Linlin reluctantly agreed.
Lin Zhilan gave Su Lang a look. "You take the baby downstairs first."
Su Lang picked up his daughter.
Linlin leaned forward and planted a kiss on her mother's cheek. "Love you, Mommy."
Su Lang also gave Lin Zhilan a gentle kiss on her other cheek. "Love you, wifey."
"Shame on you~" Linlin covered her eyes and giggled.
The couple never shied away from showing their affection in front of the two children.
Holding hands and kissing each other on the forehead were everyday occurrences in their home.
Gentle, stable, and intimate interactions between parents did far more to raise grounded, confident, and emotionally stable children than any amount of preaching.
It was also the source of a child's sense of security.
Lin Zhilan shot Su Lang a playful glare and poked her daughter's forehead. "You little rascal, go downstairs and play with Daddy."
Su Lang gave Lin Zhilan a slight nod and carried their daughter downstairs.
Only then did Lin Zhilan knock on the door. "Chengzhou, can Auntie come in and chat for a bit?"
There was no sound from inside.
Lin Zhilan waited for a moment before adding, "If you want to be alone for a while, Auntie will go downstairs first."
As soon as she finished speaking, the door clicked open.
"Auntie..."
Jiang Chengzhou stood behind the door, looking gloomy.
Lin Zhilan guided him in by the shoulders and closed the door behind them.
"Auntie, I..."
Jiang Chengzhou wanted to say it was fine, that he was just a little bit unhappy.
Lin Zhilan interrupted him with a smile, "Chengzhou, do you know your grandpa's name?"
"Huh?"
Jiang Chengzhou's train of thought was derailed, his eyes looking a bit dazed.
Lin Zhilan spoke softly, as if sharing a secret, "Jiang Jinzhu. Jin as in gold, and zhu as in pillar."
Seeing that his aunt was interested, Jiang Chengzhou told her something else.
"His son is named Jiang Yinzhu."
Lin Zhilan: "..."
The aunt and nephew stared at each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.
Lin Zhilan rubbed his buzz cut. "Thank your mom, otherwise you would've been named Tiezhu."
Jiang Chengzhou pouted. "I wouldn't be called Tiezhu."
Jiang Chengzhou still remembered his grandpa.
When he was little, Jiang Jinzhu doted on him a lot.
His mother was in poor health, so it was often his grandpa who took care of him.
He would let him ride on his shoulders and take him out to play on the streets.
But later, his dad married a new wife.
That lady said grandpa was old and didn't have the energy to take care of a child, and that his dad married her just so she could take care of him.
How old was Jiang Chengzhou back then?
Since his stepmother said so, he believed it.
Later still, the lady gave birth to a little brother.
His grandpa came to visit and even held the little brother.
Before leaving, he told him to listen to his dad and the lady.
Jiang Chengzhou didn't understand anything.
Why did the lady who had been so good to him suddenly change her attitude after getting pregnant and having a baby?
His dad was the same, only telling him to take care of the lady and the little brother.
Jiang Chengzhou didn't understand. He thought his grandpa had come to save him.
But instead, his grandpa also told him to listen to his dad and the lady.
Jiang Chengzhou had felt somewhat desperate at the time.
Later, when his uncle took him away, his grandpa came looking for him at his maternal grandma's house.
It was Jiang Chengzhou himself who refused to go with him, insisting on staying with his uncle.
Now he was older.
His childhood memories were no longer clear, but he more or less understood what had actually happened back then.
His grandpa probably really didn't know how his dad and the lady were treating him back then, but Jiang Chengzhou was no longer the little boy who longed for his grandpa to save him.
Previously, when they were on the island, Grandpa Zhuang had mentioned several times that his grandpa wanted to take him back.
Jiang Chengzhou didn't want to.
So, rather than resentment or disappointment, the first thing that surfaced in Jiang Chengzhou's heart when he saw his grandpa was fear.
He was afraid his grandpa would snatch him back.
"Auntie, I'll be more obedient from now on," Jiang Chengzhou said, looking at Lin Zhilan with wide eyes, tears welling up.
Lin Zhilan's nose stung. She pretended to glare at him. "If you're too obedient, it makes us parents feel like we have no sense of achievement, okay?"
Jiang Chengzhou didn't quite understand.
Didn't adults all like obedient and sensible children?
Lin Zhilan said, "Parents also need to feel needed."
"Hmm..." She thought for a moment before continuing, "Having someone need you proves that you are important, useful, and irreplaceable. If you are too sensible and independent, and you don't need me, Auntie will truly be sad."
Jiang Chengzhou somewhat understood. "If my little sister didn't let me play with her, I would be sad too."
"Exactly, that's the logic." Lin Zhilan nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject. "However, little Chengzhou, isn't it actually you who doesn't want to play with your little sister?"
Jiang Chengzhou was much more lively on the island than in the capital.
He was practically the king of the kids.
His favorite game was playing war, and bringing a little kid like Linlin along was not convenient at all.
Jiang Chengzhou would either dump his sister on Yan Yuan and Li Xuan, or have Qiangzi bring Nannan over so Nannan could keep Linlin company.
In short, he always had a way to shake off his little sister.
Jiang Chengzhou scratched his head. "Auntie, you knew?"
"I've known for a long time," Lin Zhilan said in mock exasperation. "Did you think you hid it well?"
"Are you angry then?"
Lin Zhilan shook her head. "I'm not angry. Chengzhou, your sister is my and your uncle's responsibility, not yours. When you usually take her out to play, you are helping us, but it's not your obligation."
Children have their own circles of friends too.
Older kids play with older kids.
Little kids play with little kids.
The games Jiang Chengzhou played weren't suitable for a kid as small as Linlin yet.
It was completely normal that he didn't want to bring his sister along to play.
However...
Lin Zhilan looked at her eldest nephew. "If you don't want to play with your sister, why did you push her onto Yan Yuan and Li Xuan? They want to go play too."
Jiang Chengzhou rolled his eyes around. "Li Xuan just wants to read, and Yan Yuan doesn't like playing."
Lin Zhilan knew Li Xuan liked reading, but...
"How do you know Yan Yuan doesn't like playing?"
Jiang Chengzhou put his hands behind his back. "I just know."
Jiang Chengzhou was a fiercely doting brother. Whatever Linlin wanted to do, even if his uncle and aunt didn't allow it, he would secretly take her to do it.
But Yan Yuan wouldn't.
Jiang Chengzhou knew Yan Yuan envied him for having a little sister.
But Jiang Chengzhou wasn't afraid that Yan Yuan would steal Linlin away.
Because Yan Yuan would keep Linlin in check.
He wouldn't let her eat a whole popsicle, nor would he let her climb on rocks...
When faced with his sister's requests and feeling conflicted, Jiang Chengzhou would push Yan Yuan forward.
Yan Yuan was very principled; if he said no, he meant no.
Sometimes he would even make Linlin angry.
Jiang Chengzhou was very satisfied with this.
Not only did someone help him manage his sister, but his sister wouldn't blame him either.
"Auntie, don't worry. I didn't bully Yan Yuan; he did it voluntarily."
Lin Zhilan sighed.
They were all just children. Even if the book was written that way, Lin Zhilan wasn't crazy enough to lock down a son-in-law right now.
But there was also no reason to let someone else take care of her daughter for free.
"Chengzhou, next time if you don't want to play with your little sister, just bring her to the traditional Chinese medicine department, okay?"
