Wang Xuan couldnât react for a moment.
As far as he could remember, no one he came into contact with ever hugged him as intimately as this old lady did, even Mr. and Mrs. Lin. The closest thing they did was touching his head.
The old womanâs embrace was sudden, but strangely warm.
When the old lady hugged him, she took a handful of candy out of her pocket. Her wrinkled hand slightly trembled, âCome on, Xuan Xuan. Have some candy, have some candy! â
Wang Xuan took them. The candy wrappers were beautiful, and they looked much more expensive than the ones sold in the supermarket. He looked up at a loss, subconsciously looking at Lin Shiheng and Zhou Chuchu. His eyes were full of bewilderment about what to do.
âTake it, the candy was meant for you. This is my wifeâs grandmother.â
Lin Shiheng smiled at him and said, âSheâs coming to stay here for a while, so you can call her Grandma.â
Zhou Chuchuâs nose soured at the scene. She slightly hung her head to hide her red eyes.
When Xuan Xuan was a child, she was worried that too much sugar would cause tooth decay, so she was always reluctant to give him candy. The little one loved sweetness, so he would whine at his mother and ask for candy. Zhou Chuchu didnât give it to him, he was small but a clever child. He shifted his target and went to ask for candy from his great-grandmother.
The old lady had suffered from hunger when she was a child, so she couldnât bear the thought of the younger generation not being able to eat what they wanted. Every time, she would secretly give candy to the child without her granddaughterâs knowledge, causing Xuan Xuan to shout for candy whenever he saw his great-grandmother.
Now, 10 years after the child was lost, seeing her grandmother give Wang Xuan candy again; it really made Zhou Chuchu, who thought she had her emotions under control, choke back a bit.
She turned around somewhat awkwardly and whispered in a hoarse voice, âGrandmaâs things arenât unpacked yet, so Iâll go first.â
Lin Shiheng patted her on the shoulder. After silent reassurance, he watched her turn and leave in a hurry.
Wang Xuan also noticed Zhou Chuchuâs departure. Mrs. Lin has always been elegant and gentle. Such a hasty departure made his heart wonder a bit, but in the next moment, this little strange thing was dispelled under the old ladyâs expectant gaze.
He was always a little shy in front of elders who treated him in a friendly manner. Somewhat embarrassed, he pulled out a pen and paper and wrote on it before handing it over: [Hello, Grandma, my name is Wang Xuan.]
âEh! Good, good.â
The smile on the old ladyâs face turned to distress when she saw that the boy could only write in response because he couldnât speak. She quickly smiled again when Wang Xuan finished writing and looked up to hand over the paper. After reading it, she hugged Wang Xuan tightly again, as if she was afraid that the boy would run away if she let go. The nagging voice of an elder rang in Wang Xuanâs ears.
âLook at you, youâre so thin. I can feel your bones when I touch you. Such a good boy, great-grandmother stewed some tonic soup. It will be ready soon. Itâs full of herbs that doctors say are good for your health, it tastes great. Youâll love it.â
Her attitude was too intimate and natural. Alongside, Lin Shiheng, who also had a very normal look on his face. This made Wang Xuan, who initially felt flustered, gradually relax.
Soon after, just as the old lady had said, the soup she had taken the trouble to make was ready and Wang Xuan was warmly invited to join them.
Wang Xuanâs refusal was useless. Even though he thought it was a family dinner and he was really out of place, Mr. Lin, Mrs. Lin, and the old lady, were eager for him to join them. When he was politely pulled to his seat by the happy old lady, Mrs. Lin also smiled and brought over a bowl of steaming soup. When Mr. Lin, who was next to him, kept telling him to eat more, the 15-year-old boy almost felt like they were a family.
He had one of the most heart-warming meals he could remember, and the soup was really good and nourishing.
Wang Xuan had suffered from the cold when he was a child, and he went to set up his stall every day despite the cold air. Therefore, even after soaking his feet at night, he still woke up in the middle of the night with cold feet. For some reason, he didnât wake up in the middle of the night because of the nourishing soup, but slept well until dawn.
In the early morning, Wang Xuan got up and washed up. He opened the door and pushed the cart out to see not only Mrs. Lin who was setting up her drawing board, but also the old lady who was standing beside her, holding something in her hands.
The old lady took one look at Wang Xuan and her eyes lit up as she quickly walked over and placed the object in her hand directly on Wang Xuanâs ears.
âXuan Xuan, itâs cold, put on this ear muffs so you donât freeze your ears.â
Wang Xuanâs hand was still pushing the cart, so he couldnât sign. He could only look at the old lady with his slightly round eyes, at a loss. The old ladyâs heart softened.
She continued her ramblings as she had done yesterday, âArenât you tired from the journey? Look at you, child, you arenât wearing more on such a cold day. Shiheng, take out that black jacket of yours, itâs warm, put it on the child.â
Wang Xuan didnât care that he was still pushing the cart this time, and he quickly shook his head and refused. He normally didnât like making sounds, not even if it was a wordless gesture. The sound of a muteâs âahh ahh ahhâ would draw more stares than just shutting up and making no sound.
But in front of the Lin family, he didnât seem to have the same feeling of wanting to hide his weaknesses that he once had.
The old lady understood the meaning that the teenager wanted to express, and frowned with disapproval. It was perfectly obvious from this look that she and Zhou Chuchu were grandparent and grandchild, frowning in exactly the same way.
âHow can you push the cart like this? Look at your hands, itâs cold and freezing. Good boy, great-grandmother loves you dearly. Ah, if you feel embarrassed, you should come to dinner with me in the evening. When one gets old, one just wants more people around.â
As he spoke, Lin Shiheng had already taken out the black down jacket from the house. He held the cart with one hand and handed the down jacket over with the other. When Wang Xuan, who had his hand free, waved his hand in refusal, he smiled gently with what seemed to be a helpless smile and said, âThe elderâs care, Xuan Xuan, just put it on and give it back to me at night.â
Only then did Wang Xuan hesitantly wear the down jacket. Afraid of getting Mr. Linâs clothes dirty, he first took off the original jacket before carefully putting on the down jacket.
When he wore it, he was a little surprised. He thought Mr. Lin looked much taller than himself, and his figure wasnât as thin as his own. It should have been too big for him. However, when he put it on, he found that it was very snug and didnât feel loose at all.
This was the first time that Wang Xuan had worn a down jacket. It was warm, and could block the cold more than the one he had.
Seeing the child wear it, the old lady revealed a satisfied smile, âThatâs right, children should keep warm.â
She gave a few more words of advice about being careful on the road, then allowed Wang Xuan to leave.
The old lady stood there, watching the thin figure pushing the cart away, the kind smile on her face gradually turned emotional.
âShiheng, when can we tell Xuan Xuan? How can such a small child endure so much suffering? â
The thought of Wang Xuan having to get up so early every day, push the car for an hour and a half to go to town, and then push it back again at 11 or 12 pm in the cold wind, made her heart ache.
Her Xuan Xuan should be loved by his family and pampered in the palm of their hands. How could he live such a hard life?
Lin Shiheng didnât elaborate on how he found Wang Xuan, and neither the old lady nor Zhou Chuchu asked. Since they had last seen the three soldiers, they both had some suspicions in their minds, especially because of the text message. Lin Shiheng must have done something in the past 10 years to be able to find Wang Xuan in the vast country of China, searching for a needle in a haystack.
Because of this, the old lady automatically assumed that Lin Shiheng had difficulties, and her attitude towards him wasnât as harsh as before. From time to time, she was able to say a few gentle words.
At this moment, while wiping her tears, she said, âI can tell that the boy is quite fond of you two. He looks at you as if he was looking at his parents. Heâs well-behaved and lovely. When he refused to come back before, he must have suffered too much. I understand the childâs temper by looking at him. Heâs extremely happy when others treat him well. He must have been afraid we would treat him badly when he didnât want to recognize us back then. I think heâll be happy if we tell him the truth now.â
Lin Shiheng also felt that the old lady was right. The child really liked them. Zhou Chuchu said that he thought they were leaving, and gave them a parting gift. When he gave the gifts, there was a reluctant smile.
When Zhou Chuchu told him that, she felt even more heartbroken, holding that scarf like a treasure and crying.
âOkay.â
He agreed, âLetâs find a suitable time, and tell everything. If Xuan Xuan canât accept it for a while, weâll keep staying here and compensate him.â
The old lady was so happy, even her whole spirit was renewed. She went into the house with a different, almost combative spirit, intending to properly prepare for the familyâs reunion meal.
Lin Shiheng, on the other hand, was counting the time. He calculated that it should be about time for Wang Xuanâs first love to draw a line in the sand with him.
As a father, naturally, he couldnât just stand by and watch Wang Xuan get bullied outside.
He turned into the house and suggested to his wife...
âLetâs go to the city to buy some clothes for our son, have a good shopping trip and then pick him up in the afternoon. Didnât he say that the students were always gathering in front of the First Middle School in the afternoon after dismissal?â
Wang Xuan was setting up a stall in front of the First Middle School. It was school time and with no recent exams, students were walking into school at a leisurely pace, in twos and threes. Some students who hadnât eaten breakfast at home went to the small shops or stalls near the school to buy food.
Wang Xuan always had sufficient ingredients, and as he was one of the cleanest of the various stalls, his business was better than other stalls. Students gathered in front of the cart and ordered what they wanted, and Wang Xuan quickly prepared their food and delivered it to them.
He had been running the stall for a decent amount of time, so he was quick at mental arithmetic, never got the money wrong, and sold a lot of things during this prime time in the morning, when the students were going to school.
When it was almost time for class, the students outside seemed to trail off in a matter of seconds, and the two or three remaining stragglers, perhaps late in getting up, ran past Wang Xuanâs stall with their heavy school bags, puffing and panting. Giggling and sneaking into the school entrance.
Wang Xuan didnât find this as funny as the other vendors. He was a little envious that these students didnât have to worry about making a living, as long as they studied in class every day.
In the past, he wouldnât have thought about such things, but the past few days with Mr. and Mrs. Lin had gradually changed Wang Xuanâs mentality.
He used to want to make enough money and open a small shop when he became an adult. But now, he wanted to go to school and become someone as good as Mr. and Mrs. Lin, so that maybe in the future, he could stand in front of Mr. and Mrs. Lin and show them a brand-new version of himself.
They would surely praise him very gently, acknowledge his efforts and, perhaps, happily stroke his head.
Thinking about the scene, Wang Xuan couldnât help but smile a little happily as he reached out, stroked his head and with a smile on his face, began to pack up the things from the stall.
A young girl on a bicycle saw the scene. She originally wanted to go straight into school, but caught a glimpse of Wang Xuanâs down jacket and slightly frowned as the bicycle turned around, heading for Wang Xuanâs stall.
âWang Xuan.â