Chapter 8: Joser
Chapter 8
The four children got along harmoniously. Just then, the phone in the living room suddenly rang. Ye Anning was about to go answer it when Sui Jinhong strode over.
He picked up the phone, but heard a voice on the other end choked with sobs: "Hello, is Mr. Sui there?"
Sui Jinhong frowned: "This is he."
"I'm Sui Yan's nanny. She said she was going to go find you a couple days ago, but when I turned around for a second, she just disappeared. I'm wondering...could you please tell me if Sui Yan is at your place now? I had no other choice but to call..." Liu Hua's voice cried harder.
Sui Jinhong looked at the oblivious little Sui Yan and sighed helplessly. He had no choice but to say, "Sui Yan is here with me. Someone called me yesterday to go pick her up."
A thought struck him and he added, "I'll take Sui Yan home in a couple days, don't worry."
Liu Hua couldn't not worry: "Madam isn't home yet either. If she comes back and Sui Yan isn't there, she'll be furious."
Just thinking about Liu Hua's temper, Sui Jinhong grimaced instinctively: "Sui Yan is getting along very well with her brothers and sisters here...I'll send her back as soon as I can."
With no other options, Liu Hua could only agree: "Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Sui."
After Sui Jinhong hung up the phone, he looked at the obedient little girl with some worry. He walked over and crouched down in front of Sui Yan: "Sui Yan, do you miss your mommy?"
Sui Yan looked at Sui Jinhong blankly: "But Daddy, Mommy isn't home."
Sui Jinhong pinched the little girl's chubby cheek: "Does Sui Yan know where Mommy went?"
Sui Yan was still very confused: "I don't know. Mommy took Big Brother Qiao Ze out." She pouted a little. "Mommy didn't take me out to play."
Upon suddenly hearing Qiao Ze's name, Sui Yu, Sui Zhi, and Ye Anning all grimaced instinctively. Qiao Ze was a little boy Liu Hua had adopted after her divorce, the same age as Sui Zhi.
Later on, the harm he did to Sui Yan was no less than what other people had inflicted.
But Sui Jinhong didn't know any of this. He continued asking: "Who is Big Brother Qiao Ze?"
Sui Yan blinked her big eyes. "He's my brother, just like my other brothers!"
Sui Jinhong more or less understood now. He rubbed the little girl's fuzzy head: "Does Sui Yan want to go back home?"
Sui Yan was startled for a moment. She lowered her head and bit her lip: "Is Daddy going to send Sui Yan back home?"
Ye Anning had been listening in the kitchen doorway for a while and more or less grasped the situation. She walked over and also crouched down in front of Sui Yan, gently saying: "Sui Yan, this is your home! It's just that at Mommy's house, you have another home too. And if Mommy doesn't see Sui Yan, she'll be very worried about you."
Tears welled up in Sui Yan's eyes as she looked like a small animal: "Daddy, can my brothers come home with me too?"
Sui Jinhong looked at Sui Yu and Sui Zhi. He heard the two boys say: "Of course! Big brothers will go back to Mommy's house with Sui Yan, okay?"
Sui Jinhong felt somewhat gratified. He patted each of his sons on the shoulder in turn: "Alright, tomorrow we'll go see what your mommy is up to together."
While their words sometimes exceeded Sui Yan's comprehension level, she was still very happy.
But Sui Yu, Sui Zhi and Ye Anning were thinking...
If they remembered correctly, Sui Yan would suffer very serious harm this time when she returned home. It was just that they hadn't gone with her last time, so they didn't know what exactly had happened back then.
Oblivious Sui Yan gently tugged on Ye Anning's hand: "Sister, Sui Yan is leaving tomorrow."
Ye Anning was very worried about her, yet couldn't tell all this to Sui Jinhong. She forced a smile: "Is Sui Yan going to miss her sister?"
The little girl's round eyes held a hint of grievance: "Yes!"
Ye Anning's heart ached badly for her: "It's okay Sui Yan, we'll see each other often from now on alright?"
Sui Yan sniffled: "Okay then..."
Sui Zhi saw Sui Jinhong and Ye Anning return to the kitchen. He discreetly shot Ye Anning a look.
Ye Anning understood the signal and nodded lightly. She ruffled the little girl's hair: "Sui Yan be a good girl and wait here, your brothers and sister will be right back!"
Sui Yan obediently nodded: "Okay!"
She sat on the sofa, her little legs lightly swinging. Beneath her, the cocker spaniel lazily sprawled by her feet, occasionally nuzzling her leg.
Within the puppy's round eyes was a barely noticeable wariness.
Ye Anning followed the two boys back to the stairs with her brows tightly knitted: "You guys thought of it too?"
Sui Yu and Sui Zhi both hung their heads in shame: "We weren't clear on what exactly happened back then, only heard a little about it afterwards."
Ye Anning sighed: "I don't know too clearly either. I only know that Madam Liu passed away accidentally a few days later. When Sui Yan came back, she was sick for a very long time."
Sui Yu closed his eyes. After a very long time, he slowly let out a long breath: "Forget it. We'll be going with her this time anyways, so we'll just pay close attention when the time comes."
...
In a hospital in the neighboring city, Liu Hua looked at the unconscious boy laying on the hospital bed with a frown on her cold and elegant face.
Qiao Ze was a little boy she had come across at an orphanage. At the time, she thought that having someone to protect Sui Yan would be good, so she adopted him.
However, Qiao Ze's health wasn't very good, so she had to regularly bring him to the hospital for check-ups.
Just thinking that only the nanny was at home accompanying her daughter made Liu Hua extremely worried.
For some reason, her heart was once again filled with a restless feeling.
Lying in bed, Qiao Ze was struggling. He had clearly just been at Sui Yan's funeral, crying sorrowfully as he repented for the harm he had inflicted on Sui Yan.
He didn't know why, but he had suddenly lost consciousness. When he came to, he found himself lying in a hospital bed and realized that his body seemed to have reverted back to when he was eleven or twelve years old.
Qiao Ze sat up in a daze and fiercely pinched himself. The clear stinging pain in his arm clearly told him that this was all real.
He lowered his head to hide his red-rimmed eyes.
Now that he had accepted reality, Qiao Ze came back to his senses and realized that he had likely reincarnated.
His emotions gradually calmed down as Qiao Ze took a deep breath and silently made a resolution in his heart.
Sui Yan, this time your brother will definitely protect you well.
The door to the hospital room was suddenly knocked on and Qiao Ze instinctively raised his head to look. He was shocked to see Liu Hua's cold and elegant face.
Whenever Qiao Ze thought of Liu Hua, his heart filled with gratitude. She had brought him out of that orphanage and given him a materially affluent life.
Her only demand of him was to protect his little sister well, but...he had failed her expectations.
The door was knocked again and Qiao Ze shook his head to clear it before walking over to open the door.
"Aunt Liu."
Seeing the somewhat pale face of the boy in front of her, Liu Hua frowned: "Are you feeling better?"
The concern in her voice was unconcealable.