Because of the delay in changing clothes, when Yang Xiaoyu pulled Wan Qiu back to the restaurant, the chef had already served a fresh, hot breakfast.
"Chef, prepare as much food as possible today. Wanqiu can eat as much as he can. The most important thing right now is to gain weight." Yang Xiaoyu dragged a chair next to Wanqiu and sighed as she looked at Wanqiu's thin shoulders.
“This child is indeed too thin. He’s fourteen years old, but he still looks like a primary school student.” The chef looked at Wan Qiu and said, “How about we change the soy milk this morning to regular milk? If he starts resting now, he should be able to grow taller.”
“Okay.” Yang Xiaoyu stood next to Wan Qiu and brought the steamed bun to Wan Qiu’s mouth. Wan Qiu obediently opened her mouth and took a bite.
Wanqiu drank the sweet milk, gulping down the entire glass in one go.
Yang Xiaoyu stared in surprise. Did he really like drinking milk?
Wanqiu received a new glass of milk, picked up the glass to drink, but suddenly burped.
"If you can't finish it, then there's nothing left." Yang Xiaoyu immediately stopped Wan Qiu's hand. "From now on, our baby can eat whatever he/she wants."
The chef popped his head out of the kitchen and asked Wan Qiu, "Do you like cookies?"
Wan Qiu nodded.
Where's the cake?
Wan Qiu nodded.
Would you like a meat pie?
Wan Qiu nodded again.
The chef simply wanted to ask Wan Qiu what snacks she liked, but discovered that Wan Qiu didn't refuse any of them.
"This child has such a good appetite, he should be easy to raise." The chef hadn't missed Wan Qiu's slender arms and legs peeking out from under his short-sleeved shirt and shorts, which were clearly the result of malnutrition.
Listening to the chef's words and watching Wanqiu's cheeks bulge as he ate the steamed buns, Yang Xiaoyu hoped that Wanqiu could grow to a normal size as soon as possible.
"Honey, is there anything you want to do?"
Wan Qiu looked up, clearly having no idea what Yang Xiaoyu was 'wanting to do'.
"Don't you have any ideas about doing things with your mom, or things that would make you happy to do with your mom?" Yang Xiaoyu asked seriously.
Chu Yigui once said that Wan Qiu knew how to think, but he was just slow at it.
She waited quietly for Wanqiu's reply.
But while Wan Qiu remained silent, Yang Xiaoyu pondered many possibilities, and the more she thought about it, the more heartbroken she became.
Wan Qiu wouldn't want to go picking up trash with her, would he?
Shouldn't she teach Wanqiu 'how to play' first before Wanqiu can make reasonable requests?
While Yang Xiaoyu remained silent, Wan Qiu stammered, immediately snapping out of his jumbled thoughts.
Wanqiu had finished her second glass of milk, and the breakfast on the table was completely eaten.
When Wan Qiu looked up and his beautiful, clear eyes gazed at Yang Xiaoyu, Yang Xiaoyu unconsciously held her breath, sensing the anticipation of Wan Qiu's answer.
"I don't know," Wan Qiu said.
As expected, Yang Xiaoyu wanted to give a reassuring smile and say, "It's okay, Mom will play with you first," but Wan Qiu spoke up again.
"I'm so happy right now, with my mom right next to me." The soft, sweet voice rang out as the malnourished boy's soft hair fell beside his cheeks, his eyes shimmering with a gentle light.
His words, though devoid of any sweetness, seemed to have thrown a candy bomb at Yang Xiaoyu.
Yang Xiaoyu's chaotic mind was blown into a rainbow of colors by the candy.
Wanqiu's emotional expression is very subtle, so subtle that it can only be seen through careful observation.
Despite having pondered a great deal of complex information, Wan Qiu's single sentence still managed to dissipate it all.
She hasn't done anything yet.
She simply sat next to Wanqiu and ate breakfast with him.
Yang Xiaoyu reached out and half-hug Wan Qiu in her arms.
After losing Wanqiu, she went through a period of mental turmoil.
Dark memories, a jumbled mess, filled the corners she deliberately tried to forget.
During that time, her greatest hope was that Wanqiu was still by her side, that she had not lost her child, and that she could still watch her child grow up healthily.
Her humblest prayers received no hope, and she became so confused that she even neglected her other two children, whom she should have treated well.
Until they adopted Chu Yigui.
Perhaps because she had an outlet for her emotions, she slowly recovered and became a normal mother again.
She had Chu Yigui, but Wanqiu did not have his 'Chu Yigui'.
She had an outlet for her emotions, but Wan Qiu wasn't even given the right to have one.
Even now.
Until yesterday.
"Mom will stay with you all day." They can do anything as long as she's by Wanqiu's side.
Wanqiu will gradually settle down at home.
Everything can be taken slowly.
Wanqiu's heart began to race quietly.
He wanted to be smart and suggest something that would make his mother happy.
But he didn't know, he couldn't have imagined it.
Wan Qiu was anxious and uneasy until Yang Xiaoyu spoke, which finally put her at ease.
It was as if they had been pardoned, and the crisis was averted.
The chef came out, looked at the breakfast that had been eaten, and asked, "Did Madam have a good appetite today?"
"I've fed the baby all of it." Yang Xiaoyu always wanted to maintain her figure for the sake of beauty, so the family chef knew her breakfast preferences and wouldn't make too much food.
The chef's expression was somewhat subtle: "Isn't it too much to eat so much food at once? Wan Qiu is so thin, she doesn't look like someone who can eat a lot."
Yang Xiaoyu suddenly realized, belatedly, that she had been feeding Wan Qiu the whole time, and Wan Qiu had never refused.
"Baby, is your tummy uncomfortable?" Yang Xiaoyu immediately touched Wanqiu's abdomen, which was already noticeably bulging. Yang Xiaoyu's heart skipped a beat.
"I don't feel uncomfortable." Wan Qiu shook his head.
The chef asked, "Won't you feel nauseous after eating so much?"
Wanqiu looked down at her stomach.
This was the first time he had ever experienced the feeling of being stuffed. His stomach ached slightly, and the food seemed to be overflowing and about to burst forth. He could even feel the lingering smell of the food in his throat.
But Wanqiu won't vomit.
Even if he forced himself to hold it in, he wouldn't vomit it out.
Food is precious, and eating until you're stuffed is a happy thing.
"How about you take some digestive medicine?" the chef suggested with some concern when he saw Wan Qiu's silence.
The pill was swallowed, and Wan Qiu sat quietly at the dining table, his mother beside him.
"Let's go for a walk to help you digest." Yang Xiaoyu felt a little guilty for forgetting that Wanqiu's stomach capacity was limited because she was so engrossed in feeding Wanqiu. "But before that, I have something to give my darling."
Wan Qiu followed Yang Xiaoyu to the living room, where he saw several small boxes on the transparent coffee table.
Wan Qiu was very familiar with the box, which usually contained high-value items.
Yang Xiaoyu opened the boxes one by one, while Wan Qiu watched quietly from the side.
These on the table are all items that Yang Xiaoyu had prepared, such as cell phones, wristbands, phone cases, and lanyards.
These things had been prepared long ago, but when she woke up last night and couldn't find Wanqiu, the intense fear made her even more desperate to have something to locate Wanqiu.
Yang Xiaoyu was aware that she was being overly sensitive, but Wan Qiu would be understanding, so Yang Xiaoyu let her fears run wild.
"This is a phone for our baby. Everyone has a phone these days, so our baby should have one too. Do you know how to use it?" Yang Xiaoyu inserted the SIM card into the brand-new phone and placed it in Wan Qiu's hand.
This was the first time Wanqiu had ever touched a mobile phone.
He had seen many cell phones, but had never actually touched one.
For people today, mobile phones are highly personal items that they cannot touch; they are always with them and they cannot put them down.
Wan Qiu was once slapped by Ning Hai for touching his phone, and all he wanted to do was put the phone back on the ground.
Wanqiu didn't understand why cell phones were so precious to everyone; he only knew that they shouldn't touch them or be curious about them.
When the phone, warmed by Yang Xiaoyu's hands, was placed in Wan Qiu's hands, it was the first time Wan Qiu realized the weight and feel of the phone, and that it was actually so exquisite and delicate, without any scratches.
Wanqiu got a mobile phone.
Yang Xiaoyu put the bracelet on Wan Qiu's wrist and said, "This can also be used to make calls. Remember to carry it with you at all times, just like you would with your cell phone."
Wan Qiu held his phone, but looked completely lost.
He didn't know how to use this thing.
"Mobile phones are simple, you can learn to use them slowly, baby..."
Yang Xiaoyu patiently taught Wan Qiu how to make a phone call.
First, she entered all the family's phone numbers into Wanqiu's phone, then asked, "Sweetie, you can also save your favorite numbers, okay?"
After saying that, Yang Xiaoyu suddenly fell silent.
Within Wanqiu's meager social circle, the only things he could remember were Ning Hai and Ning Qiaozhen's phone numbers, even though those numbers were no longer reachable.
Will Wan Qiu save those two numbers? Yang Xiaoyu couldn't help but feel uneasy.
If it's saved...
Yang Xiaoyu pondered how to resist the urge to throw her phone away.
Wan Qiu remained silent.
The number you wish to enter.
In Wanqiu's memory, there were only Ning Hai and Ning Qiaozhen's numbers, but Wanqiu had no reason to save them.
Wanqiu discovered that he had nothing.
I have no friends and no one to contact.
Wan Qiu didn't even know if he had the right to dial the number or talk to other people.
"If not..." Yang Xiaoyu saw Wan Qiu looking at his phone until the screen went out.
Let's just forget about it then.
In the future, Wanqiu will definitely have friends.
Just as Yang Xiaoyu was about to teach Wan Qiu how to make a phone call, she suddenly saw Wan Qiu light up the screen and press a number on it.
I instinctively thought it would be Ning Qiaozhen or Ning Hai, but I didn't expect it to be a completely unfamiliar number that I had never seen before.
Whose is this?
Yang Xiaoyu squinted, trying to probe: "Press here, see? This is where you can store this number. What's the owner's name? You can enter it directly from here."
Yang Xiaoyu heard her own nervous heartbeat, as if she were uncovering Wan Qiu's little secret.
But Wanqiu watched in silence.
He didn't know how to type it.
Wanqiu... I don't know how to pronounce it.
"You don't know pinyin?" Yang Xiaoyu was stunned. Nowadays, primary school compulsory education requires learning pinyin, so why doesn't Wan Qiu know pinyin?
“My mom said I’m too old to go straight to first grade.”
Wanqiu started school in the third grade, and by then they had already stopped learning pinyin.
Wan Qiu is not very bright, but he has a higher enthusiasm than the average person for things that require rote memorization, which is almost the only thing he can do well.
He spent more time memorizing characters, but that was all—memorizing the characters' shapes, pronunciations, and spelling them from memory. Wanqiu recognized many characters, but that was all.
Yang Xiaoyu unconsciously ruffled Wan Qiu's hair.
A child who knows how to work hard but can't achieve the corresponding success is admirable, but as a mother, she feels more heartache than anything else.
“You don’t necessarily have to know pinyin,” Yang Xiaoyu said. “Your mom will teach you how to use voice and stroke input.”
When Yang Xiaoyu saw that unfamiliar number was saved as 'Uncle Huang Hu' by Wan Qiu, she raised an eyebrow.
Huang Hu?
Lu Qinghe and Huang Hu were not actually their people, but rather people hired by Chu Jianshu. In order to get news of Wan Qiu, they never gave up hiring people to search for him.
People like Huang Hu come into contact with many different kinds of people and are constantly on the go, so Chu Jianshu believes they are worth hiring.
Now that Wan Qiu has been found, all employment has been terminated.
"Why do you remember Huang Hu's phone number?" Yang Xiaoyu asked.
“He gave me a card,” Wan Qiu replied.
"You remembered it just like that?" Yang Xiaoyu was clearly a little surprised.
Wan Qiu nodded.
This was the first card he had ever received. He didn't know what it was, but Wan Qiu always cherished what he could get.
He wrote down not only names and phone numbers, but everything else as well.
The card was left in the rented room, and Wanqiu couldn't get it.
Generally speaking, people like Lu Qinghe and Huang Hu carefully select the recipients of their cards.
Yang Xiaoyu smiled slightly.
Suddenly I find it kind of cute.
Although her child has had a tough time, from now on, she will only meet good people.
This Huang Hu, perhaps there will be more opportunities for cooperation in the future.
Yang Xiaoyu thought for a moment: "Honey, how about we try calling Huang Hu?"
Even if she teaches you very clearly, it's not as fast as trying it yourself.
Wan Qiu paused for a moment, then looked up at Yang Xiaoyu. Yang Xiaoyu immediately understood that Wan Qiu was asking for her opinion, and quickly covered Wan Qiu's eyes.
Wanqiu's eyelashes brushed against Yang Xiaoyu's palm. Yang Xiaoyu smiled bitterly and said, "I mean, whether you want to or not, this has nothing to do with me. You can do whatever you want."
Yang Xiaoyu secretly borrowed the method Chu Yigui usually used to treat Wan Qiu.
Wanqiu has the ability to think for himself and make his own decisions about things that are not important.
Wan Qiu blinked, clearly confused, but Yang Xiaoyu finally got his answer.
Wan Qiu shook his head.
Yang Xiaoyu lowered her hand, saw her beautiful child with lowered eyes, and asked, "Don't you want to make a phone call?"
"You can't just make phone calls." Wan Qiu never made phone calls, even though there was a landline in the rented apartment where she could make calls at will.
"Why?" Yang Xiaoyu asked.
"They'll be unhappy." Wan Qiu lowered her head; that was Ning Qiaozhen and Ning Hai's rule.
Yang Xiaoyu didn't know what Wan Qiu was thinking, but her intuition told her it wasn't anything good.
"The purpose of cell phones is to make it easy to stay in touch. You can call whenever you want, however you want. If the other person is busy, they can choose not to answer the phone, understand?!"
As Wanqiu's mother, Yang Xiaoyu still has many things she needs to correct in Wanqiu's mindset, but right now the most important thing is the phone call.
The phone number was given to Wanqiu so that she could call and stay in touch anytime, anywhere. She needed Wanqiu to speak up if she was bullied, if she was happy, or if she wanted something. She desperately needed Wanqiu to learn how to speak.
If possible, it's better to talk directly over the phone than face-to-face; Wan Qiu is too fond of reading other people's expressions.
Wan Qiu remained silent. Knowing that Wan Qiu needed a lot of patient understanding, Yang Xiaoyu repeated it several times, using more concise language.
"Make any calls you want, however you want."
Finally, Yang Xiaoyu saw Wan Qiu nod.
Yang Xiaoyu vaguely sensed that what she was doing was imitating the way Chu Yigui and Wan Qiu interacted.
Chu Yigui was an exceptionally intelligent and astonishing child; he seemed to possess an amazing talent for everything.
"Shall we fight?" Yang Xiaoyu wanted Wan Qiu to take the first step. "Mom will teach you how to fight."
Wan Qiu looked at his phone.
He needs to be smarter.
It would be best to learn how to make a phone call easily.
For Wan Qiu, this was also the first phone call he would actually make.
"Find the contacts, remember this icon?" Yang Xiaoyu's gentle voice seemed to inject a bright force into Wan Qiu's timidity, filling Wan Qiu's courage. "Tap in, find the person you want to call, and then tap to dial."
Wanqiu's finger hovered over the phone.
He himself did not notice that his fingertips were trembling.
As he pressed down, Wan Qiu vaguely heard the sound of a corner of the rules that imprisoned him like a high wall suddenly breaking.
The changes on the phone screen were completely unfamiliar to Wan Qiu, but when the numbers started flashing, he heard a familiar male voice.
"Hello, this is Huang Hu. What kind of service do you need?"
Perhaps because it was an unfamiliar number, Huang Hu's tone was clearly in business mode.
Yang Xiaoyu turned her head to look at Wan Qiu and found that Wan Qiu was actually holding his phone and standing there dumbfounded.
Her beautiful eyes were now filled with helplessness, as if she had been directly deprived of her ability to speak by this unfamiliar machine that directly transmitted her voice.
"Hello?" Huang Hu continued on the other end.
Yang Xiaoyu leaned close to Wan Qiu's ear and whispered, "Baby, say something."
Wan Qiu stammered, finally managing to find the voice: "Hello?"
"Hmm? Is there something inconvenient for you, customer? If so, I'll tell you. You just need to tap to confirm, once for yes, twice for no..." As a professional, Huang Hu thought that Wan Qiu had encountered some trouble.
"Uncle Huang Hu." Wan Qiu finally uttered his first complete sentence after two minutes of the call.
Yang Xiaoyu watched with a smile as her child, like a little squirrel, trembled as it tried to speak to the person opposite her, its bushy tail quivering and casting afterimages.
Huang Hu was silent for two seconds: "The third young master of the Chu family?"
Wan Qiu: "...?"
"Wanqiu?" Huang Hu called out the name this time.
Wanqiu let out a soft sob, confirming that she was herself.
"Did you run into some trouble?" Huang Hu's voice immediately changed tone after realizing it was Wan Qiu. It wasn't so serious, but it carried a little gentleness, which made Yang Xiaoyu raise her eyebrows.
"No." Wan Qiu's fingers gripped the phone tightly. The phone, which a normal person could hold comfortably, seemed a bit too big in Wan Qiu's hand.
"Really? That's good. How have you been lately? Have you returned to the Chu family?" Huang Hu clearly realized this wasn't a work call and immediately became as familiar and casual as if he were talking to a friend.
"Hmm." Wan Qiu was clearly a little overwhelmed by Huang Hu's enthusiasm.
"Are you doing well at the Chu family? Are you getting enough to eat?" Huang Hu's tone was noticeably more relaxed after learning that Wan Qiu had returned to the Chu family.
"……kindness."
Wan Qiu would occasionally chime in, but Huang Hu was mostly doing the talking.
Yang Xiaoyu was somewhat surprised. Huang Hu wasn't usually a talkative person, given his work style. The fact that he was chatting with Wan Qiu so meticulously and familiarly clearly indicated that he had some special feelings for Wan Qiu.
Is it out of pity or sympathy?
Yang Xiaoyu never expected that Wan Qiu would befriend Huang Hu despite such a large age gap.
"You're home now. You can do whatever you want." Huang Hu was clearly about to hang up. "If you need anything, you can call me. Calls are free, and I'll give you a discount on commissions."
Wan Qiu blinked, clearly somewhat bewildered.
Wan Qiu didn't reply immediately, but remained silent for a long time while holding his phone. Huang Hu, who hadn't received a goodbye, realized that Wan Qiu probably had something to say.
"Wanqiu, is there anything else you want to say?" Huang Hu asked bluntly.
"Hmm..." Wan Qiu hadn't heard Huang Hu's voice for a long time, but before he saw Huang Hu, when his mother abandoned him, he met Huang Hu's friend.
Wan Qiu finally asked the question that had been bothering him: "Uncle Huang Hu, what about the friends who were with you?"
"Huh? Lu Qinghe?" Huang Hu realized that Lu Qinghe hadn't told Wan Qiu his name. He asked, "You mean that black-haired uncle? What's wrong?"
"Does he know his mother?"
The moment those words were spoken, both the person on the phone and Yang Xiaoyu suddenly changed.
Wan Qiu couldn't see Huang Hu's facial expression, so he didn't take this subtle pause to heart.
Huang Hu stammered, unsure whether Wan Qiu was referring to Ning Qiaozhen or Yang Xiaoyu; either way, it was easy to fall into a trap.
Wanqiu isn't very bright, but if he remembers something, he might be able to recall it easily later, and then he might suddenly understand what to do.
The fact that the Chu family orchestrated Ning Qiaozhen's abandonment of Wanqiu will likely remain an absolute secret.
"What are you talking about? Tell me more clearly so I can help you think about it?" Huang Hu tentatively asked, wanting to clarify so he could answer and then secretly communicate with the Chu family.
“When Mom… didn’t want me anymore,” Wan Qiu paused for a moment, “that uncle was with Mom.”
"What, does Wanqiu miss her so much? Didn't she have a new mother?" Huang Hu was a little uneasy. Could it be that all their hard work in making Wanqiu painfully sever her contact with Ning Qiaozhen was actually in vain?
Yang Xiaoyu, who had been listening to everything, couldn't help but hold her breath.
"It's just... a little..." Wan Qiu held his phone, his eyes somewhat dazed, and stammered, unable to say anything.
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