novelones Chapter 49 Visiting Mengmeng's Room
Chapter 49 Visiting Mengmeng's Room
A faint, muffled sound of a door opening could be heard from the wooden staircase leading from the second floor to the first floor.
At this moment, the aroma of scallion oil in the kitchen was at its strongest and most enticing. The fragrance seemed to come alive as it seeped into the second floor through the cracks in the stairwell.
A delicate, exquisitely carved head peeked out from under the door of a second-floor guest room.
Mengmeng was so excited last night. She grabbed Chen Feng's hand and insisted that her father help her find a nice frame to mount the painting Lin Xiaoyu had drawn.
Before going to bed, she held her tablet and video-chatted with Grandma Liu, who was far away in Beijing, for a whole hour, vividly recounting all the fun and interesting things that happened in the store yesterday.
It wasn't until late at night that she finally fell into a deep sleep, enveloped in a sweet weariness. Even in her dreams, she imagined herself as a little rabbit rolling around on a carrot mountain.
At this moment, Mengmeng was clearly not fully awake from that beautiful dream. Her eyes were closed, her little nose seemed to be catching something in the air, she sniffed hard twice, and there was still a trace of glistening on the corner of her mouth.
"It smells so good... Is Dad making breakfast?"
She stumbled down the stairs, still a little dazed. Since she wasn't wearing slippers, her delicate, white feet landed directly on the warm, smooth wooden floor.
It made a series of "squeaking" sounds, but no one noticed at the moment.
When Mengmeng's figure appeared at the corner on the first floor, the diners who were whispering and savoring the lingering taste of Yu Xiang Rou Si (shredded pork with garlic sauce) in the store suddenly seemed to have been put on pause.
Lin Xiaoyu, in particular, almost spat out the mouthful of water she had just drunk. Her eyes widened, and she was still gripping her phone tightly.
What appeared before everyone was an "creature" that was adorable to the extreme.
Mengmeng was wearing a pink and white bunny-themed onesie. The pajamas looked like soft, fluffy marshmallows, completely enveloping her small body. The most eye-catching feature was her two long bunny ears, which drooped down her shoulders and swayed with her steps as she drowsily moved. A round, fluffy little tail adorned the back of the pajamas, so cute that you just wanted to pinch it.
Mengmeng rubbed her sleepy eyes, her rosy little face still looking a bit listless from just waking up. She rubbed her chubby little hands against her face and then wiped her mouth, her actions utterly endearing.
"Dad...it smells so good...what are we having for dinner today...?"
She called out in a childish voice, her eyes still somewhat unfocused.
"Ah—! Help!"
Lin Xiaoyu finally couldn't hold back and let out a suppressed scream. She covered her face with her hands, twisting herself into a pretzel shape on the chair: "This is too much! How can someone be so cute!"
This scream completely woke Mengmeng up.
Mengmeng blinked, and her clear, grape-like pupils finally focused. She looked at the dozen or so strangers sitting in the shop, and then at the woman in yellow who was "frantically twisting" in front of her, and her whole body froze.
"ah!"
Mengmeng cried out in surprise, her little body quickly shrinking back to hide behind a large chair by the kitchen door. Only half of her forehead and her long rabbit ears were visible. Her little hands gripped the back of the chair. The poised and elegant little housekeeper from yesterday was now blushing furiously.
This startled, deer-like reaction once again broke the hearts of the handsome men and beautiful women present.
"Mengmeng, you're awake?" Chen Feng was busy frying eggs in the kitchen. Hearing the noise, he turned around, his eyes full of tenderness. "It'll be ready soon. Go play with your godfather and the little fish sister who gave you the drawing yesterday. We'll eat when the noodles are ready."
When Mengmeng heard the words "Little Fish Sister", her big eyes lit up instantly.
She slowly moved out from behind the chair, still fidgeting with the hem of her pajamas a little shyly, but she dared to look up at Lin Xiaoyu.
"Good morning, Sister Little Fish."
Mengmeng recognized Lin Xiaoyu, and her shy expression instantly turned into joy after the reunion.
As if recalling some great honor, she puffed out her small chest and earnestly said to Lin Xiaoyu:
"Sister! Your painting is so beautiful."
Last night, Mengmeng asked her dad to get her a super pretty picture frame to protect it.
Mengmeng sleeps while hugging a drawing!
No one is allowed to touch it!
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoyu's eyes welled up with tears. As an illustrator, this was the first time she had received such recognition from such a young child.
"Really? Mengmeng likes it so much, I'm so happy!" Lin Xiaoyu quickly squatted down and looked Mengmeng in the eye.
Mengmeng nodded, tilted her little head and thought for a moment, then suddenly extended an invitation:
"Sister, do you want to go see Mengmeng's room? That painting is right next to her pillow. And I put the keyboard that Brother Lu Ming gave me in there too!"
As Mengmeng spoke, she turned her head and blinked her big eyes at Chen Feng, wanting his "approval".
Chen Feng was drizzling scallion oil over the noodles when he turned around in the midst of his busy work, smiled and nodded: "Go ahead. But don't play for too long, or the noodles won't taste good when they get cold."
Xingruo, sitting on a small wooden stool in the corner of the kitchen, saw all of this.
Watching the intimate, natural, childlike, and loving interaction between Mengmeng and Lin Xiaoyu, a hint of envy flashed across Xingruo's eyes.
She remembered the cold iron beds in the orphanage, and her own painting that had been scorned even for its name. She had never imagined that a little girl's hobby could receive so much respect and care.
“That’s great…”
Xingruo sighed softly to herself. But soon, she shook her head vigorously, shaking off the sense of disparity caused by the comparison.
"Xingruo, don't be greedy. You're already blessed to have met your master and to have a hot meal here. You can't ask for more."
She took a deep breath and refocused her attention.
While her chef was making breakfast, she began to mentally rehearse the series of actions she had just performed while making shredded pork with garlic sauce.
"Oil temperature... pickled peppers... minced garlic..."
Xingruo moved her fingers in the void for her own amusement, and her eyes became focused and bright again.
Lin Xiaoyu was feeling extremely embarrassed. She watched Chen Feng and Xing Ruo still busy, while she and her group of diners had already finished eating and drinking. The guilt of "disturbing their mealtime" made her work exceptionally diligently.
She quickly cleaned up the leftovers on her table and then helped Zhang Qiang stack up the empty plates next to him.
"Brother Chen, I'll go up and take a look too, and maybe I can help you watch the kids while I'm at it!"
Lin Xiaoyu gave Chen Feng a playful salute. Mengmeng also ran over and tugged at Zhang Qiang's trouser leg: "Godfather, come on over!"
Zhang Qiang chuckled憨厚ly and wiped the sweat from his face: "Godfather has to stay here to make big money for our Mengmeng! Go on, go on, have some fun with your Little Fish sister."
Lin Xiaoyu held Mengmeng's warm little hand and walked up to the second floor step by step.
The moment Lin Xiaoyu pushed open Mengmeng's door, she felt as if she had stepped into a fairy tale world.
"Wow--"
She couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
In this little pink room, almost every corner is occupied by "rabbits".
The walls were covered with various rabbit stickers in different poses: some were munching on carrots, some were dozing off, and there were several paper-cut rabbits that were obviously put up recently, which Chen Feng had recently put up for Mengmeng.
There was a mountain of rabbit plush toys piled up on the bedside table. There were white long-haired rabbits, gray cute rabbits, and even a gentleman rabbit wearing overalls.
In the center of that small bed covered with lace, there stood that exquisite photo frame.
That was the cartoon Lin Xiaoyu had casually drawn yesterday. Protected by the frame, Mengmeng in the cartoon looked even more adorable. And in one corner of the frame, a blue-green guitar pick was cleverly tucked in.
"This must be a gift from Lu Ming, right?" She learned Lu Ming's name from the group chat yesterday.
Lin Xiaoyu leaned closer to take a look and recalled the handsome young man who sang "Rice Fragrance" in the group video yesterday. She thought to herself: I didn't expect this guy to be so talented and kind-hearted.
Lin Xiaoyu doesn't actually like children very much. She's the kind of person who's aggressive online but timid and submissive offline.
She was most afraid of those unreasonable, spoiled kids from her relatives' families who would take apart her figurines at will. Once upon a time, her most beloved limited edition figurine had its arm broken by a spoiled kid from a relative's family. She was so heartbroken that she cried in bed for several nights, but because of her timid nature, she didn't dare to confront her relative.
But looking at Mengmeng in front of her, seeing how much she cherished such an inexpensive gift, and seeing her polite and enthusiastic eyes, Lin Xiaoyu suddenly felt that Mengmeng was different from them. The more she looked at her, the more she liked her.
"Sister, look! This is my photo album!"
Mengmeng seemed to want to share all her treasures with this kind older sister. She laboriously pulled out a thick photo album from under her pillow and patted off non-existent dust.
The photo album was opened, and it was full of photos of Mengmeng and Chen Feng together.
There are photos of Chen Feng dressed as a chef, holding Mengmeng, and photos of the two running in the fields. In each photo, Chen Feng's eyes remain as warm as ever, and Mengmeng's smile never fades.
Lin Xiaoyu noticed that on the first few pages of the photo album, there was a gentle female figure. She was an extremely beautiful woman, and her smile resembled Mengmeng's by about 70%.
"This must be Mengmeng's mom..."
Lin Xiaoyu silently recited a phrase in her mind. Looking at the photos that gradually narrowed down to only the father and daughter, she wisely refrained from asking further questions, simply pointing to the younger version of Chen Feng in the photos and praising him:
"Wow, Mengmeng's dad was this handsome even before! He was practically an idol in the culinary world!"
"Hehe, Daddy's the most handsome now!" Mengmeng proudly raised her chin, then patted the photo album. "Sister, you look at the photos here first. Mengmeng is going to brush her teeth and wash her face. Daddy said you can't eat noodles if you haven't brushed your teeth!"
After saying that, Mengmeng ran to the bathroom like a gust of wind, leaving Lin Xiaoyu alone in the room filled with the scent of rabbits, slowly flipping through the traces of time related to Mengmeng.
Lin Xiaoyu sat on the soft edge of the bed, her fingertips tracing the framed painting.
He quietly enjoyed the view.