Watching her two sons finally obey her instructions, Lu Suzhen nodded in satisfaction. Then she carried Luoluo to the simple shower shed made of straw in the backyard to bathe her.
“Be good, Luoluo. Grandma’s going to make you all nice and clean.” Holding her carefully, she avoided the child’s wounds as she gently undressed and washed her.
After the bath, Luoluo was dressed in clean clothes, fed a meat bun, and left in the backyard to play while watching the chickens and ducks.
Once only Luoluo and the little turtle remained in the yard, the turtle finally stretched its head completely out of its shell, its tiny green-bean eyes darting around as it examined this unfamiliar home.
“Little Turtle…” Luoluo called softly. “Is this Luoluo’s new home now? There’s Daddy, Grandma, Uncle, and Little Uncle… Grandma is soooo nice, just like Nanny Wang…”
Luoluo liked Grandma. She also liked her fierce-looking daddy and the little uncle who had helped prepare her bathwater.
“Mhm.” The little turtle shifted comfortably in her arms. “There are meat buns to eat, Grandma loves you, and there’s a strong daddy to protect you. This place is pretty good.”
The turtle genuinely thought this place was much better than the He family home. This grandmother was far kinder than the cold-hearted Sheng Manzhu—she hugged, kissed, and comforted Luoluo.
Though the family was poor, Luoluo had money. They could slowly figure out a way to take some out later, and life would become easier.
Meanwhile, Luoluo counted the family members on her fingers.
“Ah! Luoluo forgot Eldest Uncle. Grandma said Eldest Uncle is sick. Let’s go see him.”
With that, she hugged the turtle and headed inside. As she walked, she shouted:
“Eldest Uncle, where are you? Luoluo came to see you!”
Inside the room, Xiao Shan wore an expression of utter hopelessness.
He pounded his numb legs with his fists. His handsome face, which resembled Xiao Lu’s by seventy or eighty percent, was filled with despair.
He had once been a soldier—a deputy battalion commander. During a mission, he had been injured, and the military doctors declared that recovery was impossible.
Unless a miracle happened, he would never stand again for the rest of his life.
He had once been the pride of Guhe Village. Producing a deputy battalion commander from such a small village was incredibly rare—an immense honor.
But now, he could only lie in bed like a cripple, living out the rest of his life in darkness.
Hearing a child’s voice calling “Eldest Uncle,” Xiao Shan had no idea there was suddenly a child in the house, so he never imagined she was calling for him and didn’t answer.
He simply continued lying there, lost in thoughts about his hopeless future and how he would only burden his family.
Then a soft, adorable little voice sounded from the doorway.
“Eldest Uncle, are you in here?”
Xiao Shan turned his head.
A tiny little girl stood at the doorway, peeking into the room with her small head tilted inside. She hugged a little turtle in her arms, and both child and turtle stared curiously at him with four wide eyes.
Xiao Shan silently studied her without speaking.
Meanwhile, Luoluo lifted her tiny legs over the wooden threshold and toddled toward his bedside.
“Little Turtle,” she said as she carefully examined Xiao Shan’s face, “Eldest Uncle is as handsome as Daddy. Luoluo likes Eldest Uncle.”
The moment she finished speaking, the turtle in her arms stretched out its neck to inspect Xiao Shan’s face, almost as if it really understood her words.
Then Xiao Shan heard Luoluo continue as though replying to the turtle.
“Yep, this must be Eldest Uncle. Grandma said Eldest Uncle is sick and can’t get up. Luoluo will blow on him to make it better.”
The child and turtle stood at his bedside chatting away as though they were having a serious conversation about him—while completely ignoring him.
After a long silence, Xiao Shan looked helplessly at the pair and finally asked the little girl:
“Who are you? Why did you come to our house?”
Luoluo’s large eyes curved into crescents as she cheerfully replied in her babyish voice:
“I’m Luoluo! Daddy brought me here.”
Xiao Shan: …
Who was Luoluo? And who was her daddy?
Patiently, he continued asking, “And who is your daddy? Why are you calling me Eldest Uncle?”
Luoluo tilted her head and thought hard for a long time but couldn’t remember what Grandma called Daddy.
Lowering her head, she asked the turtle in her arms:
“Little Turtle, what did Grandma call Daddy when she scolded him?”
Then she looked up at Xiao Shan with sparkling eyes.
“Daddy’s called Xiao Lu! Grandma said Eldest Uncle is sick and lying in bed, so me and Little Turtle came by ourselves. You’re Eldest Uncle!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she placed the little turtle onto Xiao Shan’s chest, letting it stare at him eye-to-eye.
Meanwhile, she skillfully climbed onto the bed herself and sat facing him at his side.
Xiao Shan’s eyes widened in shock.
Xiao Lu’s child?!
How could that brat be so unreliable? Where had he abducted such a big child from? Could this really be some child he secretly fathered outside?
Seriously—if Xiao Shan could move right now, he would definitely beat him up.
How could he mess around like this? Their mother must have worried herself sick.
Before Xiao Shan could fully recover from his shock, he suddenly felt a faint warm breath against his hand.
“Eldest Uncle, where does it hurt? Luoluo will blow it better.”
After blowing gently on his hand twice, she looked at him expectantly.
“Does Eldest Uncle still hurt?”
For some reason, seeing her innocent yet worried little face softened Xiao Shan’s heart.
“Eldest Uncle’s hand doesn’t hurt anymore. Thank you, Luoluo.”
“Little Turtle!” Hearing that, the tiny girl immediately sought praise from the turtle lying on Xiao Shan’s chest. “See? Luoluo blew on Eldest Uncle and now he doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“You silly Luoluo.” The turtle stretched its neck toward her and grumbled irritably. “Your eldest uncle’s hand never hurt in the first place. His legs hurt. That’s why he can’t walk and has to stay in bed.”
“Don’t call Luoluo silly! Luoluo is not silly! Silly Little Turtle!” Luoluo puffed up angrily and glared at the turtle.
Xiao Shan watched the child and turtle curiously. The more he observed them, the more it truly seemed like they were communicating.
“Luoluo?” he asked cautiously. “Can you understand what the turtle is saying?”
“Mhm! Luoluo is very amazing!” Luoluo proudly puffed out her chest and counted on her chubby fingers. “I can hear turtles talking, fishies talking, and pearls talking too…”
Xiao Shan had still harbored a little suspicion, but seeing her innocently counting on her fingers made him secretly laugh at himself for overthinking.
He shook his head, trying to throw away such absurd thoughts.
After Xiao Shan interrupted her, Luoluo completely forgot she had been angry at the turtle.
Frowning at Xiao Shan’s legs, she asked:
“Little Turtle, Eldest Uncle’s legs hurt. Will drinking sweet water make them stop hurting?”
She remembered how her own wounds had instantly scabbed over after drinking the water from her space.
“Luoluo!” the turtle called sternly. “Don’t let people see you taking things out of your space. It’s dangerous. Did you forget?”
Luoluo looked at Xiao Shan, then at the turtle. Her little face scrunched into a conflicted mess.
Suddenly, she slid off the bed butt-first with a whoosh and dashed out of the room with quick little footsteps.
In her hurry, she almost tripped over the doorway threshold.