Hearing Fu Huai'an call for her, Lin Nuan turned her head. She saw that Fu Huai'an was standing at the foot of the stairs, gazing at her deeply as he said, "Take Tuan Tuan upstairs first…"
Lin Nuan stared at Fu Huai'an, perplexed. Seeing that he wasn't about to explain, she nodded and lifted Tuan Tuan up.
Not wanting to scare the kid, Lin Nuan smiled and said, "Shall we go upstairs and continue the puzzle?"
The little one hesitated for a moment and then bargained with Lin Nuan. He poked his chubby little face with a fat finger and said softly, looking a little embarrassed, "Kiss kiss…"
Lin Nuan beamed and planted a kiss on Tuan Tuan's face. The little one shyly circled his arms around Lin Nuan's neck, nestling his face on Lin Nuan's shoulder with his legs dangling.
A servant helped put away the puzzle pieces that were strewn all over the floor and followed behind Lin Nuan.
Sensing an unfathomable deepness in Fu Huai'an's smiling eyes, Lin Nuan was a bit worried. When she got upstairs, she turned her head back and gazed in Fu Huai'an's direction. She saw Cen Mo come in through the door.
Lin Nuan thought about how Cen Mo was Lu Xiangsi's older brother, which caused her to subconsciously tighten her embrace around Tuan Tuan as she entered the room.
Downstairs.
When Cen Mo entered, he saw the drone that Fu Huai'an asked someone to bring in. There was a devilish smile on his well-defined and handsome face, and his eyes looked deep.
He stood with his hands in his pockets as his vision shifted from the drone… to the mature and steady man at the foot of the stairs.
"You contacted me to retrieve some trash?" Cen Mo spoke, his voice sounding cold despite carrying a hint of a smile.
"The owner of the trash is the one who has to take it back!" Fu Huai'an walked towards Cen Mo, his voice calm, making one unable to detect his emotions.
"That's right… the drone belongs to me!" Cen Mo admitted to it in a forthright manner.
"The reason?" Fu Huai'an raised a hand, indicating for Cen Mo to walk towards the living room, not looking urgent or mad.
A servant brought Cen Mo and Fu Huai'an tea, then sensibly exited the room. Now, only Fu Huai'an and Cen Mo were left in the living room on the first floor.
"Fu Tuan Tuan is the child of Jiang Ming'an and my younger sister. I want to take the child away!" Cen Mo raised his teacup, blowing at the hot steam rising from the cup. "But considering blood ties, you're Jiang Ming'an's older brother, and you have raised Tuan Tuan for so many years, so I'm afraid it won't be so easy for me to take him away. Hence, I want to make some preparations!"
"You can't take Tuan Tuan away for the time being…" Fu Huai'an said to Cen Mo. "But as Tuan Tuan's uncle, if Tuan Tuan is willing, there's no problem with you taking him to stay at your place for a few days!"
Cen Mo perhaps hadn't seen this coming from Fu Huai'an. He thought that Fu Huai'an might even refuse to let him see Tuan Tuan, fearing his identity would be a bad influence on Tuan Tuan.
After remaining silent for a while, Cen Mo said, "I heard that back when the Lu house was being sealed, you entered the Lu house to help Xiangsi retrieve her violin. You also conveniently took away some of my things, which were left behind by my deceased mother."
"I didn't take them away conveniently. Auntie's diary was in Xiangsi's violin case to begin with. It was only after I took the violin away from the Lu house that I realized it!" Fu Huai'an admitted to it. "But I didn't give the diary to Xiangsi, and neither did I peek at it myself. If you need it, I can get someone to retrieve it for you!"
Lu Xiangsi's mother's diary was placed in the attic of Uncle Blessing and Aunt Blessing's residence.
Cen Mo looked at Fu Huai'an, feeling that he had been too petty-minded in his judgment of Fu Huai'an previously, so he said to Fu Huai'an, "Sorry, I thought that I would have to argue and haggle with you over Tuan Tuan's matter. Moreover, Haicheng is your territory, so I had to be prepared!"
Fu Huai'an nodded as he raised his teacup and took a sip, looking as if he truly didn't mind.
The atmosphere was better than Cen Mo had anticipated before coming. He casually asked, "How long until I can get back my mother's belongings?"
"Tomorrow…"
Cen Mo nodded. "Regardless of whether you took care of Xiangsi out of love, I remember this debt of gratitude towards you. Regarding Tuan Tuan, although you might feel it's unnecessary, I still want to thank you for saving the child from Iraq!"
Cen Mo paused for a moment, then added, "And also thank Lin Nuan for shielding Tuan Tuan despite the danger of death in Iraq! When others reprimanded her, she still took care of Tuan Tuan's feelings and didn't reveal his parentage, even though he's not her biological child!"
"I'll pass on the message for you!" Fu Huai'an spoke calmly, then continued after setting down his teacup and raising his head, "If you're truly thankful to Lin Nuan, next week, Lin Nuan will be going to Morocco to shoot a movie. She'll be in your territory then, so I'll hand her safety to you…"
Cen Mo sensed that Fu Huai'an had called him over for this matter. He smiled and nodded. "Okay, don't worry. No one will dare to seek trouble with Lin Nuan in Morocco."
The corners of Fu Huai'an's lips turned up, a hint of a smile in his deep-set and dark eyes. Cen Mo was also wearing a smile, looking like he was in a pleasant mood as he stood up and buttoned his suit jacket. He said, "I'll leave the drone here as a present for Tuan Tuan. I'm leaving…"
"I'll get my assistant to deliver your mother's diary to you tomorrow!" Fu Huai'an remained unmoving on the sofa, with one hand resting on the armrest.
"Many thanks!"
Their conversation went more smoothly than Fu Huai'an had anticipated. Fu Huai'an watched as Cen Mo left, then sat on the sofa for a while longer before standing up and heading upstairs.
…
Lin Nuan received the schedule for the recording of "Talking with Lin Nuan" at Jinjiang TV Station at the last minute last night. She then called You Nainai to come over and pick her up the next morning.
When Lin Nuan saw You Nainai's incoming call early that morning, she had thought that You Nainai wasn't coming. But who knew, You Nainai was calling to ask Lin Nuan if she could bring Little Candy to the Fu residence, to let Little Candy play with Tuan Tuan.
Early in the morning, when You Nainai was setting off to pick up Lin Nuan, Little Candy was sticking to her like glue and insisting on tagging along to the Fu residence with her, saying that she wanted to go to the hospital with Tuan Tuan to visit Yun Liuli. You Nainai had thrashed the kid, but it didn't work—the little one insisted on going with her to look for Tuan Tuan.
Seeing the tears and snot on the little one's face as she hugged You Nainai's leg and gazed at her with those large and watery eyes, Little Candy's granny took out her feather duster and threatened You Nainai, telling her to call Lin Nuan… She said that so long as You Nainai asked, even if Lin Nuan refused her request, she wouldn't blame You Nainai. Otherwise, she would give You Nainai's butt a good smack.
You Nainai had no choice. Her mother had high blood pressure, and she was afraid that making the elderly woman angry might have repercussions on her health. Therefore, she could only call Lin Nuan.
Lin Nuan smiled and acceded to her request. "Bring Little Candy along! With me not around at home, Tuan Tuan doesn't even have a playmate. In the future, if Little Candy wishes to come over, just bring her here. That way, the two kids can keep each other company!"
After hanging up the call, Lin Nuan bunched her long hair up, then bent over and scooped water to pat on her face, washing up simply. The phone she set down beside the sink then rang again.
Lin Nuan drew two tissues to wipe her face, then picked up her phone and saw that it was from a foreign-looking number. She put the call through…
"Did Song Yao contact you?"
Cen Mo's somber voice could be heard over the phone.