Chapter 15

                                    

                                          
Nearly unanimous vote for the option B - A-Ying is special and there is no one to argue about that :)

                          


                          


                          


                          
A-Ying was looking at his parents in turn. He was getting quite anxious because of their serious expressions. For once, none of them were smiling and he had already learned the hard way that when this was the case, something not good was happening. Uncle Lan and Untie Lan were also looking at him intently and he did not like that very much either. The grown-ups were scaring him right now.
                          
He turned towards his parents with a pleading look, he hoped that they would just laugh and tell him that everything was alright. Or that they would scope him into their arms and hug him until everything would be just fine. He could not tell what was bothering him and he was becoming fussy.
                          
When Untie Lan saw this, she immediately smiled at him and asked kindly: "A-Ying, did you have a good time with A-Zhan and A-Huan?"
                          
He turned towards her and nodded his head vehemently to show just how good of a time he had had with his new friends: "We played with words, then with butterflies. And they took me to see bunnies!" He turned towards his mother and cheered happily: "Mommy, you have to come and see them too! There were so many of them. And they all looked like Xiaobai."
                          
He had thought that it would make his mother smile but that was not what happened. Instead, she scoped him into her arms and lifted him easily to let him sit on her lap. She positioned him in such a way that he could no longer see her face. But what he had seen before being turned around made him immediately worry again. There was sadness in his mother's eyes.
                          
"Mommy?" he asked unsure of what he should do now and tried to turn to her to see what could be wrong. His mother did not let him and she buried her face in the hair on the back of his head. Her hands tightened around him until it was almost painful. Needless to say, this did not reassure A-Ying in the slightest.
                          
He turned towards his other parent now, looking for any sort of explanation or some help. If his mother was not feeling well, her husband should be the one to help her. He knew they loved each other very much and have always been there whenever any of them needed the other. Of course they were there for A-Ying all the time as well.
                          
But his father only looked at him with the same sad expression in his eyes despite trying to smile. He reached out his hand and gently patted A-Ying's shoulder. Normally, the gesture would have immediately soothed him, not this time however. For some reason, it only made him more scared. He snuggled closer to his mother and grabbed her hands which were still hugging him tightly.
                          
Nothing happened for a long time and A-Ying could not resist the tears gathering in his eyes. He was scared for his parent. "Xiaobai, mommy and daddy are not alright, what should we do?" He asked his spiritual friend helplessly.
                          
Before Xiaobai could answer, his mother finally started talking: "A-Ying, sweetheart, we have something serious to tell you so listen very carefully, alright?" A-Ying did not know why his mother would be speaking to him in such an urgent tone but he immediately nodded, he was a good boy. "The bond between you and Xiaobai is taking away a lot of your strength, if this continues, it could become dangerous for you both. We do not want to lose you and that is why you will stay in the Cloud Recesses together with Untie and Uncle Lan, and A-Zhan and A-Huan, and learn about spiritual animals and much more. You will study here until it would be safe for you to leave."
                          
A-Ying did not understand even half of what his mother was saying. How could Xiaobai want him any harm? The little bunny had only ever been nice to him and wanted to protect him; he would surely not hurt him! And why did his mother sound like she was saying goodbye and wanting to leave him here? Had he not been a good boy and listened to everything his parents said? Why were they leaving him behind again? What if they would not return this time?
                          
A-Ying could not hold his tears back anymore, they just started running down his cheeks and his throat tightened around the sobs that now started escaping him despite his best efforts. He still remembered the last time his parents had left him behind and said that they would return quickly. In the end, he had to go look for them and found them unmoving on the ground. He did not want them to leave, he was scared for them.
                          
Before he knew it, he was being taken from his mother's arms and found himself in his father's embrace. He buried his head in his father's broad chest and held on to him for dear life. If he did not let go, his parents would not leave, or if they did, they would have to take him together with them. His father was patting his back gently but it did nothing to sooth A-Ying's fears.
                          
And then, he heard the voice of his mother again, closer to his ear than before: "A-Ying, shh, sweetheart, it will be fine, do not be scared. I know you like Xiaobai very much. But do you remember those times when you were very sleepy and could not play with him anymore even after a short while of talking to him? We just want you to have more time with your friends and with us."
                          
That captured A-Ying's attention and he looked up at his mother with hope in his eyes. So perhaps his parents were not leaving him behind, they just wanted him to spend more time with them? Had he misunderstood?
                          
Well, he mused, it was trued that he often felt tired these last days, ever since meeting Xiaobai actually, and he could not play all day as he had used to. He had sometimes even fell asleep right in the middle or narrating his day to his parents. If his mother only wanted to spend more time with him, A-Ying did not want anything more.
                          
He unglued himself from his father's chest and struggled against the arms holding him until they let go. He then jumped right into his mother's open arms and snuggled to her this time.
                          
"Mommy, does that mean you will not leave me behind anymore?"
                          


                          


                          


                          
Hope you liked the chapter, here are the options for the next one:
                          
A. A-Ying's parents will stay in the Cloud Recesses with him
                          
B. A-Ying's parents will leave the Cloud Recesses to allow A-Ying to study under Lan Gongmin and Lin Cui without being distracted, they will go look for more information about spiritual animals
                          
C. A-Ying's parents will leave the Cloud Recesses to allow A-Ying to study under LanQiren without being distracted (he will be a good and kind teacher), they will go look for more information about spiritual animals
                          
D. Suggest another option