xiangnuan couldn’t help but laugh, "You really have grown up. Back then, you were just this tiny," she gestured the height of Jian Zhiqin back when he was still Tangtang at five years old. In a blink of an eye, four years have passed, and Jian Zhiqin was already a nine-year-old kid.
Indeed, Jian Zhiqin had a memory of such a pretty sister, who made delicious pastry and even made him a pair of shoes. He wore those shoes for two winters and remembered them vividly. All the kids in kindergarten were envious of him. Later, as he grew up and could no longer squeeze his feet into them, he cried for a long time. He still kept those shoes, which his little cousin wears now. He felt both envious and jealous, although they were once his.
The elder sister in front of him, with her arched eyebrows, gave him a strangely familiar feeling.
Was she the sister who made him the shoes?
Qin Xiangnuan brought over a basin of water, placed it on the rack, and let Jian Zhiqin wash his hands. Little boys were mischievous, unlike the well-behaved and sensible little girls. Not to mention the rural ones who rolled in the mud every day, even the city kids were dirty. Look at him now; he nearly turned the water black with the dirt from his wash.
Good thing, now he’s all cleaned up. The nine-year-old boy was like a sticky rice ball, no longer as irresistibly pinchable as before, but still, he was quite adorable now.
"Sister, I’m hungry," Jian Zhiqin pouted, tugging at Qin Xiangnuan’s clothes. His stomach even made a rumbling noise in agreement.
"I’ll get something for you," Qin Xiangnuan ruffled his hair and went into the kitchen. Sometimes she really felt that she and this kid were fated - always connected through food. He was hungry even before he was born, hungry the second time, and now hungry again.
When Jian Zhiqing came back, he saw his stinky little brother wolfing down food, his face clean and clear, not the usual mess that was tempting to smack. This stinky brat, he used to be pretty cute when he was younger, but the older he grew, the more he seemed to be asking for a beating.
"How come you’re here?" Jian Zhiqing walked over and pinched Qiao Zhilin’s chubby cheek. Jian Zhiqin’s mouth was stuffed with food, his cheeks moving up and down, and he had no room to talk right now.