Chapter 3 A Yue Extra
The sunlight shines through the old locust tree in the welfare home, casting mottled shadows on the ground.
Jiang Tingwan stood in the yard, watching the children chasing and playing.
After she successfully helped Jiang Shixu consolidate his position in the political world, she announced that she would not get married. Although this might cause the aristocratic family to lose some support, after all, there would be no possibility of marriage.
However, she also announced that she would use her assets for children's charity in the future. After this statement, her reputation in the outside world rose.
This renovated welfare home now looks brand new thanks to her financial support.
"I really didn't expect it to be here." Zhou Luoyao was flipping through the project report, feeling a little emotional.
Jiang Tingwan hummed softly.
She also didn't expect that one of the children's charity projects she invested in would be the welfare home where she once worked.
Time seemed like a cycle, bringing her back to the starting point.
"Have you ever thought about finding your biological parents?" Zhou Luoyao suddenly asked.
Jiang Tingwan shook her head with a faint smile on her lips: "Since she was adopted by the Jiang family, it means there is no possibility of finding her back."
Her eyes fell on the children playing in the distance.
She has always known that she will only have Jiang Huai and Huo Yunshu as her parents in this life.
How is it possible to be found by biological parents?
To be adopted, one must not only meet Huo Yunshu's liking, but also undergo investigation.
The wealthy families are not fools. They have invested all their resources in it. Now if they find out, wouldn’t all these years have been wasted?
Before they could finish their words, a little girl suddenly fell down in front of them.
Jiang Tingwan squatted down and gently helped her up.
The girl was about seven or eight years old. Her knees were scraped, but she bit her lips and didn't cry out.
"Does it hurt?" Jiang Tingwan asked softly.
The girl shook her head, but her eyes like black grapes looked straight at her, and there were obviously tears of pain in them.
"It's okay, I'll take you to the infirmary." Jiang Tingwan smiled gently and picked her up.
The little girl was so light, like a feather falling into my arms.
On the way through the yard, Jiang Tingwan casually asked, "What's your name?"
"Ayue." The girl's voice was very low.
Jiang Tingwan paused.
Ah Yue?
"Sister, what's wrong?" A Yue noticed her pause and tilted his head to look at her.
"...Nothing." Jiang Tingwan shook her head, tightened her arms, and her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible.
Zhou Luoyao glanced at her - this name probably reminded her of Ruan Yue.
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In the infirmary, the smell of disinfectant is a bit pungent.
When the nurse was cleaning Ayue's wound, the girl kept holding the corner of Jiang Tingwan's clothes.
"Sister, can you not leave?" After the wound was bandaged, A Yue asked with her face looking up.
Her eyes were bright, with a cautious expectation that made people feel pity.
Jiang Tingwan sat down next to her: "Okay, I'll stay with you for a while."
"Are you here to adopt a child, too?" Ah Yue asked softly, "I'm very well behaved. I can comb my hair by myself and recite ancient poems."
Jiang Tingwan raised her eyebrows. Is this child so proactive?
She was about to speak when the dean came in with a document, so she stood up and went to the door to sign.
After signing, Jiang Tingwan did not leave immediately, but looked at the dean.
"That child," she pointed at Ayue, "has a good personality. How come no one has adopted him even though he is so old?"
"You mean Ayue?" The dean showed a puzzled expression: "She is usually very introverted and doesn't talk to strangers very often." After a pause, "She doesn't really want to be adopted, so she has been staying here."
Introvert? Don't want to be adopted?
Jiang Tingwan turned and looked at the girl on the hospital bed.
A Yue was swinging her legs, her eyes fixed on the tips of her shoes.
After signing the document, A Yue jumped off the bed and ran over.
"Sister, are you leaving?" She pulled Jiang Tingwan's skirt, "Will you come again?"
Jiang Tingwan looked down and saw reluctance in the little girl's big glasses.
The dean touched her head and said, "It seems that she really likes you."
She squatted down and said to Ayue, "Ayue, this sister is here to support our welfare home, not to adopt a child."
"Okay." A Yue lowered his head, his tone revealing an unconcealable disappointment.
Jiang Tingwan looked at the little girl's head and her small body, and spoke as if possessed by a ghost:
"If I want to adopt her, what procedures do I need to go through?"
As soon as the words came out, the dean and Zhou Luoyao were stunned.
A Yue's eyes suddenly lit up, as if stars fell into her pupils.
Jiang Tingwan ignored Zhou Luoyao's frantic winks and squatted down to look her in the eye: "Would you like to go home with me?"
The girl nodded vigorously, then suddenly threw herself into her arms, her voice trembling a little.
"Sister, Ayue is willing."
Jiang Tingwan felt the warmth coming from the small body, and suddenly felt that a certain empty place in her chest was gently filled.
Maybe this is fate's arrangement...
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While handling the formalities, Zhou Luoyao pulled Jiang Tingwan aside.
"Are you crazy? So sudden? Just because her name is A Yue?" Zhou Luoyao frowned, obviously not agreeing with her approach.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Tingwan said calmly, "She is very obedient and sensible. Besides, I don't plan to have children, so this is not..."
"Stop." Zhou Luoyao interrupted her and said earnestly, "You still need to think carefully about your identity."
She sighed, "You also announced that your assets will be used for charity. What if she saw that you are a special person and came here for this?"
"Besides, didn't you hear her just now? She's not friendly, but she took the initiative to pull you. What if she has bad intentions?" She hesitated, but finally chose to continue, "At this age, if she is more mature, she might be acting cute and sensible."
Jiang Tingwan didn't feel any change in his heart after hearing what she said.
Zhou Luoyao saw her chuckle lightly and looked out the window.
"It's fake, so what..."
She had pretended to be well-behaved to be taken home, and Ruan Yue had done the same thing.
It may be false at the beginning, but it may not be untrue later.
Now she lives more freely and easily, without having as many worries as before.
It was due to Huo Yunshu’s support, but also due to the shaping of various worldly events.
It was fate, and she had made up her mind.
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A Yue held Jiang Tingwan's hand tightly, looking back every few steps towards the welfare home where she had lived for eight years.
"Sister," she suddenly asked, "Can I come back to see my friends in the future?"
Jiang Tingwan squatted down and straightened her collar: "Of course, this will always be your home."
"Then..." A Yue hesitated, "Can I call you mom?"
The wind blew through the treetops, making a rustling sound.
Jiang Tingwan looked at the girl's expectant eyes and smiled softly, "Just call me sister."
She took A Yue's hand and walked towards the car parked on the side of the road.
In the rearview mirror, the outline of the welfare home gradually becomes blurred, but ahead is a brand new future.
Zhou Luoyao sat in the passenger seat and looked at them through the rearview mirror: "Forget it, as long as you are happy."
Then she turned to Yue in the back seat and said, "Xiao Yueyue, call me godmother."
Jiang Tingwan narrowed her eyes. Didn’t she just hear her ask A Yue to call her sister?
Let her call her godmother?
What is your intention?
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A Yue held Jiang Tingwan's hand tightly and stood in front of the Jiang family's gate.
The mansion was even bigger than she had imagined, a tall and magnificent Chinese-style mansion, with white peonies planted in the garden and water droplets from the fountain sparkling in the sun. The courtyard alone was larger than the entire orphanage.
"Sister, it's so beautiful here." she whispered.
Her sister smiled down at her and squeezed her hand: "This will be your home from now on."
A Yue nodded, feeling both nervous and expectant.
In fact, she wanted to go home with Jiang Tingwan the first time she saw her.
There are many people going to the welfare home every day. She has heard from her older sister that she must choose a rich person to adopt her, so that she can live a much better life.
Ah Yue only understood half of what he said. Rich people? She looked at the couples who came in and out every day. They were dressed in bright and beautiful clothes. She knew their family background at a glance.
But she didn't like their gazes as if she was selecting commodities, so she always chose to refuse to get close to them and never took the initiative to show it.
But today, she saw Jiang Tingwan.
This sister has a gentle temperament. She has never seen such a beautiful sister, and her eyes are so pure, without a trace of impurities.
A Yue followed what the elder sister in the courtyard taught her and fell down in front of her. As expected, the elder sister was very kind.
She was successfully adopted by her sister.
Then, she met her brothers who tried various ways to coax her into calling them "Dad".
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The first person I saw was Jiang Shixu.
He sat behind a large desk, flipping through a document with his slender fingers, and only looked up when he heard footsteps.
His eyes were originally very indifferent, like a lake in winter, so calm that no emotion could be seen, but after seeing that the person coming was his sister, they suddenly softened a lot.
A Yue hid behind Jiang Tingwan, her little hands tightly grasping the corner of her clothes.
"Brother, this is Ayue." The elder sister gently pushed her, "Ayue, call me brother."
Ah Yue looked up timidly and whispered, "Hello, brother."
Her brother's gaze stayed on her for a few seconds, but Yue felt that he was not really observing her.
After a while, he came over and touched her head, then said calmly: "What kind of room do you like? I will ask the housekeeper to arrange it later."
"Yeah, that's right." The elder sister also touched her head and said with a smile, "What kind of room does Yue like? You can tell your brother if you need anything."
A Yue blinked. It seemed that her sister trusted her brother very much. If that was the case, she also had some good feelings towards her brother.
A Yue nodded, "Thank you, brother."
"No need." The brother's tone was still calm, but A Yue knew that he must be a good person.
But the next second, his words were different from before.
“Actually, you don’t have to call me brother.” The brother squatted down and picked up A Yue.
Confusion appeared in A Yue's eyes. She turned to look at Jiang Tingwan. If not brother, what should she call him?
Jiang Tingwan was obviously confused as well. Yes, if not brother, what should he be called?
"You can call me dad." Jiang Shixu said naturally.
A Yue saw her sister's pupils shrink and her eyelashes blink rapidly.
What the hell?
Jiang Tingwan obviously didn't expect him to say that.
What is daddy?
She opened her mouth, but seeing Jiang Shixu's calm and natural look, she couldn't stop herself from speaking for a moment and didn't know how to stop herself.
A Yue looked at her sister without saying anything, then looked at her brother's indifferent expression. Should she call out?
But she remembered that her sister had just said that she could ask her brother for help if she needed anything, which meant that her brother must be right. So she obediently called out, "Dad."
Jiang Tingwan's eyebrows jumped, and she immediately covered her mouth, her cheeks flushed: "Brother, how could she..."
Jiang Shixu's expression remained unchanged, but Ah Yue noticed that he was in a much better mood. He rubbed her head and said, "Be good."
A Yue blinked and looked at the hand on her mouth, a little confused.
Jiang Tingwan took a deep breath and quickly carried her out: "Ayue, he is your brother. From now on, you have to call him brother. You can only call him brother! Got it?"
A Yue nodded and looked back at her "brother".
——This “brother” seems a little strange.
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On the weekend, Ayue was taken by her sister to the mall to buy clothes.
It was the first time for her to come to such a luxurious place. There were so many crystal chandeliers and various luxurious decorations that Ah Yue was dazzled. Every time she entered a store, many sisters would stand in rows with smiles to welcome them.
However, Ayue's little hand always held Jiang Tingwan tightly, for fear that she would get lost.
"Take whatever you like." Jiang Tingwan smiled gently and rubbed her head.
Ah Yue nodded, and just as she was about to look, a gentle voice suddenly came from behind her -
She turned around and saw a brother wearing a dark grey coat standing at the door. He smiled when he saw them: "Is this the little girl you adopted?"
"You are still so well-informed." Jiang Tingwan nodded gently and patted her shoulder, "Ayue, call Chen Guan brother."
"Brother Chen Guan." A Yue said obediently.
"So good," Chen Guan squatted down, looked at her at eye level, and said softly, "Ayue, what do you like? Brother will give it to you."
A Yue looked at Jiang Tingwan and didn't know how to answer for a moment.
"It doesn't matter. Just tell Ah Yue what he likes." Jiang Tingwan raised the corners of her lips when she heard his words, "Remember to choose the one with more numbers."
A lot of numbers?
Huh? Is this how you choose things?
A Yue blinked, not understanding what was going on, but still nodded obediently.
Chen Guan naturally took Ayue's little hand from Jiang Tingwan.
He was very caring, following them throughout the whole process, helping Ah Yue pick things up, and when Ah Yue was not tall enough, he would pick her up. He even helped her adjust her collar when she was trying on clothes.
But Ayue doesn't care much about these things, her focus is on her sister.
She saw that he would help his sister carry her bag and pass her water, and her sister seemed to trust him. A Yue thought that this brother was pretty good.
However, when Jiang Tingwan went to the bathroom, he said to Yue, who was in his arms, "Yue, do you want to make it easier for your sister?"
Make my sister feel more relaxed? Of course I thought about it, Ah Yue nodded.
He chuckled, "Ayue, as long as you call me 'Dad', I will give you everything in this mall, and you don't have to pay for it, how about it?"
All the stuff?
A Yue’s eyes widened. Such a big shopping mall, does it have everything?
So can she give all those pretty dresses and beautiful necklaces to her sister?
Her eyes lit up, but then she thought of something and finally shook her head regretfully: "No."
Shen Guan raised an eyebrow: "Why?"
Ah Yue whispered, "My brother said I can't call anyone else dad."
Although her brother also asked her to call him dad...
Shen Guan narrowed his eyes, "Brother?"
It seems to be Jiang Shixu...
But not long after, Jiang Tingwan came back.
She noticed the subtle atmosphere and squinted at Shen Guan: “What did you say to her?”
Shen Guan smiled and said, “Just asking her if she likes me.”
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A Yue met Xie Duo in the Jiang family's garden.
He was wearing a black suit and standing next to the fountain, with a cold aura. When A Yue saw him, she subconsciously took a step back.
Xie Duo frowned. He was not very good at getting along with children.
The little girl blinked her big eyes, with a hint of curiosity in her innocence.
He was silent for a while, took an apple from the table and handed it to her: "Would you like to eat it?"
Ayue hesitated for a moment. She wanted to say that when she ate apples at home, someone always cut the apples and fed them to her.
But she could feel that this brother wanted to be closer to her, so she reached out and took it: "Thank you, brother."
Sure enough, Xie Duo's slightly frowned brows relaxed, and he felt relieved when he saw that the little girl did not reject him.
"Do you have a father?" Xie Duo suddenly asked her.
A Yue shook her head and said yes and no.
uncertain.
Xie Duo touched his nose and said, "Then you can call me dad."
A Yue: “……?”
She just ate an apple, and it belonged to her family. And you asked her to call him dad?
Jiang Tingwan just happened to come over, and when she heard this, she picked up A Yue and said, "Thank you - Duo -"
Xie Duo rubbed A Yue's head expressionlessly and looked at her: "She is very well behaved."
Jiang Tingwan raised an eyebrow, "Then you let her call you daddy?"
Xie Duo was silent for a moment and said, "Is it not possible?"
A Yue silently took a bite of the apple and thought, this "Dad" seems a little stupid.
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Lu Zhaoye gave A Yue a bunch of toys.
Dolls, stuffed bears, princess dresses...
As a man with a younger sister, Lu Zhaoye thought that winning A Yue's favor would be easy.
As a result, A Yue took a look and was not interested.
Her sister had already bought her an entire room full of these toys.
Lu Zhaoye raised his eyebrows: "Don't like it?"
Ah Yue nodded and said directly, "I don't like it."
Lu Zhaoye curled his lips and suddenly pulled out a pink toy gun from behind: "What about this?"
Jiang Tingwan's mouth twitched: "What the hell is this?"
However, Ayue's eyes lit up, she had never seen this before!
She reached out and took it: "I like this one!"
Lu Zhaoye looked at Jiang Tingwan proudly: "I knew it."
Jiang Tingwan: You understand again...
He squatted down, put on a smug smile, and said to Yue: "If you like it, call me 'Dad' and I will immediately have someone send you hundreds of different ones. How do you think?"
But before A Yue could speak.
"Lu Zhaoye!" Jiang Tingwan grabbed his ear and said, "How dare you teach a child bad things?"
Ah Yue looked at Lu Zhaoye, who was grimacing in pain, and winked at him: "Consider it?"
A Yue held the toy gun and took a step back silently.
She wouldn't scream unless her sister allowed her to.
This "brother" doesn't seem very reliable.
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A Yue often sees Wen Nian in Jiang Tingwan's office.
They were always talking about business, and once her sister stopped talking, Wen Nian would say a number, and finally Jiang Tingwan would smile and sign the contract. And that night, her sister would take her and Wen Nian out for dinner.
Once, Wen Nian took advantage of Jiang Tingwan's absence and asked A Yue: "Does your sister mention me?"
A Yue shook her head.
Her sister mentioned so many names every day that she couldn’t remember them all.
Wen Nian was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is she happy every time my brother comes?"
Ah Yue hesitated for a moment, seems to be happy? Sister always holds the folder, and then she is in a good mood.
She nodded.
Wen Nian raised the corners of his lips: "Then do you want to make her happier?"
Of course I did.
But with the experience of the previous two times, A Yue nodded hesitantly.
Sure enough, the next second, Wen Nian whispered, "As long as you call me 'Dad', I can make her happier."
A Yue didn't quite understand why they all wanted her to call him dad.
"Wen Nian." But the next second, my sister's voice came from the door: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Ayue, don't listen to his nonsense." She walked in, touched Ayue's head, and glanced at Wen Nian. "Sister is happy because someone came to give her money again, not because of him."
Wen Nian felt wronged: "Sister, I just want to experience what it feels like to be a father."
Jiang Tingwan raised her eyebrows: "If you want to experience it, go and have it."
Wen Nian: "But I just want to be with you..."
Before he could finish, his sister covered his mouth.
"Be careful." Jiang Tingwan narrowed her eyes and warned, "If you dare to lead a child astray, don't even think about entering my office again."
A Yue looked at them silently and thought, this brother seems to be the most unserious.
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When A Yue was waiting for Jiang Tingwan in the car, she met Song Zhi.
This brother is different from the previous ones. A Yue feels that he has a hint of sadness and loneliness.
He stood not far away, looking at her seriously, and finally walked over and handed her an ice cream.
A Yue shook her head and said that she would not eat food from strangers.
Song Zhi chuckled: "You are really as vigilant as her."
He asked, "Is she your mother?"
A Yue hesitated for a moment. Although Jiang Tingwan asked her to call her sister, she was playing with her phone recently and saw a video saying that her mother asked her to call her sister, which would make her look younger. In addition, before sending her away, the dean told her that Jiang Tingwan was her mother. A Yue finally nodded.
Song Zhi was silent for a moment. He had just come from Hong Kong City and originally just wanted to look at her from a distance, but he didn't expect to see her coming out with a child in her arms, so intimately.
Seeing Ah Yue nod, his eyes grew dim. Such a big child, she had already...
He asked Ayue again: "Who is your father?"
A Yue didn't answer.
She doesn't know either.
There were too many, and she couldn't tell who her "dad" was.
But Song Zhi thought Jiang Tingwan didn't want her to know who her father was. He sighed and gave her two cards before leaving, one black and one with a string of numbers.
A Yue didn't understand.
Looking at his back, she thought, this uncle doesn't seem very happy.
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