Chapter 59: The Oath

From last night until today, Ma Lanhua had been instilling the concept of "you can know a person's face but not their heart" into Xiao Bai, warning her that she must absolutely never go mountain climbing with Manager Zhang. Going mountain climbing would definitely lead to being sold, and after being sold she would probably even help Manager Zhang count the money—was she being silly or what? Was she a little blockhead? Was she a simpleton? Once sold, she wouldn't be able to go home for the New Year, and without going home she wouldn't be able to see her grandma. Would she cry then or not? This was a serious problem.

Right up until they arrived at Little Red Horse Kindergarten, Ma Lanhua still felt uneasy and gave Xiao Bai one last earnest reminder, which went like this:

"Are you and Manager Zhang good friends?" Ma Lanhua asked.

Xiao Bai thought for a moment, her little face tightening as she replied, "No."

She had long since stated right to Zhang Tan's face that they were not good friends; that eccentric uncle could not be her friend.

"Right, so you still want to go mountain climbing with Manager Zhang?"

"I want to~"

"Okay, wait—what?! Say that again."

"I want to go mountain climbing."

"With Manager Zhang?"

"Manager Zhang doesn't have to go."

"Manager Zhang doesn't go, but you do?"

"Uh-huh."

"You little rascal, are you stupid?! How many times have I told you?"

"How many times?"

"... Many times, until your auntie here has got a dry throat."

"Aunty, go drink some water then."

"You little rascal, guess you still have a bit of a conscience."

"Heh-heh, drink your water first and then you can tell me many more times~"

"You little rascal! Such a silly goose~"

Xiao Bai almost got a swat, and hurriedly dodged while shouting that she knew, she knew, and she never wanted to go mountain climbing with Manager Zhang ever again, or else she wasn't a human being.

Only then did Ma Lanhua let her off.

As a result, she was called over by Zhang Tan, who mentioned wanting to take Xiao Bai out to play tomorrow... In a momentary daze, she found her mouth refusing to obey her, hearing herself say okay, and actually agreeing to it.

She agreed?!

Only after leaving the kindergarten did Ma Lanhua snap back to reality. Wait a minute, wasn't she supposed to stop Xiao Bai from going out to play with Manager Zhang? She had lectured Xiao Bai all night long, and Xiao Bai had taken it to heart, but she herself had forgotten.

How on earth did she just say yes?! Oh Xiao Bai, my silly little rascal, your auntie has let you down.

Filled with vexation, she immediately began to search for justifications for herself.

First of all, they weren't going mountain climbing; they were going to participate in a charity donation event, and the location wasn't some remote place either, but rather right out on the main street. In broad daylight, what could Manager Zhang possibly want to do? What could he even do?

Secondly, the people going wouldn't just be Manager Zhang and Xiao Bai; Teacher Liu and Xiao Mi had also been invited to join.

Lastly, Xiao Bai had already agreed.

That little rascal!

She had told her countless times not to agree, not to agree, but the moment Xiao Bai heard it, she eagerly and cheerfully nodded in consent, completely treating her words as wind passing by the ear.

Ma Lanhua figured that rather than keeping Xiao Bai locked up at home, it would be better to let her tag along and look around. It was a good thing after all; Manager Zhang was so wealthy and owned such a large kindergarten, surely he wouldn't bully a child.

Thinking along these lines, her mind gradually grew at ease.

Li Jia was very fond of Xiao Bai, squatting down right in front of her and chatting away continuously. Among the small gifts she had bought were quite a few snacks, all meant for Xiao Bai: dried fruits, yogurt, apricots...

Noticing that Xiao Bai's clothes were somewhat humble and didn't fit properly, Li Jia had left for a short while, returning with three new little outfits that she wanted Xiao Bai to wear.

Xiao Bai hurriedly put her little hands behind her back, refusing to take them.

“This wouldn't be very good~~”

Li Jia squatted in front of her and said, “These are very nice. They're little girls' clothes, very cute.”

“Why are you giving me clothes?” Xiao Bai asked, her little hands still tightly tucked behind her back.

Getting her to accept things from others was quite a hassle; in this regard, this little child had been very well brought up.

“I'm thanking you. You gave me water to drink yesterday. Without your water, my throat might have gone hoarse, and I might have even gotten sick.”

Xiao Bai thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “You shouldn't get drunk, you know. It's not good.”

Li Jia felt a mix of awkwardness and warmth, and said, “Right, no getting drunk. You're completely right, thank you. Come on, let's try these clothes on to see if they fit.”

When Li Jia couldn't persuade her, Zhang Tan stepped in, finally getting her to agree to at least try them on.

Unpacking the packaging, one of them was a pink princess dress.

Zhang Tan exclaimed loudly, “Oh, Xiao Bai is amazing! This is a princess dress, it looks just like Chengcheng's!”

Xiao Bai's eyes lit up, a thousand words resting on the tip of her tongue shouting *I like it, I like it*, yet she stubbornly refused to say it out loud.

Li Jia helped her change and try it on. Perfect, the size was just right.

“Stand in front of the mirror and take a look at yourself, you look utterly adorable.”

She led Xiao Bai in front of the full-length mirror and let her look at herself.

“So well-behaved,” Xiao Bai praised herself, “Heh-heh~~~ Super well-behaved~”

The self in the mirror was extremely cute; she puffed out her cheeks, waved her little hands, bared her teeth, made a funny face, and put on a fierce yet adorable claw-scratching pose. Xiao Bai was thoroughly satisfied with herself.

She tried on the other two items as well, and they fit equally well.

So well-behaved, cute to a fault, heh-heh~~~~ Turning her head around, she thought, *Eh? Where did the big sister go? Where did the big sister run off to?...*

Li Jia had already slipped away.

“Don't look at me. These aren't my clothes, nor did I buy them for you. Do whatever you think is best.”

Seeing Xiao Bai stare at him, Zhang Tan issued a pre-emptive disclaimer: absolutely do not pin these clothes on him, this had nothing to do with him whatsoever.

He knew that getting Xiao Bai to accept gifts was a huge ordeal, so he chose the simple and crude method: dump them on you, make himself disappear, and let you figure out what to do.

“I~~~”

Xiao Bai opened her mouth wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say. How was she supposed to handle this mess?

Zhang Tan advised, “If you ask me, you should just accept them. The big sister bought them for you as a gift, and she didn't just give them to you for nothing either. You rescued her last night, she's thanking you and buying you three little outfits—isn't that completely normal? Just accept it, she's got money.”

Xiao Bai scratch her head in frustration and muttered under her breath, “This is giving me a massive headache.”

Zhang Tan chuckled and said, “Actually, it's not a headache at all. Just accept them; she simply wanted to give them to you as a gift. If you don't show her any face, the big sister will be unhappy, and she might not come to visit you next time.”

“Besides, didn't the big sister say so herself? She hopes you'll continue to keep an eye out for big sisters on the roadside in the future, and if there are any others like her, you should lend a hand and rescue them again. You do work for her, and she buys you a few things—it's totally fair. It's not taking bribes, so don't worry, no police uncle is going to come investigate you.”

“My foot~” Xiao Bai squeezed out.

Seeing her helpless expression, Zhang Tan held back his laughter and continued, “I think these three outfits look wonderful and are extremely cute. The one you're wearing right now suits you perfectly. Tomorrow when we go out to play, you should wear this one. It's explosive levels of cute.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely, positively real. How about this: you keep the clothes for now, and when your auntie comes back, you can ask her what to do. Or, you can hand them over to me and I'll keep them safe for you.”

Xiao Bai immediately clutched them tightly to her chest: “Why?! They aren't for you, you skinflint.”

Such a miser.

Zhang Tan said, “Then you can just keep them safe yourself.”

Xiao Bai thought it over; it seemed that was her only option.

“Xiao Mi is here, let's go find her.”

Zhang Tan saw the kindergarten gates swing open as a police car drove in.

Hearing this, Xiao Bai scrambled out excitedly, just in time to see Xiao Mi being lifted out of the police car by a dashing and heroic female police officer.

“Xiao Bai~~”

Seeing Xiao Bai, Xiao Mi trotted over, wanting a hug. But Xiao Bai dodged her embrace and instead began circling around the female police officer's legs, her eyes filled with boundless envy.

At this moment, her eyes held only the police car, not Xiao Mi.

One of her dreams was to be a police officer, and being a police officer naturally meant having a police car and a gun. She already had the gun, and now the only thing missing was a police car—which happened to be right in front of her.

Her dream was right before her eyes! How could she not be excited?

Zhang Tan explained the outing plan for tomorrow to Xiao Mi and the police officer. The female police officer reminded them to mind their safety and readily agreed.

Hearing that Xiao Bai was going too, Xiao Mi expressed that she wanted to go as well.

Now, only Teacher Liu remained.

Seeing Xiao Bai pacing wildly around the police car, touching here and rubbing there with her little hands as if she wished she could glue herself to it, Zhang Tan said to the female police officer, “One last request: could you let this kid sit inside the police car for a moment? I feel like her soul is about to be snatched away.”

The female police officer was amused by Xiao Bai's antics: “Alright then, come here.”

She opened the door and lifted Xiao Bai inside, letting her look around and get a feel for the interior.

To be fair, she and Xiao Bai had a bit of "history" between them; back then, it was she who had taken Xiao Mi away, prompting Xiao Bai to lead a pursuit and blockade, earning her the nickname "skinflint" alongside Zhang Tan.

The two skinflints were cooperating today to fulfill a tiny dream for Xiao Bai.

However, dreams were fleeting, and some little kids were unwilling to wake up. Xiao Bai actually lingered inside the police car, refusing to get out. She hugged the steering wheel, wrapped all four limbs around it, and shouted stubbornly about not wanting to leave.

In the end, Xiao Bai did come out—she crawled out herself.

If she hadn't come out, the officer joked she would be taken away to the police station.

Hearing that, Xiao Bai got so scared she tumbled and scrambled out in a hurry.

Trying to play hardball with a police officer—wasn't that just asking for trouble?

Watching the police car drive proudly away from the kindergarten, Xiao Bai pressed her hands against the small water gun at her waist, placed her hands on her hips, and proudly declared her vow:

“My foot! When I grow up, I'm gonna drive a police car too.”