Because Mom Loves Me

Bibi Dong lowered her head and looked at Luo Dong.

Luo Dong was licking a tanghulu, his big eyes blinking as he watched her.

Little Brother was only one year old.

But he was more sensible than any child his age.

Over the past few months, he had never cried or fussed when she was away.

If told to wait obediently, he really would, quiet in a way no Infant should be.

Bibi Dong bent down, set Luo Dong on the ground, and squatted to meet his gaze.

"Mother has something to attend to and must leave for a bit. Go back to the room and wait for Mother, all right?"

Luo Dong hugged the tanghulu and looked up at her with his small face.

He understood.

With a hawthorn still stuffed in his mouth, cheeks puffed out, he mumbled an affirmative twice and nodded hard: "Mother, don't worry."

Bibi Dong smiled and reached out to ruffle his soft hair.

Then she straightened, glanced at Luo Dong once more, turned, and followed the female knight toward the Elder Hall.

The two walked away.

At the hall entrance, only the one-year-old boy and the four-year-old Little Girl remained, separated by ten wide stone steps, staring at each other.

Luo Dong licked the candied hawthorn, the sugar shell cracking crisply between his teeth.

The hawthorn was a bit sour; he squinted and licked again.

Qian Renxue stood on the steps, cheeks puffed, staring at the tanghulu in his hand.

That string of tanghulu was bright red, each hawthorn coated in a layer of glistening rock sugar that shone with tempting luster.

It was the tanghulu Mother had bought.

Mother bought it for Little Brother... it must be sour, definitely.

Luo Dong licked again, then raised his head and looked at Qian Renxue.

He blinked his Black Grapes-like eyes and said in a milky voice: "Does Sister want some?"

As he asked, he lowered his head and took another small bite of the tanghulu, cheeks bulging as he chewed.

Clearly, he had no real intention of sharing.

Qian Renxue's face flushed red all at once.

She jerked her head away, pigtails swinging, chin lifted high, arms crossed over her chest in an adult-like pose.

"I don't want any! I don't like eating tanghulu at all!"

"It's definitely sour, so I don't like it."

Her tone was firm.

But her gaze drifted back uncontrollably.

It locked straight onto the ever-shortening string of tanghulu in Luo Dong's hand.

She swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Swallowed again.

Her throat bobbed up and down, the sound so loud it startled even her.

Her little face grew even redder.

Over the past year.

There had been several times when Bibi Dong was away that she secretly slipped into that room to talk with Luo Dong.

At first it was out of jealousy, wanting to see what was so remarkable about this Little Brother who had stolen Mother.

But every time Luo Dong saw her, he smiled at her.

After he learned to speak, he called her "Sister" in that milky voice.

Several times he even shared the snacks in his hands with her.

Qian Renxue's feelings toward him had grown complicated.

She envied him, was jealous of him, yet couldn't help wanting to stay with him.

She liked this Little Brother, even though the way Mother looked at him made her heart ache like needles.

But the little girl in her still liked the adorable Little Brother..

Luo Dong tilted his small head, took in her expression of obvious craving yet stubborn denial, and gave an "oh."

Then he turned around and, with his short little legs, walked step by step into the hall.

He walked steadily, nothing like a one-year-old child, tanghulu held up in one hand, licking it from time to time.

Qian Renxue stood on the steps, watching his back grow farther and farther away.

Two voices were warring within her heart.

A demonic voice whispered in her left ear: "Take it! Mom bought it anyway, why should he be the only one to eat it! Mom isn't here, what can he do if you take it? You're the big sister!"

Her small hand clenched into a fist, and her feet took a step forward involuntarily.

Another angelic voice whispered in her right ear: "He's your little brother! He's only one year old! Such a cute little brother! How can you, as a big sister, snatch things from your brother? You're older, you should let him have it!"

Left ear: "So what if you take it! Mom doesn't care about you anyway!"

Right ear: "No! A big sister should act like one! You're already four years old!"

Left ear: "This has nothing to do with age! Mom gives him everything, what's the harm in taking one candied hawthorn!"

Right ear: "If you take his candied hawthorn and he starts crying, what then? Mom won't even look at you when she gets back!"

Qian Renxue bit her lip, her brows knitted together, her little head swaying between the two voices.

Her fists clenched and relaxed, relaxed and clenched, her feet lifted and set back down.

In the end, she didn't take it.

She let out a heavy sigh, her small shoulders slumping.

Then she trotted a few steps, catching up to Luo Dong, who had already reached the entrance of the Corridor.

Hearing the footsteps, Luo Dong stopped and turned his head to look at her, half a hawthorn still hanging from his mouth.

Sugar residue was smeared all over his face.

Qian Renxue stood before him, a head taller than he was.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

There were too many words in her heart.

She wanted to ask why Mom was so good to him.

What it felt like when Mom held him.

What she had done wrong, and why Mom wouldn't even spare her a second glance.

But the words reached her lips and became stuck in her throat.

In the end, she asked, "Why is Mom so good to you... but to me... to me..."

She couldn't finish the sentence.

How Bibi Dong treated her was known to the entire Martial Soul Hall.

No looking, no asking, no holding, no acknowledging.

Occasional contact only happened when outsiders were present, forced to keep up appearances.

Those cold stares, that silence, those moments when she walked past her without a sideways glance—she remembered every single one clearly.

Luo Dong swallowed the hawthorn in his mouth and licked the sugar coating on the candied hawthorn.

He looked into Qian Renxue's eyes, which were brimming with tears she was struggling to hold back.

He blinked and said in a milky, childish voice: "Because Mom loves me!"

Qian Renxue: ...

She stood rooted to the spot, the tears she had been holding back suddenly flooding her eyes.

It hurt so much... it was so bitter... she wanted to cry.

A tear finally escaped, rolling down her cheek.

She didn't wipe it away, letting it stream down.

Then she sniffled hard, a thin, suppressed sob escaping her throat.

Luo Dong tilted his head to look at her, his cheeks bulging with the hawthorn he hadn't finished swallowing.

He looked at the tears on Qian Renxue's face, then at the candied hawthorn in his hand, which only had two hawthorns left.

He hesitated for a moment, then held the treat out toward her.

"Big sister, eat."

Qian Renxue looked at the candied hawthorn through her tears.

His saliva was still stuck to the sugar shell, glistening; one of them had already been bitten in half, revealing the yellow hawthorn flesh inside.

Qian Renxue wiped her tears hard with her sleeve, lifted her chin, and resumed her haughty expression: "I don't want to eat your leftovers!"

With that, she turned around and trotted away.

After running about ten steps, she stopped, her back to Luo Dong, her voice muffled: "Go back to your room quickly, Mom will be worried if she can't find you later."

Having said that, she vanished around the corner of the Corridor.

Luo Dong stood where he was, looking down at the lonely candied hawthorn in his hand with only two fruits left.

He gave it a happy lick.

Then, he toddled off on his short legs toward his room.