Su Wanru's eyes welled up as Tong Tong looked at her. She nodded desperately, "Yes, Tong Tong, I am your biological aunt. Your mother, Yun Duoer, is my younger sister. I only found out today. I'm sorry, Tong Tong, that your aunt didn't know about your existence all these years, and never came to see you!"
Upon hearing this, Tong Tong put down what he was holding and hugged Su Wanru tightly, calling her "Auntie" in his childlike voice.
This one call of "Auntie" made Su Wanru overjoyed. She had thought Tong Tong might have trouble accepting this, but he hadn't asked anything or said anything. He just called her Auntie. Just as Liu Yifeng had said, her worries were unfounded.
She crouched down and held Tong Tong tightly in her arms, "Tong Tong, you don't blame Auntie for never visiting you?"
"I don't blame Auntie. You said yourself that you didn't know about me. Now that you know, and you chose to acknowledge me right away, it means you like me and care about me. Why would I be angry with you!" Tong Tong replied.
Looking at the sensible Tong Tong, Su Wanru couldn't help but recall his childhood. A pang of guilt struck her again. "Tong Tong, your father told me about your past. He said you were raised by a nanny, and your mother was rarely with you due to work.
From now on, Auntie will make as much time as possible to see you, so you won't feel lonely anymore!" she said, gently stroking Tong Tong's cheek.
In her heart, she wondered how her own sister, Duoer, could bear to give away such a wonderful child.
Tong Tong wasn't an ordinary child. Anyone in this world who had a genius son as smart and sensible as Tong Tong must have saved the Milky Way in their past life. A normal person would treasure him like a jewel, afraid of dropping him or letting him melt in their mouth. They would never send such a good child away!
Therefore, she couldn't understand what Duoer was thinking. Even if she wanted to build her career, with a genius son like Tong Tong, her exposure would naturally increase, and becoming famous would be easy. Why go through so much trouble, sending her son away, living in constant fear, afraid of her child's birth being exposed?
It would have been so much better to admit it openly, live with her child, and enjoy the mother-son bond.
"Thank you, Auntie. I know you're very busy with work, so you don't need to make special time to see me. I have Daddy with me, and I'm not lonely at all!" Tong Tong said sensibly.
But the more sensible he was, the more guilty Su Wanru felt. She always felt she owed Tong Tong something.
She thought that Yun Duoer might have sent the child away due to her own experiences, otherwise, a normal person wouldn't do that.
If it were her, she would keep Tong Tong by her side, even if they had to eat coarse grains and wild vegetables. She wouldn't give her child away for her career, especially after carrying him for ten months.
"Tong Tong, you're still so young and need to be taken care of. You don't have to be so sensible. You can act like other children, throw tantrums, and be a little willful!"
Tong Tong shook his head, "I don't want Daddy to worry. I just want Daddy to be happy every day and not be bothered by my matters!"
Such sensible words, coming from a child not yet four years old, left Su Wanru speechless with both joy and heartache for Tong Tong.
"You're such a good boy. Auntie wants to ask you something. You must tell Auntie the truth, okay?" she said, looking at Tong Tong thoughtfully.
Tong Tong nodded his head heavily, "Yes, Auntie, ask away!"
"Do you miss your mother? Do you want your mother to come back and be with you?"
If Tong Tong said yes, she would do her best to persuade her sister to put Tong Tong first!
To her surprise, Tong Tong actually shook his head. "Auntie, you don't need to worry about me. Even without my mother by my side, I can take care of myself. Besides, I have Daddy and Grandpa with me!
I am grateful that Mommy gave birth to me. She had no choice but to send me to Daddy's side for her work.
I don't want her to abandon her dream career for me. She has the right to pursue her dreams!"
"Don't you miss your mother? Especially at kindergarten, when you see other children being picked up and dropped off by their parents, but you only have your father!" Su Wanru's eyes welled up as she listened to Tong Tong.
She wondered, if Duoer were here and heard Tong Tong say this, would she still bear to send him away?
Tong Tong smiled indifferently, "The Earth will keep spinning without anyone. Even if Mommy is with me now, when I grow up, I'll have my own work and life. We can't be together every day forever!"
She had to admit, that was a very reasonable statement. Just like herself, she left home when she went to college, and her visits home each year could be counted on one hand. After she started working, she sometimes couldn't even go home once a year.
But Tong Tong was still young, a time when he should be enjoying motherly love. Yet, he could think so profoundly. It was evident that Tong Tong's maturity surpassed that of many adults.
No wonder he could participate in the "The Brain" program at such a young age and win the championship.
Feeling tired from crouching, she picked up Tong Tong and sat on the sofa. "Tong Tong, why are you so sensible? Did the nanny teach you all this?"
"No, I thought of all this myself. Auntie, do you want a smart baby too?"
Su Wanru's face immediately turned red. "Tong Tong, Auntie doesn't even have a boyfriend yet, how could I have a baby?"
Speaking of boyfriends, Liu Yifeng recalled something. "Wanru, didn't you say Zhou Liqun is pursuing you? I think he's quite good, very handsome, and a good choice. Why aren't you interested in him?"
Su Wanru replied, "It's not that I'm not interested. I can say I don't dislike him, but I'm not at the point where I'd marry him exclusively.
Also, I'm a very independent person, both in my experiences and emotions. I don't like feeling controlled.
Zhou Liqun is a good person, but sometimes he likes me to do things according to his ideas, which I really dislike."
"Officially, you are my sister-in-law, and I hope you find someone you're compatible with. I can't help you with matters of the heart; that requires your own feelings.
However, if you need any help, please don't hesitate to ask!" Liu Yifeng said.
Before, he had just thought Su Wanru was a nice person and could be a friend.
But now that he knew she was Tong Tong's biological aunt, he would naturally side with her and wish her well.
"I told you this not long ago. From now on, we're not just friends, but family. We should help each other!" Su Wanru smiled slightly.
"Xia Qianqian likes you, do you know that?" she suddenly remembered something.