Xiao Shan sat by the bed, stunned and motionless, gazing at the girl's serene face.
Was this truly his wife?
Ling Yao woke up and saw Xiao Shan guarding her. It was good, he was so obedient.
She smiled, her eyes crinkling, and lunged towards him.
Xiao Shan froze.
"Ah! Your beard is scratching me. I told you to groom yourself, why didn't you listen!"
Ling Yao then noticed she was still naked. She quickly let go and burrowed back under the covers, spotting the neatly arranged clothes by the bedside.
Xiao Shan abruptly stood up, his expression peculiar.
"I'll groom myself now."
He hurried away.
Ling Yao got up and put on the clothes. They were still a bit big, but she could manage. She got out of bed, and the shoes were also a little too large.
Her gaze swept over the pile of items Xiao Shan had just bought. She parted the roast chicken and tore off a leg, gnawing on it.
It was so delicious!
She had been terribly mistreated in the mountains. After her Nirvana, she didn't need to eat anything. But after some time, her body began to feel hunger. However, her mouth and teeth were small, and she couldn't eat anything. Either Little Yu would find berries for her, or it would sneak down the mountain at night to steal things for her.
It was truly an unbearable life.
Fortunately, by the time winter arrived, she had grown to eight years old. Otherwise, if she had returned in the body of a baby, Xiao Shan would have been even more shocked.
While eating the roast chicken, Ling Yao noticed the rattle.
Did this Xiao Shan really think she was a baby?
Xiao Shan groomed himself, ensuring he was clean and refreshed, and then took a deep breath before entering the room again.
Seeing the little girl engrossed in eating the roast chicken, Xiao Shan's prepared composure crumbled once more.
She was too small.
Did she even reach his waist?
"You've lost weight! Aren't you eating properly? Eat more meat."
She held up the half-eaten chicken leg and offered it to his mouth.
Xiao Shan remained still for a long time. "You, are you really Xue Niang? You used to have a small red mole by your navel, but now... it's gone."
He spoke with difficulty, unsure of what he still wanted to confirm, even though he already believed.
"Fine! You can't even recognize me!" Ling Yao threw down the chicken leg. "You look different from your past life, but I recognized you. How could you not recognize me?"
"I'm not eating anymore!"
She pouted her greasy lips indignantly, crossed her arms, and turned away like a petulant little lion.
Xiao Shan clicked his tongue. She had become smaller, but her temper had grown.
He sat down, contemplating the current situation.
What was their relationship now?
Husband and wife? Father and daughter?
Ling Yao turned her head again. "You peeked at me while I was sleeping?"
Peeking? Why use such an ugly word?
"What's there to look at? You're just a little kid."
"You!" Ling Yao's eyes welled up with tears. "It's not like I won't grow up. It seems you haven't missed me at all. You didn't even hug me when I returned."
Hug?
Did he not want to?
He had missed her so much that he had to hug something and fantasize about her to sleep at night.
Or he would stay awake until dawn.
Now she was back, but he didn't know how to proceed.
"How old are you?"
"Eight years old." Ling Yao looked at him pitifully. "My body after Nirvana is the same as in my previous life. I don't have the mole."
But she was still herself!
How could he doubt her?
Did he only love her appearance?
"I know it's you. I was just talking nonsense earlier." Xiao Shan embraced her tightly, feeling grateful to heaven and the gods for her return.
He had once thought that no matter what she became, a monster or a skeleton, as long as she came back.
Now, it was the greatest fortune, and he was content.
"Xue Niang, you're finally back."
He had been prepared to die, but she had returned. It was truly wonderful.
His body trembled, and his suppressed voice carried a sob.
"You're eight years old. In ten years, you'll be eighteen, and I'll be almost forty. We'll both be old. Will you dislike me then?"
"No, I'll grow up quickly. I won't keep you waiting."
Ling Yao nestled obediently in his arms. In this moment, all the fierce storms had subsided, leaving only this warm and stable harbor, her guardian god, her home for the rest of her life.
Feeling a pair of small hands fumbling on him, Xiao Shan snapped out of his grief. A strange feeling surfaced again, and he frantically pulled her small hands away.
"Don't touch me!"
Ling Yao's eyes were still red, and she pouted, asking discontentedly, "Why?"
Why, she still asked why? Didn't she know what she was like?
A child!
Was he a beast?
"You didn't dislike me when I was toothless, why do you dislike me now that I'm small?"
This wasn't dislike, it was... Xiao Shan couldn't explain it. Anyway, she couldn't be like this!
Xiao Shan's mind was still in a turmoil. He didn't explain, but instead brought water to wipe her mouth and hands.
Her skin was so tender that it reddened with the slightest touch, truly like ice and jade. There were also some scratches, and she was so frail it was heartbreaking.
Where had she come from?
"I want to take a bath," Ling Yao said softly.
This was the reason Xiao Shan felt constantly awkward. Even if he didn't look at her small body, just her childish, milky voice made it impossible to think of her as his wife.
He made a decision: he would raise her as his daughter for now!
Xiao Shan found his footing, and his actions became less conflicted, following the rules of raising a daughter.
When Ling Yao bathed, she even asked him to pass a hair tie, but he refused. She almost slipped, and he only inquired from outside, not entering.
When it was time to sleep, it was even worse. He actually made a makeshift bed on the floor.
What did that mean?
She wasn't his wife in his eyes, was she?
Even though her body was small, her soul within was not!
"You truly love my appearance."
Xiao Shan had no explanation. What could he say?
She was not at all well-behaved, always touching him. What he feared most was... what if he actually had a reaction? Even though his heart was pure, his body might not obey him!
Then he would be a pervert, despised by all.
He absolutely could not share a bed with her.
However, when a fluffy head and a slippery little body burrowed into his arms in the middle of the night, he felt like he was going crazy.
"You're warm, I'm cold."
Her soft, childish voice was pitiful, making it impossible to refuse.
The key was that her feet were indeed cold, chilly.
Xiao Shan was helpless. He had to put on clothes, then put a thin garment on her, and carry her to bed.
"Don't move around, or I won't let you hug me again."
He held her two small feet, and soon they were warm.
Ling Yao hummed, finally comfortable enough to fall asleep.
In the darkness, Xiao Shan sighed.
One, two, three... ten years.
Would he be ruined by then?