“Hello, Old Chen? It’s your brother, Old Lu! Have you heard about it? Thank you, thank you! I’ll see you at the hundred-day party on the ninth of next month. 2 sets of gifts? Nah, you’ll have to come with 3 sets, because the doctor made a mistake, and it turned out to be triplets, not twins! You’ll love my great-granddaughter when you see her.”
Beside him, the security officer wiped at his sweat nervously.
If you keep doing this, he thought, you’ll lose all your friends.
But Old Master Lu couldn’t stop, and he made calls after calls, bragging about his great-grandchildren, especially his great-granddaughter, as if he was the only one who had a great-granddaughter.
The consequences of his actions, unbeknownst to him, was that many young adults who were around the same age as Lu Yi got a terrible scolding.
Even that dull Lu Yi has a wife and kids now! Triplets, no less! Now he has both sons and a daughter! What has my son been doing? He’s around the same age as Lu Yi!
Old Master Lu had made the life of unmarried and childless young adults a living hell.
Things got busier around the house with the addition of a child. Taking care of the two boys wasn’t hard, for the twins ate heartily and slept peacefully, but Little Xunxun was a different matter.
Little Xunxun was weak and timid. When she cries, she resembles a whimpering kitten. And whenever that happens, Old Master Lu will be the first to blow up.
And so everyone in the house began walking on tiptoes, afraid that they would wake the feeble girl. Little Xunxun had grown a little bigger, and was looking even more like her mother. The worrying thing was, she ate little and loved to cry.
Like now—the sight of her sniffing and staring with her large watery eyes was enough to melt anyone’s heart.
Yan Huan gave the milk bottle a shake and passed it to Little Xunxun, who sniffed indignantly as she drank her milk because the meal was served late.
She clutched the bottle tightly, as if someone might snatch it away from her. The adults could take the boys’ bottles away from them, but not Xunxun, who would wail whenever someone took her bottle.
By now, everyone had gotten an idea of the kids’ tempers.
The boys were as healthy as boys should be.
When the twins cried, they were loud enough to wake the dead, but Little Xunxun’s snivels were like a kitten’s whimpers. And so, everyone ended up doting on Little Xunxun. The twins’ importance in everyone’s hearts was decreasing fast.
The three children had been living together for a while already. When Little Xunxun just returned home, the twins stared at her with intense curiosity. Neither cried, however, and they seemed happy to see her. Maybe they got acquainted with each other in their mother’s belly. Little Xunxun liked to sleep, but would only do so obediently when she’s beside her brothers.
“Even at this age, the boys know how to protect their little sister,” jested the nanny.
Old Master Lu still held his grudges. How could these two naughty brats steal their little sister’s nutrients? If they don’t make it up to her in the future, he would make sure he gives them a good beating.
On the day of the hundred-day party, Old Master Lu was resplendent. His time had finally come; who would dare call him “great-grandchildren-less” again? Who would be luckier than him, who got three great-grandchildren at once (including a beautiful great-granddaughter)?
Lu Jin was almost a split-image of Old Master Lu, with his back straight and chin raised. People sympathized with him in the past; he could read their thoughts behind those smiles: Isn’t your son too old to be childless?
But now, it’s his turn to patronize. My son had triplets. What about your son?
The party was carried out in a low profile fashion. There were many guests, but mostly close associates of the Lu Family.
Ye Chuji was the only one in the Ye Family that came. He could feel his cheeks burning up whenever he saw Lu Yi, or met Lu Jin’s wary stares.
Ye Jianguo insisted on protecting his granddaughter as though she were his life, and Old Master Lu did not have any intent on inviting him either. The old thing almost murdered his great-grandchildrens! He would fight him to the death if he dared to show his face.
Thank goodness his great-grandchildren were fine. If something did happen to the THREE children, including the great-granddaughter his family had been hoping for for a decade, he would send Ye Jianguo to his grave if it’s the last thing he’ll do.
“Brother. Hello,” said Ye Shuyun after some hesitation. She made no comments on the fact that Ye Chuji was alone.
“Dad hasn’t been well lately. Do pay him a visit when you are free,” said Ye Chuji awkwardly. He didn’t know what to talk about either, and ended up directing the topic towards Ye Jianguo.
“I understand,” said Ye Shuyun. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t returned to the Lu Family in a long while. Lately, she had her hands full with the three children, especially Xunxun. Xunxun fell sick again a few days back, and it gave everyone a huge scare. Thankfully, it turned out to be a minor flu. Her heart wrenched when she heard Xunxun’s voice hoarse from crying. She could see why Lu Jin hid it from her back then; she would have worried herself to death if she saw Xunxun in that state.
“Can I take a look at the children?” asked Ye Chuji drily, a little nervous that she might reject him.
“Come with me,” said Ye Shuyun as she led him to the bedroom where the children were sleeping soundly after being paraded around. The nanny was there to look after them.
The door opened softly, and Ye Shuyun entered with Ye Chuji in tow.
This was the first time Ye Chuji saw triplets. The twins looked identical.
“This is Lu Guang, and this is Lu Qi.”
Ye Chuji knew about them, of course. Two identical boys and a fraternal girl.
