"My daddy is super hardworking and strong and handsome," Lee Ai praised. Ye Chaoxiang laughed at her sweet talks and awesome comment to which he would shamelessly and gladly accept. Afterall, he is so handsome. "My baby speaks the truth. But do not forget to add sleepy too," Ye Chaoxiang yawned.
"And sleepy too. Good night daddy," Lee Ai pecked him on the cheek and closed her eyes. "Goodnight, my love." And both of them drifted in a peaceful, nightmare free slumber.
It was already past breakfast and Mrs Ye was already preparing the meals to be eaten for lunch, but Ye Chaoxiang and Lee Ai had not been seen anywhere. Placing the fruit salad into a bowl and into the refrigerator to get cold, Mrs Ye removed her apron and walked out of the kitchen to the living room.
"Yumi where is your brother and your niece?" She asked Ye Yumi who was playing chess with her father. "I do not know mum. I think he and Baby Ai are in their respective rooms. The both of them also did not come down for breakfast this morning," Ye Yumi answered. Her attention solely on the game.
It was Mr Ye's turn to move his chess piece. He taught for a while before making his a vital and deadly move and "Checkmate." Ye Yumi was surprised. She had tried her best to block his every move but still yet, he broke her walls, evaded her barrier and won her just like that.
"Argh! This is so unfair. You have won the three rounds we have played no matter how hard I try. It is either you are using a trick or I do not know how to play," Ye Yumi groaned in frustration.
"Obviously the last one. Admit it cupcake, your father is a legendary chess player no one can defeat," Mr Ye shamelessly mocked his daughter. Not ready for another round of their bickering, Mrs Ye shook her head before making her way towards the stairs. She wanted to check on her babies.
Mrs Ye stopped by Lee Ai's room to check the little kid. She opened the door slightly do as not to wake Lee Ai and peeked into the room. But to her surprise, Lee Ai was not in her bed. Immediately, panic kicked in. Mrs Ye rushed into the bathroom with hopes of finding the little kid there. Another shocker, she was not there also.
"Did she run away? No, that is impossible. There compound is heavily guarded. Do not panic Suyin. Mrs Ye has been hearing stories of adopted children who tend to run away because they do not feel welcome or they were scared that they will not fit in in the environment. Some leave out if insecurities or maltreatment.
But they treated Lee Ai well and made her feel welcomed and also a part of the family. Without thinking any further she rushed out of the room and went straight to Ye Chaoxiang's room. She needed to be sure so as not to raise any unnecessary alarm.
When she got to his room, she knocked lightly before opening the door. when she opened the door she saw two figures on the bed. Sighing in relief, she smiled at their sleeping posture. Ye Chaoxiang had his bare chest facing upwards and his hands spread out. While Lee Ai was on his stomach, her little head resting on his chest. She looked so small compared to Ye Chaoxiang.
Mrs Ye quickly took out her phone and took a picture of them. She was going to add it on the family album. Ye Chaoxiang being a light and alert sleeper, groggily opened his sleepy eyes when he heard the clicking sound of a phone. He sighed when he saw the smiling face of his mother.
"Good morning mum," he said on a hush voice. He did not want to wake Lee Ai up since she could not sleep Sue to her nightmare.
"Good morning to you too. The both of you skipped breakfast so you better get up before you guys also miss lunch," Mrs Ye replied with a low voice before she quietly exited the room. After she left, Ye Chaoxiang waited for sometime before he thought of waking the little kid up. He made slow and gentle attempt to move Lee Ai off him. Succeeding, he was about to remove left hand from her head when she whimpered with her brows scrunching.
Ye Chaoxiang froze. "Damn it! How am I supposed to move without waking a three year old sleeping kid?," Ye Chaoxiang questioned within himself. He wanted her to get enough sleep to relief her tension from her nightmares. But if he does not, it means they would skip lunch. Not that he could not go a day without food but it was unadvisable to let a growing child skip meals, especially breakfast.
Left with no other choice, he decided to wake her. "Little Ai.... Wake up. It is time for lunch," Ye Chaoxiang poked her chubby cheek lightly. Lee Ai grabbed the hand that was poking her delicate cheek, placed it in her mouth and bit it. His lack of awareness and unpreparedness from her biting attack made him let out a not so loud shout. "Ahh! What the fu.. Let it go or else you will cut off my finger," Ye Chaoxiang cried out. He tapped the sleeping child who still had his finer between her tiny teeth. He kept on tapping and pleading which made Lee Ai wake up.
"Waaah!" She burst out in tears. Ye Chaoxiang was blowing on his fingers but he was surprised at the turn of event. 'Was I not the one who got bitten? Why is that aggressive sleeper the one crying now? Ah forget it. I should not have tapped a little bit hard,' he mused to himself.
Picking the crying child up from the bed, Ye Chaoxiang calmed her down. "I am sorry for waking you up. Don't cry anymore, please." Lee Ai finally stopped crying and hugged his neck. She was going for another round of sleep. "Sweetheart wake up. You have to eat or else you will have a bad stomach ache later."
"No. I wanna...sleep...more," she mumbled.
"Alright that's it. Wake up now or not ice cream," Ye Chaoxiang threatened.. Ice cream threats against Lee Ai always worked.