Chapter 42: Little Yu Being Left Behind
“Oh? Is that so? Then the other one must be Little Yu! Can’t believe it! Here, Uncle gives you a red envelope.”
…
And just like that, Xia Yu and Xia Ling successfully raked in the New Year’s money from their relatives, their pockets bursting with goodies.
At that moment, Xia Yu couldn’t help but fall in love with the down jacket Xia Ling gifted her. It was a women’s style—long, warm, and packed with deep pockets for all that cash. Super convenient!
Now, the old cotton jacket that Xia Le passed down to her? Let’s just say it had seen better days. After getting washed a million times, it had pretty much lost all its warmth. As for the pockets… they’re basically a patchwork of holes from Grandma’s repair jobs!
To be honest, Xia Hong once considered buying Xia Yu some new clothes, but he got hit with Grandma’s classic mantra about not being wasteful—if it can be worn, just wear it! So, he naturally abandoned that idea, leading to the fact that most of Xia Yu’s clothes were just hand-me-downs from Xia Le.
Not that it was a big deal. Back in the day, it was all the rage in the village for older kids to pass their clothes down to the little ones. If you got a pudding cup with it, you were living the dream! So, Xia Yu had no real complaints about her wardrobe.
Since Xia Le had been around here before, he was no stranger and confidently made his way with his toy g*n to find his two cousins and engage in some good ol’ gunplay.
Before long, Xia Le actually showed up with his two cousins. But they were strutting out the door armed with toy guns, and who knows where they were off to?
Watching her big brother and her two cousins having a blast, a flicker of loneliness crossed Xia Yu’s eyes. Just last year, she was part of that fun. But alas, she wasn’t the same Xia Yu anymore. On top of that, her tummy was feeling a little off—not ideal for running around.
Originally, her cousins had thought about inviting her to join in the fun. But once they stepped out and laid eyes on her outfit, confusion set in. Was Xia Yu a cousin or a cousin-ette?
If she was a boy, cool, they could all play together. But if she was a girl? Nah, that’s where things get sticky. Kids just don’t mix like that—boys with boys, girls with girls. If boys play with girls, especially if they make them cry, punishment was inevitable!
As the cousins debated whether to bring along this stylishly dressed Xia Yu, Xia Le’s encouraging voice rang out. Did he even know what his cousins were thinking? Of course! But he wasn’t about to let them drag Xia Yu into their fun. If they said they weren’t taking her, they weren’t taking her!
With Xia Le pushing them along, the cousins felt shy about further discussion and lead the way out with him. Meanwhile, they all secretly pondered whether Xia Yu would chase after them. If she did, would they take her along?
But would Xia Yu chase after them? Absolutely not! Setting aside her time of the month and the discomfort in her tummy, Xia Ling had a solid grip on Xia Yu’s arm. She wasn’t about to let her join those boys!
Seeing that Xia Yu’s attention was firmly glued to the big door where her brother and cousins had just exited, Xia Ling pulled out her phone and tempted her, “Hey, little sister, wanna play? Don’t go with the cousins to play with guns; getting hit by one of those things hurts!”
Right? That’s exactly why this girl Xia Ling wasn’t into guns. Maybe that’s the case for most girls—they’d rather avoid the possibility of a painful encounter!
