Zheng Xixi kept her head lowered, hiding her expression, and said nothing. Her silence lasted a long time.
Zheng Wang came back with ice cream. Ding Ding devoured his in two or three bites, nearly freezing his teeth off.
Zheng Xixi was much more ladylike, eating in tiny bites that made anyone watching impatient.
It was getting late, and Ding Ding began ushering them out. "If there's nothing else, you two should go. I'm heading out."
"Okay." Zheng Xixi stood up. "Going to pick up Little Bai?"
Ding Ding said nothing. He walked to the door with them and only poked his head out after getting into Old Man's Joy.
"Want a ride?"
Zheng Wang was dying of curiosity. He had never ridden in one of these little beetles, but Zheng Xixi shook her head, not wanting to trouble anyone.
Only after Old Man's Joy puttered off down the road did Zheng Wang reluctantly look away.
"Sis." Zheng Wang carefully supported her. "How did it go?"
Zheng Xixi took a deep breath. "Let's go."
Zheng Wang pressed his lips together, a little resentment rising inside him. His only family was going to leave him behind. No matter what, he could not come to terms with that.
But it was only a little. He had seen his sister's grief. Rather than having her spend every day in misery, perhaps...
The last time Ding Ding had saved his sister, it had given Zheng Wang a little hope.
Maybe... with his help, she could stay a little longer.
If she had to leave in the end, he still hoped his sister could be happy, even just a little.
"When I went to buy ice cream just now, I saw a courtyard house for sale over there."
Zheng Xixi was not particularly interested, but