Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

Zhao Nuanyue disagreed, shaking her head. ”We can’t do that. You know what Nuanyang is like—he was very withdrawn as a child. Even though he’s better now, he’s still extremely sensitive and relies on me a lot. As for Little Red Carp, that little one is a real handful. With her, I either don’t make a promise at all, or if I do, I absolutely cannot break it. Otherwise, she’ll hold it over my head for ages. Plus, Little Red Carp isn’t our biological sister. She’s smart enough to know the truth, and she’s worried that now that I’m married, I won’t care about her as much as I used to. If we break our promise to them right after getting our marriage certificate, they’ll be furious.”

”Sigh...” Hua Yusen let out a breath. He understood Zhao Nuanyue’s reasoning perfectly. For the sake of future peace and quiet, they had to sacrifice their time alone for now. Thankfully, they were married, so there would be plenty of opportunities for that in the future!

Zhao Nuanyue shook Hua Yusen’s arm and said, ”Don’t sigh. How about this? I won’t tease you as often, and I’ll let you tease me once in a while, okay?”

”Deal!” Hua Yusen smiled and kissed Zhao Nuanyue’s forehead. ”They’re my little brother and sister too, now. It’s normal for them to feel a little down now that their big sister is married to me. I can understand that. It’s just that it’s already eleven-thirty. If we go home to cook, we won’t have time for lunch, and everyone will go hungry. Let’s eat out today. My treat. We’ll call it an early celebration, how does that sound?”

Zhao Nuanyue thought for a moment. A celebration would require making several dishes, and there just wasn’t enough time. She agreed with Hua Yusen’s suggestion and nodded. ”Alright, let’s go out to eat then. But it’s going to cost you.”

”Since it’s a celebration, don’t worry about the cost,” Hua Yusen said with a smile, putting his arm around Zhao Nuanyue’s waist as they got in the car to head home.

By the time they got home, it was already past noon.

Little Red Carp was pacing anxiously in the yard. Zhao Nuan Yang looked up at the sun overhead and said, ”Little Red Carp, let’s not wait anymore. I’ll go cook. We still have some dried noodles. How about we just have some noodles with greens and egg?”

”Big Sis broke her promise! She said we would celebrate together!” Little Red Carp protested, pouting. Her eyes were red, and she looked like she was about to cry.

Zhao Nuan Yang quickly put down his art supplies, washed his hands, and picked up Little Red Carp. ”Hey, Little Red Carp,” he said, ”maybe there were a lot of people in line today, and Big Sis and our new brother-in-law haven’t even gotten their marriage certificate yet. That’s why we shouldn’t wait for them.”

Zhao Nuan Yang tried to comfort his little sister; he couldn’t let her cry.

”But they went really early, so they should have been at the front of the line,” Little Red Carp said with a frown, not believing her brother. ”Big Sis... she must have forgotten all about her brother and sister now that she has a husband!”

”No, that’s not it, that’s not it,” Zhao Nuan Yang said to soothe her, even though a part of him thought the same thing.

’What happened to her promise to celebrate when she got home?’

”It is true! Big Sis broke her promise! I want Big Sis! I want Big Sis...” Little Red Carp wailed, bursting into tears. She was terrified that her sister would grow distant.

By now, Little Red Carp had grown to love being human; she didn’t want to turn back into a carp and live a lonely life in the water. In the human world, she was closest to her big sister—even closer than to her brother. The thought that her sister now had a husband and might not be close to her anymore was unbearable.

At the peak of her sorrow, a dark thought crept into Little Red Carp’s mind. ’If I’d known it would be like this, I should have just let Hua Yusen stay unconscious. But if he never woke up, not only would Big Sis have to exhaust herself taking care of him at the hospital, but she’d also have to fend off all those flirtatious pests. People might even bully her. Ugh, what a dilemma! Aaaah, Big Sis, why aren’t you back yet...?’

Little Red Carp cried sorrowfully, closing her eyes, opening her mouth wide, and letting out a great, heart-wrenching wail.

Just as Hua Yusen’s car pulled up to the gate, Zhao Nuanyue got out and heard Little Red Carp’s loud sobs.

”See? You’ve made Little Red Carp cry from frustration,” Zhao Nuanyue said anxiously, shooting Hua Yusen a glare. ”Later, if you can, you should buy her a piece of cake. The only thing that can really make her happy is good food. She’s so upset today, it has to be her absolute favorite cake.”

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Hua Yusen quickly promised, ”Alright, alright. We’ll go straight to the Friendship Restaurant to eat. We can have them make a cake for her right then and there. How about that?”

”Okay, that’s perfect!” Zhao Nuanyue nodded as she ran toward the house, calling out to the backyard, ”Little Red Carp, Big Sis is here! I’m taking you and your brother out for a treat!”

Zhao Nuan Yang was clumsily trying to wipe away Little Red Carp’s tears when he heard his sister’s voice. He quickly reassured the little girl, ”See? Big Sis is here! She didn’t lie to you, and she didn’t forget you!”

Upon hearing Zhao Nuanyue’s voice, Little Red Carp’s wailing paused for a moment... and then resumed, even louder than before.

Oh, dear. Her sister was already here, so why was the child still crying?

It was enough to drive a person crazy!

Seeing his little sister’s face turn red, her cheeks a mess of tears and snot, Zhao Nuan Yang grew even more worried and continued trying to coax her.

When Zhao Nuanyue came in, her heart broke at the sight.

’Her Little Red Carp has never been this upset before! Oh, my, she’s even more sensitive than her brother, Zhao Nuan Yang!’

Seeing her sister enter, Little Red Carp was furious. She was about to throw herself on the ground and start rolling around in a tantrum, but then she saw the dirt and realized she was wearing a new dress. If she rolled around, it would get dirty.

So, Little Red Carp scrambled onto the stone table and began to roll around on its large surface instead.

Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuan Yang were dumbstruck.

Their little sister was really going all out today. Rolling around on a table—only an adorably silly sister like Little Red Carp would ever think of doing such a thing.

”Waaaah...” Little Red Carp cried as she rolled back and forth on the stone table.

Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuan Yang quickly ran to opposite sides of the table to prevent her from falling off.

Hua Yusen walked in to find this chaotic scene. ’So this is what they call a problem child? I hope my own kids aren’t this much of a handful!’

”Little Red Carp, Big Sis is back, please don’t cry,” Zhao Nuanyue said, rushing to comfort her. She quickly scooped her rolling sister off the stone table. ”Big Sis was wrong. I should have come back sooner. Please stop crying.”

Held in her sister’s arms, Little Red Carp was still struggling and putting up a fight.

’I have to teach Big Sis a lesson she’ll never forget today! A little sister is not to be ignored! Not to be forgotten!’

”Big Sis was wrong. Please stop crying, Little Red Carp.” Zhao Nuanyue held her close, patting her back. ”There, there. Good girl, Little Red Carp. No more crying, no more crying.”

In her sister’s soft embrace, Little Red Carp’s struggles lessened, but she continued to sob. She had cried so hysterically that she couldn’t calm down right away.

Zhao Nuanyue carried Little Red Carp, slowly rocking her as she walked around the yard, whispering constantly to soothe her.