Chapter 191 - Resolution
Lu Chen who shamelessly stole a kiss from his wife wasn't the least bit afraid of his wife's anger. After acting rogue to his wife and willingly receiving her hit, he properly returned to his seat and continue driving. He looked nothing like the hooligan he was seconds ago.
Xiu Mei embarrassingly looked around outside the car whether someone had seen them.
"Don't worry, wife. Our car has a very dark tint.
" Lu Chen casually spoke but there was a hint of a smile on his face.
Xiu Mei felt relieved when she heard this but as soon as she saw the expression he was making, she puffed his cheek and pouted angrily at him.
This guy is making fun of her, isn't it?!
She glared at him before finally deciding to ignore him. She glanced at the image on her phone and felt even more embarrassed. She immediately distracted herself by moving to a different page.
While she stayed frustrated at her husband, Lu Chen bravely grabbed her hand while driving. He didn't let go of it even when Xiu Mei tried pulling it away from his grasp. He brought it up to his face and kissed the back of her hand.
"Angry?
" He asked.
Xiu Mei stared at him meaningfully before rolling her eyes at him. He was driving so she didn't write anything as a response to his question but she finally stopped pulling out her hand from him. Both of them stayed like that until they've finally reached Lu Qiang's primary school.
Lu Chen stopped her from climbing down the car and went out alone to pick up Lu Qiang instead. Xiu Mei saw the other children exiting the school from where their car was parked. Her mood lightened up when she saw the smile on those children's faces clearly showing how much fun they had at school. She wished that her son had fun in school as well.
After a few minutes, Xiu Mei finally saw the figure of their father and son. Lu Chen was carrying Lu Qiang's bag while Lu Qiang rushed towards her direction. Xiu Mei's lips curled up and she opened her car door to welcome Lu Qiang in her arms.
Finally seeing her mother after being apart from her the whole day, Lu Qiang quickly ran towards her mother's embrace, jumping onto her arms inside the car.
"Mom!!
" He exclaimed, burying himself in his mother's embrace. He raised his head to look at Xiu Mei. Judging by his expression, Xiu Mei instantly knew that the little guy here had so much fun in school. She stroked his head and kissed him on the cheeks.
"How was school?
" Lu Chen's voice resounded at the side as he climbed to the driver's seat. He placed Lu Qiang's backpack at the back seat before looking in his son's direction.
The two a.d.u.l.ts waited for his answer.
"The lessons aren't pretty hard but I met a lot of people!
" He happily told them. Lu Qiang started recounting his whole day to his parents while Xiu Mei and Lu Chen listened attentively to him.
They didn't even notice that their smiles got wider and wider as they continued to listen to the little guy's stories like when he ate with his classmates and when he played with them during their Physical Education class. Lu Qiang performed very well in all his classes proving that he was indeed an intelligent and genius child but what the a.d.u.l.ts felt happy about was that despite being home-schooled ever since he was born, Lu Qiang's ability to mingle and interact with other people was nowhere near like his adoptive father's. He may be cold sometimes, but he couldn't hide his true age at all. No matter how much he tried to act mature in front of the a.d.u.l.ts, the childish side that was hidden deep within him would always be there.
The mother and son duo moved to the backseat so Lu Chen could start driving home now. Xiu Mei wrote on her tablet from time to time reacting to Lu Qiang's stories while Lu Chen would also chime in a question even while he was driving. Lu Qiang was very talkative and active throughout their whole journey on their way home.
When they got home, Xiu Mei tried to do her normal routine just like before. She started prepping for their dinner without needing help from the other helpers, so Lu Chen and Lu Qiang aided her in the kitchen.
She was still tying her apron properly when she felt a tug on her clothes. She lowered her eyes and realized it was Lu Qiang. She was just about to get her tablet to ask him what he wanted to say when the little guy started doing different gestures in front of her.
She was confused at first seeing Lu Qiang's clumsy movements, but when she continued observing his movements, Xiu Mei finally realized what he was trying to do—rather, say.
She subconsciously replied in sign language in surprise. 'Did you learn sign language at school too?'
She looked at his son in admiration. Xiu Mei was genuinely surprised when Lu Qiang suddenly did sign language in front of her because she knew that the father and son duo didn't learn it at all. Though she would sometimes catch Lu Chen watching sign language videos when he thought she wasn't paying attention to him.
"Sorry, Mom. I still haven't completely learned it.
" Lu Qiang gloomily said when he couldn't understand what his mother's gestures were. He was actually trying to say the sentence 'I want to help you, Mom.' in sign language and so he asked his teacher back in school how to do it during their sign language class.
He originally wanted to hear her praise him but he was too clumsy to do the gestures properly so his mother must have not understood what he was trying to say. He was still sulking on his own when he felt a heavy but warm hand stroking his head. Before he could even raise his eyes, he felt his mother's familiar kiss on his forehead.
'Mommy's proud of you.' Xiu Mei mouthed, hoping that Lu Qiang would understand it. But the kid just tilted his head in confusion while furrowing his brows clearly showing his reaction. It was then when Lu Chen finally spoke behind Lu Qiang.
"You're mother said she's very proud of you.
" Lu Chen interpreted Xiu Mei's mouthed words. Lu Qiang raised his head to look at his father and then he turned to his mother who was staring lovingly at him. Xiu Mei nodded at him as if confirming that what Lu Chen said was right.
...Mommy's proud of him?
Lu Qiang's gloomy mood disappeared. His eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his face as he repeated in his mind what his father said.
Mommy was really proud of him?
"Really?
" He asked.
Xiu Mei nodded. The kid's smile widened as he quickly placed a kiss on his mother's cheek.
"Thank you, Mommy!!
" He exclaimed.
"I promise that I'll learn it properly soon!!
" He said like a pledge. Xiu Mei smiled at his statement and rubbed his head as if to support his goal.
"And I, as well.
" Lu Chen didn't let himself be forgotten and squeezed himself in between the two beloved people in his life. He pressed a kiss on Xiu Mei's hair as he promised to her like Lu Qiang.
"We won't make you wait.
" He added. Just like his son, he was very motivated to learn about sign language as well. Recalling how Xiu Mei easily communicated with his in-laws back through sign language back in the hospital, he suddenly felt out of place when he couldn't understand their conversation at all.
He felt uncomfortable and jealous because of this so he resolutely promised to learn it as soon as possible. Just so Xiu Mei wouldn't feel hard writing long sentences continuously on her tablet when they talk about something.
Xiu Mei smiled helplessly at the father and son duo who was almost like pledging their lives to her. She felt proud and touched at the same time because she understood that they were putting an effort to learn the sign language for her sake.
Still, she couldn't help but feel down a little bit because she felt like she was a burden to the two of them. Because of her difficulty in speaking, the two of them are trying to accommodate her needs by learning the sign language that they would have never thought of to learn before. She sighed silently and got rid of her depressing thoughts.
Her will and resolution to get better became stronger. Of course, she couldn't just let the two of them do all the work. Right now, her part is to work even harder to get better and gain her capability to speak again. So that her family would stop worrying too much from now on.