As Fang Minghui walked out of the café, she immediately spotted Gu Zhou waiting by the roadside.
Yun Su had already left a while ago.
After finishing her conversation with Yun Su, Gu Zhou had messaged her that he was done with work and would come pick her up.
Gu Zhou opened the car door for Fang Minghui and helped her into the seat.
As he fastened his seatbelt, he asked, “How did your chat go just now?”
Fang Minghui looked at him mysteriously and asked instead, “Guess who I met today?”
“Hm? Who? Don’t tell me it’s someone we know?” Gu Zhou raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled.
Fang Minghui said, “Do you still remember that pair of siblings we saw at the amusement park last time?”
“I remember. Don’t tell me you met them today?”
Fang Minghui shook her head. “Not them. Only the sister came, and they aren’t actually biological siblings.”
Gu Zhou was surprised. “Really? Was it her? Then what’s going on?”
Fang Minghui continued, “She’s trying to find an adoptive family for her younger brother. The boy used to have a very hard life. It was all thanks to Miss Yun that he was able to improve. But they’ve only known each other for a little over a month.”
Gu Zhou was even more shocked. “Only a month? That child seemed very attached to his sister.”
“Yes, their relationship is very close,” Fang Minghui said, recalling how obedient the little boy had been in front of his sister that day at the amusement park. They really did look like real siblings.
Gu Zhou frowned slightly. “Would he be willing to leave his sister?”
After all, children were highly dependent. It would not be easy for him to suddenly accept living with strangers.
“He doesn’t know about it yet. Miss Yun said she’ll arrange a time for us to meet him.”
Fang Minghui felt a strong connection to the child and wanted to understand him better.
Gu Zhou said, “Alright! I’ll go with you when the time comes.”
At the dinner table, Yun Su placed a piece of sweet and sour pork into Gu Yan’s bowl.
Gu Yan looked up at her and heard her say, “Xiao Yan, do you want to go out tomorrow? A new oceanarium just opened recently. Do you want to go take a look?”
Gu Yan picked up the piece of pork and ate it before answering, “Sister, but tomorrow isn’t the weekend. I have kindergarten.”
Yun Su naturally knew that, but she did not have the time to wait for the weekend. Fang Minghui needed to meet Gu Yan as soon as possible.
“It’s okay,” Yun Su said. “We can go in the evening. It’s not far, and we can come back early.”
Gu Yan tilted his head. “Just the two of us?”
Yun Su’s hand paused mid-motion as she held her chopsticks.
For a moment, she almost thought Gu Yan had figured something out.
“…No,” she finally answered honestly. “Do you still remember the uncle and aunt we met at the amusement park? They even treated you to ice cream.”
Gu Yan replied, “I remember. Are we going to play with them?”
Yun Su was surprised by his reaction. He did not seem the least bit shocked.
“Yes. Recently I’ve been talking with that aunt. We’re friends now,” Yun Su explained as gently as she could. “Xiao Yan, can we go play together with them?”
Gu Yan nodded. “Yes, I’ll listen to Sister.”
“Alright.”
Seeing his reaction, Yun Su felt that he should be able to accept Fang Minghui and her husband.
After dinner, she sent a message to Fang Minghui about the plan for the next day.
The reply came quickly. Both of them were available, and everything was set.
Yun Su thought that if things went well tomorrow, they might truly become a family.
The next evening, Yun Su picked Gu Yan up from kindergarten and went straight to the oceanarium.
It was newly opened and was running promotional events, so there were many visitors at the entrance.
Yun Su called Fang Minghui and found their meeting point.
At the entrance of the oceanarium, they finally met.
“Mr. Gu, Mrs. Gu,” Yun Su greeted them.
Then she looked down at the child holding her hand and introduced, “This is Gu Yan. Yan from ‘banquet’, and he shares the same surname as Mr. Gu.”
Fang Minghui bent down slightly and looked at Gu Yan with a gentle smile. “Xiao Yan, do you remember Auntie?”
Gu Yan answered, “I remember.”
Hearing his response, Fang Minghui’s smile deepened.
“Then let’s go in. The tickets are already bought,” Gu Zhou said as he placed an arm around Fang Minghui, then looked at Gu Yan. “Xiao Yan, there’s a very long underwater tunnel inside. You’ll definitely like it.”
The four of them entered the oceanarium together.
Yun Su held Gu Yan’s hand and walked in front, while Fang Minghui and Gu Zhou followed behind.
Other children immediately ran around excitedly upon entering, pointing and exclaiming at everything they saw.
Compared to them, Gu Yan seemed unusually quiet.
He held Yun Su’s hand tightly and walked slowly.
He only showed interest when something caught his attention, tugging Yun Su over to take a closer look before moving on.
He did not behave like a lively child at all, nor did he seem as excited as he had been at the amusement park.
Yun Su glanced at him, slightly worried.
Did he not like marine animals?
“Xiao Yan, shall we go to the underwater tunnel?” she asked gently.
“Okay,” Gu Yan replied.
But as soon as he said that, he suddenly pulled Yun Su’s hand and started running toward the tunnel, bouncing with energy like the other children.
He had instantly become lively again.
The three adults spent over an hour accompanying him.
Fang Minghui and Gu Zhou did not interact much with Gu Yan during that time.
Eventually, they all grew tired and sat down on a bench to rest.
Yun Su looked toward a nearby shop. “I’ll go buy some drinks. Please help me keep an eye on Xiao Yan.”
“Alright, don’t worry,” Fang Minghui replied.
Yun Su got up and left.
Fang Minghui watched Gu Yan, noticing his eyes practically glued to Yun Su as she walked away.
“Xiao Yan,” she teased, “your sister isn’t going anywhere. Why are you watching so closely?”
Gu Yan withdrew his gaze.
“She won’t leave, right?” His voice was unusually serious.
Fang Minghui paused, then smiled gently. “She just went to buy drinks. She’ll be back soon.”
“I know,” Gu Yan said, lowering his head, his voice muffled.
Fang Minghui noticed his mood had clearly shifted. The children were very sensitive.
She cautiously asked, “Xiao Yan, are you unhappy?”
Gu Yan did not respond.
“Are you afraid your sister will leave you?” she asked again.
Gu Yan’s lowered eyelashes trembled slightly, but he remained silent.
However, Fang Minghui knew she had hit the mark.
Gu Yan really felt that Yun Su would leave him.
She did not know how to comfort him, so she looked helplessly at her husband.
Gu Zhou caught her gaze and stiffly said, “Sister will always be Xiao Yan’s sister. She just can’t live with you forever.”
Fang Minghui immediately elbowed him and gave him a reproachful look.
How could he say it so directly?
Gu Zhou looked at her somewhat aggrieved. He was not good with children in the first place.
Besides, what he said was the truth. Yun Su was only in her early twenties. How could she keep raising a child who was not related to her?
The two of them looked back at Gu Yan.
His eyes were already watery, tears trembling at the edges but not yet falling.