When Xiamier saw Yiyi’s puffed cheeks and exhausted look, the teasing in her eyes melted into utter gentleness.
She reached out and gently scooped the girl from the soft blanket, letting her half-recline in her embrace, her fingertips ruffling Yiyi’s wildly tousled silver hair.
“Alright, alright, I won’t really punish you. Since our little Yibao is so adorable, I’ll just sentence you to sleep on your mother’s lap tonight.”
“Then just hit me! Even if I die, even if I have to jump down from here, I still won’t sleep on your lap!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Yiyi seemed to summon all her strength, abruptly wriggling free from Xiamier’s arms.
Her short little legs wobbled on the soft blanket before she managed to steady herself.
She didn’t dare look back, staggering all the way to the door.
Standing on tiptoe, she grabbed the doorknob with her tiny hands and pushed down with all her might, finally managing to crack it open.
Just as she slipped out, Yiyi still didn’t forget to shout back, “I’d rather die than sleep on your lap!”
Then, with her clumsy little legs, she ran off, the sound of her steps fading away, leaving only the door gently swaying in the breeze.
“This little rascal… Ai, what can I do? It’s so cold at night, she’ll catch a chill if she keeps this up.”
Xiamier looked at the now-empty doorway, shook her head helplessly, and grabbed the thin blanket hanging over the chair, draping it over her arm as she hurried after her.
After dashing out, Yiyi ran down the corridor, driven only by her indignation.
The torches on both sides had long gone out, and only the moonlight filtering through the lattice windows cast scattered shadows across the floor.
Once she’d run herself out of breath and finally stopped, she realized she was surrounded by unfamiliar, ornately-carved wooden doors.
She couldn’t even remember which way she’d come.
The darkness wrapped around her like a soft net.
Yiyi instinctively clutched at the hem of her clothes, her ears drooping as all her earlier stubbornness drained away.
She took a tentative step forward, her shoes making a faint sound on the floor, especially clear in the silent corridor.
“Where is this? It’s so dark…” she whispered, unable to hide the panic in her voice, the heart-shaped fluff at the tip of her tail drooping as well.
“Where did I come from just now?”
A cold wind slipped through the window cracks, making her shiver, but her innate pride flared up again.
Yiyi bit her lower lip, her little hands clenching tighter as she forced herself on.
“N-no matter! I’ll just keep running. I’d rather die than go back!”
Saying this, she gripped her clothes tightly and marched deeper down the corridor on her stubby legs.
But her steps had lost their earlier determination, and with each one, she couldn’t help glancing to either side.
Her ears were perked up warily, and even her tail was taut with tension.
After a few minutes, Yiyi turned a corner, just about to catch her breath, when a gentle but firm pressure suddenly touched the back of her neck.
A pair of warm hands pinched her gently by the scruff, lifting her off the ground like a little beast, steady and sure.
Her feet suddenly left the floor, and the feeling of weightlessness made Yiyi panic.
She kicked her little legs wildly, her small hands grabbing at the air as she shouted, bewildered and alarmed: “What’s going on? Why am I floating? Who is it! Let me go!”
“Ai, you little rascal, what are you running around for in the middle of the night? Want to get drained dry like a little bun by the other bloodkin?”
Yiyi froze mid-kick.
The warmth of the hands on her neck was so familiar it made her heart race, and then that exasperated, teasing tone confirmed it.
Stiffening, she craned her neck to look up, catching the person’s face in the moonlight—sure enough, it was Xiamier!
Instantly, her fur bristled.
Her little legs kicked even harder, her cheeks flushed scarlet, and her voice was both urgent and hoarse, with a milky childishness: “Xiamier! Let me go! Who asked you to meddle! What bloodkin little bun, you’re the bun!”
Though her words were fierce, the heart-shaped fluff at the tip of her tail drooped uncontrollably, and even her ears wilted halfway down.
The fear from the darkness hadn’t faded, and now embarrassment at being caught added to her distress.
With both feelings tangled up, her voice wavered with a hint of grievance.
Xiamier didn’t let go.
Instead, she lifted Yiyi a bit higher to face her directly, and with her other hand, brushed the dust off Yiyi’s clothes, her tone taking on a hint of deliberate menace:
“I’m not letting you go. Should I just watch you wander around the corridor? We’re not the only ones in this castle. If you run around at night and get carried off like a little bun, you’ll have nowhere to cry.”
Seeing that Yiyi was about to argue, Xiamier poked her back before she could speak, tone “complaining”: “Your back is all damp, you’re sweating so much, and your little feet are filthy. Yibao, that bath you just had was for nothing. Oh well, I’ll have to wash you again later. Sigh, the things I do as a mother.”
Yiyi blinked, instinctively trying to twist around to look at her back, but with Xiamier holding her by the neck, she couldn’t move.
She glanced down at her little feet, noticing the layer of dust, and her cheeks flushed an even deeper red.
Her earlier bluster faded, leaving only a soft mutter: “I-I didn’t do it on purpose…”
“You just said you’re the mom, but I, I…” Mid-sentence, she suddenly realized what she’d said, her voice cutting off abruptly.
Xiamier’s eyes lit up.
She deliberately drew out her words, teasing with a mischievous smile: “Mmm~? As the mom? Yibao, are you admitting I’m your mother?”
“Mm, I am not!”
Yiyi denied in a hurry, her cheeks as red as ripe fruit, her little legs flailing again, though without the force from before.
“I was just going along with what you said! It doesn’t count! It doesn’t count!”
Seeing Xiamier’s eyes fill with more laughter, Yiyi grew frantic, tilting her little face up and putting on a childish “threat”: “Xiamier, if you keep teasing me, I’ll bite you!”
Xiamier was amused by her fierce yet soft act.
She was about to say more, but, afraid the little one would really get upset, she softened her voice to coax her: “Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Let’s go wash up, or when it’s time to sleep, my fragrant little Yibao will be all sweaty and become stinky Yiyi, you know.”
“You’re the stinky one! Fine, I’ll wash! I’m not afraid of you!”
Xiamier’s eyes crinkled with laughter at Yiyi’s bristling look.
She gently pinched the soft skin at the back of Yiyi’s neck and pulled her closer, her voice full of mirth: “Alright, alright, Mother is the stinky one. Our Yibao is the most fragrant. So, my fragrant little darling, how about a nice bath to wash away all that sweat?”
Yiyi turned her face aside, kicking her little legs in the air twice without really struggling, and muttered stubbornly, “I can go by myself! I don’t need you to carry me! Put me down!”
Yet even as she spoke, her small hand secretly clung to Xiamier’s collar, and the heart-shaped fluff at the tip of her tail swayed uneasily.
Xiamier just laughed, not letting go, and carried Yiyi toward the bath, her fingertips still smoothing out Yiyi’s messy silver hair: “It’s dark in the corridor at night. Yibao got lost just now, didn’t you? It’s safest with Mother carrying you, or you’ll just end up wandering in circles again.”
This poked at Yiyi’s little embarrassment, and her cheeks flushed a bit as she muttered in a low voice, “I didn’t get lost! It’s just… just that all the doors in the corridor look the same!”
Xiamier didn’t expose her, just went along with Yiyi’s words: “Yes, yes, all the doors look the same. Our Yibao really has it tough.”