"Thank you, Makoto Gege…"
Ningguang quietly wiped away her tears.
It would be too embarrassing if Makoto Gege found out she was crying again.
"Come, let me see if our Ningguang looks good with this jade hairpin."
Makoto had a faint smile on his face, an indescribable doting expression.
He knelt down and carefully combed Ningguang's hair, then put the hairpin on.
Makoto stepped back a few paces, observed Ningguang for a moment, then nodded with satisfaction: "Hmm, it looks pretty good."
Xiao Qiqi also slowly said from the side: "Ningguang… pretty…"
Qiqi originally wanted a hairpin too,
but then he remembered that he was wearing a hat on his head,
and that hat was to prevent talismans from falling off, so it couldn't be removed.
Qiqi could only give up on the idea.
Ningguang looked at herself in the mirror, her beautiful eyes sparkling.
She was still herself,
but with the addition of the jade hairpin as an adornment, Little One looked even more fair, clean, cute, and lively.
Ningguang truly loved this jade hairpin; she couldn't bear to put it down.
However, in her joy, Ningguang took off the jade hairpin and carefully put it into her pocket for safekeeping.
This action, of course, was fully seen by Makoto.
He found it very strange.
The jade hairpin was fine when worn, so why did the little girl put it away again?
"Ningguang, don't you like the jade hairpin?"
"No, Ningguang loves this jade hairpin very much!"
"Then why don't you wear the jade hairpin and instead put it away?"
Ningguang blinked her big, watery eyes and answered earnestly: "Because Ningguang feels this jade hairpin is too precious."
"Not only is it expensive, but most importantly, it's a gift from Makoto Gege."
"If the jade hairpin gets damaged anywhere, Ningguang will feel heartbroken."
Upon hearing this, Makoto suddenly understood.
No wonder Ningguang put the jade hairpin away; it turned out she felt the item was too precious and was afraid of damaging it.
Makoto recalled the clothes he had given Ningguang, or the Catalyst Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers.
Ningguang seemed to preserve them all very carefully and meticulously.
Ningguang paused, then continued: "Ningguang will secretly tell Makoto Gege another secret, oh."
"Ningguang puts all the things she likes into a small box and then treasures them."
"Seeing all the things I like together makes Ningguang feel very satisfied, and there's an inexplicable joy."
"Ningguang is even thinking about clearing out a room specifically in the future, or even building a house, just for displaying the things I like~"
"Ningguang has even thought of a name for the house, it's called Qunyu Pavilion!"
The little girl's pretty face was a little flushed,
because these were all secrets she kept hidden in her heart and had never told anyone.
Makoto was the first to know.
Hearing Ningguang's words, Makoto felt a little touched.
Because in the game, Ningguang built the Qunyu Pavilion precisely to store her beloved items.
This matched the secret Ningguang was talking about now.
He hadn't expected the little girl to already have the initial idea of building the Qunyu Pavilion.
This surprised Makoto a little.
Seeing Makoto not speak,
Ningguang thought Makoto found her idea unrealistic.
The little girl stuck out her tongue in embarrassment and quickly said: "Makoto Gege, actually, the Qunyu Pavilion Ningguang just mentioned is just an imagination."
"Ningguang knows I don't have that ability…"
Ningguang wanted to continue speaking, but Makoto interrupted her first.
"Why is it unrealistic? I think this idea is very good."
"And I also think Ningguang will definitely be able to build the Qunyu Pavilion."
Hearing her dream acknowledged, Ningguang's beautiful eyes became exceptionally bright.
All this time, the little girl had not dared to tell anyone this secret hidden in her heart,
precisely because she was afraid of being ridiculed.
Afraid that others would mock her for being a poor girl who couldn't eat enough or sleep warmly, struggling to even get by,
mocking her for dreaming of building a room specifically for collecting things as mere wishful thinking.
But until today, Ningguang gathered the courage to speak her secret,
and Makoto did not mock her.
On the contrary, Makoto gave her dream his full affirmation.
This moved Ningguang greatly.
"Does Makoto Gege really think Ningguang can build the Qunyu Pavilion?" The little girl, lacking confidence, subconsciously asked again.
"Of course, you can." Makoto's answer this time was even more resolute than before.
"Who knows, Ningguang's Qunyu Pavilion might even float in the sky, covering the sun and moon, making all the people of Liyue look up to it!"
Makoto described the future scene for Ningguang.
"Eh? A Qunyu Pavilion floating in the sky?"
Ningguang blinked her big, watery eyes, looking utterly surprised.
"That sounds really good, but… can Ningguang really do it?"
Makoto reached out and gently flicked Ningguang's nose, then said softly: "Of course, you can. My little secretary is the best."
He paused, then continued: "Even if Ningguang doesn't achieve this dream, I will help her achieve it."
"Since Ningguang wants a Qunyu Pavilion, it's no bother for me to build one for Ningguang."
Hearing Makoto's words, Ningguang felt her eyes welling up.
She threw herself into Makoto's arms, then said emotionally: "Thank you, Makoto Gege…"
The little girl didn't know what to say; she just buried her head in Makoto's embrace, wanting to hold him tighter.
Makoto couldn't help but smile, gently pinching Ningguang's cheek.
It was this action that made Makoto realize Ningguang was not well.
The little girl's face was a little pale, and there was some cold sweat on her back.
Makoto immediately realized that Ningguang was sick.
No wonder Ningguang seemed a little off when they first started walking around the night market.
Sometimes she was distracted, sometimes a little down, and didn't talk much.
So that was the reason.
The little girl had been busy all day without rest, working under the scorching sun.
And at night, to wait for Makoto to return, she stood at the village entrance, enduring the cold wind.
This sudden change from hot to cold easily made her sick.
The little girl was clearly feeling terribly unwell, yet she didn't show any signs of discomfort all night.
Was it to keep Makoto from worrying, so she endured it all night?
Makoto felt a little self-reproach; he hadn't noticed Ningguang's condition immediately.
He truly had no experience with childcare.
The urgent task at hand was to get Ningguang medical attention and medicine.
However,
Makoto did not go to Bu Bu Pharmacy.
The reason was simple:
Makoto felt some aversion towards Baizhu of Bu Bu Pharmacy.
Baizhu only took in Qiqi to exploit him.
A person who would scheme against an innocent child,
Makoto truly detested.
But fortunately, Liyue was not the only pharmacy in Liyue;
there were many other pharmacies.
Soon, Makoto found a nearby pharmacy.
After examining Ningguang's condition, the doctor directly took out a bottle of medicine,
and told Ningguang that as long as she drank the medicine and rested for one night, she would recover the next day.
It was a very simple matter, yet Ningguang kept shaking her head,
her tender, pretty face filled with rejection.
"No, Ningguang doesn't want to take medicine."
"Even if the medicine isn't bitter, Ningguang doesn't want to take it. Ningguang doesn't like the smell of medicine…"
Ningguang looked up, looking at Makoto with a wronged expression: "Makoto Gege, can Ningguang not take medicine? Please…"
Looking at Ningguang's resistant expression, Makoto was truly exasperated.
Ningguang had gone through such difficult times before, and he had never seen her frown or complain about the hardship.
But now, Little One was afraid of taking medicine?
Most importantly, the medicine the doctor prescribed wasn't bitter; it was even a little sweet.
At most, the medicinal taste was just a bit strong.
He hadn't expected it to make the little girl so resistant.
Speaking of which, what's going on with these two Little Cuties?
Qiqi can chop down a Geovishap without batting an eye, but he's afraid of setting off fireworks.
Ningguang silently endured wind and rain without shedding a single tear, but she's afraid of drinking medicine.
It turns out both Little Cuties have such unknown sides to them.
And in Ningguang's current situation, not taking medicine wouldn't work.
She had to take the medicine to get better.
But Makoto couldn't deliberately put on a stern face and order Ningguang,
because the little girl was already very uncomfortable, and her mood must not be good.
If Makoto deliberately put on a stern face again, Little One would definitely cry in minutes.
Since that was the case, he could only think of other methods.
Makoto first calmed Ningguang's emotions. He gently took Ningguang's hand and then said: "Alright, alright, we won't drink medicine."
"Then drinking juice shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"You've walked so long just now, I imagine you're thirsty, and Ningguang is sick now, so she needs to drink more water."
"How about this, I'll go buy some juice for you to drink."
To help the Little Cuties get better quickly,
Makoto was also extremely worried.
Raising children is not easy.
He could only use a trick.
He kept the juice packaging, but replaced the contents with the medicine prescribed by the doctor.