0p0 Chapter 196 The Closed Window
Chapter 196 The Closed Window
Wang Keying walked home hand in hand with her daughter, her mind preoccupied with the clothing design sketches Shu Yun had given her. The dinosaur-shaped pajamas, though she'd never seen them before, were exceptionally cute, but the material was also very particular…
Wang Keying was thinking about preparing the materials when her hand was gently shaken. She snapped out of her reverie, looked at her daughter, and whispered, "Little one, what's wrong? Did you have fun playing with your brother today?"
The little girl nodded. "Brother is handsome and fair-skinned. I like him."
"I didn't ask you if you liked it or not," Wang Keying said, both amused and exasperated, as she touched her daughter's face. "Oh, our little girl likes pretty things too, doesn't she?"
The little girl was a little embarrassed. She hugged Wang Keying's leg and rubbed her face against it. "Mommy, I was just at Xiaoxi's house and I found out that Xiaoxi can draw too. The little dog he draws is super cute. I love it so much!"
As the little girl spoke, she opened her arms wide to indicate that it was truly super super.
Gu Xi drew a cute, cartoon-style puppy. Shu Yun likes to draw cats and dogs when she relaxes. Gu Xi usually likes to stick close to her mother, and after watching her for a long time, she naturally learned to draw a few simple sketches as well.
The little girl clearly thought this skill was very cool. She tugged at Wang Keying's clothes and blinked her expectant eyes, "Mommy, I want to learn too."
Wang Keying thought for a moment, "How about we wait until we get back and Mom teaches you?"
Wang Keying is a tailor, so she naturally knows some basic skills, but it's not accurate to say that she's a particularly good painter.
For example, the little girl really disliked her mother's paintings. Upon hearing this, she pouted in disappointment and said, "Mom, your paintings are so ugly. I don't want to learn from you. What if I look like you and all my friends laugh at me when I show my paintings to them?" As she spoke, she shook her head and looked at Wang Keying with her sincere big eyes, leaving Wang Keying speechless.
Fine, she thought to herself, if you're not willing to learn, then she doesn't have time to teach you. She attends classes during the day, does sewing at night, and squeezes in housework whenever she can. She's constantly on the go, with almost no time to rest.
Wang Keying thought of Shu Yun. Shu Yun's painting skills were widely recognized, but everyone also knew that Shu Yun did not take on any apprentices. If she rashly approached Shu Yun to ask for help, it would be difficult for both sides to save face.
As she was thinking, the little girl shook her hand again, jumped up and down happily, and pointed to a spot not far away, "Mommy, look, that's Grandma Xu's house."
Following her daughter's pointing finger, Wang Keying saw a two-story house. The attic windows on the second floor were covered tightly with gray newspapers, and the doors and windows were closed tightly, without a single gap, making it impossible to see what was inside.
Wang Keying recalled that she had never seen the windows of Grandma Xu's house open; they were always covered with newspaper and kept tightly closed.
As Wang Keying looked away, the little girl exclaimed happily, "Mommy, I want to go find Grandma Wang to learn to paint!"
Wang Keying asked curiously, "Grandma Xu can paint? Don't go and make things worse."
The little girl pouted, "I won't cause any trouble. I've been to Grandma's house before and saw that she has a lot of beautiful pictures. She must be able to draw. I want to learn from Grandma Xu."
Wang Keying had no idea that Grandma Xu could paint. Although they lived in the same village, Grandma Xu's house was located at the back of the village, and there were other houses far away. She was also a low-key person and did not interact with the villagers. Therefore, Wang Keying might not know Grandma Xu's house as well as the village children.
Wang Keying didn't think much of it, only telling her daughter, "You can go, but don't cause trouble. If Grandma Xu comes to the door next time and says you're naughty, watch out for your little bottom."
The little girl was unhappy and said loudly, "I'm not like that at all. I never cause trouble. Grandma said I'm the most well-behaved child in the world. Mom, you're just jealous that Grandpa and Grandma like me more than you."
After the little girl finished speaking, she glanced sideways at Wang Keying, looking like a smug little person.
Wang Keying was both amused and exasperated. "Where did you learn that from? And you say I'm jealous of you? Without me, do you think your grandparents would still acknowledge you?"
Wang Keying reached out to pinch the little guy's soft cheeks, but he nimbly dodged and ran away laughing.
At night, Wang Keying worked overtime at the sewing machine, losing track of time until she finished a pair of cotton trousers and realized her back was aching.
It was pitch black outside, with only the occasional meows of cats and dogs, which sounded unusually empty in the quiet village. She stretched and went out into the yard to loosen her muscles.
Suddenly, a solitary building came into view. A faint, dim light shone from the second-floor window, but it was obscured by newspapers. A strange feeling flashed through Wang Keying's mind, but the sound of her daughter calling from inside the house quickly dispelled this inexplicable unease.
She hurriedly called out to the inside, "Hey, Mom's here."
These past few days, Wang Keying took advantage of the school holiday to go to the city, buy fabric, and work overtime to finish making several dinosaur pajamas, which she then delivered to Shu Yun's house.
Before they even reached Shu Yun's house, they saw Gu Xi, A Xi, and their dog huddled together in a corner, doing something, with the occasional low laughter of a child reaching out.
"What are you doing, Xiaoxi? Is your mother home?" Wang Keying greeted her.
"Aunt Wang." Gu Xi turned around, holding half a meat bun in each of her small hands.
The little guy looked at the fragrant meat bun in his hand, then at Wang Keying, his little brows furrowing like wriggling earthworms, and slowly handed over half of the bun, saying, "Aunt Wang, here's a meat bun for you."
Wang Keying couldn't bring herself to snatch food from the children, so she quickly waved her hand, saying, "Auntie isn't hungry, you guys eat."
"Okay." Gu Xi was overjoyed. She gave half of the bun to A Xi to smell. "This is yours, A Xi. We'll each have half, one for each of us and one for the dog. You're my good friend."
Ah-Xiang quickly barked and wagged his tail high.
Wang Keying smiled and said, "Your mother made meat buns?"
Gu Xi had just opened her mouth when she heard this, so she put down the steamed bun and shook her head. "No, it's a treasure that Ah happy and I found by the roadside."
“I picked it up by the roadside.” Fang Keying frowned.
Gu Xi nodded honestly, "Yes, we were incredibly lucky."
"Ah-happy, let's eat together."
"Wang."
After saying that, the man and the dog opened their mouths and were about to eat the buns.
"Wait." Wang Keying's hands were faster than her brain. With one hand, she knocked the bun out of Gu Xi's hand, and with the other, she grabbed A Xi by the back of the neck.