Thoughts Amid Sleep (Part Two)

Liu Shiling followed Egg Pie and the cat for a long time on the mountain path. Although the little girl was small and had short legs, she had good stamina. Moreover, after that little accident, she was now in high spirits and high mood. As she walked on the mountain path, she even had a bit of an "I own this mountain" attitude.

Meanwhile, the Egg Pie leading the way, with its chubby body and fleshy paws, also took a "tiger descending the mountain" gait, full of vigor and power.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, passing through two villages on the mountainside and at the foot of the mountain, Liu Shiling sat down on a stone by the roadside at the foot of the mountain.

Firstly, the little girl had walked for so long and was eventually tired; her legs were extremely sore.

Secondly, she felt the slight twitching of the Coin in her pocket, knowing it was Alice's signal to let her rest there.

As soon as Liu Shiling sat down on a roadside stone, she felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her, and her stomach started growling. She hadn't eaten much that evening because her aunt's cooking was too salty, and now she was truly thirsty, hungry, tired, and sleepy.

She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do sitting there. The nearest village houses were still dozens of meters away, and at this hour, it was already pitch black there, with most people already asleep.

However, she knew that Alice would protect her, and that following her advice was the right thing to do.

Liu Shiling hugged her small schoolbag to her chest, tightened the drawstrings on both sides of the hood, and rested her head on the schoolbag to doze off.

Egg Pie stood guard nearby, its cat eyes wide open, occasionally circling its little owner to scare away the surrounding mosquitoes.

After some time, a car stopped not far away. The back door opened, and a tall, pretty girl with a ponytail got out, looking around with her phone in hand.

Egg Pie immediately hopped over and meowed in front of the tall girl. Then it ran back to Liu Shiling, whose head was resting on her small schoolbag, and tugged at her trouser leg, swaying it back and forth.

When Liu Shiling woke up, she was blinded by the headlights of the car and could only squint, raising her head in a daze, as if she hadn't woken up yet.

Then she felt a hand placed on her hooded head, and a soft yet familiar voice said, "Little Bell, I've come to pick you up."

"Roast Chicken Wing Sister!" Liu Shiling laughed happily.

Yes, the tall girl who came to pick her up was Xia Libing, who had bought a plane ticket overnight and rushed over.

After arriving at Star City Airport, she hailed a car directly at the airport and drove to the foot of this mountain.

As for the Little Chubby Girl's location, with Alice informing her, it was impossible for her not to be found.

Xia Libing took the Little Chubby Girl's red schoolbag with one hand and led her towards the car with the other.

The car driver saw the Egg Pie next to the Little Chubby Girl, rolled down the window, frowned, and seemed about to say something.

The Little Chubby Girl, already "very experienced," understood what was going on as soon as she saw the driver's gaze. She squatted down, laboriously picked up the Egg Pie, and turned her cat face towards the driver, saying, "Uncle, I'll hold the Egg Pie, I won't let it run around or get the car mats dirty."

Then, the equally "experienced" Egg Pie let out a long, soft meow, then curled up its limbs and slowly winked at the driver.

The driver hesitated for a moment. According to company policy, passengers were allowed to bring pets, but they had to be in pet carriers and couldn't board the bus directly. However, seeing this young girl alone at the foot of a remote mountain in the middle of the night, her hair soaked with sweat and sticking to her forehead, her eyes barely open from sleep, looking exhausted, and yet so considerately holding her cat and pleading with him, he, too, had a daughter of his own. His heart softened instantly, and he hurriedly nodded, saying, "It's alright, it's alright. You can put the cat on the seat cushion. I have other cushions on the back seat anyway. It doesn't matter if they get dirty; I can just throw them in the washing machine when we get home. I change the cushions every day."

"Thank you, Uncle!" the Little Chubby Girl said happily.

Xia Libing opened the car door and helped her hold the Egg Pie. Actually, she had also planned to negotiate with the driver. She noticed there were seat covers on the back seats, and if she paid for the seat covers and added a little more money, the driver would definitely agree. Unexpectedly, the Little Chubby Girl negotiated first, and the effect was even better than "money power".

As soon as she got in the car, Liu Shiling leaned against Xia Libing and started to doze off again.

Xia Libing looked at the rosy little face covered by the hoodie, asked the driver for a pack of wet wipes, and slowly wiped away the sweat and black fingerprints that the little girl had smeared on herself. Then she wiped the little girl's hands, and then Egg Pie the cat's paws.

Good hotels don't allow pets unless you make it clear in advance, so Xia Libing found a guesthouse in town online and told the owner she could bring a cat.

After all, it was too late now, and it was impossible to rush back to Haixi Province and Chongyun Village overnight. Moreover, she had to tell Shiling's Mother that it would be better to stay in the area for one night first.

Upon arriving at the guesthouse, Xia Libing settled the fare with the driver and even gave him an extra 300 yuan for "cleaning fees." Then, she took Liu Shiling to a convenience store next to the guesthouse to buy some things.

Taking the bottled water from Lao Xia, Liu Shiling immediately picked it up and gulped it down. After drinking half of it, she squatted down at the convenience store entrance, poured a little into her palm, and gave it to Egg Pie.

The Egg Pie that had followed her all the way was also incredibly thirsty.

After arriving at the guesthouse, Xia Libing asked the owner for hot water and made a bowl of instant noodles for Liu Shiling and herself. She also asked for a bowl and fed Egg Pie some cat food—there was nothing else in Liu Shiling's little red backpack, but there was a lot of cat food.

The Little Chubby Girl ate the entire bowl of instant noodles, then let out a satisfied burp and started to feel sleepy again.

However, Xia Libing still gave the Little Chubby Girl a bath, dried her hair, and put a long-sleeved T-shirt that she had brought with her before tucking her into bed—her own clothes were in another big bag and were still at her aunt's house in Green Mountain Village, so she hadn't brought them down.

The Little Chubby Girl fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

Xia Libing picked up her phone and called Shiling's Mother. When the call connected, Shiling's Mother sounded tired and confused, as if she had just been sleeping.

Clearly, since Liu Shiling left Green Mountain Village, no one here has written to her Shiling's Mother.

Xia Libing first said that she had come to Star City on a business trip today, and then in the evening she received a call from Liu Shiling through a passerby, saying that Liu Shiling had run away from home, so she came and picked her up at the foot of Qingshan Mountain.

Upon hearing this, Shiling's Mother on the other end of the line was immediately jolted awake.

Fortunately, Xia Libing had already told her that Liu Shiling was fine and asleep, and sent her a photo of the Little Chubby Girl sleeping soundly via WeChat, which put her mind at ease for the time being.

Then Xia Libing tactfully suggested that he wanted to take Liu Shiling to Chongyun Village to stay for a while. Shiling's Mother, who was feeling scared, worried and very guilty, hesitated for a moment, but then reluctantly agreed. She naturally knew that Xia Libing was helping her take care of her daughter, and she also knew that following Xia Libing was probably more reliable than following her own family. She was grateful.

Upon hearing that Xia Libing picked up Liu Shiling at the foot of Qingshan Mountain, she immediately realized that her mother had taken her daughter to their hometown, Green Mountain Village. She didn't know what had happened in between, but judging from the outcome, it was clearly very serious.

If Ms. Xia hadn't rushed over to pick up Shiling, she wouldn't know what would have happened.

As for why Ms. Xia happened to be on a business trip in Star City, and why Liu Shiling happened to have a stranger call Ms. Xia at that time and remember Ms. Xia's phone number, Shiling's Mother didn't think too much about it.

She was so grateful that her daughter was alright and could stay with Ms. Xia.

After ending the call with Shiling's Mother, Xia Libing had only been lying down for an hour when she was woken up by another phone call. It was Shiling's maternal grandmother wanting to come and see her granddaughter.

So, around 4 a. m., a somewhat haggard and tired Shiling's grandmother called a car and rushed to the guesthouse, arriving at Xia Libing and the Little Chubby Girl's room.

Sitting by the bed, watching her granddaughter sleeping soundly, Shiling's grandmother finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She was actually woken up in the middle of the night by her daughter's phone call, and then learned that her granddaughter had actually left Green Mountain Village and gone down the mountain alone.

She quickly called her youngest daughter, Aunt Shiling, in Green Mountain Village, only to be told that Liu Shiling had been taken away by a little girl with a knife and that her daughter had been injured.

When Shiling's grandmother heard this, she knew that her youngest daughter was talking nonsense. Although she had not had much contact with her grandson Liu Shiling before and had only spent half a day with him today, her impression of him was that he was well-behaved, sensible, cute, obedient, and polite. He was always very careful and worried about causing trouble for others, which made people feel sorry for him. Unless something really outrageous had happened, there was no way he would run down the mountain alone at night.

So when Shiling's Mother called to complain, and even started crying as she spoke, she felt very sad and didn't defend herself.

Looking at her granddaughter sleeping peacefully in bed, Shiling's grandmother sighed softly. She didn't ask to take her granddaughter away anymore. It was indeed not suitable for Shiling's aunt or uncle to continue living with Liu Shiling.

Since Liu Shiling would call this Ms. Xia after going down the mountain alone, Shiling's Mother agreed to let her take Liu Shiling with her, she should be a decent person. So this time, she also brought the cat carrier and iPad that she had left at Shiling's aunt's house.

As Shiling's grandmother was speaking softly to Xia Libing, the Little Chubby Girl on the bed suddenly sat up and mumbled, "Monsters of the abyss, wait! My magic is ready! I'll destroy you all..."

Then he smacked his lips a few times, then plopped back down on the bed and sprawled out, fast asleep.

Upon discovering that her granddaughter's eyes hadn't opened at all, Shiling's grandmother realized she was dreaming. A smile appeared on her face as she gently covered her with the blanket before getting up to leave.

"Why don't you stay and rest today? I'll go get another room," Xia Libing said.

"No need. It would be troublesome if Shiling's cousin woke up and couldn't find her. Shiling... her aunt, she suffered a minor injury and is still in the hospital. I have to watch the child for her," Shiling's grandmother said.

Xia Libing didn't say much, and nodded, saying, "If you encounter any difficulties in the future and need help, you can tell me."

Based on Alice's previous report about the Little Chubby Girl's experiences and her own observation just now, it's clear that Grandma Shiling's concern for the Little Chubby Girl is genuine.

Xia Libing could sense that Shiling's maternal grandmother felt indebted and regretful towards both Liu Shiling and Shiling's Mother, and this was clearly not just because she hadn't taken good care of the Little Chubby Girl today. Shiling's maternal grandmother's concern for the Little Chubby Girl was genuine, but it was obvious that she was also considering the situation of her son and younger daughter, and was even more concerned about her grandson's condition.

So what Lao Xia said at the end was quite clear: if Shi Ling's maternal grandmother encountered any trouble or difficulties and needed help, she would help. But if it was someone else's problem, such as Shi Ling's aunt or uncle's family, she wouldn't get involved.

Shiling's grandmother simply thanked her instinctively, probably thinking that Lao Xia was just making a polite remark.

The next day, Xia Libing first asked the guesthouse owner to buy some clothes for the Little Chubby Girl, then took her out for breakfast, and then hired a car to take the highway back to Haixi Province.

Because she was carrying Egg Pie, she needed to get a quarantine certificate to board the high-speed train or plane, so Xia Libing simply chose to charter a car, since the whole trip would only take about eight or nine hours anyway.

Liu Shiling wasn't bored on the way; she used an iPad to learn elementary school science lessons with Xia Libing in the back seat.

Because the driver was present, Alice couldn't speak, but with Lao Xia's help, Liu Shiling still learned with great enthusiasm.

Compared to what you learn, who you learn from is the most important thing.

After all, "Roast Chicken Wing Sister" is her goal, the person she studies and strives to emulate.

Alice had told her that the biggest reason she was able to "manifest" was naturally Xiang Kun, but Xia Libing also played a huge role, as Xia Libing found the specific way to "manifest".

The "Roast Chicken Wing Sister" is the "strongest magician" in the Little Chubby Girl's heart, capable of bringing Alice into the world!

What's more, she can also conjure up roasted chicken wings, crispy pork knuckles, and cakes! And all sorts of other delicious things that have appeared in my dreams!

However, after happily studying for five or six hours, Liu Shiling fell asleep and was not woken up until evening when the car arrived at Chongyun Village by the meowing of Egg Pie.

Xiang Kun, who had finished his blood-drinking period that morning, along with Tang Baona, Yang Zhen'er, Little Apple, and others, had already received the news and were waiting for the two at the courtyard gate.

So when the Little Chubby Girl woke up, she immediately saw them through the car window.

As soon as the car came to a stop, the back seat opened, and Liu Shiling jumped out, running towards Xiang Kun with outstretched arms.

While running, she laughed and called out "Bald Uncle," but after Xiang Kun suddenly picked her up from the ground, Liu Shiling burst into tears, her face streaked with tears and snot. "Bald Uncle! Save my dad! I'm going to lose my dad! Bald Uncle! I'm so scared! I don't want to be an unwanted child!"