Chapter 104: Grandpa Bai’s Love

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Grandpa Bai’s Love

"How do you know?" Fu Xiaoxiao was taken aback. Lu Lin didn’t even look.

"I helped him count it, and I’m the one who placed it there," Lu Lin’s eyes darkened as he spoke slowly.

"That day after he came back from the hospital, he took out all the money and had me count it. I counted it a total of three times. He smiled and said it was money for Xiao Chen and me to get married in the future. I told him I didn’t want it and he scolded me, saying that you can’t refuse a gift from an elder. He told me to pick a place to hide it that only he and I would know about, and told me not to forget it if I ever came back to see him." Unable to hold back any longer, Lu Lin wiped away the tears from his eyes.

But the tears kept flowing out; the more he wiped, the more they came, and he couldn’t stop them.

Fu Xiaoxiao felt heartbroken and went forward to hug Lu Lin. No wonder she always felt like Grandpa Bai was entrusting her with a responsibility during their last meeting, testing her somehow.

Did Grandpa Bai already know his time was limited by then?

He couldn’t let go of the two children, which was why he kept holding on, ensuring she would care for them properly before he arranged his affairs for the end?

"Waa..." Lu Lin began to wail loudly, and Lu Chen seemed to sense something was wrong. Seeing Lu Lin cry like this, he looked at Fu Xiaoxiao with a confused expression and asked, holding back his tears, "Mom, is Grandpa Bai not well?"

"Your Grandpa Bai..." Fu Xiaoxiao’s eyes turned red. She didn’t know how to explain it to Lu Chen.

"Grandpa is dead," Lu Lin relieved Fu Xiaoxiao, telling Lu Chen the truth. "What you saw last time, Grandpa Bai spitting blood, was real. Grandpa Bai had an incurable illness."

Lu Chen’s mouth quivered. "Waa..."

Fu Xiaoxiao gathered the two grieving children into her arms, allowing them to cry freely in her embrace.

"Who are you people? Why did you come to Old Bai’s place?" Suddenly, an angry old woman stormed in, pointing at Fu Xiaoxiao and Lu Feng with questioning eyes.

She thought they were intruders breaking into Grandpa Bai’s home.

"Grandma Liu." Fu Xiaoxiao stood up. Lu Lin and Lu Chen heard the old woman’s voice and sobbed while calling.

"Xiao Lin, Xiao Chen?" Grandma Liu heard the familiar calling, and her angry expression instantly turned into concern. "Why did you come back?"

"Grandpa Bai... is he..." Lu Lin desperately wanted confirmation and asked impatiently.

Yet in his heart, he hoped she would say Grandpa Bai wasn’t dead.

"Old Bai... sigh... Three days after you left, Old Bai came to me and asked me to order a coffin for him. He knew his time was short, talked with me for a while, and arranged his affairs, and the next day he was gone." Grandma Liu sighed. In the alley, whenever anyone had aches or minor ailments, they would quietly go to Old Bai for treatment.

Old Bai never asked for money, and everyone would just bring him a small gift. Over the years, he took care of everyone.

His sudden passing... the neighbors in the alley pooled their resources and organized his funeral. The sad part was, they didn’t know which person had adopted Lu Lin and Lu Chen, thinking Old Bai would surely want to see them one last time, but no one knew their address.

In the end, Grandma Liu’s son was the one who managed Grandpa Bai’s funeral.

"Old Bai was most concerned about you two, knowing you would definitely come back to see him. He asked me to come and check every day." Grandma Liu sighed, rubbing the kids’ heads.

At that time, she tried dissuading Old Bai, asking him how he planned to raise the two children he had taken in.

But Old Bai said it was fate bringing them together; he had lived alone for so many years, and now that he was old, having two family members was a gift from the heavens.

The two kids were also good—they helped Old Bai with chores and never misbehaved. Especially Lu Lin, who learned about herbs from Old Bai and went to the mountains daily to gather them, never complaining about being tired.

"I want Grandpa Bai." Lu Chen cried loudly, "I picked so many herbs for Grandpa Bai! They were his favorites!"

Lu Lin wiped his tears and turned his head aside.

"Good kids, you are all good kids, don’t cry. This is what Old Bai left for you. He didn’t have anything valuable; this house is all he had. He entrusted me with the title deed to give to you, so keep it safe." Grandma Liu took the precious title deed from her hidden pocket and placed it in Lu Lin’s hand.

Lu Feng and Fu Xiaoxiao exchanged a look, surprised that Grandpa Bai left the house to the two children.

"Grandma Liu, may I ask where Grandpa Bai is buried? We want to buy some things and visit his grave." Fu Xiaoxiao and Lu Feng stepped forward and spoke sincerely to Grandma Liu.

Grandma Liu’s gaze shifted from Lu Feng to Fu Xiaoxiao, she stared at Fu Xiaoxiao for a long time before nodding. "You must be Fu Xiaoxiao—the one Old Bai mentioned?"

"That’s me." Fu Xiaoxiao nodded, "Did Grandpa Bai mention me?"

Grandma Liu rubbed Lu Lin and Lu Chen’s hands, feeling the fleshiness of the two children’s hands, and her gaze towards Fu Xiaoxiao softened.

"He did. You kept your word and took good care of the two children." Grandma Liu noticed the new clothes on Lu Lin and Lu Chen, and how their once skinny bodies now had some meat, showing that Fu Xiaoxiao hadn’t let down Old Bai’s trust and had earnestly cared for the children.

"I promised him." Fu Xiaoxiao nodded. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Grandma Liu, Mom is very good to us. She even sent my brother to school, and now he’s a student!" Lu Chen understood Grandma Liu’s meaning and wiped his tears, vouching for Fu Xiaoxiao.

"Is that true? She sent you to school?" Grandma Liu was really surprised and impressed with Fu Xiaoxiao, knowing how expensive sending someone to school could be. Also, Lu Lin and Lu Chen were not her children, so it was unexpected that she would send them to school.

"It’s true. Mom is very good to Xiao Chen and me. She’s better than my real mom! Also, she promised to take me to see my real mom. Today, we came to see Grandpa Bai first before going to see my real mom." Lu Lin’s words were a powerful statement, and Grandma Liu looked at Fu Xiaoxiao with surprise.

Grandma Liu knew the heavy guardedness Lu Lin had; Old Bai had mentioned many times that Lu Lin wouldn’t easily accept someone new and that anyone able to enter his heart truly meant well.

With such a short time having passed, Lu Lin could genuinely call Fu Xiaoxiao "mom" and acknowledge that she was better than his biological mother.

Grandma Liu took a serious look at Fu Xiaoxiao, her eyes clear and confident, and she smiled slightly.

She probably understood how Fu Xiaoxiao had managed to get the two children to accept her so quickly.

Heart meets heart—children never lie.

"You are good; no wonder Old Bai sang your praises." Grandma Liu softly told Fu Xiaoxiao.

When Old Bai told her, she didn’t believe it at first. How could a woman accept someone else’s children without any reservations? She thought the lady might have been acting and fooled Old Bai.

But now she sees that she was narrow-minded. The girl in front of her, with her open and bright eyes, had nothing to hide.