"Wow! This auntie is so pretty."
"She has fox ears just like Mama Miko!"
"Why is this auntie in our house? Is she our new mama?"
"Little brother, we don't have to call every pretty auntie Mama..."
In her daze, Tingyun thought she heard a chorus of chattering beside her. When she struggled to open her eyes, the sight of an antique-style room and several little heads gathered around her gave her quite a fright.
"She's awake! This auntie's awake!"
"I'll go tell our mamas!"
As soon as they said that, the children rushed out in a crowd, leaving only one little girl who had been a bit slower to react, her eyes fixed on Tingyun.
Tingyun felt a little awkward, but she still asked gently in her warm, approachable voice, "Little girl, why do you keep staring at your big sister?"
To her surprise, the little girl simply shook her head and said, "No, you're not a big sister. You're an auntie."
Tingyun's smile froze for a moment. A-auntie... This was the first time anyone had called her that. Although she was more than old enough to be a grandmother to short-lived species, by Foxian standards, she was only a young woman who had just reached adulthood. Didn't calling her auntie make her sound old?
Tingyun asked gently, "Why do you have to call me auntie? Wouldn't big sister be better?"
The little girl said, "My mama said that whenever a pretty big sister comes to our house, we have to call her auntie."
Tingyun's brow twitched, and she sighed inwardly. What kind of rule is that?
While Tingyun was puzzling over this, a flurry of footsteps came from outside. Under her astonished gaze, one stunning beauty after another filed into the room, each with an exceptional air