Qi Qingyao slept till morning the next day. She was woken up by hunger!
When the children awakened and saw their mommy beside them, they happily surrounded her, wanting hugs and kisses. They did not see their mother return before they went to bed last night and had been lying down together on the bed in confusion for a long time. They resisted the urge to go out looking for her, fearing that their mother had abandoned them.
They cried in bed for a good while before finally exhausting themselves to sleep.
Some time after they drifted off to sleep, they woke up blearily, dreading that their mother would not be able to come in through the door when she returned. Xiaobao had removed the bolt from the door so that their mother would not need to knock when she came back. He could not remember exactly when he had fallen asleep again after worrying fretfully for the entire night.
They did not know when she had returned either.