At five years old, Little Tiancai already understood many things. He knew he wasn’t the same as other children. Other kids could run and play; he could only sit quietly. The caretaker sister had told him that if he got sick, it would be very troublesome.

Sometimes, when adults came to choose children, he secretly overheard someone saying he was a burden and couldn’t be taken home.

He didn’t know what “burden” meant, but he knew it must be something bad, because when adults saw him, they never smiled at him.

At such a young age, Little Tiancai already had many worries and fears.

His happiness faded, and the little boy felt uneasy instead.

He wasn’t a child people liked.

The sun was already high in the sky. Lu Zhe glanced at the time — it was almost nine.

Thinking of Su Ci’s flight at around ten, and that it would take more than twenty minutes to get to the airport from here, he had no choice but to wake her up.

Su Ci was so sleepy.

She had been traveling nonstop these past two days and hadn’t gotten a chance to rest properly. Now awakened by Lu Zhe, she half-squinted her eyes and gave him a resentful look before rubbing her head against his chest and closing her eyes again.

“You need to catch your flight later.” Lu Zhe’s cold voice carried a hint of laziness, sounding so appealing it could soften someone’s ears.

“So sleepy.” The girl’s voice came from his arms.

The girl’s long hair fell onto Lu Zhe’s arm, soft and winding. He touched her hair lightly, the fine strands tickling his palm.

He let go of the girl and got up to open the door and step outside.

Su Ci glanced at the closed door, then closed her eyes again to continue sleeping.

In the living room, Lu Zhe saw Zhen Tiancai sitting quietly on the sofa. The little boy had a serious expression on his fair, soft face — a maturity a child shouldn’t have.

“You woke up early?” Lu Zhe walked over.

Seeing Lu Zhe, Little Tiancai shyly greeted him, “Good morning, Brother Lu Zhe. I woke up just now.”

Knowing that this Brother Lu Zhe also came from the orphanage, even though the other’s expression was cold, the little boy wasn’t afraid. Instead, he felt a sense of companionship.

“Mm. I’m making breakfast. What do you want to eat?” Lu Zhe asked him.

Little Tiancai usually ate the same fixed breakfast every day at the orphanage, so he wasn’t used to choosing food. The little boy shook his head. “Anything is fine.”

Lu Zhe didn’t ask further. He walked into the kitchen and began preparing breakfast.

Back when he lived with the Zhao family, Lu Zhe was the one responsible for all three meals every day—breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If his cooking wasn’t good enough, he would be scolded. At such a young age, he had already mastered excellent cooking skills.

He worked quickly. Once the breakfast was ready, he carried it out to the dining table and motioned for Little Tiancai to start eating.

Then, Lu Zhe walked into the bathroom and filled the cup with water, squeezing toothpaste onto the toothbrush.

When he returned to the room, the girl was still asleep with her eyes closed.

Lu Zhe walked over and leaned down, calling softly by her ear, “Get up.”

He reached out and pulled the girl upright. “Breakfast is ready. I already put toothpaste on your brush. Hurry and get up.”

A cold boy being gentle was the most dangerous thing, it left people utterly defenseless.

Su Ci lifted her eyelids. Her soft body leaned directly against him, her jade-like arms hooking around his shoulders as she murmured, “Why are you so good?”

Lu Zhe let out a quiet laugh. “Get up.”

“You kissed me so much last night my legs turned weak. I can’t get up. You carry me.” Su Ci acted spoiled, her delicate white face paired with a very thick skin.

Lu Zhe’s lips pressed into a faint line.

The room door opened again.

Little Tiancai was already sitting at the dining table. He stared in surprise at Brother Lu Zhe carrying Sister Ci out of the bedroom.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

After leaving the airport, Little Tiancai was still a bit excited — it was his first time riding a plane.

Su Mother knew her daughter was returning today and had already sent the family driver to wait outside the airport.

By the time they arrived back at the Su family home, it was already afternoon.

Knowing Su Ci would return and bring a child with her, Su Mother had rushed home from the hospital. Su Father still had injuries and had not yet been discharged.

Soon, the car drove into the Su residence.

Su Ci saw that Little Tiancai beside her had his face tensed and his small hands clenched instinctively, clearly very nervous.

She patted his head. “Don’t be scared. My family will definitely like Little Tiancai.”

Little Tiancai nodded, but his small thin brows stayed tightly furrowed, not relaxing at all.

After getting out of the car, Su Ci held Little Tiancai’s hand and led him inside.

Su Mother was already waiting in the living room. Seeing her daughter return, she immediately smiled and had someone prepare food for Su Ci.

“You left so hurriedly the other day that I was worried the whole time. Next time you go out, remember to bring bodyguards.” Su Mother hugged her daughter, full of longing.

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.” Su Ci smiled. She glanced at Little Su Ning sitting beside her mother, then deliberately asked, “I haven’t seen him for a few days — I wonder if Little Su Ning missed his sister.”

“I missed Sister!” Little Su Ning immediately poked his head out from beside Su Mother, his milky voice saying, “Ningning missed Sister sooo much.”

Su Ci looked at her little brother’s round, chubby belly and smiled. “Did Ningning get fatter again?” Little Su Ning had delicate features, but it didn’t stop him from being chubby all over and adorably soft.

“Mommy said Ningning looks good with more chubby.” Little Su Ning said with a bit of pride.

Su Ci reached out and pinched her little brother’s cheek.

Then she pulled the child beside her closer. “Mom, his name is Zhen Tiancai — he’s the child I told you about over the phone.”

Su Mother was naturally gentle and kind, and she had always done charitable work.

She had already heard about the child from her daughter’s call and felt sympathy for him. Now seeing him in person — with his delicate brows, proper looks, and obedient demeanor — as a mother, she couldn’t stand seeing such a young child being so pitiful.

Her smile was warm and close. “Your name is Zhen Tiancai, right?”

Little Tiancai was still nervous. “Hello, Auntie Su.”

Su Mother gently patted his head and smiled. “Don’t be scared. From now on, this is your home.”

Little Su Ning peeked his head out to look at this unfamiliar older brother.

“His name is Su Ning. He’s younger than you — a little brother. I believe you two can become good brothers and good friends.” Su Mother didn’t force the child to call her “Mom,” nor would she force him to change his surname. When he grew a bit older and understood things better, she would let him choose for himself.

“Hello, little brother Su Ning. My name is Zhen Tiancai.” Little Tiancai kept a serious face, his big eyes earnestly looking at Su Ning.

He wanted to smile at Brother Ning, but he couldn’t. Would Brother Ning dislike him?

Su Ning stared at the unfamiliar older boy. He was a little shy, but bravely answered, “Hello, brother.”

Su Ning was only three. His elder brother Su Zhiyuan and his sister Su Ci were both much older than him and couldn’t play with him. Su Mother was sometimes busy, leaving only the servants to watch over him — he was actually very lonely.

Now that there was another child close to his age, it was something that made Su Ning happy.

Su Ning took out his favorite pudding and handed it to Little Tiancai. “Brother eat.”

It was the first time Little Tiancai had received a gift from another child. His big black eyes looked helplessly toward Su Ci.

“Take it. Your little brother likes you.”

Little Tiancai’s eyes lit up. He reached out with his small hand and shyly accepted the pudding Su Ning gave him. “Thank you.”

Children were pure in their emotions — within moments, they were already getting along well. Su Mother had the servants take the two children to play.

Then she asked her daughter, “Cici, your father said that once he’s discharged from the hospital, we should visit Lu Zhe. Not only did he take care of you, he also saved me and your father. He’s a great benefactor to the Su family. We need to visit him properly to thank him. Does he have any family? You know him better — what gift should we prepare?”

“In the past, Lu Zhe was taken in by a family, but later they kicked him out. So he has no family, he’s alone.” Su Ci thought about what Lu Zhe liked, but realized he didn’t seem to have anything he particularly liked.

Aside from his computer, he was indifferent to everything. Even her level of top-tier beauty wandering right in front of him, he could still ignore her.

And his self-control was terrifyingly strong. Only when she pushed hard to provoke him would he lose control.

Su Ci thought, Lu Zhe didn’t care about anything else, he only lost control because of her — could that mean the only thing Lu Zhe liked… was her?

The moment the thought formed, Su Ci’s eyes brightened, a little proud and a little happy.

Although she had already heard that Lu Zhe’s background wasn’t good, hearing it again from her daughter made Su Mother’s sympathy deepen.

She told her daughter, “Your father and I discussed it. If Lu Zhe is willing, we can provide a medical team for him, help him find specialists in ALS treatment, and we can also help him look for his biological parents.”

Finding the best doctors?

That was useless for Lu Zhe. At most, it would buy him a few more years. It was far better for him to kiss her a few more times and eat more golden cotton candy.

He had never mentioned wanting to look for his biological parents. In her eyes, parents who could abandon their child at an orphanage — even if found — what good would they be?

Su Ci said, “He’ll be coming to B City in a few days. We can ask him what he wants then.”

“He’s coming here?” Su Mother was a little surprised. She remembered the boy lived in D City.

Su Ci nodded. “Yeah, he’s applying to B University. I’m planning to go to the same school as him.”

Su Mother understood her daughter too well — she could easily hear the happiness in her tone. Previously, her daughter rushed back to D City just to find Lu Zhe, right? And this time, she also had the feeling that her daughter went to D City because of him.

A thought formed in Su Mother’s heart. “Cici, do you like this boy, Lu Zhe?” There had never been anything her daughter couldn’t talk to her about.

But she assumed her daughter wouldn’t like Lu Zhe — after all, even the He family’s young master didn’t catch her eye.

Su Ci blinked and answered openly, “I do.” At first, she stuck close to Lu Zhe only because she needed to maintain her human form. But gradually, she started developing possessive thoughts about him.

Even though she had never dated before, she recognized the feeling — this was liking. She liked Lu Zhe, that’s why she always wanted to kiss him, stick to him, worry about girls confessing to him at a party, and immediately fly over to find him.

She liked Lu Zhe. Lu Zhe belonged to her.

Hearing this, Su Mother instinctively frowned. She knew her daughter had been taken care of by that boy for a period of time — perhaps her daughter had mistaken gratitude for affection.

She asked again, “Cici, the kind of ‘like’ Mom is talking about isn’t the kind you feel for family, and not the kind you feel for a friend.”

Her daughter had always been proud. She showed no interest in any boys at school. Even the He family’s young master didn’t stir her heart. Her daughter probably just hadn’t awakened to love yet.

“Mom, I like Lu Zhe.” Su Ci said it seriously.

She had never thought about hiding it. Lu Zhe wasn’t someone who needed to be hidden. She liked him, so she admitted it openly.

Hearing her daughter’s words, Su Mother’s heart sank with a soft thud. She instinctively said, “Cici, you’re still young. You’ll understand what liking someone truly means in the future.”