Give Me Another Smile

If you want to go, go. Do you think I'll beg you to come back?

You've bothered me once already, yet you're trying to do it again?

Stop annoying me!

…

"I didn't!"

Tang Yu abruptly sprung up from the bed, her pinkish face covered with cold sweat and her small chest heaving violently.

When she saw the room filled with dolls and princess-style décor, it was only then that she remembered she had gone back in time to when she was seven.

Tang Yu took a few deep breaths. However, those stinging words lingered in her mind incessantly, inflicting pain on her heart time and again.

I won't make the same mistake again…

Tang Yu left her warm blanket and crawled toward her closet. She had long grown accustomed to moving in an adult body, so she had trouble adapting to a child's body within a short time.

"Oh? Did you wake up by yourself, Little Yu?" When Yu Wanrou opened the door and saw Tang Yu about to climb into the closet, she let out a small cry of surprise and quickly walked over to her daughter. Then, she carried her daughter back to the bed and wrapped the girl in her blanket. "You gave Mommy a scare when you came down with a fever two days ago. You still haven't made a full recovery, so don't burden your body."

Tang Yu buried her face in the blanket, her eyes watering slightly. Then, she softly called out to her mother, causing Yu Wanrou, searching the closet for clothes, to turn around.

After grabbing a set of cotton clothes, Yu Wanrou skillfully helped Tang Yu take off her coral-patterned fleece pajamas. When she noticed the embarrassed blush on her daughter's cheeks, she teased, "So you know how to feel shy now that you've grown up, Little Yu?"

After saying so, Yu Wanrou dotingly poked Tang Yu's little nose and continued in a gentle voice, "But no matter how old Little Yu becomes, you will always be Mommy's little baby."

Tang Yu's eyes reddened slightly when she heard these warm words. At the same time, her heart also ached when she recalled the large fire buried deep in her memories.

Before Tang Yu's tears could roll out of her eyes, Tang Zhengyang's voice came from downstairs: "Wan'er, bring Little Yu down. Brother Yin is here."

"Okay. We'll be down in a minute," Yu Wanrou answered as she tied Tang Yu's hair into pigtails. Then, she smoothed out the creases on her daughter's dress, scrutinized her daughter's appearance, and nodded in satisfaction. "My Little Yu is so pretty!"

…

Snacks and refreshments were placed on the living room's coffee table. Yin Zhao-an sat obediently on the sofa, her cotton shirt so thick that she had difficulty raising her arms. After struggling and failing to reach for the snacks, she quietly glared at her mother, chatting happily next to her. However, Wang Zhen quickly sensed the glare and responded with a glare of her own.

Yin Zhao-an's expression deflated. Her teacher told her all doctors were gentle like angels. However, that was a flat-out lie. Despite being a doctor, her mother behaved no differently than a tiger.

While looking around gloomily, Yin Zhao-an came across a brightly colored sight that caused her heart to skip a beat.

A pink cotton dress with a fur collar, the fabric thick but not bloated. Two pigtails tied with a red silk ribbon that represented joy and festivities. Upon seeing this sight, the first thought that came to Yin Zhao-an's mind was that of a… Mhm, a butterfly…

Tang Yu's somewhat reddened face was covered by the snow-white collar, for the most part, making her delicate face look even more endearing.

Yin Zhao-an rubbed her sweaty hands against her shirt, her heart beating excitedly. Although Tang-Tang was dressed like a butterfly today, the other party was the best-looking butterfly she had ever seen.

Yu Wanrou took a seat in the living room and smiled affectionately at Yin Zhao-an. Then, she patted Tang Yu's back and said, "How about playing with your Little Sister An-An?"

Yin Changcheng put his conversation with Tang Zhengyang on hold and looked at Tang Yu when he heard Yu Wanrou's suggestion.

Tang Yu hesitated. Although she had told herself not to have any more interactions with Yin Zhao-an in this life, their two families shared an incredibly close friendship. They also lived in the same military compound. So, it would be impossible for them to share zero interactions.

When Wang Zhen noticed the two children's hesitation, she pushed her cowardly little girl and said, "Go on. Go and play with your Big Sister Tang Yu. Make friends with each other."

Her ferocious mother had spoken, so Yin Zhao-an sidled up to Tang Yu's side with a blush on her face. Then, worried that she would make the older girl cry again like last time, she carefully extended a hand to Tang Yu and said. "Tang-Tang, let's go and play."

Tang Yu originally wanted to ignore the extended hand. However, her upbringing forbade her from behaving so rudely. So, she eventually succumbed to morality and placed her hand in the palm before her.

Tang Yu felt incredibly uncomfortable, her hand feeling as if it were being baked in an oven the moment she touched Yin Zhao-an's hand. All she wanted to do right now was to shake off Yin Zhao-an's hand.

Things were completely different on Yin Zhao-an's side. Yin Zhao-an's heart beat rapidly and excitedly, the excitement she currently felt similar to when she received a prize from her teacher at school. At the same time, she got to verify her assumptions of Tang-Tang's hand being incredibly soft. On top of that, she found that Tang-Tang's body radiated a sweet fragrance.

The two held hands until they went upstairs into Tang Yu's room and closed the door. Then, Tang Yu quickly separated from Yin Zhao-an, Yin Zhao-an's hand maintaining a curved arc even after Tang Yu retracted her hand. As the warmth in her hand rapidly disappeared, Yin Zhao-an felt as if someone had just poured a bucket of cold water over her head, her excitement extinguished without warning.

…

TL Notes:

[1]An example of Tang Yu's dress:

https://imgur.com/a/tYRNZYU