"What's wrong?" Jolted awake by Peach's cry, Peach's mother threw on her pajamas, and hurried to Peach's room to investigate.
Switching on the light, Peach's mother saw Shen Mochen squinting due to the light and blurrily looking at her. Next to him, Peach was wrapped in her own quilt and wailing with her eyes closed.
It was the first time that Peach's mother had seen this happen, so she was taken aback. She quickly carried Peach out of her blanket and hugged her while calming her down, "Peach, don't be scared? Are you having a nightmare? Mommy is here now…"
Shen Mochen rolled his eyes exasperatedly. When will Peach correct this problem of hers?
Turning over, Shen Mochen planned to continue sleeping. However, the more Peach's mother tried to pacify her, the more Peach cried sorrowfully. Her tears were streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls, trickling down from the corner of her closed eyes.
Peach's mother felt her heart being wrenched and she panicked, "Peach, Peach. Baby, are you uncomfortable?"
Shen Mochen sighed resignedly. It seemed that if Peach did not stop her crying, he would not be able to sleep tonight.
Sitting up on the bed with his quilt wrapped around him, he rubbed his tired eyes. He was exhausted and could barely keep his eyes open. Then, he said, "Auntie, pa.s.s her to me."
"Huh?" Peach's mother stared at him in confusion. She then looked at Peach who was bawling in her arms and hesitated to put Peach in his arms.
The second Peach touched Shen Mochen's arm, she immediately stopped crying. Furiously burying her fluffy little head against Shen Mochen's chest, Peach continued to sleep soundly. Only the tears lingering in the corner of her eyes reminded them that this little girl had been crying heartbreakingly just moments before.
"Ha… Haha…" Peach's mother laughed awkwardly and stared at her sleeping daughter in disbelief. This girl just wanted her husband to hold her. "Umm… I will leave Peach to you."
Resigned, Shen Mochen nodded and snuggled under the covers while cuddling Peach.
Peach's mother tucked them in properly and turned off the lamp before quietly heading back to her room.
"What happened? Why did Peach suddenly cry?" Peach's dad asked drowsily when he felt Peach's mother coming back to bed. Reaching out, he took her into his arms.
"Sigh…" Shaking her head, Peach's mother sighed, "It's nothing much. It was just strange that no matter how I tried to calm her down, it didn't work. But the second Chenchen hugged her, she stopped crying."
"…" Peach's father did not respond. He must have fallen asleep. After a while, Peach's dad boomed through clenched teeth, "What?! That stupid boy is hugging my daughter to sleep?"
Peach's father turned around to get out of the bed. He was planning to storm over to Peach's room when Peach's mother grabbed his arm and asked, "Where are you going?"
"I'm not going to allow that little boy to take advantage of my daughter."
"Stop it, they're still kids. What can you do if you go there?" Peach's mother vexedly rolled her eyes in the dark and continued, "If Peach starts crying because you separated her and Chenchen, you better take responsibility in coaxing her back to sleep."
Agitated, Peach's father climbed back into the bed and mumbled, "This habit had developed from a young age. What will happen when she grows older?"