Assistant Tao was looking down and organizing documents when he caught sight of someone passing beside the car out of the corner of his eye. He instinctively looked up, and the sight startled him.
It was that beautiful kidâor more accurately, Zhong Yu.
After the accident, Assistant Tao had immediately investigated all of Zhong Yu's information and, once his boss woke up, presented the entire dossier to him with both hands.
It was a very classic kind of story, but even as an outsider, Assistant Tao could not help sighing over what had happened to them.
A beautiful omega raised in an orphanage was passionately pursued by a beta with a little money who had taken a fancy to her. She fell in love, but the first child she gave birth to after marriage was a beta.
She soon became pregnant with a second child. But her body had not yet recovered, and without her husband's pheromones to soothe her, she lost the second child. Her health then deteriorated rapidly, leaving her bedridden for long stretches.
Her husband, meanwhile, amused himself outside the marriage and eventually even brought home an illegitimate alpha son.
Assistant Tao had sighed repeatedly after reading it, while Cheng Shenzhi had stared at the information for much longerâall the way until just now.
Assistant Tao cautiously watched his boss, trying to guess what he was thinking.
From what he knew of his boss, after an accident like this, there was no possibility Cheng Shenzhi would simply pretend nothing had happened.
But Assistant Tao could not guess what Cheng Shenzhi actually intended. He tested the waters. "So now we…"
Officially, they had come here to find Professor Li.
The patent in Professor Li's hands made many companies envious. Several companies had already tried approaching him and all had returned defeated. Even the person their company had sent last time had come back empty-handed.
Cheng Shenzhi did not answer. He merely withdrew his gaze from outside the window, lowered his eyes, and turned another page of the documents in his hands.
–
Zhong Yu walked quickly with a clear destination in mind, but when he passed the leisure garden in the center of the residential compound, he heard Zhong Jue shout happily,
"Higher!"
He instinctively stopped and looked over.
It was a weekday afternoon, so there were hardly any people in the residential compound. Only two figures occupied the garden.
A girl in a pretty little dress sat laughing on a swing. As she flew higher, she kicked her little feet with delight, making her skirt flare with her, like a butterfly darting through flowers.
Behind her, a tall alpha stood at the swing and tirelessly pushed her.
Zhong Yu stared at the smile on Zhong Jue's face and actually froze for several seconds.
Zhong Hanqing was the first to notice him.
The two looked at each other silently for a moment before the child's cheerful calls interrupted them again.
When Zhong Jue came swinging down once more and eagerly demanded, "Higher," Zhong Hanqing interrupted her.
"Xiaoxiao, your brother is here to pick you up."
At first Zhong Jue was unhappy at being interrupted. She pushed her lips so far out that one could practically hang a gourd from them. But the instant she heard the key word, her eyes lit up. She whipped her head around and searched from side to side.
The moment she saw Zhong Yu, the tiny girl nimbly jumped off the swing before even Zhong Hanqing could stop her.
Zhong Jue dashed toward Zhong Yu and barely managed to stop when she was still two steps away. Her brother was in poor health. She absolutely could not crash into himâwhat if she broke him!
She tipped her head up. Sweat still clung to her forehead, her cheeks were rosy, and her bright eyes fixed on Zhong Yu. "Brother, you're back!"
Zhong Yu looked at his little sister.
She looked extremely well cared for and full of energy, and she was even wearing a new dress he had never seen before.
The skirt was covered in sequins. When she ran beneath the sunlight, the light refracted from them and involuntarily drew the eye.
The heart that had been hanging high ever since he saw Pan Wang's message finally settled. Zhong Yu crouched halfway down and gently wiped the hot sweat from his sister's forehead.
Zhong Jue stood quietly in place until her brother finished wiping her sweat and she was clean again. Only then did she twist herself into Zhong Yu's arms. "Where did you go these past few days?"
Zhong Yu hesitated for a second or two, glanced at Zhong Hanqing standing not far away, and saw that he did not seem to be paying attention to them.
So he quickly made several hand signs.
[Pan Wang tried to bully me. I ran away.]
Zhong Jue's face changed dramatically. She backed up two or three steps in alarm and carefully examined Zhong Yu from head to toe. Only after confirming that he had no visible injuries did she come close again, wave a little fist, and declare, "Good job running!"
She thought about it, then imitated her brother by lowering her voice and carefully told Zhong Yu, "He tried to bully me too, and I ran away from him too."
Zhong Yu smiled and raised his hand to give his sister a tiny high five.
Xiaoxiao was the best!
For once, Xiaoxiao looked a little embarrassed. She made a couple of shy noises, hugged Zhong Yu, and stopped talking.
Footsteps approached and finally stopped beside Zhong Yu. He looked up and met Zhong Hanqing's eyes for a moment, then gently pulled his sister away and straightened with some restraint.
Curling his index finger, he lightly tapped twice beside his cheek and silently moved his lips toward Zhong Hanqing.
He was calling him "Uncle."
The title seemed extraordinarily unfamiliar to Zhong Hanqing too. He frowned and paused for a second or two before awkwardly answering, "Mm." Then he asked, "Where have you been these past few days?"
[Something came up.]
Zhong Hanqing carefully watched the signs Zhong Yu made.
Only after returning to the country had he learned that the child his older sister left behind was not only physically frail but also had difficulty communicating through speech.
So he had begun learning sign language on short notice. He had not memorized it well yet, and recognizing the signs still took effort.
Zhong Yu remembered this too. After thinking for a moment, he took out his phone and began typing.
[Something happened, but it's been resolved now.]
Zhong Hanqing did not question him closely. He only said, "Xiaoxiao was very worried about you."
[I'm sorry.]
[Xiaoxiao and I have caused you trouble.]
After reading that, Zhong Hanqing stopped speaking. Zhong Yu did not raise his head either and could not see the man's expression, so naturally he had no way to guess what he was thinking.
Zhong Jue, on the other hand, craned her neck to look at the phone screen. The moment she read it, she grew so anxious she nearly jumped.
"You're not allowed to scold my brother!"
She immediately turned hostile and forgot entirely who had bought the little dress she was wearing and who had pushed her on the swing just now. She planted her hands on her hips and glared angrily at Zhong Hanqing for two seconds, then grabbed Zhong Yu and tried to run. "We're going…going back!"
Zhong Yu did not move.
Zhong Jue then remembered that her brother had taught her to be polite, so she reluctantly stopped where she was, pouting as she looked at the sky and the groundâanywhere except Zhong Hanqing.
For once, Zhong Hanqing seemed at a loss. He frowned and sighed. "That's not what I meant… Forget it."
He glanced at Zhong Jue and said, "I bought some clothes for both of you. They're at my place. Come over and play whenever you want."
Zhong Jue immediately remembered the new clothes Zhong Hanqing had bought her that morning and instantly looked a little guilty, her eyes darting around.
Zhong Hanqing continued, "Do you want to stay at my place tonight? There are rooms for both of you."
Zhong Yu shook his head.
[I'll take my sister back.]
Zhong Hanqing looked steadily at him for two seconds. He neither agreed nor objected, simply turned and walked away.
Zhong Yu remained standing there and watched him leave, only to suddenly feel his sister tug on his clothes.
He adjusted his mood and turned to Zhong Jue. The child looked unusually timid. "Uncle bought me three new dresses this morning… Can I keep them?"
Zhong Yu himself was not entirely sure.
But he still crouched down and gently stroked his sister's head.
[Do you like them?]
She obviously loved them. The moment he asked, even her eyes lit up.
The child nodded hard.
Zhong Yu smiled too.
As long as his sister was happy, that was enough.
With her brother's approval, Zhong Jue instantly threw all her worries to the winds and became cheerful again. Tugging Zhong Yu along, she began chattering endlessly about everything that had happened over the past few days.
She started with Pan Wang storming home in a rage. At the time, Zhong Jue had hidden furtively behind the sofa and stared at the front door for a long time. When her brother did not return, she had been anxious for ages.
But she had lived in that family for so long that she had developed a sharp sense for danger.
The moment she realized something was wrong with Pan Wang's mood, she immediately hid in her room and locked the door. By noon the next day, when Pan Wang finally remembered that she existed and prepared to come cause trouble for her, Zhong Jue had already made a lightning-fast escape.
Zhong Yu's heart hurt as he listened.
[So you didn't eat dinner or breakfast the next morning?]
The child instantly went silent, guiltily turned her face away, then turned back as though nothing had happened. She gave a vague little "mm" and hurriedly explained, "But afterward Grandma gave me lots and lots to eat! I finished all of it!"
Zhong Yu rubbed his sister's cheeks and let the matter go.
[Do you still want to play on the swing?]
Of course she did.
But Zhong Jue knew her brother was in poor health.
She was a good child. She remembered what her mother had told her and knew to be considerate of her brother. She could not order him around and make him push her on the swing the way she casually ordered Uncle around, so she obediently shook her head. "No. It's too hot."
It really was.
Although autumn had already arrived, the temperature was still high.
Zhong Yu raised his hand and wiped his sister's sweat again.
[I'll take you for ice cream.]
–
There was a food street near A University's back gate. The prices were affordable, the variety was extensive, and students loved it.
Zhong Jue loved the place too. She chattered beside Zhong Yu, her gaze darting everywhere and sticking helplessly to all kinds of snacks on either side. Yet her hand remained tightly clenched around the corner of Zhong Yu's clothes as she asked softly, "Can I have some?"
Zhong Yu laughed soundlessly, rubbed her head, and ordered a hot milk tea and a chocolate sundae online.
The shop worker quickly handed him the order. Zhong Yu led his sister to a nearby bench and sat down.
Before they could finish, however, dark clouds gathered at the edge of the sky. Less than half a minute later, a light drizzle began to fall.
The rain was not heavy, and it would soon be time for classes and work to end, which was the busiest period for business. The surrounding vendors therefore did not close their stalls and simply hurried to put up umbrellas.
Zhong Yu hesitated for two seconds. If they went home now, they would definitely run into Pan Wang, but taking his little sister back to the men's dormitory would also be inconvenient.
While he hesitated, an umbrella suddenly tilted over them.
Zhong Yu belatedly raised his head and saw a pair of long, deep-black eyes.
