“Yinzi-jiejie, I want to save her.” Little Tiancai answered proactively.

Su Ci reached out and pinched his properly shaped little cheeks, reminding him, “Everything depends on your health. Only if the doctor agrees can you save someone.”

Little Tiancai nodded. “I know.”

Su Ci walked back to Lu Zhe’s side and pitifully complained, “That couple was too awful. They scolded me and even tried to hit me. I was so scared my little heart almost jumped out. My legs are still weak.”

Lu Zhe was clearly used to the girl spouting blatant nonsense with her eyes wide open. Obviously, it was that couple who had almost been angered into a heart attack by her, and in the end had no choice but to stomp away.

“Do you want me to carry you?” Lu Zhe asked in his cold voice.

Su Ci was a little surprised. Had Lu Zhe finally figured things out?

Her eyes lit up immediately, with not a hint of restraint. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Lu Zhe lifted his hand. His long fingers tapped lightly on her smooth forehead. “I was lying.” With that, he walked toward Fat Fu, who was waving at him not far away.

Su Ci froze.

Wuwu, her boy had gone bad!

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

Fat Fu drove as Su Ci and Lu Zhe brought Zhen Tiancai to the hospital for a physical examination.

Su Ci contacted the boss mentioned by the middle-aged man, and he was already waiting at the hospital.

The distance from the orphanage to the town hospital wasn’t far. Twenty minutes later, they arrived.

Su Ci saw the boss. Compared to the middle-aged man, this boss had a proper appearance, clear and righteous eyes, and brows filled with worry. He didn’t look like a cunning person.

“Miss Su, hello. Thank you so much, thank you for being willing to help my daughter.” From the shock of suddenly receiving the phone call to now, Boss Wu’s heart was full of anticipation and gratitude.

“Don’t thank me first. Whether the child can donate blood still depends on what the doctor says. And you should thank the child, not me.” Su Ci stood beside Lu Zhe, with Little Tiancai standing beside her.

“Yes, yes, yes.” Boss Wu’s eyes were damp as he followed Su Ci and the others into the hospital.

Not long after, Little Tiancai finished his physical exam and came out. They still needed to wait for the results.

“Uncle, can I go see the little sister?” Little Tiancai asked Boss Wu in his tender voice.

“Of course.” Boss Wu felt sincere gratitude toward the little boy.

Boss Wu’s daughter was in the inpatient ward. He led Su Ci and the others over.

The ward was a single room. On the bed lay a pretty little girl, and standing beside her was Boss Wu’s wife. Boss Wu’s wife clearly already knew the situation. When she looked at Little Tiancai, her eyes shimmered.

She was both grateful to this child and sympathetic toward him. Just like her daughter, he was also suffering from illness, yet still so kind and pure.

The little girl had clearly never seen so many unfamiliar older brothers and sisters. She was a bit shy, yet still greeted everyone politely.

“Chacha, this little brother is here to help you. Say hello to him.” Boss Wu smiled as he spoke to his daughter.

Xiao Chacha’s large, pretty eyes looked toward Little Tiancai. Her face was pale, lacking color, and her milky voice carried a weak softness. “Hello, gege, my name is Chacha.”

“My name is Zhen Tiancai.”

Little Tiancai’s tender white face was serious as he introduced himself earnestly.

“Tiancai-gege, you must be very smart.” Her mother had told her that geniuses were smart people.

Little Tiancai looked at the girl lying in bed. Being praised made his ears turn a little red, and his serious expression almost slipped.

The little girl’s hand rested outside the blanket. Su Ci looked toward her wrist and saw the life bar displayed as a red line, with “one month” marked beside it.

Su Ci called out Fugui. “The little girl dies from illness?”

Fugui: 【Yes. She couldn’t find a suitable blood donor, and she died from her illness.】

Su Ci pressed her lips together. This wasn’t someone she could save. The one who could save her was Little Tiancai.

But everything depended on not endangering Little Tiancai’s health.

They received the examination report an hour later.

Little Tiancai’s blood type indeed matched the little girl’s.

The moment Su Ci saw the report, she noticed the life bar on the little girl’s wrist change from a red line to five yellow segments.

She fell silent. Even though the doctor hadn’t said anything yet, Su Ci already knew Little Tiancai was suitable to donate blood to the little girl.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

Carrying Boss Wu and his wife’s gratitude, Su Ci and the others left the hospital. Before leaving, Su Ci made a request to Boss Wu: fire that middle-aged man. Even though the couple’s scheme hadn’t succeeded, it was still disgusting. Such villains deserved a lesson.

With his daughter’s life crisis temporarily eased, Boss Wu was already overjoyed and didn’t dare hope for more. He sincerely appreciated Little Tiancai’s life-saving grace.

In truth, even without Su Ci mentioning it, Boss Wu had already planned to fire the middle-aged man, Zhang Yong. He allowed subordinates to be ambitious, but he did not allow subordinates with vile character and no conscience. And Zhang Yong had even intended to harm the one saving his daughter, Boss Wu would never permit that.

Back in the car—

Silence returned. With the old director’s passing and Little Tiancai’s adoption hope falling through, everyone was quiet.

Su Ci looked at Little Tiancai sitting beside her. He was staring out the window, sitting quietly.

From the happiness of learning he was going to be adopted, to the disappointment afterward, to now preparing to donate blood to save someone — the little boy hadn’t complained or cried, excessively sensible for his age.

She remembered how Little Tiancai had looked when he first saw the middle-aged couple — shy but with sparkling eyes. No matter how sensible he was, he was still a child. Every child hoped to have parents.

Su Ci wondered whether Lu Zhe had been like Little Tiancai when he was young — making people’s hearts ache for him.

She turned to look at Lu Zhe on the other side.

The boy was also sitting quietly. Their personalities, one big and one small, were unexpectedly similar.

Up front, Fat Fu continued driving silently. He also understood the full story now. He and Lu Zhe had both stayed in the orphanage before, so of course they knew how much orphans longed for their parents. They wanted to be like normal children, to have a mom and dad who loved them.

Little Tiancai had escaped a pit of fire this time, but it would still be difficult for him to find someone willing to adopt him in the future — not only because he had a heart condition, but also because he was already five years old.

In the orphanage, adopters preferred to choose younger children who hadn’t started forming memories yet. After all, raising them from that age would make them more bonded in the future.

From the bottom of his heart, Fat Fu felt pity for Little Tiancai, who shared the same background as him.

The car drove back to the orphanage.

Su Ci helped Little Tiancai open the car door.

“Goodbye, Ci-jiejie.” Little Tiancai knew that Su Ci and Lu Zhe were leaving today.

Su Ci touched his head and asked him, “Will you be very unhappy?”

Little Tiancai stared blankly at her. Suddenly, tears streamed from his dark, bright eyes. He nodded honestly. “A little.”

“A little?” Su Ci looked at his streaming tears.

Little Tiancai didn’t like lying. He pressed his small lips together; the sadness he tried to hide was leaking through. His tender voice choked a little. “A lot of unhappy.”

He was a child no one wanted.

“It’s okay to cry. You’re a child. If you want to cry, cry. If you want to smile, smile. You don’t need to endure it.” Su Ci patted his little head. How was he only five, yet living like a tiny old man? Had Lu Zhe been like this when he was little too?

“Mm.” Little Tiancai wiped his tears with his small hands and nodded.

“I’m leaving now. We’ll meet again if there’s a chance.” Su Ci waved to him.

Little Tiancai’s eyes were full of reluctance, but he still obediently raised his little hand and waved. “Goodbye, Ci-jiejie.”

The car window closed, and Fat Fu started the engine.

Su Ci looked at Little Tiancai still standing there in a daze outside the car. She retracted her gaze and leaned her whole body against Lu Zhe. “Will he ever meet someone willing to adopt him?”

Su Ci had never thought of herself as sentimental, but Little Tiancai was as well-behaved as an angel. He should live in a happy family and receive a parents’ love.

Lu Zhe allowed the girl to lean against him. His tone was calm. “Don’t know.”

Su Ci pressed her lips together. She lifted her head to look at Lu Zhe. The boy’s expression was cold, but the gaze he gave her was gentle. She glanced toward the driver’s seat — Fat Fu was focused on driving.

Su Ci raised her head and quickly kissed Lu Zhe on the lips, then said aloud, “Fat Fu, turn the car around and go back to the orphanage.”

“You left something at the orphanage?” Pang Fu slowed the car.

“Mm, I left Little Tiancai.”

The corner of Su Ci’s eye curved upward as she smiled brightly at Lu Zhe’s stunned expression.

She hadn’t raised little Lu Zhe before, but she could raise a Little Tiancai now.

Su Ci took out her phone and directly called her mother. “Mom, I found a friend for Xiao Suning. What do you think?”

Mother Su was a bit surprised but not overly reactive. In her eyes, her daughter finding a playmate for her younger brother was normal. After all, Su Ci herself had Qin Shiyan as a childhood companion.

Instead, Mother Su was more concerned about when her daughter would return home — she missed her very much.

After reporting to her mother, Su Ci called her eldest brother, Su Zhiyuan, and explained everything that had happened at the orphanage. She told him she hoped to adopt the child today.

After the car drove away, Little Tiancai sniffled and quietly stood where he was, looking toward the orphanage gate. Ci-jiejie said he was a child, and if he wanted to cry, he could cry.

He pressed his small lips together as tears streamed down his face.

He would cry this once. After that, he would be strong.

The little boy cried silently while rubbing his eyes.

Through his blurry tears, he saw the car that had just left… coming back.

Little Tiancai watched the car stop at the gate, watched Ci-jiejie get out, and stood there in a daze.

“Little Tiancai, I forgot to take something very important with me,” Su Ci said, looking at the small, crying figure at the door — amused and heart-aching all at once.

Little Tiancai’s tender voice was thick with a stuffy nose. “What did Ci-jiejie forget?”

“You.”

Su Ci patted his head. “Will you come with me? I’ll take you to my home.”

No matter how smart a little head he had, he was still only five. Hearing Su Ci’s words, he clearly didn’t react right away.

Su Ci asked him, “If I become your big sister, will you go home with me?”

She wasn’t someone overflowing with kindness. Every child in the orphanage was cute and pitiful, but she only wanted to take Little Tiancai.

On him, she saw the shadow of Lu Zhe.

She wondered if, when Lu Zhe was little, he too had stood at a doorway, crying sadly, hoping someone would come adopt him.

Su Ci turned to look at Lu Zhe standing beside the car. Under the setting sun, the youth stood tall, his features clear and handsome.

She didn’t tell Lu Zhe that she had a selfish reason hidden in her heart — that she wanted her family to adopt this child because Little Tiancai resembled him when he was young.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

When they returned to D City, it was already night.

Su Ci looked at Little Tiancai sitting in the living room, a bit unsure of what to do. She smiled. “Tomorrow we have to catch a plane, so you should rest early. Go sleep.”

“Okay.”

Little Tiancai shuffled off in the slippers Su Ci gave him — which were half a size bigger than his feet — and obediently went to the room arranged for him.

Su Ci turned off the TV, the corner of her eye lifting slightly. She walked toward another room and knocked on the door.

The door opened, and the youth stood behind it.

She smiled brightly at him and said, “Little Tiancai is sleeping in my room, so it looks like I’ll have to squeeze in with you tonight.”

Squeeze where?

Squeeze into the folding bed, of course.