Gu Xiaobei actually agreed with Aunt Wang’s words, nodding and laughing as she said, "Yeah, that’s why I’ve decided not to bind them. Otherwise, I’d be so heartbroken I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night."

Aunt Wang finally laughed in relief, confidently settling in, helping Gu Xiaobei look after the children and cook meals.

Whenever the children were asleep, Gu Xiaobei would rush to translate manuscripts. With two children now, and expenses doubled in the future, she had to work even harder.

Time flew, and it was mid-September before they realized it. The twins were two and a half months old, plump and chubby, occasionally smiling in response when teased.

Chen Gang ultimately accepted Gu Xiaobei’s suggestion and transferred to the Zhuang Shuxian’s place. Chen Gang’s thought was simple, he wanted to take care of the elder Jin Family for Jiujiu in the future.

Gu Xiaobei was counting the days at home, Qin Li had been gone for almost three months, she should be coming back.

As luck would have it, just a few days after Gu Xiaobei finished contemplating, Qin Li arrived, dust-covered, carrying a large bag.

Looking at Qin Li’s face, tanned black by the plateau’s ultraviolet radiation and with a layer of dry skin on her lips, Gu Xiaobei laughed and said, "I was just thinking a couple of days ago that you shold be back. Why are you so tanned?"

Scratching her head, Qin Li said ruefully, "I don’t know, when I got back it gave my parents quite a shock, they barely recognized me."

Then, smiling, she said, "I heard from my mom that you gave birth to boy and girl twins, let me see."

Gu Xiaobei felt Qin Li had come back from this trip not only tanned but also in high spirits.

Staring at the two little ones lying on the kang, Qin Li marveled, "How on earth did you manage to fit two babies in your belly?"

"They were tiny when they were born." Gu Xiaobei laughed.

Unable to resist her curiosity, Qin Li bent over to touch Mo Wang’s little hand, then to touch Xiaopang’s little face. After a long while, she sat up, took out two beads from her pocket and said, "I charmed two heavenly pearls from the Dazhao Temple, originally thought of giving one each to you and the baby, but I didn’t expect two little treasures, so you don’t have one."

Gu Xiaobei knew about the heavenly pearls. In the Tibetan Area, Tibetans generally believed that heavenly pearls were divine jewelry with extraordinary power, worn by gods, who helped humans survive difficulties and disasters, turn bad luck into good and bring good luck when in danger.

Later, as tourism developed, people found business opportunities, and a lot of fake heavenly pearls appeared on the market, which ranged in price from tens to hundreds of dollars.

The ones that Qin Li brought back, however, were natural heavenly pearls, because there were very few people going to the Tibetan Area at that time, almost none.

"This is good, I’ll string it with a red cord later, so they can wear it when they grow up." Gu Xiaobei laughed as she took the dark red beads and cradled the heavenly eye on the surface.

Qin Li was about to stoop down to hold Xiaopang, but she was afraid of hurting the baby, with its soft little body.

Laughing, Gu Xiaobei demonstrated for Qin Li: have the baby’s head rest in the crook of the arm, and the other hand holding up the baby. The baby’s neck is still soft, so she has to prop it up a bit with the arm.

Gu Xiaobei watched as Qin Li awkwardly held the child, laughing, "She’s much better now. Sometimes, after having a bath, she can even lift her head when she’s lying down. When they were just born, they were so tiny, I was afraid to dress them, afraid I’d break their arms." Gu Xiaobei laughingly gestured.

Qin Li was gently holding Xiaopang, studying Gu Xiaobei, "You know, you really do seem to have the aura of a loving mother about you now."

Immediately, Gu Xiaobei lifted her chin in a show of haughty pride, saying in triumph, "Well, of course, can’t you see?"

I’m radiating the glow of motherhood all over."

Laughing, Qin Li shook her head, "I can’t see any glow, all I can smell is the stench of milk on you."

Gu Xiaobei rolled her eyes. Apparently, the scent of a loving mother was the smell of milk.

After they had a good laugh, Qin Li got serious and asked Gu Xiaobei, "Sister Xiaobei, do you believe in ghosts and spirits?"

This was a tough question for Gu Xiaobei. If she said she didn’t believe, wasn’t she herself a ghost possessing the host’s body? If she said she did believe... well, sometimes she didn’t believe in all that supernatural stuff either.

Qin Li didn’t seem to mind Gu Xiaobei’s silence, instead she continued, "When I went to the Dazhao Temple, I saw a great snow in the summer. I was riding uphill on a Tibetan tractor, but the mountain road was all snow and hard to walk. When turning a corner, the Tibetan driver slipped, and the car overturned into a hollow. I felt a dark shadow rushing over but then, I don’t remember anything."

"When I woke up, I found out that I had just fainted, without a scratch on me. However, the Tibetan driver had broken a leg." Qin Li’s eyes lit up as she spoke.

"Sister Xiaobei, do you think it was Jin Cheng who followed me and protected me?" Qin Li asked Gu Xiaobei excitedly, her voice full of anticipation.

Listening to this, Gu Xiaobei felt a shudder of fear, but she also somewhat believed Qin Li’s words. Moreover, in the Tibetan Area, such a sacred place, anything was possible. Thinking along these lines, she nodded and said, "It must have been. The person Jin Cheng was most worried about leaving was you, surely he was worried about you going to the Tibetan Area on your own."

Qin Li grinned, her eyes moist. "Yes, he must have been afraid that I wouldn’t want to live properly. Going to the Tibetan Area made me think things through. Not only do I want to live well, but I also want to live for him."

Gu Xiaobei nodded, "Yes, that’s the only way Jin Cheng can rest easy."

Blinking, Qin Li said, "Jin Cheng must have been afraid I was going to kill myself, that’s why he sent me to Dazhao Temple. I really thought of jumping off Canger Cliff at first, to join him, but after this period, I’ve come to realize that Jin Cheng made so many sacrifices for his responsibilities, now his uncle and aunt are left behind, I have to take care of them for him."

Gu Xiaobei was relieved to hear Qin Li has thought things through. For a long time, she had been worried that Qin Li, who often spent the night without sleep, might do something drastic. Now, it seemed that she could finally put her mind at ease.

When Aunt Wang finished cooking and came in to call them for dinner, Gu Xiaobei had Qin Li put Xiaopang on the kang. The children couldn’t turn over yet, so there was no need to worry about them falling off. But as soon as Qin Li put Xiaopang down on the kang, the little girl started crying in discontent, wailing away but without shedding a tear.

Helplessly, Gu Xiaobei said, "This child is spoiled by her dad, she wants to be held all the time, and cries as soon as she’s put down."

Aunt Wang laughed, "Alright, you go and eat. I’ll take care of her. This is our little darling girl, she should be pampered." With that, she picked up Xiaopang from the kang and started gently swaying.

Gu Xiaobei was originally going to let the baby cry on the kang for a while, thinking that if the baby saw nobody was going to hold her, she would stop crying when she got tired. But when Aunt Wang just held her like that, Gu Xiaobei felt it would be inappropriate to speak up and simply said, "Aunt Wang, let me hold her. We can eat together."

"You go ahead and eat, I had a lot this morning, I’m not hungry yet. Hurry up, or else the noodles will lump together quickly." Aunt Wang shooed the two of them out of the room while soothing Xiaopang in her arms.

Feeling helpless, Gu Xiaobei had no choice but to take Qin Li out for dinner.