29. You Were There Too

"What is it? Tell me."

Having finally invited Xiao Bai into his home, she asked impatiently. She was usually the one taking the initiative to drop by, but today she had been so dismissive; were all women this fickle?

Zhang Tan didn't hold it against her. He pulled out a box and said, "Look, this is for you."

Upon hearing there was a gift, Xiao Bai’s displeasure vanished. She beamed, letting out a laughter that sounded like a honking goose. She tore open the packaging and pulled out a glass jar.

"Do you like it?" Zhang Tan asked. "It's for you."

Xiao Bai nodded repeatedly, hugging the jar and clearly loving it, yet she tried to return it, suppressing her desire to keep it.

"What’s wrong? It's a gift for you."

"What are you up to, Uncle? I can be very fierce, you know."

She was certainly on guard. It was the same when he treated her to food last time; she had even threatened him by claiming she had a "dark butt" sometimes.

Zhang Tan explained, "I broke your glass jar yesterday, so I’m replacing it. Just take it."

Hearing this, Xiao Bai happily hugged the jar to her chest again. "Thank you! You’re a good person."

Great, another "good person" card. His drawer was nearly full of them.

Xiao Bai's original jar had just been for apple preserves. Once the preserves were gone, the jar that remained was nothing compared to this one. This one had a fish-belly shape, a wide mouth, a latch, and a handle, making it easy to carry. It was originally meant for pickling fruit, wine, or ginseng—beautiful and practical.

Unable to put it down, Xiao Bai wanted to show her appreciation and asked with concern if he had eaten yet.

Zhang Tan said he had, then added a worried reminder, "Don't put earthworms in this one, you hear?"

To be honest, that thing gave him the creeps, and this little girl in front of him seemed to be the nemesis of earthworms—she’d grab them without a hint of fear.

"Do you still want to eat stir-fried fish with bird-pecked peppers? Should I make it for you tomorrow?" Xiao Bai asked enthusiastically. It seemed this was truly her signature dish; her hands itched if she didn't make it for a day.

"No, thank you."

Don't bring up painful topics.

"You really must not put earthworms in the jar. I had a nightmare about it last night."

"About what?"

"They were crawling all over me. I don’t know what they wanted."

"Were they in your mouth?"

"Yes."

"And your butt?"

"...Forget it, let’s not talk about it."

"Honk, honk, honk!" Xiao Bai laughed gleefully.

"Are you happy that I had a nightmare? I suggest you be kind, Xiao Bai."

"I... I wasn't laughing at you."

Laughing that hard and saying she wasn't laughing at him? Did she think he was that easy to fool?

Perhaps realizing her acting wasn't convincing, Xiao Bai said, "Uncle, Uncle, actually, I had a nightmare too."

"Really?"

"Really."

"What did you dream about? Was it earthworms too?"

Zhang Tan suppressed his nausea to play along.

Xiao Bai nodded, saying there were "bird-pecked peppers" involved as well.

Zhang Tan’s dream had involved being attacked by earthworms, but he didn't know what the earthworm-nemesis had dreamed.

"What were you doing with the earthworms in your dream?"

"Fishing for little fish."

Sure enough, even in her dreams, she was attacking earthworms. Poor earthworms.

"Did you catch any?"

"Fishing is my specialty!" She gave him a look of annoyance at his skepticism.

"Impressive. How many did you catch?"

"Ma Lan Hua."

"What?"

He asked how many, and she gave him her aunt's name.

"Ma Lan Hua blooms twenty-one, twenty-one little fish."

That was far too dismissive. Zhang Tan couldn't help but think: you’re always using your aunt’s name to mess around, aren't you afraid of getting a spanking?

"What kind of fish did you catch?" Zhang Tan continued to ask.

He might have asked too much, making Xiao Bai slightly unhappy. The little girl pondered for a moment, unable to answer—perhaps she hadn't dreamt that part, it wasn't that detailed, or she couldn't make it up on the spot.

"Uncle, you tell me. You were there too."

"Huh?" Zhang Tan was full of questions.

Xiao Bai poked his stomach with her little finger and said with a grin, "When I was fishing, you were there too. You were the one holding the fish. You tell me what kind of fish we caught."

"..." Zhang Tan.

"Uncle, tell me."

Zhang Tan said he didn't know, refusing to admit he was there. It’s your dream, you’re in charge; even if I was there, I wouldn't know.

"Silly goose," Xiao Bai muttered.

Zhang Tan was incensed. What kind of logic was this! She couldn't even explain her own dream, so she made others do it! And if they couldn't, she called them a silly goose.

He reminded Xiao Bai it was time to go back, as the other children were waiting for her to tell them stories. The implication was clear: please leave.

But Xiao Bai, who had insisted she was just here to sit for a moment, now didn't want to leave because she had spotted a manga on the sofa!

"What is this?" Xiao Bai asked, hugging the manga, her eyes shining with curiosity.

It was a manga version of *The Lamp Bearer*, a signed collector's edition given to him by the original author.

"Doesn't it have words on it? It's a manga."

"Manga? What's a manga?"

"It's like a picture book."

"Like *The Windmill and Afo*?"

"Something like that."

Xiao Bai didn't leave. She sat there reading *The Lamp Bearer* with great interest, constantly asking him what this part meant or what that part meant.

Zhang Tan asked her, "Why aren't you in kindergarten?"

"What?" Xiao Bai looked up, confused.

"I mean, you're four and a half, you can go to kindergarten. Why don't you go?"

"No money. My aunt is very stingy."

As she spoke, she began to sing: "Ma Lan Hua, Ma Lan Hua, not afraid of wind or rain..."

Zhang Tan guessed she must get in trouble often; that song was practically begging for a spanking.

"Then what do you do during the day?" Zhang Tan asked. If she wasn't in class, what did she do? Did she go to work with her aunt and uncle?

"Sleep! Uncle, what does this part mean?"

She pointed to a panel in the manga. "Look at the pictures" didn't work anymore; this wasn't a picture book for toddlers, but a manga, and without knowing the words, it was full of obstacles.

Ding-dong~

Someone knocked on the door. Zhang Tan opened it to find Xiao Mi.

"I, I..."

Seeing Zhang Tan, Xiao Mi was so nervous she couldn't speak, her face turning red.

Zhang Tan flashed an eight-tooth smile, trying to look as amiable as possible to increase his approachability.

"I bet you're looking for Xiao Bai, right?" Zhang Tan said.

Xiao Mi nodded repeatedly.

Zhang Tan turned back and shouted, "Xiao Bai, Xiao Mi is looking for you."

Xiao Bai didn't budge, sitting on the sofa and saying, "Tell her to come in."

"Xiao Mi, Xiao Bai says you can come in."

After saying it, Zhang Tan felt something was off. Why did he feel like he was being treated like Xiao Bai's servant?

Xiao Mi didn't come in. Instead, she stood at the door and announced loudly that Cheng Cheng was crying.

Xiao Bai immediately jumped off the sofa and rushed out, anxious to go comfort Meng Cheng Cheng.

Zhang Tan didn't know why Meng Cheng Cheng was crying and worried there might be another fight, so he followed. Fortunately, it wasn't a fight or an argument; Meng Cheng Cheng just missed her dad. Teacher Liu couldn't calm her down, so only Xiao Bai could do it.