spring bite mark

Chapter 96 Exchange
At night, Jiang Manman had just finished washing up and lay down in bed when Xie Jian came in wearing a cute cartoon onesie and carrying a starfish pillow.

"What's wrong? Don't you like the children's room?" Jiang Manman asked him.

Xie Jian blinked: "Manman, I want to sleep with you."

Jiang Manman hesitated for a moment: "You're six years old..."

"Six years old and you're not a baby anymore?" Xie Jian's eyes welled up with tears. "When I was in Yushui Bay, my dad would hold me and sleep with me, and sometimes he would call me his darling."

Jiang Manman looked at his small stature, his soft and cute appearance, and his fair face full of expectation. She sighed softly, "Alright, I'll let you sleep with me for a few days. When your Uncle Yan comes back, he can take care of you."

"Okay!" Xie Jian obediently replied and climbed onto Jiang Manman's bed.

Two o'clock in the morning.

The faint ringing of the cell phone alarm clock sounded. Xie Jian curled up in the blanket, slowly got up from next to Jiang Manman, and tiptoed out of bed.

Jiang Manman was also woken up by the alarm clock. Still half asleep, she asked, "Xie Jian, where are you going? Do you want some water?"

"Manman, you keep sleeping! I'm going to pee."

Did he set an alarm specifically to pee? I didn't notice he had this habit last time at the hotel.

Jiang Manman's thoughts were wandering when she saw the child already wearing slippers, with the cartoon pajamas' hood pulled up over his head, sneaking towards the door.

Jiang Manman paused for a moment: "Thank you for your help. There is a bathroom in the bedroom."

“I like the one downstairs,” Xie Jian said crisply. “You can see the garden outside and the moonlight.”

The villa was enormous, with several bathrooms. Xie Jian was probably referring to the one in the villa's garden, a specially designed one-way glass wall that blocked the view from the outside but offered a clear view of the lush greenery outside. Besides a smart toilet, it also had an adorable pet bathtub. But…

"Thank you for your help, that's a pet-specific toilet."

"It's okay! I often pee with my golden retriever at Yushui Bay too." Xie Jian opened the door without saying another word and was about to run downstairs.

Jiang Manman stood up helplessly: "Then Auntie will go with you."

Xie Jian exclaimed, feeling inexplicably flustered: "No! Manman, girls can't watch boys pee."

Jiang Manman: "..."

She looked at the child's embarrassed and annoyed face under the dim wall lamp, and coughed lightly: "Then take your time going downstairs. Auntie will wait for you."

"Manman, you can go to sleep first, I'll be back soon." Xie Jian lifted up his loose trouser legs and ran downstairs in a flash.

It's against the wall on the left side of the main entrance of Villa No. 1.

Two bodyguards stood on either side of him. Between them was a comfortable rattan chair. Yan Yu, dressed in the same cartoon pajamas as Xie Jian, lay lazily and comfortably with drawing paper on his knees. The quiet moonlight shone on his delicate face, and his peach blossom eyes were cold and clear with a hint of light. At such a young age, he already showed the dashing and romantic demeanor of Yan Changye.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there.

Four or five sketches had been completed when the sound of footsteps finally reached my ears, followed by the gentle sound of the door being opened.

Xie Jian's small body nimbly emerged, her little voice slightly breathless: "The third bedroom on the right on the second floor, don't go to the wrong one."

Yan Yu glanced at him, slowly put away the sketch, and stood up.

Under the moonlight, Yan Yu's ethereal features were even more captivating than the night itself. Xie Jian pouted, "Don't let Manman find out. Daddy said your face would be ruined in Manman's presence."

Yan Yu didn't speak, but lowered his head slightly and, like Xie Jian, put on a large hood, covering half of his face.

Xie Jian pointed to the same phone Yan Yu was wearing and said worriedly, "Remember to switch with me at four o'clock! We agreed on two hours."

"Three hours," Yan Yu said calmly. "I'll give you an extra five hundred yuan in pocket money every day."

Xie Jian hesitated for a moment.

“You’re also making a profit.” Yan Yu slowly calculated for him, “There are 24 hours in a day. Apart from these three hours, the other 21 hours are all yours.”

Xie Jian counted on his fingers, hesitating for a while: "Could we add two more lollipops?"

"You already have cavities, so you can only have one."

“…Alright.” Yan Yu glanced at Xie Jian and quietly instructed the bodyguard, “Take him to Villa No. 2 to sleep, and bring him back at five o’clock.”

After saying that, he stepped into the villa.

Jiang Manman has already gone downstairs.

She stood at the door for a while before she saw the small figure walking towards her from the direction of the courtyard gate under the moonlight.

As for why the phrase "arriving under the moonlight" was used—

Jiang Manman watched the figure approaching. It was so small, and just a moment ago it was jumping around and acting carefree, but now, because of the moonlight, it exuded an indescribable elegance and nonchalance, showing off its excellent bone structure and figure.

As expected of an heir raised by a prestigious family, he can be both mischievous and truly aristocratic.

Jiang Manman sighed and said in a gentle voice, "Why did you come in from the courtyard gate? The restroom is on the left."

The little child froze for a moment, his steps abruptly halting, his head bowed low, and from Jiang Manman's angle, only his delicate chin could be seen beneath the wide hood.

Jiang Manman chuckled: "Are you shy?"

She considerately turned her back to him, her tone even gentler: "Okay, I won't look, I'll just wait for you here."

The child didn't speak, but refused to take another step.

Jiang Manman waited for a while before hearing a somewhat stubborn voice: "Go back to your room."

His voice was slightly distorted by the night wind, sounding a little different from Xie Jian's usual self.

Jiang Manman sighed softly. If you said she was particular, why did she insist on fighting with her pet for the bathroom? But if you said she wasn't particular, her current shyness was clearly genuine.

"Then Auntie will go back to her room and wait for you. Come back soon."

Jiang Manman went upstairs.

After a while, the child finally dawdled upstairs, and when he entered the room, he lowered his head even further, awkwardly got into bed, and covered himself completely under the covers.

Jiang Manman turned off the wall lamp, pulled the child closer to her, and whispered, "Go to sleep."

She patted the child's soft head with her hand.

In the darkness, the child's small body, which should have been soft and cuddly, was tense and uneasy. Jiang Manman noticed this and gently patted the child's back for a while before the child relaxed.

Then, she silently moved closer to Jiang Manman, pressing herself against her, her shallow breaths carrying a barely perceptible sense of longing.

Jiang Manman was already very sleepy, and since the child wasn't fussing, she quickly fell asleep again.

Little did she know that the child, who should have been fast asleep, lifted his head from her arms after she fell asleep, his peach-blossom eyes gazing quietly at her face, unblinking for a moment.

I watched it for an extremely long time.

At five o'clock in the morning, the child turned off the sound the moment the phone alarm went off.

Then, he silently got up.

Jiang Manman did not wake up.

The soft, squishy child gently stepped down, wearing little slippers, and silently left the room as dawn broke.

Downstairs, servants were already busy at work.

Upon seeing the child come downstairs, a servant greeted him respectfully: "Young Master, you're awake?"

The child gave a faint "hmm," buried his head in his hood, and went out the door without looking up.

Ten minutes later, the child rubbed his sleepy eyes and groggily went upstairs again, climbing back into Jiang Manman's arms once more.

"You went downstairs to the bathroom again?" Jiang Manman didn't open her eyes, but only touched her soft little face.

"Mmm." The child hummed softly, then clung to Jiang Manman like an octopus, and soon began to snore softly.

(End of this chapter)