It turned out to be a bunch of fireflies!
Perhaps because there were lights on in the house, the fireflies weren’t very bright. Xiu Xi noticed this, glanced at Ruan Jiaojiao, and turned around to turn off the lights.
"What’s going on, why did the lights go out, is there no electricity..." Just as a member of the Ruanlin Family approached the doorway, she saw the lights go out and thought there was a power outage, muttering suspiciously for a moment. When she caught sight of what was happening inside the room, she fell silent.
Kneeling in the mosquito net, Ruan Jiaojiao looked up at Xiu Xi, who was standing outside the net with a glowing bottle in his hands. The bottle was quite big, a clean, shiny glass bottle, with a piece of red gauze tied around the top. As the bottle glowed, the red cloth atop it shimmered as well, incredibly beautiful.
Even the older Ruanlin Family member had to admit that Xiu Xi had a way with charming people that was a thousand times better than her own obedient treasure’s older brothers.
Ruan Jiaojiao was also full of surprise and admiration, fixating on the bottle, exceedingly fond of it.
Her delicate little face flickered in the light of the bottle, making her eyes sparkle as well.
"Brother Xi, is this for me?" she asked joyfully, popping her little head out from under the mosquito net.
Xiu Xi nodded with a smile curling at the corners of his mouth, very pleased that she liked his gift.
These days, it wasn’t just the Ruan Family who doted on Ruan Jiaojiao, but the Lu Family as well, especially the she-member, who seemed to bring her little gifts for no reason at all. Today she brought over an electric fan that worked automatically, which made Jiaojiao beam with happiness, and that made him feel a great sense of crisis.
That’s why he went to the back mountain late at night and caught a whole big bottle of fireflies to bring back.
Seeing her like it made him incredibly happy, feeling like he had finally won a round in return.
Ruan Jiaojiao took the bottle, truly captivated by it, never tiring of looking at it. Then, the matriarch of the Ruanlin Family approached with a smile, asking, "Xiaoxi, did you go to the back mountain today just to catch these?"
No wonder he didn’t go during the day and insisted on going at night.
Xiu Xi nodded earnestly.
Seeing that Ruan Jiaojiao was still engrossed with the bottle, he didn’t disturb her.
The Ruanlin Family member watched for a while too and, seeing that it was getting late, finally persuaded Xiu Xi, who seemingly couldn’t bear to leave, "Xiaoxi, you must be tired too, go on and get some sleep. Tomorrow we’re going to the market in town."
Tomorrow was the thirty-first, and on the first of September, the two of them were supposed to start school. The Ruanlin Family Matriarch planned to take them to buy backpacks and stationery.
At her words, Xiu Xi nodded.
Ruan Jiaojiao watched him walk away slowly, knowing what he was waiting for. She smiled and called out, "Brother Xi." When he looked back, she continued, "Thank you, Jiaojiao really loves it, it’s my favorite gift from Brother Xi, far more than anyone else’s gifts."
Upon hearing this, Xiu Xi’s usually somber eyes lit up completely, his whole body perked up, and he nodded vigorously, smiling at her before he finally turned and left.
The Ruanlin Family member watched from the side with a hidden smile.
She was pleased and entertained by the development. Compared to when Xiu Xi first arrived at their house, he had become much more cheerful, even though his cheerfulness was solely directed at her own dear treasure. She found it quite natural, after all, her dear treasure was indeed very endearing.
Perhaps little girls are naturally drawn to shiny things, and so Ruan Jiaojiao was exceptionally fond of the bottle. The Ruanlin Family member helped her place it on a table outside, and Jiaojiao kept on gazing at it until she fell asleep under the flickering light.