Chapter 478: Modern Era (If-Things) (06)
Anunu looked up when she heard the sound and saw a boy who was two or three years older than her standing in the stairwell.
The boy had brown curly hair, big, round eyes, and delicate features like a girl.
He must have just woken up; he still looked sleepy.
Lokin looked at him. "Baroque, why are you awake?"
Baroque stood there staring at Anunu for a while, then suddenly ran upstairs again.
Tang Ting came out of the kitchen carrying dishes and saw Baroque running away without looking back. She smiled and said, "Baroque stayed up until we were about to go out to pick you up before going to sleep. He originally wanted to come with us, but he couldn't stay up as long as Ota and Tao Tao Le."
Anunu smelled the aroma of food and immediately put down her toy and ran to the dining table.
Luo Jin picked her up and sat her down on a chair. "Baby must be hungry. We can eat now!"
Tang Ting had just brought her a special bowl and chopsticks when he saw her eat with her hands.
Hicks was about to step forward to stop her when Locke grabbed him, "We can teach her slowly later. You've been on the plane for so long today, have a meal and get some rest first."
Tang Ting glanced at the chopsticks in her hand, then went inside to get a spoon and placed it next to Anunu. Anunu didn't even look at it, but at least she knew to put the food on the plate in front of her and eat it.
Hicks sat down beside her and began to prepare the shrimp shells and bones for her.
He told his adoptive parents, "I've taught Anunu how to use a spoon, but after all these days, she still prefers to use her hands."
Lokin served Anunu a bowl of soup and put it aside to cool down. "She has been wandering outside for the past few years, and no one has taught her basic life skills. She hasn't been able to adapt in just a few days."
Hicks smiled and shook his head. "Anunu is smarter than you think; she learns things very quickly."
Tang Ting brought an apron and put it on Anunu, then said to Hicks, "Learning quickly doesn't mean she likes certain things, and it has nothing to do with whether she's smart or not."
Hicks felt much more at ease watching his adoptive parents take care of Anunu naturally, just as they had taken care of their other children.
However, he still felt somewhat guilty. There were already six children in the family, and now there was another one, Anunu.
Although he and his second and third children no longer needed their parents' care, he never wanted to add any more burden to them.
I had been thinking of adopting Anunu myself, or finding someone I knew to adopt her.
First of all, he is not old enough, and besides, he will be traveling a lot in the future, so it is not realistic for him to take Anunu with him. Anunu needs a normal environment to grow up in.
He didn't feel comfortable entrusting the matter to anyone else, and after much thought, he decided that his parents were the most suitable.
He is actually the nephew of Tang Ting and Luo Jin. His parents died unexpectedly when he was seven years old, and he has been living with them ever since, calling them Mom and Dad. In fact, they are only about fifteen or sixteen years older than him.
He is not good at expressing his emotions in front of his adoptive parents, and he wants to smoke whenever he has something on his mind.
He instinctively reached for the cigarettes in his pocket, but remembering that Anunu was still in front of him, he took his hand out again.
Luo Jin noticed his gesture and knew what he was thinking. He said, "Tang Ting and I have moved behind the scenes and are now semi-retired. We take turns working and it's not too busy. Taking care of one child is the same as taking care of three children."
Tang Ting also said, "You just go about your own business. You're only in your early twenties. You shouldn't be worrying about Anunu."
Anunu keenly sensed that Hicks's mood was off and looked up at him.
The two looked at each other, and Anunu took a piece of candy out of her pocket and put it in his hand.
Hicks paused when she saw the candy in her hand, realizing that Anunu was trying to comfort her. She thought to herself how could she show such emotions in front of Anunu? Fortunately, Anunu couldn't understand what they were saying, otherwise it would be bad to overthink it.
After a long pause, he said to his adoptive parents, "Thank you for your hard work."
Luo Jin raised an eyebrow. "You're our son, why are you being so polite with us?"
Just then, Baroque ran downstairs.
The group looked closely and saw that he was holding a pot of daisies that were in full bloom.
Baroque loved plants, and he had his own little greenhouse where he grew many of his treasures.
Logan and Tangting exchanged a glance; it turned out they had run up there to get a gift for Anunu.
Hicks smiled and said, "Is this for Little Seven?"
Baroque nodded emphatically, looking at Anunu with a hint of shyness, and handed her the daisies in his hand. "Little Seven, these are the daisies I planted. I hope you like them."
Watching Baroque give away his precious possession, he joked, "As soon as Sixth Brother came back, he was thinking about Seventh Sister. He didn't even call me, his older brother, once."
Upon hearing this, Baroque immediately called him "elder brother".
Hicks continued to tease him, "So, does big brother have a present?"
Baroque immediately looked troubled. "I'm sorry, big brother, I forgot. I'll prepare a gift for you later!"
Hicks chuckled twice, ruffling his curly hair, and said, "Little Six is indeed the most well-behaved in our family."
Luo Jin glared at him, "He's the easiest to bully, isn't he? You all just take advantage of his honesty."
After saying that, she said to Baroque, "Don't listen to your older brother. He should be the one preparing the gifts for you. Ask him for them later. Don't let him leave our house without giving him a gift."
Baroque nodded haphazardly, his eyes fixed on Anunu, still holding the potted plant in his hands. But after Anunu glanced at his plant, she took her bowl and sat down on the other side of the table, looking at him warily.
Hicks and Locke didn't expect Anunu to react this way to Baroque. Earlier, Ota and Tao Tao had shown her goodwill, and although she didn't respond enthusiastically, she wasn't resistant either.
Baroque hadn't expected his little sister to dislike him so much. He stood there, somewhat at a loss, his eyes quickly welling up with tears as he looked at his parents with teary eyes.
"Mom and Dad, it seems like Xiaoqi doesn't like me..."
Tang Ting immediately explained to him, "Little Seven doesn't speak our language, she doesn't understand your words, it's not that she doesn't like you."
Baroque felt a little better after hearing this, but he still looked at her with some sadness.
Anunu received his gaze and still gave him a wary look.
This little boy actually wants to give her flowers that will make her sick; it seems he doesn't like her.
After calming Balok down and letting him go back to sleep, Anunu also finished a hearty meal.
She ate with her hands the whole time. After Hicks reminded her twice, she just pretended to eat with a spoon. It seems she is not used to eating with utensils.
Her hands and face were covered in oil from eating, so Luo Jin took her to the bathroom to take a shower, while Tang Ting prepared clothes and toiletries for her.
As soon as he took off her clothes, Luo Jin saw her scratching and fidgeting all over her body.
"Oh dear, what's wrong?"
Luo Jin quickly called Tang Ting in.
Tang Ting took one look and said, "It looks like an allergic reaction. We need to take her to the hospital."
The two hurriedly prepared to take Anunu to the hospital. Hicks had just gone upstairs to go to sleep when he heard a noise downstairs. He got up and saw Tang Ting carrying Anunu as if they were about to go out.
He quickly dressed and went downstairs. When he saw Anunu's face and hands covered in red rashes, he immediately asked what had happened.
"You have an allergic reaction, but we're not sure what the allergen is yet. Go to the hospital first."
Hicks immediately took the keys from Lockin's hand, "I'll drive."
The three of them drove Anunu to the nearest downtown hospital emergency room as fast as they could.
After some tests, it was determined that Anunu was allergic to pollen.
They finally understood Anunu's unusual behavior towards Baroque. She must have experienced pollen allergies many times before and knew that flowers would make her uncomfortable, which was why she stayed away from Baroque.
Her allergic reaction was quite severe, and she needed an injection. Anunu was a little resistant when she saw the needle. Lokin thought she was afraid of the pain, so he kept coaxing her gently and covered her eyes to prevent her from seeing it.
Hearing the gentle voice in her ear and smelling the faint fragrance emanating from her mother, Anunu felt much more at ease.
She spoke a language that Hicks could understand, and even better than Hicks, which made her feel much more favorably toward her mother.
Anunu fell asleep in Lokin's arms. After she fell asleep, Lokin thought it would be more comfortable for her to sleep on the bed. She would wake up at the slightest movement and would hold on to her clothes.
Seeing this, Luo Jin's heart softened, and he stopped putting her on the hospital bed, instead holding her in his arms.
Tang Ting then went to ask the doctor about Anunu's physical condition in detail; she had just had blood drawn and other tests done.
He is a doctor at the Dongwuzhou Special Research Institute, but he is different from the doctors in the hospital. Since he was young, he has been carrying out various special missions and is responsible for the physical health of the soldiers and some special research.
He carefully examined Anunu's medical examination report, which revealed her blood type: Rh-negative.
Seeing her blood type, Tang Ting became more worried.
As he walked back to his ward through the corridor, he overheard the nurses whispering about a very pretty child who had come to the emergency room.
"Her hair is pink! It's so pretty."
"It's not pink, it's gold? It should be pink gold. My best friend dyed her hair a similar color, it looked really good but the color faded so quickly. It's amazing that some people are born with this hair color!"
"That little baby is so cute, with blue eyes, looking like a mixed-race child. Only mixed-race children can have this kind of hair color."
"She looks like a doll, but this hair color is really unrealistic."
......
Back in the ward, Tang Ting showed the report to Hicks and Locke.
"It's nothing serious, just a bit malnourished. Anunu is allergic to flowers and can't touch them anymore."
Lokin looked up at his expression and whispered, "You have other worries."
Tang Ting hummed in agreement. "I need to get Anunu's genetic test done."
He added, "S-class."
Upon hearing his last sentence, both Lockin and Hicks immediately looked at him.
Hicks said, "Dad, although I had some suspicions before, Anunu is still so young, isn't that...?"
Tang Ting raised her hand, signaling them to calm down. "It's just testing; I'll do it myself."
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