Jiang Xun carried Mu Mu as he faced Gu Qingyao with a forced smile. “This… Elder Sister Gu, Mu Mu has recovered. I… I should bring them back! We have been here for many days and we’ve imposed on you.”
“Thank you for treating Mu Mu. I… I’ll bring him home now!”
Jiang Xun was carrying Mu Mu in his arms and the latter leaned his head on Jiang Xun’s shoulders. When he heard that, his eyes reddened.
He looked at Gu Qingyao for a long time. “Elder Sister Gu, goodbye! I… I’m going home. I’ll come visit you again. Will you please teach me to write then?”
Mu Mu could not bear to leave Gu Qingyao. In his short life, Gu Qingyao was the first woman to have treated him so well.
Young children instinctively longed for their mothers, and he had been motherless since he was young.
He had met Gu Yunshuang once, but she had not taken care of him. She had only given the brothers some food and old clothes.
Even then, she had handed everything to his older brother, Jiang Xun. He had only seen Gu Yunshuang once. He was grateful to her and knew that she was their benefactor, but he was not attached to her.
But Gu Qingyao was different. She had taken care of him, carried him around, and they had shared a bed. At night, he had slept in the warmth of Gu Qingyao’s embrace. He thought that they could stay for a while more but had not expected that circumstances would not permit him to do so.
The Mo family might not want him. Even if he joined the Mo family, Elder Sister Gu would have to suffer, or they would not be able to raise so many children.
He did not want Elder Sister Gu to suffer, or for her to dislike him.
So he had no choice but to go home with his older brothers.
Jiang Jing stood next to Jiang Xun. He looked at Gu Qingyao for a long time. At that moment, he was desperately envious of Mo Chengrui and Mo Chengxu.
So what if they had no parents?
They had a grandmother, a young uncle and a gentle young aunt.
No matter how hard the Mo family had it, their younger uncle would support them and their young aunt would not despise them. Instead, she took care of them as if they were her sons. They were so fortunate.
He also wanted to stay, but he knew that he and his brother were burdens. The Mo family could not afford to raise them.
Gu Qingyao inwardly sighed as she looked at the children. The children of these times were just too smart and sensitive. They were too… mature!
They had fled from their home and drifted here and there since they were young. They had no adults to take care of them and they often went hungry. They might starve to death at any moment. Now they knew that they might have relatives and a family. Any normal child would cling to that and insist on staying so that they could have a family.
But these children wanted to leave?
They were so mature that her heart ached!
Gu Qingyao smiled. She reached out and took Mu Mu into her arms. “What’s the matter? Are you unhappy here? Why do you want to go? Mu Mu has not yet regained his health. It’s so cold now; how are you going to take care of him when you get home?”
Jiang Xun lowered his head and did not say anything.
When Gu Qingyao took Mu Mu into her arms, his two little arms locked around Gu Qingyao’s neck. He did not say anything but sniffed as he laid his head on Gu Qingyao’s shoulder. He was heartbroken!
Gu Qingyao sighed as she glanced at the children. “I didn’t expect you to be so sensitive!”
She said to the children, “All right, don’t let your imaginations run wild. Since you’ve already guessed, I might as well speak bluntly. I suspect that you might be related to the Mo family, but I’m not sure and it’s not my place to investigate either. When your uncle gets back, he can decide what to do!
“He will be back soon. He should be home within the next three days. We can talk about it then. Meanwhile, you should just stay here. We must continue to look after Mu Mu’s health.”