"You’re still worried about him, aren’t you?" Tian Sangsang picked him up and pinched his little nose. "Don’t worry, he’s got stead buns hidden in his pocket—enough to eat on the way."
Her smile was so gentle that ng Shuyan was srized, his little mouth agape in astonishnt.
Sothing ca to his mind, and his eyes dimd. "Mom, did you have a fight with Dad?"
Tian Sangsang made a sound of acknowledgnt, not intending to hide it. "I’ll be honest with you. Your dad did sothing that hurt Mom, so Mom doesn’t plan to forgive him. Do you think Mom’s wrong for doing this?"
ng Shuyan quickly shook his head. "I don’t think you’re wrong, Mom. I saw you crying."
"Thank you." Tian Sangsang was touched and kissed his cheek. "But rember, what’s between your dad and has nothing to do with you. You can play with whoever you want; this has nothing to do with you, so don’t feel sad."
ng Shuyan nodded vigorously. How could he not feel sad? But this ti, he was taking Mom’s side—Mom had cried so many tis, all because of Dad.
Tian Sangsang didn’t want him dwelling on it, so she quickly changed the subject with a smile. "By the way, we’ve got two family mbers visiting. I’ll take you to et them."
ng Shuyan tilted his head with curiosity.
After going upstairs, Tian Sangsang put him down. Grandma Tian and Second Aunt Tian had just gotten up and pushed the door open, spotting little ng Shuyan standing there. The boy’s rosy lips, sparkling eyes, and refined yet cute appearance were utterly endearing.
Second Aunt Tian’s eyes lit up. She looked toward Tian Sangsang and asked kindly, "Is this Yanyan?"
"Yanyan!" Grandma Tian was even more delighted and moved forward eagerly.
ng Shuyan jumped in fright, hiding behind Tian Sangsang, his little head peeking out as he glared at the two with a serious and guarded expression.
Tian Sangsang introduced him, "Yanyan, this is your great-grandma and second grandma."
"They’re bad people." ng Shuyan turned his head away, refusing to et them properly.
Second Aunt Tian awkwardly rubbed her nose, naturally recalling the foolish things she’d done in the past. But people grow after experiencing major setbacks. Though her growth ca a bit late, it wasn’t entirely too late. Still, she’d unintentionally left a shadow in the child’s heart, which made her feel genuinely sorry and regretful. Especially when looking into his clear, innocent eyes, she felt overwheld with embarrassnt.
Grandma Tian looked a bit saddened as well, reminiscing about the unfavorable impression she’d left on the boy before.
Tian Sangsang said, "Second Aunt, Grandma, don’t take it to heart. Yanyan is just—"
Grandma Tian, undeterred, responded, "It’s okay, Sangsang. Yanyan not liking us is understandable; we were so bad in the past. But it’s fine, we won’t be like that anymore." She believed that with ti, they could slowly win the child over.
ng Shuyan blinked curiously. These two indeed seed different now, but he wasn’t going to lower his guard so quickly.
"Oh, Sangsang, how did Yanyan get here?"
Tian Sangsang replied, "His dad sent him back. His grandma is in the hospital, his grandpa is busy taking care of her, and his dad needs to return to his unit himself. The nanny at ho is also going back and forth to the hospital every day, so Yanyan could only be sent to ."
"What? His dad sent him? Why didn’t you call down!?" Grandma Tian regretted it, tapping her cane in excitent. "Was it his dad knocking earlier? Guess I’m getting old—I didn’t hear it clearly. Otherwise, I would’ve co down to see what kind of guy he is! The house was empty, no wonder Yanyan looked pale."
"Yanyan, wait here—your great-grandma will go cook for you right now!"
"I don’t want to eat," ng Shuyan whispered.
Second Aunt Tian followed right behind Grandma Tian, moving just as urgently.
ng Shuyan watched the two rushing around: "..."
Tian Sangsang tried to step forward but was blocked by them.
The al was made by Second Aunt Tian. The dishes were washed by her, the groceries were bought with money from Tian Sangsang but picked up by Second Aunt Tian, cleaning was done by her, and even the laundry was handled by Second Aunt Tian. Tian Sangsang felt a bit bad about it but couldn’t refuse their insistence.
Breakfast consisted of plain rice porridge, salted duck eggs, vegetable stuffed buns, stead egg custard, cucumber salad, tofu balls, and more. Though these were simple homade dishes, compared to the rural breakfasts Grandma Tian and Second Aunt Tian often had, this was quite the spread.
"Yanyan, eat!" Grandma Tian enthusiastically served him a salted duck egg.
ng Shuyan frowned slightly but accepted it for the sake of politeness, refraining from tossing it aside.
"Sangsang, you should eat more—you’ve got to eat for two now."
Tian Sangsang grimaced. Spare her, please. Hopefully, things would get better in a month or two—mornings were the worst, always starting with vomiting. If it ca unbidden, the sour taste would rise straight to her throat, making her feel terribly uncomfortable.
ng Shuyan didn’t quite understand. What did eating for two an? Was Mom really hungry?
While eating, Second Aunt Tian comnted, "There aren’t any wonton wrappers around here—only dumpling wrappers. I originally wanted to make wontons for lunch, but now I can only make dumplings."
"They’re not into wontons," Tian Sangsang replied. She hadn’t had wontons or dumplings in ages, and just the thought of it stirred a light craving instead of nausea.
While Second Aunt Tian was making dumplings later, Tian Sangsang joined in. Luckily, wrapping dumplings wasn’t heavy labor, so they allowed her to participate. ng Shuyan grew interested too, clamoring to try his hand at it.
A sudden idea struck Tian Sangsang; she rembered they were going to visit Ye Binyi later and said, "Alright, but first go wash your little hands."
"Yanyan, let great-grandma teach you—hold the dumpling wrapper in your palm. Yes, yes, then use chopsticks to pick up so filling..."
ng Shuyan listened coolly with an upright posture but studied her actions attentively, mimicking them step by step. At last, he managed to learn, albeit awkwardly.
After they were done, Tian Sangsang set aside the dumplings that ng Shuyan had made. So were crooked, others looked proper—it was clear they were her son’s creations. She cooked them and prepared to take them to Ye Binyi.
**
Ye Binyi had recently been in critical condition and spent three days lying in bed. She could move a little now but still needed to remain hospitalized for one to two weeks—and even after returning ho, she would likely need two to three months of recovery.
When Tian Sangsang brought ng Shuyan to the hospital, they happened upon Jiang’s father.
Jiang’s father saw her, his expression complicated. He’d always felt guilty toward his daughter-in-law, believing his actions had indirectly caused the bla she endured. Yet, he hadn’t done anything to help her, torn by loyalty to his wife and a reluctance to go against her. As a result, he knew he had failed as a father-in-law and could only hope his son would cherish her properly.
"Dad," Tian Sangsang greeted first, speaking politely. "I brought Yanyan to see Mom."
Jiang’s father’s expression turned sowhat awkward.
"I’ll wait outside—you can go in with him. These are dumplings Yanyan made for Mom."
Jiang’s father visibly relaxed, giving ng Shuyan a warm look. He felt deeply touched by Tian Sangsang’s words. "You don’t need to bla yourself for your mother-in-law’s condition—please don’t overthink. I understand that you’re not throwing up randomly; is your body unwell?"
"My stomach’s a bit upset," Tian Sangsang replied simply. "But I’m fine now."
"Please take good care of yourself," Jiang’s father said, taking the dumplings and leading ng Shuyan inside.
ng Shuyan glanced back as he entered, desperately wishing his mom would follow them—but Grandma would surely get upset again~
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