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nChu Lui raised his eyes and stared at the little girl standing in front of the door, the girl who was adopted by his mother-the girl named Chu Xiang.

n“Come here.” Chu Lui reached his hand out. Chu Xiang blinked and then walked over. This child was donned in new designer clothes, but even so, she exuded a down-to-earth vibe from her bones.

nThe reason he didn’t like the child wasn’t because of her appearance, but rather due to her eyes. He thought he could judge a person well. A second look at his business partners told him about their nature, whether it was good or bad, wicked or cunning-much less say this child. She was young, but she appeared to harbor ill-intentions. She had the naivety of a child but the schemes of an adult. He didn’t believe for a second that she had bumped into his mother accidentally, who brought her back home.

nTo have these schemes at such a young age, she really was a real piece of work; but he was more scheming and manipulative than others since he was young, too. In terms of being calculative, even a thousand people could not beat his administrative committee. He didn’t think it was strange. Not every child was naive, and not every child was innocent.

n“How old are you?” Chu Lui stared at the child in front of him. He spoke to her like a business competitor instead of a child.

nChu Xiang blanked. Chu Lui’s dark eyes ignited her innate fear. Her eyes dodged left and right, but she didn’t dare to look straight at Chu Lui’s extremely stoic expression.

n“Speak. How old are you?”

nChu Lui opened the drawer to take a cigarette, but he glanced at the child before keeping the cigarette back.

nChu Xiang flinched at the sound of Chu Lui’s voice, color draining out of her face from fear.

n“I… I’m five years old.”

nFive years old. Chu Lui gave the child a once-over. Five years old, but she was so small. No wonder he thought she was around three or four years old when he saw her.

n“Xiang Xiang, Xiang Xiang.” Song Wan came looking for Chu Xiang again.

n“Ah Lui…” With a thud, Song Wan pushed open the door to Chu Lui’s study room. “Ah Lui, have you seen my Xiang Xiang?” When Song Wan entered and saw Chu Xiang, she rushed forwards and lifted her off the ground.

n“Oh, here’s my Xiang Xiang. You saved Granny the trouble of finding you.”

n“Granny…” Chu Xiang nestled herself inside Song Wan’s embrace, acting cute. The adoration made Song Wan’s heart melt.

nChu Lui sat in his office chair as he gazed upon the entire scene calmly. The corner of his lips twitched downwards subconsciously.

n“Come here, Ah Lui. Give your daughter a hug.” Song Wan handed over the child in her hands to Chu Lui for him to hold.

nChu Lui stretched his hand out generously.

nChu Xiang entered Chu Lui’s embrace naturally. When her hand rested on Chu Lui’s shoulders and gripped occasionally, Chu Lui’s eyebrows crinkled; but he didn’t make a sound.

n“Look at this expression of yours!” Song Wan lifted the child away from Chu Lui. “I just asked you to carry the child-that’s all, but you’re so unwilling and reluctant. Our Xiang Xiang is so pretty; what else are you unhappy about?”

n“Mom, I’m not.”

nChu Lui wanted to explain, but in the end, he felt like it was best not to say anything.

n“You carry her.” Song Wan stuffed the child in her arms to Chu Jiang, who carried Chu Xiang bewilderedly. He could only shake his head, his body stiff as he stared at the relatively unfamiliar child in his arms.

nPerhaps in the entire family, only Song Wan liked this child. As for Chu Jiang and Chu Lui, they were only forced to accept it. However, feelings could be nurtured, and a bond might develop as time passed.

nSong Wan pulled Chu Lui and admonished Chu Lui harshly before her anger dissipated. After which, she turned around and continued to play merrily with her new granddaughter.

n“Do you want to consider a little more?” Chu Jiang was afraid that his wife was making a rash decision and would regret adopting this child once she calmed down and thought through it. After all, this was a child they were talking about, not some cat or dog. No matter if the child is a guy or a girl, she would be the one inheriting the entire Chu family’s fortune. A simple decision like this seemed careless.

n“There’s no need.” Song Wan was extremely determined. She was a stubborn mule, too. No matter what, she had set her sights on Chu Xiang and was set on adopting her. She had already called her ‘granny’, and being together with this child every day had strengthened their relationship. If she was sent away, she would be heartbroken.

n“Why, you don’t like the fact that she’s a girl?” Song Wan glowered at Chu Jiang threateningly as if a single word from Chu Jiang would make her run away from home.

nChu Jiang shook his head. “No, that’s not what I meant. It’s all about gender equality now. Grandsons, granddaughters, they’re all fine. I just want you to give it another thought. After all, it’s going to end up on the Chu family’s accounts as our children in the future.”

n“I’ve decided.” Song Wan stood up. “I’ll get someone over tomorrow to officially adopt this child.”

n“You’re not going to discuss this with Ah Lui?”

nChu Jiang mentioned his son, hoping his wife would ponder over this a little more. There were so many choices available so she didn’t have to choose that Xiang Xiang. He could sense that his son wasn’t too fond of this child. She was going to be their granddaughter in the future, but she had to address Chu Jiang as ‘father’, too. Wouldn’t it be a hassle if she wasn’t close to her father?

n“Shouldn’t you be clear about Ah Lui’s personality already? He wouldn’t care about this sort of thing.” Song Wan wasn’t the least bit worried about it. Anyway, she was already resolved to adopt this child.

nChu Lui sat in the hospital again. He took off his blazer. Before, it wasn’t obvious that he was injured, but after taking off the blazer, the blood-red stain on his shirt was obvious.

n“What happened?” Gao Yi took out a pair of scissors and snipped at the shirt.

nThe shirt wasn’t cheap, but even if this shirt was ruined, he could still buy another one. He had lots of money to spend anyway.

nWith a few snips, Chu Lui’s wound was exposed. The wound that was starting to form a scab had now cracked open. Even the bandage was almost fully dyed with blood. Who knew how he got through the pain? The series of actions might make others howl and shriek wildly, but he didn’t even make a sound. It was as if the one injured right now wasn’t him, but someone else—as if it wasn’t his body that was injured, but a piece of meat.

nThe scab had cracked open because of heavy weight. Did the man lift something, or did he get into a fight?

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