Because Aunt Zhang’s voice was booming, Lu Mingzhe knew from the phone that Niannian was crying at home. He tensed and grabbed Xiang Wan’s hand.
“I’ll go with you!”
Neither of them had driven, so they rushed downstairs hand in hand. Although they immediately got into a taxi, it still took them half an hour to get back to Xiang Wan’s neighborhood.
Lu Mingzhe gave the driver two hundred yuan and told him to wait downstairs. The two of them sprinted upstairs.
After climbing just two flights of stairs, they heard Niannian’s heart-wrenching cries in the hallway.
Xiang Wan was worried and nervous, her hands shaking too much to take out her keys. She threw her bag directly at Lu Mingzhe.
“You go up and open the door first.”
Lu Mingzhe rushed upstairs. Aunt Zhang was anxiously pacing outside the door.
Without a word, he opened the door and charged in decisively.
He hadn’t taken two steps before he saw his grandmother, who had fainted on the floor, and Niannian, sitting on the floor crying so hard that she was sweating, her throat hoarse, snot and tears streaming down her neck, looking almost unrecognizable.
She was so small, yet she had suddenly encountered such a terrifying event. He didn’t know if she had been injured from the fall. The moment he saw her, Lu Mingzhe’s heart ached so much it trembled.
With a thud, he lunged onto the floor and scooped Niannian into his arms.
With trembling voice and hands, he held her tightly.
“Baby, don’t cry. Baby, don’t be scared. Daddy’s here.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy came late. I’m sorry, baby.”
Although they had only met once, Niannian seemed to remember him.
As she was embraced, she quickly calmed down.
Her small hands clutched his shirt tightly, her face pressed against his chin, her sobs intermittent.
After she had a few seconds to compose herself, Lu Mingzhe used his shirt sleeve to wipe her face.
As he wiped, he continued to apologize to her.
“I’m sorry, Daddy came late. I’m sorry, baby.”
In the emergency, Aunt Zhang hadn’t had time to ask who this stranger was before he rushed into the house.
Now, seeing him, she realized Niannian really did have a father!
The neighborhood aunties often discussed Niannian’s background behind their backs when they brought their children out.
Most of them guessed that Xiang Wan was divorced, or that Niannian was illegitimate.
After all, Xiang Wan was too beautiful, and usually too busy with work…
Grandma Xiang had explained to them that Niannian had a father, but he worked out of town and didn’t come back often.
However, they assumed she was lying to save face for her granddaughter, and they never expected it to be true.
Not only did Niannian have a father, but he was also such a young and handsome man. He was a perfect match for Xiang Wan!
As Aunt Zhang was silently observing Lu Mingzhe, Xiang Wan ran upstairs, out of breath.
Seeing her grandmother lying on the floor and Niannian still sobbing in Lu Mingzhe’s arms, her legs went weak, and she also fell to her knees with a thud.
“Grandma. What’s wrong, Grandma? Wake up! Are you okay?”
Lu Mingzhe turned back and handed Niannian to her.
“Take the child downstairs. I’ll carry Grandma to the hospital. Quickly!”
Although Grandma was also about 1.6 meters tall, she weighed only a little over 35 kilograms, feeling as light as a feather when he picked her up.
Lu Mingzhe carried her, taking two steps at a time down the stairs, and quickly reached the taxi.
However, the driver refused to open the door.
“Sorry, our car doesn’t take emergency patients. It’s bad luck. What if something happens…”
“I didn’t explain clearly earlier. I’ll give you your money back. Find someone else.”
Before Lu Mingzhe could argue, the driver threw the money out the car window and sped away.
By the time Xiang Wan, holding Niannian, chased after him, he was already hailing a cab by the roadside.
The weather had cleared, and the temperature in Hangcheng in mid-May had risen sharply. Both of them were nervous, and Lu Mingzhe was sweating profusely on his back.
His neatly ironed white shirt clung to his broad back, and the muscles in his arms, holding his grandmother, bulged, making him look exceptionally masculine at this moment.
At this moment, Xiang Wan had to admit that sometimes, life really couldn’t do without a man.
There was a rumored unwritten rule in Hangcheng that carrying critically ill patients was bad for business. So, he waited by the roadside for several minutes. Although taxis kept passing by, none stopped.
They had already been delayed for a long time; what would happen if they were delayed further?
Lu Mingzhe was anxious. He made up his mind. Seeing another taxi speeding towards them but showing no signs of stopping, he stepped out with his grandmother, blocking the middle of the road.
Curses accompanied by the screech of brakes filled the air, and the car finally stopped.
“Are you trying to die? Don’t you want to live…”
“Take me to the nearest hospital, and I’ll give you a thousand yuan!”
The driver finally shut up and, at Lu Mingzhe’s urging, sped to the hospital.
He carried his grandmother and rushed to the emergency room, finally handing her over to the doctors.
The doctors began to treat Grandma and also needed to perform a full body examination. They needed to arrange for hospitalization and pay the fees.
After the person was taken in, a nurse asked them to complete the procedures.
Lu Mingzhe listened intently, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“Understood. Give me Grandma’s ID card, and I’ll go now.”
Seeing that he was sweating profusely and his face looked very tense, Xiang Wan felt a little guilty.
But with a little one in her arms at the moment, she could only let him run errands.
She went to her bag to find the documents. It was inconvenient with one hand, so Lu Mingzhe took Niannian with one arm.
The little one had stopped sobbing. Xiang Wan had wiped her face clean in the car, and she had also changed into a clean onesie.
Now she looked like her usual rosy-cheeked, porcelain doll self. Lu Mingzhe couldn’t help but kiss her cheek and nuzzle her face with his nose.
“You were scared, weren’t you? I’m sorry, baby. Daddy won’t let this happen again.”
Niannian, tickled by his nuzzle, couldn’t help but let out a giggle.
Her small hands grabbed his ear, and she mumbled, “Abba~ Abba~”
She actually remembered that pronunciation!
Xiang Wan found the ID card and, while taking Niannian back, handed it to Lu Mingzhe.
“We’ll wait here. You don’t have to rush. It’s okay to be a little slower. Thank you for your hard work.”
Lu Mingzhe took the ID card with one hand and handed Niannian back with the other.
However, Niannian grabbed his ears with both hands and refused to let go, mumbling reluctantly, as if she didn’t want to part with him.
Xiang Wan couldn’t stand seeing her cling to Lu Mingzhe so much every time.
“Niannian, come here, Mommy will hold you. He has things to do, and he’ll be back later.”
Niannian didn’t listen.
She wriggled, like an eel, preventing Xiang Wan from grabbing her. Her small arms wrapped around Lu Mingzhe’s neck.
She even anxiously called out “Abba, Abba,” as if the moment she let go, Lu Mingzhe would never return.
This child was truly heartbreaking.
She had accompanied him day and night, yet she told her mother she didn’t want him anymore.
A father she had only met once, and now she was so close to him on their second meeting.
Xiang Wan couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.
“Alright, stop acting cute. Come here quickly. Why is this child so disobedient?”
With a wail, Niannian buried her face in Lu Mingzhe’s neck and started crying.
Looking at his wronged and pitiable daughter, and then at Xiang Wan, whose face was a little pale from tension and worry,
Lu Mingzhe patted the little one, then patted the older one.