Zhou Shuran widened her eyes, startled. She also blinked, and then rubbed her own eyes to see whether she was hallucinating.
She didn't!
The little one was really awake. There was no trace of sleepiness on her small face.
"Little Ya, why are you awake at this hour?" She whispered, afraid of disturbing her elder sister's resting time.
Since she was no longer sleepy, might as well take care of Xiao Qingya and lessen Zhou Anran's burden. She would coax the little one to sleep.
Xiao Qingya shook her head. "Can't… sleep."
She had been awake a few hours earlier than Zhou Shuran. No matter how she tried to go back to sleep, she couldn't. In boredom, she could only drag the System to entertain her.
Usually, she wouldn't be awake in the middle of the night. However, she didn't think much about it. Perhaps because she also missed her Little Aunt.
A few seconds later, she felt a gentle caress on her head. Zhou Shuran was stroking it.
"Little Aunt will help you go back to sleep. Close your eyes," Zhou Shuran whispered.
Xiao Qingya obediently closed her eyes. She also needed to get some rest so that she could recover her fighting power. She wanted to go to the field with her mother and older siblings!
However, things didn't always go the way one wished.
No matter how she tried to sleep again, she couldn't. Zhou Shuran had used all kinds of tricks, telling her bedtime stories or patting her bum. None of it worked.
She slowly opened her eyes, peeking at Zhou Shuran's face. She had closed her eyes. Xiao Qingya had waited for her to go back to sleep before she opened her eyes again—she was pretending to sleep.
"Little Ya, you also still can't sleep yet?"
The gentle voice nearly startled Xiao Qingya. She turned to her Little Aunt's side, eyes wide.
Then, she slowly nodded.
"Little Aunt also can't sleep." Perhaps she noticed the hint of worry in the little one's eyes, and as such, she assured her, tapping her little nose. "It's not because of you. Little Ya is so good!"
The two of them only managed to go back to sleep a few hours later. Xiao Qingya woke up on her usual time while Zhou Shuran was woken up by the movement on the bed.
Although her elder sister had told her to go back to sleep, Zhou Shuran didn't follow her words. She wanted to help them in the kitchen.
The twins woke up some minutes later after she was done making the fire. They were preparing to make steamed buns for breakfast.
The sky was still slightly dark, but the signs of the sun's appearance already showed up in the east.
"I will go get some water. You stay here." Zhou Shuran took the wooden bucket from Xiao Yuyan's hand and headed outside. She was still a bit sleepy and exhausted, so she wanted to use the fresh air to chase away all the sleepiness.
When she came back again, Xiao Qingya already squatted beside her sister. Her little face all scrunched up.
[System, didn't you tell me to go get some sleep because something will happen today?]
The little one's voice floated over to the Xiao twin sisters, and they subconsciously held their breath, listening attentively. What will happen today?
[Yes, it's related to your Little Aunt.]
Xiao Qingya blinked. [What will happen to my little aunt?]
[When your little aunt fetches some water from the river today, she will encounter a bad guy. You have to stop her from going to the river!]
The twins subconsciously turned their attention to Zhou Shuran, studying her face with some worry and anxiety. If their little aunt could hear the little one's thoughts, she wouldn't go to the river again, right?
Zhou Shuran poured down the water bucket she had carried into the water vat, and she went to Xiao Qingya. The twin sisters' hearts were almost in their throats.
Their little aunt really could hear their youngest sister's thoughts! That was why she had stopped, right? Coincidentally, the water vat inside their house was empty and needed several wooden buckets of water to fill it in. One was definitely not enough.
[Mission Triggered!]
[Objective: Change the plot for Zhou Shuran's trauma; save her from a vile scumbag in the river.]
[Reward: 50 System Points.]
While the twins were feeling conflicted, they were also thankful that Xiao Qingya could actually solve her mission easily this time. The system points reward could help the little one buy things at the system's shop!
However, the twins realized that they were being happy too soon.
Zhou Shuran rose to her feet again. She picked up the wooden bucket and headed toward the river. When the twins came to their senses, she was already gone.
Xiao Qingya also widened her eyes. She thought that Zhou Shuran had successfully evaded her plot since she returned with such a cheerful mood.
She hadn't expected she would go back to the river. If she had known, she would have definitely turned herself into a skin plaster—relentlessly sticking to her little aunt—to stop her from going there.
There was a vile scumbag there!
Just as Xiao Qingya stood up, her two sisters already did it faster than her. They were panicking.
"Little Ya, where are you going?" Xiao Yuyan scooped up the little one and hugged her. The latter tried to wriggle herself out of her grasp.
"Little Aunt!" Xiao Qingya called out, exasperated why her sisters wanted to stop her. She had to drag their little aunt back!
"We can't let Little Aunt work for us like this. I will go join her to bring some water back," Xiao Yuxi said, trying to make her acting sound reasonable in front of Xiao Qingya.
Xiao Qingya only calmed down slightly, and her little face was marred with a frown. She shook her head, trying to reach for her eldest sister. Xiao Yuxi was quicker, already running outside the door.
"I go down," Xiao Qingya muttered anxiously. "Sister, put me down."
If there was a vile scumbag in the river, doesn't that mean her eldest sister was also in danger? She had to stop them from going there!