What Lin Yuankang could do was to try his best to keep the greatness of the triplets unchanged.
San Bao lifted her chin proudly like a peacock princess. “But of course. My dad’s formidable, my mom’s formidable, so I’m formidable as well. Da Bao, Er Bao, we are all formidable.”
“Me. There’s still me, there’s still me.” At this time, Xiao Bao jumped out to say that not only was he an obedient child but also smart. “Master grandpa, Xiao Bao’s good as well. Xiao Bao will be four years old in a month’s time. Xiao Bao will be the same as brothers and sister and be ranked first in future examinations.”
The triplets loved Lin Yuankang. Similarly, Xiao Bao was passionate toward Lin Yuankang as well. As the follower of the brothers and sister, Xiao Bao had all along looked up to them.
“Yes, Xiao Bao is a good child as well,” Lin Yuankang smiled and replied.
Da Bao, who had been remaining quiet, walked to Lin Yuankang silently and wanted to pull his hand. “Master grandpa.”
Lin Yuankang smiled at Da Bao and took the initiative to hold his hand. “Da Bao, you’re Er Bao, San Bao, and Xiao Bao’s brother. You will have a heavier burden in the future. Master grandpa knows that your life will be tough. So, Er Bao, San Bao, Xiao Bao, when you grow up, you have to work hard as well and make life easier for Da Bao, understand?”
“Master grandpa, it’s fine. Er Bao and the rest are already very good and obedient. I can do it.” Da Bao held Lin Yuankang’s hand tightly. He didn’t know what those words truly implied. He just felt that the words master grandpa said today were different from before. He was obviously smiling, but when he looked into his eyes and listened to his words, he felt that master grandpa was very upset. It was even sadder than when Er Bao, San Bao, and Xiao Bao cried.
As master grandpa was sad, he was sad as well.
Zhai Hua felt that something was amiss. She could feel that Elder Lin seemed to be handing over things that would happen in the future, as if he no longer had the chance to see the triplets grow up. As such, Elder Lin was talking to the three children about everything while he still had the ability to speak.
Zhai Hua glanced at Elder Lin and was surprised to see that he was much thinner now. After taking a closer look, even if he was wearing a loose, long-sleeved shirt in this hot weather, it was obvious that someone was propping his shirt up.
This generally meant that the body under the shirt was too skinny and could no longer support the weight of the shirt.
As a businessman, Tian Dong was more sensitive than Zhai Hua as his feelings for Elder Lin were not as deep as the Zhai family’s for him. As such, he had long noticed Elder Lin’s anomaly.
Tian Dong initially thought that he was just sensitive. He also thought that perhaps Elder Lin wasn’t feeling very well recently. For an old man like Elder Lin, he could easily lose half his life after having a small illness. It wasn’t strange that he would become thinner after an illness.
After listening to the words Elder Lin said to the three children, Tian Dong was certain that he wasn’t being sensitive. Indeed, Elder Lin wasn’t in good condition.
Seeing that his foolish wife was about to ask questions, Tian Dong hurriedly pulled Zhai Hua. He shook his head at her when she looked over, then used his eyes to signal to her to look at Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan. Until now, Qiao Nan had not uttered a single word.
If it was the usual Qiao Nan, was this possible?
Zhai Hua’s heart froze. She looked at Miao Jing. Miao Jing couldn’t help but sigh and didn’t say a word. Zhai Hua felt like her face was being hammered. The joy from the previous second had completely disappeared. Now, her heart was stained with sadness and panic.
“Er Bao, San Bao, Xiao Bao, come over. Let master grandpa hug you, alright?” Lin Yuankang couldn’t hold these words back anymore. Initially, he wanted to just keep this to himself. However, in the face of the four children, especially the triplets, Lin Yuankang realized he wasn’t as rational as he thought.
He couldn’t bear to leave these three children. He really couldn’t!
“Master grandpa?” Er Bao started to feel that something was amiss and forced out a smile. “Master grandpa, you’re weird. When you wanted to hug us in the past, you would pounce over loudly like a big tiger.” As Er Bao thought he was playing with them, he deliberately sang a different tune and didn’t let him hug him.
In order to tease Er Bao, the more Er Bao said he refused to give him a hug, the more Lin Yuankang wanted to hug him.
“Master grandpa.” They were triplets after all. Once Da Bao’s and Er Bao’s emotions weren’t right, the smile on San Bao’s face disappeared and a layer of clouds covered it. She pounced onto Elder Lin’s knee. “Master grandpa, I’m… I’m afraid.” However, she couldn’t say exactly what she was afraid of.
San Bao didn’t understand. Wasn’t it their birthday today? Why was it so strange this year, different from previous years? Why couldn’t she smile today? Why didn’t she feel blessed and happy at all at this moment?
Qiao Nan felt so terrible that she couldn’t breathe. She gently pushed the four children forward and pulled Lin Yuankang’s hand, helping him hug them. This hug wasn’t a hug in the traditional sense. At the very most, Lin Yuankang was catching the four children with difficulty with his outstretched hand. Lin Yuankang’s chin gently touched the top of the four children’s heads and he wanted to lean his body back.
It was a pity he didn’t have the strength.
He wanted to sit back and let go of the four children. He was afraid they would find out about his unusual condition and didn’t want to scare them. However, his withered body didn’t listen to his command at all, and he had no strength.
Before Zhai Sheng could help Lin Yuankang, Qiao Nan stepped forward. She held his skinny arm with one hand and his crooked back with the other. Lin Yuankang, who had become so thin, weighed very little now. He was so light that even Qiao Nan, a woman who didn’t have much strength, didn’t have to spare much effort to lift him back to the wheelchair.
Qiao Nan’s tears fell uncontrollably and dripped onto the clothes on Lin Yuankang’s back. As this tear was too heavy and dropped too quickly, no one but Lin Yuankang knew about its existence.
“Can we let the triplets make a wish and blow the candles?” Lin Yuankang almost couldn’t continue pretending with that tear. He asked weakly if it was time for the triplets to blow out the candles.
“Yes. Auntie, bring out the cake quickly. Remember to put the candles in.” It was difficult for Miao Jing to recover from the shock.
