"Do you want to go home?" I sat beside Vanilla and asked casually.
The little girl immediately raised her head, looking somewhat confused, then lowered it again. "Um... home..."
I paused slightly, then suddenly smiled. "Don't be nervous. I'm not trying to chase you away. You're friends with my Little Bird, and if you want to stay, you'll always be welcome here. That bird seems to really like you. It's just that she brought you here so recklessly, and I felt that wasn't quite right, so I wanted to ask what you thought."
The little girl still seemed somewhat reserved, but upon hearing that, her first reaction was to smile slightly. It was such a pure smile, as though she was simply happy because her new sister had been mentioned. She glanced at the silly bird, who was under Anweina's guidance using both hands to gesture numbers—probably training her finger dexterity?—and said happily, "Can I really stay with her?"
"Why not?" Lin Xue's head suddenly popped up behind us. She abruptly leaned over the back of the sofa, startling both Vanilla and me. "Look how big this family of ours has gotten. More than half of them are freeloaders eating, drinking, and living here for free—I'm one of the more morally upright ones. I only freeload meals. Oh, and don't judge this house by how big it looks now. It's even bigger inside than you'd imagine, and there are plenty of empty rooms upstairs. You could share a room with Mediva too. That bird has already turned human, so she can't keep building a nest on the roof to sleep in. But if she stays in a room, the bed would probably go to waste, so you might as well use it."
I pinched Miss's nose at that. "You're pretty