Chen Momo's heart skipped a beat. She wondered if her round-the-clock water collection had aroused suspicion. Stepping up to the door, she peeked through the peephole and saw a beaming, short-haired woman standing outside.
"Is anyone home?" the woman asked, repeatedly pressing the doorbell. Her voice was loud and resonant—the kind of voice that clearly belonged to someone used to being in charge.
Chen Momo quickly scanned the room, stowing all "suspicious" items into her spatial dimension before opening the door.
The woman introduced herself with a warm smile. "My name is Wang Liping. I'm the building manager. Your family just moved in, right?"
Chen Momo smiled and nodded. "Yes, Sister Wang. We moved in a few days ago."
Wang Liping pulled a small notebook from her black crossbody bag, clicked her pen, and started writing. "How many people are in your family? I'm doing a census."
"Just the two of us," Chen Momo replied. "My son and me."
Wang Liping's pen paused. She looked up at Chen Momo and let out a surprised, "Oh my." This young woman looked so youthful and spoke so gently. How could there be only two of them?
"Did your husband have an accident, or..." Wang Liping's tone immediately filled with sympathy.
Chen Momo gave a bitter smile. "We're divorced, Sister Wang."
Wang Liping couldn't help but shake her head and sigh. For such a gentle and virtuous wife to end up divorced, her husband must have been truly blind. She had assumed the man was dead.
Hearing his mommy talking to someone at the door, the little social butterfly, Chen Xiaobao, ran out of his room, his footsteps going PATTER PATTER PATTER. Completely unfazed by the fact that he didn't know Wang Liping, he immediately greeted her with enthusiastic warmth. "Hello, Auntie! Have you had lunch yet?"
Wang Liping's attention shifted to Chen Xiaobao. The moment she saw Xiao Bao, her maternal instincts overflowed. "Oh my, this child is too adorable!" she praised. "Little guy, how old are you, and what's your name?"
With a face full of innocence, Chen Xiaobao replied, "Auntie, my name is Chen Xiaobao, and I'm five years old!"
Wang Liping instantly adored him. She had been married for years and had always wanted a child, but health issues had kept her from conceiving. Seeing such a cute kid reawakened her deep-seated love for children. As a result, she couldn't help but chat with the precocious Chen Xiaobao for a little while longer.
Watching Wang Liping and Chen Xiaobao deep in conversation, Chen Momo couldn't help but rub her forehead. It was truly rare for two people with such a massive age gap to find so much in common to talk about!
A short while later, Wang Liping needed to leave and bid Chen Momo goodbye.
"Quick, say goodbye to Aunt Wang," Chen Momo told her son.
Chen Xiaobao waved his little hand with a sweet smile. "Goodbye, Aunt Wang."
"Goodbye, Xiao Bao. Come play at my house when you have time," Wang Liping said, smiling so widely that the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes crinkled.
The five hundred water buckets Chen Momo had ordered online in batches had all arrived. She had already stockpiled four hundred buckets of water in her spatial dimension, leaving only the last hundred empty buckets. She continued to collect water day and night.
Despite seeing her fill so much water, Chen Xiaobao never asked any questions.
Rubbing her son's head, Chen Momo instructed him, "Xiao Bao, if anyone asks why our family is collecting water every day, just tell them Mommy needs it to wash clothes every day, okay?"
Xiao Bao nodded vigorously. "Mommy doesn't need to worwy! Xiao Bao knows."
Looking into her son's bright, sparkling eyes, Chen Momo wondered if he also retained memories of his past life.
When she had free time, Chen Momo stayed home and continued rewatching The Legend of Zhen Huan for the tenth time. After finishing her tenth rewatch, she began lifting dumbbells. Seeing her lift weights, Xiao Bao decided to join his mother and lift his own little dumbbells.
After their workout, Chen Momo handed a bag of trash to him. "Xiao Bao, go downstairs and take out the trash."
Without a second thought, Xiao Bao took the trash bag from her and ran out of the room, his footsteps going PATTER PATTER.
The dumpsters were outside on the ground floor. To take out the trash, Xiao Bao had to take the elevator down sixteen floors and then come back up. Carrying the trash, he had just stepped into the elevator when a girl called out, "Wait, wait!" She pressed the elevator button and squeezed her way inside.
Now, it was just the girl and Xiao Bao in the elevator. She kept her eyes fixed on him.
After a moment, she suddenly asked, "Little guy, are you taking out the trash all by yourself?"
Xiao Bao nodded. "Yes, miss."
"Where's your mommy?"
"Mommy is at home."
"Your mommy must be very strict with you, right? Since you're downstairs taking out the trash, why don't you come out and play with me? What do you like to play? Tell me, and I'll take you!" the girl coaxed.
Opening his big, dark eyes wide, Xiao Bao shook his head without hesitation. "I'm not going. Mommy is waiting for me at home."
DING. The elevator doors opened.
Ignoring the girl, Xiao Bao carried the trash bag and marched toward the community dumpsters on his short little legs, his steps going PATTER PATTER.
The girl followed closely behind him in relentless pursuit.
"Let me take you out to play, okay? We'll go secretly, and we won't tell your mommy.
"I'll buy you lots of delicious treats! What do you like to eat? I'll buy it all for you.
"You're such a cute little kid, why don't you come with me?"
Surprisingly, the usually chatty Xiao Bao became exceptionally aloof. After throwing away the trash, he minded his own business and headed back, completely ignoring the girl chasing after him.
Still unwilling to give up, she pulled a White Rabbit creamy candy—Xiao Bao's absolute favorite—from her pocket and offered it to him. He didn't even spare it a glance. Refusing to admit defeat, she shadowed his every step and even reached out to grab his arm, trying to pull him along with her.
Just then, the building manager, Wang Liping, happened to be walking out of the building. Having a stroke of genius, Xiao Bao immediately rushed forward to grab her hand. He pointed at the girl and complained, "Aunt Wang, this miss keeps trying to coax me into going with her, and she told me not to tell Mommy! Help me, please!"
Seeing this, the girl's face paled, and she turned and ran.
Wang Liping immediately gave chase with long strides and caught the girl. Afterward, she praised Xiao Bao. "Xiao Bao, you did a fantastic job. If a stranger gives you something, you must never eat it, and you absolutely cannot go with a stranger! You really are a smart boy!"
Xiao Bao tilted his little head up, looking completely innocent. "Thank you, Aunt Wang. Aunt Wang, Xiao Bao wuvs you."
Wang Liping burst into laughter, her heart melting at his cuteness.
After Xiao Bao returned home, Wang Liping called and spent the entire conversation praising him.
Listening to the phone call, Chen Momo couldn't help but let a smile slip onto her lips. The girl from earlier was a temp actor she had specially hired just to test Xiao Bao's vigilance.
When the apocalypse arrived and the world descended into chaos, it was inevitable that someone would harbor malicious intentions toward her son. That was why she gave him daily lessons at home on self-protection. Today, she had specifically hired the girl to act as a temp and test the results of her education.
Xiao Bao had performed exceptionally well. He had passed the test with flying colors!