The little girl stretched out her tender, fair hands, gesturing for her mother to hold her.
Yan Huan picked her daughter up and placed the milk bottle in her palms, so she could finish feeding and stay quiet. Otherwise, she would wail uncontrollably in hunger.
The little girl held the bottle in both hands and downed her milk obediently, with one foot stepping on her mother’s thighs and gently kicking it out occasionally. At the same time, her little mouth constantly sucked at her bottle, obviously very pleased for being fed.
“What’s the matter?” Yan Huan asked Lu Yi, “What did you do earlier? How did you upset her?” The little girl’s mood was easy to follow. In a good mood, she would want someone to play with her and have them listen to her baby babbles.
When she was upset, however, she would ignore everyone, like how she ignored her father a few moments ago.
In an attempt to check if her teeth had grown, Lu Yi had held down his daughter’s chubby, delicate little feet. All ten of her tiny toes were pink and adorable. Children were undoubtedly the cutest, especially little girls.
Her teeth should have already emerged. Yan Huan took the bottle and continued feeding the little girl. Her development was still a little behind, possibly because she was originally born small. Relative to her two older brothers, her growth was lagging. Fortunately, that was all there was to it. He Yibin had said that she was still a healthy child.
Both Xiao Qi and Xiao Guang had long been teething, and they could now eat soft foods. Not for this little one though, as she only had gums and no teeth yet.
“Come here, let mommy take a look.” Yan Huan placed the little one in her father’s arms and lifted her little face to expose her tiny milk teeth, wondering if they were really growing. If they were, the little girl would be able to eat lean meat porridge like her brothers, which could potentially aid her growth.
The little girl blinked her large eyes and, perhaps thinking that her mother was playing with her, she began to dance merrily. Of course, she would fulfill her mother’s wish, so she opened her little mouth for her mother to see her newly acquired little teeth.
Her baby teeth made her gums feel slightly itchy, thus she drooled excessively and had taken a liking to biting random things, especially her father’s fingers.
Yan Huan carefully ran a finger over the little girl’s gums, and could feel the ridges of her baby teeth. It had barely emerged from her gums, but it was more than enough to quash Yan Huan’s worries, as her daughter’s teeth had finally grown. Yan Huan felt that she was becoming a little too paranoid for her.
“Let me have a look.” Lu Yi pried open the little girl’s mouth and found two white and fragile baby teeth, as expected.
“Our Xunxun has grown teeth and can eat meat porridge from now on!” Thrilled, Lu Yi held his daughter in his arms and played with her. The little girl giggled, clapping her little hands as she let out a string of incomprehensible words of her baby babbles.
The little girl was very cooperative as she opened her mouth and showed her parents her baby teeth. Even though they had not grown fully yet, they were beginning to emerge. In another few months’ time, she would be able to consume non-staple foods like her brothers.
As kids born on the same day, how did such massive differences come to exist?
After Xunxun fell into a slumber, the housekeeper came to pick up the kids, strapping the three of them together. Thankfully, they would all sleep well through the night. Other than Xunxun waking up once a night for milk, the others hardly ever stirred from their sleep. Once they were dreaming away, they would remain sound asleep till the next morning, allowing the adults to enjoy their rest as well.
For example, Yan Hua’s schedule could be considered relaxed, as she had a housekeeper and Ye Shuyun at home. Despite that, she would still be quite fatigued at the end of the day. It was particularly draining when the three kids were unwell, as she could not rest for several days and nights. Sometimes, she would even fall asleep while preparing milk for the children.
Things have become a little better now, though. At the very least, the kids’ health was improving, except for Xunxun. She still fell ill frequently, but her condition was much improved than before.
Others would give birth to one child, but she had three at once. Occasionally, when she looked back at it, it all felt like a blurry experience.
“Come on, go to sleep.” Lu Yi tugged the covers all the way up to her chin. The exhaustion could be obviously seen from the expression on her face.
“I’ll look after the children, you should get some rest today. They’re fine now, all healthier than they can be.”
Yan Huan gently lifted her heavy eyelids open, her eyes threatening to shut from her fatigue.
“Did something happen to the Su family?” She opened her eyes once again, seemingly fully alert within a split second. Outsiders were not clear about the Su family’s matter, and dared not gossip or make false accusations. Anyhow, she had always kept a close eye on them, and had her own means to learn about their matters. Hence, she could find out anything that she wanted to know regarding the Su family. Their family had some dramas recently. Under the stress of both internal and external problems, it seemed that they were threatening to split. The Su family might collapse before she could execute her plan for revenge, perhaps that would be their retribution.
In their previous lifetimes, they had seized others’ lives and harmed children. This life, they ought to be punished for their actions, or there would not be justice in the world.
“Yes, something happened.” Lu Yi tucked her hand beneath the covers and replied, “Zhu Meina’s child has passed away.”
“Passed away? How?” Yan Huan was initially a little drowsy, but she was jolted awake by the news. She did not understand how the child could possibly die, as medical advancement these days were phenomenal. Their little Xunxun was born less than three pounds and fell ill repeatedly, but she was now living in good health. Zhu Meina’s child was much healthier than little Xunxun, although it did not eliminate the possibility of him having a genetic disease.
“The parents are unworthy of sympathy, but it’s such a pity for the poor child.” Lu Yi reached out and gently stroked Yan Huan’s hair, saying, “The Su family is very scheming and craft, but this has nothing to do with us.”
Yan Huan laid her head on Lu Yi’s shoulder. She did not ask what he meant saying that they were ‘parents unworthy of sympathy’, but she could somehow grasp the context.
Zhu Xianglan was not a difficult hurdle to overcome. Furthermore, Zhu Meina was single-handedly raised by Zhu Xianglan, so the rivalry between the two women inevitably led to such results in the end.
Without the help from a descendant of the Su family, Su Muran would not live much longer.
Everything was going according to the trajectory of their past lives. Even though there was some divergence in the process, the outcome remained unchanged. Su Muran’s illness was incurable. Even though she and little Xunxun could save her, she would never grant little Xunxun’s umbilical cord blood to Su Muran.
