She picked up a doll from one side. It was an extremely beautiful doll with blonde hair. As compared to the old doll in Rainy’s arms, it was a billion times more attractive. She stood up and then squatted beside Rainy, placing the doll in her arms.
“Rainy, your doll is old. Let Granny give you a new one, okay? Look at how pretty this is, right?”
Her hand holding the doll had started to turn sore. However, Rainy simply continued hugging the old doll in her arms. She only blinked her eyes, refusing to take the blonde doll in Song Wan’s hand. She didn’t speak, and she didn’t take the doll.
“That’s okay. Maybe she doesn’t like it.” Chu Jiang let Rainy sit on his lap. He reached out and pushed the doll away. If the child didn’t like it, then forget it. There was no need to force it on her. “Actually, did you not realize? Although her doll is a little old, it still looks beautiful, right?”
He patted his granddaughter’s cheeks, smiling lovingly at her. “As long as she likes it, it doesn’t matter whether it’s old or not.”
Song Wan had no choice but to retract her hand and let out a helpless smile. Forget it, what he said was true. As long as she liked it, it was fine. Of course, they would never force anything on her.
“Mrs. Chu, there’s nothing strange about that.” Gao Yi smiled as he explained. It could be considered as him giving Song Wan a way out of this situation. It was already awkward enough for her.
He pointed to the doll in Rainy’s arms and said, “It’s not that Rainy doesn’t have any dolls. She has a bunch at home. However, she only loves that doll in her arms, maybe because she subconsciously treats that doll as herself. Ruoxin bought that doll for her; it’s her treasure. If she couldn’t see the doll, she’d cry.”
“Oh. So that’s how it is.” Song Wan nodded her head. She had no choice but to place the doll back on the ground, whereas the child in Chu Jiang’s embrace started playing with her old doll again. She seemed like she was having the time of her life, playing with the doll – sometimes even forgetting about the adults around her. It seemed like she really liked the doll.
Rainy tightly gripped the doll and refused to let go. She never looked twice at any other doll. However, when her eyes landed on one of the dolls on the floor, it sparkled.
“You like this?”
Chu Jiang’s observation skills were truly decent. Especially when all his focus was on his granddaughter’s expressions. This child, from the moment she entered until now, had never paid any attention to the toys in the house. However, only this doll that fell onto the floor seemed a little special.
This doll was the one that just flew in from another country.
He picked up the doll from the floor and placed it in front of Rainy. It was then that he realized that this doll and the one in Rainy’s arms were a set. It was just that one had blonde hair, and the other had black hair.
It was, at that moment, where he finally realized why his son had to import the doll all the way from another country. It turned out to be because Rainy also had one. Although he had little time with his granddaughter, he realized that this granddaughter of hisdespite resembling her mother in several aspects—had the same character as the people of the Chu family. Once people of the Chu family decided on something, they never changed their decisions easily. It seemed that the determinant factor of the Chu family was passed down to this child.
Rainy clutched the doll tightly in her arms. However, her eyes had never left the doll that Chu Jiang had picked up. That doll and her doll looked so much alike.
“Rainy, you like this?” Upon seeing his granddaughter’s lack of response, Chu Jiang asked again.
Rainy lightly nodded her head.
“Yes, I like it.”
Chu Jiang finally smiled and let out a relieved sigh. Thankfully, there was something in this house that she liked.
“Then let grandpa give this to you as a gift, okay?” He placed the doll in front of Rainy. Next time, Rainy would have two dolls to play with. “One doll and one Rainy, how lonely must that be. If you had one more doll, then Rainy would have two dolls to sleep with, right?”
Rainy softly pressed her lips together. She reached out her hands to take the doll. However, just as she was about to touch the doll, she hastily retracted her hands.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?” Chu Jiang placed the doll in front of her again. He could feel it. This child liked the doll; she really liked the doll. Why didn’t she take it in the end?
“I like it,” Rainy repeated. “But this doll is Xiao Jiejie’s; Rainy doesn’t want it.” She lowered her head and hugged her own doll. Rainy already had a doll; she didn’t need another one. Other people’s things were not hers; other people’s dolls were also not hers. She already had a doll; it would be fine if she hugged her doll to sleep. If she got a new doll, her old doll would get upset.
The doll in Chu Jiang’s hands remained smiling. Her large eyes could roll around, and her long eyelashes made her seem like the child in his arms. However, the doll suddenly felt extremely hot in his hands.
He quickly dumped the doll onto a sofa at the side.
The unblinking eyes of the doll coincidentally faced in Song Wan’s direction, seemingly condemning her or something. This made Song Wan, who was about to speak, swallow her words back into her throat.
Just when she regained her senses and was about to explain the situation, the front door opened.
At that moment, the man who walked in from outside had an alluring charm. His breathing was heavy, and even his forehead had drops of perspiration. It seemed like he was in a big rush and probably ran all the way home.
It was only at that moment that Song Wan regained her senses. Xia Ruoxin was still standing at the entrance. They were so focused on Rainy that they forgot to welcome their guests. This made her feel very embarrassed.
Xia Ruoxin’s fingers tightened around his hands, whereas Gao Yi simply shook his head at her, telling her not to worry. Chu Lui stood at the door, and the moment he saw Rainy in Chu Jiang’s embrace, he felt his tears prickle in his eyes. His chest rose as he took a deep breath; that was his daughter.
It was not that he didn’t want to meet his daughter. It was just that he needed time; he needed a good reason, a reason so good that Xia Ruoxin wouldn’t hate him. A reason that could keep Rainy from despising him. He simply never thought that the chance he was waiting for would come so suddenly. He beat several red lights on his journey just to make it home. His chest endlessly rose and fell as he stared at the child in his father’s arms, not daring to blink.
His daughter sure was adorable.
“Come, Rainy, that’s your daddy. Call Daddy.” Song Wan carried Rainy out of Chu Jiang’s embrace. Chu Jiang stared foolishly at his empty chest, feeling an extreme sense of disappointment and defeat.
He hadn’t hugged his granddaughter long enough.