It’d be impossible if Mrs. Tang didn’t understand Han Muzi’s words.
Mrs. Tang gave a sigh of relief, yet still felt a little embarrassed. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to say these things. It’s just that this is always the case within this social circle. We’re aware that the Tang Group is no match for the Ye Group, so Mrs. Ye, please don’t take this personally.”
“Why would I?” Han Muzi held Tang Yuanyuan’s hand and pulled her into her arms. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Tang. I like Tang Yuanyuan very much, so much so that I won’t get any other ideas. Am I right, Yuanyuan?”
Tang Yuanyuan reached out her chubby little hands and hugged Han Muzi while she softly asked, “When will Little Bean come?”
“Oh? You’ve spent a day playing with Little Bean, and now you only have eyes for him? Do I not treat you well enough?” Han Muzi teased. Tang Yuanyuan looked at her innocently and said in a serious tone, “Mrs. Ye, you have treated me very well. You even cooked sweet glutinous rice balls for me.”
“Then why do you only look for Little Bean, and not me?”
Tang Yuanyuan stared at her with big round eyes, unable to answer for a moment. As she started to become anxious, her eyes turned red. Han Muzi only wanted to tease her, but did not expect to make her anxious, so she quickly explained, “It’s alright. I’m just joking. Don’t be nervous, okay? You said you wanted to find Little Bean? Little Bean has gone to school, so we’ll play with Little Sprout together first. Once Little Bean returns from school, you can play with him, okay?”
Tang Yuanyuan looked at her mom and nodded as she swallowed back her tears. “Okay. Thank you, Mrs. Ye.”
With that, she stood on her toes to give Han Muzi a peck on the cheeks.
”This child cries easily when she gets anxious. Look at how she was when you asked her that question just now; she wanted to cry because she couldn’t think of a suitable answer.”
“It’s fine. People tend to have a soft spot for girls like her.”
Mrs. Tang left after exchanging a few words, leaving Tang Yuanyuan behind. While Tang Yuanyuan waited for Little Bean to get off from school, she wouldy play with Little Sprout.
As Little Sprout woke up, Tang Yuanyuan just stood there and stared at her while she stared back at Tang Yuanyuan; both of them silently stared at each other.
After a while, Tang Yuanyuan asked, “Mrs. Ye, what is this little girl’s name?”
“Her name is Ye Yaya.”
Ye Yaya?
Tang Yuanyuan then gave Little Sprout a bright smile, the two deep dimples becoming visible on her cheeks. “Nice to meet you, Ye Yaya. My name is Yuanyuan, Tang Yuanyuan.”
Ye Yaya lay there as she stared at Tang Yuanyuan innocently. Little did she know, Tang Yuanyuan would become entangled with her brother in the future, and that she too would have a deep connection to her.
When it was time for Tang Yuanyuan to leave, Little Bean had yet to return home. She started to worry a little, and the only thing Han Muzi could do was to comfort her.
“Please be patient, Little Bean will return soon. Once he returns, I’ll ask him where has he been all day; coming back so late.”
Upon hearing, Tang Yuanyuan was shocked and immediately spoke on Little Bean’s behalf.
“Mrs. Ye, please don’t scold Little Bean. Maybe he’s just busy with something. It’s okay, I can wait a little longer.”
Afraid that she would cause trouble for Little Bean, Tang Yuanyuan immediately collected her thoughts while she sat there and waited, looking all cute and adorable.
When Little Bean returned home, it was already near night time. He was prepared to greet his mom before entering his room to call it a day, even wanting to skip dinner.
But when he opened the door, he saw Tang Yuanyuan sitting on a chair holding a heart-shaped pillow. With her head leaning against the door, her mouth was slightly open and she was fast asleep.
Little Bean observed her for a while, and noticed that she was breathing through her mouth.
Silly girl. Aren’t people supposed to breathe through their nose? Why is she using her mouth to breathe? If this goes on, it would cause her upper lip to become shorter, and her lip muscles to loosen. Not only that, it would damage other facial tissue too.
It had been so many days since Little Bean last saw her, and he thought she wouldn’t visit him anymore. Who knew he would get to see her today?
He walked toward Tang Yuanyuan, waving his hands in front of her face, but she was in a deep sleep, and did not notice him at all.
Little Bean did not want to wake her. However, by the looks of her awkward neck position and sleeping posture, she would definitely feel discomfort once she woke up. It left him no choice but to wake her up.
Meanwhile, Tang Yuanyuan had been dreaming of chocolates. In her dream, the chocolates tasted sweet and had a hint of bitterness; once eaten, even the bitterness tasted pleasant too. They were the ones Little Bean had bought for her. Although she had recently finished the cotton candies, she couldn’t bring herself to eat those chocolates.
That was why she was dreaming about eating those chocolates.
Her dream was interrupted by Little Bean. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was his face. Upon gaining consciousness, she said, “Little Bean, the chocolates were delicious.”
Hearing this, Little Bean froze, and it took him some time to react.
Could this mean that this silly girl came to him because she wanted him to take her to buy chocolates again?
Tang Yuanyuan shut her eyes again.
“Wake up, Yuanyuan.” Little Bean gently patted her cheeks to wake her up. “You can’t sleep here. If you want to, you can sleep inside. Also, don’t use your mouth to breathe the next time you sleep, or else you’ll become ugly.”
Little Bean pulled Tang Yuanyuan up while he said those things to her. As soon as she got up, she drowsily followed him inside, asking, “Brother, you’re back? I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
She waited? She came here early to wait for me?
Little Bean tilted his head and looked at her. “Have you been waiting for a long time?”
Tang Yuanyuan rubbed her eyes. “Not very long. Brother, did you have fun at school? Oh right, what was the problem you mentioned just now about my sleep?”
Little Bean squatted in front of her and repeated what he said earlier.
“When you sleep, don’t breathe through your mouth. We should breathe through our nose.”
Hearing this, Tang Yuanyuan tilted her head. Feeling a little sad, she said, “But I’ve already gotten used to breathing through my mouth.”
“It’s not good to breathe through your mouth. Try your best not to open your mouth when you sleep. You may not be used to it at first, but if you slowly correct it, you’ll be able to get over your habit in no time.”
Tang Yuanyuan’s mom had taught her to breathe through her nose, but Tang Yuanyuan preferred to breathe through her mouth because it felt more comfortable. Now that she was used to it, it would be difficult for her to change her bad habit.
At this moment, Little Bean suddenly opened his mouth and added, “Do you want to become ugly when you grow up?”
Upon hearing that, Tang Yuanyuan shook her head frantically. “No.”
“Good. If you continue to breathe through your mouth for a long time, you won’t grow up to be as beautiful as you should.”
“Oh, then I must correct myself. I don’t want you to avoid me for being ugly. I still want to play with you.”
“I won’t avoid you, but you have to change that bad habit of yours.”
“Okay, I will.”
“Anyway, what would you like to eat today?”
Tang Yuanyuan wondered if she could eat. It was never her intention to visit them just so she could eat. In fact, it was because she thought that Little Bean was nice to her that she wanted to play with him.