But now, seeing her sitting there peeling the egg, the egg white and plump, looking delicious, she couldn't help licking her lips.
She had only eaten a leftover sweet potato for lunch, and a very small one at that, and now this motion made her stomach intolerably hungry. She looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to her before slowly getting up and moving towards Ruan Jiaojiao.
Ruan Jiaojiao was lowering her head, earnestly peeling the egg. Having walked that distance, she was hungry too. She peeled quickly, and just as she was about to finish, she suddenly felt a shadow cast over her.
Looking up, she saw Wa Yiting's deliberately ingratiating smile.
"Jiaojiao, you're eating an egg," she said, striking up a conversation with particular effort as if the previous displeasure had vanished in an instant.
"..." Ruan Jiaojiao blinked and looked at her, her silent gaze questioning: what else?
"Is it tasty?" Seeing that Ruan Jiaojiao did not respond, Wa Yiting asked again, her hunger and craving for the egg making her forget the embarrassment of not having gotten a plum to eat earlier.
"..." Ruan Jiaojiao was speechless. She peeled off the last bit of the shell, split the egg in two, and under Wa Yiting's excited gaze, she bypassed Wa Yiting's outstretched hand and walked towards Ruan Qun, who was not far away.
"Xiaojiu, eat the egg." Ruan Qun was digging up a bamboo shoot and looked up at the sound of Ruan Jiaojiao's voice. His gaze fell on her hands, and though he really wanted to eat, he still refused, "Sister, eat it yourself, your brother won't eat." He paused, then corrected her in a serious tone, "Sister, you should call me brother, not Xiaojiu."
Although he was only seven years old, Ruan Qun was determined to defend his right to be a brother.
Ruan Jiaojiao didn't waste words with him and stuffed the egg directly into his mouth.
With the fragrant and soft egg in his mouth, the young Ruan Qun lost all resistance, eating it up quickly, his eyebrows lifting with joy. He tried to be sly and said, "I'll let it go this time, but don't do this again. This is to nourish my sister's body, don't give it to your brother anymore."
After swallowing the egg with a few gulps and still longing for more, he licked his lips and caught sight of Wa Yiting's almost ferocious face from behind. He was slightly startled and asked Ruan Jiaojiao in what he thought was a quiet voice, "What's wrong with Tingting? Did you two have an argument?"
Ruan Jiaojiao nibbled on her egg and followed his line of sight, replying nonchalantly, "I don't know."
Wa Yiting, with embarrassment filling her flushed face, could no longer hold it in. Furious, she yelled at Ruan Jiaojiao, "Ruan Jiaojiao, you're mean, I will never play with you again!"
After shouting, she ran off with red eyes, tears in her eyes, looking as if Ruan Jiaojiao had bullied her terribly.
"Hey, Wa Yiting, what do you mean by that? My sister is so good, where did she go wrong?" Ruan Qun might be young, but he knew to stand up for his sister. Upon hearing this, he became upset, dropped the spring shoot he hadn't pulled out, and confronted her.
That made Wa Yiting actually start crying.
"Why are you crying? I didn't bully you," Ruan Qun frowned at her.
He was only a few months younger than Wa Yiting, but he was much taller. Seeing her suddenly start crying, he was really at a loss for words. It was she who had yelled at his sister, and he hadn't even said anything; why was she crying first? Surely, as Grandma said, in this world, only sisters are cute! All other girls are just troublesome.