Chapter 16: The Hidden Link to Xinxin
The days passed quickly, one after another.
In the blink of an eye, Gu Tang and Gu Qinian had reached the top of the kindergarten food chain—the senior class!
At that age, children shot up a whole notch in height every year.
Watching the new little kids from the junior class lining up with their little meal bowls, Gu Tang rubbed his hands excitedly. “They’re so tiny and cute, like little dumplings. I could eat them in one bite each!”
“…”
As the only person who had ever actually been bitten by Gu Tang, Gu Qinian inexplicably felt a sting in his cheek.
Jiang Yiyi sat beside Gu Tang gnawing on a chicken drumstick, her mouth greasy as she mumbled, “None of them are as cute as Tangtang! Tangtang is the most, most, most cute little kid I’ve ever seen!”
Gu Tang smiled shyly, then turned to ask Gu Qinian, “Am I Cute?”
Young Master Gu replied coolly, “Not bad.”
Gu Tang: “…Hmph.”
Jiang Yiyi was unhappy and waved her half-eaten drumstick. “Don’t listen to him. You’re super cute!”
“Yiyi, girls should be more reserved.”
Jiang Yiwen said this while helping his sister pick up more food, acting like a little grown-up.
The siblings were very affectionate with each other.
Gu Tang learned from them.
Even though Young Master Gu hadn’t praised him for being cute, he still picked up a bite of vegetables from his own tray and placed it into the other boy’s bowl. “Niannian, eat! I’m the older brother, so I have to take care of you!”
Gu Qinian’s brow twitched. “That’s your excuse for giving me the vegetables you don’t like?”
Gu Tang: “…”
Oops, he got caught.
Young Master Gu’s face didn’t change. “If you don’t eat vegetables, you won’t grow tall.”
Before he could finish, Gu Tang had already stuffed that little pile of vegetables into his own mouth and chewed hard, his cheeks puffed out round and full.
Only then did Gu Qinian smile in satisfaction and continue eating his own lunch.
The kindergarten lunches had two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a bowl of soup—nutritious, tasty, and more than enough.
But the moment he finished eating, Gu Tang still reached for candy.
There were two pieces in his pocket. One for Jiang Yiyi, and the other to split evenly with Niannian!
Very pleased with himself, Gu Tang happily unwrapped the candy, popped it into his mouth, and—as usual—bit down—
Crack!
With that crisp sound, Gu Tang froze completely.
Gu Qinian had just been about to carry both their trays over to the kindergarten auntie when he saw Gu Tang suddenly go rigid, his little face full of panic.
He tensed too. “What happened?”
“Wuu…”
Gu Tang whimpered, then slowly raised his head.
On the milk candy he had just spat back out, half of a little front tooth was stuck.
White as jade, but broken and dangling.
…
“You usually love eating candy, don’t you? And you’ve probably been lazy about brushing your teeth too. Half of your front tooth got eaten through by decay…”
As the doctor examined him, he pinched Gu Tang’s little face.
The child’s face was round and especially lovable, with bright, clear amber eyes. But at the moment, because he felt wronged over his broken tooth, those eyes were covered with a misty layer of tears, making him look pitiful beyond words.
Gu Tang was on the verge of crying.
Without his front tooth, he wouldn’t be able to gnaw ribs, gnaw chicken legs, or even bite a candy in half to share with Young Master Gu anymore.
What joy was left in life?!
“It’s fine. I don’t even like candy that much anyway, so you don’t need to bite it in half for me. Besides, you can’t eat it now.”
Gu Qinian reached out and patted the little dumpling’s back, awkwardly trying to comfort him.
Gu Tang cried even louder.
Young Master Gu had no choice but to change his approach. “The doctor said it’s fine since this happened before your adult teeth come in. Once the new tooth grows out, it’ll be okay… What are you doing?”
Even as he said it, he saw Gu Tang pull another candy from his pocket, strip off the wrapper at lightning speed, and shove it into his mouth.
With the candy pushed to one side of his mouth by his tongue, one cheek bulging, Gu Tang said righteously, “Then I’ll eat more before the new teeth come in!”
[Increasing the usage rate of baby teeth? Host, you really are a little genius…]
Even the system couldn’t help mocking him.
Gu Qinian was equally speechless.
But Gu Tang loved candy too much. Every time he ate something sweet, his face lit up with happiness, like a little sunflower in full bloom.
It made people unable to bring themselves to scold him.
That was also the reason why, despite Su Mei’s strict control, Gu Tang had still managed to get cavities.
Madam Su simply couldn’t bear to discipline him.
For the sake of the little dumpling’s future dental health, Gu Qinian hardened his heart and said sternly, “From now on, one candy a day at most. And you brush your teeth after eating it.”
Gu Tang drooped into a miserable little blob. “Wuu…”
Gu Qinian remained unmoved and held out his hand. “Hand them all over.”
Gu Tang sniffled and obediently reached into his clothes pocket, placing all the candies inside onto Young Master Gu’s palm.
Gu Qinian didn’t move his hand. “There’s more.”
Pouting miserably, Gu Tang pulled a few more out from his pants pocket.
Gu Qinian: “There’s still more.”
“Gone!”
“In your hat.”
“Wuwuwu…”
After turning over all of his “assets,” Gu Tang felt like an unlucky married man being forced to hand over his secret savings by his wife.
Gu Qinian needed both hands just to hold all the candy Gu Tang had hidden. For once, even the normally calm boy showed a shocked expression.
No wonder the little dumpling could pull out candy at any time like performing magic.
He was hiding this much on his body!
Wasn’t it heavy?!
“Little friend, could you please share a piece of candy with me?”
An unfamiliar old man rolled over in a wheelchair and spoke to them.
Very cautiously, Gu Qinian pulled Gu Tang slightly behind himself, one finger already pressing against the children’s smartwatch on his wrist.
There were plenty of bad people these days who disguised themselves as weak and vulnerable in order to trick children away. But the butler was right next door in another consultation room asking the doctor about Gu Tang’s teeth. One phone call, and he could have him out here immediately.
Poking his little head out from behind Gu Qinian’s shoulder, Gu Tang said, “Give Grandpa one piece? Toss it to him?”
Keeping physical distance would make it much safer.
He understood Young Master Gu’s caution. You really couldn’t be too careful around strangers.
But this old grandpa didn’t look like a bad person.
Seeing that Young Master Gu didn’t object, Gu Tang picked the tastiest candy from the pile that had just been “confiscated” and tossed it to the old man through the air.
The man was wearing a hospital gown, so he was clearly a long-term patient.
Gu Tang himself had spent a lot of time in hospitals in his previous life, so he understood very well how hard it was being restricted from eating things.
Back then, the nurse sisters had always confiscated his private candy stash too, so he had often sneaked off to the children’s ward to beg sweets from the kids there.
Later, some of the children had even started giving him candy on their own.
“Thank you, little friend.”
The old man caught the candy, unwrapped it, and put it into his mouth. The sweetness drew a smile across his wrinkled face.
Licking the half-missing tooth in his own mouth, Gu Tang kindly reminded him, “Grandpa, don’t eat too much, okay? You’re not growing new teeth anymore.”
The old man’s smile widened. “All right, I’ll listen to you. I won’t eat too much.”
Suddenly, Gu Tang noticed a little box appear beside the old man, displaying—
[???]
Three question marks?
What was that??
[Host, this is a Secret Character Card. It means this person is connected to hidden plot content.]
Hidden plot again?
Last time, after completing the “Gu Family Heirloom” mission, he had gotten a naming-rights reward that he still hadn’t used.
Subconsciously, Gu Tang touched his little white jade gourd.
Just then, a man in a black suit walked over and stopped in front of the old man. “Old Master Luo, I’ve finally found you. About this contract…”
“I won’t sign with you! I won’t sell! I said I won’t sell!”
The old man cut him off, then started driving his electric wheelchair away on his own.
The man in black stopped him, still sounding very sincere. “Please think it over again. Our Gu Corporation has come with real sincerity. President Gu also has children of his own, and because of that he wanted to do charity related to children. That’s why he’s trying to acquire it at a loss. If it gets bought by someone else, then those children—”
“Shut up! None of you business people are any good!”
The old man huffed angrily.
Hearing the exchange from the side, Gu Tang and Gu Qinian looked at each other.
Gu Corporation?
President Gu?
Gu Tang: Isn’t that Dad Gu?
Gu Qinian: What is Gu Quan trying to do?
Each had questions, but neither said anything out loud.
Gu Tang felt that a five-year-old little bun couldn’t possibly understand all of that, while Young Master Gu felt that trying to explain it to a five-year-old milk dumpling would be pointless.
The two little cubs’ gazes met briefly, then naturally slid away again.
The old man had already driven his wheelchair off, while the man in the black suit chased after him, all the while continuing to persuade him to sell whatever it was in his hands to Gu Corporation.
They were too far away now to hear clearly.
So Gu Tang could only let it go for the moment and return his brain to the innocence of being five and a half years old.
The instant he turned back, he realized Young Master Gu was standing there in a daze.
Gu Tang waved a hand in front of his eyes. “Niannian?”
Gu Qinian responded with a low “Mm.”
Very strange.
He had clearly never met that old man before, yet somehow he felt the man looked a little familiar…
Seeing him come back to himself, Gu Tang grinned carelessly, like a little sunflower missing half a tooth.
“Niannian, I still want candy!”
Gu Qinian: “…”
“No.”
Young Master Gu refused in one flat sentence and didn’t soften even when the little face in front of him collapsed in disappointment.
That was fine too.
A milk dumpling smiling that adorably was a dangerous thing.
What if he got kidnapped?
—
The next day, Sunflower Senior Class 1 launched a “Little Angel Mutual Help” activity, encouraging the children to help orphans and cultivate love and social responsibility.
The teacher asked all the children to share their ideas about how they could send warmth and care to the children at the welfare home.
Jiang Yiyi raised her hand. “Buy candy!”
Gu Tang shook his head. “No, if you eat too much, your teeth will break.”
He opened his mouth to show Jiang Yiyi his half-missing little front tooth, which scared her so badly that she immediately covered her own mouth.
She loved candy too. What if her teeth broke too?
It would look so ugly for a girl to lose her teeth…
But Gu Tang told her it was okay, that new teeth would grow back, and she only had to protect the new ones properly. Only then did Jiang Yiyi finally relax a little.
Compared to the other children, Jiang Yiwen was much more mature. He said, “Our kindergarten belongs to Gu Corporation. We’re doing this mutual-help activity because President Gu wants to buy that welfare home. My dad is in charge of it, but the old director got hospitalized. He’s not in good health and he’s stubborn too, so my dad has been working overtime every day because of it…”
Gu Tang was stunned when he heard that.
Ah…
Now it all connected!
That old grandpa from the hospital was the director of the welfare home, and the man in the black suit was Jiang Yiwen and Jiang Yiyi’s father.
Thinking about it that way, they really did resemble each other a little.
Curious, he asked, “Which welfare home does Gu Corporation want to buy?”
Jiang Yiwen bent down and lowered his voice like he was sharing some huge secret. “I think it’s called… Xinxin.”
Snap—
Beside him, Gu Qinian had snapped the tip off his pencil. His dark pupils deepened, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Gu Tang froze too.
Xinxin Welfare Home…
In the original novel, Gu Qinian had grown up in that very orphanage!
***
Author’s Note:
Tangtang: Am I cute?
Gu Qinian on the surface: Not bad.
Gu Qinian secretly: Tangtang is so cute, what if he gets kidnapped, ahhh—
