“Isn’t it good to be sensible? We’re young, but we know who’s good to us.”
Little Bei’s face was full of confusion as she reached out to wipe Mu Jingzhe’s tears through the gauze. “Mommy, don’t cry. If you don’t like it, we won’t talk about it anymore.”
“It doesn’t matter whether you talk about it or not. What matters is that you’re not allowed to do something like this again.” Mu Jingzhe carefully placed her hand back. “Don’t move around so it doesn’t hurt.”
It really hurt. Little Bei bared her teeth. “It’s okay, Mommy. I’m not afraid. I’m glad that I didn’t let you get hurt. If you were in so much pain, my heart would ache. It makes me happy to experience the pain in your place. I’m not afraid at all.”
Little Bei was actually in a lot of pain and wanted to cry, but when she thought that she was hurting on behalf of her mother, she wasn’t afraid anymore.
When other kids in the village got sick, their mothers would say that they felt terrible looking at them. They hated that they couldn’t suffer the pain on behalf of their children.
Those mothers didn’t manage to do that, neither were they able to do it. But she had. She was happy to see that her mother was fine.
Mu Jingzhe had already wiped her tears, but tears burst forth from her eyes once again when she heard this.
“Little Bei, you…” Mu Jingzhe stroked Little Bei’s sweaty hair. “How can I be anything but good to you if you do this?”
How could they blame her for being nice to them? They were the ones who had broken the rules first by asking her not to treat them so well.
If she treated them well, they would treat her twice as well. If they kept returning the favor in double, she would sink deeper and deeper.
The little girl’s words were heart-piercing.
However, Little Bei herself did not know and was still worried that Mu Jingzhe was in pain. “Mommy, stop crying. Are you in pain too?”
“I’m not in pain. You saved me and protected me. How can I still be in pain?”
“That’s good.” Little Bei comforted Mu Jingzhe instead. “Mommy, have you forgotten what you told us before? Have you forgotten about ‘Born in Woes and Died in Peace’? Don’t worry, when I encounter such an incident, it’s because I’m about to become successful.”
Little Bei thought about it and laughed. “Maybe the movie is going to be popular, and I’m going to be famous. That’s why I need to go through some pain.”
Mu Jingzhe was extremely amused by Little Bei. “Yes, it will definitely be popular. Very popular.”
“When the time comes, I’ll have endless scenes to film and I’ll be able to earn a lot of money. ‘Born in Woes and Died in Peace’ is absolutely right, so don’t be sad, Mommy.”
Although her words were nice and encouraging and Little Bei’s fever had subsided, it wasn’t so easy to recover from the pain. She kept sweating and couldn’t eat anything. She only ate a little and couldn’t fall asleep because of the discomfort she felt at night.
Mu Jingzhe felt terrible seeing Little Bei in pain. She had avoided going deaf from fever before, but Little Bei had suffered again.
She couldn’t help but look for the doctor a few more times, making the doctor feel helpless.
Later on, Mu Jingzhe even told stories to coax Little Bei to sleep. However, Little Bei could not fall asleep even after closing her eyes.
She merely pretended to be asleep because she didn’t want Mu Jingzhe to be worried.
Mu Jingzhe said helplessly, “Little Bei, open your eyes if you don’t want to sleep. I’ll tell you any bedtime story you want to hear.”
As long as she could divert some of her attention from the pain, she’d do it.
Little Bei thought about it and suddenly said, “Then sing me a lullaby, Mommy. I want to listen to a lullaby like the one you sang to me last time. Maybe I’ll fall asleep after listening to it.”
Mu Jingzhe stiffened. “Uh…”
Ever since that blunder, Mu Jingzhe hadn’t sung the lullaby anymore. No matter how much Little Bei coaxed and kissed her, she wouldn’t sing it anymore. Because Little Bei liked it very much, she would sing it all the time.
Every time Little Bei sang it, Mu Jingzhe felt like she was being punished publicly. Alas, all the children in the village had started singing it as well after hearing Little Bei sing it.
Now, the ‘Going to School’ lullaby in Little Eastern Village had changed beyond recognition. The principal was also helpless. Knowing that Mu Jingzhe was the one who had taught them this, the principal had even specifically told her not to revise the lyrics casually and sing them for children anymore.
Mu Jingzhe didn’t even know how to explain herself. She hadn’t done it on purpose either. From then on, she had decided not to sing anymore.
Little Bei was feeling terrible, and all she wanted was just to listen to the lullaby. When Little Bei was gazing at her like this, how could she refuse?
Mu Jingzhe thought hard and tried to sing “Baby, Go to Sleep” but she was stuck after two lines.
Little Bei looked at Mu Jingzhe innocently. “Mom, isn’t there a new one? Like the previous one?”
“There aren’t so many of them.”
“In that case, you can sing the lullaby you sang last time.”
Mu Jingzhe was helpless. She could only hold in her shame and sing again. Little Bei obviously knew how to sing it too, but she burst out laughing as soon as Mu Jingzhe started singing.
Upon seeing Little Bei laugh, Mu Jingzhe relented. “Let me think about what other lullabies there are.”
After all that trouble, it was almost daybreak. Mu Jingzhe pulled open the curtains.
At that moment, the sun was rising from the east. The horizon was red, and soon, the sun rose in the sky. It was a beautiful sight.
Mu Jingzhe looked at the sun, and her eyes lit up. Inspiration finally struck her.
“Little Bei, I remember a lullaby.” Mu Jingzhe coughed. “When the sun comes out, I climb the electric pole. When I climb the pole, I pull the wires. As soon as I touch the high-pressure wires, I’m sent to Hades’ Palace.”
Little Bei laughed out loud and was finally cheered up. “Mommy, what else? What happens after you go to Hades’ Palace?”
Mu Jingzhe remembered that there was a conversation with Hades later on. It was because everyone had changed the lullaby drastically that she couldn’t remember the original song. However, she didn’t really remember what came after that.
In any case, it didn’t sound good, so Mu Jingzhe decided not to think about it.
“That’s it. I don’t remember the next lines.”
“This is also very nice.” Little Bei enthusiastically learned to sing it and even praised Mu Jingzhe. “Mommy, you’re really amazing. You can even sing such songs.”
Mu Jingzhe had no idea when this song had been released and when it had been adapted. She had never heard of it in this era before, so she couldn’t take the credit for it.
“I learned it from others too. I wasn’t the one who wrote this song.”
“It’s good. I have two songs to sing now. Mommy, do you have more?”
Seeing that Little Bei looked much more spirited, Mu Jingzhe racked her brains and realized that the people from the other wards had woken up as well. Mu Jingzhe’s eyes lit up when she saw a little girl running over.
“I remember now.”
In Little Bei’s sparkling eyes, Mu Jingzhe had become a parent with no limits.
“The little girl woke up early in the morning and pulled up her pants as she went to the bathroom. There was someone in the bathroom, so she had no choice but to crap her pants.”
Mu Jingzhe only knew this part of this particular song. As for the original song, she had never heard it before, much less memorized it.
After singing that short verse, Little Bei froze for a moment before laughing out loud.
“Mommy, it’s so much fun. This song is so much fun. I love it.”
Little Bei couldn’t wait to get up. “Mommy, I want to go to the bathroom too.”
Mu Jingzhe: “…”
Little Bei had a burn on her leg because she’d had no time to put on her shoes previously. Fortunately, it wasn’t severe. She could get out of bed if she put on her slippers.
Little Bei was excited and didn’t want Mu Jingzhe to carry her. She pulled up her pants and sang the song as she went to the bathroom.
Upholding her status as a small-time actress, she performed vividly.
Mu Jingzhe: “…”
This girl sure learned fast.
