Lu Wanqing couldn't help but giggle. The three-year-old girl's eyes curved into crescents as she looked at young Lu Yang and happily said, "Because third brother is handsome."
Young Lu Yang's ears instantly turned red again.
"You... you are also handsome," young Lu Yang stammered, a bit nervous.
Lu Wanqing reached out, took young Lu Yang's hand, and pulled him towards the bed.
Lu Wanqing had young Lu Yang sit on the bed, then bent down to take off his shoes. She looked up again, pressed his small body, and helped the little one lie down on the bed.
"Third brother, you should sleep for a while. You and Dad sat on the spaceship for so long, you must be tired," Lu Wanqing said.
"Spaceship?" young Lu Yang was confused.
Lu Wanqing realized she had said the wrong thing and quickly explained, "It's a train. You and Dad took the train from so far away, you must be very tired."
It was a train.
Young Lu Yang nodded.
"Do you like spaceships?" young Lu Yang looked at young Lu Wanqing and asked earnestly.
Lu Wanqing had let slip earlier. She was used to spaceships, but there were no spaceships in this era, or rather, the spaceships of this era were only accessible to high-level national scientists. Ordinary people could only hear about them, and if someone mentioned them, it was usually out of interest, not as a mode of transportation.
Lu Wanqing: "..."
"It's alright," Lu Wanqing said vaguely, thinking.
"Oh, right, third brother, are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you want something to eat, or something to drink before you sleep?" Lu Wanqing suddenly remembered and asked.
At this moment, she was chattering away like a mother, but she was just a three-year-old little one. When she said these things with a serious expression, it only made her look incredibly cute and adorable.
"I'm not hungry, nor thirsty," young Lu Yang replied, his voice still milky.
Lu Yizhi, feeling uneasy, came into the room to check. Seeing that Yangyang was already resting in bed, he was even more surprised but also relieved.
"Are you sleepy, Yangyang? Then you rest for a while. Auntie... Mommy will cook now. We'll call you when it's ready," Lu Yizhi said to Lu Yang on the bed.
Young Lu Yang looked at Lu Yizhi. The small child's nerves were taut, and he nodded seriously, "Mm."
"Qingqing, you come out too, let Brother Yangyang sleep for a while," Lu Yizhi beckoned to young Lu Wanqing.
Lu Wanqing was reluctant to leave her third brother, but she looked at her dad, then back at her little third brother. Her rational mind knew that her third brother needed rest now.
"Okay," young Lu Wanqing agreed.
Young Lu Wanqing quickly ran to the door.
Young Lu Yang lay on the bed, but his gaze involuntarily followed young Lu Wanqing. Although it was their first meeting, he found this little sister rather endearing.
"Third brother, rest well. I'll come to call you later," Lu Wanqing said in her crisp voice.
Young Lu Yang blinked, then nodded, "Mm."
Lu Yizhi then closed the door and carried his daughter out.
Lu Yizhi hadn't seen his daughter in a long time. He scooped her up, lifted her high above his head, and placed her on his shoulders, letting the little one ride on him.
"Qingqing, Daddy wasn't home for a while, did you miss Daddy?" Lu Yizhi asked happily, giving his daughter a piggyback ride.
Lu Wanqing was also startled. She had absolutely not expected her dad to lift her up, especially when he placed her on his shoulders. She panicked and instinctively grabbed her dad's head, afraid of falling.
Having lived for so many years, she was accustomed to being an adult. To suddenly be lifted and doted on like a child by her dad made her feel... embarrassed.
"Dad, please put me down," Lu Wanqing said, feeling a little uncomfortable and nervous.
Lu Yizhi laughed heartily, thinking his daughter was scared. He comforted her, "Don't worry, Qingqing, Daddy is very strong, I won't let you fall down~"
Jiang Yu came out of the kitchen, glanced at them, and said with a chuckle, "You spoil her too much. Be careful she doesn't become too spoiled and can't find a husband later!"
Lu Wanqing: "..."
Mom is so sharp-tongued!
She had felt a little awkward earlier, but after her mom said that, she felt... perhaps not so awkward anymore?
Besides, she was a child right now.
"Dad, where did eldest brother and second brother go?" Lu Wanqing asked, unable to help herself.
Childhood memories were too distant for her, and she couldn't quite recall what her eldest and second brothers were doing at this time.
Lu Yizhi smiled at the question, "Eldest brother and second brother have gone to school. Does Qingqing want to go to school too?"
Lu Wanqing: "!!!"
She almost forgot. Eldest brother and second brother were older than her, so they would indeed be going to school at this time.
Time ticked by, and soon it was time for school to end. Lu Wanqing looked at the clock on the wall, habitually wanting to go to school to pick up her children – eldest brother and second brother.
But seeing her mom and dad acting as if nothing had happened, continuing with their chores at home, she belatedly remembered that in this era, children walked home from school themselves, and adults didn't need to pick them up.
Around five o'clock in the evening, eldest brother and second brother returned, carrying their schoolbags.
Lu Wanqing watched them, her eyes unblinking, reluctant to leave. Her eldest and second brothers from her childhood were also people she hadn't seen in a long time.
Lu Ming and Lu Ze soon noticed their sister and both smiled.
"Dad, Mom, we're back!" Lu Ming habitually called out, informing his parents.
"Go wash your hands. Dinner is almost ready!" Mom called from the kitchen.
Lu Ming and Lu Ze put away their schoolbags in their rooms. Lu Wanqing, like a little shadow, followed behind her eldest and second brothers, quietly watching them.
However, just as she was about to leave their room, second brother suddenly pulled her back. Mysteriously, he pulled a cicada from his pocket and handed it to Lu Wanqing, saying happily, "Qingqing, this is for you."
Lu Wanqing was startled, then looked at the cicada and found it amusing. Second brother was like this when she was little, always bringing her interesting things from outside, including cicadas that chirped incessantly.
"Thank you, second brother," Lu Wanqing said gratefully. She reached out and carefully took the cicada.
Her mental age wasn't that of a child, but this feeling of being a child again, doted on by her childhood brothers, was still novel and delightful.
Lu Ze beamed, his smile radiant.
"Qingqing, it's time to eat. Go to your room and wake Yangyang up for dinner," Dad said with a smile at the doorway.
Lu Wanqing's attention immediately sharpened at the mention of her third brother. She nodded vigorously, "Mm!"
Lu Wanqing no longer cared about the cicada and dashed towards her room.