Chapter 14 - 6: What a Pity About the Love Brain

Chapter 14: Chapter 6: What a Pity About the Love Brain

The little boy’s hand was warm and toasty, soft and small. Holding it in her palm, Lin Zhao felt her heart melt as a smile blossomed in her eyes.

Da Zai glanced at his younger brother, envious. He wanted his mother to hold his hand, too.

Lin Zhao saw what was on Da Zai’s mind and offered her other hand to him. "Mom will hold your hand, too."

The light returned to Da Zai’s dim eyes in an instant. Without a word, he reached out and took his mother’s hand. A smile spread across his face, and it didn’t fade.

The trio from the Gu family walked away, leaving the other children to chatter amongst themselves.

"My mommy’s a liar! The twins’ mother likes them," a little boy named Yuanbao said angrily.

Something seemed to occur to him, and he grew both indignant and aggrieved. "The twins get in a fight and their mother doesn’t even scold them; she just holds their hands and takes them home. When I get in a fight, my mommy spanks me really hard! I ask my mommy to hold my hand, but she never does. I must be adopted!"

The little fellow’s face fell, making him look like a lost puppy.

Out in the fields, Yuanbao’s mother sneezed. She had no idea that because she’d refused to hold her son’s filthy little hands—grimy from making mud pies with his own pee—he had imagined a whole melodrama about being adopted. If she had known, she would have concluded that he hadn’t been spanked nearly enough.

"The twins’ mother is a lazy woman, but she bought them meat buns," Tie Niu said, his face full of envy. "I want to eat meat buns, too."

Changsheng snorted. "What’s so great about it?" he said confidently. "Just wait. By tomorrow, their mother will be ignoring them again!"

"How do you know?" Yuanbao asked, dragging a stick through the dirt. He was still gloomy, clearly wallowing in a sadness he couldn’t shake.

"I just know!" Stumped, Changsheng walked off in a huff.

With their leader gone, the other children brushed the dust off their clothes and wandered away from the old banyan tree.

A few high-pitched, childish voices could still be heard from a distance.

"It’s all Brother Changsheng’s fault," Yuanbao grumbled. "I was going to ask the twins to let me smell their meat buns, but now I’ve lost my chance."

Another little girl sighed. "I wanted to smell them, too."

Passersby had no idea what was going on, but seeing the group of children looking so sorrowful, they couldn’t help but chuckle.

Lin Zhao led her two sons back to the Gu family home. The moment she stepped through the door, two soft little bodies clung to her legs.

’The fraternal twins.’

The Third and Fourth Child were calling for their mother, though their pronunciation wasn’t quite right, making it sound more like "Lommy" than "Mommy."

Da Zai steadied his younger brother and patiently corrected the Fourth Child. "It’s ’Mommy,’ not ’Lommy.’"

"Lommy~~" the Fourth Child chirped again, still getting it wrong. She looked up, a sweet smile on her face revealing her tiny, rice-like teeth.

Er Zai teased his younger sister. "The Fourth Child is a little dummy! You can’t even say ’Mommy’ right. Little dummy." He gently tapped his sister’s cheek.

The Fourth Child spotted the bun in her second brother’s hand and reached for it.

Er Zai quickly dodged. Getting anxious, the Fourth Child let go of Lin Zhao’s leg and chased after him on her short little legs, shouting that she wanted it.

"Want! Want!" she squeaked in her childish voice.

Er Zai wasn’t being stingy; he was just worried his little sister couldn’t eat it. He turned to Lin Zhao in a panic. "Mom, can the Fourth Child eat the bun?"

Just then, Mother Gu heard the commotion and came out of the house.

Er Zai yelled in his loud voice, "Grandma, Mom bought us buns! They’re meat buns! Really, really yummy meat buns!" Anyone would have thought he was showing off.

The Fourth Child was still wobbling, trying to reach the bun in Er Zai’s hand. She was short and stout, and couldn’t get it even on her tiptoes. But she didn’t get fussy. Instead, she remained remarkably calm, clambering up her brother’s arm in her efforts. Her little face grew flushed from the exertion, turning as red as an apple.

His sister’s entire weight was now hanging off him, and Er Zai was getting tired. He yelled again, "Grandma, can the Fourth Child eat the meat bun or not?"

Mother Gu answered, "Just give her a piece the size of a fingernail, so she can have a little taste."

Er Zai tore off a tiny piece of the bun’s skin for his sister. The Fourth Child stuffed it into her mouth and started gumming it with her four little baby teeth, her eyes crinkling in delight as drool dribbled down her chin.

"Drooling again, you little slob," Er Zai said, lecturing his sister like a grown-up as he took out a small handkerchief to wipe the drool from her face.

The Fourth Child was very well-behaved, cooperating with her brother. As Er Zai wiped her face, she lifted her chin, looking impossibly placid.

The Third Child was even quieter than his sister. He stayed by Da Zai’s side without making a peep. When his older brother gave him a piece of the bun, he took it and quietly started gnawing on it.

Lin Zhao watched this scene with mixed feelings. ’As expected of the female supporting character, a piece of cannon fodder who is otherwise outstanding in every way. She’s so special already, and she’s barely over a year old. It’s a shame she’ll grow up with a love-addled brain.’

’But with me here in this lifetime, we’ll see if these kids’ romance-obsessed brains even get a chance to develop.’

Her gaze swept over each of her children.

Da Zai and Er Zai suddenly felt a chill run down their spines. They looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary, and the two little brothers relaxed.