SAG -Chapter 24 Taking the Children to School

Inside Huo Zhiyuan’s villa, Huo Zhiyuan was pacing back and forth in the living room, clearly unsettled.

Only when Lin Meizhi arrived with Meng Zixuan did she finally calm down a little.

“Sister Lin, Xuanxuan, you’re here.” Huo Zhiyuan hurried forward to greet them.

Zhao Jingyu was very perceptive. After pouring tea for them, she quietly left, not disturbing their reunion and conversation.

Lin Meizhi knew Huo Zhiyuan had been waiting for news, so she didn’t keep her in suspense.

“Those two people from that day really are Big Brother Zhang’s son and daughter.”

The moment those words left her mouth, Huo Zhiyuan’s face turned deathly pale, and the light in her eyes dimmed.

Lin Meizhi quickly added,

“I told you, don’t panic yet. Things aren’t as bad as you think.”

Although Lin Meizhi admired Yu Qingwan greatly, in terms of relationships, she was much closer to Huo Zhiyuan. Besides, she had never even met Yu Qingwan.

After that, Lin Meizhi explained everything from beginning to end without hiding a single detail.

Once Huo Zhiyuan finished listening, she didn’t know what she was supposed to feel.

Happy?

The man she had loved for thirty years had already had children long ago.

Sad?

If Zhang Ran hadn’t met with disaster back then, then she, Huo Zhiyuan, truly would never have had even the slightest chance.

So at that moment, Huo Zhiyuan actually felt a faint trace of relief—relief that Zhang Ran had encountered that accident twenty-eight years ago.

She knew such a feeling was wrong.

But she couldn’t lie to herself.

“Still, don’t celebrate too soon,” Lin Meizhi said gently.

“I can tell that Big Brother Zhang truly loved Yu Qingwan. And Yu Qingwan sacrificed so much for him. How difficult would it be for him to forget her? What’s more, for us, twenty-eight years have passed. Many things can fade with time. But don’t forget—for Big Brother Zhang, it was only an instant.”

Though it pained her to say it, Lin Meizhi still had to speak these words.

Otherwise, she feared Huo Zhiyuan would sink deeper and deeper.

Huo Zhiyuan was no longer the young girl she had once been.

Although she remained painfully innocent when it came to Zhang Ran, that didn’t mean she couldn’t understand the truth.

Meng Zixuan sat silently beside them the entire time.

Even now, she still couldn’t understand why Huo Zhiyuan and her own mother had been so obsessed with Zhang Ran back then.

Huo Zhiyuan had even waited for him for twenty-eight years.

Over the past two days, Meng Zixuan had observed Zhang Ran carefully.

Aside from a good temperament and a calm, unshakable aura, she hadn’t found anything particularly special about him.

So why had her idol become so infatuated with him?

Perhaps there were still things she hadn’t discovered.

That evening, just as Lin Meizhi was preparing to leave, she suddenly said to Meng Zixuan, “Xuanxuan, didn’t you want to learn from your Aunt Huo? Why don’t you stay by her side for a while and see if you can pick up something useful?”

Meng Zixuan immediately looked at Huo Zhiyuan with anticipation.

She truly admired Huo Zhiyuan.

Or rather, many young women admired Huo Zhiyuan.

“Of course,” Huo Zhiyuan said with a smile.

“With Xuanxuan keeping me company, I’ll finally have someone to talk to.”

By the time Zhang Ran returned home with the two little ones, it was already five o’clock.

Liu Lu and Zhang Sicheng still hadn’t come back.

At that moment, Taotao began complaining that he was hungry.

Susu kept her little face expressionless, but her meaning was equally obvious.

She was hungry too.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Ran decided to cook something himself.

His cooking couldn’t be considered excellent, but at the very least, it was edible.

When Zhang Sicheng and Liu Lu returned, they immediately smelled the aroma of food.

They paused in surprise, then saw Taotao and Susu sitting at the table eating with great appetite.

It wasn’t that Zhang Ran’s cooking was especially good.

The two children were simply starving.

“You’re back. Perfect timing. The dishes just went on the table. Wash your hands and eat,” Zhang Ran said with a smile as he carried over the last plate.

Liu Lu hurried over to help serve the food, but Zhang Ran stopped her.

“This is the last dish. You’ve worked all day. You must be tired. Sit down and eat.”

Zhang Sicheng and Liu Lu sat down.

For a moment, both of them suddenly felt that this arrangement wasn’t bad at all.

After dinner, Liu Lu noticed the pile of toys stacked in the corner and froze.

“Why did you buy them so many toys?”

They had only given Zhang Ran one thousand yuan that morning.

Surely he hadn’t spent all of it on toys for the children?

Zhang Ran smiled.

“I didn’t buy them. Meng He and the others gave them as meeting gifts from elders to the children. It’s fine.”

Hearing that, and remembering Meng He’s luxury RV, Liu Lu stopped saying anything.

She hadn’t meant to blame Zhang Ran.

She was just used to living frugally, so it had been an instinctive reaction.

At nine o’clock that evening, Zhang Siyan came over.

She played with Susu for a while before leaving.

She had no intention of taking Susu away.

First, she truly had no time to care for Susu right now.

Second, both she and Zhang Sicheng had noticed that without the children around, their interactions with Zhang Ran would feel rather awkward.

Besides, no matter what, Zhang Ran was Taotao’s grandfather and Susu’s maternal grandfather.

Now was the perfect time for them to build a relationship.

That night, Zhang Ran played with the two little ones for a while before everyone went to rest.

The next morning, Zhang Ran watched Zhang Sicheng and Liu Lu bustling about and said, “From now on, let me take Taotao and Susu to and from school.”

Liu Lu was immediately tempted.

If someone could help with school drop-offs and pickups, both she and Zhang Sicheng would be much less burdened—and much more at ease.

Previously, Liu Lu usually handled taking Zhang Xiaotao to and from school.

But sometimes both husband and wife were too busy, leaving them no choice but to let him come home by himself.

They naturally worried about it.

But there had been no other way.

Now that Zhang Ran was here, they no longer needed to be concerned.

After thinking it over, Liu Lu said, “Then we’ll trouble you.”

“It’s no trouble. You two just focus on work,” Zhang Ran replied.

After that, he didn’t let either of them accompany him.

Both Zhang Xiaotao and Susu knew where their schools were.

They could guide him, and Zhang Ran would simply take them there.

Zhang Xiaotao’s school was very close to home—only about a ten-minute walk away.

It didn’t take much effort.

Susu’s kindergarten, however, was much farther.

Although Susu’s paternal grandparents didn’t care for this granddaughter, they still sent her to a decent kindergarten, perhaps for the sake of appearances.

The tuition alone was nearly twenty thousand yuan a year.

“Grandpa, you have to come pick me up after school this afternoon, okay?” Zhang Xiaotao said expectantly.

In just over a day, the little boy had already grown very close to his grandfather.

“Don’t worry. As soon as school ends, Grandpa will come get you.”

Zhang Ran rubbed the little boy’s head.

Hearing his grandfather’s promise, Zhang Xiaotao happily ran inside.

Next, it was time to send Susu to school.

Holding Susu’s small hand, Zhang Ran got into a taxi.

Along the way, he kept talking to her.

Although the little girl didn’t respond much, the way her little ears perked up made it clear she was listening very seriously.