Ye Mu scowled, glancing around before picking up a squat stone and placing it behind Luo Qi for him to sit on.
Luo Qi sat down on the stone as if it were the most natural thing in the world, looking up at Ye Mu like a little mushroom that had sprouted in a forest after the rain.
Ye Mu really wanted to rub Luo Qi’s cheeks and hair. He moved another small stone and sat opposite Luo Qi, then extended a little finger and wagged it in front of Ye Mu.
“Luo Luo, I don’t accept your reason.”
Luo Qi blinked his eyes, his hands placed obediently on his chest, listening to Ye Mu very seriously. “Why not?”
Ye Mu stated matter-of-factly, “Because you won’t snatch my mommy and daddy away. My mommy said that if you become my little brother, we will become a new family. Mommy and Daddy will love you as much as they love me, and I will love you too.”
Ye Mu couldn’t understand why Luo Qi would refuse such a win-win situation.
Luo Qi thought for a moment. “But your mommy and daddy already have you. Uncle Ceci doesn’t have any children yet. I’m going to be Uncle Ceci’s child.”
Ye Mu frowned. “Then can I go and be Uncle Ceci’s child with you?”
He thought very clearly that if Luo Qi couldn’t be his parents’ child with him, then it was the same for him to be Uncle Ceci’s child with Luo Qi.
Ye Mu gave himself a thumbs-up for his cleverness.
Luo Qi, however, stood up abruptly from the small stone in surprise, rejecting Ye Mu’s idea with a series of gestures. “No, can’t do it, impossible.”
Ye Mu grabbed Luo Qi, seizing the opportunity to pinch the little bit of flesh on Luo Qi’s waist. “It’s decided then! We’ll go be Uncle Ceci’s children together in a moment!”
Seeing that the two children had not returned for a long time, Ceci and Ye Yun, who had come out to look for them, both slipped.
Ye Yun’s forehead veins bulged. The idea of his own foolish son becoming someone else’s son made him inexplicably feel inferior in front of Ceci.
Ceci gave Ye Mu a smile that was not quite a smile and asked casually, “What’s wrong? Is the food at Mr. Ye’s house not enough to feed the child?”
Ye Yun’s face darkened.
Ceci had almost had his son snatched away by this family and was still unhappy. He wouldn’t miss such an opportunity for some subtle revenge.
So, after some thought, he let out a long “Mm,” “But don’t worry, Mr. Ye. I’m not someone who would snatch other people’s children (emphasis). Mr. Ye should take his own son back.”
Luo Qi also noticed Ceci and the others. He ducked and wriggled out of Ye Mu’s embrace, running to Ceci and smiling sweetly, “Uncle Ceci.”
Ceci curved his lips, bent down, picked Luo Qi up from the ground, and nuzzled Luo Qi’s face. “Luo Luo should call me Daddy.”
Luo Qi hugged Ceci’s neck tightly. “Daddy.”
Ye Yun walked forward and took Ye Mu’s hand, suppressing the urge to smack this brat immediately. He politely said goodbye to Ceci.
“Then we’ll be going…”
“Waaaah!”
Before Ye Yun could finish, Ye Mu’s loud crying interrupted him.
He had never seen Ye Mu cry so sadly and was momentarily stunned. Looking down, he saw Ye Mu wiping his face fiercely on Ye Yun’s sleeve.
“My big, fragrant little brother is gone!”
Ye Yun, with snot and tears smeared all over his sleeve: “…”
Mrs. Ye came over to wipe Ye Yun’s tears for Ye Mu, looking at her foolish son with heartache. However, in the eyes of the law, Luo Qi was already Ceci’s child, and they couldn’t say much.
Luo Qi frowned at Ye Mu, patted Ceci’s hand, and Ceci placed Luo Qi on the ground, still holding his hand tightly.
He used his other hand to wipe Ye Mu’s tears. Ye Mu, afraid of getting his tears and snot on Luo Qi, considerately rubbed himself against Ye Yun.
Luo Qi looked at Ye Yun with pity and reached out to pat Ye Mu’s back. “Brother Ye Mu, don’t be sad. Even if we don’t live together, I’m still your little brother.”
Ye Mu’s eyes were red from crying. Hearing Luo Qi’s words, he suddenly stopped crying and blew a snot bubble. “R-really?”
Luo Qi nodded vigorously. “Of course, it’s true! Brother Ye Mu, don’t cry anymore.”
Ye Mu sniffled. He felt quite embarrassed crying for so long in front of a younger brother.
“Then we have to go to kindergarten together from now on.”
Although Luo Qi didn’t know what kindergarten was, if Ye Mu was going, then he would go too.
However, he looked back at Ceci first. “Is that okay, Daddy?”
Ceci glanced at Ye Mu, looking a little displeased, but still nodded. “Okay.”
Ye Mu felt a bit happier then, his eyes still red but his lips already curling upwards.
Mrs. Ye seized the opportunity. “I wonder where Mr. Ceci lives now? Since the two children have such a fated connection, perhaps…”
After the “crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang himself” of a certain child who had lost his little brother, Ye Mu finally got his wish and sat in Ceci’s car, snatching Ceci’s seat and sitting next to Luo Qi.
Ceci’s main businesses were abroad. He did have residences in the country, but they were relatively small. Now that he had adopted Luo Qi, he was planning to move.
They were currently heading in the direction of the Ye family. Ceci would buy a larger house there so that Ye Mu and Luo Qi could attend kindergarten and play together in the future.
Luo Qi sat in the back seat of the car, his small hand held by Ye Mu, a smile on his face as he looked out the window.
As they drove away from the orphanage located in the suburbs, the scenery outside the car kept changing.
Low bungalows gave way to steel and concrete buildings that seemed to reach the sky. Luo Qi found everything incredibly novel.
Having never left the orphanage since birth, Luo Qi’s eyes sparkled. He animatedly discussed with Ye Mu which car colors were more beautiful.
Ye Mu, having seen these scenes many times, didn’t find the cars particularly strange or interesting. But seeing Luo Qi so happy, he also became happy.
He knew more than Luo Qi and could tell him the names and speeds of these cars, which made Luo Qi even happier.
Laughter and joy filled the car. Ceci’s face also wore a smile, and the atmosphere in the car was light, as if they were a real family.
Luo Qi suddenly looked at Ye Mu, his eyes still filled with smiles. He said, “It feels like I’m dreaming right now.”
Ye Mu couldn’t resist the urge to pinch Luo Qi’s face again, his voice childish yet solemn. “Luo Luo, you won’t just be happy in your dreams from now on.”
Luo Qi’s smile widened, and he nodded heavily. From now on, he would be a child with a daddy and a big brother. He would be very, very happy.
In a flash, something in his heart seemed to be filled.
It was as if his life trajectory shouldn’t have been like this. If he hadn’t met Daddy and Ye Mu, perhaps he would have grown up in the orphanage like a wild weed, exerting all his strength just to survive.
If he had grown up in the orphanage, he would only be able to leave at eighteen. Perhaps by then, everything would be completely different from now.
His hand was gently tugged. Luo Qi looked up at Ye Mu beside him. Ye Mu pointed out the window. “Look, that small car is also very beautiful.”
Luo Qi nodded. “Yes! It’s really beautiful!”
Ceci, in the front, glanced back. The car was just average. But since the little cub liked it, he took out his phone and sent a message – he would buy it and give it to his cub.
Since he was his son, he deserved to be the happiest child in the world.