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Join the ServerIt was here that she had first seen that little blind girl.
Crouched in a corner, trembling all over, her face as pale as paper.
She had squatted down and asked her, “Why are you sitting here all alone?” Then she took her to eat steamed buns, and then brought her home.
She stared at the utility pole. Under it sat a simple shed, since the building above was under renovation. The shed was for the workers to store materials.
Under the shed, was a small figure curled up?
No, that figure looked like a person?
Lin Qingxue squinted. The rain was too heavy to make anything out.
She stepped closer and, by the streetlamp’s light, saw a little girl.
Pink hair soaked through, plastered to her face. Clothes soaked through too. She was curled into a tight ball, hugging her knees, shivering all over.
Luo Xiaoning lifted her head, rain running down her face.
When she saw Lin Qingxue, her eyes lit up. She bounced off the ground and dashed at her, voice sharp and bright:
“Sister Lin! I finally found you! My phone got soaked, I got lost, and I almost drowned in the rain!”
She reached Lin Qingxue, drenched like a kitten that had fallen into water. She grabbed Lin Qingxue’s sleeve, mud packed under her fingernails.
Lin Qingxue froze.
She looked at the little girl. Pink hair, round face, big eyes like two grapes. She was certain she didn’t know her.
She backed up a step, her voice guarded. “How do you know my surname is Lin?”
Luo Xiaoning opened her mouth, then went blank.
(Wait, she doesn’t recognize me? She couldn’t have forgotten me, could she?)
(Then again, a big shot in an organization like that not remembering a nobody like me, that was entirely possible.)
She scratched her head, flicking rainwater from her hair onto Lin Qingxue’s face. “Um… I’ve seen you before! You forgot? You saved me once!”
Her eyes sparkled with pure worship.
Lin Qingxue looked at her and combed through every memory, but she couldn’t find that little face.
She shook her head. “I don’t remember.”
Luo Xiaoning grew anxious. “It was that time! At that… that… that place!”
She didn’t know how to describe it. She had a problem: whenever she got worked up, she couldn’t get her words out right. All she could do was stomp her feet in a panic.
“Anyway, you saved me! If you don’t remember, it’s fine. I remember, that’s what matters!”
She hugged Lin Qingxue’s arm like a koala clinging to a tree branch, pressing her whole body against her.
Lin Qingxue was nudged back a step. The umbrella tilted, and rain landed on her shoulder.
She frowned, straightened the umbrella, and peeled Luo Xiaoning off her. Her voice carried a trace of helplessness.
“You’re here all alone? In such heavy rain? Why aren’t you home yet, little girl?”
Luo Xiaoning said in a pitiful voice:
“Well… I was going to use navigation to get to Xingfu Residences. Then it suddenly started pouring, my phone got wet and died, and I don’t know this area, so I got lost.”
She pointed at the shed above her.
“It just so happened the building above was under renovation, so they’d put up a shed, and I could stay out of the rain here.”
She paused, her voice even more pitiful.
“Sister Lin, do you know… we met before. You saved me. Did you forget?”
Lin Qingxue listened, completely baffled.
(Wait, this utility pole. Is it a respawn point for lost little girls? Last time I picked up Su Yutao here. Am I about to pick up another one now?)
(No, she seems to be looking for someone.)
(But she seems to know me. She’s not here for me, is she?)
(Probably not. I’m not close to her. But I happen to live in Xingfu Residences too. I’ll take her along. She’s pitiful.)
Lin Qingxue thought for a moment and said, “I happen to live in Xingfu Residences. Who are you looking for? Want me to take you there?”
Luo Xiaoning’s eyes lit up like light bulbs, and she lunged at her again.
“Really? That’s great! Sister Lin, you’re the best! You’re the nicest person in the world!”
Her hands rubbed against Lin Qingxue’s arm, and her face pressed against Lin Qingxue’s shoulder. Her whole body flopped around like a fish just rescued onto shore.
Lin Qingxue was knocked back another step. The umbrella tilted again, and rain soaked her shoulder again.
She sighed, straightened the umbrella, peeled Luo Xiaoning off, and said, “Come on. Stop clinging.”
Luo Xiaoning obediently walked beside her, chattering as she went.
“Sister Lin, you’re really kind. The first time I saw you, I thought you had such a nice personality.”
“And you’re so pretty too, like a movie star.”
“What skincare do you use? How do you take care of your hair? You’re so thin. Do you eat at all? You…”
Lin Qingxue cut her off.
“Kid, you don’t need to flatter me. I’m helping you because I want to be kind. If you want to repay me, the next time someone else is in trouble, you help them. That’s repayment enough.”
“Also, kid, what’s your name?”
Luo Xiaoning choked on her words, but she pulled herself together and said:
“My name is Luo Xiaoning! I’m the second child, and there’s one above me, so that’s why I’m called Xiaoning.”
She paused, a touch of pride in her voice.
“Let me tell you, my sister is amazing. Right now she’s a civil servant. Like, a really impressive one. It’s just that she doesn’t like me very much, for some reason.”
Lin Qingxue gave an “mm” and said nothing more.
She held the umbrella and led Luo Xiaoning toward Xingfu Residences.
The rain grew heavier, and the wind was strong, blowing the umbrella this way and that.
Luo Xiaoning chattered on beside her like a bird that couldn’t stop.
From “Sister Lin, you’re so nice” to “What skincare do you use” to “What do you usually eat,” her topics jumped around like a headless fly.
Lin Qingxue listened, but her mind drifted to that little blind girl at home.
Su Yutao would never be like this.
She couldn’t talk, wouldn’t ask questions, wouldn’t pounce and cling, wouldn’t chatter.
She would just curl up in a corner, hugging her penguin, quiet and still, like a small animal that didn’t exist.
Sometimes Lin Qingxue forgot she was there. But once in a while, she’d turn her head and see her on the sofa, white hair spilling down, little face buried in the penguin’s fur, and her heart would suddenly feel: ah, she’s here.
This little girl, though, talked way too much.
Lin Qingxue finally couldn’t help interrupting her.
“Kid, first of all, we’re not that familiar, so you don’t have to tell me all your private details.”
“Also, asking a stranger about their family habits like that is very rude.”
Luo Xiaoning shut her mouth.
It stayed shut for all of three seconds.
“Sister Lin, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. I just want to know you a little better.”
She measured a tiny space with her fingers. “Just a tiny bit.”
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, I’m Just a Cat, So How Did I End Up as Someone’s Wife? is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : I’m Just a Cat, So How Did I End Up as Someone’s Wife?
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