“Then should we keep playing house? Are we still pretending to be the moms this time?”
After eating their fill, Ruan Zhixian, lying on the carpet, turned her head to ask An Qing.
“No, this time, can we pretend to be princesses?” The black-haired girl shook her head.
“Zhixian, you’re so cool, you can be Belle Princess from ‘Beauty and the Beast’.”
Belle Princess?
Ruan Zhixian was momentarily stunned.
If I remember correctly, that’s the female lead from ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ right?
Strictly speaking, Belle isn’t exactly a traditional fairytale princess; she’s an ordinary village girl who trades her freedom to save her father, who’s been imprisoned by the Beast.
Then, as the story progresses, Belle gradually discovers the kindness within the Beast, and as they spend time together, feelings begin to bloom between them.
In the end, Belle throws caution to the wind to rescue the Beast in danger, confesses her feelings, and true love breaks the curse, turning the Beast back into a prince.
Because of her love and character, Belle becomes a true fairytale princess.
Hmm, she really is brave and cool—she does suit me~
Ruan Zhixian giggled on the spot, completely ignoring the “princess” part in “Belle Princess.”
“Alright, alright, then, An Qing, you can be the Little Mermaid! I think you’re as cute as her!”
M-Me, cute in her eyes?
Thump, thump!
An Qing hurriedly pressed her fingertips against her wildly beating heart, feeling as if the sound of her heartbeat was deafening at this moment.
“Ah, that’s right, I just thought of something!”
“An Qing, wait here for me, I’m going to ask Mom for some pretty dresses!”
“I promise I’ll dress you up as the cutest fairytale princess!”
The blonde girl smacked her forehead, and before her words had even faded, she had already dashed out, leaving the black-haired little girl sitting alone.
***
Back to the present.
“Wait, I’m not! Mom, you’re smothering me!”
“I just want to pick out a dress for An Qing!”
“Hmm?” Laila let go of the blonde girl in her arms, looking at her in confusion.
“An Qing is?”
“She’s the new friend I made that day! Hero Saving Beauty, remember? I brought her home to play!”
“We want to play, uh… a role-playing game, yeah, role-playing! She’s going to be the Little Mermaid, so I came to ask you for a pretty dress for An Qing!”
Ruan Zhixian tilted her little face up as she explained.
“Hero Saving Beauty… Oh, now I remember~” Thanks to Ruan Zhixian’s explanation, Laila finally recalled.
“As for dresses, we do have plenty at home, all painstakingly prepared by me, your mommy, but our little hero just never wants to wear them. I just don’t know what size or style your little hero’s princess needs.”
“Uh, An Qing is about this tall, and, um, this slim, as for the dress… it needs to be pretty! It has to look like the Little Mermaid from a fairytale!”
“Pfft—”
Laila couldn’t help but laugh at the blonde girl’s wild gestures and vague descriptions.
“Alright, alright, Zhixian, you don’t need to describe any further, it’s better if I go see your fairytale princess myself and help you two pick a dress, how about that?”
“Yeah, that works!” Ruan Zhixian nodded in agreement to Laila’s suggestion without hesitation.
Mom’s taste is pretty good—definitely better than mine. She’ll definitely pick a pretty dress for An Qing.
That was what the ever-optimistic little Ruan Zhixian was thinking at that moment.
“Ta-da—what do you two think? Doesn’t this look like the Little Mermaid?”
In front of the big floor-length mirror stood a freshly dressed-up black-haired girl.
She wore a delicate light blue dress adorned with lace and sequins. The thin gauze at her shoulders looked like butterfly wings ready to take flight.
Around her fair neck hung a lustrous Pearl Necklace, and the pearl hair accessory on her fluffy doll-like head matched it perfectly, complementing her dress beautifully.
Looking further down, her little feet, shyly peeking from under the hem of her dress, wore Crystal Shoes; her delicate ankles were gently wrapped in translucent straps, revealing skin as soft as blown glass.
The An Qing in the mirror had completely lost her timid and pitiful look. At this moment, she looked just like the Little Mermaid who had stepped onto land and taken human form straight from a fairytale.
Is this… really me?
An Qing stared curiously and in disbelief at her reflection, lifting her skirt and twisting slightly, the heels of the Crystal Shoes making a clear, crisp sound on the floor.
“Wow! An Qing, you really look like a fairytale princess! You’re so cute!” The blonde girl beside her clapped enthusiastically.
“Oh, and thank you, Mom, for helping us dress up!” She then turned to the smiling Laila.
“It’s nothing, really—it’s because little An Qing makes a good model, Mommy didn’t have to do much,” Laila waved her hand and looked gently at the two little girls, each excited in their own way.
“I never got the chance to put a pretty dress on you, my little hero, but at least I’ve made up for it with An Qing~”
“Hmm?”
Hearing this, the beautifully dressed An Qing turned her head in confusion.
“But Zhixian, aren’t you going to be Belle Princess, too? Don’t you need to dress up?”
Crap!
Ruan Zhixian suddenly realized her mistake.
How did I forget about that! If Mom hears this, the one who always wanted to dress me up—
“Hmm?”
Laila’s hands, which were sorting through the tulle dresses in the wardrobe, paused. She slowly turned to look at her daughter, lips curving upward, eyes shining.
“I think I heard little An Qing say you want to be a princess too, sweetheart?”
“No! Mom, you heard wrong! We…” Ruan Zhixian pretended she was about to run.
“Zhixian, don’t you want to dress up as a princess and play house with me…?”
“Uh…”
Stiffly turning back, Ruan Zhixian looked at An Qing’s eyes, full of wounded tears, and swallowed hard.
“Ahaha, how could I not… Of course I was going to dress up as a fairytale princess with An Qing… I just, I just wanted to run around for a bit, to get some exercise, yeah, exercise!”
“You know, An Qing, Belle Princess could save the Beast Prince, so she must be really strong, right? I just want to get some exercise so I can play the princess better!”
As she spoke, Ruan Zhixian bounced on the spot a few times, her golden short hair bobbing in the air.
“That’s perfect! Since you want to be a princess too, then leave everything to Mommy~”
“I promise, I’ll make you the cutest Belle Princess in the whole world!”
Laila reached out and quickly caught Ruan Zhixian by the shoulders, her smile growing even more dazzling.
No, no! Mom, don’t come any closer!!
That was Ruan Zhixian’s last cry of despair in her heart.