Volume 1 Chapter 10: Duoduo Was Adopted by Me!

As the distance closed in, Jiang Rui raised his arm, poised to strike, his fist about to swing.

Unexpectedly, in the next moment, Qin Wenze reached out with both arms and embraced him, holding Jiang Rui close. He even patted Jiang Rui on the back before letting go.

Qin Wenze’s face, usually expressionless, now looked serious as he sincerely said, “Thank you, brother-in-law. I knew you cared for Jiang Cheng, but deep down, you still support me.”

After speaking, he stepped forward again, hugged Jiang Rui, patted his back twice more, then released him and briskly walked ahead.

Yang Qianrou, who was chasing after them, glanced curiously at Jiang Rui, still with his arm raised, but did not stop and ran toward Qin Wenze.

Jiang Rui stood there stunned, his mind racing wildly.

What on earth was wrong?

This guy, besides being expressionless, must be brain-damaged too.

Was he really trying to hug someone?

Was this supposed to be a sign of support?

He was clearly in a fighting stance!

Was this boy genuinely stupid or just pretending, unwilling to fight him?

Jiang Rui’s punch had completely missed its mark, leaving him intensely frustrated.

Before, he had to hold back because Madam Qin was an elderly lady.

Now, he was faced with Qin Wenze, who couldn’t read people’s expressions.

Jiang Rui felt like he might spit blood from anger.

Qin Wenze had already moved to the other side.

Seeing him, Madam Qin’s eyes flickered with a trace of guilt, but she soon straightened her chest with righteous pride.

Qin Wenze frowned and said to Madam Qin, “Mother, didn’t you promise that if I told you the truth, you wouldn’t interfere? So why have you come over here?”

Madam Qin retorted, “That’s nonsense! Because of you, when will my daughter-in-law and granddaughter come home?”

Hearing this, Yang Qianrou’s expression darkened.

Jiang Cheng spoke up first: “Madam Qin! Duoduo really...”

She glanced at Jiang Duoduo, pursed her lips, then decisively grabbed Qin Wenze’s sleeve, bit her lip, gently took hold of Madam Qin’s arm, and pulled them toward another direction, not forgetting to glance back at Jiang Rui and say,

“Brother, keep an eye on Duoduo. I’ll talk with them and come back.”

Yang Qianrou, of course, wouldn’t let Qin Wenze and Jiang Cheng interact out of her sight and followed closely behind.

Jiang Rui anxiously looked their way but couldn’t leave Duoduo alone, so he stayed put.

As he watched Jiang Cheng and the others, Jiang Duoduo gently tugged on his finger.

Tilting her head up, she said to Jiang Rui,

“Ruizui, Mommy won’t be in trouble!”

That old lady really likes Duoduo, and that Uncle Goge also likes her, so they definitely wouldn’t make things hard for Mommy!

Duoduo was full of confidence.

A burly man nearby—now without sunglasses—had not left yet and said to Jiang Rui,

“Mr. Jiang, Madam Qin is kind-hearted and won’t trouble Miss Jiang. Even though Mr. Qin is her biological son, she won’t show him favoritism.

Right now, none of the Qin men compare to young Miss Duoduo in Madam Qin’s heart. You can rest assured.”

Jiang Rui could hardly be reassured!

Duoduo wasn’t a true granddaughter of the Qin family but was adopted by them.

With the Qin mother and son there, plus the uneasy Yang Qianrou, who knew if Jiang Cheng would be bullied alone?

But he guessed Jiang Cheng wanted to clarify the adoption situation and it really wasn’t appropriate to bring Duoduo over to hear all that.

Still, leaving the little one alone unsettled him.

He certainly couldn’t trust the Qin family’s bodyguards to take care of Duoduo.

Fortunately, Jiang Cheng and the others hadn’t gone far; if anything happened, he could rush over quickly.

Jiang Rui finally felt a little relieved and ignored the burly man.

Hmph, Qin family people—he wouldn’t trust them!

He bent down to pinch Jiang Duoduo’s cheek and comforted her,

“It’s okay. Uncle isn’t afraid! Duoduo, don’t be scared. When we get back, Uncle will make sure you get an extra ten minutes of TV time!”

Duoduo was delighted by this unexpected treat, her eyes squinting happily, but then she heard her uncle’s voice sound again:

“That useless girl Jiang Cheng—won’t she get bullied? Will she cry at the sight of that family?

And that Yang Qianrou isn’t a good person. Maybe she was behind that car accident before. Could she be scheming something again this time?”

Hearing this, Duoduo’s little face puffed up in anger as she glared toward Yang Qianrou.

Bad woman!

Duoduo had heard about that accident and the baby Jiang Cheng lost more than once from Jiang Cheng’s thoughts.

Though young, she could feel that every time her mother thought about those things, her mood darkened, her grief overwhelming, yet she forced herself to be strong and smile when interacting with her.

Now she realized it had been someone’s deliberate doing!

Her impression of Yang Qianrou plummeted immediately.

Along with Qin Wenze too.

Bad women were no good, and Uncle Goge, who stayed by such a bad woman, was bad too!

He even wanted to be her father—hmpf! Duoduo would never want a bad person as her dad! She’d rather have three useless turtle grandpas than a dad who hurt her mother!

Mommy was too weak and couldn’t confront the bad woman.

So...

Duoduo pushed up the large sunglasses on her nose and nodded firmly.

Yes, now it was up to Duoduo!

Jiang Rui saw the child clenching her little fist, wondering what she was thinking. Seeing Jiang Cheng’s side still calm, he asked,

“What’s wrong with Duoduo?”

“Hmph!” Duoduo sniffed indignantly and said, “Duoduo won’t tell you! Duoduo is a cool hero! Duoduo will defeat the bad people and avenge Mommy!”

This child—what kind of nonsense dramas was she watching?

Jiang Rui was helpless but felt a little relieved from his earlier tension and worry.

Meanwhile, Qin Wenze and Yang Qianrou sneezed simultaneously.

Jiang Cheng saw this and thought sarcastically: What mischief did these two get up to together that they caught a cold at the same time?

She didn’t want to think further, fearing it would upset her more.

She even avoided looking at Qin Wenze’s face, afraid of seeing his disdain for her and his indulgence toward Yang Qianrou.

So she forced herself to sound tough, her voice steady and emotionless.

“I’ve said it many times. Duoduo has nothing to do with the Qin family. She is not Qin Wenze’s daughter.

Before, when Duoduo was around, it wasn’t convenient to mention this. Now listen carefully: Jiang Duoduo is my adopted child. She is only my daughter. Please stop coming here to disturb us.

Qin Wenze, I hope you can find some time to finalize our divorce.

Though you didn’t sign the divorce papers back then, we have lived apart for years. Why prolong this any longer?

Isn’t it better to let each other go?”