"Okay?"
The old woman sounded as if she were asking, but her tone was rather forceful.
The old woman's words left the child a little bewildered.
"Leilei is a good girl."
"Good girls listen."
The old woman didn't give the child time to think.
"Right?"
"Is Leilei a good girl?"
"Yes."
The child answered instinctively.
She was a good girl.
"Then good girls have to listen, okay?"
The old woman smiled and gently touched the child's face.
Listen...
Mm.
Feeling the warmth on her cheek, the child nodded amid her confusion.
She would listen.
"Good girl."
The old woman's expression relaxed.
A happy smile spread across her face.
"Leilei really is a good girl."
The child felt a little embarrassed by the old woman's praise.
Her cheeks turned slightly red.
The old woman's smile made her feel very happy.
Mm.
She hadn't done anything wrong.
The child pushed down her doubts about Grandma asking her to lie.
Grandma must have asked her to do it because it was the right thing to do.
She just didn't understand because she was too silly.
She only had to do what the grown-ups told her to do.
"Leilei."
The old woman reminded the child, just to be safe, "Remember what Grandma told you."
"You didn't see a big leopard."
"Don't tell anyone about this."
"Got it?"
"What about Dad and Mom?"
The child tilted her head and blurted out the question.
Don't tell anyone...
Did that mean not even Dad and Mom?
The old woman froze.
Then she nodded.
"That's right."
"Don't tell Dad and Mom, either."
The fewer people who knew about this, the better.
Let it stay buried in the past.
"Oh."
The child obediently nodded.
She would remember.
The