Chapter 653: What is a Child Bride

The little girl hesitated, afraid to touch his wound lest it cause him more pain.

Seeing she had made no move for a long time, Xiaoshi whispered a reminder: "Tiantian, just apply a little ointment."

"Oh... okay..."

Tiantian obediently agreed, then squeezed out a bit of ointment; feeling the cotton swab was too much trouble, she simply used her own finger to carefully spread the ointment evenly over the wound.

"Hiss..."

Xiaoshi finally couldn't help but gasp in pain.

"Brother Shitou, did I hurt you?"

Tiantian hurriedly stopped.

"It's nothing."

Shitou shook his head, his feelings indescribable, only feeling a sense of sourness and softness.

It was not his first time being beaten.

When he had just woken up, he had also suffered quite a bit for intentionally going against "Father."

But having someone help him apply medicine was a first...

Tiantian's movements were gentle, afraid of hurting him, and after carefully applying it for a long time, she finally finished and pulled her hand back.

"All done! Now Brother Shitou must be good! You can't run around! Otherwise, the wound will hurt!"

Tiantian acted like a little adult, earnestly lecturing her Brother Shitou.

After finishing, she patted her own little pillow: "Now that we've both had our medicine applied, it's time to lie down and rest!"

"Mm, okay."

Xiaoshi agreed, lying down beside Tiantian, then pulled the quilt over to cover her.

With nothing to do while staying here, Tiantian did nothing but curl up in the room reading books she couldn't understand, or eating and sleeping.

Fortunately, with Xiaoshi there, it wasn't too boring.

Neither of them was sleepy at the moment, just lying together to rest.

Tiantian suddenly spoke up: "Brother Shitou, I miss my brothers a little..."

"You will definitely be able to go back, don't worry..."

Shitou rubbed her little head, slightly lowering his eyes to look at the little girl beside him.

Immediately after, he heard her mutter again: "But Brother Shitou is different from my brothers; Brother Shitou is already a big kid! My brothers are the same age as me; we are triplets!"

"Mm."

Xiaoshi responded to her words.

He was not a man of many words to begin with, and Tiantian didn't mind, continuing to talk to herself: "But actually, I'm not the youngest; Brother Yanbao should be the youngest, but Mommy told me it's best to be the little sister, that way both brothers can take care of me, so I am the little sister... But I just overheard people outside saying..."

Tiantian paused, thinking of the word she hadn't understood just now, and suddenly asked: "Brother Shitou, what does 'Child Bride' mean?"

The hand Xiaoshi was using to gently pat her suddenly stopped, and a rare look of speechlessness appeared on his face.

How could she suddenly ask this?

And who taught her?

Although he wasn't old, the subordinates of Poison Snake never held back their language in front of him.

Over time, he naturally became influenced by it and understood the meaning of the term.

Xiaoshi sighed helplessly in his heart, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

After pondering for a long while, he quickly found an excuse to brush it off: "The meaning of that word... I can't tell you yet; you'll know when you grow up!"

The expression on his face was somewhat unnatural, and he subconsciously observed whether Tiantian believed his words.

Hearing this, Tiantian sighed helplessly.

"So troublesome! Daddy and Mommy also always say things I don't understand and tell me I'll know when I grow up, but when will I grow up?"

Tiantian pouted her little mouth, thinking earnestly.

Watching her distressed look, Xiaoshi couldn't help but chuckle and gently patted her shoulder.

"It will be a long time before you grow up... Sleep for a while first; I'll call you for lunch later."

"Mm-hmm!"

Tiantian obediently agreed, closed her eyes, and before long, she drifted into a light sleep.

Seeing her asleep, Xiaoshi moved his somewhat stiff body, but accidentally tugged at the wound on his back, causing his whole body to stiffen in pain instantly.

Grow up...

When would he be able to grow up?

As he was now, he simply had no strength.

He could only keep waiting for an opportunity, waiting for the day he had enough ability to avenge his parents!

And Tiantian...

If her parents couldn't rescue her, then... it wouldn't be bad to have an extra little sister.

He would definitely protect her well and not let her suffer any harm!

Two days later—

Li Xiao's injuries had mostly recovered.

The atmosphere in the villa grew quieter day by day.

He had his men scouting for news of Tiantian in shifts, day and night.

But this place was not like the country; above Poison Snake, there were still people who could protect him, making the investigation exceptionally troublesome.

Afternoon—

Li Xiao finished a phone call and went directly to find Li Beijue.

The two of them went to the study together, and as soon as they entered, Li Xiao got straight to the point: "My people have news."

"What news?"

Li Beijue asked back, immediately tense.

Li Xiao lowered his voice: "I have been having people track Viper for some time, and yesterday I finally discovered his trail at an underground casino, as well as the villa where he is hiding. That area is sparsely populated, and even if there are residents, they are very far apart. I suspect that Tiantian is likely being kept there."

"Can you confirm it?"

Li Beijue was vaguely uneasy.

Li Xiao nodded: "I have already planted my men, and I will find a way to confirm the personnel information in the villa within these two days. Once confirmed, we will immediately go and rescue Tiantian."

"Good, I will wait for your news."

Li Beijue agreed, and the two of them quickly began discussing a detailed plan.

Downstairs—

Cai Xiaotang limped into the kitchen and looked at Jiang Baobao, who was busy by the stove.

"Baobao, why don't you go upstairs and rest? Your body has only just gotten a little better; you should leave things like cooking to me..."

As Cai Xiaotang spoke, she tried to take the spatula from Jiang Baobao's hand.

Jiang Baobao, however, shook her head and avoided her movement.

"I'm not made of paper; I've been fine for a long time, and besides..."

Jiang Baobao lowered her eyes slightly, looking at the beef in the pot that a certain little girl loved to eat most. She calmed her mood before continuing: "Besides... if I don't find something to do and stay by myself, it's always easy for my mind to wander. Since I can't help Li Xiao and Li Beijue, I can at least take care of everyone's daily meals. Xiao Tang, you go rest. I'll call you all once it's done."

"Alright then..."

Cai Xiaotang didn't say anything more, just stood to the side, quietly keeping Jiang Baobao company.

Not long after, they suddenly heard the doorbell ring once.

"I'll go check."

Cai Xiaotang looked toward the door with some confusion and shuffled over with small steps.

Out of caution, she didn't open the door immediately, but instead turned on the doorbell camera.

However, she didn't see a single person.

There was only a square little box sitting on the doormat.