A virtual princess? She's a real princess!

In 2005, there was still a significant difference between Beijing and Hong Kong; there weren't many cars on the road.

Most of them are Nataks, and in the enclosed cabin, people's breathing combined with the poor quality seats will emit a foul odor.

But being able to sit in a car or squeeze onto a bus, instead of braving the biting cold wind on the road, already makes the surrounding pedestrians envious.

It wasn't the previous extended Robin van; the dreamy pink extended van was still too avant-garde for Beijing. Since there were six people in total, they simply split into two vehicles.

There were quite a few people in Houhai Park, many tourists, but far fewer compared to later generations.

Taking photos is a must when visiting a tourist attraction. Bian Xiao held Bian He's hand, made a peace sign, leaned on his brother's shoulder, and smiled brightly. Bian He, on the other hand, stood there formally, as if he were an emotionless tool.

"Why is Xiao Zhou so sullen today?" Lu Yihe noticed that Qiao Yanzhou hadn't said a word since getting off the car. Qiao Yanzhou was listlessly tugging at his brother's trouser leg, his head drooping.

"I don't know. He wasn't very happy when he came home from school last night, and he wouldn't say anything when I asked, so I brought him out today to cheer him up." Qiao Che wasn't sure either, and bent down to pinch his little brother's cheek. "Your little brother and sister are taking pictures, don't be shy, you can be friends."

Bian Xiao pulled Bian He closer, asking, "What's wrong? What's wrong?" Is he the little brother? Pshaw, he's four years old, he's the older brother, waaaaaah! What's wrong with this older brother?

"Xiao Zhou is a little shy and doesn't dare to speak much," Qiao Che said.

"Let's play together!" What's there to be shy about? We'll get to know each other after playing for a while. Bian Xiao held his older brother's hand with his left hand and then reached for Qiao Yanzhou's hand with his right. He grabbed Qiao Yanzhou's hand and rushed forward.

"I'm Bian Xiao, you can call me Xiao Xiao. This is my older brother, his name is Bian He, you can call him A He," Bian Xiao said, pointing to the swan boat in the lake, "the He from the crane."

"That's not a crane, it's a swan," Qiao Yanzhou said, recognizing the difference between swans and cranes. He hesitated, then added, "Little Xiaoxiao."

Bian Xiao definitely knows her, but since the child isn't talking, she has to find something to talk about, and that's how she started speaking.

"Thank you, Brother Zhouzhou~" Bian He couldn't bear to look at his younger sister, so he turned his head to admire the beautiful scenery.

"You're welcome." Being looked at by a cute little sister with her beautiful green eyes and called him "brother" in a sweet voice, a sense of pride welled up inside me, as if I had taught my sister something.

"Little sister, why are your eyes green?" Qiao Yanzhou had just noticed, but Bian He's eyes were black.

“Because my mommy is Chinese but my daddy is American. So Ah-He’s eyes are black, and I look like my daddy, so my eyes are green,” Bian Xiao explained.

"Little ones, do you want to go boating?" After the two older siblings finished talking about giving gifts, Qiao Che asked the three little ones.

"Yes!" Bian Xiao raised her hand high; she wanted to try everything new.

Bian Xiao was the most excited, jumping around at the front, which made Qiao Yanzhou seem even more sullen. Qiao Che was still a little worried. "Xiao Zhou, why aren't you happy playing with your younger sister and brother?"

Qiao Yanzhou shook his head, "I'm happy, I really like Xiaoxiao, my little sister." Then he paused and added, "And Ahe, my little brother too."

"Alright then." He still couldn't get the answer. Could this child be being bullied at school? Thinking about this made Qiao Che even more worried.

On the way to the boat, Bian Xiao, who was walking ahead, spotted a large crowd gathered in a certain area, and his gossip-loving spirit ignited. "I'll go check it out!" he said, squeezing into the crowd to watch the excitement, with Xiao Jia following closely behind to protect him.

"Mommy, I want Little Swallow!"

"I want Consort Xiang's!"

A group of little girls surrounded the vendor, chattering excitedly. Only then did Bian Xiao realize that it was a stall selling souvenirs, including Little Swallow's headdress and Fragrant Concubine's fluffy hat.

With its beaded curtains, glittery sequins, and fluffy texture, plus the added bonus of a TV drama, it's no wonder these girls are going crazy. They'll throw all sorts of tantrums and act all cute and angry.

Parents who bring their kids to the park are generally not short of money. Moreover, with so many only children these days, they're practically little princesses and emperors. They'd rather have their own kids stand by and watch others with envy than take photos of other children. So what else can they do but pay for it?

How much is it?

"This ordinary one is 10 yuan, but the one worn by Consort Xiang is 18 yuan." The vendor saw that the mothers thought it was expensive, so he said, "This ordinary one is cheaper, but the one worn by Consort Xiang has beads and sequins. Look carefully, the fur is all around the hat. You can see the cost here. 18 yuan is really not expensive."

When the children hear that the same product as the Fragrant Concubine is available, they don't care about the price at all. "Grandpa! I want it!" The mothers and grandmothers will haggle for a while, but the grandfathers usually just hand over the money as soon as their granddaughters ask.

"Alright, Little Fragrant Concubine's hat is on now," the vendor said with a smile, taking the money and handing over the hat.

One little girl put it on and looked at her family with pride, but the other little girls couldn't accept it and started wailing that they wanted it too.

Now the mothers and grandmothers had no choice but to give money.

The vendor beamed as he collected the money. He noticed Bian Xiao standing there, staring intently at his hat. "Oh, green eyes! A foreigner? Can he understand Mandarin?"

Bian Xiao was only thinking of his high school classmate. She was considered a rich girl from the county town.

When she was a child, her parents took her to Beijing. She brought the photo to school. It was of a beautiful girl wearing a Fragrant Concubine hat, standing in front of Tiananmen Square.

In this small county school, only one or two students in each grade had ever been to Beijing, and they were all so young. Bian Xiao glanced at the photo at the time, but he can't quite remember the feelings he had back then.

"Little girl?" The vendor saw that Bian Xiao was ignoring him, so she was indeed a foreigner. But where were her parents?

"Uncle, I want a Fragrant Concubine hat too!" Bian Xiao suddenly said, startling the vendor.

"Alright, kid! Where are your mom and dad?" the vendor asked.

At this moment, Xiaojia, who was behind, spoke up, "I'm a parent, is it 18 yuan?"

"Oh, right, it turns out they're not foreigners. Anyway, as long as I get paid, that's fine."

Xiao Jia gave the vendor the money and got a hat in return. Bian Xiao, holding the hat, ran over to Lu Yihe and leaned against her sister's leg, saying, "Sister, I want to wear the Fragrant Concubine hat for a photo."

Lu Yihe had originally planned to give Bian Xiao a good talking-to about her bad habit of running around, but when he saw his younger sister leaning against him with her head down, wanting to take a picture, he naturally forgot his previous idea and gently coaxed her, "Okay, our Xiaoxiao looks even prettier than Xiang Fei in this hat."

Bian Xiao struck a pose, looking at Xiao Jia's camera lens. The sun shone warmly on him. The older sister opposite him was holding Bian He's hand, and both of them were looking at him. Bian Xiao's smile grew wider and wider. He took a photo in front of the small white pagoda in Houhai Park, wearing a Xiangfei hat and smiling brightly.

"What happened to you, Della?" Bian He had clearly noticed that his sister was unhappy. Bian Xiao, of course, couldn't say.

It's not right for just the two siblings to talk while leaving Qiao Yanzhou aside.

"Brother Zhouzhou, you go to kindergarten, right? My sister wants us to go to kindergarten too. What's kindergarten like?"

"Don't go!" Qiao Yanzhou quickly said.

Huh? It can't be that bad, can it? Bian Xiao felt something was wrong. Could it be school bullying?

"Why?" Bian Xiao asked curiously.

"It's nothing," Qiao Yanzhou glanced at Xiao Jia beside him. He had promised Mi Li not to tell the adults; adults trusted the teacher but not the children.

So he whispered in Bian Xiao's ear, "Little Xiao, I'll tell you when we get home, but you can't tell the adults."

"I promise I won't tell," Bian Xiao said, making a zipping motion.

Perhaps because he had someone to share secrets with, Qiao Yanzhou relaxed a lot in the afternoon and also regarded Bian Xiao and Bian He as good friends.