For a full hour, Kaiyang had neither cried nor made a fuss after Hong Xiaoduo told him that he was Tong'er from the Wei family, and his little face showed no excitement or agitation.
He sat quietly in the chair, his arms on his lap, his hands supporting his chin as he looked at the lotus pond.
She wasn't just staring blankly; when a dragonfly flew by, her gaze would follow it, and once it was far away, she would look at something else. Every now and then, she would turn her head to look at Hong Xiaoduo sitting next to her.
The child remained silent, and Hong Xiaoduo did not speak again.
Everything that needed to be said has been said. All that's left is to wait and let Kaiyang process it himself.
As for whether or not to accept it, Hong Xiaoduo didn't think it was anything to worry about.
Lord Wei had previously been in contact with Kaiyang, not to mention Madam Hua, who had been in close contact with Kaiyang every day for almost twenty days.
Two of Kaiyang's four immediate family members were already quite familiar to him.
Furthermore, he is Tong'er of this family, not someone else's adopted child, nor was he someone she insisted on being adopted, so Kaiyang wouldn't be too resistant.
Kaiyang's fishing rod was dragged into the depths of the lotus pond by the fish. Her fishing rod was still there, but she didn't plan to fish anymore and leaned back in her chair to wait.
Not far away, there was a tree in full bloom, clusters of bright red flowers. Hong Xiaoduo thought for a moment and realized that it should be a pomegranate tree this season. She wondered if it was for ornamental purposes or if it would actually bear fruit.
She also saw that behind the vase-shaped door not far away, people had been looking inside several times. It was Lord Wei and his wife, along with their son and daughter-in-law, who hadn't come together. They seemed to be careful and sneaking around, as if they were afraid of disturbing the others.
Hong Xiaoduo felt a mix of emotions watching this scene; she felt a little sad but also a little amused.
They are the owners of this house, and they have to do this even when looking after their own grandchildren.
Especially Lord Wei, at his age, how could he possibly lose his composure like this?
"Am I really Tong'er from this household?" Kaiyang finally spoke again, his voice very calm.
Hong Xiaoduo nodded, giving a very affirmative response: "Yes. If you don't believe me, I can do another test, just like I did to prove it to your grandfather."
Kaiyang didn't say he didn't believe it: "It's really not because Lord Wei liked me and wanted to adopt me, and then the young mistress liked me and thought their family was well-off, and then two people liked me in a row, that's why they made the decision to make me Tong'er in their household?"
Hong Xiaoduo felt a little helpless after hearing this; Kaiyang's tone still didn't seem to trust her.
"Kaiyang, in your heart, am I the kind of person who would disregard others to achieve my own goals? Would I scheme to have you take their real grandson's place just so you could have a good family background?" Hong Xiaoduo asked with a sigh.
Kaiyang lowered his head, fiddling with his fingers, and whispered, "Maybe. Master said you care about the seven of us a lot, and that you might meet someone you believe will treat us well..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but even without saying it aloud, Hong Xiaoduo understood what he meant. She slammed her hand on the small table and said, "Hey, you little brat, what do you mean? What kind of person do you think you are?"
Kaiyang made a gesture as if he was about to get up and run away, but seeing that she didn't get up, he sat back down and looked to the side with his neck stiff.
Hong Xiaoduo wasn't really angry, but she breathed a sigh of relief. It was normal for the child to have such a strange reaction since she hadn't gotten angry.
On the other side of the small door, Hua was nervously pulling at her handkerchief.
"Don't worry, be patient. He needs time to adjust. Go back and wait," Wei Zizheng said softly from the side.
He agreed to wait elsewhere, but his wife was worried and wanted to come over, so he had no choice but to stay with her.
Not to mention his wife, who couldn't wait patiently, his parents had already come over twice.
Ms. Hua thought for a moment, nodded, and slowly walked with her husband towards their courtyard.
By the lotus pond, seeing that neither he nor Hong Xiaoduo spoke, Kaiyang suddenly stood up and said defiantly, "Aren't you worried at all that I might jump into this lotus pond and commit suicide?"
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo reached out and poured a cup of tea, then smiled and said, "I've been taking care of this child for so long, how could I not know what kind of person she is? Someone who can live strong no matter how difficult or bitter life is, how could she possibly take her own life just because she can't think straight?"
Also, if you feel that jumping down would make me feel guilty or remorseful, you can jump. I've estimated that the water here isn't deep; you won't drown.
Even if it's deep, it's okay. I told you, I can swim, I'm really good at it. I'll save you, but I probably won't save you right away. I might let you struggle in the water for a while, until you've choked enough, before I act. It wasn't easy for you to find a way to end your life, so I should let you experience what it feels like to take your own life.
After saying that, Hong Xiaoduo smiled and brought the teacup to her lips with one hand, while making a light gesture towards the lotus pond with the other.
Her response infuriated Kaiyang, who stomped his foot angrily: "Listen to what you're saying! Am I a child calling you 'Mom'? Is this how a mother acts?"
Hong Xiaoduo took a sip of tea and said dismissively, "I'm not much older than you. Don't you know very well how I became your mother? I'm only a little over ten years old, still a baby myself."
"You, hmph, I don't want to talk to you anymore, and I don't want to pay any attention to you." Kaiyang said angrily and turned to leave.
"Oh my, the weather is so nice, what should I do by myself? Hmm, let's go shopping." Hong Xiaoduo said loudly, put down her teacup, and got up to walk in another direction.
Kaiyang, who had taken several steps away in a huff, stopped when he heard her words. He hesitated for a moment before finally turning around and chasing after her.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Hong Xiaoduo's lips curved into a smile, but she didn't turn around or stop.
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