Chapter 96: Fate

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Fate

Right at this moment, Wei’s mother pulled Deng Yuyuan to her seat.

The woman’s exquisite, mature features bore a faint resemblance to Tuantuan, yet were even more striking.

The grandmother could no longer hold back and tentatively called out, "Yu Yuan?"

"Hmm?" Deng Yuyuan looked up in confusion, thinking the nanny had told the older woman her name.

The two elders laughed heartily. "Look at this, the little girl doesn’t remember us anymore. I was the one who gave you that name."

The grandmother chimed in protectively, "You were too young then. It’s perfectly normal not to remember."

Mr. Wei and Wei’s mother took their seats, equally surprised. Mr. Wei teased, "Dad, how come I didn’t know you knew such a young lady? What a coincidence today."

As they reminisced about the past, the old couple couldn’t help but sigh. The little girl they had picked up back then had now grown into a beautiful woman, and even her child was this old.

Years ago, while on a business trip far from home, they had happened to find a baby girl on the street. They waited there for ages, but no family came looking for her. They had no choice but to take her to the police station. The station was full of rough men, and they couldn’t just abandon the child there, so they brought her back and took care of her themselves for a few days. When it became clear that no one had reported a missing child, they eventually had to send her to an orphanage.

The grandfather and grandmother had considered adopting her, but the political situation at the time was turbulent. No one could guarantee if they would still have their jobs the next second. Leaving the child at the orphanage and donating some money meant she could at least grow up safely. Plus, the director of the local orphanage was a good person, which put their minds at ease.

Up until Deng Yuyuan was five years old, they would take the train every year to visit her. Later, they became busy and no longer traveled there for work. Getting a special letter of introduction just to see her might draw unwanted attention to the child, and they didn’t dare maintain too close a connection for fear of implicating her. And so, they gradually lost touch.

"...Customer service, this doesn’t seem to match what Mrs. Deng said." She wondered, "What kind of family accidentally loses a child and doesn’t report it to the police for days?"

[The original book didn’t say. Player, do you want to look into it?]

"No need. Why dig into those depressing matters for no reason?"

The grandparents were still reminiscing. "The last time we received a letter about you was when you were ten. The director said your biological parents had found you and promised to love and cherish you." They looked at Deng Yuyuan affectionately. "Have you been doing well all these years?"

Deng Yuyuan fell silent for a moment. Still unwilling to let the Deng family look good, she simply said, "It’s all in the past."

That single sentence after her silence made the Wei Family grandparents understand everything.

Mr. Wei spoke up to lighten the mood. "Well, the bitter days are over, and the sweet ones are here. I’ve gained a god-sister now, so we should get together more often in the future!"

Lunch that day was vegetable and lean meat porridge. Other dishes had originally been prepared, but Wei Shu had thrown such a fit that Wei’s mother had no choice but to serve only this single main dish.

No one minded except for Wei Shu, who frowned and carefully examined his and Tuantuan’s bowls. They were two identical bowls, and the porridge in both was filled right to the brim.

Tuantuan wanted to eat her porridge, but Wei Shu stopped her. He calmly pointed out an issue: "This is unfair to Tuantuan."

Tuantuan shot him a questioning look. She didn’t feel it was unfair at all.

"Oh? Little Shu knows how to protect his sister at such a young age?" the grandfather chimed in with a smile.

Mr. Wei said, "The portions in both bowls are exactly the same. It’s distributed very fairly."

"That’s exactly why it’s unfair!" Wei Shu grew so agitated that his eyes turned red. "It doesn’t matter if my bowl is the smallest, but this is Tuantuan’s first time at our house! She should be eating her porridge from the biggest bowl!"

Seeing her youngest son about to have another meltdown, Wei’s mother quickly agreed. "I’ll get Tuantuan a bigger bowl, okay?"

"But I won’t be able to finish it, and it’ll be a waste," Tuantuan disagreed. She looked anxiously at her mother, only to find Deng Yuyuan already unhurriedly eating her porridge, completely unbothered by the commotion.

"I just want a small bowl." Tuantuan hugged her bowl and told her older brother, "It’s not unfair. My bowl is just as cute as yours. Aunt Wei prepared them with a lot of care."

"No." Wei Shu tried to pull Tuantuan’s hands away. "You need to switch to the biggest bowl."

As anxious as the Wei Family felt facing a dispute between two little children, they could only hold their ground for now and follow Deng Yuyuan’s lead in eating their porridge. If Wei Shu insisted, they would swap the bowl; if Tuantuan could convince Wei Shu, that would be even better.

No matter what she said, Tuantuan couldn’t get through to Wei Shu. She was just a fast talker but didn’t know how to preach grand principles. In the end, she resorted to physical action. Her two chubby little hands cupped the lower half of Wei Shu’s face, pulling his gaze downwards as she told him in all seriousness, "Brother, my tummy is only this tiny. I can’t eat a big bowl. If you don’t believe me, pat it."

Wei Shu actually reached out and gave it a feel. It was soft and squishy. He didn’t dare press too hard, afraid he might hurt her little tummy. But Wei Shu, of course, had his own logic. "You can leave what you can’t finish, but the big bowl is to defend fairness."

Tuantuan simply picked up her bowl, put her little mouth to the rim, and began inhaling the porridge like a vacuum. She thought, "This annoying brother is disturbing my meal when my tummy is already crying from hunger."

Wei Shu was both angry and frustrated. "Tuantuan, you’re a little rascal."

Tuantuan ignored him. She was now in food-protecting mode, and only after finishing her porridge did she ask, "Then do you like this little rascal?"

Deng Yuyuan suddenly spoke up, "Tuantuan, you can’t call him ’brother’ anymore. A little rascal’s brother would be a big rascal. And since Wei Shu is ’Little Fairness,’ you should just call him Little Shu."

Wei Shu’s declaration of his fondness choked in his throat. Hearing Tuantuan call him "Little Shu," his eyes grew even redder, and he looked up at his mother.

Wei’s mother returned a gentle smile, seemingly unaware that a monumental event capable of shattering Wei Shu’s world had just occurred.

Wei Shu sorrowfully finished a bowl of porridge. He knew Deng Yuyuan’s words lacked any logic whatsoever, but to a two-year-old toddler who didn’t understand logic, they were practically an imperial decree.

Finally, he said to the entirely unconcerned Tuantuan, "I’ve decided to be a big rascal for today. You can still call me ’brother’."

"Okay, brother." The illiterate little Tuantuan actually had no concept of what "fairness" or "rascal" meant, but Aunt Zhao had told her that life was meant to be lived in a blissful haze.

The Wei Family Parents watched with amusement. Seeing their young grandson willing to compromise made them breathe a sigh of relief. A tree too rigid easily breaks in the wind; it would be for the best if their young grandson could soften his temperament. Deng Yuyuan and Tuantuan were a fortuitous blessing bestowed upon them by the heavens.

"Speaking of which, did you marry into a family in Beijing?" the Wei family grandmother asked.

"No, I’m here under the Agricultural Research Institute to help handle some work, and I also have a personal matter to take care of this afternoon." Deng Yuyuan set down her emptied bowl and chopsticks. "I’m already divorced. My ex-husband is in the countryside, and I’m raising Tuantuan on my own now."

As soon as she spoke, the gazes of Mr. Wei, Wei’s mother, and the two nannies involuntarily darted to Deng Yuyuan’s calm, stunningly beautiful face.

They all screamed internally, "Didn’t she say before the meal that her husband is dead?! That he died a tragic death and his grave was even dug up by tomb raiders?!"