Frightened

  When the snow water had all melted, Bai Wenhui and others set off again. Bai Xinyi brought them the jam made from the sea buckthorn they picked, to make up for not being able to eat fruit. The lively home was quiet once more.

  Bai Haoran sat on the kang with a somewhat despondent expression and let out a sigh. With Father gone, he was now the only man left to protect two women at home.

  Bai Xinyi looked at her nephew with a hint of amusement, "Haoran, why are you sighing?"

  "Bai Haoran said seriously, 'Auntie, I'm thinking of ways to protect you and my sister.'"

  Yu was amused by this little adult and said, "Brother, you're really great. This glorious task is now yours. Auntie, let's start recognizing characters."

  Within a year, Bai Xinyi has already finished teaching the first and second grade curriculum of elementary school, and now she has started teaching the third grade curriculum to the two little ones.

  Just as I opened the book, Bai Wenyin rushed in on her bicycle.

  "Sister, hurry up and get ready, I think Second Aunt is about to give birth, Dad wants you to go over and help take care of her."

  Bai Xinyi was a bit flustered, taking care of the new mother was not something she had experience with, but at home there was only her, a woman, left to take care of things, and besides, she was the older sister, so she should go back and take a look, but what about the two children at home?

  "Xiao Si, take Yueting and Haoran to Dad's place, I'll go ask the neighbors for help to look after the house, then I'll head straight to the hospital."

  The siblings were packed up by Bai Xinyi and taken back by Bai Wenshen, with Bai Haoran holding onto his sister's hand from behind, while Yu Tong tightly grasped her little uncle's clothes.

  When it comes to cycling skills, Bai Wenshen can't keep up with his father. Bai Wenli's driving is really stable and not like Bai Wenshen's at all, who rides a bike as if he's fighting someone, dashing around recklessly.

  At night, Bai Wenzhi sent back the news that Li Qian had given birth to a son. Old Man Bai was overjoyed, his wrinkles almost turning into chrysanthemums, and he walked around rubbing his hands with excitement.

  "Our Bai family is really prosperous..."

  She was quite interested in her new younger brother Bai Haoran, while Yu Tong sat quietly on the kang and read her book. Tiantian's entry into their lives didn't change much for her; she was still the granddaughter they didn't particularly like.

  "Grandpa, has little brother thought of a good name yet? What should I call him in the future?"

  Bai Ziqi smiled and picked up her grandson, kissing him on the cheek. "The name for your younger brother has been decided by Grandpa a long time ago. You are called Bai Haoran, and your younger brother is called Bai Haocen."

  Yu Xi couldn't help but look up at the old man with a glance, unexpectedly finding that this old grandfather was quite cultured, and the name he chose was actually not bad. Just from her big brother's name, one could glimpse his character.

  There's a new addition to the family, and Bai Ziqi rarely plays with her granddaughter, "Yuxin, do you think Grandpa is a good name?"

  Yu Xi smiled and nodded, "Mmm, it sounds just as good as Brother's name, Grandpa is really great."

  Upon hearing her little granddaughter's praise, Bai Ziqi couldn't help but laugh heartily, "Yeah, I think this name sounds good too. Haoran, you have to take care of your little brother and play with him well."

  Within two days, Bai Xinyi returned. Li Qian's mother had already gone to help take care of her own daughter at home and knew what was going on with the Bai family, so they didn't need Bai Xinyi to take care of things there either. Moreover, Bai Xinyi herself had never given birth before, and there were some things she really didn't understand how to do. These two days had already been enough to keep her busy and flustered, fortunately, her mother-in-law had arrived.

  Bai Haoran is a very stable host who can get along with anyone, but since Yu Ting moved in, she couldn't put her mind at ease thinking about her family. She wasn't used to living at her grandfather's house and was also homesick. These two days, she really didn't sleep well.

  Bai Xinyi saw the little girl's silly and stupid appearance, and she also felt that this child was pitiful. What kind of attitude did her family have towards her, how could she not know? It's hard for this child.

  "It's raining, Auntie is taking you and your brother home, no need for me to take care of Erniang's side anymore."

  Yu Xuan's eyes sparkled with excitement as soon as he heard the good news, "Auntie, really?"

  Bai Xin gently stroked her thin little face, "Mm-hmm, go outside and call your brother back, Auntie will take you guys home."

  Back home, Bai Yuexiao felt relaxed all over, otherwise she was really uncomfortable at her grandfather's house.

  Bai Xinyi is back, and she's busy harvesting vegetables from the vegetable garden. They're still counting on these vegetables to get them through the winter this year.

  Yu Tong and Bai Haoran have grown a year older, they can't relive their past, but picking vegetables or something like that is still not a problem for the two of them.

  The brother and sister each held a basket to pick tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants. These will be made into tomato sauce and pickled vegetables. After finishing these, Bai Haoran couldn't sit still anymore. He hadn't played with his friends for several days, so he wanted to go out and find them.

  Yu Tong looked at Bai Haoran with a mischievous expression, waving her small hand and saying, "Brother, you go out and play, I'll take care of the rest."

  Bai Haoran ran out to play happily, Yu Tong and her elder sister were busy in the vegetable garden. Who would have thought that just now it was sunny with not a cloud in the sky, but now it's thunder and lightning? Yu Tong didn't expect it either, she was really startled by the sudden flash of lightning, and one of them happened to strike not far from where they were. Her body could feel the numbness and trembling from the electric shock.

  At this moment, she was really frightened. In her previous life, she had never encountered such a situation. When Bai Xinyi saw another flash of lightning coming towards them, she quickly threw down the hoe in her hand and ran into the house with her still stunned niece.

  "Rainy tide..."

  Bai Xinyi anxiously called out her name, but Yu Tong was possibly frightened by the scene earlier and didn't come back to his senses for a long time. By the time he remembered what had happened earlier, he still felt lingering fear.

  Hiding timidly in Bai Xinyi's arms, "Auntie, I'm scared..."

  Not to mention the children being scared, even Bai Xinyi herself was frightened. If they couldn't dodge that lightning bolt just now, it's likely that both mother and daughter would have met their maker today.

  But then she remembered that her nephew was still outside, so she quickly let go of her niece. "Yu Tong, Auntie is going out to find your brother and bring him back to play with you, be good and wait for me at home."

  Bai Xinyi hastily went out to find Bai Haoran. She was worried that if something unexpected happened to the eldest grandson of the Bai family, she would really have no way to live.

  Yu Ting nodded and didn't say anything, watching as Bai Xinyi put on her raincoat and ran out.

  Listening to the heavy rain outside, Yu felt weak all over, and that flash of lightning almost scared his soul away.

  Lying on the kang, slowly closing his eyes, feeling dizzy, and in a dream, past events began to replay slowly in his mind.