The next morning, the three had breakfast together as usual. Xiu Mei was back to being her carefree self, the topics from last night thrown at the back of her head. Lu Qiang ate the hawthorn as a dessert, the one they bought last night as a bribe that didn’t work at all.

  "Mom, are you coming with us tomorrow?"

  "Hm?"

  Xiu Mei was caught off guard with the question so she wasn’t able to quickly respond. She faintly glanced at Lu Chen before returning her look at the little kid on the opposite side of the table.

  "Of course, Mom would be with you tomorrow."

  "Hmm!"

  Then he returned to eating his dessert. Xiu Mei’s sight stayed at his figure for a few more seconds before looking away, suddenly feeling heavy after answering that question.

  Tomorrow is Lu Qiang’s parents’ death anniversary. She knows its normal for a kid to remember his biological parents’ death anniversary but if you think about it, it’s a date that you wouldn’t really want to remember at all. After all, it’s the date when his parents were taken away from him.

  Her mood turning sour, she went to work in that kind of mood. She tried to erase that thought in her mind by distracting herself with work but somehow, it really weighed heavier than ever for her.

  Until lunchtime came and she was back at sitting in front of Lu Chen.

  "Is something wrong?" Lu Chen clipped a piece of sausage in her bowl as he continued, "You seem out of it since morning."

  Since Xiu Mei wasn’t moving her chopsticks at all, Lu Chen got a bit worried. What was she so worried about that she suddenly lost her focus? It’s not like her to suddenly lose focus ah. No matter how many times he made her angry in the past or how much pressure she had to face, she stayed unfazed and got more focused instead.

  But right now, she was even losing focus while eating.

  "Lu Chen, can I ask a question?"

  "Hm.��

  "Can you tell me more about Lu Qiang’s parents?"

  "……"

  Lu Chen’s hand that was reaching out for the piece of tomato stopped moving. He stared at Xiu Mei that was looking at him with a troubled look on her face. Then he remembered what the kid asked her this morning and he immediately understood.

  Sighing, he leaned on the couch after placing back his food on the table.

  "Lu Qiang’s father, my cousin, took me in when I was still in junior high school. His family took me in after my mother died from a terminal illness. Since there’s no one left in my mother’s side to take me in, my father’s brother brought me to his family."

  While he was telling this to Xiu Mei, Lu Chen couldn’t help but feel as if he was back in the old days.

  "My cousin, Lu Yu Xiao, was seven years older than me. Since he was also an only child, the two of us grew up like siblings. He was working as a prosecutor when he met his wife."

  Lu Chen pulled out his phone and looked for the old family picture that Lu Yu Xiao sent him when Lu Qiang was born. He placed it on the table and showed it to Xiu Mei.

  "This is my cousin, and this one is his wife, Jing Li Yan."

  Xiu Mei leaned forward to look at the picture, there she saw a man who was 6 to 7 points similar to Lu Chen and a girl that still looked pretty despite looking tired in the picture. She understood that this image was probably taken right after Lu Qiang’s mother gave birth.

  She realized that Lu Qiang looked mostly like his mother, but when he smiles, his eye smile looks exactly like his father. From this photo, she could feel the warmth and happiness that his parents must’ve felt when he was born in this world.

  Looking at their smiles, she knew that Lu Qiang was loved and cherished by the couple when he was still a baby.

  They would’ve looked forward to seeing Lu Qiang grow up…… but they can’t anymore.

  Her finger unconsciously reached out to Lu Qiang who was still wrapped in cloth, looking all wrinkly. She rubbed her finger on the screen as if she was trying to touch the baby.

  Lu Qiang looks so cute in the image. It must’ve been more adorable seeing that small hands and feet of his.

  Her lips unconsciously curled up.

  "The two of them got married before I graduated in the university. Then a year later, Lu Qiang was born."

  Xiu Mei continued listening to Lu Chen while she kept her eyes on the image.

  "A few months after Lu Qiang was born, my cousin told me he was planning to migrate abroad with his wife and son. I said I was fine with that and I could take care of his parents in his place but then one day, his parents visited me in the office."

  Lu Chen’s hands clenched as he remembered that day. It was as if that day was flashing before his eyes once again like a movie.

  "They told me they were going out for a date for a few days. I asked him why didn’t they leave the baby to his parents’ care instead since I was busy with the company and all, but he just laughed. Then he punched me in the arm and scolded me for being a terrible Uncle. He was complaining that I wasn’t visiting my nephew enough so he sent the baby to me to watch over. After that, the two of them went to the airport and traveled to a different city."

  Lu Chen remembered looking so stupid in front of the baby on the stroller. The baby looked at him with his wide and innocent eyes as if he was examining the new environment in front of him.

  Reading the long list of reminders that his cousin gave him, he sighed in defeat. He leaned over towards the child and like a foolish a.d.u.l.t, he said hi to the baby and introduced himself once again just in case the baby didn’t really remember him.

  Back then, he was still starting his company from the ground up. He had a lot of things to do and now, he still has to look after such a small baby.

  Since he didn’t have any experience in babysitting, he was at a loss on how to change the baby’s diapers when he poops. He didn’t even know when to change his diaper and only when he could faintly smell the scent of poop that he changes his diaper.

  He didn’t even know how difficult it was to feed a baby. He remembered almost getting angry while he was trying to feed the baby. The infant Lu Qiang would often throw the baby bottle away before he finally gets tired and eats it. He had to make the baby formula multiple times every time it spills on the ground after the baby bottle kept being damaged by the baby.

  It was then that he fully realized how strong a baby could be. Looking at the pile of baby bottles ruined in just a day, he feared that this baby would grow up to be a headache in the next few years.

  He surrendered to his fate and just continued taking care of the baby. He’ll make sure to spend some time with him to play despite his busy schedule so that the baby would be tired enough to sleep in the afternoon and at night just like what was written in the reminders.

  Even if he’s already dead tired at night, he’d still find time to keep the baby company and wash him. He’d coax him for almost an hour before the baby finally sleeps. Then he would sometimes wake up when the baby cries for no reason and it was back to the routine of hugging him and lightly patting his back to make him sleep.

  His day continued normally with the baby as an additional part of his schedule. And it was only after the 3rd day that he received a call that ultimately changed his whole life.

  That morning, he messaged his cousin about the current status of his son like he’s playing happily and he already finished feeding him. He continued doing his work and it was after lunchtime when he received a call from an unknown number. Perplexed, he answered the call.

  "Then I received a call," Lu Chen uttered while looking at Xiu Mei.

  "It was from the police. After confirming who I was, it was then that they informed me that my cousin and cousin-in-law were involved in a shooting spree. They were eating at a restaurant at that time when the shooter forced his way in and went on a shooting spree killing almost everyone inside."