Chapter 37

Zhang Tan had never met Xiao Bai’s uncle; he had only heard her mention him a few times, and in his impression, the uncle seemed to like drinking.

Before this, Xiao Bai had been very concerned about whether her uncle had been drinking. Once, when she heard that he had, she immediately slipped away.

This time, hearing Xiao Bai say it again, Zhang Tan couldn’t help but ask with concern, "Does your uncle hit you when he’s drunk?"

Xiao Bai said boldly, "Hit me? Nonsense! I’m very fierce."

As she spoke, she made growling sounds, acting like a mad dog, biting the air, demonstrating just how fierce she was, even more fierce than a drunk person! Dare to hit her? Even the air would be bitten into paper planes and vegetable leaves, no kidding!

After tearing through the air for a while, Xiao Bai finally stopped, still not satisfied, and asked Zhang Tan if she was fierce.

"Fierce, fierce, super fierce," Zhang Tan said, giving her face, thinking she was indeed cute and fierce.

Hearing this, Xiao Bai was quite satisfied, both with Zhang Tan’s response and expression, and with her own performance. She had scared many people who wanted to bully her, including her uncle. Once, after she bit him until he screamed, he never dared to provoke her again and always called her a spicy girl.

Xiao Bai held the small bear drink, reluctant to drink it, constantly examining the bottle, and asked Zhang Tan if it was very expensive.

Zhang Tan said it was 5 yuan per bottle.

"Can’t afford it," Xiao Bai said straightforwardly.

"Do you know how much 5 yuan is?"

"The aunt has to polish shoes twice."

"……"

Xiao Bai’s answer left Zhang Tan at a loss for words.

"Not drinking it."

Xiao Bai returned the small bear drink to Zhang Tan.

"What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?"

Just now, she was clearly enjoying it, her heart blooming with joy.

"Tomorrow."

After asking the price, Xiao Bai felt the small bear drink was too expensive. The aunt had to polish shoes twice to earn one bottle, which was too expensive. She was reluctant to drink it. This bottle was less than half full, so she put it back in the fridge, saving it to continue drinking the next day.

Zhang Tan told her there were more in the fridge, and it was fine to finish this bottle at once, but Xiao Bai was reluctant. She had never had anything so expensive. Only once, when passing by KFC, the aunt sneaked in and took the leftover burger and cola, and the cola became the best drink she had ever had.

Zhang Tan didn’t know what to say, patted her little head, and put the remaining half bottle of small bear drink back in the fridge, sticking a small sticker on it and writing "Xiao Bai" on it.

"What does the uncle do?"

After closing the fridge, Xiao Bai curiously asked Zhang Tan. The fridge was full of small bear drinks, making her feel very rich and envious.

Zhang Tan said he wrote stories, but Xiao Bai didn’t understand what a screenwriter was.

Xiao Bai’s face was full of envy as she said, no wonder he told such a good story about the windmill and Afo. She said she wanted to be a story writer when she grew up.

"What’s your dream? To be a story writer like me?" Zhang Tan asked.

At this age, children already have their own dreams, like scientists, doctors, or police officers.

Xiao Bai seemed to forget what she had just said about being a story writer and said, "My dream is to grow up quickly."

"Ah? Grow up quickly? That’s not a dream. A dream is what you want to be in the future, like a teacher?"

"Police officer."

Xiao Bai said she wanted to be a police officer when she grew up.

Alright, Zhang Tan didn’t mind whether it was a male or female police officer, as long as it was a police officer.

Before Zhang Tan could ask, Xiao Bai continued, saying that as a police officer, she would have a gun to protect good people, protect her grandmother, and protect herself, so no one would bully them. Moreover, an important point was that she was super fierce, and her aunt said she had the right stuff to be a police officer.

It seemed they had hit on Xiao Bai’s interest, and the little girl started to chatter about police officers. Actually, she didn’t know much about them, and Zhang Tan was educating her.

After the police topic finally came to a close, Zhang Tan invited Xiao Bai to sit on the sofa to watch a movie.

Speaking of watching a movie, Xiao Bai suddenly exclaimed, "Liu Liu is still outside~"

She ran to the door, opened it, and didn’t see Shen Liuliu. She ran out and turned to the stairs, where she finally saw a tiny child sitting on the steps, back to the door, looking bored.

……

Zhang Tan welcomed Shen Liuliu into the house, speechless at Xiao Bai’s awkward laughter. It turned out that after the two children sneaked into the teaching building, they also came to the third floor to visit. But since Shen Liuliu had never been there before, she was a bit scared and let Xiao Bai go first to check if it was safe. Then, Xiao Bai forgot about her, leaving her to sit on the stairs for a long time, almost falling asleep.

Shen Liuliu was lively and mischievous, daring to go with Xiao Bai to see a drunk man, which Xiao Mi and Meng Chengcheng wouldn’t dare to do.

Zhang Tan said, "Don’t be shy, make yourself at home."

Shen Liuliu lifted her little head, looked at him, and nodded, saying, "I won’t be shy. Nice uncle, come on, the little girl wants to watch an episode of an animation."

Indeed, she wasn’t shy. Zhang Tan originally wanted to watch a popular movie, but now, to satisfy the little girl, he had to choose an animation.

He arranged for the two children to sit on the sofa and prepared some fruit, placing it within their reach.

Shen Liuliu nestled in the sofa, so tiny, like a baby hamster, looking at the fruit, then at Zhang Tan, then at Xiao Bai, licking her little lips, wanting to eat but hesitant to reach out.

Only when she saw Xiao Bai pick a grape and eat it did she quickly crawl up, pick two grapes, hold one in her hand, and put one in her mouth, then nestle back into the sofa, her little feet trembling.

The animation started, but Xiao Bai got up from the sofa and came to Zhang Tan’s side, whispering that she wanted to take her drink to give to Liuliu.

"You’re not willing to drink it yourself, but you want to give it to Liuliu?" Zhang Tan asked.

"She doesn’t have a father," Xiao Bai said slyly.

Who told you Liuliu doesn’t have a father? Her father is just away! But Zhang Tan didn’t say anything, took out the half bottle of small bear drink he had just saved, and then took out a new one.

"This one is yours, continue drinking. This one is for Liuliu, go on."

Xiao Bai was stunned, paused for a moment, and thought with her little head. This time, she didn’t refuse, thinking it wouldn’t feel right to watch the animation without eating something.

The two children nestled on the sofa, watching the animation with great focus, while Zhang Tan sat on the side, reading a book.

Knock knock knock~~~

Someone was knocking on the door.

"Zhang Tan, it’s me. Is Xiao Bai here?"

Hearing the voice, Xiao Bai was shocked.

She recognized it; it was the principal!

"Oh no, oh no~~" Xiao Bai whispered.

Shen Liuliu also recognized it and joined in, shouting, "Oh no, oh no, what should we do, will we lose our lives?"

Zhang Tan’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat. This was too serious. The principal was so kind; she wouldn’t take their lives. He didn’t know why they were so afraid of her.

"Should we hide?" Zhang Tan asked.

Xiao Bai immediately lay on the sofa, squeezing into the far corner. Seeing this, Shen Liuliu also squeezed in with her, burying her head, pretending to be an ostrich baby.

Surprisingly, with their small size, it was hard to spot them lying on the sofa, especially from the angle at the door. When the door opened, Aunt Huang, standing at the door, didn’t notice them at all.

But as soon as Aunt Huang left, Xiao Bai and Shen Liuliu hurriedly climbed off the sofa, stopped watching the animation, and rushed back to mend the fence.

"See you tomorrow, uncle."

"Bye~~"

The two little ones held hands and left, not forgetting to wave with their free hands and make an appointment to come back the next day.