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"Dad, you...," Xu Nancheng stammered, clearly at a loss for words as he stared wide-eyed at his father. He didn't dare look at the girl; he had never really made eye contact with a girl before, and he thought it would definitely be awkward.
"Exactly, Xu! Are you joking?" Lin Zhen echoed, her face filled with disbelief as she tried to comfort herself with a laugh. It was certainly surprising; their lives were going just fine when suddenly a girl appeared wanting to stay in their home. Who wouldn't be shocked?
"Oh, it's my fault for not discussing this with you beforehand! This child grew up in the Guangcheng orphanage, and since that place has closed down, she slipped out during the relocation discussions about fostering her in our home," Xu Wenzhao explained, clearly rambling. But there was some truth to it; after all, the closure of the Guangcheng orphanage was an undeniable fact. Although Lin Menghan wasn't from there, her background remained unclear to everyone, and she wasn't keen on sharing it either. However, after observing and investigating for a few days, they found nothing particularly noteworthy about her—she was just an ordinary child who had initially been slated for fostering at Ying Cheng orphanage but insisted on coming to Xu Wenzhao's home instead. After discussions at the bureau, they allowed her to stay with them.
"Come here!" Lin Zhen pulled Xu Wenzhao onto the balcony and glanced back before whispering, "What's going on? Is she okay? And why did you bring her here directly? You should have consulted me first! Do you even remember that I’m your wife?"
Xu Wenzhao felt a headache coming on from her barrage of questions but patiently replied, "Oh dear, do you still not trust me? Of course I have you in mind! After observing for these few days, we found that Lin Menghan is a good kid! You can rest assured about that! I admit it was a bit hasty of me to bring her over without consulting the family first, but... hey, I still believe my wife will accept this!" As he spoke, Xu Wenzhao began to ramble again.
"Well! I think the child seems fine," Lin Zhen said as she looked over at Lin Menghan, who was sitting neatly on the sofa, behaving well and occasionally nibbling on snacks. After a moment of contemplation, she continued, "Since it's arranged by the bureau, I suppose that's acceptable! I trust them!" After another pause for thought, she asked, "But what about... the foster care fees?"
"Oh come on! The fees will definitely be covered by them!" Xu Wenzhao flicked Lin Zhen's forehead playfully.
"True! So does that mean we’re getting a daughter for free?" Lin Zhen chimed in.
"Well, if you put it that way—seems like that's how it is!" Xu Wenzhao replied.
Xu Nancheng interjected, "??? Are you guys abandoning me?" He felt hurt.
Lin Menghan nearly burst out laughing upon hearing this and quickly covered her mouth with her small hand. She thought to herself how amusing it was to see this side of Nancheng. The couple turned their heads at the same time to see Xu Nancheng standing beside them.
"Hey! What are you thinking? How could we possibly not want you?" Xu Wenzhao laughed as he patted his shoulder.
A few moments later, they all returned to the living room and sat together.
"Ahem... so Lin Menghan! You’ll be staying with us from now on! Just treat this as your own home! We are your family," Lin Zhen said after clearing her throat strategically.
Upon hearing this, Lin Menghan visibly brightened up; her eyes sparkled with joy and an uncontainable smile spread across her face. The Xu family were all kind-hearted people; otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken in someone they barely knew—no amount of persuasion from the city government would have changed their minds otherwise.
"Thank you, Uncle and Auntie! Thank you, Nancheng!" Lin Menghan quickly expressed her gratitude as she stood up.
Xu Nancheng merely nodded awkwardly as if he were the guest instead.
"Look at you, Lin Menghan! We said it's your home now! Why are you being so formal?" Lin Zhen responded quickly.
"Okay!" With that said, Lin Menghan popped a strawberry-flavored candy into her mouth.
Xu Wenzhao then turned to Xu Nancheng and said, "Nancheng, Lin Menghan is just two months younger than you. From now on at home, you're going to be the big brother! Show some responsibility! Don’t bully your little sister!"
Xu Nancheng felt frustrated; he didn’t even have the courage to talk to girls much less bully one. But he still managed to say something agreeable.
"Then... Nancheng! Uncle and Auntie! Please take care of me!" Lin Menghan immediately chimed in.
Xu Nancheng thought: Does anyone understand what it's like? Now I've got an extra sister living here while I'm just trying to recover from my hospital stay! But having a sister might not be so bad; perhaps life would become more exciting and interesting. Little did he know that this girl's presence would completely change his life forever.
Lin Zhen and Xu Wenzhao prepared a guest room for Lin Menghan in their home; it was one of their spare rooms but still quite nice.
"Alright then! You two chat for now; we need to get back to work!" Xu Wenzhao said as they had only taken leave from work temporarily due to Xu Nancheng’s hospitalization. Now that everything was settled for them both at home, they needed to return.
After they left, only the two of them remained awkwardly standing together in silence—the atmosphere became unusually heavy and tense.
"Um... so... you're Lin Menghan right?... Do you want to watch some TV? The remote is over there," he stuttered while pointing towards the remote control on the table. His face turned beet red as if it had been cooked like an apple; he felt as though his cheeks were burning from embarrassment. He hurriedly turned away as if trying to escape this awkward situation.
He had always been shy—especially when alone with a girl—feeling immense psychological pressure. If this weren’t his own home, he might have bolted out the door by now.
Seeing him so bashful made Lin Menghan's heart flutter: So Nancheng can be this shy too... how cute!
However, she quickly realized she shouldn’t be thinking like that and shook her head vigorously while muttering to herself: No no no! I can't think like that! Regardless of anything else though, the current situation was indeed awkward; she needed to find a way to help him overcome his shyness so he could be more confident and open around her.
"So... Nancheng... where are you planning to go?" Lin Menghan smiled brightly as she tried to break the silence.
Hearing that clear and lively voice behind him sent Xu Nancheng’s heart racing; he couldn’t even respond properly—just clicked his tongue nervously and swallowed hard before choosing to flee instead.
Watching him act so bashfully reminded Lin Menghan of an innocent young girl who had never experienced much of life; she decided not to disturb him further but simply watched as he moved aside quietly and began flipping through some books.
Meanwhile, she wandered around the room like a curious little deer peeking here and there—perhaps trying to familiarize herself with her new surroundings? However, after exploring every corner of the house for only a few minutes without paying much attention to detail—it wasn’t long before she lazily flopped onto the soft sofa with both hands propping up her adorable face while gazing intently at Xu Nancheng who was deeply engrossed in his studies. Her small feet rhythmically tapped against the sofa in boredom.
What should I do? This is so boring! Should I go ask Nancheng if he wants to play? But remembering how shy he was earlier made her hesitate: Would he really want to play with me?
Oh dear—I never expected Nancheng would act like this around girls!
Pouting slightly in disappointment as frustration showed clearly on her face—she thought: Fine then! I’ll just watch TV alone quietly; even if I try talking to him first maybe he won’t want anything to do with me anyway... sob sob...
After contemplating all this in her mind, she sat up straight again and turned on the television only to flip through several channels without finding anything interesting...
This is utterly boring!
Forget it—I must go find Nancheng and play with him!
With that thought in mind, Lin Menghan took a deep breath for courage before striding confidently towards where Xu Nancheng sat. She carefully approached him while bending slightly forward until her head peeked over his desk where she noticed him studying intently. Just then Xu Nancheng suddenly sensed that the light around him seemed dimmer than before. Confused by this change in atmosphere he looked up only to lock eyes with Lin Menghan who was standing right there close by.
In that instant an indescribable feeling of discomfort washed over him like a tidal wave leaving him flustered and unsure of what to do next. He quickly lowered his gaze trying desperately not to reveal his inner turmoil.
On the other side however Lin Menghan couldn’t help but smile brightly upon seeing his reaction and softly asked: "Nancheng, what are you doing?"
Her sweet voice seemed capable of melting hearts.
Yet at that moment Xu Nancheng could no longer suppress his thoughts; he felt that being called "Nancheng" sounded too intimate coming from someone he barely knew—it felt strange and even quite embarrassing. So he stammered out an answer: "Oh um… I'm just… reading. School starts soon so I'm getting ahead… um… also could you not call me so intimately? It feels kind of weird."
As soon as those words left his mouth Lin Menghan’s radiant smile froze instantly leaving her completely stunned.
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