According to Le Qing's understanding, the original owner's sister must have been a great beauty to have given birth to such pretty children, and since she was dating a domineering CEO, her taste shouldn't have been like this.
Whose sense of style did these two little ones inherit?
Little Le'an couldn't help but wish she could buy such an outfit for herself. Unfortunately, the clothes her aunt bought for her weren't like this, so she touched the enviable sparkles and asked eagerly, "Auntie, is it pretty?"
Le Qing felt that the first challenge of maintaining good morals in front of the two children—something she had promised herself just two minutes ago—had arrived.
She fell silent for a long time, so long that the initially excited, rosy-cheeked little ones began to cool down. Only then did she snap out of her jumbled emotions.
When she looked back at the pink down jacket in the box, Le Qing finally couldn't hold back her laughter.
"Thank you," she said with a smile. "I love it."
Children's emotions shift quickly—their little faces flushed red again.
They adored their smiling aunt.
Prettier than a princess, soft and gentle, like that cozy big bed!
And this was the first time they had ever given their aunt a gift, and she said she liked it!
Before, the two little ones had only seen other children with their parents downstairs or on the street. They had wondered why their aunt wasn't like other moms and dads, but they had no basis for comparison and couldn't understand what familial love was supposed to feel like.
Yet at this moment, as their aunt crouched before them, eyes brimming with warmth, they forgot—just for an instant—what their past suffering had felt like.
The children's memories seemed to split, sharply dividing the aunt of the past from the aunt of the present.
"Auntie, wear it!" Little Le'an wanted her aunt to look like Princess Elsa. "No holes! No fur!"
"..." Le Qing's smile froze.
She took back what she had said to Lin Jian earlier—it was okay to be a little picky about clothes. She touched her earlobe, slightly guilty. "I'll treasure it properly."
[Liking something doesn’t mean it’s pretty. Yes, that’s right—this isn’t a lie.]
[Has any educator written a book on correcting children’s taste? Urgently needed.]
Little Le'an saw right through her aunt’s inner thoughts and felt utterly crushed. Clutching the clothes, she questioned everything: "Sparkles aren’t pretty?"
"Hmph." Little Le Jia, unusually, didn’t side with his sister. "I told you we should’ve gotten the big dragon one."
Le Qing’s eyelid twitched. She didn’t even dare imagine which famous designer had created that "big dragon" masterpiece. To avoid receiving such gifts in the future, she had to cut her losses now.
"When did you buy this?" she asked, changing the subject.
At this, the tension between the two little ones instantly cooled. They glanced at each other but stayed silent.
This only made Le Qing more curious. "How much did it cost? Where did you get the money?"
"Wallet."
This was an answer System Uncle had taught Little Le Jia.
The two hadn’t been out collecting scraps lately, nor had they worked. Le Qing had only seen the few hundred yuan in Little Le'an’s phone—had they spent all of it on this outfit for her?
"Wasn’t that money for buying snacks?"
"An'an and Gege are full!" Little Le'an patted her belly, puffing it out for her aunt to see. "There’s meat now."
It would take much longer to fully nourish the children’s bodies, but since they ate three meals a day without pickiness, their little bellies always rounded out after eating.
Like a child seeking praise, she pushed her tummy toward her aunt. "Auntie, touch!"
She was obedient and clever now—surely adults would like her, right?
Little Le'an didn’t want her aunt to revert to how she used to be, nor did she want to be sold off like before. So she tried her best to be sensible every day. She’d heard that adults loved kids who ate their meals properly.
The house was warm, and the child wasn’t wearing a coat. Le Qing’s fingertips brushed against the soft little belly through the sweater.
She pulled her hand back as if burned, rubbing her knuckles, unused to this first show of affection from the child.
"You should learn to plan ahead," she murmured, lowering her gaze. Her tone wasn’t as cold as before, and she spoke faster without realizing it.
Little Le Jia: "Feed fish?"
"'Plan ahead' means preparing for the future." Le Qing folded the uniquely styled down jacket, feeling strangely conflicted.
Even though she didn’t like the design, she didn’t feel any dislike at all. Instead, her heart kept racing, impossible to calm.
Softly, she said, "I’ll transfer the money back to you. From now on, keep your own money for yourselves. Even if you don’t need snacks now, you’ll need it eventually. You don’t have to buy me things anymore."
She could have refused this gift—something she’d never wear—but the words had lingered on her lips since she first saw the jacket, impossible to voice.
Fine, Le Qing thought.
She’d return the money. That would settle things.
After all, this was her… first gift.
Even if it was just from two unfamiliar children who would one day leave.
Unfortunately, the little ones didn’t understand her meaning. They only noticed that their aunt had accepted the gift, yet their wallets now had more money.
"Uncle?" Little Le Jia turned to the only one he trusted—System Uncle. "What does Auntie mean?"
System thought bitterly, Now you don’t even call her ‘bad auntie’ anymore.
But since its goal was to prevent a future villain, this was the outcome it wanted.
Still, could someone’s personality really change so quickly? Or… did this person also have a hidden system?
The thought arose but was quickly dismissed. A system could only assist its host, not dictate their actions or personality—especially not an adult’s.
Le Qing’s transformation was too sudden, yet she carried it off with such ease, as if this were her true self all along. She didn’t seem to care how others perceived the change—that was the most telling part.
Why had she changed so completely?
"What she means is, you should be good to yourselves."
System had a hunch that Le Qing’s action was a way of drawing boundaries—something the kids just couldn’t grasp.
But saying that would hurt them, so System kept it to itself. "From now on, just think about what you need when exchanging items."
Little Le Jia pressed his lips together but didn’t agree right away.
He believed in repaying kindness—why didn’t his aunt want that?
"What’s this?" Little Le'an, who understood none of this, simply snuggled closer to her aunt, happy that the gift had been accepted.
For some reason, she just wanted to stick close. Other kids did this too, and her aunt smelled nice. She pressed her little face against her aunt and peeked at the many small boxes she had brought home.
"These are for you." Le Qing subtly shifted to the side, but the little girl remained oblivious, eagerly clinging to her arm again. "Are they shiny clothes too?"
"...No." Seeing no escape, Le Qing tried her best to ignore the sensation on her arm as she began unwrapping the packages.
"This is a picture storybook. You can follow the story through the images without reading words. You can flip through it to learn in your free time." She opened the items one by one, explaining to the two curious children. "These are pinyin cards. When I have time, I’ll teach you how to recognize the letters. And this is a talking pen—you can tap anywhere, and it’ll teach you how to read..."
The two children had never seen anything like this before, let alone such fascinating gadgets.
Little Le Jia asked, "Are these toys?"
Le Qing paused, suddenly realizing how little the children owned—no toys, unlike other kids their age.
"These aren’t." She glanced at the down jacket out of the corner of her eye. "But if there’s any toy you want, you can tell me. If possible, I’ll buy it for you."
Little Le'an clutched the colorful picture book, her eyes lighting up as she spotted a princess. She leaned toward her aunt. "An'an knows! This is a storybook!"
Le Qing smiled faintly. "Mhm."
"I know!" The little girl jumped up excitedly. "Auntie is going to tell An'an and Gege a story!"
Le Qing was taken aback. "Huh?"
She had bought the wordless version precisely so they could understand it without narration. Since when did she know how to tell stories?
"It was on TV," Little Le'an explained eagerly. "Mommy and Daddy tell stories, and kids go to sleep looking at the pictures."
Le Qing hesitated. "This one doesn’t have words—it’s simple. You can just look..."
But the little one was already tuning her out, turning to make arrangements. "Gege, you sleep on the side tonight. Auntie is going to stay with us!"
Little Le Jia imagined the scene and nodded solemnly. "I won’t take up much space."
Under the twins’ unwavering expectant gazes, Le Qing couldn’t bring herself to refuse. She mumbled, "We’ll see tonight."
As far as she knew, the children were sound sleepers who dozed off right on schedule. By then, they’d probably forget all about the storytelling.
But since she hadn’t outright rejected them, Little Le'an grew even clingier, plopping down beside her aunt’s legs. "What about this one?"
"This is a camera." Le Qing snapped back to attention. "You like making videos, right? I bought two. You can wear them like necklaces to record each other’s daily lives without getting in the way."
She adjusted the devices and fastened them to the children’s little collars. "Later, if there’s a part you like, I’ll edit it and post it online. Sound good?"
They didn’t fully understand, but yes!
The twins peered at their new accessories, fiddling with them, clueless about what was being captured. But since Auntie said the footage would take a while to transfer, they’d have to wait.
Once Le Qing left to tidy up the packaging and cook, the two curious toddlers settled on the sofa to explore their other new gadget—the talking pen.
Alone in the kitchen, Le Qing finally relaxed, washing vegetables in peace. Only when faint chatter drifted from the living room did she notice how oddly empty the kitchen felt.
She shook off the thought, determined to break this habit.
Yet, for the twins, the cold, mechanical talking pen couldn’t compare to their aunt’s presence.
Before long, they abandoned it, dragging their stools back to their usual spots flanking the kitchen doorway—ready to "help" her cook.
Le Qing’s knife hesitated mid-chop, but she let them be.
From then on, every time she chopped vegetables, a robotic voice echoed behind her.
Talking pen: "Carrot."
The twins chanted in unison: "Carrot!"
"Auntie!" Not content with their own recital, they sought validation. "Right? Is it carrot?"
The kitchen grew noisier, the children relentless until she confirmed their answers. Yet by the time dinner was ready, Le Qing realized cooking had flown by faster than ever.
She’d assumed the new toys would make them forget about bedtime stories. But when she entered their room to collect the cameras, she found the twins had left a wide gap between them—with two new picture books placed on the pillow.
"Auntie!" Little Le'an patted the empty space. "We’re ready!"
With synchronized precision, they lay down, pulled the blankets up to their chins, and stared wide-eyed like owls.
Le Qing’s steps turned leaden at the doorway. "Do you really have to hear one?"
Little Le'an insisted, "It’s what happens on TV."
"Other kids get bedtime stories," Little Le Jia clarified.
But then, remembering how busy their aunt had been all day, he reconsidered. Shouldn’t he be more considerate than his sister?
Swallowing his disappointment, he offered, "If Auntie’s tired, we don’t need one. Auntie should rest."
"?"
Le Qing’s expression twisted with internal turmoil.
[Is this kid a born green-tea saint or what?]
[Can’t blame people for falling for this act—even I’m weak...]
Little Le'an whispered, "What’s green tea? Can we eat it?"
Little Le Jia had heard of tea. "Yes."
"Auntie called Gege a ‘green-tea saint.’ Sounds like a compliment!"
In the mind of a child who’d once gone hungry, being compared to food was high praise.
Little Le Jia blinked.
A compliment?
He looked at his aunt by the door and had an epiphany: So this is the kind of kid Auntie likes!
Unaware of his unintentional manipulation, he doubled down, proud of his maturity.
"We’re not like other kids. We know how to take care of grown-ups."
