On New Year’s Eve, Old Master Shen returned to the ancestral home.
Upon receiving word from the ancestral home, Shen Song’an took Ning Wanwan and Shen Yan back there for a visit.
No one knew exactly how Shen Song’an had negotiated with Old Master Shen, but in the end, the old man agreed to let them live elsewhere for the time being.
However, once Shen Yan turned six, they would have to move back to the ancestral home.
This was the greatest concession Shen Song’an had managed to secure from the old master.
Time flew by, and before they knew it, the two little ones were about to graduate from kindergarten.
On graduation day, Teacher Li Duo had tears in her eyes, alternately crying and laughing.
She was even more emotional than the children.
God only knows how she’d managed to get through these past years.
On stage, the backdrop of avocado-green and white balloons gave off an overwhelming sense of freshness.
It was full of vitality.
Li Duo crouched down to adjust Jiang Xian’s little bowtie, then ruffled her soft hair. Her gentle eyes sparkled in the auditorium lights as she took the little girl’s hand and said, “Once you graduate from kindergarten, you’ll be a big kid. You can’t be naughty anymore.”
Jiang Xian clutched the sunflower and her graduation certificate tightly, nodded her little head obediently, then suddenly reached out to wrap her arms around Teacher Duoduo’s slender neck.
“Teacher Duoduo, I’m going to miss you,” the little girl said in a soft, sweet voice, full of reluctance.
Li Duo’s heart suddenly grew tender, and her eyes stung with tears. “I’ll miss you all, too.”
After speaking, she turned to Shen Yan, who was standing beside Jiang Xian, and pinched his fair little cheek. “Yan Yan, you have to remember to miss your teacher, too.”
Shen Yan didn’t like it when people pinched his face, but perhaps because they were parting ways, he surprisingly showed no sign of resistance this time. He merely kept his little face tense and remained silent.
Below the stage, Ning Wanwan raised her camera and quickly snapped a photo.
The chirping of summer cicadas intertwined with the sunlight, freezing three years of kindergarten life in this moment.
Graduating from kindergarten also meant that their three-year stay at the old family home had come to an end.
On the way home after the graduation ceremony, Ning Wanwan kept hesitating over how to tell Shen Yan that they were moving back to the old family home.
But she couldn’t put it off any longer; what had to be said had to be said.
“Yan Yan, we’re going back to the old family home tomorrow. Once we get home, remember to say a proper goodbye to Xianxian.”
Shen Yan had been sitting quietly, but upon hearing this, his brow furrowed slightly, and his expression grew even colder.
“Yan Yan?”
“I know!” After a long pause, the little guy finally spoke.
Ning Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; she’d truly feared the little guy would throw a tantrum and refuse to go back.
Seeing that he wasn’t making a fuss, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity. “Mommy knows you’ll miss Xianxian, but it’s okay. We can come back to visit her often in the future.”
Shen Yan didn’t say a word, his little face icy and expressionless, lost in his own thoughts.
Seeing this, Ning Wanwan could only sigh silently.
Early the next morning, the couple packed their things, took Shen Yan next door to say goodbye, and then the family set off by car back to the old family home.
At first, Ning Wanwan had worried Shen Yan might throw a tantrum, but to her surprise, the little guy was as quiet as a mouse.
His reaction was too calm.
It was a bit unusual.
Halfway through the drive, a rustling sound suddenly came from inside the car.
“What’s that?” Ning Wanwan turned around suspiciously, searching for the source of the noise.
She saw the cardboard box on the back seat suddenly start to shake.
The box was filled with Shen Yan’s toys; ever since they’d loaded it into the car, the little guy hadn’t let anyone touch it.
Under Ning Wanwan’s astonished gaze, a little head poked out of the box.
“Xianxian?”
Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally sank.
Her gaze immediately fell on her son’s little face. Seeing how calm he looked—clearly, he’d known about this all along—what else was there for Ning Wanwan to figure out?
She’d wondered why the little guy had been so quiet. It turned out he’d planned all along to bring her back with him.
Ning Wanwan looked at the two little ones sitting close together, her brows furrowed into a deep frown. After a long moment, she spoke with a headache: “ “Yanyan, we have to take Xianxian back. I know you don’t want to part with her and want her to stay with you, but Xianxian has her own parents and her own home. If we take her away, Uncle Jiang and Aunt Xu Shu will worry.”
Shen Yan suddenly lifted his gaze, his eyes filled with cold determination. “She can live with us from now on.”
Ning Wanwan’s headache grew worse. She knew the little guy’s temperament—once he set his mind on something, nothing anyone else said would change it. Getting him to send her back now seemed impossible.
Ning Wanwan tried to reason with him: “Yan Yan, Mommy also wants Xianxian to live with us, but this isn’t up to us—we need Xianxian’s parents’ consent.”
Shen Yan: “Then let’s get their consent.”
Ning Wanwan: …
What parents in their right minds would agree to send their child to live with another family?
It’s not like they can’t afford to raise her.
Ning Wanwan couldn’t think of a solution right away, so she could only call Xu Shu first: “Shu, I’m sorry. We just found out that Yan Yan had hidden Xianxian in the car. Don’t worry, we’ll take her to you right away.”
After hanging up, Ning Wanwan looked to Shen Song’an in the driver’s seat for help.
Shen Song’an pulled the car over to the side of the road and said to his son, “Yan, I know you don’t want to part with Xianxian, but she has her own home and her own parents. We can’t take her with us.”
“If you absolutely must take Xianxian with you, you’ll need her parents’ permission. For now, let’s take her back. You can talk to Aunt Xu Shu and Uncle Jiang yourself. If they agree, then we can take Xianxian with us, okay?”
Shen Yan clutched Jiang Xian’s hand, pressed his lips together, and said nothing.
The car drove back to the Jiang family’s front gate.
Xu Shu was already waiting at the entrance to the villa.
Ning Wanwan got out of the car first and looked at her apologetically. “Yan Yan was being a little troublemaker. I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“It’s not Yan Yan’s fault. That girl must have come up with this idea all on her own.”
Xu Shu glared at Jiang Xian as she spoke. “You ungrateful little thing! You just followed Yan Yan away without a word. Are you abandoning your mom and dad too?”
The little girl stood beside Shen Yan, her dark, sparkling eyes darting about. She lifted her head, looked Xu Shu straight in the eyes, and said earnestly, “ “Xianxian hasn’t abandoned Mom and Dad, but Xianxian doesn’t want to be separated from Yan Yan either. Xianxian will stay with Yan Yan for a few days first, then come back to be with Mom and Dad.”
Xu Shu was so exasperated she laughed.
She certainly knew how to handle things.
Ning Wanwan looked at the two children. Unable to think of a better solution on the spot, she suggested to Xu Shu, “ “Why don’t we let Xianxian come back with us for a few days? Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her.”
Over the past three years, the two children had been inseparable.
Suddenly separating them—not only were the children reluctant, but Ning Wanwan herself couldn’t bear to part with either of them.