Two minutes later, Zhou Li returned with the ice cream.
He saw Baozi sitting alone on the steps. She had removed her shoes and socks, revealing small, pale feet, likely around size 35, slightly whitened from being soaked. She was forcefully wringing out her patterned socks, and a lot of water dripped down with each twist.
SPLASH!
Water sprayed out.
Tuanzi stood on Zhou Li's shoulder, struggling to keep its balance, and said to him, "Baozi looks so pitiful."
Zhou Li nodded and walked over to hand her the ice cream.
Baozi silently took it and, putting down her socks, began to eat.
Compared to the tall and sturdy Brother Nan, Baozi's slender figure was more likely to stir a protective urge in others. Especially when she sat on the steps like this, hugging her knees and curling up, she looked like a tiny bundle, as drenched as if she had just been fished out of a lake.
Seeing her like this, Zhou Li, as her cousin, felt especially heartbroken.
