61. Little Scoundrel

Waking up refreshed, Zhang Tan realized he hadn't closed the window last night, nor had he turned on the air conditioner. The breeze from outside, filtered through the green leaves, blew in and felt wonderfully cool.

Zhang Tan picked up his phone from the bedside table and checked the time: 6:30 in the morning. He lay in bed staring at the ceiling for a while, mentally reviewing his schedule for the day, and then got up.

Stepping barefoot on the floor, he squatted down to look under the bed and checked the corners of the room.

"It's not here. Where on earth is it hiding?" Zhang Tan muttered to himself.

Last night, two crickets had chirped all night right from under the bed, but he just couldn't find them.

Normally, the chirping of crickets is so soft that it can be ignored most of the time, but deep in the quiet of the night, the harder you tried to listen, the more your ears were filled with that rhythmic *buzz-buzz-buzz*.

Thud, thud, thud~~~~

A noise came from the courtyard. Zhang Tan found it strange. Who was out in the courtyard at this early hour? Usually, it was very quiet at this time, with no sound except for the early morning insects. All the noise from West Chang'an Street was blocked out by the trees.

He pushed open the glass door of the balcony and let his gaze sweep across the courtyard. It was a little kid wearing a red and white jersey, chasing a football and kicking it every time she caught up to it. A large number "33" on the back shone brilliantly in the morning sun.

Little White, the kid!

Zhang Tan rubbed his sleep-filled eyes and looked again. It was still Little White! She hadn't transformed from a bird, an insect, or a little fruit.

How did she get here?

Did she pop out from the ground?

Didn't she leave last night?

...

Zhang Tan had a head full of questions. While he stood there in a daze, Little White had somehow wandered beneath the balcony. She stopped at the foot of the mulberry tree, looked up at him, and when she saw him looking back, she flashed a grin. "Boss Zhang, yo, coming down to play a bit?"

What? Boss Zhang??? What kind of address was that?

Zhang Tan rubbed his eyes again and looked closely. "Are you really Little White?"

"What?" Little White asked back in bewilderment.

"Are you Little White?"

Little White glanced at him, muttered that he was acting a bit cracked, and turned to walk away, too proud to answer. She continued playing with her football and sang loudly, "Tang Seng rides a horse, dong-na-ge-dong, followed behind by Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong runs so fast, followed behind by Zhu Bajie. Zhu Bajie has a long nose, followed behind by Sha Wujing..."

Little White had sung this song before, so Zhang Tan was certain this was indeed Little White. But when had she arrived?

With his questions lingering, Zhang Tan quickly washed up, changed into sportswear, and went down to the courtyard for a morning run.

Thud~~ The football rolled over and stopped at his feet. Little White put her hands on her hips and said, "Uncle, play with me."

Play then, why not. Zhang Tan flicked his foot, and the football soared into the air.

"Oh ho~~~~"

Little White's gaze followed the rising football, watching as it landed right in the tree, getting firmly wedged between the branches without moving an inch!

Little White quickly turned her little head, her eyes wide as she stared at Zhang Tan, looking ready to explode.

She had asked him to play, and he had actually kicked her football up into the sky, right into a tree! Was he here just to cause trouble? Did he think a little kid had no temper? Were kids that easy to bully? Did he want to start a fight?

Zhang Tan could also tell that Little White was not someone to be trifled with. The look she was giving him was fierce and unfriendly.

"Don't get mad, don't get mad. I didn't mean to, it was totally an accident. I'll go get it down."

Zhang Tan walked over to the camphor tree and looked up. The football was wedged between the branches, about three or four meters off the ground. He thought about finding a stick to poke it down. Little White came over as well, standing at his feet, tilting her head to look up, and volunteering bravely, "Uncle, let me show you my specialty."

"Huh?"

Zhang Tan didn't react in time until he saw Little White eager to try, already wrapping her arms around the trunk. This was clearly an attempt to climb the tree. Among her myriad specialties, tree-climbing was definitely one of them.

Sure enough, Little White announced, "I'm going to climb the tree."

"Wait, wait, wait. Don't climb the tree. I have a better way to get the football down."

"This is my specialty."

"Don't be like that. This is my specialty too."

"What? Your specialty? What do you mean?"

"Nothing else. Just come with me to find a stick, give it a poke, and it will come right down."

He forcibly led Little White away, found a long pole, and poked it once from beneath the tree. Thud, the football fell down.

Zhang Tan looked down at Little White by his feet and said, "See that? This is my specialty—being tall. You can't match that."

Little White opened her little mouth wide. This specialty... ummmmm~~~ was definitely not hers, and even if she wanted to brag, she couldn't bring herself to brag like that.

"How did you get here? Who brought you?" Zhang Tan asked.

"My aunt brought me," Little White said.

Her aunt and uncle had to go to work at six o'clock every morning. In the past, they usually left Little White at home to sleep in, but because they had to go out today, they dropped her off at the schoolyard early. Lao Li, the security guard, let her in. The old man was a light sleeper and woke up at the slightest sound.

Zhang Tan noticed a small schoolbag and a sky-blue water bottle lying in the courtyard. These belonged to Little White.

"Have you eaten breakfast?" Zhang Tan asked.

"I have."

That made sense. If she hadn't eaten, how could she have this much energy, kicking the football *thud, thud, thud* early in the morning?

Zhang Tan told Little White to play with her football while he ran a few laps.

Little White didn't call him to play anymore; who knew if the uncle would kick her football into the sky next time? This Boss Zhang was just a saboteur.

The two of them went their separate ways: one jogging in circles, the other kicking the football with loud thuds.

"Little White, Little White, how are you even earlier than me? Open the gate!"

Outside the wall stood Huang Meimei.

Little White happened to kick the football in that direction.

Little White no longer recognized her. Hearing someone ask her to open the gate, she immediately became defensive and eyed her suspiciously.

"What are you doing?"

"..." Huang Meimei said, "Open the gate, Little White, let me in."

Little White asked, "Who are you anyway? What do you want?"

Last time she had let a young lady in, and unless the person in front of her also passed out on the ground, she wouldn't let anyone in.

As the saying goes, the proper study of mankind is man—no, wait, the day's plan starts in the morning. Huang Meimei had recovered her HP overnight, only to encounter Little White, and instantly felt a huge sense of frustration.

"Little White, it's me, your Sister Meimei. Didn't we see each other last night?..." Huang Meimei had no choice but to introduce herself.

Little White listened carefully. Judging by that little expression, Huang Meimei thought she must have remembered. But instead...

"Why are you acting so cracked~~ I don't even know you, why are you telling me all this nonsense~"

With a kick to the football, she turned around and chased after it.

Huang Meimei: "..."

She began to wonder if there was even any point in tagging along on today's trip anymore??

"Zhang Tan! Zhang Tan—open the gate!"

Huang Meimei had no choice but to call out to Zhang Tan.

Hearing the voice, Zhang Tan was about to come over and open the gate when Little White stopped him, gesturing toward Huang Meimei and muttering something. All Zhang Tan saw was him patting Little White's head before running over.

Huang Meimei was wearing a tracksuit today, looking full of vitality.

"Why did you come so early? We aren't leaving until eight o'clock."

Zhang Tan opened the big gate and let Huang Meimei in.

Huang Meimei raised the handbag in her hand and said, "I brought breakfast for you guys."

Zhang Tan was quite surprised. "Thanks. So thoughtful."

"Don't thank me, thank my mom. When she heard you were taking Little White and Xiaomi out to play today, she prepared all this food last night. There's not just breakfast, but lunch too, in case the kids get hungry."

"Thank you, Auntie Huang."

"Go on with your run. Just come over to eat when you're done."

Huang Meimei looked at Little White, who was approaching, and said rather indignantly, "Well? Little White, do you know I'm a good person now?"

"I don't know you. I'll let you in next time, though, so don't be mad."

Since you've already said that, how could I possibly stay mad?

"I've got breakfast here. Did you eat yet? Come join us."

"I'm so full."

With that, she ran off to chase her football.

Huang Meimei watched her run into the distance and asked Zhang Tan, "Is Xiaomi awake?"

"Still sleeping."

Zhang Tan continued running. After completing five laps, he called Little White and they headed back inside the house.

Huang Meimei had already set the breakfast on the table and was currently upstairs in the dormitory helping Xiaomi get up.

Last night, Huang Meimei had been driven away by Little White, suffering a massive blow and doubting her own likability. She had barely managed to regenerate half her HP overnight, only to run into Little White first thing in the morning. This kid simply seemed to clash with her horoscope. She wouldn't open the gate when asked—the crucial part was, if you weren't going to open it, you should have said so earlier instead of making her talk for ages only to refuse in the end. Wasn't that just teasing her?

Fortunately, however, little Xiaomi liked her very much and let her help her get up, which restored Huang Meimei's confidence.

Xiaomi was very affectionate toward her, but upon seeing Zhang Tan, she remained very reserved. Sitting properly at the dining table, she lowered her head and focused on eating her breakfast without speaking. She would only answer when spoken to, and her voice was extremely soft—quieter even than the crickets hiding in some corner of the house.

For breakfast, there were fermented bean curd mixed noodles, scallion oil pancakes, glutinous rice cakes, egg pancakes, and for lunch, sugar cakes and rice cakes. These weren't meant strictly for lunch, but rather as quick snacks in case they got hungry during the morning.

Xiaomi softly asked why Little White wasn't here yet.

Yesterday, it had been agreed that Little White would go too. It was precisely because Little White was going that she decided to go; if Little White didn't go, she wouldn't go either.

Now, the three of them were eating breakfast, but Little White was nowhere to be seen. Was Little White not coming after all? This made Xiaomi feel anxious inside.

Huang Meimei looked around the house searching for Little White. She had just come upstairs; Little White was right here a moment ago, and now she was gone.

Zhang Tan said, "She's in the bathroom."

Xiaomi's eyes lit up, and her confidence returned. With Little White around, she had a companion, and her courage grew immensely.

After a little while, Little White finally sauntered out.

"Little White~~" Xiaomi locked onto her immediately and called out happily. Only now did she feel the real excitement of going out to play.

Little White acknowledged Xiaomi with a word, then bent down to peer under the table.

"What are you looking at?" Zhang Tan asked. Instead of eating, she kept peering under the table.

"Why is there a cricket sound?" Little White asked, puzzled, tilting her head to listen. That's right, it was a cricket chirping, *buzz-buzz-buzz*~

"A cricket? What is that?" Huang Meimei's puzzled gaze landed on Zhang Tan. She actually wanted to ask Little White, but figured Little White probably wouldn't bother answering her, so it was better to ask Zhang Tan directly.

Zhang Tan glanced at Little White and Xiaomi—both kids were peering under the table—and replied, "It's just crickets."

Suddenly, the sound of crickets rang out right beside their ears, and everyone heard it. Huang Meimei exclaimed in surprise, "Zhang Tan, why are you even keeping crickets in your house? So rustic."