The Villainess is Three and a Half Years Old - Chapter 71

Clothes obstructed her vision, but they couldn’t shield her from the whistling wind by her ears. Trembling, she closed her eyes, uncontrollably conjuring up the terrifying face of a witch in her mind. At this moment, that very witch was standing outside the window, staring intently at her. Maybe she wanted to seize the opportunity and devour her while no one was paying attention.

Terrified, Ye Yaya felt the coolness of Ye Linchuan’s skin, which effectively alleviated the burning sensation brought on by her fever. A spontaneous thought crossed her mind, and her flushed cheeks pressed tightly against Ye Linchuan’s chest.

Comforting…

Ye Yaya’s tense spine relaxed, and she sighed with contentment.

Gazing at the protruding mound before him, Ye Linchuan was exasperated. He asked, “What witch? Where’s this witch from? Come out quickly.” He really wanted to know what was going on in Ye Yaya’s mind. It seemed like it was either Clover Dad or Old Witch all day long, or some other odd things.

Couldn’t she think of something that regular human children think about?

In a state of anxiety, Ye Yaya bit her lip, pressing her head even closer: “…It’s from the storybook.”

“What?”

“Disobedient children will be cursed by witches…” An itch started again, and she resisted the urge to scratch. Self-hypnotizing, she tried to ignore the discomfort as much as possible. Trembling, she continued with a quivering voice, “The witch, the witch deliberately came to curse me because I secretly went out and made my brother worry.”

It must be like this.

The witch knew that Ye Yaya was disobedient, so she flew over during the night to punish her. But she already acknowledged her mistake. Why wouldn’t the witch leave her alone? And why would she scare her with ghostly winds?

Ugh.

She was really unlucky.

She was the most unlucky little monster in the world.

Lost in her sadness, Ye Yaya couldn’t extricate herself. The corner of Ye Linchuan’s mouth twitched, feeling a mixture of wanting to laugh and wanting to comfort her.

“Little brother, I’m sorry…”

A childish voice emanated from within the clothes. Ye Linchuan lowered his eyes and opened his collar to look inside.

Her small face was buried in his chest. Her trembling eyelashes and quivering black hair clung to his skin like tangled wool.

“I, I understand now.”

Following her words, Ye Linchuan asked, “What do you understand?”

“Caring and worrying about someone isn’t just about praise; getting scolded and spanked might be forms of it too.” Ye Yaya spoke with an unexpectedly mature tone, sounding like a hundred-year-old lady who had seen through the world. “This might be what the teacher meant by ‘love deeply, scold earnestly’~”

Online teachers had taught Ye Yaya many things. She had forgotten many and remembered many.

Today, feeling unwell, she suddenly remembered this phrase the teacher taught her and the expression Ye Linchuan had when scolding her that day. There was anger mixed with concern, and concern mixed with resentment—complex emotions she didn’t understand back then, but now she grasped.

Children can unexpectedly shift the conversation’s pace, catching you off guard. Ye Linchuan was at a loss for a while before awkwardly following her rhythm. He whispered, “Kids should act like kids. Is this what kids talk about?” He pulled her out from within his clothes, “Sleep, you’ll be better tomorrow.”

Ye Yaya didn’t want to sleep and tried to burrow back into his clothes.

“Granny Ye Yaya, if you keep doing this, I’ll get angry.” Ye Linchuan’s expression turned stern, entering into a stern mode.

Ye Yaya pouted, feeling wronged, and shrunk to the side, refraining from burrowing deeper.

Outside, the moonlit night was tranquil, and the room was silent.

Ye Linchuan used the thermometer to measure her temperature once again. The fever had subsided slightly, and it seemed like she wouldn’t need fever-reducing medicine. He relaxed and pulled the blanket up.

“Little brother…” Ye Yaya, half-awake and half-asleep, started calling out again.

“What’s wrong now?” Ye Linchuan felt that a sick child was chattier than usual.

“Are you starting to not like me?”

Ye Linchuan fell silent.

Ye Yaya turned over, the light shattered in her eyes, making her pupils shine like gemstones, filled with anticipation.

Ye Linchuan’s heart stirred, and his palm gently and carefully tousled the fluffy hair. Suddenly, he remembered something. His long arm reached out to the bedside table, pulling open the drawer to retrieve a drawing. The light illuminated the drawing with a cute childish sense and a hint of warmth.

“You drew this in the afternoon?”

Ye Yaya nestled in Ye Linchuan’s embrace and softly murmured an acknowledgement.

“Who are they?”

With newfound strength, Ye Yaya pointed her finger at the little figure on the far left and said, “This is big brother.” She slowly moved to the side, one after another, identifying each figure. “This is Brother Shen Zhou, this is Ah Di, and also Zi Yu and Ran Ran…”

“What about this one? What is it?” Ye Linchuan pointed at the white cat in Ye Qinghe’s arms. He didn’t remember having any pets at home, nor did he recall feeding stray cats.

“This is, this is big brother’s mother. Mom will be back in a few days.”

Ye Linchuan frowned.

Ye Yaya excitedly continued, “Ya Ya promised Zi Yu to bring mom back.”

She had four little leaves, and each leaf could grant a wish.

But Ye Yaya had a small head, and her head couldn’t contain big wishes and dreams. She could only give the extra one to her big brothers.

“By then, the six of you can live happily together as a family.”

“We?” Ye Linchuan caught the key point. He looked at the drawing and suddenly realized that Ye Yaya hadn’t included him in it, because she… never considered them as family.

This thought deeply touched Ye Linchuan’s heart.

He couldn’t quite describe the feeling—part shock and part intense bitterness. A bitter taste surged up from his stomach.

Ye Linchuan suddenly remembered the beginning, when he had forcefully taken her to the laboratory, said hurtful words, and did regrettable things. Later, he had dismissed it from his mind. He also recalled neglecting his youngest son, his stern words to his older son, and the verbal attacks on Ye Yaya time and time again. He had never truly cared about any of it.

Because they were children, innocent and simple-minded. Even if they were sad, a little comfort would suffice, so he took advantage of his role as a father without restraint, doing as he pleased.

Ye Linchuan had always thought he was accommodating the children, when in fact, it had been the children accommodating him all along.

They understood everything, remembered everything. They just didn’t voice it, fearing he couldn’t bear it.

When he said Ye Yaya wasn’t his child, she remembered. She voluntarily excluded herself.

This sudden realization stirred up complex emotions in Ye Linchuan. His lips moved, yet he didn’t know what to say. Whatever he said couldn’t undo the hurt he had caused.

“We can… add a little friend here.” Ye Linchuan pointed at the drawing of himself. “You like to hide in here, right? We can add it here.” He pointed at his chest.

Ye Yaya blinked slowly, neither nodding nor shaking her head, her expression appearing dazed, whether from fatigue or too much discomfort.

“Don’t you like it?” Ye Linchuan lowered his gaze. “Then… I don’t mind you being Grandma Ya Ya.”

“No.” Ye Yaya decisively refused.

“Why not?”

“Because Ah Di already has a child; Ya Ya also has a dad, so it’s not allowed.” If she called another man dad, Clover Dad would be very sad, absolutely not allowed to make Dad sad.

Ye Yaya was the most principled little monster in the world, recognizing only one father her whole life.

She was tired, snuggling close to Ye Linchuan’s arm, and fell into a drowsy slumber.

Looking at the girl’s sleeping face so close by, Ye Linchuan felt inexplicably… uncomfortable.

He, a living person, was somehow defeated by the imaginary grass in her mind.

Return the f**king acknowledgment, damn it!

Feeling agitated.

Also a bit sour.

Ye Linchuan, turning off the light, went to sleep with a lingering resentment.

**

After a few days, the blisters on Ye Yaya’s body finally began to scab over. It was estimated that she would be able to go to school in another two days. Unfortunately, she missed the Children’s Day rehearsal, but Teacher Liu mentioned her quite a bit. She specifically said she could give Ye Yaya a simple role, trying to provide her with a chance to perform.

Ye Linchuan expressed his gratitude briefly on WeChat, then turned to the kitchen to prepare dinner for the children, while also pondering where to take them for Children’s Day.

Lost in thought, a piercing scream suddenly came from outside—

“Dad! You and Yaya are on TV!!”

The pot that Ye Linchuan had just picked up nearly slipped from his hands.”

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