Zeyan crouches down beside Jiang, lowering himself to the little girl's level. He even extends his hand slowly, palm up—polite, hopeful—like he's asking for candy from a tiny queen.
The girl blinks at him with those big, serious eyes.
Then she reaches into the basket, digs around with dramatic focus, and pulls out a tiny reindeer decoration. She plops it right into his hand.
Deal sealed.
Zeyan freezes for half a second… then his face melts. Full-on kid smile. Eyes crinkled. Absolutely gone.
Jiang looks at the reindeer. Looks at the girl. Looks at Zeyan.
They exchange a grin like, We have been chosen by destiny.
Zeyan lifts his head toward the owner, still holding the reindeer carefully like it's priceless treasure.
"Your daughter is really cute," he says honestly. "Brighter than any lighting here."
The owner laughs, proud and bashful at the same time.
Zeyan adds, without thinking, voice soft, "I would like to have such a cute baby girl one day."
Silence.
I slowly turn.
