Tong Qiao's throat seemed to be choked by something. It took several seconds before she could make a sound, "Your mother didn't want you. She went to a place far, far away..."
"Is she dead?" Lu Ziqian's small face faced Tong Qiao, his eyes dim, but with a glimmer of hope.
Tong Qiao felt particularly distressed when she saw Lu Ziqian like this, and gently touched the black hair on his forehead, "You still have me, dad, grandma, grandpa, Grandpa Xu and Grandma Liu."
Lu Ziqian lowered his head, and his small body began to tremble slightly again.
Tong Qiao knew that he was crying, but she didn't know how to comfort him. She held it in for a long time and said, "Stop crying, it's so embarrassing."
Lu Ziqian raised his hand to wipe away his tears. He was very good and obedient. He raised his little head and said cautiously: "I'm scared. Can you stay with me here?"
"Okay." Tong Qiao took off her shoes and lay down in Lu Ziqian's 1.5-meter small bed. She couldn't straighten her feet, so she could only curl up against him. "Go to sleep. I won't leave, so I'll stay with you."
Lu Ziqian obediently closed his eyes.
It was already past midnight when Lu Jinshen came back, and Tong Qiao got up from the crib softly when she heard the sound.
In the corridor, Lu Jinshen, dressed in combat uniform, was walking towards the bedroom.
"Lu Jinshen." Tong Qiao called him.
Lu Jinshen turned around, glanced at Tong Qiao and then towards Lu Ziqian's room, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"Zi Qian has been having nightmares and woke up several times."
Lu Jinshen frowned slightly, "He is too young, what happened during the day scared him."
Tong Qiao nodded, walked up to Lu Jinshen, hugged his tight waist, sniffed, and looked up at him with a nervous expression, "Why do you smell of disinfectant? Didn't you say you weren't injured?"
Lu Jin's dark eyes flashed slightly, "My comrade was injured, and I went to the hospital." His big hand gently stroked Tong Qiao's chin that had not subsided, "Does it still hurt?"
Tong Qiao, "It won't hurt if you don't touch it."
"Where is this place?" Lu Jinshen's hand moved to Tong Qiao's gauze-wrapped forehead.
"No pain anymore, just a little dizzy."
Lu Jinshen held Tong Qiao's hand again, his deep gaze fell on her gauze-wrapped wrist, and his voice was low and gentle, "Does it hurt here?"
Tong Qiao shook her head.
Lu Jin looked deeply into Tong Qiao's eyes, his brows deep, "I'm sorry, I didn't protect you."
"it's not your fault."
Lu Jinshen hugged Tong Qiao into his arms and rested his chin on the top of her hair. His voice was extremely low, "I'm quite busy these days. I'm arranging Yu Fei's funeral and handling cases. You have to take good care of yourself."
"Well." Tong Qiao got up from Lu Jinshen's arms, "You must be tired, go wash up and sleep. Zi Qian was frightened, and I have to accompany him."
"Okay." Lu Jinshen watched Tong Qiao enter Lu Ziqian's room before turning and entering the bedroom.
…
Xu Dechang and Liu Lingfeng both came to Sheng Yufei's funeral, and they accompanied Lu Ziqian almost the whole time.
Lu Ziqian didn't know if he was frightened that day, but he was very quiet during the whole funeral. He didn't cry or make a fuss, and was extremely well-behaved. Until the day Sheng Yufei was buried, he held Sheng Yufei's portrait and howled until he fainted.
Hospital
In the ward, Xu Dechang and Liu Lingfeng guarded Lu Ziqian every step of the way.
Xu Dechang said to Liu Lingfeng, who had been sitting aside wiping his tears, "Stop crying. Qian woke up soon and made him sad again."
Liu Lingfeng took a handkerchief to wipe her tears, "I just think this child is so pitiful. Now he really has no parents to love him..."
"What are you talking about in front of the child?" Xu Dechang scolded with a frown and slightly white brows.
Liu Lingfeng hurriedly covered her mouth with a handkerchief, "I... I didn't mean to..."
Xu Dechang didn't say anything else, because he heard a slight noise coming from the bed, turned his head, and saw Lu Ziqian holding the quilt tightly with his little hands, his face wrinkled, sobbing softly, and shouting: "Mom... don't leave me I...I'm afraid..."
The tears that Liu Lingfeng had finally stopped flowed out again. Looking at Lu Ziqian's small body curled up, shaking and crying, her heart broke in pain.
Xu Dechang's eyes gradually became cloudy. He held Lu Ziqian's little hand and said, "Ziqian, wake up, you have a nightmare."
Liu Lingfeng touched Lu Ziqian's chest through the quilt, then touched his calf, and said in a crying voice: "Ziqian, don't be afraid, Grandma Liu and Grandpa Xu are here, we are always with you, don't be afraid, ah."
Lu Ziqian slowly opened his eyes, with crystal tears hanging on his long eyelashes.
"Wake up, just wake up." Xu Dechang's voice was a little hoarse.
Lu Ziqian looked around the ward and only saw Liu Lingfeng and Xu Dechang, so he asked, "Where is Tong Qiao?"
"She went to change the dressing on the wound on her forehead." It was Liu Lingfeng who answered. She thought Lu Ziqian was not used to being without Tong Qiao around, so she hurriedly said: "Don't worry, she will be here soon."
Lu Ziqian's red and swollen eyes rolled twice, "Grandma Liu, help me go to the door and guard it. When Tong Qiao comes, let me know. I have something to say to Grandpa Xu."
Liu Lingfeng frowned, unwilling to leave her grandson. Especially when she heard Lu Ziqian say that she had something to tell Xu Dechang, she began to feel jealous and said sourly: "Is there something you can't tell Grandma Liu?"
"No, I just don't want Tong Qiao to hear it, she will be sad." Lu Ziqian lowered his eyes and whispered.
Xu Dechang frowned and looked at Liu Lingfeng, "Just go and watch if I ask you to. Why is there so much nonsense?"
Liu Lingfeng glanced sideways at the old man, stood up and went to the door.
Xu Dechang looked at Lu Ziqian with a kind face, "If you have anything to say to Grandpa Xu, just say it, I'm listening."
Lu Ziqian blinked his eyes like black grapes and looked at Xu Dechang, "Grandpa Xu, can you take me away from here?"
Xu Dechang thought Lu Ziqian was afraid of injections and didn't want to stay in the hospital. "The nurse aunt won't give you injections. It's just that you fainted and need to be kept in the hospital for observation."
"No." Lu Ziqian shook his head, his soft black short hair naturally sweeping left and right on the white pillow, "I mean leaving the Lu family and leaving the capital."
Xu Dechang was a little surprised, "Why do you want to leave? Don't you like it here?"
Lu Ziqian lowered his eyes, his face was lonely and sad. He was silent for a long time and said softly: "I will miss my mother here."
There was a look of pity in Xu Dechang's eyes.
Lu Ziqian raised his eyes and looked at Xu Dechang, his eyes were misty, and his tone was begging, "Grandpa Xu, can you take me away? I beg you."
"Okay." Xu Dechang nodded in agreement. He would agree to whatever his grandson's request was.
The next day, Lu Ziqian was discharged from the hospital and returned to the Lu family. Xu Dechang told Lu Jinshen and Tong Qiao what Lu Ziqian meant.
Lu Ziqian was originally Xu Dechang's grandson and a bloodline of the Xu family. Now Xu Dechang offered to take him away, and he himself asked to leave. Although Lu Jinshen was reluctant to let go, he had no reason to stay.