“Shen Minyan,” Shen Minyan said with a slight nod.
Shen Lin stepped forward, swallowing nervously. “Grandma, I’m Youyou’s brother. My name is Shen Lin.”
Grandma Yang sighed. Even though she’d come downstairs for a bit, she was still worried about the two children on the second floor.
“You all think children are too young, that everything you do is for their own good. You think they don’t understand anything, but actually, little kids understand better than anyone.”
Leaving them with those words, Grandma Yang went back upstairs to check on the children. It was only today that Su Siwen realized Youyou loved him more than he had ever imagined. Qin Kun watched Grandma Yang ascend the stairs, feeling as if the old lady was surrounded by a golden glow.
“Your mom is really something.”
Yang Shiqing sniffled. “Have you forgotten? My mom was a kindergarten teacher before she retired.”
After Grandma Yang’s lecture, the men sat together, trying to figure out a solution that would work for everyone.
On the second floor.
Youyou, dressed in his pajamas, sat on the edge of the bed. No matter how Yang Yang tried to cheer him up, the little guy just pressed his lips together and stayed silent.
Grandma Yang went over, felt his forehead, and asked softly, “Youyou, are you hungry? Want Grandma to take you to buy some sweet cakes?”
Su Youli curled his little feet, called out “Grandma” in a soft, weak voice, and then shook his head.
The little guy’s emotions had been on a rollercoaster today. Now that he had calmed down, all he felt was wronged. It turned out things were different from what he thought. Just because someone was his birth father didn’t mean they could be together. Both Dad and Kunkun wanted him to go home with his birth father. But this was Youyou’s home.
“Grandma, Youyou will be good. Why doesn’t Dad want me?”
Grandma Yang’s heart ached. The little guy’s eyelashes were still wet with tears. She hugged him, comforting, “Youyou, don’t be scared. How could your daddies not want you? Our Youyou is the best, most wonderful child.”
Grandma Yang held back. If those men were Yang Shiqing, she’d probably have swung a stick at them by now. How could they treat a three-year-old child like this!
“Let’s go downstairs and get something to eat, okay?” Grandma Yang coaxed.
Su Youli shook his head, wriggled, and burrowed under the covers. Tears in his eyes, he curled up. He didn’t want to go downstairs. He wanted to hide. If he hid, Dad couldn’t find him and wouldn’t send him away.
Grandma Yang instructed her grandson: “Yang Yang, go downstairs and tell Uncle Qin to bring some food up. Say Youyou is hungry.”
Yang Yang acknowledged with an “Okay!” and ran downstairs.
It wasn’t even ten o’clock yet. Su Youli huddled under the blanket and eventually fell asleep. Shen Lin brought breakfast up on a tray – potato pancakes, two small buns, and a glass of milk.
Asleep, Su Youli was so good it was heartbreaking. His face still bore the marks of crying; tear tracks clung to his long lashes. He would occasionally startle in his sleep, his little hands clenched tightly together.
Grandma Yang patted him gently, soothing him. When she saw Shen Lin, she beckoned him over. “Come here, look at your little brother.”
Shen Lin, who resembled Shen Minyan and looked quite stern when not smiling, though his features were more youthful, gazed at his brother’s profile and whispered, “Youyou, I’m sorry.”
Su Youli slept for two hours. When he woke up, he saw three fathers sitting by his bedside. He opened his eyes, then grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it over his head, leaving only a tuft of curly hair visible.
The three fathers looked at each other. Finally, Qin Kun gently pulled the little guy out. “Youyou, Dad was wrong. I’m sorry.”
Shen Minyan furrowed his brow, listening to Qin Kun and Su Siwen apologize to Su Youli, his thoughts unknown.
“Youyou, can you forgive Dad?” Su Siwen asked.
Youyou blinked, remembering how his dad had left him outside that morning, and felt like crying again.
“…Youyou… won’t for-give,” the little guy said, showing some backbone for once.
Qin Kun chuckled. “Okay, our Youyou won’t forgive us.”
Su Siwen, leaning on the bed, felt his son’s forehead and used the thermometer to check his temperature. Relieved to find it back to normal, he reached out to hug Youyou. The little guy instinctively shrank back, afraid his little dad was going to pick him up and give him away again.
“Dad…” Youyou’s big eyes welled up with tears.
The two fathers, one on each side of the bed, apologized and coaxed him.
“Youyou, do you want to hear what Dad has to say?”
Su Youli held onto Kunkun’s hand tightly. Home was where he felt safest.
And it seemed like the daddies had been scolded by Grandma Yang. Maybe they wouldn’t not want him anymore.
“Yes,” the little guy nodded.
Su Siwen’s voice was calm and gentle: “Youyou, Kunkun and I, we both love you very much. You will always be Dad’s precious baby.”
“Daddy, I love you too!” The little guy had known how to express love from a young age, even when he was upset, he would still respond.
Su Siwen smiled wryly, touched his face, and said, “Dad really wants to be with you forever too. But,” he placed Youyou’s little hand on his own knee, “Dad’s legs are very sick. I have to stay in the hospital and have an operation.”
“Otherwise, Dad might lose his legs and wouldn’t be able to carry Youyou out to play anymore.”
Youyou’s face showed concern, his lips pouting. “Dad, does it hurt?”
Su Siwen pinched his cheek gently. “Dad doesn’t hurt. Dad wants to get better so he can run with Youyou, and take Marbles out to play…”
Su Siwen’s voice choked up. Qin Kun patted the back of his hand and continued, “I need to take your little Dad to get treatment. So, Youyou can stay with Shen Dad for a while first. When little Dad is better, we’ll come get you. Okay?”
This was the outcome they had discussed with Shen Minyan. Shen Minyan had worn a cold expression throughout, more serious than in any business negotiation, but he had indeed made a concession. If Su Siwen’s legs healed in the future, and Youyou wanted to return to Yunshui Town, he could come back anytime. After all, Shen Minyan had plenty of money; if his son needed anything, he could just buy it.
It was unclear how much of this the little guy understood. He looked expectantly at Shen Minyan, who sat silently by the bed the whole time.
Shen Dad was so scary. The little guy glanced at him, then quickly turned and buried his head in Qin Kun’s chest.
They had agreed to explain things slowly and properly to the little one. They weren’t in a hurry. That night, lying in bed with his eyes closed, Shen Minyan could still recall Su Youli wailing in his arms that day. Youyou’s state that day had truly frightened him.
He lay on his back, an arm across his forehead, staring blankly at the ceiling. His resolute face seemed to have gained a few more lines. Over the next two days, Su Youli diligently listened each day as his fathers explained things to him. And Su Youli, a three-year-old toddler, finally, through constant repetition, understood what his fathers meant.
His daddies weren’t abandoning him; they were going to get treatment. He just needed to stay with Shen Dad for a while, and they would come to get him later. It was like, like before when he stayed at Grandma Yang’s house next door. Su Youli agreeing to go back to Beicheng with them was largely thanks to Shen Lin.
Over those two days, Shen Lin showed him many, many photos of their mother, constantly explaining that she was the one who gave birth to him. Now their mother was very sick, and she would surely be overjoyed to see Youyou.
The word ‘mother’ was very unfamiliar to Su Youli.
But somehow, when Shen Lin gege put the picture in front of him, he reached out his little chubby hand and softly murmured to the photo, “mother.”
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