“No, I’m fine. The cupcakes are over there—Yaoyao, hurry and go out to eat another one.”
Yiyi quickly spoke up, her voice still a little hoarse, her face flushing even redder.
Yaoyao walked over to the soft couch, slowly climbed up, and sat beside Yiyi’s head.
She reached out her chubby little hand and poked Yiyi’s soft cheek, her voice crisp and clear: “Big Sis, come play with me, you’re not allowed to sleep anymore.”
Yiyi shuddered from the poke, her cheeks so red it looked like they might drip blood.
Her voice was barely a whisper: “Yaoyao, stop poking… I’m not sleeping….”
Just then, Aze happened to walk by outside the door.
With one glance, she saw Yiyi on the soft couch, legs pressed together, cheeks flushed red, clothes slightly rumpled, leaning against Lilia’s embrace.
She leaned against the doorframe, the corner of her mouth curling into a teasing smile, and joked: “Hades, take your time playing, don’t be in such a rush. If you go too fast, you might just break yourself—tsk tsk, this is killing me, getting played into this state.”
“Damn you! Still laughing, are you?!”
Yiyi’s eyes reddened with anger.
She flung off the brocade blanket and tried to throw her weakened body at Aze.
But her steps were unsteady; as soon as she got down from the couch, she stumbled and almost fell to the floor.
Lilia was quick and caught her wrist, pulling her securely into her arms.
Her red eyes glimmered with a mixture of reproach and indulgence: “Slow down, your body’s still weak—how can you be so reckless?”
“Let go of me! I want to hit her!”
Yiyi puffed out her cheeks, her face red as a ripe peach, her little hands flailing.
But she had no strength in her limbs, and her struggles looked more like a spoiled kitten than anything threatening.
Aze, leaning against the doorframe, was laughing so hard she nearly bent over, clutching her stomach as she joked: “Whoa, has this little milk dragon gotten all riled up? With how soft you are, even if you punched me, I bet it’d just tickle.”
As she spoke, Aze walked up to Yiyi, her gaze sweeping over the damp soft couch, then back to Yiyi’s blushing face.
She then crossed her legs and sat in a nearby chair, her tone playful: “Forgot to tell you, Hades—Xamir has already agreed to move you from the Youngling Group to the Juvenile Group. When the time comes, you’ll have to fight me!”
“You’re not afraid I’ll beat you to death?”
Yiyi stuck out her neck, her eyes full of defiance.
But her voice quivered just enough to betray her lack of confidence.
“Heh, with fists and body as soft as yours, who could you possibly beat? Don’t make me laugh.”
Aze sneered, raising her brows at her, with undisguised mockery in her eyes.
Aze was laughing heartily when she suddenly choked on her own laughter, clutching her throat and coughing so hard her face turned red: “Cough cough… I can’t… laughed too hard… choked…”
Yiyi couldn’t help but smile at the sight, her anger melting away for the most part, but she still stubbornly turned her head: “Hmph, serves you right if you choke!”
Aze grabbed a cup and gulped down two big mouthfuls of water before finally catching her breath, pointing at Yiyi and laughing: “Hades, you little milk dragon… The more I look, the more interesting you are… You can’t even stand straight but you still say you’ll kill me…”
“I don’t even need a farewell, one swing of my tail and I’d smack you to death.”
Yiyi stuck out her little neck, her face flushed as she forced out a retort, her eyes still tinged red but her spirit undiminished.
Aze had just recovered from her coughing fit when Yiyi’s words set her off again, making her laugh so hard she doubled over, clutching her throat: “Cough cough… my goodness… little milk dragon, you’re just too much… Smack me to death with one swing of your tail? Come on, do it, right here! I’m dying of laughter…”
“Hmph! Jerk… you said it yourself!”
Yiyi was fuming from Aze’s laughter, her face turning scarlet as she broke free from Lilia’s hand and rushed straight at Aze.
Her body was still weak, her steps wobbly, but she stuck out her little neck, genuinely looking ready to throw down.
Aze, unable to suppress her laughter, saw Yiyi’s adorable ferocity and laughed even harder: “Pffft~! Little milk dragon, are you gonna smack me or not? I’m waiting!”
She even leaned in a little closer on purpose, raising her brows at Yiyi, the mischief in her eyes practically overflowing.
Yiyi was so angry from Aze’s laughter that her face puffed up red, and she suddenly broke away from Lilia, turning to clamber onto the nearby table.
She used both hands and feet to climb up, wobbling a bit as she stood, but she still stuck out her little neck and lifted her chubby leg at Aze, who was still laughing.
“Watch my kick!”
With a fierce little cry, her small foot whipped through the air.
Just as Yiyi’s chubby leg was about to kick Aze, her collar suddenly tightened and she was lifted clean off the ground.
She kicked her legs in the air, turning to look back—and there was Xamir, standing behind her with a gentle smile, his fingers lightly pinching her collar.
“Xiamir!”
Yiyi instantly lost all her fierce energy, her cheeks flushing as she squirmed.
“Let me go! It’s either Aze or me today!”
Yiyi stuck out her little neck and shouted fiercely, but before she could finish, a soft pacifier was stuffed into her mouth, filling it with the sweet scent of milk.
She instinctively made a muffled sound, wanting to struggle, but Xiamir held her firmly in his arms, one arm wrapped gently around her waist, not giving her the slightest chance to escape.
“No more fierce words like that.”
Xiamier amir lightly patted her back with his fingertips, his tone gentle but leaving no room for argument.
“My little Yibao is so cute, how can you always say things like ‘I’ll die’ or ‘take revenge’? You mustn’t talk like that anymore, understand?”
“Uuu! Mmph!”
Yiyi, with the pacifier in her mouth, lightly pounded Xiamir’s arm with her little fists, her blows so soft they were like a tickle, though her eyes still glimmered with stubborn red.
She kicked her little legs, cheeks puffed out like buns.
Though she was still angry inside, the pacifier muffled her words, leaving her to make only aggrieved whimpers.
Xiamir held back a laugh, gently pressing down her small hand and soothing her back with warm fingers: “Alright, alright, don’t fuss anymore.”
She leaned down and whispered softly in Yiyi’s ear.
“Xiao Xiazi, are you running circles around me in here? Think this way you can avoid facing me?”
Bai Ye’s voice was cold as frost, born with a natural authority.
It cut through the noisy warm chamber, making the air instantly still.
Shamir’s hold on Yiyi tightened, the gentle smile vanishing from her face.
When she turned, her demeanor was respectful and her voice dropped: “Mother, what are you talking about? I was just bringing Yibao a pacifier…”
“Let the little ones play on their own! You, come here!”
Bai Ye’s voice was utterly calm, but with an irresistible authority.
As she spoke, she reached out to grab Xiamir’s ear.
“Ah! Don’t pinch my ear!”
Xiamir grimaced in pain, hurriedly handing Yiyi to Lilia beside her.
Before she could finish, Bai Ye dragged her by the ear out the door, Xiamir still begging for mercy: “I can walk by myself, old woman! Let go of my ear! Ow, ow, ow!”
Their figures disappeared at the entrance of the warm chamber, leaving everyone inside struggling not to laugh.
“Mm!”
Yiyi yanked the pacifier out of her mouth, cheeks puffed as she glared at Aze, still smoldering with anger like a little milk kitten with its fur standing up.
“Big Sis, I want the pacifier! Give it to me,” Yaoyao tugged at Yiyi’s sleeve, swaying it.
Her chubby little hand reached out, eyes fixed on the pacifier that still smelled faintly of milk.
Yiyi, shaken by Yaoyao, lost all her earlier fierceness.
She glanced down at the pacifier in her hand, glared once at the smirking Aze, then sulkily shoved the pacifier into Yaoyao’s hand: “Take it!”
And with that, she didn’t forget to shoot Aze one last glare.