Yaoyao took the pacifier and immediately popped it into her mouth, mumbling around it, “Thank you, Big Sis!”
“Hug~”
Yaoyao, pacifier still in her mouth, snuggled into Yiyi’s arms, her chubby little arms wrapping around her waist.
Her tail gently brushed over Yiyi’s hand, the soft sensation making Yiyi’s tense shoulders unconsciously relax a little.
“Big Sis, hug Yaoyao.”
The little one tilted her round face up, her damp eyes shining brightly, cheeks puffed out with the pacifier as she spoke in a milky, muffled voice.
Yiyi was still fuming from Aze’s teasing, but faced with Yaoyao’s soft and adorable appearance, she couldn’t stay angry.
All she could do was awkwardly lift her hand and pull the little one into her arms, her cheeks still tinted with a lingering blush.
The small tail in her arms kept restlessly swishing, tickling her palm.
Aze, sitting on a chair watching the scene, couldn’t help but snort with laughter.
“Tch, Hades, even you have a gentle side when you’re such a little milk dragon? Weren’t you just shouting about wanting to beat me up a moment ago?”
Yiyi immediately glared at her, the fire in her eyes flaring up again, but the Yaoyao in her arms suddenly nuzzled her neck and spoke in a soft, childish voice, “Big Sis, don’t be mad. Yaoyao will blow on it for you.”
With that, she puckered her little lips and blew gently on Yiyi’s cheek.
The milky sweet breath brushed over her skin, so soft it could melt a person’s heart.
Yiyi’s cheeks turned even redder, and the harsh words on her lips were forcibly swallowed back down.
All she could do was stiffen her neck and mutter, “Who asked you!”
At that moment, with a soft “whoosh,” half a broomstick suddenly flew in from who knows where, striking Yiyi squarely on the head.
Yiyi’s small body instantly froze, her eyes widening round like a little doll with the pause button pressed.
The laughter in the warm chamber cut off abruptly; everyone stared at her in stunned silence.
Three seconds later, Yiyi’s little head bobbed, and she slowly collapsed onto the soft couch, eyes tightly shut, completely passed out.
“Yibao? Yibao!”
Liliya’s heart nearly stopped in fright.
She quickly scooped Yiyi into her arms, her trembling fingers reaching toward her nose.
Only when she felt the steady breath did she breathe a small sigh of relief, but the worry in her red eyes did not lessen in the slightest.
“What’s wrong? Wake up!”
Yaoyao’s pacifier fell to the ground with a “plop.”
The little one looked at the unconscious Yiyi, her lips quivering before she suddenly burst out crying, “Big Sis! Don’t sleep! Wake up, please!”
She lay on top of Yiyi, her little hands patting her cheeks gently, crying so hard it sounded like her heart would break.
Aze also sprang up from the chair, the teasing on her face completely wiped away.
She rushed to the couch, her brows tightly knit as she looked at the growing red mark on Yiyi’s forehead.
“What in the world just happened?”
Meanwhile, out in the courtyard, the dragon maid who had been sweeping stared at the half-broom left in her hands, scratching her head in confusion.
The break at the end of the broomstick was still fresh, as if something had yanked the other half away.
She stood on tiptoe and glanced around, muttering to herself, “That’s weird. Where did the other half go? It was perfectly fine just now—how did it suddenly break…”
Inside the warm chamber, Liliya cradled Yiyi, gently rocking her, her voice quivering with a suppressed sob, “Yibao, I’m here. Wake up, okay? Does your head hurt? I’ll blow on it for you…”
She lowered her head, blowing softly on Yiyi’s forehead, her fingertips gently stroking her dragon horns, tears swirling in her red eyes.
Just then, Yiyi gave a soft whimper, her eyelashes fluttering faintly.
“Yibao! You’re awake?”
Liliya immediately stopped moving, lowering her head and staring at her intently, her voice so gentle it could melt.
“How do you feel? Can you hear me?”
Yiyi slowly opened her eyes, her gaze still thick with confusion, like a misty lake.
She blinked, her vision gradually focusing on Liliya’s anxious face.
Her little mouth moved, and with a hoarse, tearful voice, she asked, “Where am I? What’s going on?”
As soon as she finished, her gaze swept over Yaoyao, Liliya, and Aze.
The confusion in her eyes deepened, and she timidly added, “Who are you guys?”
Yaoyao’s crying instantly grew louder.
The little one lunged forward, clutching Yiyi’s sleeve, her tears falling like broken beads, “Big Sis! You don’t remember Yaoyao? Big Sis!”
Aze’s face turned pale, and she muttered instinctively, “It’s over. Hades has been hit silly… Now we’re done for… but this is just great!”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
Liliya glared at Aze, then turned back to Yiyi, her voice soft as ever.
“Yibao, don’t be scared. We’re your family. She’s Yaoyao, your little sister. I’m Liliya, and she’s Aze, your cousin.”
Yiyi blinked blankly, her mind a complete blank, those names and descriptions not stirring the slightest ripple in her memory.
She looked at Liliya’s reddened eyes, then at the sobbing Yaoyao and the panicked Aze.
An inexplicable sense of grievance rose in her heart.
Her lips quivered and tears began to fall as well.
“I… I really can’t remember… The things you said, I don’t know any of them…”
Liliya’s heart clenched, and she hurriedly hugged Yiyi even tighter, her voice gentle as she spoke, “It’s alright. All you need to know is: she’s your sister Yaoyao, I’m the one you love most, and she’s your cousin, Little Yibao.”
“Mm.”
Yiyi’s voice was still rough, her little head nodding slightly, tears hanging on her lashes like dew on velvet.
She nestled obediently into Liliya’s arms, her little hand unconsciously clutching her clothes.
Her dragon tail rested limply across her legs, occasionally giving a small, confused sweep.
Yaoyao, seeing her respond, slowly stopped crying, though she was still sniffling.
Her small hand remained tightly clinging to Yiyi’s sleeve, her wet eyes never leaving her face.
“Big Sis… do you remember Yaoyao now?”
“Not… really…”
Yiyi’s muffled words still lingered in the warm chamber, but the latter half suddenly stuck in her throat.
Whoosh—
Another sound tore through the air.
The other half of the broomstick, whole this time, came flying in, smacking hard against the red mark on Yiyi’s little head.
The just-recovered little milk dragon’s eyes rolled back, her already dazed gaze going completely blank.
Her small body slumped softly into Liliya’s embrace, dragon tail drooping limply.
Even her hand, which had been gripping Liliya’s clothes, loosened and fell away as she slipped back into unconsciousness.
“Yibao!!”
Liliya’s voice shot up an octave, laced with raw panic as she hugged Yiyi’s limp body tightly, her fingers once again checking for breath under her nose.
This time, her breathing was even fainter than before, the red mark on her forehead swelling rapidly and turning an alarming shade of blue-purple.
Yaoyao’s sniffles stopped abruptly.
The little one stared at the unconscious Yiyi, her lips quivering before she began crying harder than before, her voice sharp as a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, “Big Sis! Why did you fall asleep again! Waaa, please don’t sleep!”
She lay on Yiyi, patting her face lightly in panic, but so gently it was like the touch of a feather for fear of hurting her.
“Ow, that hurts!”
Yiyi’s voice came out rough, tinged with just-awakened grievance.
Her little brows scrunched into a knot, and she reached up to rub the bump on her forehead, only to have Liliya grab her hand.
“Yibao! You’re awake?!”
Liliya’s voice trembled so much it nearly broke, tears spilling from her red eyes as she hugged Yiyi even tighter, as if to meld her into her very bones.
“How do you feel? Does your head still hurt? Anywhere else uncomfortable?”
Yaoyao’s crying cut off.
The little one stared at Yiyi’s open eyes in a daze.
Then, reacting, she immediately threw herself forward, hugging Yiyi’s arm tightly, her fox ears quivering with excitement, “Big Sis! You finally woke up! Yaoyao thought you didn’t want her anymore!”
Squished by the two of them, Yiyi struggled to catch her breath and instinctively squirmed, her dragon tail flicking lightly to brush against Liliya’s hand.
“Ow… my head hurts so much…”
She blinked, her gaze landing on Liliya’s red eyes and Yaoyao’s tear-stained cheeks, before finally settling on the stunned face of Aze.
Her confusion slowly cleared.
“You guys… why are you crying so much? And Aze, what’s with that expression?”
“The face I make when looking at an idiot, of course…”
Yiyi frowned, raising a hand to rub the lump on her head, wincing at the pain.
“You’re the idiot!” she retorted after a pause, her eyes suddenly sharp as she glared at Aze with a familiar hostility.
“Was it you, you troublemaker, who hit me?!”
Yiyi’s voice was hoarse from just waking up, but full of anger.
Her dragon horns were faintly warm, and sparks seemed to fly from her eyes as she stared at Aze.
She struggled to sit up, her dragon tail flicking angrily, rumpling the brocade blanket on the couch.
“Me?”
Aze pointed at her own nose, instantly bristling.
“Hades, you little milk dragon, try to be reasonable! When did I hit you? It was the broomstick that hit you, not me, so what’s it got to do with me?!”