Chapter 495 Really Hated It
“Daddy.” Chu Xiang threw whatever she had been holding and ran towards Chu Lui as soon as she saw him. She hugged both of Chu Lui’s legs.
Was this child doing it on purpose? Short of getting on all fours and let her rode him like a pony, he had done everything for her, including feeding her and getting her drinks. However, she had not treated him nicely. Not even once. On the contrary, when she saw his cousin, she practically jumped with joy.
Chu Lui carried Chu Xiang in his arms. He wasn’t trying to be kind to her. Compared to any other person, he was being more cordial.
With Chu Xiang in his arms, Chu Lui turned and made his way out.
“Wait a minute. Brother, where are you going?” Du Jingtang quickly grabbed his jacket and ran after him.
“To eat.” Chu Lui didn’t bother to say much. This was mealtime. Could they be going to bed instead of eating during mealtime?
“I’m coming, too.” Du Jingtang’s eyes lit up. Oh yes, this was a chance to freeload for a meal that didn’t come easily. He would be an idiot to pa.s.s it. After being a nanny for the whole morning, his cousin should treat him to a meal at the very least. He had to do that no matter what.
Chu Lui didn’t pay much attention to Du Jingtang. Neither did he forbid him from coming along. Du Jingtang knew this meal would certainly be within his grasp.
Chu Lui picked up his chopsticks and began feeding the child sitting across him. Du Jingtang was dumbfounded by what he saw.
“Brother, you look like a professional.” Although he hadn’t been a parent before, he was doing a pretty decent job at it.
Chu Lui continued to feed Chu Xiang. He wasn’t stupid. Having seen his mother doing the feeding every day, he was simply mimicking her motions.
Right. Brother.” Du Jingtang nibbled at the tip of his chopsticks. “Have you really decided to adopt this child? Don’t you need more time to consider? I feel that she’s not really a suitable candidate because she is at the age where she can remember things. Do you want to adopt a younger one, preferably a boy?” As soon as he was finished talking, he was surprised to see Chu Xiang looking at him with hostility in her eyes.
Du Jingtang was on the brink of tears. It seemed he was being a target of loathing. It was obvious that she was just an average child
-one who didn’t know what was right or wrong. However, Chu Xiang was anything but average. She was mature for her age. Du Jingtang would never know the extent of her sensitivity.
“All the paperwork has been done. What do you think? Besides, one can easily find out who we are, what we eat and drink every day. A child has appeared out of nowhere and stayed with us. Are you dumb, or do you think the others are blind?” Chu Lui asked as he ate his share. Although his tone of voice wasn’t heavy, Du Jingtang felt he was being slapped with each word. It almost pinned him to the ground. Chu Xiang, on the other hand, did not show much interest in her face. Suddenly, Du Jingtang felt an awkward silence. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. He should eat more so that he wouldn’t feel he was mistreated.
“Waiter.” He waved at the waiter, standing at the side and ordered a whole list of food from the menu. If he couldn’t finish, he could bring the leftovers back for supper. They returned to the office after their meal. As expected, Chu Lui dumped the child onto him again.
At this juncture, Du Jingtang began to wonder if he had really offended the little brat. No matter how he coaxed her, Chu Xiang refused to pay attention to him. Naturally, this was just the beginning.
“Auntie, I’m here.” He arrived happily to idle and chat today and intended to give his auntie a big hug upon entering the house. Since he was young, she had doted on him the most. She was the only one to give him a place to stay whenever his parents chased him out of his home. That was why he had been so close relations.h.i.+p with the Chu’s. On top of everything, he had an auntie who loved him. Otherwise, how could he have gotten a job to work for Chu Lui? He wasn’t short of money or clothes, and there was no reason for him to slog like a dog every day at the office.
Song Wan glared at Du Jingtang with Chu Xiang in her arms. How could he act so immaturely when he was already an adult? Du Jingtang was instantly stunned at the loss of her affection. He sat grudgingly on the sofa. Like his uncle, they both simply sat.
Both of them sighed.
“Xiang Xiang, why don’t you play with your uncle first?” Song Wan had things to do so she handed Chu Xiang over to Du Jingtang.
Du Jingtang broke into a wide smile as he looked at Chu Xiang. He ran his hand in his hair before extending it towards Chu Xiang. “Come, Xiang Xiang. Come to Uncle.”
Chu Xiang went over to him. Du Jingtang scooped her up easily, and he noticed that she was much heavier than before.
“Xiang Xiang, you have gained weight.”
However, Chu Xiang began to pout; and it scared Du Jingtang. Did he say or do anything wrong?
“Oh, don’t cry.” Du Jingtang panicked. He coaxed her and made funny faces, but Chu Xiang refused to budge. Instead, she pouted even more, making herself look pathetic. Finally…
She wailed.
Her tears started falling.
At the sound of her granddaughter’s cries, Song Wan ran out in a hurry and took Chu Xiang away from a puzzled Du Jingtang’s arms.
“Du Jingtang, why did you bully my granddaughter?” She suddenly screamed at him without even asking what had happened. Du Jingtang felt he had been treated unjustly. Indeed. He had not said anything, and yet his auntie was cursing him at full blast.
Grievance began to well up inside him. He felt he could no longer put up with this kind of life anymore.
Chu Jiang stretched a hand out towards Du Jingtang and patted him on the shoulder.
“Jingtang…”
“Yes.” Du Jingtang pouted at the mistreatment.
Chu Jiang could only sigh.
“It’ll be fine once you get used to it.”
“Uncle…” Du Jingtang called out for Chu Jiang. The age gap between the both of them might be thirty years, and yet this was the first time they understood what each other was going through. The child had not stayed with the Chu family for long, but she was already stirring trouble in the usually peaceful family. Du Jingtang wondered if adopting her was a good or bad thing.
This meal would surely cause one to suffer from indigestion. It was also the first time that Du Jingtang had trouble eating his meal in his auntie’s house.
“Come, Xiang Xiang. Ignore him.” Song Wan didn’t bother to give her nephew a contemptuous look as she fed Chu Xiang her meal. On the other hand, Chu Jiang was used to the treatment. He ate without saying a word. Once he was done eating, he proceeded to peruse his books and newspapers.
When he saw the current state of life that his uncle was leading, it finally dawned on Du Jingtang what his uncle had meant when he said he was used to it. Exactly what kind of experience had the elderly man gone through?
His eyes followed Chu Xiang’s every action. Suddenly, the child turned and looked at him. Her face was emotionless, and it caused Du Jingtang to shudder unconsciously. He had made up his mind to not like this child.
Regardless of whether Du Jingtang was fond of Chu Xiang, it was very obvious that her status in the Chu family was the highest. Song Wan loved her granddaughter more than anything. She even treated the little girl as though the latter was her biological grandchild. Chu Jiang had listened to Song Wan and loved the little girl like his own grandchild and treated her very well. Chu Lui, too, didn’t have much reaction to this matter. He gave in to his mother’s every request. If she wanted him to pick Chu Xiang up from school, he would do it. He would babysit the girl if that was what his mother had wanted. Although he didn’t have much love for the child, it was very clear that he had accepted her as his daughter a long time ago.