“I won’t be good! I’m not going anyway! If you want to go, you go!” She jumped off the bed and walked barefoot back to her room. Deep down, she was still an adult and couldn’t play the part of a child throwing tantrums. Jiang Baiyuan quickly caught up, grabbing her by the collar and lifting her into his arms: “Why don’t you want to go to your aunt’s house?”
“Even a golden or silver nest isn’t as good as your own doghouse. How can someone else’s parents be better than your own?” Her explanation unexpectedly amused Jiang Baiyuan, lightening his heavy mood a bit. “Ruyi, it’s right to miss home and your parents, but you still need to go to your aunt’s.”
Most of the time, he was a gentle father, but occasionally he could be stern. Like now. She had no choice. “Tomorrow, your aunt will come to pick you up. Baba needs to go find Mama, so don’t make Baba worry.” After speaking, he opened the door to her bedroom, tucked her into bed, and adjusted the remote to a comfortable temperature. Jiang Ruyi lay in bed, her face scrunched up, momentarily unable to think of a rebuttal. Right now, his mind was entirely on the missing Mama; he wouldn’t notice anything else. Fine, she’d calm down for a night. She needed to sort out her thoughts.
Seeing her eyes closed, Jiang Baiyuan assumed she was tired, so he didn’t linger, tucked her in, and left. Throughout the night, he checked several times to see if she had kicked off her covers. Jiang Ruyi, half-asleep, knew someone was covering her up. She had overestimated a child’s body; she fell asleep before sorting out her thoughts. The night passed relatively well.
