"Waaaaa…."
A deafening cry echoed through the silent evening.
Xiao Yuxi was startled, exchanging glances with her twin sister, Xiao Yuyan. Their hearts tightened. "Why does it sound like our Little Ya?"
They were currently in the kitchen cooking dinner with their mother, Zhou Anran.
"Little Ya is playing in her room, but…" Xiao Yuxi got up.
"Mother, Mother… Little Ya isn't in her room!" Xiao Fenghao came running into the kitchen, his face full of panic.
Zhou Anran, who just returned from outside, had abandoned the wooden bucket and ran inside with quick steps. She wanted to check whether the sound was really her third daughter or not. The moment she heard her second son's words, her face paled.
She came running outside amidst her children's shouts, grabbing an oil lantern. "Little Ya! Little Ya! Where are you?"
Unfortunately, the sound was already gone.
The children hurriedly followed their mother, calling out their little sister.
"Little Ya is such an obedient child. Whenever someone in the family had something important to do, she never bothered us and always stayed obediently in her room. Someone must have taken her away!" Xiao Yuxi appeared agitated.
"Second brother…" Xiao Yuyan appeared hesitant, wanting to ask him but also at a loss about how to say it in a way that wouldn't hurt him.
The one taking care of their little sister was Xiao Fenghao.
However, Xiao Yuxi was obviously more outspoken and didn't care about her second brother's feelings at all. "But this time, you were the one who was assigned to take care of Little Ya, second brother. How did this happen? Where were you?"
Xiao Fenghao's face darkened, filled with guilt. He didn't evade responsibility. "It's my fault."
Seeing her twin sister about to argue with their second brother further, Xiao Yuyan hurriedly pulled her hand and shook her head. It wasn't the time to blame each other.
"Let's go find Little Ya," Xiao Yuyan immediately interrupted.
Xiao Yuxi snorted, and she walked away with the oil lantern in her hand, calling out her little sister's name.
He was also filled with remorse at this moment. Xiao Fenghao quickly followed after his younger sister, dragging his other younger sister along.
Once they caught up with Xiao Yuxi, he told the twins. "You two go back, I will go find Little Ya with Mother. There's still Grandpa at home."
The twins were obviously unwilling. They were also worried about their youngest sister, however…
"Little Ya… Little Ya!" Their mother's crying voice came not far away.
They no longer cared about anything else and followed their mother's voice. Upon arriving there, they sucked in a deep breath.
Zhou Anran already threw her lantern somewhere, extinguishing the fire. Her hands shakily cradled her youngest daughter's cold body.
"Little Ya!" The siblings examined Xiao Qingya worriedly. Fortunately, the two-year-old baby was still breathing; she was just cold.
Xiao Yuyan immediately urged, "Let's go back, Mother. We should warm Little Ya's body."
Zhou Anran snapped from her worry and headed back to the house with her children. Her second daughter was right.
When they returned, Zhou Wenzhi, their grandfather, was already preparing to go out to find where his second daughter and her children had gone.
"Husband, why don't you just go back inside? They are making such a ruckus. Can't even do simple cooking…" At the end, Chen Huayun's voice faltered when she noticed her husband's look of disapproval.
"Where have you been?" He asked, scanning her from head to toe.
"Where else? They were taking so long, so I wanted to check and help them to fetch the water from outside," she hurriedly explained, raising her wet hands.
On the ground, there was also a wooden bucket full of water.
Soon, Zhou Anran and her kids arrived at home. She was cradling Xiao Qingya tightly, hoping to transfer some warmth to the little one.
Zhou Wenzhi's attention was immediately on his second daughter. His heart was filled with concern as soon as he saw his unconscious youngest granddaughter. "What's wrong with Little Ya? Should we call a physician?"
"Call Zhou Shiming over, let him go to Physician Li's house," he urged Xiao Fenghao, mentioning his eldest son.
Today, the whole family had gathered in Zhou Anran's house. However, such a worrying accident had happened.
"Husband," Chen Huayun's face changed, shaking her head furiously. "It's expensive to call the physician, let's just…"
A simple glare from Zhou Wenzhi silenced her again, full of warning. Chen Huayun's heart sank. Did he find out something…?
Zhou Anran changed her daughter's wet clothes and waited for the physician to arrive. Unfortunately, her eldest son wasn't home. Otherwise, he alone was enough to take a look at Xiao Qingya's condition.
At this moment, Xiao Yuxi and her aunt were cooking in the kitchen, finishing what they had left halfway. There was only her and Xiao Yuyan in the bedroom.
[Huh? I didn't die?]
Suddenly, a childish voice echoing in the room made Zhou Anran pause in confusion. She belatedly realized her daughter had been awake when she was trying to find another blanket for her.
Where did that voice come from? She turned to her second daughter and found out that her mouth was tightly closed during the voice's following words.
[I finally regained my memories again… wow, no wonder I didn't die. They all really want me to suffer first…] The words were followed by loud sobbing.
Soon, Xiao Qingya's small, pitiful sobs also echoed in the room.
"Shh, Mother is here, Little Ya, don't be afraid." Zhou Anran carried the blanket over and hugged her daughter.
Xiao Yuyan, who had fallen into a daze upon hearing the strange voice, was also snapped back into reality.
[Waaa, Mother…]
She turned to the little one in her mother's embrace. At this moment, Zhou Anran and Xiao Yuyan were simultaneously looking at Xiao Qingya.
The voice was from their Little Ya?!
Zhou Anran was sure that she could hear her daughter's inner voice at this moment. She was shocked, but also quickly calmed down. It didn't matter as long as her daughter was safe!
Unlike her mother, Xiao Yuyan was shocked for another reason. When did her little sister speak so fluently? She couldn't see that Xiao Qingya's lips hadn't moved at all, so she didn't know that she had magically heard Xiao Qingya's inner thoughts.