After becoming a parent, Xu Gui discovered that she was actually quite popular with children, whether it was Wu Xueya, Zhao Di, or later Wang Xingxing…
However, she never expected that she would be so popular with children; even just standing on the sidewalk, a child would grab her leg.
Xu Gui: "…" Has her child-friendly charm evolved to this extent?
She looked around uncertainly, but didn't see anyone who appeared to be the children's parents.
Just then, the little dumpling clinging to her leg spoke up again, saying with pleading eyes, "Sister, I'm hungry, I want to eat KFC..."
Hearing this, Xu Gui looked down and met the child's big, grape-like eyes. She paused for a moment, then squatted down to be at eye level with the child and asked, "Little one, where are your parents? Why are you all alone here? Who did you come out with?"
Mentioning her parents, the child pouted, her expression seemingly a little resentful, but she still honestly replied, "My mom and dad went on a trip abroad. I came out alone, and I'm running away from home right now!"
Xu Gui: "..."
She decided to call the police first.
Just as she was about to make the call, the child tugged at her sleeve, looking at her with teary eyes, and said, "Sister, I'm hungry QAQ."
"..."
After a few seconds of silence, Xu Gui resignedly closed her eyes, took the child's hand, and said, "Okay, I'll take you to eat the KFC you want!"
Hearing this, the child, whose eyes were still brimming with tears, exclaimed, "Wow, sister, you're so kind! Yuan Yuan loves you so much!" Her
beaming face showed no trace of her previous pitifulness.
Watching the change in her expression, Xu Gui felt... she felt like she'd been tricked, and she even had evidence.
...
Meanwhile, in his office on the eighth floor of the Lu's Building in City A, Lu Baiyi received a call. Seeing the caller ID, he gestured to his secretary, who was talking about work, and answered the phone directly.
"Hello, Teacher Lin," Lu Baiyi said. "Is there something wrong with Yuan Yuan?"
Teacher Lin was a kindergarten teacher and also the homeroom teacher of his younger sister, Lu Baiyuan. Because their parents were traveling abroad, the kindergarten had his contact information.
But…why would the kindergarten call him at this hour? Lu Baiyi was puzzled, a subtle sense of unease creeping into his heart.
After he answered the phone, the person on the other end didn't speak immediately. Lu Baiyi first heard the other person's hurried and uneasy breathing. A few seconds later, the other person's anxious, guilty, and cautious voice finally came through.
"…Mr. Lu, Yuan Yuan is missing."
"…"
Lu Baiyi abruptly stood up from his seat, his face instantly turning extremely pale. His voice was deep as he asked, "What did you say? Yuan Yuan is missing?"
The secretary standing beside him, who was waiting for Lu Baiyi to finish his call before continuing his report, widened her eyes in disbelief—what, what happened? Why was the general manager reacting so strongly?
Lu Baiyi listened to the voice on the phone with a gloomy expression: "Mr. Lu, please don't worry. We are already working hard to find the child and have reported it to the police. We believe we will find Yuan Yuan soon."
Lu Baiyi had only one question: "When did you discover that Yuan Yuan was missing?"
The
other end of the line was silent for a few seconds before whispering, "Well, after the children finished their afternoon nap."
Hearing this, Lu Baiyi glanced at the time and was so angry he laughed. He questioned, "You discovered the child was missing after the afternoon nap, but you only called me now?"
The kindergarten children's afternoon nap time is after lunch, from 12:30 to 2:00, but it was already 3:30, an hour and a half since 2:00.
In other words, the kindergarten did not notify him immediately after discovering the child was missing, but only after an hour and a half of searching without success did they think of calling him.
"Our family spent a lot of money to send our child to your kindergarten, but now you tell me that our child is missing in your kindergarten? Do you think this is reasonable?" Lu Baiyi was furious and asked, suppressing his anger.
The person on the other end of the line explained anxiously, "Mr. Lu, we didn't expect this to happen..."
Lu Baiyi took a deep breath to calm himself down. He got up and walked out, saying as he went, "I'm coming to the kindergarten right now."
After hanging up the phone with the kindergarten, he naturally didn't dare to delay for a moment. He hurriedly gave his secretary a few instructions and then drove directly to the kindergarten. When he arrived, he went straight to the principal's office.
Seeing him arrive, the kindergarten staff were naturally extremely guilty, but they had no choice but to bite the bullet and come over to talk to him.
However, Lu Baiyi wasn't there to cause trouble, at least not now. Even if he wanted to cause trouble, he'd have to find his child first. So, facing the guilty and embarrassed principal and Lu Baiyuan's homeroom teacher, Lu Baiyi's first words were:
"Well, do you know where the child is?"
Hearing this, the principal felt relieved and hurriedly said, "The police are here and are checking the surveillance footage..."
As he spoke, he led Lu Baiyi towards the kindergarten's monitoring room. Once there, Lu Baiyi saw two police officers in uniform watching the footage. He quickly went over and asked about the situation.
"Ah, found him!" At this moment, one of the officers, who had been watching the monitor, suddenly shouted, pointing to a paused section of the footage: "The last place the child was seen at the kindergarten was here!"
Lu Baiyi looked and saw a figure crawling through a dog hole on the paused screen.
Lu Baiyi: ?
Meanwhile, on the other side, Xu Gui had brought the little dumpling, dressed in what was clearly a kindergarten uniform, to KFC. Amidst the lively atmosphere, the two of them, carrying their ordered food, sat down at a window seat.
They ordered hamburgers, fries, and egg tarts. The child, holding a hamburger almost the size of her face, opened her mouth wide and exclaimed, "Mmm!"
Xu Gui had already eaten and wasn't too hungry, but she felt she could still eat. So, another person joined in, mouth agape, their chubby cheeks making them look remarkably alike.
As Xu Gui ate her hamburger, she looked at the child and said, "Tell me, do you know me?"
Although her demeanor might seem kind to the child, Xu Gui didn't believe that this alone would make the child so precisely grab her leg in front of so many people on the street.
Moreover, the child's tone when she said she was hungry was familiar and trusting; all of this indicated that she knew her.
Xu Gui pondered, carefully examining the child. He wondered if it was just a preconceived notion, but now, looking at the child, he felt she looked somewhat familiar. He seemed to have seen another face that resembled this one somewhere before…
Xu Gui wondered if he should try to figure it out.
Just then, the child, who was eating a hamburger with gusto, spoke up, nodding emphatically, "Yes, I know you, sister! You're Grandpa and Brother's friend." Grandpa
and Brother…
Xu Gui looked at her and asked, "What's your name?"
"…" Upon being asked her name, the child's face showed obvious reluctance, even a dejected expression. It seemed even the hamburger in her hand lost its appeal. However, despite her reluctance, she obediently answered Xu Gui's question.
"My name is Yuan Yuan…" she said.
Xu Gui lifted her eyelids: "And your full name?"
The child, who had been trying to resist, replied: "…Lu Baiyuan."
Ah!
Her guess had come true, which wasn't surprising to Xu Gui—she had just remembered that Lu Baiyuan looked somewhat like Lu Baiyi, especially when he smiled.
However, although their smiles were similar, the feeling they gave off was completely different.
Lu Baiyuan's smile was bright and innocent, but Lu Baiyi's smile… looked somewhat flirtatious and alluring? Her eyes seemed to be brimming with a delicate, captivating smile.
...Xu Gui thought casually.
"By the way, why are you out on the street all alone? Where's your brother?" Xu Gui managed to pull her thoughts back to the main point, "Did he really run away from home?"
Lu Baiyuan puffed out her cheeks, nodded heavily, and clenched her fists, saying, "That's right, I ran away from home! I'm going to show them with my actions that I'm angry!"
Faced with her agitation, Xu Gui remained calm, asking indifferently, "So, did they make you angry?"
Lu Baiyuan nodded again.
Xu Gui asked again, curious, "What did they do to make you so angry?"
"They, they..." Lu Baiyuan's cheeks were puffed up like an angry pufferfish, but after Xu Gui asked the question, her puffed-up cheeks slowly deflated, and then tears welled up in her eyes.
Seeing this, Xu Gui was shocked—had she said something she shouldn't have?
"I hate the name they gave me," Lu Baiyuan said softly, refusing to eat her hamburger.
"…" Hearing her answer, Xu Gui asked uncertainly, "Name?" It was her name?
Lu Baiyuan nodded, then said to Xu Gui earnestly and with a wronged expression, "My mom and dad don't love me at all. They must think I'm too fat and too ugly, so they don't like me at all."
Xu Gui: "Why?"
Lu Baiyuan sniffed and said seriously, "Look, my brother's name is Six Hundred Billion, my sister's name is Six Million, but only mine... is Six Hundred Yuan!"
Xu Gui opened her mouth: "Ah, this..."
Tears welled up in Lu Baiyuan's eyes. She said aggrievedly, "Look, my brother's and sister's names are so expensive, but only my name is so cheap! My parents must really hate me to give me this name!"
Xu Gui: "..."
If she had to describe Xu Gui's feelings at this moment, she felt that "loading" would be the most fitting word. She really didn't expect that the reason Lu Baiyuan "ran away from home" was for such a reason.
But...
Six Hundred Billion, Six Million, Six Hundred Yuan... How come this family's naming is so unique?
She looked at Lu Baiyuan, whose eyes were brimming with tears, and still said, "Your parents didn't necessarily give you this name because they don't like you, right?"
Lu Baiyuan shook her head and said, "They definitely don't like me. Baozi and the others said it's because they don't like me, they think I'm a money-loser, that's why they gave me such a cheap name!"
Xu Gui frowned upon hearing this. What money-loser...
Looking at the child who looked genuinely sad, Xu Gui thought for a moment and suddenly had an idea. She suggested, "How about we let your brother take his name and you be called Lu Baiyi, and he be called Lu Baiyuan? That way, you'll be the most expensive one!"
Lu Baiyuan's eyes lit up: "Is that okay?"
But she blinked and then became dejected, muttering, "Then forget it. If my brother has this name, he'll be laughed at too. I don't want him to be laughed at."
Xu Gui raised an eyebrow, looking at Lu Baiyuan with a hint of admiration—this was a good child. Even though she was so sad, she was still thinking about her brother.
Xu Gui glanced down at her phone, sent a message, and then looked up to continue talking to the child.
Xu Gui didn't reprimand Lu Baiyuan for "running away from home," which perhaps fostered a different kind of trust in her. She answered Xu Gui's questions without hesitation.
"I want to change my name..." the child mumbled, "I think 'Diamond' would be nice, 'Diamond' sounds expensive, or 'Gemstone' would be fine too!"
Xu Gui: "..." Actually, I think Lu Baiyuan is better, at least it sounds nice.
"Or, how about 'Mysterious Pearl'?" she suddenly said.
The child, who had just finished her hamburger and was munching on an egg tart, opened her eyes wide and asked, "Mysterious Pearl? Is it expensive?"
Xu Gui nodded: "It is very expensive."
The Mysterious Pearl was a treasure of their Xuan Turtle clan, a bright and dazzling pearl. Since it was a treasure of the Xuan Turtle clan, it was naturally very expensive; it was something that couldn't be bought.
"No, your generation seems to be the Bai generation, you should be called Lu Bai…" Xu Gui remembered this, she had heard Lu Baiyi mention it before.
"No, I want to be called Xuanzhu!" Lu Baiyuan said hurriedly, "Xuanzhu! It sounds so nice."
Xu Gui watched her cup her face, murmuring the name "Xuanzhu" with a look of delight, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.
She felt that Lu Baiyuan liked this name simply because she had said that the pearl was priceless, an invaluable treasure… to put it bluntly, she just thought the name was expensive.
Xu Gui facepalmed, feeling a little guilty—she hoped that when Lu Baiyi came over, he wouldn't think she had led her sister astray.
*
Lu Baiyi never expected that he would suddenly receive a message from Xu Gui, and what surprised him even more was the content of Xu Gui's message.
"...How did Yuan Yuan end up with Xu Gui? How did they meet?"
This question had been on his mind the whole way here, his heart pounding with anxiety. Only when he rushed into the KFC and saw the two people, one big and one small, sitting by the window did his heart finally settle.
He was panting and covered in sweat from running all the way from the car. He stood at the door for a couple of seconds, took a deep breath, and then exhaled before walking steadily towards Xu Gui and
the other person. Reaching them, he called out, "Yuan Yuan..."
Lu Baiyuan, who was playing with a toy given to her by Xu Gui, instinctively turned her head. Seeing Lu Baiyi, a guilty expression crossed her face. She jumped off her chair and tried to run, but her older brother ruthlessly grabbed her by the back of her collar.
"Let me go! Let me go!" she cried, flailing her arms and legs, kicking the ground. She remained rooted to the spot for a long time.
Lu Baiyi grabbed her overalls, lifted her up with one hand, and put her back in her original position. Then he looked at Xu Gui and thanked her, "Xiao Gui, thank you for taking care of my sister..."
Otherwise, he would still be like an ant in a hot pan, anxiously pacing around.
Xu Gui: I feel like I've heard so many "thank yous" in the past month.
"But how did you two end up together?" Lu Baiyi was filled with doubt. "And how do you know Yuan Yuan is my sister?"
Seeing him standing, Xu Gui told him to sit down. Lu Baiyi sat down on the other side of Lu Bai Yuan, hooking one arm around her overalls to prevent her from running away again.
Seeing that there was no hope of escaping, Lu Bai Yuan pouted, crossed her arms, and sat there sulking like an angry pufferfish. However, the two adults who were talking didn't see her and therefore didn't notice her actions.
Xu Gui said, "You two look somewhat alike, and your names are even identical. It's not surprising that I guessed she was your sister... As for how I ended up with her, you'll have to ask your sister. I was standing on the street when she suddenly ran over and hugged my leg, saying she was hungry."
Lu Baiyi, who never expected things to turn out this way, was speechless.
He looked sharply at Lu Baiyuan, who, who had just been angry but was now feeling a little guilty, turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.
"She said I'm a friend of her grandfather and brother, and they always watch my live streams..." Xu Gui's voice carried a hint of amusement, "That's probably why she remembers me."
That's why she suddenly rushed over and hugged his leg when she saw him on the street.
She told Lu Baiyi about how she met Lu Baiyuan. After listening, Lu Baiyuan seemed to understand, and then told Xu Gui that she had secretly sneaked out of kindergarten.
"...She crawled out through the dog hole behind the kindergarten!" Lu Baiyi said, his tone tinged with unease, perhaps because he hadn't expected his younger sister to escape through the dog hole.
Xu Gui glanced at Lu Baiyuan, who looked guilty and unusually obedient.
Lu Baiyi stared at her, his expression stern as he questioned, "Lu Baiyuan, do you know how much trouble your sneaking out of kindergarten has caused everyone? All the teachers are looking for you, even the police have been called in, all because of you!"
Seeing the child, his worry and fear vanished, replaced by anger, a mixture of anxiety and rage.
"Do you know how worried I was when the kindergarten teacher told me about this? Didn't I tell you that if you have any grievances, you can have the teacher call me? But I certainly didn't teach you to do something so irresponsible, did I?"
Lu Baiyi's expression was serious, and his tone was stern. Lu Baiyuan, who had been feigning innocence, suddenly became teary-eyed and looked extremely aggrieved after hearing his words.
However, compared to aggrievedness, her expression showed more resentment. She stared at Lu Baiyi with wide, defiant eyes.
"I'm going to sneak away and make sure you can't find me!" she shouted, though her voice sounded childish and lacked any real power.
Xu Gui looked at her defiant expression and thought: I see, she's a stubborn one too!
The atmosphere here was awkward, and with so many people in the store, curious glances were inevitable. Lu Baiyi looked around and realized this wasn't the place to talk, so he reached out and picked up Lu Baiyuan.
"Let's talk outside," he said, looking at Xu Gui questioningly.
Xu Gui nodded, having no objection. She got off the stool, and the two of them took Lu Baiyuan back to Lu Baiyi's car. Lu Baiyi had driven there himself; Xu Gui sat in the passenger seat, while the two siblings sat in the back. As
soon as they got in the car, Lu Baiyuan, like a delicate little worm, crawled to the furthest spot from her brother, then turned her stubborn and defiant back to him.
Lu Baiyi: "…"
He sighed, bent down slightly, and said to Lu Baiyuan, "Okay, Yuanyuan, I was wrong just now. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you. I'm sorry, okay? But I didn't mean to be mean to you; I was just worried about you. Do you know how scared I was when I heard you disappeared from kindergarten?"
From the company to the kindergarten, he had considered every possible worst-case scenario.
"Brother was really worried about our Yuan Yuan. I was so scared the whole way here that I broke out in a cold sweat." He pointed to the sweat on his face.
Lu Baiyuan listened to his words and secretly glanced at her brother. Only when she actually saw sweat on Lu Baiyi's face did the resentful expression on her face soften slightly.
Lu Baiyi pressed his advantage, continuing, "Brother sincerely apologizes to our Yuanyuan. Yuanyuan, please forgive brother, okay?"
Lu Baiyuan finally turned her head. She looked at Lu Baiyi and said, "Brother, you were so, so fierce to Yuanyuan just now! You looked like a monster!"
"I'm sorry, brother scared our Yuanyuan..." Lu Baiyi apologized, moved closer to sit next to his sister, and said softly, "But, Yuanyuan, you have to think about brother too. Brother was really scared when he found out Yuanyuan was missing today."
Lu Baiyuan buried her face in her brother's arms and cried out, "I'm sorry, brother, Yuanyuan made brother worry! Yuanyuan is bad! Brother, don't be angry with Yuanyuan."
Hearing this, a smile flashed in Lu Baiyi's eyes. When he looked up, his gaze met Xu Gui, who was sitting in the front passenger seat and looking back. The two looked at each other for a moment, then naturally looked away.
"But Yuan Yuan, why did you sneak away from kindergarten?" Lu Baiyi calmed down and began to ask the important question.
As the youngest daughter of Lu Baiyi's parents, Lu Baiyuan had been pampered by everyone since birth. Although she was spoiled, she was definitely not a willful child, so she wouldn't have sneaked away from kindergarten without a reason.
"Was someone bullying you at kindergarten?"
Lu Baiyi's voice was deep.