Chapter 503: The Narcissistic Little Brother

"Nai, Fourth Aunt is about to give birth, should we go back?" Xu Mumu looked at Madam Chen and asked.

"Why go back? Laosi has already mentioned it; his mother-in-law is going over to take care of her." Madam Chen said calmly, not interested in looking after her daughter-in-law during her confinement since someone was eager to help anyway.

Life at the fourth household was going well. Sun Huiping’s younger brother had married a spendthrift wife, and they recently split households. The old lady moved in with her favorite younger son, whose family wasn’t doing well, so with Sun Huiping about to give birth, she offered to come help. Xu Laosi is generous, and he surely wouldn’t let her leave empty-handed after helping.

Moreover, her two grandsons were quite promising, and she wanted to get close to them. Once the children became successful, they would surely be filial to her.

Listening to her granny’s grumble, Xu Mumu didn’t want to comment. Wasn’t her granny overthinking it? That’s Fourth Aunt’s own mom coming to help; it’s only natural not to leave empty-handed.

Life at home was very comfortable for Xu Mumu.

That day, when Xu Mumu took her little brother to play, they went to where Li Caixia worked and met her mom’s favorite girl.

This girl, surnamed Wang, full name Wang Min, was graceful in appearance and quite articulate, especially adept at getting things done.

When Xu Mumu brought her brother over, the girl was busy counseling a bullied young wife.

"Mumu, what brings you here? You’ve been out for so long, aren’t you cold?" Li Caixia immediately took out a hot water bag from the office and placed it in the siblings’ hands.

"Mom, I’m not cold, I’m dressed warmly." Xu Mumu said with a helpless smile. She didn’t feel cold; compared to the extreme weather during the end times, this bit of chill was nothing. Besides, she was in good health. If it wasn’t for the concern of the family nagging, she would’ve worn just a sweater.

"Mom, hug." The little fellow reached out to his mother immediately, showing great affection for Li Caixia.

"My little one, have you been listening to your sister at home?" Li Caixia picked up her son, noting he was quite solid. He had grown sturdy, thanks to her efforts, or else he would have become chubby.

"Yes, I’ve been good." The little guy puffed up his chest, knowing he had no choice but to be obedient, or his sister wouldn’t give him candy. He could only have one piece of candy a day now, as his sister often used it as leverage.

"Li, your son is really handsome." Wang Min remarked with a smile. Although she had heard Li Caixia praise her children many times, she hadn’t seen her bring them before.

Now that so pretty a young girl came over, she was taken aback. Was this really Li’s daughter? She was so beautiful, could Li truly have given birth to such a good-looking girl?

Could Li Caixia, with her appearance, have such a pretty daughter? The world felt a bit surreal.

"Indeed, my daughter Mumu, and this is my son Fengfeng." Li Caixia smiled, introducing her children to everyone in the office.

Xu Mumu and her little brother just played on the side, not disturbing them.

It was work time, and Li Caixia had a job to do. Xu Mumu observed the items on her mom’s desk. The outside world truly was a great teacher. Her mom could even write reports now, although they weren’t great.

The people in the office seemed to get along well with Li Caixia; there didn’t appear to be any conflicts.

After playing for a bit with her brother, Xu Mumu left without disrupting their work.

Strolling along the avenues in the provincial capital, there were many more shops now, selling a variety of goods.

Xu Mumu and her little brother casually walked, occasionally entering shops that caught their interest.

Thinking that Fourth Aunt was about to give birth, Xu Mumu wandered into a children’s clothing store with her brother.

The clothes here were nice, and the fabrics were soft, making them suitable for children.

Entering, Xu Mumu found the service attitude quite satisfactory, and she selected several outfits for the newborn—neutral enough for either a boy or a girl.

With the cold weather, Xu Mumu chose the softest fabrics, ones that felt very comfortable to the touch.

"Sister, that one is nice." The little guy led Xu Mumu to see an outfit made to look like a tiger, particularly adorable.

"You want to wear this?" Xu Mumu was surprised. She hadn’t noticed these before. The clothes were fashioned into cute little animal designs, extremely adorable. She imagined her little brother dressed like this—super cute, she couldn’t resist, buy it!

"Yes, it’s nice." The little guy could now distinguish between what he liked and what was appealing.

"Then let’s buy it," Xu Mumu said generously. The siblings ended up buying a whole bunch of clothes, initially meant for the unborn brother or sister, but the little brother ended up with the most.

Once home, the little guy eagerly clutched his clothes, wanting to try them on. Despite trying them in the store, he wanted to try again.

Xu Mumu let him be, allowing him to fiddle around on his own.

Madam Chen saw the little guy trying on clothes and teasingly called him a narcissist, but didn’t intervene. The little fellow was small but came with plenty of quirks. Every time he had a drink, there had to be rose petals, and dressing always had to be pretty—she wondered from whom the little guy inherited his vanity.

The little guy could now handle dressing a bit better. It was winter, and he wore more and thicker clothes, making changing outfits a drawn-out affair.

While Xu Mumu was busy tidying up the room, she heard her little brother crying. Had he fallen or bumped himself?

Xu Mumu and Madam Chen quickly went over, only to find the little guy tugging at his clothes in frustration. He had managed to take off his jacket, but couldn’t wear the new clothes back.

"Sister, can’t wear it." The little guy’s voice was choked with grievance, tears streaming down his face.

"Crying over such a small thing." Madam Chen said helplessly, glaring at the little fellow before leaving to continue tidying the house. Her slight OCD made her clean the house daily; otherwise, she wouldn’t feel at ease.

Staying home with her grandson was quite dull actually, so she busied herself cooking and arranging the house tidily – it was comforting.

Xu Mumu smiled wryly, helping the little guy change his clothes and wiping his tears away. Some matters were just laughably trivial.

As soon as he donned the attire, the little guy darted off to the hall with a full-length mirror to admire his reflection.