Miss Xia halted in her actions of saving those people. Her vision swept over Yun Liuli and You Nainai. She then glanced towards Lin Nuan with a questioning look in her eyes.
w.a.n.g Wanli and s.h.i.+ Wenqing"s eyes trembled. s.h.i.+ Wenqing"s countenance looked terrible with the light bulb stuffed in her mouth, unable to utter a word. On the other hand, w.a.n.g Wanli looked tough and unreasonable, choking as she tried to speak, her expression looking very fierce, not at all afraid of losing her job.
"Let"s go!"
Yun Liuli nodded…
Lin Nuan carried Tuan Tuan and left the washroom first, and Yun Liuli followed behind them. However, after taking two steps… Yun Liuli realized that Tuan Tuan might have heard what they were talking about earlier and that Lin Nuan might have a lot to say to Tuan Tuan now, so she decided to give them some s.p.a.ce.
Lin Nuan didn"t speak at all as they walked, wondering how much Tuan Tuan had heard and how she was going to explain this matter to him.
Fu Huai"an wasn"t around, so there wasn"t a way for Lin Nuan to discuss it with him. She had to make the decision herself.
Lin Nuan carried Tuan Tuan back to their room and set Tuan Tuan down. After removing the scarf and cap from Tuan Tuan"s neck, she squatted down before Tuan Tuan to help him remove his down jacket, then smiled and asked Tuan Tuan, "Did seeing Sister Yunli fight startle Tuan Tuan?"
Tuan Tuan looked up and quietly gazed at Lin Nuan, his eyes and nose a little reddened, and his black and bright eyes covered by a layer of mist.
Lin Nuan smiled and looked at Tuan Tuan, then raised a hand and stroked Tuan Tuan"s furry head. "Want to drink some hot water?"
Tuan Tuan shook his head and hugged Lin Nuan"s leg, his soft and cute voice sounding a little choked, making one"s heart ache for him. "They said that Papa… is not Papa. Mama… Papa doesn"t want Tuan Tuan… is it?"
As Tuan Tuan tried to structure his own words, he felt a little anxious that he wasn"t structuring them well, so he sounded a little clumsy. Only after thinking did he add a questioning "is it" at the end.
"Who was it that said Papa doesn"t want Tuan Tuan?" Lin Nuan gazed at the little one solemnly. "Tuan Tuan is Papa and Mama"s sweetie. Papa and Mama will never not want Tuan Tuan! Tuan Tuan will forever be Mama and Papa"s obedient child!"
Tuan Tuan tried his best to keep his fair and tender face straight, but he still couldn"t resist pouting, his tears slipping down his cheeks…
Tuan Tuan missed Papa!
Papa said before that he was already a little man. Tuan Tuan didn"t want to cry in front of Lin Nuan, so he stroked his eyes with the backs of his hands. His eyelashes were full of tiny tear droplets, and his eyes were even redder now.
Lin Nuan drew a tissue and squatted in front of Tuan Tuan, rubbing away the tears that were smeared on his face as she said in a soft voice, "Tuan Tuan doesn"t need to listen to what the outsiders are saying. All these years… there have been many bits of gossip about Mama, but Mama feels that it"s enough so long as the people I love believe in me. What do the words of other people have to do with me? So, Tuan Tuan… rather than listening to those strangers, why not wait for Papa to come back and ask Papa yourself! After all, Papa is the person that Tuan Tuan should trust the most in this world! Is what Mama said right?"
Lin Nuan didn"t coax Tuan Tuan like he was a little kid. Instead, she told Tuan Tuan her honest thoughts about life in a soft voice.
Seeing the resolute look in Lin Nuan"s clear and clean eyes, n.o.body knew if the little one understood what she said, but he thought about her words earnestly and nodded. His tears seemed to be ceasing too.
"Then… Tuan Tuan will wait for Papa to come back with Mama. Whatever questions we have, we"ll ask Papa personally then. Don"t believe in the words anyone other than Papa and Mama says to you. More importantly, don"t get upset over those words, okay?"
Tuan Tuan nodded his head vigorously.
"Then Mama will take you to wash your face, okay? After that, we"ll go and ask Sister Liuli and Auntie Miss Xia to go and eat together, okay?"
"Mm!" Tuan Tuan replied obediently.
Lin Nuan stood up and held Tuan Tuan"s little hand. Looking at Tuan Tuan"s fair tender and reddened little face, she chuckled softly. "Look at the mess on your face!"
Tuan Tuan"s little hand was enveloped in Lin Nuan"s large and warm palms. Listening to Lin Nuan"s soft and gentle chuckle, Tuan Tuan"s ears turned awfully red, looking super adorable.
…
Under the army"s arrangements, Lin Nuan and the production crew were a.s.signed to a separate canteen and could eat separately from the troops. After all, they weren"t soldiers, so they didn"t have to adhere to the same strict discipline when they ate. They could talk as they ate.
The television hanging from the canteen ceiling was broadcasting the news on current affairs and military news. It was just that it was too noisy in the canteen, so they couldn"t hear the sounds from the television.
When Yun Liuli came back from taking Tuan Tuan to get his food, she heard Lin Nuan say, "Never mind that you tied those two people up. Why did you stuff light bulbs into their mouths?"
Yun Liuli turned her head to gaze at Lin Nuan, a humorless look in her sparkly and pretty eyes as she spoke. "I heard that you can"t take out light bulbs once they"re stuffed into someone"s mouth. I wanted to verify if that was the case. Moreover, in a place like that… I couldn"t very well stuff their mouths with the mop used to mop the floor, could I? That would be going overboard."
Lin Nuan was rendered speechless.
Yun Liuli spoke with a poker face, frowning and looking serious. It was as if she really felt that it wasn"t a good idea to stuff those two young ladies" mouths with mops. Lin Nuan truly didn"t know what to say…
The little one"s eyes swept over the television, and he suddenly tugged at Lin Nuan"s sleeves, pointing at the television to get Lin Nuan to look there.
The minute Lin Nuan looked up, she saw Bai Xiaonian wearing a formal white skirt and holding a mic, raising questions to a US news spokesperson.
In the noisy canteen, the volume of the television wasn"t great to begin with, so Lin Nuan couldn"t make out what Bai Xiaonian was saying. She only saw it written on the banner headline: Our local reporter rebukes US spokesperson.
On the television screen, Bai Xiaonian was sitting in a chair, wearing a calm expression as she raised questions to a US news spokesperson…
When Bai Xiaonian finished asking her question, that US news spokesperson looked confused, instantly raising a hand to fix his tie and lowering his head to look at the script in his hands. He said "uh" quite a few times before lifting his head and saying to Bai Xiaonian with a frown, "I"m sorry, but I didn"t get your question earlier!"
Lin Nuan watched as an unfl.u.s.tered Bai Xiaonian repeated her question, then added an explanation to her question…
There were subt.i.tles underneath. Although they couldn"t hear Bai Xiaonian"s voice, from her choice of words, she could imagine Bai Xiaonian raising a sharp question with her pleasant-sounding voice.
"Hey! Isn"t that Bai Xiaonian?"
Someone saw that Lin Nuan had looked up at the television, so that person had also looked over and noticed that it was Bai Xiaonian on the television. Perhaps because that person had collaborated with Bai Xiaonian before, they were a little excited to see her now.
Someone then shouted out Bai Xiaonian"s name. Everyone in the canteen quieted down and gazed in the direction of the television…
At the press conference, all of the reporters attending the US Department of State"s routine news conference had started laughing softly because of the news spokesperson"s words. Bai Xiaonian also laughed. Her voice gradually became clearer in the canteen.