What"s Wrong With Liking My Busty Adopted DaughterChapter 2: I"ll Take Care of HerWhen I walked back to the living room, Grandpa and the stranger girl were already sitting on the sofa.
The girl"s hair was still wet, and she wore a woolen sweater. Black tights wrapped around her legs.
As I entered the room, she glared heatedly at me with her cheeks puffed, but then she seemed to remember what happened and started to blush. She probably was embarra.s.sed, and lowered her head to avoid eye contact.
It wasn"t until now that I looked clearly at the girl"s face. She had short hair that went just below the ears, and braided it to the left side. She had a bit of baby fat on her cheeks, and her pale skin was extremely cute.
She"s a knockout.
I went to Grandpa"s side, and asked him: "Who is this girl?"
He lifted his head, and I saw streaks of bloodshot in his weary eyes. He looked as if he aged ten years, and slowly turned around her. "This is your Uncle Jian"s child, her name is Baiyu, Zong Baiyu."
Uncle Jian?
I have an uncle named Zong Jian; if he wasn"t part of my family, he may as well be my savior. From the time when my parents were alive, I was very close to Uncle Jian. He always had a jovial, laughing smile on his face, and was always there to play some wacky and childish games with me when I was little.
When I arrived in City S to study in middle school, I lived with Uncle Jian for a while, and was really grateful for his kindness and generosity. Three years later, Uncle married a lady named Meiren after a year of dating. Although family relatives opposed Uncle"s decision to wed someone eight years older with a child from a previous marriage, I wished them great happiness.
Uncle wished for me to stay even after his marriage, but I refused and moved out to respect their privacy and personal lives. My deceased father left me a shop s.p.a.ce and house, so monthly rent kept my finances going. I also took up some part time jobs, and sc.r.a.ped a decent salary.
After high school, I started to live alone by myself.
Now that I think about it, this girl must be Aunt Meiren"s daughter. Though I knew of her existence, I never got to meet her before.
Uncle Jian often joked that Baiyu was like Aunt Meiren, as beautiful as a little princess. I always laughed with him and forgot about it, since those words were coming from Uncle Jian"s comedic mind.
But now I know that Uncle Jian wasn"t lying. Baiyu was absolutely charming.
Grandpa glanced towards the girl, and lightly smiled: "Baiyu, didn"t you always want to meet Zong Jun? Why aren"t you talking now that you"ve met him?"
For some reason, I felt that Grandpa"s smile was very forced, and he looked very weak. Was he sick?
"No…. I never said that!"
Baiyu frantically denied as she scrunched her face, mouthing some words at me.
Peeking…. b.a.s.t.a.r.d….
Stinking…. Pervert….
She didn"t say it out loud since Grandpa was listening, but I could easily tell she was swearing at me from her lips. The girl blushed again, and rubbed her nose awkwardly.
Ahhh, what happened earlier was really my fault, but the apology can wait until later.
I sat on Grandpa"s side of the sofa, and asked curiously: "Then what about Uncle Jian? Is he coming over with Aunt Meiren?"
Grandpa didn"t say a word.
It wasn"t just him, the girl who was glancing at me nonstop also fell silent and lowered her head mournfully.
After a while, I heard a sob. Baiyu was crying.
Tears were clearly streaming down her face, but she bit her lip tightly, not letting any sound escape.
"Eh?"
I stopped, confused of the situation.
"Jun…."
Grandpa called me by my nickname, but didn"t finish the sentence. He brooded, unsure of whether to tell me or not.
An ominous feeling rose in my heart.
"Zong Jian is… already dead."
…. Dead?
My head was completely blank. This sudden news blocked every other thought in my mind, and I could only stare at Grandpa in stupor.
I didn"t know where to put my hands, they were shaking so much.
I tried to force out a smile, but I knew it looked terrible: "You"re joking, I saw Uncle Jian not too long ago, he was completely healthy. He even said he was going to come over for my birthday."
But what laid in front of me was only Grandpa"s weary, tear-streaked face. In all these years, I"ve only seen my grandpa shed tears once in my life, which at my parents" funeral. The old man, who I"ve always perceived with an iron will and great willpower, now looked aged and fragile.
I felt a rush in my head, and stared emptily at Grandpa and the tight-lipped girl.
I couldn"t even shed a tear.
This was probably normal. That pleasant, cheery uncle who agreed to come for my birthday just yesterday, had gone so quickly to the country of heaven. Anyone would have a hard time accepting this, right?
"How did Uncle Jian… pa.s.s away?"
"Car accident."
Grandpa only said two simple words, but the sliver of hope in my heart that was "This is just a joke" was crushed.
My mood dropped rock-bottom.
"Then Aunt Meiren also…."
I didn"t dare say the words, but I understood through Grandpa"s silence.
I held my head between my hands, and shut my eyes tightly. My head felt like a clump of porridge. It felt funny that besides a sense of heaviness, there wasn"t a bit of despair.
My heart still denied the reality of my uncle"s death.
"Then what about the child?"
My voice became a little hoa.r.s.e. I didn"t say anything mournful or regretting, but I did bring up a very important issue.
Baiyu stopped crying, and gazed at me with imploring eyes.
She stared in silence, and her lips started to tremble as if she was going to say something. But Baiyu finally closed her mouth.
"It"s alright for her to live with me in the countryside, but this child needs to go to school…. Jun, Grandpa needs you to do something." Grandpa looked at me, and said, "Although she"s your Aunt Meiren"s daughter, and has no blood ties with Jian, she"s still his child, and she"s still a part of our Zong family."
"For your Uncle Jian"s and my sake, please take care of this child."
Grandpa pleasingly ruffled Baiyu"s hair, and told me: "This girl"s always liked you since the start. Jun, will you promise me that you"ll treat her well?"
"I didn"t…."
Baiyu looked a little uncomfortable, but didn"t say anything.
I walked to Baiyu"s side, and stooped down. I asked as softly as I could: "Will you come stay with me?"
Baiyu"s eyes widened with tears br.i.m.m.i.n.g at the corners. She looked up to me in a daze.
I thought that she was a little reluctant, so I tried to sound like a big brother and explained: "I probably won"t be up to your expectations at first since I don"t have any experience caring for a young girl, but I"ll try my very best…."
"The house is quite large, so you can pick any room you like. It"s fine if you want some friends over, and it"s safe to say that my cooking"s decent…."
Baiyu"s eyes kept shimmering, and she tightened her lips, letting loose a very faint sob: "Why…. Why would you do this?"
I stopped, and naturally smiled: "Because I"m your family, too."
Her lips trembled, and puffed her cheeks again. Tears slid across her face, and she finally let out a sobbing bawl.
"Zong Jun—!!"
She suddenly hugged me, and cried in my arms. The girl"s wails were very loud, expelling all her sorrow and self-control.
Maybe because there was finally someone to open up to.
She only held me, embracing tightly while sobbing in my chest.
I didn"t say anything, and lightly patted her on the back.
Even though I don"t have a daughter, even though I"m only seventeen, I swore that I would treat her like my own.