“Found her? She latched onto you?” Lu Suzhen stopped what she was doing suspiciously. She looked at her irritable son, then at the tiny little girl on the floor hugging a turtle.
Her brows knitted tightly together. “Do you think I’m stupid? A child this small would cling to a fierce-looking thug like you?!”
She crouched down, softening her expression as much as possible. Her voice also became gentler as she softly asked Luoluo, “Little darling, don’t be afraid. Tell Grandma, where is your home? Where are your mommy and daddy?”
“Home…” Looking at the kind and gentle granny before her, Luoluo’s big eyes instantly filled with tears again. Her little mouth trembled as she said in a choked voice, “Mama left… Grandpa doesn’t want Luoluo anymore… waaah…”
The moment she remembered all the grievance and sadness from earlier, she couldn’t help sobbing again.
As she cried, her tiny hand pointed toward Xiao Lu beside her. “Daddy… handsome and amazing daddy…”
“Oh, sweetheart… don’t cry, don’t cry…” Hearing the little girl cry like that made Lu Suzhen’s heart ache terribly. She quickly picked her up and comforted her.
Poor child… had she really been abandoned by her family?
Then she looked again at Xiao Lu, who looked impatient but didn’t deny anything. Lu Suzhen was already seventy to eighty percent convinced.
Holding Luoluo in her arms, she stroked the child’s pitiful little face and messy hair before turning to Xiao Lu sternly.
“You really picked her up off the road? Nobody came looking for her?”
“Why would I lie to you?!” Xiao Lu irritably raked a hand through his hair. “I ran into her near the edge of town. She was crying loud enough to shake the heavens, clutching that turtle. She didn’t look like someone from around here—more like a child from some wealthy city family.”
Recalling the situation, his tone became even harsher.
“And she kept calling me ‘Daddy’! There were a bunch of people watching. What was I supposed to do? Damn unlucky! If I hadn’t brought her back, you think I wanted people mistaking me for a trafficker?”
“She called you Daddy?” Lu Suzhen froze for a moment, not expecting the child to be the one who had “latched onto” her son first.
Then she looked at the adorable little girl in her arms and viciously glared at Xiao Lu.
“It’s obviously because your face looks like a debt collector’s! And your rotten temper probably scared the child into shouting nonsense. And you still think you’re in the right?”
She bounced the child in her arms a little. The girl was surprisingly heavy.
“This world… what a sin.” She sighed. “Enough. No matter what, you brought her home, so you’re responsible for her. From now on, she’s your daughter and my granddaughter.”
After saying that, she couldn’t even be bothered to look at Xiao Lu again and turned to head inside first.
“What?!” Xiao Lu’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Mom, are you kidding me? I’m a single grown man—why would I want a daughter? I can barely feed myself, and now I’ve gotta raise someone else’s kid?”
Seeing his mother disappear into the house, Xiao Lu hurried after her.
“Tomorrow I’m taking her to town and handing her over to the police so they can send her to an orphanage!”
Hearing that, Lu Suzhen spun around and nearly swung the spatula in her hand at him again.
“You still dare call yourself a single grown man? Don’t want to raise someone else’s daughter? Then go marry a wife and try raising your own daughter!”
The more she talked about it, the angrier she became. Her son had grown into a fine-looking man, yet at twenty years old he still refused to marry.
Men his age were already fathers of several children, yet he still had the nerve to brag about being single.
Straightening her back, Lu Suzhen declared powerfully, “What orphanage? A child this young won’t have a good life there. I think this child is fated to belong with our family. She was meant to be ours.”
She kissed Luoluo’s chubby little cheek and said firmly, “Just look at her. She looks like one of those lucky dolls from New Year paintings. So lovable. Xiao Lu, listen carefully—whether you admit it or not, this daughter is yours. From today onward, this child is my granddaughter and your biological daughter.”
Xiao Lu was so enraged by his mother’s bandit-like logic that he nearly stopped breathing. His face turned red, but he didn’t dare disobey her. He could only glare fiercely at Luoluo.
The moment Lu Suzhen saw that, she smacked his arm again.
“You dare glare at my granddaughter? See if I don’t beat you to death!”
After scolding Xiao Lu, she instantly switched back to her loving grandmother mode. Her voice became gentle enough to melt water.
“Sweetheart, this will be your home from now on, okay? I’m Grandma. Grandma will love you from now on.”
Then she pointed toward the sulking Xiao Lu beside them.
“There, that fierce-looking one is your daddy. Don’t be scared. With Grandma here, he won’t dare bully you.”
Then she pointed toward the inner room.
“The one lying inside is your eldest uncle, Xiao Shan. He’s sick and can’t get out of bed. We’ll take good little Luoluo to meet him later, okay?”
Carrying Luoluo, she headed toward the kitchen and pointed at a teenage boy tending the fire beneath the stove.
“This is your little uncle, Xiao He.”
Nestled in the loving grandmother’s embrace, Luoluo gradually relaxed after sensing her kindness.
Looking at Xiao He, she sweetly called out, “Little Uncle…”
Xiao He was stunned by the title. He looked at his mother in confusion.
“Where did this kid come from?”
“Your older brother’s daughter. Your niece,” Lu Suzhen said cheerfully.
Xiao He’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Where did my brother get a daughter from?”
“His biological daughter! Her name is…” Lu Suzhen turned to Luoluo. “What’s baby’s name again? Luo… something? And how old are you?”
“I’m Luoluo! He Luoyao’s Luoluo!” Once Luoluo felt safe, she immediately became much more talkative. “Luoluo is three years old!”
He?
There weren’t any families with the surname He nearby.
The child needed a new surname. Since she belonged to their family now, she should take Xiao Lu’s surname Xiao. Then she would truly become Xiao Lu’s daughter.
“Mwah… our little Luoluo is such a good girl. How about we call you Xiao Luoyao from now on, okay?”
Lu Suzhen liked this soft and adorable child more and more. She couldn’t stop kissing her cheeks.
She finally had a sweet, fragrant little granddaughter of her own. Just thinking about it made her happy.
She kissed Luoluo over and over until the little girl burst into giggles.
Watching the affectionate old woman and child, Xiao He originally wanted to ask more about Luoluo’s background, but there was no chance anymore. He could only keep tending the fire while secretly observing her.
“Xiao Lu, what are you standing around for? Hurry and bring out that new undershirt of yours for Luoluo to wear. Xiao He, pour the hot water from the stove into a basin and mix it with some cold water. I’m giving Luoluo a bath.”
Looking at the filthy little girl, Lu Suzhen immediately began ordering her two sons around.
Xiao Lu stared blankly as his mother bossed him around. She even wanted him to use his newest undershirt as clothes for the child. Instinctively, he tried to protest.
“I—”
“What ‘I’? Hurry up!” Lu Suzhen barked, glaring fiercely.
Seeing their mother in such a temper, Xiao He didn’t dare say another word. He obediently went to fetch a wooden basin and prepare bathwater for Luoluo.
Xiao Lu looked at his mother holding Luoluo like a precious treasure and refusing to let go. Then he glanced at the tiny child hugging her turtle and smiling at him.
Finally, he placed the meat bun he had been holding onto the stove.
Swallowing all his objections with resentment, he clicked his tongue irritably and turned toward his room in defeat, muttering under his breath:
“So troublesome… always ordering me around…”