Yun Su took Gu Yan to a KFC. She thought that perhaps children would like this kind of food.
In the original story, there was a passage describing Gu Yan’s childhood. Before the age of five, he had lived with his mother, often going hungry and sometimes even getting beaten.
Even though Gu Yan’s mother suffered from mental illness, she still had moments of clarity, yet no matter the time, she had never given him even a trace of maternal warmth.
When Yun Su first read that part, she truly couldn’t imagine how a mother could treat her own child that way.
It was as if he were an enemy.
Now Gu Yan’s mother was dead, but he had been driven out by his maternal uncle’s family and had nowhere left to live.
For a five-year-old child to be left completely unattended, the consequences were unthinkable.
Yun Su snapped back to her senses and looked at the child in front of her. Even though he was clearly hungry, he still ate politely and carefully, and she couldn’t bear to think further.
“Xiao Yan, is there anything else you want to eat? Sister will buy it for you,” Yun Su said, wishing she could make up for everything he had never eaten before.
“No need, this is enough. If we buy more, I won’t be able to finish it,” Gu Yan said, putting down the chicken leg in his hand.
He had never eaten these things before. After this one time, he probably wouldn’t get to eat them again in the future either.
Gu Yan knew some things didn’t belong to him, so he shouldn’t be greedy.
Looking at the sensible child in front of her, Yun Su felt another wave of heartache.
After Gu Yan finished eating, Yun Su took him to a hotel and opened a twin room with her ID.
Earlier at the restaurant, she had already used her wrist device to prepare an ID card, household registration book, driver’s license, and other documents she might need.
Since she needed to operate in this world, she naturally required an identity. The transmigration bureau had already arranged everything in advance for her.
After entering the room, she took Gu Yan to the bathroom.
Under his strong insistence, Yun Su had no choice but to let him bathe alone.
Outside, she noticed Gu Yan’s schoolbag on the table. She picked it up and opened it, finding the books and stationery inside in a mess.
It had been damaged by the children who bullied him earlier at the kindergarten gate. Even so, Gu Yan’s neat handwriting could still be seen on the pages.
Yun Su took a hairdryer and carefully dried the wet books and stationery, smoothing the crumpled pages. She also sharpened the broken pencils with a pencil sharpener.
Such a small child, with no one to care for him and constantly bullied, had truly been forced to grow up too early.
When she finished, Gu Yan still hadn’t come out, and she began to worry.
She walked to the door and knocked. “Xiao Yan, are you done yet?”
After a moment, Gu Yan’s muffled voice came from inside, “Almost.”
Only after confirming he was safe did Yun Su stop asking.
After a while, the bathroom door finally opened.
Gu Yan stepped out of the mist-filled bathroom.
Looking at the little “milk bun” in front of her, wrapped messily in a white bath towel, with only a fluffy head sticking out because the towel was too big, Yun Su nearly melted on the spot.
Too cute!
However, Gu Yan looked a little thin due to malnutrition.
Yun Su thought that she would definitely have to nourish him well in the future and raise him plump and healthy, into a proper little milk bun.
Gu Yan had already walked to the bed and said awkwardly, “I don’t have any clothes.”
Only then did Yun Su remember that the reason he had taken so long was because he didn’t know what to wear, which was why he had come out all tangled in the bath towel.
“I’ll go buy you some later,” she said.
“Come here first, I’ll dry your hair.”
She pulled Gu Yan onto a chair and turned on the hairdryer, blowing through his damp hair.
After finishing, she looked at the fluffy little head and felt quite satisfied.
“Go to sleep now, alright? I’m going out to buy you clothes.”
It was still early, but children needed enough sleep, and Gu Yan had to get up early for kindergarten tomorrow.
“Okay.”
Yun Su tucked the white bundle into the bed and carefully pulled the blanket over him.
Only after doing all this did she leave to buy clothes for Gu Yan.
Gu Yan watched as she left.
He picked up his schoolbag from the table and found that everything had already been neatly organized. The books and pencils were placed in perfect order.
He crawled back into bed, wrapping himself up so only his head remained outside.
He couldn’t help but think that the person who suddenly appeared and always called herself his “sister” was really gentle. Why was she being so good to him?
He was clearly not likable at all. No one liked him.
Was it just because she felt sorry for him?
But she would pat his head, buy him chicken legs, sharpen his pencils, and even dry his hair.
His nose tinged with soreness.
But she was just a stranger. She couldn’t possibly keep treating him this well forever. Eventually, he would still have to go back to his uncle’s house.
He would still have to face those people who disliked him and bullied him.
Thinking about all this, drowsiness slowly crept in, and he drifted off to sleep.
When Yun Su returned, she saw a small lump under the blanket. Stepping closer, she realized Gu Yan had already fallen asleep.
She placed the clothes she bought by the bedside, then quietly took a shower before lying down on the bed and thinking about the current situation.
According to the book, Gu Yan would be sent to a foster home at the age of six, when he started primary school. That was only a few months away.
To change his tragic childhood, he needed to live in a loving family. Ideally, he should leave his current environment entirely. A small town was too limited; any small incident would quickly become gossip.
The children who bullied him at the kindergarten gate had learned those rumors from adults, then repeated them.
So the only way was to find a reliable family to adopt Gu Yan after he was sent to the orphanage, and let him leave this city.
Before falling asleep, Yun Su made up her mind. Tomorrow, she would begin searching for a family who could truly take care of him.
A real family for him.