"What's so good about him anyway? Can't you just try to learn from him a little?" Xiao Wu was sure that once she regained her human form, she absolutely wouldn't turn out like her mother or her daughter.
Watching her daughter gaze more and more infatuatedly at Zhao Ling, Xiao Wu grew increasingly irritated. She leapt down from her mother Xiao Rou's arms.
With just a few hops, she landed directly in front of Tang Wutong, who was staring dazedly at Zhao Ling, and gave her a sharp kick to the face.
Tang Wutong's head tilted to the side. After snapping out of her daze, she looked at the rabbit now standing on her shoulder, her eyes full of affection and longing.
Still, she felt confused. Why had she been staring at that man so intently just now?
Sure, he was extremely handsome and certainly charming, but not to the point of defying the heavens. Why had looking at him made her feel... like she was in love?
But she was still so young—how could she be having such strange thoughts? Fortunately, her mom's kick had snapped her out of it.
Tilting her head, Xiao Wu studied Tang Wutong carefully. That innate closeness flowing from their shared bloodline made her gently rub her head against her daughter's cheek.
Seeing this, Tang Wutong hugged Xiao Wu tightly and suddenly broke into tears.
Still, she didn't cry out "Mom." After all, she had come from ten thousand years in the future.
In this time period, her mother hadn't even taken human form yet. She had no idea how to explain everything.
At that moment, Xiao Rou also stepped forward and gently patted Tang Wutong on the head, speaking in a soft voice.
"Little girl, why are you sitting here all alone? Did you get separated from your parents? Where's your mother?"
Xiao Rou knew that mentioning anything from the diary could risk triggering some kind of speech restriction.
So she pretended to be unaware, trying to find out through gentle probing how this child had ended up traveling from ten thousand years in the future.
Tang Wutong guessed that this woman, who resembled her mother by seventy or eighty percent, must be her grandmother.
However, she felt something strange. The diary mentioned that among the other two women, one of them was her paternal grandmother.
But she had never had any memories of a father, or grandparents on his side. She wasn't even sure she had a paternal grandmother. Her eyes turned toward the other two women standing beside Zhao Ling.
Eventually, her gaze locked onto the one with flowing azure hair. That woman bore a five- or six-point resemblance to herself.Could she really be... her grandmother? Then who was her father? Who was her grandfather?
Tang Wutong felt her mind thrown into chaos. Her thoughts tangled and confused, like a knotted ball of string.
Just then, her stomach let out a loud gurgle, and both Xiao Rou and Xiao Wu's rabbit ears twitched in unison.
Xiao Rou turned to Zhao Ling, her voice probing but gentle.
"Um... Ling—Ling-ge, do you have anything to eat? This child's hungry..."
She hadn't yet come to terms with being a widow, and Zhao Ling had approached her under the guise of her late husband's friend.
The awkward part? She already knew from the diary that this man had always been lusting after her body—and her own body wasn't rejecting him either.
But she felt conflicted. Her husband had only just passed—if she turned around and gave her heart to someone else so quickly, wouldn't that be betraying him?
Not knowing how to address Zhao Ling, she settled on calling him "Ling-ge."
Zhao Ling didn't hesitate. He nodded and pulled out some ready-to-eat food from his storage space—dried beef, pancakes, and yogurt he'd bought from the street earlier—and handed them to Xiao Rou.
She accepted the food with a gentle smile and placed them in Tang Wutong's arms.
"You must be starving. Here, eat something."
Tang Wutong instinctively blurted out, "Thanks, Grandma…"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized what she'd said and quickly covered her mouth.
But Xiao Rou acted as if she hadn't heard, simply smiling at her kindly. Too hungry to think, Tang Wutong began devouring the food in earnest.
After polishing off every last bite, she let out a satisfied burp, only to find Xiao Rou still looking at her. Her tone was mild as she asked:
"Child, just now... did you call me Grandma?"
Xiao Rou believed that aside from herself, Xiao Wu, and Ah Yin, this child likely had no other connections in this world.
They needed to find a way to formally recognize her so she wouldn't be left alone and adrift. But first, they had to coax her into revealing her identity on her own.
If the girl willingly disclosed her background, they would believe her without hesitation.
After all, they had Zhao Ling—the man from another world who had read the entire script—whose diary served as undeniable evidence.
Tang Wutong fell silent. She didn't know how to explain.
That extremely handsome man was highly suspicious—she was pretty sure he was the one responsible for bringing her here from ten thousand years in the future.
But she had no proof, and it frustrated her to no end.
While she remained quiet, Ah Yin came over, having guessed what Xiao Rou was thinking. She gently patted Tang Wutong on the head.
"Xiao Rou-jiejie, if this child doesn't want to say, let's not force her. Little one, if you truly have no one in this world, then come with us. Our home is big enough to raise another child."
After hearing Ah Yin's words, Xiao Rou looked at Zhao Ling. When he nodded, she turned to Tang Wutong and gently asked:
"Little girl, would you like to come back with us? If you do, just nod. If not, we won't force you."
Tang Wutong hadn't expected that she'd be allowed to go back with her mother and grandmother. After all, to them, she was just a stranger.
Being able to return with them was a dream come true. She nodded without hesitation.
"Yes, I'd like that—I'd really like that..."
Seeing her agree, Xiao Rou, Ah Yin, and Xiao Wu all breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
That she was willing to come along was best, but even if she hadn't agreed, they would've taken her back regardless.
Because this child was connected to all three of them. The bond embedded in their bloodlines couldn't be ignored.
Ah Yin returned to Zhao Ling's side and twisted his waist lightly, her voice soft but reproachful:
"You keep staring—she's just a little girl! You're such a despicable beast."
"Uh…" Zhao Ling quickly averted his eyes, his face full of embarrassed smiles.
It's not like he was going to make a move on Tang Wutong now. After all, there was still plenty of time in the future…