Realizing he wouldn’t be sent away, Song Jingtian immediately felt contented.
Tang Li checked her cellphone again and found that she had already hung up.
A 7-year-old child can wash their face and hands on their own, but washing their hair by themselves in the shower is still difficult. To prevent the child from falling again, Tang Li had no choice but to stay and help him bathe.
While washing his hair, Song Jingtian clutched at her hoodie, obviously afraid of falling again.
It was also after undressing that Tang Li noticed he had quite a few bruises on his body.
If an adult was beaten , they might be grimacing in pain.
Yet, Song Jingtian didn’t cry out in pain in front of her.
Thinking this, Tang Li’s actions in rubbing and shampooing his hair became gentler.
In her past life, although Tang Li didn’t have children, she took care of Qin Yueru for many years. During the time when Qin Yueru was in her worst health condition, bedridden for a full three months, Tang Li was solely responsible for all her personal care. Now, bathing a child wasn’t difficult for her.
After rinsing the foam off Song Jingtian, Tang Li grabbed a towel to dry the water from his hair and face, then held the showerhead to help him shower.
The little guy was shy, not willing to take off his underwear.
Tang Li didn’t force him.
In the middle of it, she went and got a pair of new underwear she hadn’t worn.
She thought Song Jingtian would dislike them, but the little guy changed into them without a word.
Tang Li plugged in the hair dryer and was about to dry his hair when Song Jingtian, looking up with his round head, his little hands grasping the towel wrapped around him, asked, "If I stay here, will you be unhappy?"
"What good would it do if I were unhappy?"
Her rhetorical question was met with Song Jingtian’s grunts.
After a pause, the little guy suddenly said, "Today is actually my birthday."
Amidst the humming of the hair dryer, Tang Li heard his words clearly, looked up at the mirror on the wall, and Song Jingtian pursed his lips, "My sister and brother-in-law are very busy, I live at their house, and nobody joins me for dinner. My nephew is just like you; he has to go to school. Before, my elder brother always celebrated my birthday with me, but this year he had an important meeting to attend."
"Doesn’t your mom celebrate your birthday?" Tang Li asked.
Song Jingtian sighed, "My mom is old, she doesn’t even celebrate her own birthday, it’s normal for her to forget mine. Only my elder brother always buys me a cake and presents on time every year."
"You and your elder brother have a good relationship."
"That’s because I lost my dad when I was young." Song Jingtian added, "My dad was already gone when I was born, and my elder brother is like a father to me. He took time off to attend my kindergarten graduation ceremony."
Looking at the child’s proud little face, Tang Li felt moved.
She had a father, but her father didn’t want her.
Tang Li remembered herself at Song Jingtian’s age, she was actually happy, because her mother was always with her.
Even though life wasn’t affluent, and she often had to help her mother with chores, she never felt lonely or bewildered standing at a crossroads.
After drying his hair, Song Jingtian ran out, flapping in her slippers.
The next day, the driver came early to pick up Song Jingtian.
Tang Li didn’t forget to buy him breakfast.
Yet, in the evening after class, she saw him again at the entrance of Wentan Garden.
The little guy, with his blue Mickey Mouse backpack, was sitting on the edge of the flower bed. As soon as he saw Tang Li and Wu Xuehan returning, he ran over and arrogantly said to Tang Li, "I’m going to Shangbu to celebrate my birthday with my elder brother. Considering your good performance yesterday, I’ve decided to take you with me."