Chapter 171: My Childhood Sweetheart Can't Possibly Be an Idiot! (7)

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Qi Ye lived right next door to Bai Yao. To be honest, when Bai Yao looked through the iron gate at the house, she could see only a yard overgrown with weeds. It looked as though it had been abandoned for years, and she could hardly imagine anyone living there.

Qi Ye stood at his front door, staring at her.

“See you tomorrow,” Bai Yao said.

Then she turned and went back into her own house.

Only after she disappeared from sight did Qi Ye look away. He pushed open the iron gate and walked into his home.

He crossed the weed-choked yard, pushed open the unlocked front door, and entered the dimly lit living room.

A figure sat motionless on the sofa, seemingly asleep.

Qi Ye took a seat in the corner of the couch and eagerly pulled off his schoolbag. From inside, he took out a melted ice pop.

He was missing his two front teeth, and it took him some time to bite open the wrapper. Then he bit a hole in the ice pop and stuffed it into his mouth, sucking in a big mouthful of sticky sweetness.

It tasted best when it was still icy cold, of course, but he was already perfectly content simply to have a snack.

The figure beside him kept appearing in the corner of his eye. What an eyesore.

He stretched out his foot and kicked the person beside him. The figure tilted to one side and rolled onto the floor.

Qi Ye sat cross-legged on the sofa, leaning comfortably against its back. At last, he felt at ease. He gnawed on the ice pop in his mouth, his face filled with contentment.

Third-grade homework was not particularly demanding, and Bai Yao finished it in no time. It was not yet dark when her parents, Bai Yu and Wen Wan, finished work and came home. Bai Yu hurried into the kitchen to prepare dinner, while Wen Wan enthusiastically asked Bai Yao how things had gone at school.

Bai Yao had nothing much to say, so she answered perfunctorily, “My teacher praised me today.”

Wen Wan covered her face and shrieked, “Oh my goodness, Yao-Yao, you’re amazing!”

Bai Yao: “…”

Wen Wan shouted toward the kitchen, “Yao-Yao’s father, did you hear that our daughter was praised by her teacher today?”

Bai Yu poked half his body out of the kitchen. “I heard! Yao-Yao, you’re amazing! On such a wonderful day, I’m making chicken legs for you!”

Bai Yao: “…”

Honestly, were these young parents not being just a little too dramatic?

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The next day was Saturday. Since the experimental base had only just begun operations, Bai Yu and Wen Wan still had to work overtime to monitor the data.

Bai Yao was woken up early in the morning. Sleepy-eyed, she sat before her pink dressing table while Wen Wan stood behind her, tying her hair.

Whenever she had spare time, Wen Wan loved watching online videos about styling little girls, especially tutorials on different kinds of braids. Her braiding skills could easily be called first-rate.

That day, she gave Bai Yao two low ponytails. She braided the hair on either side into three-strand braids, wound each one into a little bun at the back of her head, and finally tied red ribbons around both buns.

Paired with the burgundy sailor-collar dress she was wearing, along with the proud expression that occasionally surfaced on her face, she looked so haughty that she seemed to regard no one else in the world.

But Wen Wan was a completely besotted daughter fanatic. Clasping her cheeks in excitement, she said, “My daughter is just too adorable!”

Bai Yao glanced at herself in the mirror. She pinched her still slightly chubby cheeks, displeased that she had yet to lose her baby fat.

Bai Yu appeared at the doorway. “Breakfast is ready. Come downstairs and eat.”

Wen Wan took Bai Yao by the hand and helped her rise from the chair. The next moment, Bai Yu casually mentioned, “I just went outside to take out the trash and saw that boy from next door standing outside our iron gate, staring in. I greeted him, but he ignored me. It was honestly a little creepy. Yao-Yao, be careful at school, and don’t get too close to him.”

Bai Yao suddenly remembered something. She pushed open the glass door and stepped onto the balcony, where she immediately spotted the boy standing below.

He was still wearing yesterday’s school uniform, and he had not even changed his shoes. Every article of clothing on him was soaked. His hair, usually sticking up like a bird’s nest, now lay limp against his head, with water dripping from the ends.

Sensing Bai Yao’s gaze, he raised his head and stared straight at her.

Bai Yao had forgotten that today was Saturday when she told him, “See you tomorrow.” Could it be that, because of those words, he had been waiting here the entire time?

Looking at the boy below, who resembled a drowned puppy, Bai Yao felt, for once, that her conscience was condemning her.

When she returned inside, she told her parents, “I don’t want to go to work with you today. I want to stay home and watch television.”

Bai Yu and Wen Wan exchanged puzzled glances, unable to understand what had changed her mind.

Still, this was not the first time something like this had happened. Their workplace was indeed boring for a child.

Bai Yu prepared the lunch in advance so that it would only need to be reheated in the microwave. He also set out fruit and snacks. As usual, they instructed Bai Yao not to go out to play and to call them if anything happened.

Bai Yao obediently nodded.

When Bai Yu and Wen Wan left, they locked the iron gate as well. Bai Yao was already showing signs of becoming a homebody at a very young age. During summer vacation, she could go an entire month without leaving the house. To prevent her from forgetting to lock the door behind herself, her parents always locked it for her before going out.

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Bai Yao ran to the iron gate. She had no key and could not open it, so she could only look at the boy outside through the bars.

“Qi Ye!”

He quickly ran up to her. With every step he took, he left behind a wet footprint.

“Did you fall into the water?” Bai Yao asked. “Why are you completely soaked?”

He tilted his head. His long lashes, misted with rain, trembled faintly, and his eyes were full of innocent confusion. A few more drops of water fell from the strands of hair clinging lightly to his cheeks.

Unlike before, there was no longer so much grimy dust covering his face. His naturally wheat-colored skin was visible now. That was only natural—he spent every day running wild outdoors. How could he not be tanned?

It was hard to tell anything about the state of his black trousers, but his white shirt and white shoes were another matter. After being soaked through, the dirt had spread into ugly stains, making them look even filthier.

Qi Ye raised a hand and wiped the water from his face, looking rather dazed.

Bai Yao suddenly asked, “Did you go take a bath?”

He nodded.

Bai Yao froze for a moment.

Yesterday, after buying him an ice pop, she had indeed told him that he needed to wash himself properly. She knew he was a wild child, but she had never imagined he would follow her words in such a simple and brutal fashion.

This was not what someone looked like after taking a bath. He looked as though he had fallen into the water!

A gust of wind blew, sending a strand of hair across his eye.

Like a drenched puppy, Qi Ye shook his head. His small body trembled along with it, sending droplets flying in every direction. Several splashed onto Bai Yao.

Bai Yao restrained her temper. Wiping the water from her face, she told him, “You’ll get sick if you keep wearing wet clothes. Go back and change into something dry.”

His clear, bright eyes were filled with confusion.

Bai Yao could not tell whether he had failed to understand her words or whether he simply had no clean clothes to change into.

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