Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

Hua Yusen finally looked down. Staring at the barefoot little toddler in a red top and red shorts, he froze and exclaimed, ”My God, where did this kid come from?”

”I... I don’t know either,” Zhao Nuanyue stammered nervously. ”There are too many mosquitoes out here. Let’s go back inside!”

”What if her parents come looking for her and can’t find her?” Hua Yusen asked. ”Why don’t you take her back inside? I’ll wait out here for them.”

Zhao Nuanyue couldn’t bear the thought of Hua Yusen getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. She scooped up the Little Red Carp in one arm, grabbed Hua Yusen’s hand with the other, and pulled him toward the Dragon King Temple. ”Our place is the closest one around,” she said. ”If someone comes looking, they’ll definitely come ask us. There’s no need for you to wait out here.”

And so, Hua Yusen let Zhao Nuanyue pull him along, his eyes fixed in bewildered disbelief on the little toddler in her arms.

Back at the Dragon King Temple, Zhao Nuanyue said to Hua Yusen, ”Hua, you should get some sleep. The child almost drowned a moment ago. I’m going to the back courtyard to ask Uncle Sun for help.”

Hua Yusen shook his head. ”How could I possibly sleep now? I’ll go with you.”

So the two of them brought the Little Red Carp to the back courtyard together.

Hua Yusen went to Sun Haoran’s door and knocked. ”Uncle Sun? Could you wake up and take a look at a child for us? She isn’t feeling well.”

Sun Haoran woke up inside and asked groggily, ”Alright. Whose kid is it?”

”We found her by the river. She’s a little over a year old,” Hua Yusen replied. Even though he kept his voice low, the elderly are light sleepers. The moment he mentioned a ”found child,” everyone began to stir and get up.

Once they lit the lamps and saw the Little Red Carp, a toddler as perfect as a porcelain doll, they were all completely stunned.

”This... This is the child you found by the river?” Sun Haoran asked, astonished. ”She doesn’t look like a village child in the slightest. To be raised so well... her parents must be from no simple background!”

Zhao Nuanyue smiled. ”I don’t care what kind of background her parents have. She’s just a child. I found her, which means it was fate that brought us together. I’m going to raise her. From now on, she’ll be my little sister.”

”Sister,” the Little Red Carp chirped in a sweet, milky voice, sounding utterly adorable.

Hearing the little toddler call Zhao Nuanyue ”Sister,” Sun Haoran’s heart softened. He sighed. ”Ah, what a clever and well-raised child. They wouldn’t have abandoned her here unless they were absolutely desperate. Nuanyue, you have a kind heart. Since you want to raise her, go ahead. You’ll have another family member from now on.”

”Yes, that’s right,” Zhao Nuanyue replied. ”Now I have a little sister, another member of my family.”

Sun Haoran took the Little Red Carp’s pulse and felt her forehead, then said softly, ”She’s fine. Go get her something to eat, and be sure to make her a few sets of small clothes.”

Old Sir Qian and Old Madam Qian were also quite taken with the little toddler, the Little Red Carp.

”Nuanyue, you’re her sister now. Why don’t you give her a name?” Old Madam Qian said, looking enviously at the plump baby in Zhao Nuanyue’s arms. ’My grandson was this fair and chubby when he was little, too. I wonder what he looks like now.’

Zhao Nuanyue looked down at the red carp on the little girl’s top and smiled. ”Look, she has a big red carp on her top, so I’ll just call her Little Red Carp. As for a formal name, you all are much more knowledgeable than I am. I’ll leave that to you.”

Gu Qingyu had woken up as well. The moment she came in, she saw the little toddler in Zhao Nuanyue’s arms and immediately reached out to hold her.

The Little Red Carp snuggled deeper into her sister’s arms, not wanting to go to anyone else.

”Heh, the Little Red Carp is getting sleepy,” Zhao Nuanyue explained. ”I’ll take her back to get something to eat and put her to bed. We can all play with her tomorrow. Little Red Carp, say goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma!”

”Goodbye!” the Little Red Carp whispered, looking very shy.

After saying her goodbyes, Zhao Nuanyue carried the Little Red Carp to the front courtyard. ”Hua,” she said, ”could you make some porridge for the Little Red Carp? I’m going to my room to make her some clothes.”

”Okay!” Hua Yusen agreed, still in a daze. ’He couldn’t quite understand it. How could Zhao Nuanyue accept a strange child so easily?’

Zhao Nuanyue went into her room and lit the lamp.

Zhao Nuanyang heard the sounds outside and called out, ”Sister, what are you doing? Why are you still up so late?”

”Nuanyang, quick, get up and come look! We have a new little sister,” Zhao Nuanyue said with a smile. She set the Little Red Carp down on her bed, then pulled some fabric from a trunk to start making her clothes.

Zhao Nuanyue didn’t know how to make traditional clothing, so she just made a simple T-shirt and shorts. She quickly made two sets: one blue, and one with a pink floral print. ’This fabric was a gift from Xia Yingyu,’ she thought. ’I’d kept it packed away, never expecting I’d first use it to make clothes for the Little Red Carp.’

Zhao Nuanyang froze for a moment. Then he threw on some clothes, came out of his room, and saw the little toddler sitting on his sister’s bed.

”Sister, who... who is this?” Zhao Nuanyang asked, startled. ”Sis, you can’t just go and steal someone’s child!”

Zhao Nuanyue didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Ever since he started eating the Dragon Wisdom Grass, her brother, Zhao Nuanyang, had been changing day by day. He was basically no different from a normal person now. He just remained quiet and didn’t like to talk much.

”Why would I steal someone’s child!” Zhao Nuanyue shot her brother a look. ”I found her at the entrance to the Dragon King Temple. Look, she’s not crying or making a fuss. Isn’t she adorable? How about she becomes our little sister? Then there will be three of us.”

Zhao Nuanyang’s long, handsome eyes stared at the toddler on the bed, and the Little Red Carp stared right back at him.

’Ooh, I’ll have to get my new brother to paint some pretty pictures for me in the future,’ the Little Red Carp thought. ’He must make me look beautiful.’

”Who... who would abandon their own child?” Zhao Nuanyang muttered. He was a sensitive boy, and the sight of the abandoned toddler made him think of himself and his sister. ”Even though Mom remarried, she never abandoned us. We should be grateful to her for that.”

Seeing her brother’s spirits fall, Zhao Nuanyue looked at him and said comfortingly, ”You’re right. And no matter what, we’re grown up now. The Little Red Carp’s parents might have had some terrible, unavoidable reason for abandoning her. Besides, she’s just a little kid. She won’t eat much. Let’s keep her, okay?”

Zhao Nuanyang looked at his sister, then at the wide-eyed Little Red Carp. His gaze darted away as he asked in a small voice, ”Then... will you still care about me, Sister?”

So that was it. Zhao Nuanyang was afraid that once his sister had a new little sister, she wouldn’t care for him anymore.