Chapter 341

"Creak"

Along with the stiff turning sound of the rusty door shaft, the small door opened in the corner of the wall was slowly pushed open. A tall beauty with fair skin and soft features bent down slightly, passed through the door, and stepped into the already semi-abandoned garden.

However, even in a semi-abandoned state, this extremely vast garden still revealed an elegant atmosphere. A large number of plain strips of stone engraved with peony patterns circled the dried marble fountain in the center of the garden, paving several secluded paths in the shape of petals.

These paths, full of gravel and fallen leaves, looked at a glance to be poorly managed, intertwined and winding outward, passing through collapsed stone pillars and abandoned sculptures, passing through exquisite greenhouses with broken glass, passing through courtyard walls with peeling paint, and extending all the way to the corner of the garden, next to the only small wooden house that was still managed.

"Aili."

After walking all the way to the front of the small wooden house along the path, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, who was carrying a large bag of things, knocked gently on the door of the small wooden house with the back of her hand that was not jade-like, and called out gently:

"I'm back, are you home?"

"..."

As soon as Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's voice fell, the door of the small wooden house was pulled open. A little girl with two light chestnut braids, each tied with a ribbon, jumped out of the door with light steps and fell into Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's arms like a butterfly.

"Sorry, made you worry again."

After gently stroking the top of her daughter's head, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, whose eyes were very gentle, said softly:

"Don't worry, Mom will never die no matter what. As long as you are still waiting for me at home, even if I really die one day, I will walk back little by little and will definitely not let you become alone again."

"..."

The little girl with ribbons still didn't speak, just nodded slightly, then as if she suddenly remembered something, let go of the arm wrapped around Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's waist, and raised her slightly clenched right hand in front of Auntie Auntie Ai Ma.

"Hmm? What do you want to show me?"

After putting the things she was carrying on the cabinet by the door, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma squatted down and smiled and reached out to the little girl. The cute little girl put her right hand on Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's palm seriously, and then unfolded it slightly...

"Did you catch this in the garden?"

Looking at the little pink-blue butterfly flapping its wings in her palm, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma couldn't help but smile happily, and then asked with guilt that could not be hidden in her eyes:

"So beautiful... Aili, thank you for your gift, Mom likes it very much. But you... how have you been these past few days? Will you be a little lonely staying at home alone?"

"..."

After hearing Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's words, the little girl with double ponytails first nodded slightly, then shook her head vigorously, and showed her a big smile.

Lonely might be a little, but Mom, you are back, so I am not lonely anymore.

After understanding the meaning of her nodding first and then shaking her head, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma bit her lip slightly. Just as she was about to say something, she found that the little butterfly suddenly flew up. It turned out that the little girl let go of the hand that was gently pinching the butterfly, and instead grabbed her right hand wrapped in bandages.

"?"

After looking at the slight greenish color exposed in the gap of the bandage, the little girl's clear black and white big eyes blinked twice, and then she raised her hand with worry and pointed at Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's right finger.

"It's okay, just a small injury."

After kissing the little girl's forehead affectionately, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma explained with a smile:

"Mom did encounter some trouble when going out this time, but it has all been solved now. At most, it will take another half a week for these small injuries to heal, don't worry!"

"..."

After hearing Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's guarantee, the worry on the little girl's face slowly dissipated, and she became happy again.

I saw her let go of Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's palm, ran quickly back to the room with a small pink wooden sign hanging on it, took out a drawing paper with two colored little people, and presented it to Auntie Auntie Ai Ma who was changing her shoes like a treasure.

This is... drawn from last year's birthday?

After taking the somewhat wrinkled drawing paper and unfolding it, identifying the two colored little people, one big and one small, sitting at the table and clapping happily on it.

Looking at the round shape on the table that was probably a cake, and the small crown on the head of the little person in the middle, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma hesitated slightly, then squatted down with the drawing and asked seriously:

"Aili... do you remember, Mom once told you before that when your birthday comes the day after tomorrow, a big... uncle will come over?"

"?"

After listening to Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's question, the little girl blinked in surprise.

Uncle? Isn't it a big brother?

"Your ages are actually quite different, and he is Mom's colleague, so... so you should still call him uncle."

After understanding the confusion in her daughter's eyes, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma explained with a slightly red face, then quietly clenched her fists, and asked softly with her ears slightly burning:

"Aili, are you willing to have more... um... do you like it to be a little more lively?"

Being looked at by her daughter's eyes that seemed to understand something, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma felt a little embarrassed and changed the subject in a busy way:

"I mean, when your birthday comes the day after tomorrow, besides Uncle Li Ang, his sister, and two children about your age will also come. Everyone will celebrate your birthday together. Are you happy?"

"Fri... friends?"

"Yes, friends!"

Looking at her daughter's expression of surprise mixed with expectation, but also vaguely revealing a little bit of fear, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma understood that she both longed for friends who could talk, but was also worried about not getting along well, so she reached out and hugged the little girl in her arms and comforted her softly:

"Don't worry, I have learned about them in advance. Although they are a bit lively, they are all very, very good children. They will definitely have a lot of fun playing with you."

After hearing Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's guarantee, the little girl couldn't help but let out a long breath, and a cute expression of excitement and expectation appeared on her delicate little face.

"That... that's good..."

Although her voice was as clear and pleasant as a wind chime under the eaves, the little girl seemed to rarely communicate with others, which made her speaking speed a bit slow and her pronunciation slightly vague.

But because friends of the same age were coming to celebrate her birthday, she, who didn't like to talk much, still blinked her eyes and asked with expectation:

"Do they... like flowers? I planted some in the small greenhouse... and butterflies... birds..."

"..."

After recalling the group of crows that kept throwing poop on the windowsill in Li Ang's memory, the corners of Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly.

Compared to cute little birds, Li Ang's exceptionally lively younger brother and sister are probably more interested in climbing trees to dig bird eggs... um... this really needs to be paid attention to, don't let them dig the nests of the little birds Aili likes most.

"Those two children... should be considered to like birds, right?"

After telling a lie against her will, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, who had changed into loose indoor shoes, took the little girl's hand and walked into the house. Just as she was about to ask what happened in the past two days, she saw a large piece of open space that had been leveled behind the garden from the window of the small wooden house.

These two days... someone has been here?!