Chapter 383: Chapter 382 Xiaoâaiâs Secret Part 2 Chapter 383: Chapter 382 Xiaoâaiâs Secret Part 2 âOkay, time to go back for dinner, how about letting big brother take you home?â
âIâll take Xiaoâai home!â
âI want to take little sister Xiaoâai home too!â
The brothers vociferously competed to be the gallant escorts.
Xiaoâai shook her head, boldly patted her own tummy to signify that she could handle it herself!
Li Xiaoxia chuckled, âWow, our Xiaoâai is so impressive! Itâs fine, let the big brothers take you. Xiaozhi, Xiaofu, quickly take your sister home and come back, donât dawdle and play outside, itâs almost time for dinner.â
âGot it!â
Living up and down the hill from each other, not far apart, the brothers flanked Xiaoâai protectively as they climbed the hill, excitedly praising her bravery along the way.
Xiaoâai seemed lost in thought. Just before reaching her doorstep, she suddenly turned and waved to the brothers.
The two boys didnât think much of it; this sort of thing had happened before and meant âIâm home now, everythingâs fine.â
Children donât overthink things. Seeing Xiaoâai at her doorstep, they waved their hands: âXiaoâai is home now, so weâre going, okay?â
Xiaoâai nodded her head.
The brothers turned and scampered back down the hill to their homes.
Su Shu and Tang Zelin thought Xiaoâai was over at the Luo Familyâs playing and would pick her up for dinner later; the Luo Family believed Xiaoâai had already been escorted home and thus went about cooking and eating dinner with peace of mind.
No one noticed the five-year-old tyke with pigtails, clutching a small stone, tossing it forward, then walking down the hillâŠ
Picking it up⊠throwing it again⊠walking a bit⊠picking it up⊠throwing it againâŠ
*
A hundred meters away from the military camp.
Soldiers from Company 1 of Battalion 1 were carrying hoes and water as they headed back to the camp.
A Warrior suddenly noticed a tiny figure ahead, walking a bit, then squatting down, standing up again, and squatting down after another stretch of walkingâŠ
âCompany Commander? You see that child over there?â
Company Commander Ji Dong looked up and indeed, there was a child with peculiar movements. He squinted for a while, thinking the child bore a striking resemblance to their group captainâs little girl.
Ji Dong handed the tool he was carrying to someone next to him and strode over, only realizing what the little child was doing when he got close.
Picking stones?!
âXiaoâai?â
If he remembered correctly, that was this childâs name, right?
Xiaoâai, hearing her name, looked up and stared at Ji Dongâs face for a good while, then glanced down once more at the small stone that had rolled to his feet for the last time.
Her little eyebrows suddenly arched, her face full of bewilderment.
Then she looked up at Ji Dong again, comparing him with the stone beneath his feet.
So confusedâŠ
Ji Dong recognized this little girl; theyâd even played card games together before. But today, seeing her standing in front of him on her own, the way she assessed him felt offâŠ
It was almost as if he were under inspection, and the little girlâs repeated examines led him to look down at his own feet too.
What could be on the ground?
After staring for a moment, perhaps having realized something, Xiaoâai finally approached and crouched beside Ji Dongâs feet, reaching under them.
Ji Dong, startled, quickly stepped aside to avoid stepping on the childâs small hands.
Then he saw her pick up a stone and, while he was still puzzled, Xiaoâai suddenly looked up at him with open arms, asking for a hug.
Without quite knowing why, it was as if in that moment, Ji Dong intuitively understood what she wanted.
He bent down to lift Xiaoâai into his arms, âWhy are you coming down the hill alone? Where are the adults from your home?â