She felt bad when she saw the desire in the old man’s eyes. She thought about how she would never have gone to the Xia household, no matter how much paradise-like it seemed, if she had a grandpa like that as a child. Unfortunately for her, she did not.

So she could not bear to take Rainy’s grandfather from her since the old man really did dote on her.

Oh, well. She took the materials out and looked over them. No matter what, she could not separate Rainy from her grandpa. That would be unfair to the young child. It was Rainy’s life, not hers.

…

She handed Dolly to her daughter.

“Remember to listen to Grandpa and take care of Dolly,” she said as she gently rearranged her daughter’s braids.

“En, Rainy knows.” Rainy picked Dolly up and rubbed it against her face. She loved her Dolly and could not sleep without her.

“Go on, go have fun with Grandpa.”

Xia Ruoxin stood up and held her daughter’s hand as she brought her daughter over to Chu Lui.

“Thank you, Ruoxin.” Chu Lui picked the little girl up. Every time she was in his arms, he felt an indescribable sense of guilt and heartache. He would give up everything he had for the child in his arms.

Xia Ruoxin waved goodbye to her daughter before she breathed out and shut the door behind her. She was afraid that she would change her mind and take any back and ban her from seeing the Chu family ever again.

“Uncle, where are we going?” Rainy asked as she grabbed onto the man’s clothes and kicked them with her small feet. Chu Lui was unbothered. The suit meant nothing to him in comparison to his daughter.

“Back to Grandpa’s home.” He stopped and pressed the child’s face into his arms. His heart ached at how he remained as an uncle to the child.

“Does Rainy remember Grandpa?” Chu Lui asked the child. He remembered that the child was only close to his dad in the past.

“En.” Rainy kicked around again, leaving a shoe print on Chu Lui’s clothes.

Grandpa was nice to her so she liked him. She remembered who was nice and who was not.

“What about Granny?” Chu Lui asked carefully. Having spent time with Rainy, he realized that she was more mature and understanding than most children. One could talk to her as if she was a young adult.

Rainy kept quiet.

However, Chu Lui heard her mumbling to herself.

“That’s not my granny.”

Did she mean…

Chu Xiang?

Opening the back passenger door, he placed his daughter on the child seat. The seat was a recent installment. He had hired the best designer to make this chair, but this was the first time Rainy was using it. If he had not been afraid of Xia Ruoxin’s dismay, he would have moved in next door as her neighbor. However, that was just a passing thought.

He knew that he did not have that much importance to her.

…

By now, Chu Jiang had been waiting outside for a while.

“What are you doing here?” Song Wan had just taken a stroll outside with Chu Xiang. When she left, he was waiting at the door; and he was still in the same position when she returned.

“Nothing, I’m waiting for someone. Would you like to wait with me?” Chu Jiang said to his wife.

“You can do that yourself.” Song Wan rolled her eyes. “I’m bringing my Xiang Xiang home, right?” As she spoke, she kissed Chu Xiang’s face. The girl smiled sweetly in response.

“Granny is Xiang Xiang’s favorite, too.”

“Granny likes Xiang Xiang the most, too.” Song Wan kissed the girl’s face again before the two entered the house.

Chu Jiang was aware of Song Wan’s overattachment and spoiling of Chu Jiang. He knew that it was not her fault, given that she barely saw her granddaughter. If she did not have a placebo, her imagination would run wild.

By then, a black car stopped beside him. It was Chu Lui.

Chu Jiang hurried over. The car door opened, and Chu Lui brought a small child out.

Chu Jiang’s eyes turned red when he saw his granddaughter. He walked over and reached out towards Rainy.

“Baby, do you still remember Grandpa?”

“Hi, Grandpa.” Rainy reached her two hands out towards Chu Jiang. Choked with emotion, the man picked her up. Their family was indebted to her, and so was he. Because of that, he could only sneak an eye of his granddaughter from outside the kindergarten. He dared not go forward, for he was afraid that the child’s mother would overthink and leave with the child again.

It had been a while since he got to hold his granddaughter.

Chu Jiang refused to let go of the child, even with his son glaring at him from behind. Rainy chattered on in Chu Jiang’s arms as he smiled and laughed.

The door was opened from inside by Chu Xiang when the bell rang. Chu Xiang was about to address Chu Jiang when she saw him, but she froze when she saw Rainy in his arms. She turned pale as a sheet.

She lowered her head anxiously as she tugged on her dress. Why is Mei Mei back again? Didn’t they say that she wasn’t coming back?

She was the only child in the family. Grandpa would not like her if there were one more child, and neither would Daddy. Granny, too. The more she thought about it, she more upset she got. Jealousy and fear spread in the child’s heart like wildfire.

Song Wan almost threw the bowl in her hand on the floor when she came out.

“My, Rainy.” She rushed over, wanting to touch the child to confirm her vision. It was not that she did not love her grandchild. Chu Xiang was a placebo, but her affections for Rainy were true.

However, she was unaware of the two children’s individual thoughts.

There could only be one favorite.

“Hi, Granny,” Rainy said politely but distantly.

Song Wan wiped her tears. “We can talk later. Let’s eat. Let’s eat.” She was even thinking about adding a few more dishes. After all, her granddaughter had returned. She hurried into the kitchen to talk to the caretaker as if in desperate need of someone to share her joy.