My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

"woke up?"

Lin Ye walked in carrying a tray.

There are two glasses of warm water on top.

He was wearing a black loungewear set, and tiny water droplets clung to the ends of his black hair.

When Xiao Douzi saw him, tears streamed down her face.

Lin Ye quickly placed the tray on the bedside table and plopped down on the edge of the bed.

The mattress sank under his weight, and he reached out and scooped the small bag into his arms.

"What's wrong, Xiaodouzi? Why are you crying?" she said, gently stroking Xiaodouzi's face and wiping away her tears.

"Godfather... Little Douzi thought... thought you were gone... thought it was all just Little Douzi's dream..."

Her voice was choked with sobs, her shoulders were heaving, and she was curled up in a tiny ball, sitting on that ridiculously large bed, like a small animal abandoned in the wilderness.

"They're real little pockets, all genuine!"

Lin Ye sighed and continued, "It's Godfather's fault. Godfather broke his promise. He said that Xiao Douzi would see Godfather as soon as he woke up."

His large hand covered the back of her head, gently rubbing it. The warmth of his palm seeped through her hair.

"I just went to wash up and got two glasses of water. I'm back now."

Little Douzi buried her face in his chest.

My face was pressed against his pajamas, and I could feel the warmth of his body beneath the fabric. I could hear his heartbeat, steady and steady.

The sound gradually calmed her down.

"No...it's not my godfather's fault."

The voice was muffled, coming from his chest, nasal, and indistinct.

She clutched the hem of his pajamas with her two little hands, too embarrassed to look up.

Her exposed ears gradually turned red.

The redness stretched from the tip of the ear all the way to the base, so red it looked like it was about to bleed.

I'm being way too clingy!

Xiao Douzi silently berated himself, but he just couldn't let go of her hand.

Lin Ye looked at her flushed and embarrassed face and wanted to laugh.

But he held back, pressing his lips into a thin line to forcefully suppress the smile.

If she laughs out loud, Xiaodouzi will be even more embarrassed.

He held the little girl in his arms without urging her. His chin rested on the top of her head, and he could feel her hair brushing against his skin, tickling him. His arms gently encircled her back, patting her soothingly.

It took a while for Xiaodouzi to recover, and the temperature on her face gradually decreased.

She lifted her head from Lin Ye's embrace, and just as she was about to speak, she suddenly froze.

Her gaze passed over Lin Ye's shoulder and landed at the other end of the room.

There is a huge floor-length mirror there.

The mirror, framed in white wood, stretches from floor to ceiling, like a door to another world.

The mirror reflected half a bed, half a window, a ray of sunlight, and a pale purple ceiling.

and also--

Two people.

A man, dressed in black, with wet hair, was holding a little girl in his arms.

Xiao Douzi stared at the little girl in the mirror, his eyes widening.

The little girl was wearing a pink, fluffy pajama top with a rabbit pattern printed on it. Her hair was soft and flowing over her shoulders, like a piece of black silk, shimmering faintly in the morning light.

Her face—

White and tender, like a freshly peeled egg, or like the first peach blossom in spring, with a faint pink hue.

Her cheeks were chubby and round like two little buns, making you want to reach out and pinch them.

Her almond-shaped eyes were large and bright, like two obsidian stones washed with clear water, and her eyelashes were long and curled.

Her lips were pink, with a full, rounded cupid's bow. She opened her mouth wide in shock, revealing two rows of small, white teeth.

Who is this...?

Xiao Douzi subconsciously reached out and touched her face.

The little girl in the mirror also reached out and touched her own face.

The movements were exactly the same, even the curve of the fingers when they bent was identical.

She touched her hair again.

The little girl in the mirror also touched her hair.

"ah--!"

Little Douzi let out a startled cry. The sound wasn't loud, but it was high-pitched and thin, like a kitten whose tail had been pulled.

She suddenly turned her head to look at Lin Ye, her eyes wide open, her pupils filled with shock, and her mouth agape in a round "O" shape.

"Godfather! Godfather, godfather, godfather!" she cried incoherently.

One hand was tugging at Lin Ye's sleeve, while the other pointed at the mirror, the finger trembling.

"Th-th-that's...is that a little bag?!"

Lin Ye looked at her, his lips curving into a smile, his eyes crinkling, and the two beauty marks under his eyes lifting slightly with his smile.

"Yes, that's Little Pocket."

"But--"

Xiao Douzi turned his head to look in the mirror, then turned to look at Lin Ye, repeating this several times, his head turning like a rattle drum.

"But Little Douzi doesn't look like this! Little Douzi... Little Douzi wasn't like this before!"

She looked down at her hands—

Her skin was fair, her body was well-proportioned, and her nails were pink, like tiny seashells.

Her hands used to be yellow and thin, with knuckles that protruded like chicken claws, and her nails were gray, some of them even cracked.

She then lifted the sleeve of her pink pajamas, revealing her arm—

Her arms were like two small lotus roots, plump and chubby, with smooth, fair skin without a single blemish.

Her arms used to be withered and yellow, as thin as dry firewood, with bluish-purple marks from being pinched.

She touched her face again—

It's slippery and soft; when you press your finger down, it bounces back.

Her face used to be sunken, with high cheekbones, and it felt like touching a stone, rough and uncomfortable.

"Godfather!"

Xiao Douzi's voice suddenly rose, and she jumped up from Lin Ye's arms, stood on the bed, clenched her two little fists, and trembled with excitement.

"Little Douzi has changed! Little Douzi has become so beautiful! Has Little Douzi...has she turned into a fairy?!"

Her eyes shone like two small suns, reflecting her own image in the mirror, as well as Lin Ye's smiling face.

Lin Ye was amused by her appearance and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, not turning into a fairy—"

He reached out and pinched her little cheek.

"It's our little dumpling, she's always been a little fairy!"

Lin Ye put his hand down and continued speaking with a smile.

"Before, those people didn't take good care of Xiaodouzi. Now that Godfather has taken good care of Xiaodouzi, Xiaodouzi has returned to how she was before."

Xiao Douzi stood on the bed, looking at Lin Ye, then turned to look at herself in the mirror. After looking for a while, she suddenly burst into tears.

This time I'm happy.

She cried and laughed at the same time, her tears and laughter mixed together, her little face scrunched up like a flower that had been wet by the rain and then opened up by the sun.

"Little Douzi...is a fairy..." she sobbed, her voice broken and intermittent.

"Little Douzi never knew...Little Douzi was so beautiful..."

Since her father passed away, she has no idea what her face looks like; no one has ever told her.

All she knows is that she is ugly.

Because the palace maids and nannies all said, "This ugly girl," "This little bastard," and "How is she still alive?"

She thought she had really become very ugly, so ugly that she didn't deserve to be treated well, so ugly that she deserved to be beaten and scolded.

But now, where is the little girl in the mirror ugly?