After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

After chatting for a while, Aunt Ding made arrangements to go home.

He patted his trouser leg, stood up, and kept instructing, "Tiger, your sister Qianqian has an injury on her foot, so you have to take good care of her. Don't be clumsy, you hear me? Be alert at night, don't sleep too soundly."

Tiger thumped his chest loudly, tilted his head back, and acted like a grown-up: "Mom, don't worry, I'll make sure to take good care of Sister Qianqian! You should go now."

Aunt Ding glared at him, then turned to Lin Qianqian, her gaze falling on her ankles wrapped in strips of cloth.

"Qianqian, you must be careful. Don't take your youth for granted. It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. If you move around recklessly and cause a chronic injury, you'll suffer in the future, especially on cloudy or rainy days."

She paused, then added, "If you need anything, just ask Tiger. If he dares to slack off, tell me, and I'll beat him with a stick."

Lin Qianqian laughed out loud at what she said, replying "I know, Auntie," but her heart was filled with warmth.

She turned her head to look at Hu Zi, who was winking at her.

Hu Zi saw Aunt Ding and Sister Chunfen off on her behalf.

The three of them reached the courtyard gate. Tiger, with one hand on the doorframe and the other behind his back, puffed out his little chest in a serious manner and called out to Aunt Ding's retreating figure, "Come visit sometime!"

His tone and expression were exactly like someone at home.

Aunt Ding paused, turned around and glared at him, but couldn't help but smirk as she cursed, "You little brat, you're asking for it, aren't you!"

Before he could finish speaking, Tiger slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

The door rattled loudly, and Chunfen covered her mouth and laughed beside her, her shoulders swaying.

Lin Qianqian heard everything clearly from inside the house. She was so happy that she kept slapping the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), laughing so hard that her ankles trembled and made a "hissing" sound.

When Hu Zi pushed the door open and came in, the smug look on his face hadn't faded yet, and the corners of his mouth were turned up so high that an oil bottle could hang from them.

Lin Qianqian leaned against the pile of quilts at the head of the kang (heated brick bed), her bright eyes fixed on him, deliberately drawing out her words: "Did you get beaten?"

Tiger scratched the back of his head a couple of times, then chuckled, "No, I closed the door. Her arms aren't that long."

"Will Aunt Ding remember this and beat you when you get home?" Lin Qianqian tilted her head, deliberately trying to scare him.

Tiger's smile froze for a moment, then relaxed again. He waved his hand, looking confident.

"It's alright, I'll stay a few more days, and my mother will forget about it. She has a bad memory; my father always says she's like a rat, forgetting things as soon as she leaves."

Lin Qianqian laughed again after he made her laugh so hard, but her throat was really dry.

She pursed her lips, rolled her eyes, cleared her throat, and said in a affected tone, "Little Tiger, pour me a glass of water."

Tiger cooperated flawlessly, putting his legs together, bending his waist, nodding his head, and crisply uttering, "Yes, sir!"

As soon as the "cha" sound came down, Lin Qianqian spat out the half mouthful of water she had just put in her mouth.

Tiger had learned his lesson this time. The moment she opened her mouth, he darted to the end of the kang (a heated brick bed) with a nimble movement, just like a monkey.

"You've finally learned your lesson," Lin Qianqian said, wiping the corner of her mouth, her eyes still brimming with tears of laughter.

"I have no choice but to dodge," Tiger said, spreading his hands with a helpless expression. "My clothes are wet and I have nowhere to change. If I go home, I'll get a beating. My mother doesn't care what day it is when she beats me."

Lin Qianqian put down her cup, her gaze sweeping over his face before she suddenly asked, "So you're afraid of your auntie?"

Tiger got excited when he heard this.

He plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), swinging his legs back and forth, his expression becoming vividly dramatic. "Sister Qianqian, you have no idea, my mother really hit me! That wooden stick—"

He gestured with his hand to indicate the thickness, "This thick, when you whip your butt, it burns like it's on fire. You sleep on your stomach the first night, and the next day you have to walk with your legs apart, like a duck. Don't even think about getting into bed in two or three days."

As Lin Qianqian listened, the smile on her face gradually faded, and she thought to herself: So, people always beat their children, whether in ancient times or in modern times.

She recalled the days when her mother chased her around the house with a clothes hanger when she was a child, and suddenly felt an inexplicable closeness between the boy in front of her and the little girl with braids in her memory, separated by countless years.

Tiger finished speaking, and seeing her staring blankly, he waved his hand in front of her eyes: "Sister Qianqian? What are you thinking about?"

Lin Qianqian snapped out of her reverie, shook her head, and was about to speak when Hu Zi suddenly slapped his forehead, as if he had remembered something of paramount importance: "Sister Qianqian, is A Long off tomorrow?"

Yes, tomorrow is Ah Long's day off.

Lin Qianqian felt as if something had gently squeezed her heart.

Ah Long is coming back, but she can't walk, so she can't stand at the academy gate to wait for him as usual, and she can't wave and call his name as soon as she sees him from afar.

She glanced down at her ankle; the strip of cloth was tightly bound.

"Yes," she nodded, her voice softer than before, "tomorrow you'll go with Uncle Ding to pick up Along. Along will be very happy to see you."

Tiger's face lit up for a moment, then dimmed again.

He lowered his head, his fingers picking at the cracks in the wood along the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). After picking at it several times, he finally spoke in a muffled voice, "Sister Qianqian, how should I tell Ah Long that I dropped out of school?"

His voice softened, carrying a timidity that Lin Qianqian rarely heard in this robust child.

"Ah Long is so ambitious and studies so hard; even the teacher praises him. If he knew I dropped out of school... wouldn't he feel ashamed to have a friend like me?"

Lin Qianqian looked at his drooping head, and inside that round head, a thousand thoughts were probably churning.

She didn't rush to speak, but instead reached out and gently patted his shoulder.

"No," her voice was calm and firm. "True friends will understand you. You know Ah Long better than I do. He won't forget the bond of sharing a bed with you just because of this."

Tiger raised his head, his eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth slowly, very slowly turned up.

"Then I'll pick up Ah Long tomorrow," he jumped off the kang (heated brick bed), waving his fist in the air, "I can sleep in the same bed with Ah Long again!"

His overjoyed appearance was a stark contrast to his dejected state just moments before.

Lin Qianqian shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. Sure enough, children will always be children; their joy comes and goes quickly, like a summer thunderstorm—it comes and goes just as fast.