Meatball had long since stopped drinking milk, but he was particularly interested in Sanmao, so now that Sanmao was drinking milk, Meatball would hop around in circles, occasionally sniffing with his nose or scratching with his paws, but he was careful not to use too much force, seemingly afraid that he might hurt the little kitten.
Ruan Jiaojiao watched, propping up her little chin, and after a few minutes, she mused, "She must have been unable to get milk before, that’s why she’s so skinny, so pitiful."
It was like her previous life; before she met that silly wolf, she had survived on tree roots and dew, becoming all skin and bones, almost convinced she would die of hunger.
Xiu Xi also watched for a while and, hearing her words, looked at her and thought of the first time he saw her, she herself was that thin, and yet so spirited. Other animals would not dare to come near him, but she, nodding and swaying, not only approached him, but also stole his meat, he wasn’t sure whether she was truly fearless, or just pretending to be unafraid.
Thinking of the past, Xiu Xi’s gaze softened unconsciously.
Turning to Meatball, who was still circling around Sanmao, he said, "Protect it, if it gets hurt, I’ll cook you instead!"
Meatball looked up in shock, his wolf eyes incredulously staring at him, his paw that was just about to poke the little kitten immediately withdrawn, laying on the ground with a look of grievance, his tail sweeping across the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust, looking towards Ruan Jiaojiao and whining, as if complaining to her about Xiu Xi’s tyranny.
But this time, Ruan Jiaojiao was on Xiu Xi’s side, extending her hand to gently stroke the kitten’s small back, she said to Meatball, "Brother Xi is right, from now on you need to protect Sanmao, if it’s injured, it’s your responsibility."
"Aoow!" Meatball hopped emphatically.
Finally, he turned around and headed huffily back inside the house, no one knew what for.
Ruan Jiaojiao and Xiu Xi crouched in the backyard for a while before picking up Sanmao and going back to the front yard after it finished its milk. Sanmao, now full and spirited, began to wander around the house. Meatball ran in from outside, a chunk of bone in his mouth, and tossed it in front of Sanmao.
The bone was very big, rolling and tumbling to Sanmao’s front, knocking it over directly.
"Aoow!" Meatball’s eyes widened as he hopped again, looking towards Ruan Jiaojiao and Xiu Xi with an expression of confusion and innocence.
He had already given his favorite bone to it, this fall had nothing to do with him.
"Meatball, it’s still too small to chew on bones, and it’s too fragile, you need to be more careful with your movements," Ruan Jiaojiao stepped forward to remove the bone and picked up Sanmao, which had flipped onto its back, and patted off the dust from its body.
But it’s just too fragile!
Meatball stared with his eyes wide, his furry face full of anxiety and helplessness.
Circling around Ruan Jiaojiao a few times, he saw her put down Sanmao and didn’t dare to do too much, worried that a mere sniffle from him could blow the little thing away...
Inside the kitchen, a busy member of the Ruanlin Family came out holding a dustpan, after sweeping around the house without seeing Ruan Jie, she mumbled to herself then turned to ask Ruan Jiaojiao, "Where’s your second brother?"
"He went to the old house," Ruan Jiaojiao answered, standing up and walking over, looking up to ask, "Does grandma need brother for something?"
"I need some green chili peppers and flat beans, ask your elder brother to come down and pick them." Because they had only recently moved, the small patch of land in front of the building designated for vegetables hadn’t been planted yet, so they needed to gather vegetables from the old house.
"No need to call, Jiaojiao can go!" Ruan Jiaojiao immediately said.