Just as Yang was completely absorbed in his own thoughts, he suddenly heard a sound.

Yang suddenly remembered that Chu Yigui was still here, and immediately opened his eyes to look in Chu Yigui's direction.

Chu Yigui was about to leave when he saw Yang Ze notice him and stopped in his tracks: "Excuse me, Second Brother, did I disturb you?"

"Fourth brother... I want to return." Yang Ze, once again shamelessly seeking help from his fourteen-year-old brother, asked, "How can I properly communicate with Wan Qiu?"

“Second Brother did enough just now.” Chu Yigui suddenly affirmed what Yang Ze considered to be an extremely poor performance.

"What? Why?" Yang was stunned.

"Go back to your room and sleep. You don't need to turn off the air conditioner. Turn on the lights if you want and get a good night's sleep." Chu Yigui repeated Yang Ze's words verbatim. "As long as you do that, you can just give orders to your brother."

However, Yang frowned, showing slight resistance: "That's my younger brother, your older brother, a relative, not a subordinate."

“My brother is different,” Chu Yigui said calmly. “My brother’s thinking cannot comprehend very complex emotions. He has his own thought process for everything. You only need to tell him what he should do, and he will do it.”

Yang was speechless, unable to determine whether this was right or wrong.

“My son is still a child, at the stage of learning to read by looking at pictures. We can’t let him learn reading comprehension at this time.”

Chu Yigui's words offered Yang Ze a completely new perspective. It seemed that whenever Wan Qiu was involved, Chu Yigui's words always held a unique logic.

Even after Chu Yigui left, Yang was still pondering the feasibility of Chu Yigui's suggestion.

Wan Qiu returned to his bedroom.

The cool air is completely different from the summer heat; it's very comfortable and the temperature won't keep you awake.

Wan Qiu looked at the bedside lamp that was lit in the room. The light was dim, enough to see everything clearly, but not too bright.

Wanqiu had several bandages wrapped around her hand. It was a waste to use so many bandages for such a small wound, especially since they weren't reusable.

Unconsciously stroking his hair, Wan Qiu knew he had upset someone.

But they weren't beaten.

Looking at the dimly lit room, Wanqiu knew he would obey and not open the windows or turn off the air conditioner.

They will also sleep obediently.

Before going to sleep, Wan Qiu went to the bathroom to clean up the bloodstains and fallen hair.

But there was nothing in the bathroom.

The floor was spotless, without even a trace of sweeping.

It was cleaned by someone else.

In this house, many people are doing cleaning work, so what can he do?

What else can he do?

Wanqiu looked at herself in the mirror, her hair, which had been cut short, was now hanging down beside her ears.

In fact, Wanqiu is very good at cutting her own hair.

The school requires boys to have short hair below a certain length. At first, his haircuts were uneven and even poked his scalp, but now he can cut very neat short hair well and skillfully.

First, cut the long parts short, and then trim them close to the scalp with scissors.

Does his hair look strange now?

If my second brother gets angry, will my mother get angry too?

The scissors had been taken away, and Wanqiu didn't even have a chance to trim it to look normal.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Wan Qiu snapped out of her daze at her reflection in the mirror and immediately went to the door.

After Wanqiu returned, he moved a stool out of the house and left the top of the door, which was usually closed, wide open.

Chu Yigui was standing at the door, but she still knocked on it.

Wan Qiu looked up at Chu Yigui, feeling quite bewildered. Why didn't he just come in? He clearly hadn't locked the door.

"Brother, you should lock the door." Chu Yigui looked at the dim light in the room, which was no longer as hot as before.

Wan Qiu stood before Chu Yigui, bewildered by Chu Yigui's words, and did not immediately respond.

Chu Yigui certainly knew why Wanqiu didn't lock the door.

Even after returning to the Chu family, Wan Qiu is still bound by all the rules and regulations that Ning Qiaozhen has to follow.

“Brother.” Chu Yigui’s voice was not abrupt in the quiet night. “Very good, you didn’t turn off the air conditioner.”

Wan Qiu finally found the question he could answer accurately: "Second brother said not to turn off the air conditioner."

"It's not because we don't allow it, but because you need them. Lights, air conditioners, these are things we need. They are made so that we can use them."

Chu Yigui's gentle and calm voice was like the rustling of willow branches in a gentle breeze, carefully smoothing out Wanqiu's thoughts.

"I don't really need it, it would waste electricity..." Wan Qiu's deeply ingrained sense of thrift was something he couldn't change overnight.

"Is it hot?" Chu Yigui asked.

Wan Qiu, who never lies, nodded.

"Does it hurt when you get bitten by mosquitoes?"

Wan Qiu nodded.

"Will you panic if you can't see the road?"

Wan Qiu fell silent, then nodded again.

“You really need them.” Chu Yigui didn’t touch Wan Qiu; he stood beside him. “It’s just that you used to think you didn’t need them.”

Wan Qiu tilted her head back, her clear eyes reflecting Chu Yigui.

"You can need them now."

Wan Qiu seemed to understand, and he nodded.

“You’ve always needed them, but Ning Qiaozhen made it so you didn’t have to.” Chu Yigui noticed that Wan Qiu reacted emotionally when she heard Ning Qiaozhen’s name.

Chu Yigui knew, of course, that with Yang Xiaoyu replacing Ning Qiaozhen, it was impossible to erase Ning Qiaozhen's enormous influence on Wanqiu in such a short time.

“You need them now too, and Mom allows you to need them. You can listen to Mom.”

This sentence carries a different weight for Wan Qiu.

Things that Mom allows are things that can be done.

Wan Qiu was just a bit slow-witted, but he wasn't stupid. He knew whether the food was delicious or not, and he knew whether the temperature was comfortable. These were things that came from his very instincts.

"What about Second Brother?" Wan Qiu murmured. It was Second Brother who made him do this.

“Second brother is family.” Chu Yigui lowered his eyes and gazed into Wan Qiu’s eyes. “Just like Ning Hai.”

Suddenly, Wan Qiu truly understood the meaning of listening to Yang Ze's words.

Wan Qiu obeyed Yang Ze's words, but only because he was unwilling to comply in a way that would make Yang Ze 'unhappy'.

But now Wan Qiu clearly knows that Yang Ze is only obedient because he is family, and he can treat Yang Ze like family.

This is a brother...

It's a relationship as close as that with parents.

“My brother and I are family too.” Wan Qiu’s not-so-bright mind seemed to have suddenly made sense of the relationships.

“We are family, we are friends.” Chu Yigui smiled, a gentle smile that, even under the dim hallway lights of the night, remained tender.

Wan Qiu pursed her lips, a faint, subtle expectation, like a spark of fire, reflected in those clear, beautiful eyes: "And even closer."

"Yes," Chu Yigui replied firmly, without hesitation.

Wan Qiu seemed to understand why Chu Yigui said they were very close.

One of them stood inside the door, and the other stood outside the door.

When they were renting a room, Wan Qiu looked at Chu Yigui, but she could never quite make him feel like he belonged in that dimly lit room.

The vast corridor is now filled with a faint fragrance and beautiful nightlights. Chu Yigui stands quietly here, her figure complementing the background beautifully and harmoniously.

Wan Qiu was also standing here.

Underfoot was a comfortable wooden floor, and in his room were soft sofas and plush carpets.

And the distance between Chu Yigui and him will no longer be blocked by a door.

Even if we can't see him, we can wait here and hope that Chu Yi will return.

Just like... Ning Qiaozhen and Ning Hai.

The people he cares about are no longer Ning Qiaozhen and Ning Hai.

Instead, it's new...

“Brother,” Chu Yigui said, standing in front of Wan Qiu, “you can close the door now.”

Wan Qiu nodded.

This was something he would never have dared to do in front of Ning Qiaozhen.

He moved the stool that was propping up the door.

Watching the door slowly close.

The order that forbade locking the door and the angry shouts suddenly came, and Wan Qiu abruptly pulled the door back from closing.

The clearest memories of the past three years, mixed with pain, assailed Wanqiu.

However, Wanqiu's fingers, which were gripping the door, were covered.

The door was already mostly closed, and Wanqiu could not see Chu Yigui.

But the way their hands touched through the crack in the door was gentle, with a unique warmth that Wanqiu knew better than anyone else.

Goodnight, brother, see you in the morning.

Wan Qiu's hand, gripping the doorframe tightly, seemed to melt from the heat, losing all strength to continue.

Wan Qiusong opened the door.

The door closed slowly, shutting completely in front of him.

In the quiet room, Wan Qiu seemed to hear the rapid beating of his own heart.

One of the iron chains that had once firmly bound Wanqiu suddenly shattered at this moment, and the sound of the falling metal hitting the ground echoed continuously in Wanqiu's mind.

Although it was only a little bit.

Here, Wanqiu felt a sense of reality for the first time.

Wan Qiu stood at the door, unsure whether Chu Yigui had already left.

But the warmth of Chu Yigui that melted the iron chains still lingered on Wan Qiu's fingers.

This feeling is subtle, like the pleasant sensation of being drowsy yet drawn in by the aroma of strong alcohol after smelling it.

Even knowing that despair would follow, Wanqiu was still unable to extricate himself from the present fragrance.

Goodnight, little brother.

Wanqiu lowered his head, feeling a sense of unease as he realized he was a stranger to his own feelings.

Goodnight, my friend.

——

Yang Xiaoyu lowered her head and stared blankly at Wan Qiu.

Wan Qiu is missing half of her hair, which makes her look a bit strange.

Under Yang Xiaoyu's gaze, Wan Qiu awkwardly looked away, clearly feeling guilty for doing something wrong.

Occasionally, Wan Qiu would glance at Yang Xiaoyu's expression to judge when it was appropriate to apologize.

Before leaving home in the morning, Yang Xiaoyu encountered Yang Ze waiting at the entrance of the building. Yang Ze told her about Wan Qiu cutting her hair that evening.

She dressed up beautifully in the early morning, wanting to go find the child she had just found, but the child's former foster mother directly pressed a mocking smile onto her face.

Silly child.

Her...foolish child.

Despite having mentally prepared herself, Yang Xiaoyu still couldn't contain her anger upon seeing Wan Qiu.

But how can Wanqiu be blamed for this?

Isn't all of this the result of their dereliction of duty as parents?

Yang Xiaoyu's fingers brushed past Wan Qiu's ear, stroking the section of hair that had been cut off.

Wan Qiu seemed to have sensed something, and his beautiful eyes, which had been lowered and looking at the ground, lifted up to look at her.

"I'm sorry." Wan Qiu, who was very good at apologizing, found the right moment to apologize. "Mom, I'm sorry."

Yang Xiaoyu's expression eventually revealed a hint of a smile, but she helplessly hid all her self-blame behind the smile.

That woman can never again affect her relationship with her child.

"Why should I apologize? Our Wanqiu has a great sense of style." Yang Xiaoyu suddenly picked Wanqiu up and carried her with ease. The slender Wanqiu was so light that she could hold her up without any trouble.

Although Wan Qiu didn't understand what "fashionable cells" meant, he seemed to sense that this was a sign of safety.

Wan Qiu unconsciously wrapped his arms around Yang Xiaoyu's neck, and the two of them got very close.

"Uneven hair can look beautiful. Today, Mom will take you to a private stylist to design a unique hairstyle for Wanqiu based on her current look, okay?"

Yang Xiaoyu could think of many ways to save Wanqiu's hairstyle.

What she couldn't tolerate was Wanqiu's behavior.

Wan Qiu accidentally injured his finger. But how many injuries had Wan Qiu suffered at his own hands before, unknown to them?

Wan Qiu saw Chu Jianshu standing beside him, looking down at his fingers.

"Does the wound still hurt?" Chu Jianshu asked. "Why is it bandaged like this?"

Yang glanced at Wan Qiu's bandage and found that it was the same as the one he had applied before, obviously it hadn't gotten wet at all.

"Mom will help you wash up in a bit, okay?" Yang Xiaoyu nuzzled Wan Qiu's cheek affectionately.

Chu Jianshu nodded: "Xiaoyu, help Wanqiu pack too. I'll go to the company later tonight, I'll drop you off first."

Wanqiu listened to her parents' conversation.

He did upset his parents, and the unhappiness still lingers in his body.

But there are still some differences.

There was no premonition of pain.

Even though these feelings of 'unhappiness' were like tiny grains of sand scattered on the edges of Wanqiu's skin, they only caused a prickly discomfort.

Although Wanqiu didn't think that just injuring his finger would cause him any difficulty in moving around, especially since the wound had already scabbed over overnight.

Wanqiu didn't remove the band-aid simply because she felt a little reluctant to part with something she rarely had the chance to use, so she kept it.

Yang Xiaoyu used the excuse that the wound should not get wet to wipe Wanqiu's face with a warm towel. Wanqiu would occasionally open his eyes to look at the serious Yang Xiaoyu, and suddenly a strange idea popped into his head.

Is this how mothers wipe babies' faces?

If he hurts his finger, will he turn into a baby?

Looking at Wan Qiu's face that had been wiped, Yang Xiaoyu suddenly found it quite cute.

Looking at those beautiful eyes that were constantly squinting and open, with a slightly mischievous look, Yang Xiaoyu felt that she could at least give her child a good appearance.

"Mom will make you very handsome." Yang Xiaoyu certainly remembered why Wan Qiu said that her hair was too long and she should trim it herself.

It's because she didn't finish what she was about to say.

Don't hide anything from this child.

Wanqiu is sensitive and overly altruistic.

That was a bad habit cultivated by Ning Qiaozhen and Ning Hai.

Right now, rather than making Wanqiu understand them, love them, and know her own identity—things that are still insignificant—she should make Wanqiu cherish herself first.

"Become a selfish child first," Yang Xiaoyu murmured. "Mom will protect you."

Wan Qiu's eyes were filled with confusion, which was exactly what Yang Xiaoyu had expected.

Little fool Wanqiu certainly wouldn't understand what this means.

It doesn't matter.

They have a very, very long time ahead of them.

Wan Qiu lowered his eyes. He wanted to answer Yang Xiaoyu's question, but he couldn't.

Even if one wants to become a little smarter, it's just a wish.

Wan Qiu looked up and saw himself and Yang Xiaoyu in the mirror, then looked away.

Wan Qiu was once again given a proper makeover by Yang Xiaoyu.

This time, Yang Xiaoyu specially chose it. The light pink thin top hung down, and her legs, exposed by shorts, disappeared into a pair of comfortable sneakers.

Wan Qiu stared at the shoes. The feeling of wearing these shoes was very subtle. Every time he stepped on them, it was as if a force was lifting him up slightly, making walking easier.

Unlike yesterday's shoes, Wanqiu, who had only owned two pairs of shoes for a long time, was still quite excited to wear new shoes again.

"So cute." Yang Xiaoyu put a light pink hat of the same color on Wan Qiu's head, covering up the half of her hair that Wan Qiu had ruined.

Wanqiu looked at herself in the mirror, a stranger to herself, wearing these extremely beautiful clothes that seemed only fit for display in shop windows.

These clothes are very comfortable to wear, and the fabric feels cool and smooth against the skin, but the light colors are not easy to get dirty.

He's the perfect size now, but what will happen to all these nice clothes if he grows taller in the future?

Wanqiu unconsciously pressed down on her hat, not wanting to see her unattractive face ruining the outfit.

Wanqiu received a small shoulder bag.

A small, opaque, cream-colored crossbody bag was slung across his body, and Wan Qiu had a very good impression of it.

Wanqiu once had a bag.

I found it. It's very cute. It's a little duck-shaped shoulder bag. There's a zipper on the back of the duck, but the zipper is broken. The duck's belly is also torn and it's dirty all over.

It was probably just that it hadn't been cherished or used properly, so it wasn't exactly worn out. After Wanqiu picked it up, she washed the handbag and sewed it up with thread of the same color from her sewing kit at home.

Wanqiu couldn't repair zippers, nor did he have the money to replace them with new ones, so this handbag was like a safer pocket to him.

Wanqiu had very little money, but his clothes were of poor quality and the pockets were always prone to tearing, so Wanqiu kept his money in a small handbag.

Although it didn't have a zipper, he cherished and used that small crossbody bag.

How did my handbag disappear?

He remembered...

It was snatched by a stranger on the roadside.

They ran alongside him, waving their small satchels and smiling.

The money in the little duck's bag fell out through the unzipped opening and was all taken by them.

Wanqiu never found the little duck handbag again.

Even though he rummaged through many unfamiliar trash cans.

"Wanqiu?" Suddenly, soft, long curls appeared in Wanqiu's field of vision. Wanqiu looked up and saw Yang Xiaoyu, who was bending over and looking at him. "What's wrong? Do you like this bag?"

Wan Qiu lowered his head, while the beautiful Yang Xiaoyu exuded a faint atmosphere of 'happiness'. Wan Qiu held the shoulder strap of the cream-colored crossbody bag with both hands.

Wanqiu tightened her grip as if her small handbag would be lost if she let go.

You'll definitely like it, right?

Yang Xiaoyu smiled with joy when she saw Wan Qiu's delighted expression.

I never expected her child to like bags!

Yang Xiaoyu held Wan Qiu's hand: "Baby, we're all dressed up. Let's go find Daddy."

Yang Xiaoyu held Wan Qiu's hand with one hand, and seeing Wan Qiu tightly gripping the strap of her small crossbody bag with her other hand, she found it extremely cute.

Chu Jianshu was chatting with Chu Yigui in the living room, waiting for the mother and son to finish getting dressed so they could go out.

Yang went to work on time.

Yang Xiaoyu brought Wanqiu to the two of them and stood behind him. The woman's soft hands cupped Wanqiu's face and lifted him up to look at the two of them. She poked Wanqiu's cheek and said, "How about it? Doesn't Daddy think our baby is cute?"

Chu Jianshu turned his head to look at the mother and son, and smiled slightly: "Our Wanqiu is very cute."

Wan Qiu blinked, not daring to take her gaze off Chu Jianshu, but glancing at Chu Yigui out of the corner of her eye.

Chu Yigui was looking at him.

Wan Qiu had no idea what Chu Yigui was thinking; he couldn't glean any information from her.

Chu Jianshu stood up and noticed that Wan Qiu was clutching her bag tightly with both hands. After thinking for a moment, he took out his wallet and took out all the cash and a card.

The tall man half-squatted in front of Wan Qiu, and under Wan Qiu's gaze, opened Wan Qiu's small handbag and put the items into it.

“These are for Wanqiu.” Chu Jianshu stood up, reached out, and pressed down on Wanqiu’s hat, his thick palm almost covering the top of Wanqiu’s head. “Wanqiu is going out to buy things today.”

Under Chu Jianshu's command, Wan Qiu subconsciously gripped the zipper of his cream-colored shoulder bag with one hand.

Wanqiu was completely stiff.

He didn't know how much money his father had put in his small satchel, but the thick wad of cash almost exceeded Wanqiu's ability to count money.

The cute, soft, creamy yellow crossbody bag felt heavy to Wan Qiu, as if a huge gemstone was pressing down on it, something that could be stolen at any moment.

"Shall we go?" Yang Xiaoyu pulled Wan Qiu along.

However, Wan Qiu, who usually follows her obediently without using much force, felt a stiffness when holding her hand this time.

Wan Qiu gripped her handbag tightly with one hand, her steps becoming stiff.

Yang Xiaoyu bent down and saw that Wan Qiu looked like a frightened cat, with wide eyes, tense ears, and a tail tucked in, not daring to move at all.

Yang Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong? Are you having trouble adjusting to having things in your bag?" Yang Xiaoyu teased, then suddenly smiled. "Haha, baby, you're so cute. It's okay, it's just a little bit of money, not even enough for your pocket money."

Wan Qiu couldn't understand what Yang Xiaoyu was referring to, but he could tell that Yang Xiaoyu didn't want him to do this.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." Yang Xiaoyu patted Wan Qiu's hand. "Your parents will give you another one if you lose it."

Don't be afraid...

Upon hearing this, Wan Qiu relaxed his body.

He nodded, the pink brim of his hat obscuring his eyes.