Give Me Another Smile

"Actually, I've already—"

"Ahem." Worried that Yin Zhao-an would say something unnecessary, Tang Yu faked a cough and kicked Yin Zhao-an's shin under the dining table.

Yin Zhao-an turned to look at Tang Yu when she felt a mild pain coming from her shin. Then, when she noticed the hint in Tang Yu's gaze, she gestured an "OK" under the table and promptly altered what she would say.

"Actually, I've already told Tang-Tang I had plans to do so. What happened today has also given me a scare. Right, Tang-Tang?"

Tang Yu dryly laughed as she agreed with Yin Zhao-an, "Yes, yes."

Inwardly, though, Tang Yu rolled her eyes at Yin Zhao-an's blatant lie about being scared. Not only was Yin Zhao-an not scared by today's incident, but she even ran back to talk to the delinquents after giving them a beating.

When Yu Wanrou noticed the good atmosphere between the two girls, although she felt a little saddened that her daughter seemed to share a better relationship with Yin Zhao-an than with her, she was also happy that her daughter could make friends with Yin Zhao-an. Yin Zhao-an's lively and cheerful nature was a good complement to Tang Yu. Perhaps, if the two spent more time together, Tang Yu could gradually change her introverted nature.

"Okay. I'll have to trouble you with this task, then, An-An," Yu Wanrou said.

"Not at all. It's no trouble at all," Yin Zhao-an happily said.

After taking a look at the time, Yu Wanrou decided to leave for the kitchen to prepare dinner. Before she left, though, she said to Yin Zhao-an, "It's so late already, so just spend the night at Auntie's place, An-An. I'll give your mother a call afterward."

Yin Zhao-an nodded without hesitation. There was no way she would miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

…

Initially, Tang Yu wanted to use the excuse of lacking spare toiletries to deny Yin Zhao-an's stay. Unfortunately, due to the nature of her mother's job, there were plenty of disposable toiletries stocked up in their home. Hence, Tang Yu could only reluctantly let a certain someone into her room.

To avoid the awkward situation she faced when she stayed at the Yin family's house, Tang Yu reminded Yin Zhao-an that she could use her bathroom while she was warming her milk.

Recently, Tang Yu had taken on drinking warm milk before bed every night. Not only did it help with sleep, but it also helped with loosening her nerves.

Originally, Tang Yu never had such a habit. Instead, it was forced onto her by her mother. Of course, she was partly at fault for this situation. To get her mother to take time off from work during this precarious year, she had deliberately shown various abnormal behaviors, such as randomly throwing tantrums and going into a trance. Worried about her behavior, her mother started requiring her to drink a glass of warm milk before going to bed every night. Her mother would even watch her finish the glass before letting her off.

Hence, Tang Yu now spent her days drinking a glass of warm goat's milk in the morning and a glass of warm cow's milk in the evening. And because of all the milk she drank, her skin became much smoother and softer than it had ever been during her previous life.

Staring at the microwave, Tang Yu patiently waited for the electronic appliance to warm up her milk.

Ding—

The microwave emitted a beep and automatically cut off its power.

When Tang Yu brought the glass of milk back to her room, Yin Zhao-an had already finished taking her shower and hid under the covers. Though, whether Yin Zhao-an had already gone to sleep was unbeknownst to Tang Yu.

Tang Yu placed the milk by the bedside table before taking out a set of pajamas from the closet. Then, she disappeared into the bathroom.

As soon as the bathroom door was locked, Yin Zhao-an poked her head out from under the quilt, her hair in a mess. There was only one bedside lamp in the bedroom, the warm yellow light giving the small bedroom a cozy atmosphere.

Do all parents always prefer to prepare two quilts?

Yin Zhao-an carefully stacked the two quilts on top of each other as she listened to the sound of splashing water coming from the bathroom. After making sure that the two quilts looked like one, she swapped positions on the bed and lay back down.

The sound of water coming from the bathroom gradually stopped. Then, the bathroom door opened a few moments later.

Tang Yu went to her side of the bed while drying the tips of her hair that she had accidentally wet. Then, she lifted the quilt to cover her still-warm feet, only to suddenly feel her toes coming into contact with something warm.

Startled by the unexpected physical contact, Tang Yu curled her feet and looked to the source of the physical contact. To her confusion, she found Yin Zhao-an sleeping soundly under the covers of her side of the bed…

Did I get the wrong side? But my milk is here…

Tang Yu didn't think too deeply into the matter and simply assumed she had misremembered which side of the bed Yin Zhao-an had slept on. After grabbing her milk, she walked to the other side of the bed, hopped onto the bed, and wrapped herself under the warm quilt.

This…

Tang Yu turned to look at Yin Zhao-an in pleasant surprise. Then, she revealed a helpless smile as she tugged on the quilt and leaned against the headboard.

It turned out that a certain someone had taken the initiative to warm the bed for her…

Meanwhile, Yin Zhao-an secretly smiled when she achieved her goal. This was the first time she had felt physically and mentally happy. At this time, even the air felt sweet to her.

The milk was unsweetened, so it had a unique aroma when warmed. However, unsweetened milk would taste fishy once cooled, making it very unpalatable, at least for Tang Yu.

So, in no time at all, Tang Yu finished the milk and went to the bathroom to rinse her mouth. When she returned to the bed, her side of the bed was still as warm as when she had left it, so it didn't take her more than a second to realize what had happened while she was away.

Not bothering to expose a certain someone's deeds, Tang Yu snuggled under the quilt and pressed down the quilt's edge with her foot, ensuring no wind could get under the quilt. It would have been even better if she could get rid of the gap in the middle of the bed, but there was nothing she could do about it since a certain someone had stacked the two quilts on top of each other.

After looking at the gap between herself and Yin Zhao-an in disappointment, Tang Yu sighed and went to sleep.