Jiang Yan's grandparents also came back from their hometown and lived next door to them. This arrangement was decided when they bought the house.
During weekdays, Jiang's Dad and Lu Yuliang would go to work, leaving the kids to be taken care of by the elderly couple. Jiang Yan's kindergarten was about to start as well.
Jiang Yan was earnestly acting like a little kid, and she was very happy to go to kindergarten.
With her innate ability to charm people, she quickly became the little boss in the kindergarten.
Of course, after returning home in the evenings, she would still call Song Li'an. Song Li'an was always punctual in appearing on the other end of the phone.
The two children would simply chat, with Song Li'an asking "Baby, where did you go today?" "Baby, did you eat?" "Baby, did you make any new friends?..."
Jiang Yan would tell him, "Today I ate a delicious strawberry cake" "Mom bought tasty duck necks today, they're so yummy..."
Until the aroma of food came wafting in, Jiang Yan would turn her head towards the kitchen and shout to Song Li'an: "I'm going to eat now!" Then the call would end.
What Jiang Yan didn't know was that at the Song family's dinner table, the couple usually remained quiet. Only after their son hung up the phone could they make some noise.
After very solemnly handing the phone back to Zhou Sisi, Song Li'an would pick up his spoon to eat.
Whenever this happened, Zhou Sisi would recall the day when Jiang Yan left. Her son was like a frozen stone, refusing to go back no matter what. His eyes were brimming with tears, and if she hadn't stopped him, he might have even put on a show of chasing after the car as a five-year-old child.
Luckily, Zhou Sisi reacted quickly and called Lu Yuliang. When Jiang Yan's voice came through the phone, the little crybaby finally stopped crying.
After that, Song Li'an always had a look like he wanted to hide Zhou Sisi's phone.
Fortunately, Jiang Yan's dismissal time coincided with Zhou Sisi's getting off work. As soon as Zhou Sisi got home, she would hand over her phone to her son. Then the boy would do his homework while guarding the phone.
Zhou Sisi's phone usage was greatly affected. If the kid wasn't so young, she would have bought him his own phone.
"The kids' relationship is really good," Song Dad would be forced to listen to the two children's conversations every day, which made him think of the negotiations in his own business, finding it very healing.
Zhou Sisi didn't have such romantic sensibilities. She kicked him under the table: "Hurry up with buying the house, or I'll confiscate your phone."
...
After retiring, Grandpa Jiang got bored and would occasionally sit in the chess and poker room. Unexpectedly, he became addicted to it. If he didn't go for a while, he would feel uneasy.
No matter how much Grandma scolded him, it was useless, and the family was almost in conflict because of this.
Lu Yuliang thought it over and decided to bring out her own daughter.
One day, Grandpa was called out by his poker buddies again and didn't even come back for lunch.
When Grandma was about to clear the table, her little granddaughter suddenly spoke up, "Grandma, leave it there for Grandpa to eat."
Grandma suppressed her anger, cursing the old man in her heart countless times, but in the end, she didn't clear the table because of her granddaughter.
Grandpa Jiang also knew that he had gone too far today and returned home with his head down, prepared to be scolded by the old wife. But what could he do? Playing chess and poker was just a personal hobby. At his age, wasn't it normal to have a hobby?
However, to his surprise, the one waiting for him wasn't the old wife, but his soft and adorable little granddaughter.
"Grandpa~" Jiang Yan was waiting for him at the door.
Grandpa Jiang hurriedly picked her up, exclaiming "Aiyo" twice. Before he could say anything, his little granddaughter asked, "Grandpa, did you go play poker again?"
Grandpa Jiang froze, intending to use the personal hobby excuse to respond, but unlike the old wife's attitude, the little granddaughter didn't seem to blame him. Instead, she snuggled closer to him and said in a muffled voice, "Grandpa left me at home alone."
A child's emotions are so contagious.
Being reprimanded by his little granddaughter like this, Grandpa Jiang suddenly felt a surge of guilt. His heart softened immensely, and he couldn't even let out a sigh, only able to let out a long "Aiyo."