When the triplets needed to take an afternoon nap and wash up and brush teeth after waking up, Qiao Dongliang also learned to help them with the tasks. He cherished very much each and every second that he could interact with the three children.

  On that night, Qiao Dongliang stayed over at the house of the Zhai family for the first time. Qiao Nan and Miao Jing slept in the master bedroom upstairs while Qiao Dongliang slept in the guest room downstairs with the three children.

  When the fourth, the day for them to leave, arrived, the triplets and Qiao Dongliang became so close that they could not bear to leave each other.

  Tears welled up in San Bao’s eyes, her little lips shriveling. “Maternal grandpa, can you go home with San Bao? My house is very big. Let you stay. If not, San Bao let maternal grandpa sleep on my bed. San Bao sleeps with Mom.”

  Er Bao pulled a long face. “Maternal grandpa, let’s go home together. If you don’t go back with us, what should I do if I miss you? What should I do if I cry when I don’t see you?”

  Da Bao was reluctant to leave his maternal grandfather too. However, he seemed to know that his maternal grandfather’s house was in this city and he was not staying together with them. After thinking, Da Bao waved his hands at Qiao Dongliang to request him to squat down.

  As soon as Qiao Dongliang squatted down, Da Bao gave Qiao Dongliang a hard kiss on his face. “Maternal grandpa, you must come and visit us. If you can’t, Mom will bring us to visit maternal grandpa when we have a holiday.”

  \r \r \r

  Er Bao and San Bao followed suit. Pouting, they kissed Qiao Dongliang’s face a few times. Besides feeling his heart crumbled, Qiao Dongliang’s eyes and nose felt so sour that he could not take it anymore. He was choking on his words when he said, “Okay, maternal grandpa will visit you when I am available. Or when you all are free, come and see maternal grandpa.” Do not forget maternal grandfather after you left Ping Cheng.

  No matter how reluctant they were, Qiao Nan and Miao Jing had to board the plane with the triplets.

  The moment he saw the plane took off, Qiao Dongliang felt the impulse to go to and settle down in the capital. In that case, he would have more time to keep his three grandchildren company and watch them grow up healthily.

  However, when he thought of the property prices and cost of living in the capital and how poor he was—even the house in Ping Cheng where he stayed alone was given to him by his son-in-law—the fire of enthusiasm in Qiao Dongliang’s heart was immediately extinguished by a basin of cold water. He felt thoroughly cold.

  When the triplets were on the plane, they were still shouting for their maternal grandfather. Qiao Nan could barely appease them. Just when Qiao Nan was at a loss of what to do, the four of them were received directly by Old Master Zhai when they exited the airport.

  As soon as Da Bao saw Old Master Zhai, he flung away his grandmother’s hands immediately and dashed toward him. “Great-grandpa, I miss you so much. Where did you go?!”

  Facing a situation of the villain ‘Da Bao’ accusing the victim, Old Master Zhai was both angry and amused. However, when he held onto his great-grandchild’s warm and cozy little body, all his anger was gone. “Great-grandpa didn’t go anywhere. Great-grandpa has been at home all this while, waiting for you three little devils to come home.”

  Da Bao had a sudden moment of realization. “Oh, yes, we are the ones who visited maternal grandpa. Great-grandpa has been staying at home obediently.”

  “Great-grandpa!”

  “Great-grandpa.” Although Er Bao and San Bao were not as emotional as Da Bao, as soon as they saw their familiar next-of-kin, the sadness of being separated from their beloved maternal grandfather lessened greatly. The two toddlers also dashed toward Old Master Zhai, being coquettish and displaying their cuteness. All the words of ‘I miss you’ made Old Master Zhai feel so sweet that he was smiling like a flower.

  The corners of Qiao Nan’s mouth twitched. She secretly asked Miao Jing, “Mom, does Dad behave in this way when he was a child too?” When she was a child, she was the ‘introverted’ one while Brother Zhai was ‘cold and aloof’. No matter how she looked at it, the couple’s tongues were not as glib as these three children’s.

  Miao Jing shook her head, but the smile in her eyes deepened greatly. “I only heard your grandpa mention how your dad was like when he was a child. I have not seen it myself. But your grandpa seems so used to this…… I think the situation should be thereabouts.” Miao Jing really did not expect that the Zhai Yaohui that she had always perceived as extremely reserved was like that when he was a child.

  Looking at the adorable manners of the three grandchildren and their childish and innocent words, Miao Jing had the hunch and illusion that she was looking at her husband when he was a child through her grandchildren. In addition, this illusion was becoming increasingly real.

  Given this reason, one could imagine how much Miao Jing loved the triplets.

  Similar to Miao Jing’s thoughts, the three grandchildren’s cuteness made Old Master Zhai vaguely recall the time when his wife was still around, the happy times when Zhai Yaohui was only two to three years old. Although Zhai Yaohui became stiff and stern after he grew up, not amiable at all, when he was a child, the young brat had a glib tongue. He often coaxed all the neighbors so well that they were willing to take out all the good stuff in their home to feed his little mouth.

  The people in the village often joked that the young brat did not have enough after eating at other people’s houses, so he could bring more food home to continue eating thereafter. This young brat did not even need to be fed by his own family. When each of the family in the village fed him a mouthful each, he could become a fat and chubby kid just from their feeding alone.

  It could be said that that period of time was the happiest time in Old Master Zhai’s life. When one was old, they loved to reminisce about the past. However, he could not recall some matters no matter how much he tried to. His memory was so poor that even he felt afraid.

  Old Master Zhai wrapped his arms around the stubby bodies of his three grandchildren, who seemed to have grown bigger. His arms were not as strong as when he was young and could not carry all three children at once with his arms circling them. He did not know how many years were left of him to keep them company. Nevertheless, he would accompany them for as long as he could and look after them. The things that his wife could not watch, he would watch them on her behalf.

  In that case, when he left this world and met his wife in the other world in the future, he could tell her about the things that she did not know. He would have many topics of conversation with his wife.

  The big family returned home in a happy and bustling manner. When the old auntie at home saw the triplets, she felt as happy as seeing her own grandchildren. She wiped her eyes. “You’re finally back. When these three mischievous troublemakers were not at home, the whole house felt so quiet.” Besides her, even the old master and chief were not used to it. Those who stayed behind survived the days by craning their necks and counting down the days.

  Qiao Nan was not surprised by this. Previously, when she was on an overseas business trip with her senior brother, she had clearly left the triplets for only five days, but when she saw them again, she felt as though she had not seen them for five years. She could not bear to let go when she hugged them.

  After the children came back, be it Old Master Zhai or Zhai Yaohui, they obviously paid more attention to the triplets than before. Even Xiao Bao came and surrounded his cousins, refusing to leave. When he went to the bathroom, he shouted ‘still around?’ from time to time. After receiving his cousins’ reply, Xiao Bao was then willing to continue to take care of his business, making even the triplets speechless.