Chapter 193.2
Editor: Jodi
Cheng Feng, seeing his nominal grandson so happy, waited until Lin An Lan and Cheng Yu left before he asked him, “You’re so happy, are you really that excited about having a big brother?”
Cheng Lin nodded, “Big brother will protect me.”
“Who told you that? Maybe your big brother will bully you instead.” Cheng Feng, who had siblings himself, spoke from experience.
Cheng Lin blinked his big round eyes, “But all the big brothers on TV always protect their little brothers.”
“That’s because you haven’t seen the ones who bully their little brothers.”
Cheng Lin pouted, “Daddy said big brother will like me, that he won’t bully me!”
Chuckling, Cheng Feng picked him up, “I hope that’s the case.”
Brotherly bonds depended on fate. His own relationship with his brothers wasn’t deep, but Cheng Yu and Yu Heng had always gotten along well, so he hoped the child they were going to adopt would also get along with Cheng Lin.
“Grandpa will help you beat him if he bullies you.”
“He won’t. Big brother won’t bully me, so Grandpa, you can’t bully big brother. He’s never been home. It’s really sad.”
“You know what it means to feel sad?”
Cheng Lin nodded, “In cartoons, the little kittens without homes always get bullied by the other dogs and cats, so big brother not being home means he might get bullied too. That’s really sad.”
Cheng Feng was surprised, “You’re very kind-hearted.”
He wasn’t like his biological father, but like his adoptive father—his own son.
“Alright then, we won’t bully each other.”
“En.” Cheng Lin nodded firmly, then smiled.
Lin An Lan and Cheng Yu went to the Universal Love Orphanage, a place they had visited every year for many years to help with upkeep. The principal and teachers were always happy to see them and felt very reassured when they came.
“Don’t worry, these children are all very well-behaved and obedient.”
Lin An Lan nodded slightly, following the principal as they walked past the classrooms.
Then standing at the back door, he watched the children in the class, and then, when they were playing games, observed them quietly for a while. Personally, he wanted to pick a child who was around six to seven years, just like he had been back then.
Because children of this age were no longer the first choice for adoption, as they were often overlooked.
After listening to him, the principal said, “There are children of that age, over here.”
So, they followed the principal to a larger section of the kindergarten. Lin An Lan looked at the children playing in the activity area, then asked Cheng Yu, “Do you like any of them?”
Cheng Yu felt that children were all pretty much the same, they were all quite cute, however probably because he had been looking at Cheng Lin for too long, these kids just didn’t seem as cute as Cheng Lin.
“Which one do you like?” He asked instead.
He couldn’t decide, so he simply tossed the question back to Lin An Lan, “Whichever one you like, I’ll like.”
Lin An Lan was still hesitating. He felt that two of the children looked like they had a good connection with him, however it was the choosing between the two of them that was difficult.
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard the principal say, “Oh, there’s another child in the classroom. He didn’t come out to play—I was wondering why I didn’t see him.”
Hearing this, Lin An Lan walked to the window at the back of the classroom, then he saw a child in white clothes sitting at a desk not far away, reading a book intently.
“This child is almost seven years old. He’s actually very good-looking but doesn’t like to talk much, so although there was a couple who planned to adopt him, they gave up.”
“Do you have a picture of him?” Lin An Lan asked.
He couldn’t see the child’s face from this angle.
“Yes.” The principal took her phone out, opened the picture album, then looked for it.
“This is the one.”
She enlarged the picture, “He’s a handsome child with delicate features, it just that he’s a bit too thin and doesn’t like to talk.”
Lin An Lan looked at the awkward expression in the picture, then looked at the calm and peaceful back of the child reading in the classroom again, and felt that at this moment, he didn’t seem anything like his picture.
He became a bit interested in the child and said, “I’d like to talk to him.”
“Sure, sure, I’ll go get him now.”
“There’s no need.” Lin An Lan told her, “I’ll go into the classroom to see him. Could you do me a favor and make sure the other children don’t come in for a moment? I’ll be out soon, just five minutes.”
“Alright.” The principal agreed readily.
So Lin An Lan pulled Cheng Yu into the classroom with him.
And the child, hearing the noise, looked up and saw two unfamiliar adults. Surprise and confusion typical of children his age showed on his face immediately.
He actually looked better than in the picture up close, and probably due to a decent life at the orphanage, he had gained a little weight and wasn’t as skinny as he had been in the picture.
Walking over to him, Lin An Lan looked into his clear black-and-white eyes, then he looked down at the book he was reading and found that he was reading ancient poetry.
“Can you read it?” He asked gently.
The child was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
“Can you read it for me?” Lin An Lan asked with a warm smile.
The child looked at him for a while quietly, then he began to read slowly, “The grasses grow on the plains, year after year they wither and flourish. Wildfires cannot burn them all, as spring breezes bring them to life again.”
“You read very well.” Lin An Lan gave him a round of applause, “How old are you?”
“Six and a half.”
“Then what do you like?”
The child thought for a moment before saying slowly, “Reading.”
“Why?”
The child didn’t answer, only lowering his eyes slowly.
Lin An Lan looked at the child who had his head down, then pulled a candy from his pocket and said, “Here, for you.”
“Thank you.”
The child took it politely then held it tightly in his hand, unwilling to eat it.
Looking at him, Lin An Lan thought in his heart that the rest would probably need to be discussed with the principal.
He had a good first impression of this child. Looking at him, it was as if he was seeing his younger self, yet not quite his younger self at the same time. And for this very reason, he was very interested in him.
“Do you want to say anything to him?” He asked Cheng Yu.
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