"There seems to be a popular dessert shop nearby that recently launched a red castle dessert. Let's go check it out." Yang Xiaoyu pulled Wan Qiu's hand and left the unpleasant department store.
Wan Qiu quietly followed Yang Xiaoyu, without looking back.
Very compliant.
According to Lu Qinghe's information, Wan Qiu would occasionally glance at the new products launched by the dessert shop, but would quickly look away.
Perhaps because these trendy online stores have become very popular recently, many people are eager to buy from them out of curiosity.
The details that were recorded were solely based on Lu Qinghe's personal feeling that they might be useful information.
Yang Xiaoyu wanted to give Wan Qiu everything she wanted, even if it was just a guess based on the information.
Although it's advertised as a trendy online store, it's actually just a small dessert shop with a signboard decorated with light pink balloons at the entrance and people queuing up.
Wan Qiu glanced at it, then quickly looked away.
Yang Xiaoyu noticed Wan Qiu's gaze and asked, "Do you like this?"
Wan Qiu glanced at Yang Xiaoyu, unconsciously pursing her lips. This was usually a sign that she didn't know or didn't want to answer.
Just when Yang Xiaoyu thought she wouldn't get an answer, she heard Wan Qiu say, "Dad bought this for Mom a while ago."
"Huh?" Yang Xiaoyu knew that Wan Qiu was not referring to herself, but to Ning Hai and Ning Qiaozhen.
“Mom didn’t like it, and it accidentally fell on the ground. Mom told me to clean it up and not eat it,” Wan Qiu said.
A bad feeling gradually rose in Yang Xiaoyu's heart.
"I picked it up and ate it." Wan Qiu's expression showed no embarrassment at picking up something from the ground to eat.
"Why did you pick it up and eat it?" For a moment, Yang Xiaoyu almost forgot to be gentle.
Wan Qiu showed no discomfort at Yang Xiaoyu's sudden display of 'unhappiness', explaining, "Grandma throws things when she has an episode, sometimes even spilling food on the ground. It would be a waste not to eat it, so she picks it up and eats it."
The details of Wan Qiu's past treatment under Wan Xiaohua's wing can only be gleaned from snippets of conversation among the villagers, making it impossible to piece together any information about Wan Qiu's past.
All they knew was that Wan Xiaohua had mental problems, lived in poverty, and had thought about not being able to afford food, but they never imagined she would be eating scavenged food.
Yang Xiaoyu felt she was on the verge of losing her mind, but she forcibly pulled herself back for fear of scaring Wan Qiu.
"Don't pick up food from the ground to eat anymore. If you're hungry, just ask your mother." Yang Xiaoyu took a deep breath, trying her best to show the last bit of her rationality and gentleness. "And then? What happened just now..."
Wanqiu continued, "When Dad saw me eating, he thought I had stolen Mom's food..."
In that instant, Yang Xiaoyu almost completely lost her temper, and her voice suddenly rose: "He hit you?!"
Wan Qiu's nod made Yang Xiaoyu feel dizzy with anger. She couldn't help but feel a physical aversion to the disgusting couple, and a feeling of nausea kept churning in her stomach.
The mental shock led to physical discomfort. Yang Xiaoyu took two steps back, but suddenly bumped into a man's arms.
Wan Qiu looked up and saw Chu Jianshu.
"Dad." Wan Qiu blinked blankly as Chu Jianshu suddenly appeared and half-embraced Yang Xiaoyu.
"Wanqiu, go buy..." Chu Jianshu took out a hundred-yuan bill from his pocket and said, "There's a milk tea shop on the other side of that corner ahead. Go buy three drinks that the clerk recommends."
To ensure that Wanqiu would not choose a difficult path, Chu Jianshu gave very detailed instructions.
Wan Qiu looked at Yang Xiaoyu, whose face was extremely pale.
How is Mom?
Despite her worries, Wan Qiu obediently took the money from Chu Jianshu's hand and ran over.
Yang Xiaoyu instinctively reached out to grab Wan Qiu's arm, but Chu Jianshu grabbed her wrist: "Xiaoyu, calm down."
Yang Xiaoyu suddenly shook off Chu Jianshu's hand, her face pale and her mental state extremely poor. She gripped Chu Jianshu's collar tightly with both hands, repeatedly muttering, "I want to kill them, I want to kill them, I want to kill them..."
"Calm down, Xiaoyu, calm down." At this moment, the driver who was following them handed over mineral water and pills, and Chu Jianshu urged Yang Xiaoyu to take them.
The nausea was suppressed by the water, and Yang Xiaoyu's aching brain was also relieved by the medicine.
Chu Jianshu followed Yang Xiaoyu closely, keeping a close eye on the situation, and usually worked in his car.
Although Yang Xiaoyu's mental health has not deteriorated significantly in recent years, there is still something to worry about after she met Wan Qiu.
We've been getting along really well these past few days, but apparently something not so good happened today.
Chu Jianshu heard Yang Xiaoyu saying something intermittently in his ear, and his expression turned rather unpleasant.
"It's getting late, let's have some afternoon tea together, then let the child go home," Chu Jianshu said.
"No." Yang Xiaoyu was unwilling. It was still early today, and it wasn't time for the child to go back yet. They still had two or three hours to spend together.
“Xiaoyu, this will affect Wanqiu. Didn’t you say he was very perceptive?” Chu Jianshu said.
Yang Xiaoyu's body stiffened.
"Xiaoyu, calm down."
After a moment of silence, Yang Xiaoyu nodded.
I want to give Wanqiu the best.
She didn't expect that her actions would frighten Wanqiu.
Even though Chu Jianshu was trying to comfort Yang Xiaoyu, as a father, he couldn't hide his anger when Yang Xiaoyu couldn't see him.
——
On Wanqiu's afternoon tea table today, there is a very exquisite fruit platter.
Wanqiu frequently visits the nearby vegetable market. He remembers the prices of the vegetables he often buys and is aware of price fluctuations. He also knows how to distinguish the freshness of vegetables.
He just rarely looks at the fruit.
Fruit is not a necessity for survival, and Wanqiu would not spend more money to buy fruit.
Although my mother would bring back a lot of delicious leftovers from restaurants, she would never bring back fruit, because fruit is something that would easily spoil and taste bad once it was cut open.
However, Wan Qiu did eat fruit quite often. When he lived in the countryside with his grandmother Wan Xiaohua, he ate a lot of wild fruits, and occasionally some fruits grown by farmers would be given to him.
The variety of fruits is not very extensive, and it's not because they are professional fruit farmers; whether a fruit is delicious or not depends entirely on luck.
Wan Qiu didn't know what truly delicious fruit looked like, nor did he know the names of those completely unfamiliar fruits he saw at the fruit stand.
The fruit platter in front of him gave Wanqiu a very unique understanding of fruit for the first time.
Are there really that many kinds of fruit?
Wanqiu stared longingly at the abundant fruit platter. The beautiful arrangement and the fresh, seemingly ready-to-eat fruit, with its vibrant colors, immediately caught Wanqiu's eye.
Yang Xiaoyu and Chu Jianshu were both shrewd people; how could they not see the interest that Wan Qiu had so painstakingly shown?
Yang Xiaoyu, who had never been able to truly find Wan Qiu's interest, was captivated by the interest that Wan Qiu had finally shown.
Instead of letting Wan Qiu choose the fruit with a fork, Yang Xiaoyu chose to feed him herself.
"Try this?" Yang Xiaoyu held a cherry in her hand. Her beautiful, snow-white fingers and the red cherry complemented each other, making Wan Qiu feel as if she were looking at a picture from an elementary school art textbook.
Yang Xiaoyu stuffed a red cherry into Wanqiu's mouth, while Chu Jianshu watched quietly from opposite the mother and son.
Wanqiu slowly chewed the cherry, as if fully enjoying the feeling of the fruit juice in her mouth, taking a long time to eat a small cherry.
This small treat clearly pleased Yang Xiaoyu.
A smile played at the corners of Chu Jianshu's mouth.
The oppressive, bitter atmosphere was diluted by the faint sweetness revealed by Wan Qiu.
After following him for several days, Chu Jianshu gradually realized that Wan Qiu was too unambitious and undemanding, and that he could get Wan Qiu's thanks and joy for anything.
If they rely too heavily on information, they may fall into a misconception.
What they were paying attention to was what Wanqiu was 'looking' at.
Perhaps what Wanqiu truly wants and desires is what he 'doesn't look at'.
Chu Jianshu's job wouldn't allow him to be too sentimental, but as an adult, he was able to understand Wan Qiu's feelings.
Because it's insignificant, it doesn't matter if I glance at it a few more times; I won't crave it or care.
People who don't like eating kiwis or mangoes may still be curious about their shape, appearance, and core, and will want to take a look.
The things we truly like are like poor children eyeing expensive toys in a shop window. Some children will look at them every day to satisfy their desires, while others will ignore them and avoid their inner longings.
Wan Qiu is the latter.
Wan Qiu never focused his attention on fruit.
It's not because I don't like it, but because I like it too much.
I don't need it, I can't have it, so I won't look at it.
Chu Jianshu's approach to his children's education has always been that they should strive for what they want through their own efforts; if they don't fight for it, they can only watch as what they want goes into the hands of others.
However, when facing Wan Qiu, Chu Jianshu was unable to issue such a clear and serious instruction.
Chu Jianshu was sending a message to his secretary, Song Wenqiu, with his head down.
Chu Jianshu: Wenqiu, could you prepare a fruit basket for me within an hour? I need the best fruit, preferably a variety of types, even if there's only a little of each.
Chu Jianshu observed Wan Qiu for a moment.
Chu Jianshu: It's best to choose fruits that are on the sweeter side.
Song Wenqiu: Okay, where should I send it?
Chu Jianshu: I'm sending you the address; it's for Wanqiu.
Song Wenqiu: Do you use fruit baskets for children?
Chu Jianshu paused, imagining Wan Qiu's expression when he saw the fruit basket.
Chu Jianshu: We can add some decorations and make it as pretty as possible.
Song Wenqiu: Okay, right away.
Chu Jianshu closed his phone and looked at Wan Qiu again.
Wanqiu is different. Perhaps the most important task now is to make Wanqiu understand that 'getting' is a matter of course, rather than teaching him to fight for it.
Chu Jianshu couldn't help but chuckle as he thought about his own mindset. Wan Qiu hadn't even returned to their side yet, and he was already thinking about how to raise Wan Qiu.
Yang Xiaoyu was immersed in the joy of being fed and receiving feedback from Wanqiu. For a child who was always silent, such a small feedback was a pleasant surprise for the parents.
"Wanqiu, Wanqiu, open your mouth." Yang Xiaoyu held a piece of mango in her fork and wanted to put it into Wanqiu's mouth.
However, this time Wan Qiu slightly pushed Yang Xiaoyu's hand away.
Yang Xiaoyu raised her eyebrows slightly, seemingly not quite understanding Wan Qiu's intentions. She was 100% certain that Wan Qiu liked mangoes.
"Mom, eat." Wan Qiu looked up at Yang Xiaoyu, whose face was full of excitement and joy. "This is delicious. It's one of the best things here."
Chu Jianshu's eyes widened slightly.
This is not in line with Chu Jianshu's educational habits.
Given their status and position, they are not good at sharing unconditionally.
“Such delicious food must belong to Wanqiu,” Yang Xiaoyu said, shaking her small fork as she tried to stuff it into Wanqiu’s mouth.
However, Wan Qiu pursed his lips.
Yang Xiaoyu thought for a moment, then simply put the mango cube on the small fork into her mouth. The sweet mango juice burst out, and Yang Xiaoyu raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Hmm, it's really good, the taste is nice." Surprisingly good, I originally thought there wouldn't be any good fruit in such a small place.
Seemingly having received a compliment, Wan Qiu merely blinked before lowering her eyes again.
He doesn't need precise feedback; he just wants to share what he likes with others.
Yang Xiaoyu's attempt to feed the child failed once again after the child had tried to rejoin the group.
Yang Xiaoyu glanced at Chu Jianshu, then suddenly shoved the mango chunk in her hand into Chu Jianshu's mouth.
Chu Jianshu did not refuse and chewed slowly.
"How is it? Is it delicious?" Yang Xiaoyu leaned against the table, her lips curved and her eyes bright. Chu Jianshu couldn't help but smile as well.
Chu Jianshu looked at Wan Qiu, who was already getting the fruit she wanted, but Yang Xiaoyu used a fork to take the tool from Wan Qiu's hand and insisted on feeding her herself.
Wan Qiu did not refuse, obediently waiting to be fed, and the way she opened her mouth to catch it made Chu Jianshu feel a little dazed.
Their family atmosphere is not like that.
Scenes that would never happen in their family, such as talking while eating, knocking over other people's utensils, feeding each other, and using the same utensils, are now happening naturally.
Naturally, just like water flowing downhill, no one would question why this is the case.
Because it was a marriage between two powerful families, both sides had high expectations for their child. This unexpectedly born child should have grown up just like his older brothers.
Seriousness, diligence, and a spirit of adventure—qualities that leaders should possess—will all be specially cultivated.
Wanqiu's existence might be a unique and unexpected intrusion into their family.
Like a pool of steady, unassuming, and heavy oil, it is welcoming a tiny spark that is flashing with light.
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