But the person Chu Ying hated most was actually herself. As a mother, she hadn’t had the ability to protect her child. Shen Yan was the first to notice his mother’s state. He immediately put his arm around her shoulders. Her son’s body heat brought Chu Ying back to the present. When she tried to see the child in front of her clearly again, her eyes were already blurry. As tears streamed down uncontrollably, Chu Ying had only one thought — she was so useless.
She had done so much mental preparation, and her recent therapy results had been good.
Why was she still crying? She must look so ugly. She must be scaring Youyou. Youyou was still young. He might not hate her, but their first meeting was ruined. Chu Ying’s shoulders shook as she cried, standing there at a loss. Even though she had quickly covered her face with both hands the moment the tears fell. It was supposed to be a happy family reunion, and she had turned it into this…
“Mom~”
A soft, milky voice sounded, more beautiful than a babbling brook or a tinkling bell. Chu Ying’s lips were pale. Her frown relaxed, and she suddenly removed her hands. A sticky, milky voice, full of curiosity and slowness, but without a trace of resentment. The blurry white nothingness from her dreams gradually faded, and in its place was the clear little face of a three-year-old child.
Big eyes, long curly eyelashes, an expression of concern, and a hint of the unfamiliarity that made her hesitant to get too close. The little guy had been securely held by his father, but then he suddenly saw his mother crying. He couldn’t explain why, but Su Youli felt his heart aching so much. The most pain Youyou had ever felt was when he was sick and went to the hospital, and the doctor gave him a shot in his bottom.
He couldn’t describe it, but he felt like the needle that had pricked his bottom was now pricking his heart. He didn’t like Mom crying. When Mom cried, Big Brother and Second Brother’s eyes got red too, and Dad, who was holding him, also looked very, very sad. Why? Why was Mom crying?
“Mom, don’t cry. Youyou has a little rabbit cake to give you.”
Recently, the little guy had been watching short videos with Second Brother. He knew that cake, flowers, and milk tea could make girls happy. But the situation was really urgent. He only had the little rabbit cake. Everyone present was watching them. The Shen family and Chu Lan all knew that Chu Ying hadn’t just suffered physically back then; she had also become ill mentally.
No one dared to breathe loudly. They watched the mother and son’s interaction intently. Chu Ying wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She squatted down, rubbed her hands on her clothes several times, and only then slowly reached out. Now that the little guy was making eye contact with his mother, he could see her more clearly.
So this was his mother. His mother really was very pretty. Her somewhat dry hands grabbed the little one’s arm. Chu Ying carefully looked Su Youli over from head to toe, again and again. Healthy, adorable, with a very good temperament. A good little boy. With tears in her eyes, Chu Ying finally suppressed her emotions. She raised her hand and touched her youngest son’s naturally curly hair, which matched her own.
“Youyou, I am Mom.”
The little guy smiled. “I know.”
He knew this was Mom. Then, the little guy was pulled by a force into a warm, fragrant embrace: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Mom is sorry. Mom didn’t protect Youyou.”
The confused little guy opened his eyes wide. His mother kept repeating this sentence in his ear. His chubby cheeks squished together against his mother’s shoulder. His big eyes blinked a few times. Why was Mom sorry? Was it because she hadn’t come to see him for so long? But he knew Mom was sick, which was why she hadn’t come to see Youyou.
“Mom, don’t say sorry.”
Two small hands tried hard to wrap around Mom’s back. Su Youli gently patted Mom’s back, just like he had seen adults soothe him. He was soothing his mother. After experiencing heart-wrenching grief, Chu Ying’s vision finally cleared. She cupped the little guy’s soft, chubby face. In that moment, the pain from three years ago truly began to heal, bit by bit. The missing piece in her heart was slowly becoming whole again. The intense, tearful mother-son reunion had everyone on edge. When Chu Ying finally composed herself, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“Youyou, can Mom hold you?” She wanted to carry the little one as they walked back home.
Chu Ying, eager to get close to her youngest son, was very enthusiastic.
But the little guy shook his head. “Not okay, Mom.”
Chu Ying’s heart tightened. Had she scared Youyou just now? Was that why he didn’t want her to hold him? That made sense. Youyou was meeting her for the first time today. She had heard from Yanyan that Youyou was quite shy around strangers. A look of disappointment flashed in Chu Ying’s eyes.
“Youyou is heavy. Mom will get tired~.”
Being a particularly thoughtful little cub, Su Youli had understood since a young age that sick people shouldn’t overexert themselves. For example, his Little Dad. Little Dad loved him very, very much and always wanted to carry him. But then Little Dad’s leg would hurt. Chu Ying was surprised by the little guy’s thoughtfulness. Maybe sensing that she was a bit unhappy, the little guy immediately reached out his little hand to hold hers after refusing her.
And so, Chu Ying walked slowly alongside the little guy. It was as if she were the child, the one who needed looking after the most. Shen Minyan, standing not far away, had composed himself by now. As Chu Ying approached him, he tried to maintain his dignity as much as possible. But the fists clenched at his sides gave him away. The little guy looked up at his father, whose eyes were red, and generously reached out his own little hand.
“Dad, let’s go home.”
He needed to go home and get the little rabbit cake to cheer up Mom. He was in a bit of a hurry. And so, the little guy held his mom’s hand with his right and his dad’s hand with his left. Because he was short and had little arms, he had to try very, very hard to walk on his tiptoes. Shen Minyan walked alongside calmly, his large hand enveloping the little guy’s soft little hand.
During these few short minutes of walking, Shen Minyan suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed, his nose slightly sore. But Chairman Shen was not just anyone. Even if the sky fell, he would never allow himself to lose emotional control in front of everyone. Chairman Shen had always possessed the poise to remain unflustered even if Mount Tai crumbled before him. However, the butler standing by the door noticed that as he went up the steps, he did indeed stumble a little, pausing to catch his breath before climbing them.
At ten o’clock on an ordinary weekday morning. The Shen household was transformed by Chu Ying’s arrival. As soon as they entered the house, the little guy let go of his parents’ hands and very thoughtfully told his father, “Dad, please take care of Mom for a bit.”
The little guy blinked his eyes rapidly a few times, then rode his little sports car, picking up Su Yuanzi along the way.
“We’re going to get Mom’s cake~”
A milky, yet piercingly clear voice echoed through the large living room.
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