It was nearly 10 o’clock when Su Mu left the guest room. She went back to her room to take a bath and thought about giving Fu Shinian a call, but his phone was turned off. She rembered him ntioning in yesterday’s call that he had to catch a flight to Hong Kong tonight. He must be on the plane by now, right?
She considered sending a text to inform him, but Su Mu composed and deleted her ssage several tis. She couldn’t predict how Fu Shinian would react upon reading it. Whether he’d be angry or agree, she didn’t want him to see such a ssage the mont he got off the plane; it was definitely sothing he wouldn’t want to see.
Especially a ssage that might make him angry.
A night without dreams.
Early the next morning, Su Mu got up early and woke Wen Shaoyuan to take him to kindergarten, where she also explained the accident from the day before. As they parted, Wen Shaoyuan carefully held onto her sleeve:
"Su sister, will you co to pick up today?"
"Of course, I’ll keep picking you up until your dad cos back."
"Then be careful when you co. I think my grandma might co."
Su Mu had also considered this possibility. She nodded, "Don’t worry, I will protect myself and you as well."
After leaving the kindergarten, Su Mu went to the old house. Even though her grandmother had recovered, she still couldn’t help worrying. Even though it wasn’t convenient to stay overnight, she still needed to visit during the dayti. As soon as the old lady saw her, she inquired about Wen Shaoyuan’s incident from yesterday. Su Mu told her all about it, and the old lady frowned:
"How can there be such people in the world? Who doesn’t love their own grandson?"
Su Mu found it hard to comnt, only saying, "Maybe everyone cares about different things."
"Nothing is more important than familial love," the old lady sighed. "The bond of blood is unmatched, but there are so many in the world who don’t understand this simple truth, turning a blind eye even to their own sons. If I get a chance, I’d like to see what end such people will et."
Su Mu didn’t know if the old lady was referring to Fu Shinian’s mother, but she didn’t dare ask, only giving a faint smile and changing the topic:
"The child stayed at Bishui Yuntian last night. I wanted to tell Shinian, but I couldn’t reach him last night and he didn’t answer today, must be busy."
"What is there to tell him for? He wouldn’t disagree, would he?" the old lady glanced at Su Mu. "Tomorrow is Saturday, right? Bring the child to the old house. Hearing your description, I think he’s a fine child. It’ll be good for to have so lively company."
Su Mu smiled slightly:
"Okay."
Wen Shaoyuan and Su Mu were right in their guess. At 4:30 PM when school was out, Su Mu indeed spotted an unusual woman at the entrance of Wen Shaoyuan’s kindergarten.
Saying she was unusual wasn’t a comnt on her ntal state, but it was odd for soone at this ti to co to the kindergarten and ask everyone if they knew Wen Shaoyuan, drawing too much attention. Su Mu found it hard not to notice her. She hadn’t planned on interacting but as she was entering the kindergarten, the woman blocked her path:
"Excuse , beautiful, do you know Wen Shaoyuan? Do you know which class he’s in?"
After looking at her for a few seconds, Su Mu said, "Sorry, I don’t know him."
She then turned away and the woman moved on to ask the next person. Su Mu walked towards the interior but didn’t go directly to Wen Shaoyuan’s class, instead she went to the security guard to report the situation.
The security of the kindergarten was a sensitive and highly regarded matter. As soon as they heard Su Mu’s concerns, they imdiately went out to investigate. By the ti Su Mu left the security office, two guards were already intervening. Su Mu didn’t linger, heading towards the classroom.
Su Mu did not take Wen Shaoyuan directly into the yard, but stood in the corridor of the classroom, watching everything outside. Despite the guards’ intervention, Wen Shaoyuan’s grandmother didn’t continue her inquiries but didn’t leave imdiately either. She stood at a distance, not too far from the entrance of the kindergarten, staring intensely at the doorway, scrutinizing every person that ca out.
Wen Shaoyuan also noticed this and looked up at Su Mu:
"Su Mu, what should we do?"
"Anyway, we’re not in a hurry, so let’s just wait a bit longer."
Wen Shaoyuan nodded but said no more.
However, Grandmother had far more patience than Su Mu had thought. By the ti there weren’t many people in the kindergarten, she was still standing there, staring intently at the entrance. Su Mu knew she wanted to wait until the kindergarten was locked. If they kept waiting, their chances of being discovered might be even higher.
Su Mu took off her own coat and draped it over Wen Shaoyuan, even covering his head, and Wen Shaoyuan seed to understand her action and cooperated quietly.
Wen Shaoyuan climbed onto Su Mu’s back, still feeling sowhat embarrassed:
"Su Mu, I am quite heavy."
"No worries, Su Mu is strong enough to carry you."
At the entrance of the kindergarten, Su Mu walked out carrying the fully equipped Wen Shaoyuan. Grandmother imdiately fixed her gaze on her, wanting to step forward. Su Mu thought about it and did not quicken her pace but walked leisurely towards her car. Yet before she could reach the car, Grandmother had already stopped her. Su Mu didn’t panic and smiled lightly:
"Auntie, haven’t you found your child yet?"
At that mont, Grandmother’s attention was entirely on the child behind Su Mu. Ignoring Su Mu’s question, she asked directly:
"What happened to this child?"
"He’s naughty. He fought with another child in the class and got splashed with water. Since it’s getting cold, I was worried he might catch a cold, so I gave him my clothes to wear."
It was unclear whether she believed Su Mu’s explanation, but her gaze never left the child on Su Mu’s back. Just as Su Mu was about to say sothing more, the well-wrapped Wen Shaoyuan suddenly spoke, using a completely different tone than usual. He said:
"Mommy, I’m cold. Can we go ho quickly?"
Grandmother’s expression imdiately relaxed: "Oh, it’s a little girl."
Su Mu nodded: "We’ll be going now."
Grandmother responded, then returned to the entrance of the kindergarten.
Once in the car, Wen Shaoyuan wriggled out of Su Mu’s coat and looked at Su Mu with a grin: "Su Mu, did my voice really sound like a girl’s just now?"
Su Mu ruffled his hair:
"Yes, even I doubted if there really was a little girl on my back."
Wen Shaoyuan laughed and handed the coat back to Su Mu: "Su Mu, you better put on your clothes quickly, don’t catch a cold."
Su Mu put on her clothes, instructed the driver to start the car, and then spoke to Wen Shaoyuan:
"Sister will take you to et an old grandma, okay?"
Wen Shaoyuan nodded: "Okay."
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