"Let's slide to where the base cannot see us, or wander around the city center, and then go into the space, eat a good meal, and after that return to the base."
Lan Jin felt that having a proper meal was truly necessary. The hardship these days aside, while their food was not bad, it lacked real substance. Her body felt drained of energy.
Lao Gao very much agreed with Lan Jin. During the last time he tried to catch up on sleep, he had often woken up from hunger. Otherwise, who would want to get up in the middle of sleep just to eat, then lie back down again?
...
They skated for about two hours. They had not reached the city center, but they circled around nearby. Strangely, they saw not a single soul. Perhaps it was too dangerous here and no one lived nearby, or perhaps everyone was staying indoors. Whatever the reason, after circling once, they had not seen a shadow of a person.
The four then found a hidden corner and slipped into the space.
It had not been long since they last entered the space, but that last time had been an emergency, done in haste. They had entered quickly and left just as quickly. This time, they could truly relax inside.
As soon as Qiao Qiao, who had not seen Lan Jin for days, spotted her, she flung herself into Lan Jin's arms and began to wail.
At first, Lan Jin was caught off guard. But when she heard the child's cries, she instantly gathered Qiao Qiao up and soothed her. "What happened, Qiao Qiao? Why are you crying?"
"Miss Mama."
"Mama is here now. It is Mama's fault, not spending enough time with you these days."
Qiao Qiao sniffled, then shook her head. "No. Mama no wrong. Qiao Qiao small... Qiao Qiao miss Mama."
Holding the soft little one in her arms, Lan Jin felt her heart ache. She could not bear to leave Qiao Qiao in the space too long anymore. Perhaps the long separation had made Qiao Qiao clingy. Normally, this child was not so quick to tears or to act spoiled, yet now she was crying in her arms.
Yes. Lan Jin thought, this was Qiao Qiao acting spoiled with her.
But Grandma Ling mercilessly exposed Qiao Qiao's scheme. "The child misses you, that is true. But doing wrong things is also true..."
Hearing Grandma Ling lay bare her little trick, Qiao Qiao panicked. She wiped her tears and tried to stop her. "No! Grandma no! No say!"
Lan Jin rolled her eyes to the ceiling. She was speechless, then her face turned stern. "Qiao Qiao, what did you do? Tell Mama the truth. You are so small, and already playing tricks on me? Are you trying to defy the heavens?"
Seeing Lan Jin's expression darken, Qiao Qiao instantly tried to wheedle. "No, no, Mama. Qiao Qiao no trick. Qiao Qiao just miss Mama."
"Miss Mama, my foot. You never acted like this before. Just a few days apart, and now you cry and cling. So it is because you did wrong, isn't it? Speak quickly."
Truth be told, it was nothing earth-shattering. But for a child, such things were not small.
For instance, the learning tasks Lan Jin had assigned Qiao Qiao had been abandoned completely. Not a single lesson done in days. Instead, Qiao Qiao played non-stop. And for meals, she had replaced all proper food with snacks. No matter what Grandma Ling said, she refused to eat real meals. Worse, she dragged Nana into this rebellion, and Nana even listened. Was this not disastrous?
The more Lan Jin heard, the more her head ached. "Just a few days without me watching, and you really are trying to rebel against the heavens.
No. Not just rebel, you are trying to ascend into the sky," Lan Jin muttered. Then her eyes suddenly narrowed. "Wait. Where did you get the snacks?"
Qiao Qiao lifted her teary eyes at Lan Jin, then pointed toward the supplies pile. Indeed, there were many snacks stored there. But whether or not snacks were healthy was not the point. Had Lan Jin allowed her to touch them?
"Who let you take things from there?" Lan Jin's face was grave. Seeing this, Nana grew anxious that Lan Jin might truly punish Qiao Qiao and stepped forward protectively.
But Lan Jin caught hold of the dog's muzzle. "And you. Still protecting her? You are not escaping either. All of you think that the moment I am gone, you can revolt?"
With that, Lan Jin willed a ruler into her hand. She struck at the pair, child and dog alike, until both were howling and yelping.
The sight, the atmosphere, it was so heavy that none of the others dared breathe. Only when Lan Jin finally stopped did Lao Gao whisper, "Even when Sister Lan was fighting tier-one beasts, she didn't have this much killing intent."
Huang Jinghe shrank back. "Yes. So scary."
Lao Gao lowered his voice again. "Do you think Qiao Qiao gets beaten like this every day?"
Huang Jinghe shook his head. "Of course not. At least at home, I never heard her cry like this. We all lived together. Did you ever hear it before?"
Lao Gao thought carefully. Indeed, no, he had not.
Their voices were low, but in the quiet of the space, Lan Jin still heard them. She shot the two men a sharp glare, then turned back to comfort Qiao Qiao and Nana.
As the saying went, after a slap comes a sweet date. Once the punishment was over, she had to gently reason with the child.
So she coaxed, hugged, and soothed, until finally Qiao Qiao was calm again.
Lan Jin asked softly, "When Mama is not here, can you behave? Can you follow the schedule I set for you?"
Qiao Qiao's voice was choked, but firm. "Mama, I can. Qiao Qiao can. Qiao Qiao good baby."
Now, Qiao Qiao was nothing like the mischievous child they had first met when entering the space. Lao Gao could not hold back. He laughed. "Sister Lan, before the end times, were you working in pyramid schemes? Your brainwashing skills are terrifying."
Before Qiao Qiao could retort, Nana barked loudly in agreement.
Everyone blinked, then burst out laughing.
Huang Jinghe rubbed Nana's head. "You really are a good dog. You understand everything we say. But that was not a good thing Lao Gao said. If you don't want Sister Lan to beat you too, better stop agreeing with him."
At that, Nana instantly barked several times toward Lao Gao, as if to scold him.
Lao Gao was not pleased. "Look at you. Why are you turning Nana against me? Now you're making us distant."
Ling Jiang rolled her eyes. "Since when were you close? Don't pretend you and Nana are best friends."
"Why not? Every time we're in the space, I play with Nana. How is that not close?" Lao Gao protested.
...
The others ignored Lao Gao's complaints and began their meal. Only hotpot could cure their longing for real food.
The lunch was lively and full of warmth. Afterward, they all busied themselves with replenishing the food stores again.
Previously, only Grandma Ling and Qiao Qiao had eaten from the stores, so little had been used. Now Ling Jiang wanted pasta, and while preparing that, they also topped up other supplies that had run low. It did not take too long.