My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

Looking at her face, which was puffed up like a steamed bun, Lin Ye suddenly felt a tension ease in his heart.

He smiled, the smile starting from the corners of his mouth and slowly spreading to his eyes, washing away any lingering worries.

I couldn't resist reaching out and pinching her chubby little cheeks. The skin my fingertips touched was as smooth as a freshly peeled egg. It was slightly deformed from being pinched, but bounced back to its original shape when I let go.

Little Douzi made a "hmm" sound, pouted even more, and deliberately tilted her head to the side, making a "I'm very angry" look.

"It's Godfather's fault. Godfather underestimated Little Douzi's determination." Lin Ye quickly begged for forgiveness, his tone softening.

Little Douzi hummed twice, deliberately keeping a straight face for a couple more seconds, but finally couldn't hold back her laughter, and two shallow dimples bloomed at the corners of her mouth.

"Little Douzi forgives you!"

Then she tilted her head, blinked her big eyes twice, and asked him curiously, "So what happened, Godfather? Did something happen there?"

That place refers to the Great Flame.

There was a subtle sense of distance in her tone; she acknowledged that the place was related to her, but she no longer considered it "home."

Her real home is here, in this place where Lin Ye and her father live.

Lin Ye nodded, his expression turning serious. He released his grip on her cheek and instead placed both of his hands over her small hands, enveloping them completely in his palms.

His hands were large, with distinct knuckles and several shallow blue veins on the back of his hands, completely enveloping her small hands, like two seashells closing together to protect the pearl inside.

"It's been pouring rain there lately, really, really heavy, like water being poured down from a basin, and it just keeps going," Lin Ye described it using images she could understand.

"The accumulated rainwater caused rivers, lakes, and seas to overflow, flooding fields, damaging roads, and ruining many people's houses and crops."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing as if he were swallowing something with difficulty, and then he sighed.

That sigh sounded particularly heavy in the quiet living room, and even the floor lamp seemed to dim slightly.

"The people are having a very hard time."

Xiao Douzi frowned, her brows furrowing into a small knot, her lips pressed into a thin line, and her originally bright eyes dimmed, her expression tinged with worry.

She was trying to imagine the scenes her godfather had described.

What does a field that has been soaked and rotten look like?

She knew that fields were for growing crops, but she had never seen them before coming here.

Later, during a kindergarten class, the teacher used a projector to show pictures and videos.

There was a green color when they were not yet fully mature. The lush green seedlings were arranged in neat rows, each one standing straight, with dewdrops still hanging on the pointed leaves, glistening in the morning light.

There is also the golden hue of harvest season, where the golden rice fields look like a golden sea under the sunlight, with waves rising and falling with the wind.

Now everything that was supposed to be food has been submerged and turned into brown, mushy mud...

What is it like to not have a house to live in?

Little Douzi thought of the dilapidated palace in the Cold Palace. The windows were broken, and the paint on the window frames was peeling off in patches, revealing the grayish-white rotten wood underneath.

In winter, the wind would howl and howl as it blew in through the broken window. She would wrap herself in everything she could, but she would still shiver from the cold, and her breath would condense into white mist in front of her eyes.

In summer, rainwater blows in through the holes, creating a layer of puddles on the stone bricks. Over time, dark water stains will appear in the corners of the walls.

As the water stains slowly spread, grayish-green mold will gradually grow, filling the air with a damp and rotten smell.

But at least there are walls and roofs to block the wind, at least there are corners to shrink into, and at least you can find a slightly drier place to hide yourself when it leaks.

How terrible it would be if even that were gone...

The rain lashed directly overhead, the wind blew right into my collar, and everything was soaking wet. There wasn't a single dry spot to rest; I was stuck in the mud and water all the time, not knowing where to go...

What is it like to be hungry?

This doesn't seem like much of a problem; she knows what it's like to be hungry.

Although she never went hungry again after her godfather brought her to this magical place, there was always food in the refrigerator and the snack cabinet was full.

Aunt Zhou would also cook her different kinds of delicious food, such as sweet and sour pork ribs, cola chicken wings, and tomato beef brisket... Her little face got rounder from all the eating.

But before that, when she was still in the Great Flame Palace.

Since her father passed away, the people who brought her meals have been arriving later and later, and bringing less and less food.

She would often hug her knees and huddle in the corner of the cold palace, listening to the rumbling in her stomach, feeling as if her stomach was being squeezed and twisted, with an empty pain spreading through her.

Gradually, your hands and feet will become weak and limp, and you won't even have the strength to lift them up.

She remembered that feeling.

"Then I have to help them!" Xiao Douzi's voice suddenly rose a little, filled with urgency, and she grabbed Lin Ye's fingers tightly with both hands.

Just then, a gust of wind rose outside the window, causing the plum tree in the yard to sway and shake off the snow on its branches, raising a large cloud of white snow mist.

A faint whistling sound wafted in through the crack in the door, like a sigh coming from somewhere in the distance.

"Can Godfather teach Xiaodouzi how to help them?"

Lin Ye's heart softened suddenly.

Instead of asking, "Godfather, will you help them?", Xiao Douzi asked, "Can you teach me?"

She was truly learning to see herself as the emperor of the Great Flame, and to grow stronger.

Like a seedling just sprouting from the soil, its roots not yet firmly planted and its leaves not yet unfurled, it is already striving to stretch towards the sky, hoping to one day grow into a big tree that can shelter it from the wind and rain.

"Of course." Lin Ye nodded and raised a hand to pat her little shoulder encouragingly.

My hand landed on his shoulder, and I could feel the small frame, thin but strong.

"Xiao Douzi is still young, and there are many things she doesn't understand or know how to do."

"But it's okay! Godfather and the other adults will teach Xiaodouzi how to do it slowly. We'll take it one step at a time, learning a little today and a little tomorrow. One day Xiaodouzi will know everything."

"By then, Xiaodouzi will have grown up and become a capable adult."

Xiao Douzi's eyes, which had been somewhat dimmed when she heard Lin Ye say that there were many things she didn't understand or know, lit up again.

She nodded emphatically, her ahoge (cowlick) bobbing up and down on her head, swaying left and right in rhythm with her nods, like a blade of grass swaying in the wind.

The sunlight from the snow outside the window shone into her eyes, and it seemed as if two small flames were dancing within them, making her full of fighting spirit.

"Yes, yes! By then, Little Pocket will be able to protect Godfather!"

Her back straightened unconsciously, her chin was slightly raised, and her eyes showed not only worry but also determination.