However, Qin Yiren’s plan went to ruin before it even started.

Lu Chenjun, of course, wouldn’t wear the cute pink and white bunny suit, especially since the fluffy garment also had two manually operated little ears on it. When one pinched the plush balls in front of the clothes, the ears would stand up.

After putting the hat on the head, one would transform into a human bunny.

So cute that Xu Youyou couldn’t wait to play with the costume as soon as she laid her eyes on it.

Alright, since that’s the case, Qin Yiren could only express regret. If bunnies wouldn’t do, how about cats?

Lu Chenjun: “No……”

Qin Yiren immediately lowered her head, revealing a lonely expression. “Is it really not possible? But this was designed by Mom herself, and I really want to see Juanjuan wear it.”

Lu Chenjun: “……Fine .”

A certain curly boy turned his face and looked expressionlessly at the happy Xu family mother and daughter playing dress-up. His mom must have learned this trick from Aunt Xu!

Aunt Xu and Xiao Lu are indeed mother and daughter!

———pr

On Halloween, the kindergarten was naturally adorned with many decorations. Xu Youyou and Lu Chenjun appeared in front of their little friends wearing animal costumes designed by Qin Yiren herself.

After discovering the ‘little mechanism’ in the clothes, several children’s eyes lit up!

Moving bunny ears! How cute!

Xu Youyou was immediately surrounded by the girls, all eager to come up and touch this adorable little bunny.

And Lu Chenjun’s black and white cat costume had the same mechanism, except instead of bunny ears, there were two upright cat ears. Once the switch was activated, they would transform into airplane ears just like a kitten’s.

When pressed down, if gave off an aggrieved look, complementing Lu Chenjun’s ‘serious’ face, making it even more appropriate!

This inspiration was indeed taken by Qin Yiren from Niannian, and now it seemed perfect for him.

That’s right, initially in Qin Yiren’s design, she did intend to give the bunny to Youyou and the cat to Juanjuan.

But then she thought, what if Juanjuan refused like he did last year?

So the cunning adult came up with a psychological tactic.

She first tested with the bunny, then proposed the cat. Sure enough, Lu Chenjun fell for it.

Look how well her son looked in the cat outfit!

If Lu Chenjun had agreed from the start, that would have been even better. Both children were so adorable that no matter which outfit they wore, their cuteness would be doubled.

Qin Yiren and Xu Wenyin were like two fanatics, crazily taking pictures of their two children before they left the school in the morning.

Xu Youyou was very cooperative, making heart gestures and victory signs, but Lu Chenjun was not having it.

He had a poker face the whole time as if someone owed him five million.

However, even with such an expression, wearing such adorable clothes, the contrast was kind of cute.

In kindergarten, Lu Chenjun received just as much attention as Xu Youyou.

Previously, because of his intimidating appearance and his unusual curly hair, children admired him with a hint of awe.

It could be said that among the five children, the ones who would actively come to play with Lu Chenjun were the fewest.

However, today, just by wearing a different set of clothes, they completely forgot those impressions, curiously surrounding Lu Chenjun, and some even eagerly wanting to try it out.

“Lu Chenjun, your mom is so amazing, she can even make clothes!”

They learned from Xu Youyou that these two sets of clothes weren’t available for sale anywhere; they were both handmade by Juanjuan’s mother.

“Lu Chenjun, why is your hair curly?” This came from a bold and curious child taking advantage of the crowd.

“Lu Chenjun, why aren’t you speaking?”

If one child equals a hundred ducks, then Lu Chenjun now felt like he was surrounded by five hundred ducks, prompting the normally quiet him to directly walk over to Xu Youyou, who was surrounded by another group of children.

“Ask her if you have any questions!”

Compared to Lu Chenjun, Xu Youyou was completely a little social expert.

She’s cute, cheerful, and lively. Not just adults, but also the other children love playing with Xu Youyou.

She didn’t get impatient when facing classmates curious about her clothes. She answered all the questions she could earnestly. But she didn’t expect that she would also have to answer questions for Juanjuan as well!

Looking at Lu Chenjun ‘hiding’ behind her, Xu Youyou inexplicably felt a surge of protective instinct towards him, seeing him as pitiful, innocent, and vulnerable.

She immediately patted her chest and said, “That’s right, just ask me~”

Juanjuan! Youyou will protect you!

———pr

When the children sat down for lunch, the highlight of the day came.

Trick or Treat!

This had become a traditional activity in this kindergarten.

Every Halloween, the kindergarten and the residents of a nearby neighborhood reached an agreement early on. As long as there were pumpkin decorations provided by the kindergarten hanging on the doors, children could knock and ask for candy.

It’s also to develop children’s social skills. This event has been held for several years now, and the results have always been positive.

In addition, quite a few elderly people were living alone in the neighboring community who were usually lonely and looked forward to this day.

Under the guidance of the teachers, children from each class lined up carefully and made their way through a street to reach the said neighborhood.

The security guard at the entrance was already accustomed to this activity and warmly greeted the children. He eagerly took out candies and gave each of them one as a gesture of welcome.

“Thank you~ Uncle~”

Listening to the sweet and innocent words of thanks, the security guard’s face broke into a wide grin.

Once inside the neighborhood, following the children’s preferences, they split into several groups of two or three and headed towards the building that the teachers had arranged in advance.

Xu Youyou and the other four naturally formed a group together.

They were assigned to Building 3, where it was said that several units were occupied by elderly people living alone, hoping that the visit of the children would bring them a little joy.

Since Xu Youyou and her friends were participating in this activity for the first time, the accompanying teacher escorted them to the door of the first household on the second floor, then quickly descended the stairs and hid on the middle landing, gesturing encouragement to the five children before withdrawing from view.

The five children stood in front of the door, exchanging looks with each other.

Even though they had all planned their opening lines and gestures on the way there, now that they were about to face a completely unfamiliar elderly person, Liu Miaomiao and the others couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

“Miaomiao, didn’t you say you were going to knock on the door?” Qian Xin took a step back. “You go ahead, I’ll cheer you on!”

Liu Miaomiao: “……”

She glanced at the brick-red door in front of her and extended her small hand to knock, but hesitated for three seconds before taking a step back as well.

Facing her friends’ gazes, Liu Miaomiao put on a brave front. “I’m dressed too scary today, what if I frighten them?!”

Liu Miaomiao didn’t dress up as Elsa as she initially planned. She felt there were too many children dressed that way and she naturally wanted to be unique.

After much thought, Mother Liu finally dressed Liu Miaomiao up as a little witch with lightning patterns painted on her face and a pointed hat on her head!

To stand out from the other children, Liu Miaomiao’s hat and clothes were printed with scary skulls.

Most children would probably be scared by such a pattern, but Liu Miaomiao liked it a lot.

And her little friends, with equally discerning tastes, thought it was ‘cool’ just like her!

However, this cool little witch, at the moment, clearly wasn’t doing anything cool.

In the end, it was Xu Youyou who bravely stepped forward.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

As the knocking stopped, the sound of the door opening quickly followed.

“Trick-or-treat! Give us candy, give us candy~”

As the door opened, the five children spoke in unison, with Xu Youyou even sticking up her ‘bunny ears’ and hopping in place a couple of times.

“Hahaha.” The one who opened the door was an elderly lady with graying hair and a kind face. She looked to be around eighty years old. “Here you go, here you go. Such cute little bunny.”

The elderly lady smiled warmly as she reached into the bag she was holding and handed a handful of candies to Xu Youyou. Then, one by one, she distributed candies to each child based on their distance from her.

When she saw Lu Chenjun, the elderly lady even complimented him with a smile, saying he was adorable and resembled her pet cat, Mimi.

Lu Chenjun: “……Thank you.”

The first house was successfully dealt with, and under the encouragement of their teacher, Xu Youyou and the others quickly made their way to the fourth floor.

This time, Liu Miaomiao seemed to have gained confidence and took the initiative to step forward and knock on the door.

“Creak—”

As the door opened, it was accompanied by an impatient “Who is it?”

The voice was rough and powerful, clearly that of an adult man.

The prepared greetings suddenly stuck in their throats as the children saw that the door was opened by a burly man with a furrowed brow, looking stern and serious, which startled them.

After all, the man’s image really didn’t resemble that of…… a good person. He had large tattoos covering much of his body, a fierce gaze, and a muscular physique.

Standing in front of the children, he looked like a small mountain.

What’s more, the man’s right arm appeared like it was missing, as if…… he only had one arm.

“What do you want?”

Seeing the door being knocked on by five oddly dressed children, the man asked again in a gruff voice. It wasn’t clear if it was due to a congenital condition, but he almost sounded like he was cursing.

Liu Miaomiao at the front slightly trembled. It was an instinctive bodily reaction and beyond her control.

Lu Chenjun even pulled Xu Youyou over, seemingly ready to run if things didn’t look right.

The teacher was waiting for them downstairs on the first floor. If they shouted ‘help’ loudly enough, she should be able to hear them.

“W-we are……” Xu Youyou was about to speak up to explain when the voice of an elderly person came from behind the man.

“Are those the children?” The voice sounded from a distance and then drew closer. Then, with a push, the man was shoved aside, revealing the elderly person’s face.

It was another elderly lady, who also looked very kind.

“Sorry, sorry, were you scared?” The elderly lady lowered her voice. “Don’t be afraid, Children. Uncle here isn’t a bad person, he just looks like one.”

“Mom, what are you doing?” The man frowned and continued speaking, “What are these little kids up to?”

The grandmother gave her son a stern look, then turned back to Xu Youyou and the others with a gentle expression. “I’ve got the candies all ready. Just wait a moment, okay? Grandma will go fetch them right away.”

She happened to be in the bathroom just now, and when she heard her son’s voice, her first reaction was that the children had arrived.

The old lady also knew her son’s demeanor well, so she hurried over, forgetting to bring the candy with her.

“Grandma, we’re not in a hurry.” Xu Youyou said with a cute smile. “Take your time~”

“Alright, alright.” The grandmother smiled and patted Xu Youyou’s bunny ears before turning around. As she did, she shot her son another glare. “Don’t stand here, you’re scaring the children.”

Man: “……”

After the old lady finished speaking, she immediately headed towards the bedroom without paying attention to her son.

The man leaned against the door frame, his sharp gaze sweeping over each of the five children one by one.

But given his height, if the children didn’t look up, all he could see were their hats and the tops of their heads.

Silence……

Liu Miaomiao couldn’t help but grab onto the hem of Xu Youyou’s clothes, avoiding eye contact with the man completely. She even faintly heard a “tsk” sound in her ear.

Liu Miaomiao: “QAQ!”

So scary! So scary! Mom, I want to go home!

Not only did the man look intimidating, but his aura was also not normal. Coupled together, he was the typical example that could easily be used to scare children.

“Uncle.” it was Xu Youyou. She took out two candies from her little bag. “Youyou will give you candy. Please don’t scare us, okay?”

Though initially startled herself, Xu Youyou had encountered various people with physical disabilities while growing up in the orphanage.

Xu Wenyin had always taught her not to judge people by their appearance, and the grandmother was also kind and said that the uncle wasn’t a bad person.

Then he probably wasn’t, right?

With that, a small, delicate hand held out two brightly colored candies, sparkling and translucent, clearly the kind that only children would like.

Then, standing on tiptoe, she held them out to the man.

The man chuckled softly. It was the first time a child had willingly offered him candy.

In the past, whenever children saw him, they either cried loudly or ran away screaming that there was a bad person.

This girl sure had some courage.

Just as he was about to say something, he noticed the curly-haired kid next to Xu Youyou staring up at him with a vigilant expression.

Not bad for such a young age, he thought, noting the kid’s sharp gaze.

Wait a minute! This appearance and hair……

Perhaps it was Lu Chenjun’s appearance that reminded the man of something, but he didn’t say anything further. Instead, he reached out and took the candy with his left hand. “Little brats.”

After a disdainful grumble, the man tore open the candy wrappers in front of the children and popped both candies into his mouth in one gulp.

“Crunch, crunch, crunch—”

The sound of him biting the candy, combined with his expression, made it seem like this was a crime scene, inexplicably tinged with a sense of horror. It was as if he wasn’t chewing candy but the children’s bones.

Liu Miaomiao and Qian Xin couldn’t help but take another step back. If it weren’t for their friends still in front, they would have wanted to run away immediately.

The man glanced at Lu Chenjun once more before finally turning around and walking away.

At that moment, the old lady arrived, smiling as she handed out candies to each of the children.

It wasn’t until they descended one floor that Qian Xin quietly exclaimed, “Ah!”

The other children turned their heads, asking what was wrong with their eyes.

Qian Xin said, “We forgot to say the words.”

Liu Yanzhi answered, “……It’s okay.”

Liu Miaomiao nodded. “Let’s hurry, let’s hurry. That man just now was so scary!”

The scariest person the children had probably seen before was the instructor at training camp, but the man just now not only looked terrifying, but when he frowned, he seemed even scarier than the instructor!

With that in mind, Liu Miaomiao looked at Xu Youyou. “You’re so brave, Youyou. I couldn’t even speak just now.”

Xu Youyou smiled sheepishly. “It’s okay, I feel like Uncle isn’t a bad person.”

She had always been sensitive to people’s emotions, and she didn’t feel uncomfortable around that uncle.

Back when she first met the Zhou couple, they were smiling brightly, but it made Xu Youyou feel very uncomfortable.

It turned out later that those two indeed weren’t good people.

“Hey!”

“Ahhh!” Liu Miaomiao and Qian Xin screamed.

Xu Youyou looked up and saw the man at the corner of the staircase above.

He appeared there at some point, and she wasn’t sure how long he had been listening.

Seeing Xu Youyou look over, their eyes met directly.

“Are you from Chunmeng^[1]Spring Bud Kindergarten?”

Not wanting to make his mother overthink, the man decided to come out and ask himself.

Xu Youyou nodded.

Her new kindergarten was indeed called Chunmeng, Xu Youyou remembered clearly.

“Is that little boy named Lu Chenjun?”

The man’s gaze shifted to Lu Chenjun beside Xu Youyou. They then heard the man let out a scoff. “Looks just like that guy, Qin Xiao.”

As soon as he said that, several children instantly showed wary looks.

They still remembered what had happened at the kindergarten before. Could this man be there to cause trouble for Juanjuan?

They shifted their feet slightly, clearly thinking of running away.

The man, observing these little movements from his vantage point, didn’t make any unnecessary gestures. He simply said to Lu Chenjun, “Tell your dad that Lao Lang^[2]Old Wolf wants to see him.”

“With your intelligence, you should be able to remember that, right?”

From his words, it was evident that he had a certain understanding of Lu Chenjun.

Lu Chenjun’s expression grew even more serious. “Who are you?”

The man replied, “Why do you care so much, Little Brat? Just take your candy and go!”

Without waiting for Lu Chenjun’s response, the man withdrew his upper body and went straight upstairs. The empty sleeve left the children with a lasting impression.

After that encounter, everyone seemed a bit distracted during the trick-or-treat activity. However, they all still managed to complete the task and harvested a lot of candy.

It could be said that they were among the few who collected the most candy in the entire kindergarten.

“Juanjuan, are you going to tell Uncle Lu?”

A few minutes before the end of the kindergarten, while waiting for their parents, Xu Youyou was the first to bring it up. Otherwise, it would be difficult to discuss this secret when their mothers arrived.

“What if he’s a bad person?” Liu Miaomiao had a very bad impression of that man. “What if he’s like Ah Momo, deliberately tricking your dad to come out and then hurting him?”

“Yeah, that’s right!” Qian Xin nodded. “Although that person seems to be missing an arm, he’s got a lot of meat on him, even more than the instructor.”

In Qian Xin’s words, meat of course referred to muscles, not fat.

Even though the man’s right arm was missing, his left arm was intact, and he had rolled up his sleeve, revealing a large tattoo. Otherwise, the children wouldn’t have been able to see it.

The man’s exposed left arm was thicker than the children’s thighs, with bulging veins running across it, making it look exceptionally powerful.

It looked like the kind of arm that could send most people calling for an ambulance with just one punch.

Liu Yanzhi felt that Lu Chenjun should tell Father Lu.

After all, Juanjuan’s dad wasn’t the same as his dad, and he cared about Juanjuan. When children couldn’t handle things on their own, it was more reassuring to leave it to adults.

Facing the worried looks of his friends, Lu Chenjun rarely voiced his thoughts, “I’m telling him. You guys don’t worry.”

Of course, Lu Chenjun had a lot of his own thoughts. For example, since the man was living with his mother, it meant he wasn’t afraid of someone checking his identity.

Another example, even though Lu Weizheng looked unreliable, Lu Chenjun still admitted that his father had some abilities.

Instead of guessing and speculating, it was better to just be straightforward.

But before telling Lu Weizheng, Lu Chenjun first told Qin Yiren.

Having his mom pass on the message would be the same, right?

———pr

Three nights later, Xu Wenyin was surprised to find that the progress bar had suddenly moved forward again, by about 10%.

But she hadn’t had a chance to do anything yet!

Xu Youyou’s life as a female protagonist of an angsty novel was like one misfortune after another. First, she was mistreated as a child, then she failed the college entrance examination, and then she attended a university in the capital where she was noticed by Lu Haoyu because of her eyes resembling those of his lost love, leading to various forms of coercion and domination.

At that time, Lu Weizheng held a high position, and since he had no son, Lu Haoyu was the only male heir of his generation of the Lu family.

Even though Lu Weizheng had an upright and incorruptible character and never engaged in illegal or disorderly conduct, many people still openly or secretly sought to curry favor with the Lu family, especially Lu Haoyu, gradually turning him into an unlawful person.

He can even do things like imprisonment!

If Lu Haoyu ever wanted to pull off something like that again, Xu Wenyin would make sure he was so busy in prison that even the sewing machines would be smoking^[3]reference to prison labor!

Setting aside those unpleasant plotlines, Xu Wenyin had been doing her best to avoid such situations wherever possible. Looking back, taking down the human traffickers prematurely seemed more like a coincidence.

After all, nobody expected that Xu Youyou would encounter the son of a local bully just by attending kindergarten. And with Lu Weizheng becoming the mayor of Jiang City, he seemed intent on taking down these local bullies.

It was the culmination of various coincidences that inevitably led to the final outcome.

It really wasn’t easy for Xu Wenyin to single out one line from all the tragic plots.

So why did it suddenly jump by 10%?

10%! This was 10%! It’s one-tenth of the progress!

She had been struggling for over a year and only reached 26%. It was Wang Yaojin’s sudden contribution that boosted her progress by 5%. Now, almost instantly, it had nearly equaled the efforts of the past six months.

Could it be that the Lu family was going bankrupt, or was Lu Haoyu in critical condition?

While pondering that question, Xu Wenyin didn’t forget to pick up Xu Youyou next door from her music class.

However, when she arrived at the Qin family’s house three minutes earlier than the end of class, she saw Qin Yiren and Lu Weizheng with gloomy expressions.

Suddenly, Xu Wenyin’s intuition kicked in, and she inexplicably thought that the sudden surge in the progress bar this time might also be related to Yiyi and her husband.

However, after being in human society for a long time, Xu Wenyin still had some common sense and didn’t take the initiative to ask.

Even when Qin Yiren immediately changed her expression, Xu Wenyin acted as if she hadn’t seen anything.

“Wenyin,” Qin Yiren forced a faint smile. “Can I take Juanjuan to stay at your place for a couple of days?”

“Ye—” Xu Wenyin’s words were just beginning.

“Yiyi!” Lu Weizheng cut in, preempting her. “I know—”

“Listen to me first!” Qin Yiren interrupted Lu Weizheng. “I’m not calm right now, and I don’t want to see you for the time being. Figure out the whole situation before coming to talk to me.”

Seeing Lu Weizheng, who seemed much more haggard after just one day, Qin Yiren felt a twinge of heartache. In reality, Lu Weizheng should be more saddened and distressed by this matter than she was.

But she really couldn’t discuss this topic calmly right now.

Qin Yiren could only give each of them time to calm down. “Juanjuan and I will be next door, you don’t have to worry.”

Upon seeing Qin Yiren with such an expression, Lu Weizheng finally stopped insisting. He just picked up his coat from the sofa, got up, and walked towards the door. “You don’t need to take Juanjuan next door, Yiyi. I’ll just stay outside for a few days.”

“Rest assured, I will give you both an explanation.”

“Even if the other person is…… In my heart, you two are the most important.”

Lu Weizheng’s figure quickly disappeared into the night, and Qin Yiren didn’t try to stop him. She knew that with Lu Weizheng’s temperament, he would definitely give them an explanation.

However, if things were really as that Lao Lang said, then the Lu family, and Lu Weiyao—!

Between the Lu family and herself, as well as Juanjuan, Lu Weizheng could only choose one!

“Yiyi?”

Seeing her good friend’s expression, which was a mix of confusion and worry, Qin Yiren humorously thought to herself that without the surname Lu, the name Qin Chenjun also seemed pretty good.

Since Lu Weizheng had already left, Qin Yiren’s earlier intention of staying at Xu Wenyin’s place for a short while naturally didn’t count anymore.

After picking up Xu Youyou, Xu Wenyin looked at Qin Yiren, who was trying to pretend everything was fine in front of the children and thought about how she had already completed one-third of the task.

It’s better to share joy and sorrow, good friends should naturally share both blessings and hardships!

Was there a way to make Qin Yiren happy?

Little angel Xu Youyou sprung into action.

“Aunt Qin, are you unhappy?”

Facing the little girl’s clear eyes, Qin Yiren wanted to say she was fine, but somehow the words just wouldn’t come out.

She turned her head slightly and sure enough, Lu Chenjun was also looking at her.

Children’s senses were the most sensitive.

Qin Yiren said, “Sorry for making you worry.”

Xu Youyou shook her head. “Aunt, Mom said that if you’re not happy, then do something that makes you happy.”

Xu Wenyin nodded on the side. That’s right, that’s right. Youyou said it well.

Xu Youyou continued, “But Youyou doesn’t know what can make Aunt happy.”

Xu Wenyin applauded inwardly. Right, just ask directly.

If Qin Yiren wanted the moon in the sky, Xu Wenyin could…… take a photo for her!

Qin Yiren couldn’t believe that one day she would be comforted by a child who had just turned four years old not long ago.

This time, she revealed a genuine smile. “But Aunt also doesn’t know what can make me happy. Does Youyou have an idea?”

Money, luxury cars, mansions, designer goods— for Qin Yiren, they couldn’t bring much happiness anymore.

When material needs are fully satisfied, spiritual needs become more important.

Upon hearing Qin Yiren’s words, Xu Youyou furrowed her delicate brows and began to contemplate, occasionally attempting to exchange information with Lu Chenjun.

Unfortunately, Lu Chenjun didn’t understand Qin Yiren any better.

Lu Chenjun who received a ‘Juanjuan, you’re so useless’ look from Xu Youyou: “……”

It was the first time someone had expressed he was useless! But he couldn’t argue back.

Because in this issue, Lu Chenjun really had no idea.

Just as Xu Wenyin was considering joining the discussion group, Xu Youyou suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

“Qian Xin said whenever his mom feels unhappy about not being able to stick to her weight loss plan, she feels better after looking at handsome brothers. Aunt, why don’t you try looking at handsome brothers too?”

Qin Yiren: “……Handsome…… brothers?”

Little Friend Youyou, your words are really like a thunderbolt out of the blue!

Qin Yiren couldn’t help but follow Xu Youyou’s train of thought, pondering where she could find handsome brothers to look at.