The driver, Uncle Zhang, stepped out and opened the car door for Jiang Haoyan. The moment the little boy jumped down, a middle-aged woman rushed toward him, arms spread to hug him. Startled, the boy quickly stepped back and shouted, “Uncle Zhang!”
Uncle Zhang immediately moved to block the woman’s path.
“Dear baby, I’m your grandmother!” Mother Lu exclaimed eagerly. Her eyes flicked toward Uncle Zhang, who was dressed in a well-tailored suit and tie — even the driver looked refined. Truly, wealthy families were different. Smiling warmly, she tried to explain to him, “Comrade, I’m the child’s grandmother. I’ve been waiting here for him since early this morning.”
Lu Xiang walked up with a soft, composed smile. “Haohao, you’re here! This is your teacher’s mother — your grandmother. Come, I’ll hold your hand and take you home.”
Jiang Haoyan’s eyes darted about, but when he saw his teacher approaching, his small frown finally relaxed. He obediently extended his chubby hand to Lu Xiang.
While mother Lu led the way upstairs, joy lighting her face.
Lu Xiang, still holding Jiang Haoyan’s hand, noticed the driver following them. She hesitated before saying politely, “I can take Haohao up myself. You can come pick him up later.”
“Madam instructed me to see the young master safely to your home before leaving,” Uncle Zhang replied evenly.
Lu Xiang’s smile stiffened. “Thank you for your hard work than .But inwardly she thinks ” What did Mrs. Jiang mean by that? Did she think she wasn’t trustworthy?
Mother Lu, on the other hand, had no such thoughts. She was simply bursting with pride. Her grandson had arrived her house even — personally brought by a driver from a wealthy household to her doorsteps! Just the sight of that made her walk taller.
As they entered the building complex, they ran into Mrs. Huang, a nosy neighbor of them. “Mother of Lu Xiang, where are you off to so early?” she asked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity and scrutiny to her cheerful act.
Mother Lu instantly straightened her back. “Nowhere special — just waiting for my little grandson. The driver brought him over for me just now !”
Mrs. Huang had seen the luxury car pulling up earlier. She’d wondered who in this old community had become rich enough to own such an expensive car — and to her surprise, it turned out to be Mrs. Lu’s visitors.
Wait — that man in the car was just a driver? And he brought her grandson?
“Is this your little grandson? Oh my, what a handsome boy! He looks just like the child of Guanyin Bodhisattva [Guanyin Bodhisattva — the Goddess of Mercy], so adorable and pure.” Mrs. Huang’s tone carried genuine admiration despite her usual dislike for Mrs. Lu.
Mother Lu lifted her chin proudly. “Of course he’s handsome. He’s been raised in luxury — how could he not be?” She didn’t know what business the Jiang family was in, but seeing their mansion and the refinement of their servants, she could imagine their status.
“I haven’t heard you have a grandson before. Isn’t your daughter still unmarried?” Mrs. Huang probed.
“This is my eldest daughter’s child. He studies at the same kindergarten where my youngest teaches. Today’s Saturday, so he’s come over to play,” Mother Lu said, her voice now full of smug pride.
Mrs. Huang had heard that Lu Xiang, her youngest daughter, worked as a teacher at an elite international kindergarten as Mrs. Lu often boasted about it in the neighborhood — and now, her grandson was a student there?
“Well, I’ll be going then. It’s cold outside, and my precious grandson mustn’t catch a chill,” Mother Lu said cheerfully, then marched off, head high.
Mrs. Huang watched her go, lips curling in disdain. What was she so proud of? It’s not her who is wealthy.
Inside the old apartment building, Uncle Zhang followed protectively behind Jiang Haoyan.
The place was clearly run-down. The stairway lights were broken, and the narrow corridor was dark even in daylight. The plaster on the walls had long since flaked away, revealing sand and moss beneath.
It was far from the luxurious environment Jiang Haoyan was used to.
There was no elevator either. Watching the little boy struggle with the steep stairs, Uncle Zhang offered, “Young Master, shall I carry you up?”
“No need to carry me. Haohao’s grown up. I can walk myself!” The little boy’s chest rose and fell with effort, but he persisted bravely.
“How many more floors?” Uncle Zhang asked.
“Almost there, just one more,” Mother Lu replied, not even winded from climbing to the seventh floor.
When they reached the door, she pulled out a key and turned it with a click. “We’re here. Come in.”
Uncle Zhang stopped at the doorway and glanced around. The small living room was only about ten square meters — modest, but tidy. “I’ll leave the young master here, then. I’ll come back to pick him up in the evening.”
“Thank you for your trouble,” Lu Xiang said courteously.
“Goodbye, Uncle Zhang,” Jiang Haoyan waved politely with his chubby hand.
“Goodbye, Young Master.”
After the door closed, Mother Lu stared at the little boy standing dazed at the entrance. She sat down on the old reddish-brown sofa and beckoned him over. “Come here, sweetheart, come to Grandma.”
Lu Xiang gently took off his small schoolbag and nudged him forward. “Go on, go to Grandma.”
With his round belly leading the way, the little boy shuffled over. Mother Lu pulled him close, her eyes full of affection.
“Grandma’s sweetheart, your name is Haohao, right? Call me Grandma.” Her voice softened into a coaxing tone.
But the child shook his head. “Haohao can’t call you Grandma. Haohao already has a Grandma.”
Every time he visited the Su family, Grandma Fang Ru would hug him, feed him tasty snacks, and hold him in her arms. In his heart, that was his only Grandma.
He already had one — how could he have another?
Mother Lu’s smile froze. “I’m your real grandma, dear. Your only grandma,” she said with forced sweetness.
“No, Haohao has Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle of his own,” he replied seriously, counting on his fingers.
Mother Lu’s expression soured. “What’s wrong with you, child? Your mother is my daughter — that makes me your grandma!”
“Mom,” Lu Xiang quickly interrupted. She thought of elegant Mrs. Jiang and realized that the grandparents the boy spoke of must be Mrs. Jiang’s parents. “You have to be patient with him,” she whispered.
Lu Xiang crouched down and stroked Jiang Haoyan’s hair. “Haohao already has a grandma, yes — but your teacher’s mother is also your grandma. You’re a good boy. Call her Grandma.”
The little one blinked, lips pursed tight, refusing to speak.
Seeing this, Mother Lu frowned and shot her daughter a look, silently telling her to coax him again.
“Haohao, you’re such a good boy. Be obedient, okay?” Lu Xiang tried to smile, but the child remained stubborn.
“Teacher Xiangxiang, you said you’d show Haohao a picture of Mommy. Haohao wants to see it,” he said suddenly, his bright eyes watching her with a hint of clever suspicion.
Lu Xiang froze. She hadn’t expected him to remember that.
Back then, she’d lured him here by saying she had pictures of his birth mother — just to make him visit and grow closer to the Lu family. In truth, the photos of her sister Lu Xin had long been lost when she’d misplaced her phone.
“What photos?” Mother Lu asked curiously.
“Photos of my eldest sister,” Lu Xiang answered softly.
Her mother was about to say more, but Lu Xiang shot her a sharp look, stopping her.
“Haohao, the teacher put those photos away somewhere safe. We’ll look for them later, alright? The teacher prepared many toys for you. Why don’t you play for a while first? After lunch, we’ll find the photos together.”
Children were easy to distract, she thought. Once he started playing, he’d forget.
Turning to her mother, she said, “Mom, go buy some groceries. Let’s make something delicious for him Than she turned and ask. What does Haohao like to eat?”
“Haohao likes chicken legs,” the little boy replied in his soft baby voice.
“Then Grandma will buy you the biggest, juiciest chicken legs,” Mother Lu said with a forced smile, the wrinkles around her eyes deepening. She turned to Lu Xiang and stretched out her hand. “Give me money for groceries.”
“Mom, didn’t I just give you the household money at the beginning of the month?” Lu Xiang frowned. “You used it all already?”
“My luck’s been bad lately, but don’t worry — we’ve got our golden grandson now.” Her gaze shifted to Jiang Haoyan, eyes gleaming with greed. “With him around, we won’t need to worry about a few thousand yuan.” [yuan — Chinese currency]
Lu Xiang didn’t want to argue in front of the child. She reluctantly pulled out a few bills and handed them over. “Fine. Just buy what’s suitable for the child.”
“Of course, I know what to do,” Mother Lu said, rolling up the bills and slipping them into her pocket before leaving in a hurry.
With the little one away and Su Yue out for the day, Jiang Ci could finally rest at home — and his mood was particularly good.
Su Yue accompanied him to the hospital to remove the gauze on his hand. The wounds had already scabbed over, healing slowly, no longer needing bandages.
When Su Yue had changed his dressings before, she had examined his hands carefully — every finger, the back of his hand, his palm — none had escaped injury. Now, though the scabs had fallen, faint scars remained.
“There are a lot of scars, but they’ll fade with time. The deeper ones might leave marks, but they can be treated with surgery,” the doctor explained before prescribing a scar-removal ointment.
In the car, Su Yue gently took his hand to examine it again.
Jiang Ci’s hands had once been elegant — fair, slender, and strong, with long fingers that had always fascinated her. But now, those same hands were marred with pink and red scars, the worst one running along his left index finger where bone had once shown.
“It’s ugly,” Su Yue murmured softly, her fingertips brushing the rough skin, tracing over each mark.
Jiang Ci looked at her silently with his deep, dark eyes.
“But I like it,” she whispered, her lips curving into a smile as her almond-shaped eyes glimmered like crescent moons. She leaned forward and kissed his hand.
Jiang Ci’s lips twitched. He extended his other hand toward her. “This one too.”
Su Yue smiled and pressed another gentle kiss onto his other hand, her lips soft and reverent. Her eyelashes fluttered, her expression full of tenderness.
Watching her like that, Jiang Ci felt a strange tingling travel up his spine. Just a kiss on his finger — yet it felt utterly fatal.
His gaze darkened as he looked at her lips. His wounds were healed now, his waist injury almost gone — and a dangerous thought began to stir in his mind.
He really needed to prepare himself well this time. He wasn’t about to act like some lovesick fool again.