Chapter 44
44 Our Agreement
The little girl snuggled up to Luo Cheng and seemed to trust him very much.
When Li Xiaoran turned around to catch the vegetable leaves, she saw this cozy scene. She smiled and got busy again.
At this moment, Luo Cheng’s entire body was stiff.
Despite his resistance to the approach of others, he didn’t push the little girl away. Instead, he silently gave her a sense of security.
Jiaojiao kept staring at Li Xiaoran with envy in her eyes.
Perhaps this envy was too strong for Li Xiaoran to ignore.
Finally, after she brought the last bowl of sliced noodles to the customer’s table, Li Xiaoran walked to the stove and squatted down to look at Jiaojiao. “Little girl, why are you staring at me?”
“I like you! You look very healthy. You can do whatever you want. I’m very envious of you!” Jiaojiao stared at Li Xiaoran and said in a childish voice.
Li Xiaoran didn’t expect Jiaojiao to say such a thing and was stunned.
Luo Cheng also turned to look at the little girl leaning against him. He didn’t expect her to have such thoughts.
Jiaojiao kept looking at Li Xiaoran, her clear eyes filled with Li Xiaoran’s shadow.
Reaching out, Li Xiaoran touched Jiaojiao’s head and said, “Jiaojiao, you can be like me! Don’t be afraid that those things outside will hurt you. Go ahead and do what you like! Even if you dirty your clothes, trying it is a good thing!”
When Jiaojiao heard Li Xiaoran’s words, her eyes lit up with a hint of anticipation.
“Will I be as healthy as you if I do as you say?”
Li Xiaoran nodded and said, “It’s not just that. In the future, you have to eat rice, vegetables, meat, and eggs. You have to eat all of them so that your nutrition is balanced. Coupled with more exercise and work, you will be as healthy as me!”
“Okay, I’ll listen to you!” Jiaojiao nodded obediently.
“In the future, if you want to cry, cry. If you want to laugh, laugh. Only when you’re happy will your mood become better! Look at me!” Li Xiaoran said. Then, she laughed out loud.
The sudden laughter startled the others, who turned to look.
Jiaojiao looked at Li Xiaoran and suddenly followed suit.
“Hahahahaha!”
“Yes, that’s right! You’re still a child. You can laugh freely and cry when you want, and run when you want. That’s how you should be!” Li Xiaoran didn’t care about the gazes of others at all. Instead, she continued to encourage Jiaojiao after seeing her smile.
Seeing this, Lu Hua frowned and was about to stop her when Old Madam Lu glared at him.
“What do you want to do? Look at Jiaojiao. When have you ever seen her so happy?”
Lu Hua heard his mother’s words and remembered something. He looked at his daughter.
Jiaojiao was smiling brightly now.
Compared to her usual listless appearance, his daughter was much more vibrant and lively.
At that moment, Lu Hua finally understood why his mother had stopped him.
At this moment, Lu Hua was recalling bits and pieces of what had happened after his younger daughter was born.
Every time he was careful and attentive, the child suffered a lot.
Day after day, year after year. Now that Jiaojiao was eight years old, she still looked like a porcelain doll that would shatter at the slightest touch.
He hadn’t said anything over the years, but he felt exhausted.
Meanwhile, his wife, Uli, had been doing her best to protect Jiaojiao. As her father, he hadn’t been doing his best.
Even he felt so tired. What about his wife, Uli?
Wouldn’t she feel even more tired?
At that moment, Lu Hua turned around and looked at his wife on the other side.
As if on cue, Uli glanced up at her husband.
“Husband, don’t worry. I think the stall owner is right. Perhaps we really took too good care of Jiaojiao! She’s already eight years old. It’s time for her to go through some hardships!”
Lu Hua looked thoughtful when he heard his wife’s words.
After Jiaojiao laughed, she suddenly felt much more relaxed. Then she didn’t feel cold anymore.
“Thank you! I know what to do!”
Seeing that Jiaojiao was in a much better mood, Li Xiaoran also smiled.
After the noodles were eaten, the convoy set off.
Before leaving, Jiaojiao suddenly thought of something and ran back to hug Li Xiaoran.
“Sister, thank you! I will definitely come back to visit you in the future!”
“Okay! I’ll definitely wait for you to come back and see me!” Li Xiaoran bent down with a smile and extended her little finger.
“What’s this?” Jiaojiao asked when she noticed Li Xiaoran’s actions.
Li Xiaoran pulled Jiaojiao’s hand up and guided her to hook her little fingers.
“Look at this. It’s called a pinky swear. It’s an agreement. A pinky swear means we have an agreement! It’s a promise. A promise that can’t be changed and must be kept!”
Intrigued by this method of agreement, Jiaojiao nodded, then waved goodbye.
After the carriage left, Li Xiaoran kept watching Jiaojiao’s carriage with a smile on her face.
“You like children a lot?” Luo Cheng asked after witnessing the way the two of them made the pinky promise.
“It’s not that I like children. It’s because I’m that child’s hope that I made this agreement! I hope that when I see her again, she can smile happily, cry freely, eat whatever she wants, and live a life that others are used to! This agreement is like a seed of hope. As long as she has expectations, she will try her best to live, nurse her body, and become healthy!” Li Xiaoran said.
Luo Cheng had thought of many possibilities, but not this reason.
“Humans can only live if there’s hope! Isn’t that right? Even if that hope is ethereal, as long as there’s hope, we can hold on to it and walk towards it step by step to realize it!” Li Xiaoran smiled and said, “Do you believe that there are miracles in this world?”
Luo Cheng was stunned for a moment and looked at Li Xiaoran in confusion.
“I do! I’m sure that as long as none of us give up, we’ll create miracles!”
“So, even without me, you would have eventually escaped from the Li family! The only difference is a few more years or less?” For some reason, Luo Cheng suddenly thought of this and couldn’t help but confirm with Li Xiaoran.
“No, it’s not just a little difference! The difference is huge! When we’re free, we can sit together and talk about it!” Li Xiaoran didn’t give an answer.