Chapter 744

"Creak"

Accompanied by the rusty sound of the corroded door hinge, the small door opened in the corner of the wall was slowly pushed open, and a tall beauty with fair skin and soft features bent down slightly to pass through the doorway and stepped into the already half-abandoned garden.

However, even in a half-abandoned state, this garden, which covered an extremely vast area, still revealed an elegant atmosphere; a large number of plain-colored stone strips engraved with peony patterns wound around the dried-up marble fountain in the center of the garden, paving several petal-shaped, secluded paths.

These paths, full of gravel and fallen leaves, which looked like they were neglected at a glance, crisscrossed and wound outwards, passing through collapsed stone pillars and abandoned sculptures, passing by exquisite greenhouses with long-shattered glass, passing by 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 being taken care of.

"Ellie."

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, gently knocked on the door of the small wooden house with the back of her hand that was not jade-like, and called out softly:

"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, and a little girl with two light chestnut braids, each tied with a ribbon, stepped out lightly from the door and fell into Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's arms like a butterfly.

"Sorry, I 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 absolutely not let you become alone again."

"..."

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

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

After placing the things she was carrying on the cabinet by the door, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma squatted down, smiled and reached out to the little girl, and the jade-like, cute little girl put her right hand on Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's palm with a serious face, then unfolded it slightly...

"Did you catch this in the garden?"

After looking at the tiny, powder-blue butterfly that was flapping its wings slightly in her palm, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma could not help but smile in surprise, then asked with unconcealable guilt in her eyes:

"So beautiful... Ellie, 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, revealing a big smile at her.

Loneliness might be a little, but Mom, you are back, so I won't be lonely anymore.

After understanding the meaning of her nodding first and then shaking her head, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma bit her lip slightly, and just as she wanted to say something, she found that the tiny butterfly suddenly flew up; it turned out that the little girl had released the hand that was gently pinching the butterfly and instead grabbed her right hand wrapped in bandages.

"?"

After looking at the slight emerald color revealed between the gaps in the bandages, the little girl's black and white eyes flickered twice, then she raised her hand full of worry and pointed at Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's right hand.

"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, in another half a week, these small injuries will be healed, don't worry!"

"..."

After hearing Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's guarantee, the worried look on the little girl's face slowly dissipated and she became happy again. She saw her release Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's palm, run quickly back to the room with a small pink wooden sign hanging on it, take out a drawing paper with two colorful little people drawn on it, and hand it to Auntie Auntie Ai Ma who was changing her shoes like a treasure.

Is this... drawn from last year's birthday?

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

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

"Ellie... do you still remember, Mom told you before, that when it's your birthday the day after tomorrow, there will be a big... uncle coming over?"

"?"

After listening to Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's question, the little girl blinked her eyes somewhat surprised.

Uncle? Isn't it a big brother?

"The age difference between you is actually not small, and he is also Mom's colleague, so... so you'd better call him Uncle."

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

"Ellie, are you willing to have more in the family... hmm... do you like it to be a little more lively?"

Being looked at by her daughter's eyes that seemed to understand something, feeling a little embarrassed, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma changed the subject somewhat busily:

"I mean, when it's your birthday the day after tomorrow, besides Uncle Leon, his younger sister, and two children of about the same age as you will also come over; everyone will celebrate your birthday together, are you happy?"

"Fri... friends?"

"Yes, friends!"

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

"Don't worry, I've learned about them in advance; although they are a little lively, they are all very, very good children, and they will definitely have a great time playing with you."

After hearing Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's guarantee, the little girl could not help but let out a long sigh, and a cute expression of excitement and expectation appeared on her exquisite little face.

"Then... that's good..."

Although her voice was like a wind chime under the eaves, clear and bright and very pleasant to hear, the little girl seemed to rarely communicate with others, which caused her speaking speed to be a little slow, and her pronunciation to be 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 tried to open her mouth full of expectation:

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

"..."

After recalling the flock of crows that kept throwing poop on the windowsill seen in Leon's memory, the corners of Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's mouth could not help but twitch slightly.

Compared to cute little birds, Leon's exceptionally lively younger brother and sister are probably more fond of climbing trees to raid bird eggs... hmm... this really needs to be paid attention to, don't let them raid the nests of the little birds Ellie likes the 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 about to ask what had happened in the past two days, but saw a large piece of open space that had been leveled behind the garden from the window of the small wooden house.

In these two days... someone has been here?!

(End of chapter)