I Want to Marry You V

Zhou Yue smiled at her son a little awkwardly and chuckled. "Silly boy, what are you talking about? Can't you see that I just helped you find a wife?"

"You forgot to ask for my opinion beforehand," Cheng Zhiyan said slowly as he glared at his mother with steady eyes.

"Um…uh." Zhou Yue paused a little, taken aback at the expression on her son's face, and proceeded to ask tentatively, "Well...what is your opinion regarding this matter?"

"I'll consider it…" After throwing these words at her, Cheng Zhiyan turned around abruptly and headed upstairs.

Zhou Yue stood in the living room and stared at her son's retreating figure. She felt completely bewildered. "Consider it? Consider what?

"She and Zhou Ling had merely been joking around. Had he actually taken them at their word?

"Even if he had taken them at their word, Xiaotu was only a three-year-old child. No doubt she'd said all those things on a whim and would probably forget all about it in a few days…"

Upon thinking about this, Zhou Yue couldn't help but shake her head. "Forget about it. Adults shouldn't be meddling in children's affairs anyway." She went into the kitchen and hurried up and cooked dinner.

...

Meanwhile, in Xiaotu's house, Zhou Ling was happy that she'd finally managed to coax Xiaotu into returning home. However, the minute she'd gotten home, much to her mother's surprise, she'd started fretting about finding her pink rabbit pajamas to change into.

However, she was still very small, and the closet was so large. Therefore, even though she'd been searching for quite a while and had even turned the closet upside down in the process, she still couldn't find that particular pajama set.

"Xiaotu! Come eat dinner." Wrapped in her apron, Zhou Ling went to Xiaotu's room to call her for dinner. She was absolutely stunned at the sight that met her eyes.

"What the heck was going on here?"

During the short time it had taken her to prepare Xiaotu's dinner, this little rascal had managed to make this room appear as if a tornado had run through it. It was a terrible mess.

"Mommy…" Xiaotu sniffled and gazed at her mother through teary eyes. Her mouth wobbled a bit, and she started wailing once again. "I can't find my pink pajamas…"

"Child, you should've told me if you were looking for your pajamas. Look at how you've turned this room upside down. Don't you think I'm going to spank your butt for this?" Zhou Ling yelled at Xiaotu as she bent down to pick up the clothes that were all over the floor.

"Mommy, I want to find my pajamas…" Xiaotu stood in the corner pitifully and pleaded with her mother in a tiny voice.

"..."

Zhou Ling turned around and saw the teary expression on Xiaotu's adorable face. Once again, she felt that she'd been thoroughly defeated by this little rascal.

"Let's go have dinner first. After you finish eating and having a bath, we'll find your pajamas, and you can change." She picked up the messy pile of clothes from the floor and flung them onto Xiaotu's bed in one fell swoop. Then she scooped up Xiaotu and carried her down the stairs.

In the mind of Xiaotu's mother, coaxing her into returning home had only been the first step.

According to her way of thinking, she believed that Xiaotu was still a three-year-old child. Since children of her age were naturally curious, they were also impressionable and easily distracted by outside elements. Therefore, she thought that after Xiaotu had gone through the routine of eating, bathing, changing her clothes, and playing with her toys, she would no longer insist on going to Cheng Zhiyan's home to play.

Yet, life had taught her that she should never underestimate a child's stubbornness.

After Xiaotu had finished bathing and changed into her pajamas, she appeared fresh as a flower under the warm sunlight. She grinned like a Cheshire Cat as she picked up her stuffed bear toy and swiftly rolled off the bed.