Fu Shizhao didn’t even come back to collect his belongings. It was only Fu Yu who returned in the evening.

Tang Mian watched as Fu Yu sorted through some of Fu Shizhao’s things in the children’s room, packed them into a suitcase, and even took away the small milk bottle that Fu Shizhao always held.

Fu Shizhao was really leaving.

As this thought crossed Tang Mian’s mind, he couldn’t control his tears. He had just been reborn for a short while, and his “little brother development plan” had not even been implemented for long before Fu Shizhao was about to leave.

When Fu Yu suddenly heard Tang Mian crying, he was startled and quickly stopped what he was doing to come to his side, anxiously wiping away his tears.

Shen Siwan and Tang Minghuai were also drawn to Tang Mian’s cries and comforted him in their arms.

But this time, they couldn’t calm him down.

“Shizhao is just going back to his own home, just like how this is Mian Mian’s home. Shizhao also has his own home.”

Yes, he was going back to the Fu family. He was going to become the young master of the Fu family in a different world, just like in his previous life.

In this lifetime, he wouldn’t even have the chance to grow up together with him.

It was really a way to avoid the inevitable distance between them – just part ways when they were still young.

“Shizhao will still play with Mian Mian all the time. Aren’t you friends with him on your smartwatch? You can call Shizhao anytime.” What’s the use of contact?

If it were effective, he would have made hundreds of calls to Fu Shizhao tonight. People who couldn’t meet often would most likely drift apart.

In his previous life, he had good friends in middle school, but after graduation, the two high schools were not very far apart, but they hardly stayed in touch after a year.

He also had a couple of friends who were in a long-distance relationship after high school, but they couldn’t withstand the distance and eventually broke up.

Moreover, Fu Shizhao was only three years old now. Over time, he would have a new circle of friends, meet more new people, and it would be increasingly difficult to stay in touch with him.

He understood the gap between the Fu family and the Tang family.

“Don’t cry, baby. Do you want mommy to sleep with you tonight?” Tang Mian’s tears fell even more when he heard this. From today, Fu Shizhao wouldn’t be there to warm his bed or be his human pillow anymore.

Tomorrow was his birthday, and he had already planned how to celebrate it. But Fu Shizhao, who played such an important role, had suddenly “escaped from the battle.”

In reality, Tang Mian knew that crying wouldn’t change anything. The Fu family already knew about Fu Shizhao’s existence, and he couldn’t stop them from taking him back.

Fu Shizhao didn’t come back to pack his bags tonight, and only Fu Yu returned. It was probably a deliberate move to sever Fu Shizhao’s ties with this side.

But he felt so miserable.

Moreover, crying was a natural reaction for a three-year-old child facing the imminent departure of a friend he cared about. He couldn’t just watch Fu Shizhao leave with a blank expression.

With this additional layer of sadness, he couldn’t control his tears any longer.

Tang Mian couldn’t remember how he eventually calmed down; maybe he cried himself to exhaustion and fell asleep in his mother’s arms. Shen Siwan was helpless as well.

Neither she nor her husband had expected that Fu Shizhao would have such a complex identity.

He was from the Fu family…

It was uncertain if Fu Shizhao would continue going to kindergarten in the future, and his birthday party was probably canceled. She had no idea how to comfort Tang Mian.

She didn’t want to deceive him.

She was also heartbroken.

—

On the other side, inside the residence of Old Lady Fu…

Fu Shizhao sat obediently on a chair by the long table, in front of him were many cakes and desserts, generously portioned, the kind that he and Tang Mian probably couldn’t finish in a week.

Sitting beside him was an elegant-looking elderly lady, around seventy years old. Though she didn’t have an especially kind appearance, one could faintly see the traces of her youthful determination. Time hadn’t softened her edges.

But her expression was gentle, and seeing that Fu Shizhao hadn’t started eating yet, she asked, “Don’t you like it?”

She thought that children usually loved sweets like these. So she had the servants buy a lot of them, but to her surprise, Fu Shizhao hadn’t touched any of it.

Fu Shizhao shook his head and pointed a small finger at one of the strawberry cakes, his eyelashes hanging slightly as he asked softly, “Big brother likes strawberries. Can I save this for big brother? It’s his birthday tomorrow.”

The elderly lady was momentarily taken aback, not expecting this to be the reason why Fu Shizhao hadn’t eaten yet.

This was probably the umpteenth time Fu Shizhao had mentioned this “big brother” tonight.

She had already received all the information about Fu Shizhao over the years, including the fact that he had a close relationship with a child named Tang Mian. Being sentimental was a good thing.

Over the years, she had seen too many siblings in conflict, and she had long grown weary of it. It had been a long time since she had witnessed such pure affection.

She intended to personally raise Fu Shizhao and didn’t want him to be tainted by the people of the Fu family, nor did she want to impose too many restrictions on him.

“Of course, Xiao Yun, pack up all the strawberry-flavored ones and put them in the fridge. Tomorrow, let Shizhao take them back for his big brother,” she said, smiling as she gestured to a maid who hurried over and picked out all the strawberry-flavored treats.

It had been a while since the elderly lady had been this happy, especially with the approaching celebration. A bunch of impure motives had been bothering her lately, and she was almost fed up with it.

Fu Shizhao then picked up a small fork and took a bite of a mango-flavored cake. Cream smeared around his mouth, but he didn’t appear dirty or impolite; he just looked incredibly adorable.

Not long after, Fu Yu returned, and after a somewhat awkward greeting with the elderly lady, he took Fu Shizhao, who had finished eating the little cake, to the temporary children’s room they had set up. Together, they arranged the items they had brought from the Tang family inside the room.

It was clear that the elderly lady attached great importance to Fu Shizhao’s arrival. In just an afternoon, she had made the children’s room incredibly cozy.

The bed was large and covered with soft blankets. There was a TV, computer, tablet, as well as a private bathroom and a small balcony.

Fu Yu couldn’t bear to tell Fu Shizhao about Tang Mian’s crying tonight.

Fortunately, Zhao Zhao seemed emotionally stable. After all, for him, having a kind-hearted grandmother and gaining another family member was a happy development.

In reality, it was indeed a good thing.

‘Fu Shizhao wasn’t very clever calculating and didn’t understand the complexities of the Fu family. He simply thought that the Fu family wasn’t made up of good people.

However, when Mr. Tang heard about everything that had happened today, his expression wasn’t as heavy as before. He probably understood that it was an excellent thing for Shizhao to be raised by the elderly lady, which was different from being taken back to the Fu family.

Old lady Fu and the people of the Fu family were not on the same side, and she genuinely cared for Fu Shizhao.’  (Fu Yu’s thoughts)

Fu Shizhao didn’t dare to ask his foster father about Tang Mian.

Today, he had to complete his task here – “please grandma (0/1).”

There was only one step left to complete.

He hoped to make amends and comfort the little master tomorrow. Tomorrow was Tang Mian’s birthday.

Fu Shizhao felt a bit downhearted.

He had originally planned to wish Tang Mian a happy birthday early in the morning tomorrow…

Fu Shizhao closed his eyes and carefully placed the small milk bottle in his hand on the table. Then, he took out paper and a pen from his small backpack, sat on the chair, and began to draw something.

Fu Yu, curious, approached and asked, “What are you drawing?” “I’m drawing a birthday gift for Grandma,” Fu Shizhao replied obediently.

Fu Yu’s eyebrows relaxed slightly upon hearing this. “Good, Grandma is good to Zhao Zhao, so Zhao Zhao should be good to Grandma too.”

Fu Shizhao nodded obediently and continued to focus on his drawing.

When he drew, he didn’t need to pretend to be clumsy like Tang Mian did. Anyway, no matter how he drew, it always looked ugly. … He hoped Grandma wouldn’t find it too unappealing. Well, he found it quite unappealing.

But Grandma had been decisive and strong-willed for most of her life. She had seen all kinds of good things, and the best way he could think of to please her was this.

As the old lady was preparing to wash up, she suddenly heard a knock on her room’s door.

The knocking was very soft.

The maids in the villa all knew that she didn’t like to be disturbed after returning to her room to freshen up at night. They never knocked on her door at this time. She knew who was knocking on the door.

In a good mood, the elderly lady came to the door and opened it, expecting to see a small figure.

“What’s the matter?”

Fu Shizhao hesitantly handed over the drawing in his hand.

Three-quarters of his hesitation were an act, and one-quarter was genuine discomfort with what he had drawn. The elderly lady took the paper with a puzzled expression.

On the paper was a somewhat abstract, simple sketch. She could vaguely make out that the figure at the top was her, and above the drawing were the crooked words, “Happy Birthday Grandma.”

Fu Shizhao’s voice chimed in, “Happy birthday, Grandma!”

“Father said Grandma is very good to me, so I want to be good to Grandma too. But I’m not good at drawing…” Fu Shizhao’s voice paused, “But big brother is really good at drawing! I’ll try my best to learn from big brother.”

The old lady’s heart completely melted, and she couldn’t hide the smile on her face.

Fu Shizhao breathed a sigh of relief.

Mission accomplished.

Pleased Grandma (1/1).

However, after spending just half a day with the elderly lady, Fu Shizhao had a better impression of her than in his previous life. It wasn’t solely for his own purposes that he wanted to be good to her; if possible, he also wanted to provide her with emotional value.

He was a fair businessman who wouldn’t just use others without giving back.

After returning to his room, Fu Shizhao still felt somewhat uncomfortable in the spacious room. He checked the time on his smartwatch and decided to call Tang Mian.

The call was quickly answered, but the voice on the other end wasn’t Tang Mian’s; it was Shen Siwan’s. Shen Siwan spoke in a hushed tone, asking, “Big brother is already asleep. How are you over there, Shao Shao?”

Fu Shizhao replied softly, “I’m doing well, Auntie. Grandma is very nice to me.”

“That’s good,” Shen Siwan sighed with relief, “If you have the chance, please come back to visit your big brother often. He misses you a lot.”

Hearing Shen Siwan’s slightly pleading tone, something in Fu Shizhao’s heart felt like it had been scratched, leaving behind a few marks that stung.

Tang Mian and his uncle and aunt probably thought he wouldn’t go back again… His foster father had even resigned from the Tang family because of him.

Fu Shizhao struggled to suppress the discomfort in his heart and replied casually, “Auntie, I’ll be back tomorrow. It’s my big brother’s birthday tomorrow, and I’ve brought him a gift.”

On the other end of the phone, Shen Siwan paused for a moment, then her voice carried a hint of laughter, “Alright, Auntie will prepare something delicious for you tomorrow.”

That night, Tang Mian didn’t sleep well and had many nightmares. When he woke up in the morning, both of his eyes were completely swollen.

However, the swollen-eyed Tang Mian unexpectedly found a small figure sitting by his bedside, holding many things in his hands. The figure had round eyes fixed on him, and he had no idea how long this figure had been sitting there.

Seeing him wake up, Fu Shizhao, suppressing his inner emotions, brought the bag he was holding to the bed like a treasure and said, “Happy birthday, big brother! I brought you lots of gifts.”

But Tang Mian didn’t even pay attention to what was in the bag; he just hugged him tightly.

—-