Jiang Ci remained lost in thought the entire time.
The sunlight here was dazzling, the houses gleaming brightly beneath it, their surfaces seeming to shimmer with light. Everything was magnificent and imposing.
Although the Jiang Group had some assets and the family’s total wealth amounted to no more than two hundred million, the Lu family was on an entirely different level.
This estate alone was worth more than that.
Once the car came to a complete stop, Jiang Ci jumped down from the Bentley.
The very first thing he did was run off to look for his little cat and the money tree that his mother had raised.
The bodyguard had just lifted the cat carrier out of the trunk when a little carrot head suddenly appeared beside his legs.
The child was only a little taller than the man’s knee.
He tilted his little head back and called out,
“Xiao Mi…….. Uncle, this is my cat. Can you give him to me?”
The bodyguard had worked at the Lu family for so many years but this was the first time he had encountered such a well behaved and adorable little darling.
He immediately bent down and handed the Maine Coon over.
The Maine Coon had been jostled around during the journey. It struggled a couple of times, its tail whipping wildly from side to side. Frightened and agitated, it began meowing and crying out chaotically.
Jiang Ci was too small.
The moment the large cat pushed against him, his little body tipped backward and he fell onto the ground.
The next moment, the cat had already licked his entire face with its rough tongue.
“Hahaha, that tickles……”
Lu Shiying stood in the distance, his brows drawing tightly together as he watched.
A kindergarten child was raising a cat this big?
It was large enough to knock the entire child over.
He remembered that this child had a blood clotting disorder.
What would happen if he got hurt?
But after thinking about it again, perhaps it wasn’t that serious.
Maine Coon cats were generally gentle by nature. Even after being frightened, it hadn’t scratched its little owner.
Instead, it merely rubbed itself against Jiang Ci’s arms again and again, the deep rumbling sound of its purring vibrating from within its body.
Old Zhang walked over.
“Young Master Xiao Ci, give the cat to me. I’ll give it a bath, groom its fur and get it settled inside the house.”
Jiang Ci released his hold and the little cat was carried away.
He then ran back toward the teenager.
When he reached Lu Shiying, he gently wrapped his small hand around Lu Shiying’s little finger.
That chubby little fist held on tightly, as though he had managed to grasp something extremely important.
He lifted his little face and called out softly in his sweet, childish voice:
Lu Shiying’s brows tightened.
His palm settled on top of the child’s head and he rubbed his hair gently but firmly.
“I’m your brother. If you call me the wrong thing again, I’ll throw you outside and let you sleep at the door.”
Jiang Ci was so frightened that he immediately tucked his neck in.
He obediently corrected himself at once, his voice becoming a little clearer.
“Brother.”
Lu Shiying nodded.
Turning his face slightly toward Old Zhang, he instructed,
“Call the chef over to prepare dinner.”
The Lu family’s household cleaning was handled by servants, while the gardens were maintained and trimmed by gardeners. Meals were prepared by a chef and whenever the family went out, they had a private driver.
Every one of these employees earned a monthly salary of tens of thousands. They lived in the villa dormitories and had all gone through layer upon layer of screening and assessment before being hired.
Although Old Zhang was technically a driver, he had been responsible for picking Lu Shiying up and taking him home since the boy was in kindergarten.
Because of that, he was often the one who conveyed various matters around the household.
In practice, he was almost half a butler.
The food was brought to the table very quickly.
The chef had specifically prepared a nutritious children’s meal. The flavors were light and the colors had been arranged with considerable care, making every dish look delicate and appetizing.
Lu Shiying sat in the living room the entire time, flipping through a book.
It was a university textbook.
He had always advanced through his studies by skipping grades and he had completed the high school curriculum long ago.
Jiang Ci stared at the steaming dishes on the table.
Waves of fragrant steam drifted toward him again and again, making his little nose twitch.
The chairs in the Lu family’s dining area were too tall for him.
He had been sick before and had always struggled to grow taller. He was the smallest child in his class.
He stood on tiptoe and tried several times but no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t climb onto the chair.
A servant walked over, intending to pick him up and place him on the chair.
But Jiang Ci suddenly remembered something.
His two short little legs immediately carried him toward Lu Shiying and in the blink of an eye, he had reached the teenager’s side.
Jiang Ci tugged lightly at his sleeve.
“Brother, Xiao Ci’s bib……………… wasn’t brought over. I need to wear a bib when I eat, otherwise my clothes will get dirty and they’ll be difficult to wash.”
Lu Shiying lifted his eyes from the pages of his book.
He looked at the little child standing in front of him, who hadn’t even reached the height of his legs.
He had been completely absorbed in his studies.
When had he ever needed to worry about these trivial little matters?
Naturally, the Lu family estate hadn’t prepared a children’s bib either.
He liked quiet.
He merely lifted his eyes and swept them across the servants and Old Zhang.
Everyone immediately understood.
They quietly withdrew from the room.
Jiang Ci tilted his little head to one side, his heart filled with confusion.
Did everyone here communicate with their eyes?
Just now, that uncle and that pretty sister had only glanced into this brother’s eyes before immediately getting to work.
Jiang Ci followed his example and deliberately glared hard at Lu Shiying as well, wanting to see whether he could understand what he meant.
Lu Shiying raised an eyebrow.
The little thing could be both obedient and fierce. He could even glare at people now.
He really was quite adorable.
At first, when his father had told him they were going to adopt this child, Lu Shiying had thought it would be troublesome. He had disliked the idea of having another little thing in the house to get in his way and disturb his studies.
But now, he felt differently.
The child didn’t cry or make a fuss and he was obedient.
Having someone around for company wasn’t so bad after all.
“Why are you glaring at me?”
Jiang Ci pointed at his neck.
“Bib.”
He stood up, swept his gaze around the room and casually pulled out a clean towel.
Then he walked over to Jiang Ci and crouched down in front of him, tying the towel around the front of the child’s neck.
“Use this for now. I’ll have someone buy you a new one later.”
Jiang Ci lowered his head and looked at the towel covering his chest.
Then he broke into a wide smile, two shallow dimples appearing on his cheeks.
“I want one with little cats on it.”
“Mm.”
Lu Shiying reached out and lightly patted his cheek.
The skin beneath his hand felt soft and tender, like a freshly steamed rice cake.
He picked Jiang Ci up and carried him to the dining table, settling the little boy into his seat.
The child still didn’t know how to use chopsticks. He gripped a spoon in his little hand and shoveled the food into his mouth one bite at a time, with plenty of rice grains falling onto the towel in the process.
The Lu family had servants specifically responsible for purchasing household necessities.
Within twenty minutes, everything the little boy needed had been delivered.
There were bibs, toys, clothes and shoes.
Every item had been selected according to a list personally written out by Lu Shiying.
Old Zhang had raised children himself and was particularly attentive to such details. He had deliberately bought a can of Stage Four children’s formula milk from outside and brought it over as well.
The child was only five years old and was at an age when it was easy to become deficient in calcium. Besides, this child’s height was already somewhat shorter than that of other children his age.
“Young Master, this is Stage Five formula milk. He can drink it until he’s six. The child’s health isn’t very good, so he needs additional nutrition. Please remember to have Auntie Chen give him some every day.”
Lu Shiying glanced at the can of formula milk and nodded once, signaling for him to put it down and leave.
In the spacious, empty villa, the crystal chandelier hung overhead, casting brilliant light throughout the room.
The two people, one big and one small, were once again left with only each other.
After Jiang Ci finished eating, he also drank the prepared formula milk with several loud gulps until not a drop remained.
His little belly was round and full.
He ran over to Lu Shiying’s legs, raised his head and asked politely,
“Why doesn’t Brother eat? Aren’t you hungry?”
Lu Shiying lowered his eyes and continued turning the pages of his book as he studied.
“I ate before I came.”
Jiang Ci’s little brows wrinkled into a tight knot.
“Brother’s expression always looks unhappy and you never smile. Do you not welcome Xiao Ci coming here to live?”
“No.”
Lu Shiying stared at him.
Only then did he realize that he hadn’t smiled in far too long.
He tried his best to pull the corners of his lips upward.
His expression became stiff.
His eyes remained level.
The resulting smile was completely fake, the kind where only the skin moved while the expression underneath remained unchanged.
It frightened the little boy so much that Jiang Ci immediately took a step backward.
Jiang Ci thought to himself that perhaps Brother shouldn’t smile after all.
He looked like the Big Bad Wolf from the cartoons.
That was exactly how the wolf smiled.
Lu Shiying silently sighed.
The servants had already transplanted the potted plants from his home and the cat had also been thoroughly washed.
They had now brought everything over and settled the cat in the neighboring villa area.
Jiang Ci tilted his little face upward and asked,
“Can’t Xiao Mi live with me?”
Lu Shiying replied indifferently,
“I’m allergic to cat fur.”
He had kept a cat when he was young.
The doctor had explained that cats carried allergens in their saliva. After a cat licked its fur, coming into contact with it afterward would make his entire body unbearably itchy.
It wasn’t particularly serious.
It was simply very uncomfortable because of the itching.
Jiang Ci tilted his head to one side, his face filled with confusion.
“What does allergic mean?”
Lu Shiying felt a headache coming on.
Communicating with a five year old was like trying to communicate across an entire river.
A child in the middle class of kindergarten hadn’t learned that many things yet.
He would have to teach him slowly.
Lu Shiying casually rummaged through one of the boxes, found a Transformers toy and held it out to him.
“Go play.”
Jiang Ci looked at the box filled to the brim with toys.
His eyes instantly lit up.
“Gift!”
He took the Transformers toy, lifted it up and shook it around happily. Then he suddenly rose onto his tiptoes, leaned forward and gave Lu Shiying a quick, loud kiss on the cheek.
“Smack.”
“Thank you for Brother’s gift!”
Lu Shiying froze.
He had never been accustomed to people getting too close to him but when it was a little child……. it was actually not too bad.
He had always assumed that children were all the same, crying and screaming, throwing tantrums, rolling around on the floor and impossible to coax no matter what anyone did.
He hadn’t expected there to be children who were this obedient and soft spoken.
Just then, his phone rang.
It was a video call from his parents, who were currently far away overseas.
Lu Shiying answered the call, connected it to the tablet and placed the tablet on the coffee table.
His expression remained as impassive as ever.
“Speak.”
The moment Lu’s father saw that expressionless face, he became annoyed.
“Every single day, calling you is like calling someone who owes me money. Did you bring the child home?”
Lu Shiying turned the screen around, directing the camera toward the little figure on the floor.
Jiang Ci was sitting cross legged on the tiled floor, playing with a toy train, stacking building blocks and taking apart a robot. His arms and legs were short and small but his expression was intensely focused as he played.
Lu’s mother immediately frowned.
“Why isn’t there a crawling mat on the floor? A child can’t sit directly on the tiles like that. It’s easy for him to catch a chill. Forget it, I’ll talk to Auntie Chen.”
Lu Shiying remembered that there had been a crawling mat among the things Old Zhang had purchased earlier.
He had simply forgotten to tell the servants to lay it out.
He stood up and went into the spare bedroom to search through the things.
Sure enough, he found the mat.
He spread it out properly, then picked the little boy up and placed him on top of it.
“Is this okay now?”
Lu’s father and mother nodded repeatedly from the other side of the screen.
Then they waved toward the little boy visible through the camera.
“Xiao Ci, from now on, this is your home. Do you still remember Uncle? From now on, we’ll be your parents.”
Jiang Ci didn’t say anything.
He stared at the screen in a daze for a long while.
His eyes blinked twice.
His expression remained blank and confused.
Then he suddenly asked in a tiny voice,
“Daddy and Mommy……………… aren’t coming back?”
The other end of the screen suddenly fell silent.
Lu Shiying reached out and ended the call.
He remained silent for a moment before finally answering,
“Yes.”
The Transformers toy slipped from Jiang Ci’s hands and fell to the floor with a soft clatter.
He didn’t understand why his Daddy and Mommy weren’t coming back.
The little boy suddenly stood up.
He turned around and ran to the corner of the wall, crouching down and curling himself into a tiny ball, like a little mushroom growing quietly in the corner.
His shoulders trembled with each small sob.
The sound of his crying was tiny and broken, almost like the faint buzzing of a mosquito. He kept taking uneven little breaths between his sobs yet he didn’t dare cry too loudly.
He was afraid of disturbing the other people.
Lu Shiying picked up the toy from the floor and walked over.
He crouched down in front of the little boy.
“Your Daddy and Mommy became stars. They’ll watch Xiao Ci from up in the sky as he grows up.”
Jiang Ci had no real understanding of death.
He only knew that stars were up in the sky.
They couldn’t be seen clearly and they couldn’t be touched.
If his Daddy and Mommy had gone there, then they wouldn’t come back to Xiao Ci anymore.
“I hate the stars……. Why did they have to go there…….
Lu Shiying hesitated for a moment.
In the end, he still reached out and gathered the small, trembling body into his arms, gently patting his back.
The child only cried for a few minutes before becoming exhausted.
His eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
His breathing gradually became slow and even.
Before long, he had fallen asleep in Lu Shiying’s arms.
There were still damp tears clinging to his eyelashes, with tiny clusters of lashes stuck together because of them.
His fair little face was clean and delicate.
Above his eyelid, there was the faintest hint of a small beauty mark near his brow and eye. Its color was extremely light.
He was a beautiful and adorable little baby.
When Lu Shiying realized that there was no longer any sound coming from him, he carefully lifted the child into his arms and carried him into the bedroom.
He gently placed him on the bed.
This time, Jiang Ci slept straight through until five in the afternoon without waking.
In the middle of the day, Auntie Chen, the nanny, came in twice to remind Lu Shiying that the child should be woken up.
But Lu Shiying felt that the child was quiet and peaceful while sleeping, so he didn’t allow anyone to enter the room and disturb him.
As a result, Jiang Ci slept all the way until after eight o’clock that evening.
Lu Shiying finally understood why Auntie Chen had insisted on waking him up midway through the afternoon.
After sleeping enough during the day, the child naturally refused to sleep at night.
Lu Shiying carried the prepared dishes upstairs and placed them on the dining table on the second floor.
The little boy, however, was still running around his room as though he were doing parkour.
The villa was spacious and a toy drone buzzed through the air overhead.
Jiang Ci chased after it underneath, his two short little legs moving so quickly that they practically blurred.
Mini Theater 1
Lu Shiying: The kid sleeps all day and runs around everywhere at night. How am I supposed to deal with this? Urgent. Waiting online!
Jiang Ci, hugging his leg: Brother, play with me, play with me!
Lu Shiying: Help! (I want to do my homework.)
Mini Theater 2
Jiang Ci: Why does everyone have to stare with their eyes before the servants here will start working?
Jiang Ci: (Glaring) (Following their example)
Lu Shiying: Why are you glaring at me? (Cute.)
Jiang Ci: (Issuing orders) (Why hasn’t Brother brought me a bib yet?)
Author: If I worked at the Lu family estate.
Lu Shiying: (Gives me a look.)
Me: Young Master, why are you looking at me?
(Then I get fired and leave with my belongings on my back.)
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Their journey continues. Their coffee cup, however, does not.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Even He, an outsider, couldn’t stand itChapter 2 · DaddyChapter 3 · Thank you for the gift!Chapter 4 · Do You want to sleep with your brother?Chapter 5 · Smart BabyChapter 6 · Life in a Wealthy FamilyChapter 7 · Genius BrotherChapter 8 · Brother’s giftChapter 9 · Xiao Ci was injured.Chapter 10 · ThoughtfulChapter 11 · Treat as treasureChapter 12 · Only recognized oneChapter 13 · Lu family coupleChapter 14 · A closed heartChapter 15 · Understanding my brotherChapter 16 · Reluctant to hitChapter 17 · UneasyChapter 18 · PossessiveChapter 19 · Teenage RebelChapter 20 Part 1 · The car accidentChapter 20 Part 2 · The car accidentChapter 20 Part 3 · The car accidentChapter 21 · My heart is racingChapter 22 · Physiological Knowledge