B5SB -Chapter 258 Blood Ties

When Lu Huailin carried Haohao back into the living room, he found the house completely quiet, with no one around.

“Wife, wife.”

He called out as he walked toward the bedroom. Pushing the door open, he saw his wife sitting on the bed with red, swollen eyes.

His heart sank.

Why is my wife crying?

Without thinking further, he quickly placed Haohao on the mat on the floor, pulling a toy in front of him so he could play by himself.

After settling Haohao, he hurried to his wife’s side, bent down, and gently cupped her face in his hands.

Looking into her eyes, he anxiously asked, “Wife, who bullied you?”

He had only been gone for half an hour—could someone have come to their house and upset her during that time? Or did she have a quarrel with Grandma Gu?

Lu Huailin’s mind raced with possibilities.

Following his gesture, Gu Yihan lifted her head and looked at him. At that moment, all the pent-up frustration in her heart finally found someone to release it to.

Tears streamed down like broken beads, pouring out uncontrollably.

Panicked, Lu Huailin reached out to wipe the tears from her cheeks but immediately remembered his hands were covered in calluses from years of training.

He could only carefully use the back of his hand to wipe her tears while softly coaxing, “Wife, tell me who hurt you. I’ll take care of it.”

But as soon as Lu Huailin tried to comfort her, Gu Yihan’s crying echoed through the entire bedroom, her voice choking out, “Grandma… Grandma is leaving.”

Haohao, sitting on the mat stacking blocks, froze for a moment at the sound of his mother’s crying, and whispered, “Grandma.”

“Leaving? Going where?”

For a moment, Lu Huailin didn’t understand what she meant. Seeing how heartbroken she was, he asked softly.

Between sobs, Gu Yihan picked up the tissue on the bedside table and wiped her nose, her voice choking as she said, “She’s going to take care of Gu Meng while she has her baby… she won’t live with us anymore.”

Lu Huailin froze for a moment, then sat down next to his wife, turning slightly to pull her onto his lap.

Patting her back, he thought for a moment before asking, “Wife, are you sad just because Grandma is leaving?”

Gu Yihan didn’t answer immediately.

After a dozen minutes, her crying gradually subsided, the pent-up frustration mostly released.

Resting her head on Lu Huailin’s shoulder, she sniffled and choked out, “Not entirely…”

“There’s also Haohao. He’s still so little and needs care.”

“If Grandma leaves, there will be no one to take care of him.”

Hearing this, Lu Huailin turned his gaze to Haohao, who was playing with his toys.

He suddenly chuckled, leaned down, and kissed Gu Yihan’s forehead, whispering, “Just for this? Is it worth crying so much?”

“I thought you were jealous because Grandma is going to take care of someone else.”

Gu Yihan stiffened at his words.

Seeing her expression, Lu Huailin smirked slightly.

Suppressing a laugh, he teased, “Wife, you’re not really mad and jealous, are you?”

Gu Yihan turned her head embarrassedly. “Grandma knows very well that I don’t get along with Gu Meng,” she said.

“And now she’s going to take care of Gu Meng, even leaving Haohao—the child she raised from infancy—without attention.”

Even though she had given her heart to Grandma Gu, she suddenly felt betrayed by her actions.

Lu Huailin sighed, thinking differently from his wife.

“Wife, Grandma is an adult. She can think for herself.”

“When she decided to help Gu Meng with the baby, she must have thought it through carefully.”

Gu Yihan lowered her head, saying nothing—not agreeing, not opposing.

“What about Haohao?”

Haohao, hearing his mother call his name, thought she was calling him over. He pushed himself up from the mat and ran to Lu Huailin, hugging his mother’s legs, his small voice pleading, “Mom… don’t cry.”

Seeing her little child already trying to comfort her, Gu Yihan’s nose tingled, and tears threatened to come again.

She patted Lu Huailin’s shoulder, signaling him to put her down.

Lu Huailin glanced at the little one clinging to his wife’s legs and glared at him—he was everywhere.

He said, “The army has a daycare. Tuition is five yuan per month.”

“We can send Haohao there.”

Gu Yihan saw that Lu Huailin still hadn’t let go of her, so she pulled his hands away and jumped down.

Bending over, she picked up Haohao and kissed his soft, tender cheek. She marveled—children’s skin really is so delicate. Like a peeled egg.

“Is the army daycare reliable?”

Hearing her hoarse voice, Lu Huailin frowned slightly.

He stood, walked to the living room, poured her a cup of honey water, and brought it back to the bedroom.

“The caretakers are army spouses,” he explained.

“They’re trained by the army medical unit before starting work and can monitor the children’s health at all times.”

After speaking, he took Haohao from her arms, pointed to the honey water on the dresser, and instructed, “Drink some to soothe your throat.”

Gu Yihan nodded. She walked to the dresser, carefully testing the temperature with her lips—it was just right—and drank it all in one go.

“Wife, feeling better now?” Lu Huailin asked softly.

Looking at him and at wide-eyed Haohao, she smiled faintly, “Much better.”

Lu Huailin smiled and nodded. “Since Grandma wants to go to Gu Meng’s tomorrow, we’ll happily take her there ourselves. Let her not worry about us.”

“Mm,” Gu Yihan replied softly.

Even if she didn’t want this, she had no say if Grandma Gu insisted on leaving the family home.

Meanwhile, Grandma Gu lay awake, unable to sleep, thinking about how she—an elder with so much experience—was being pressured by her juniors.

If she gave in this time, Gu Meng would keep using this leverage to make her compromise repeatedly.

She didn’t want to live at Gu Meng’s house, didn’t want to take care of her postpartum, and certainly didn’t want to be manipulated.

She couldn’t figure out a good way to avoid Gu Meng.

Suddenly, countless schemes to deal with Gu Meng flashed through her mind. But after all, Gu Meng was her own granddaughter.

That small bond of blood outweighed the malice in her heart. She couldn’t be as ruthless as Gu Meng.