Chapter 197: Loving Oneself
Hearing those words, Xu Youyou paused for a moment. Suddenly, she found Lu Jingyao, who was being so understanding, incredibly pleasing to the eye. Being liked by someone like him was enough proof that she was already a very, very good person.
“Thank you for liking me. I will think about it very, very seriously,” Xu Youyou said sincerely.
Lu Jingyao didn’t press her further. He simply smiled at her, then got up and left. After taking just a few steps outside the room, he ran into Assistant Liu, who was holding his phone and handling business matters.
Assistant Liu turned his head and saw Lu Jingyao acting strangely.
He almost thought he was hallucinating—was their CEO actually staring at a lollipop with a soft, affectionate gaze?
Assistant Liu shivered slightly in shock.
“Have someone buy a box of lollipops,” Lu Jingyao instructed.
Although Assistant Liu found this command utterly baffling, he still carried it out. He couldn’t help but wonder—had their CEO, at the age of twenty-eight, suddenly awakened his inner child and developed a love for lollipops?
Assistant Liu admired the CEO’s strong teeth. After all, most people his age found even a little bit of sugar made their teeth ache. But he quickly procured a whole box of lollipops and handed them over to Lu Jingyao.
Lu Jingyao returned to the now-empty storage room, moved the small cabinet aside, retrieved the iron box inside, and stuffed the entire box of lollipops into it.
An hour later, the small-statured Lele quietly snuck into the storage room. Carefully moving the cabinet, he opened the iron box, and his tiny eyes were instantly filled with immense confusion.
“Do lollipops… have babies?” Lele murmured to himself. Then he frowned and added, “Why do the baby lollipops look different?”
Children are simple creatures—when faced with something they can’t understand, they just stop thinking about it. Soon, he was fully immersed in the joy of having a magically multiplying stash of lollipops. Grabbing five at once, he ran to Xu Youyou, holding them up high.
“Youyou-jie, I’m treating you to candy!”
Xu Youyou patted Lele’s little head, and suddenly, a thought struck her. “Did you hide snacks in the storage room?”
A guilty look flashed across Lele’s eyes, but then he lowered his voice and whispered, “Youyou-jie, I’ll tell you a secret. If you hide lollipops in the storage room, they’ll grow into lots and lots of new lollipops!”
Xu Youyou had originally planned to restock the kids’ hidden stash, but she forgot. Now, hearing Lele’s words, she immediately realized—if she wasn’t the one adding more lollipops, then it had to be Lu Jingyao.
Given Lu Jingyao’s personality, he wasn’t the type to take advantage of others. Doing something like this was perfectly in line with his character.
Xu Youyou paused for a moment. She had discovered yet another one of Lu Jingyao’s good qualities—he had a kind heart.
After dinner, Mother Lu took Xu Youyou’s hand and said, “Youyou, I really hope that our decision to stay here for the New Year hasn’t inconvenienced you.”
Xu Youyou had originally planned to send the Lu family to a hotel in the city, but to her surprise, all three of them wanted to stay at the orphanage. Despite their usual life of luxury, they didn’t mind the simplicity of the orphanage at all.
“Auntie, as long as you don’t mind, then everything is fine,” Xu Youyou said with a smile.
Mother Lu held her hand tightly. “I’m getting older now, and I just love being around children. Having them around makes me feel younger.”
Mother Lu loved children, and the children loved this generous new “grandma.” Ever since she arrived, the kids had seen their supply of snacks and toys multiply several times over.
After Director He finished arranging the family’s accommodations, she pulled Xu Youyou aside and said in a low voice, “Xiao Lu is a good kid, and his parents seem easy to get along with. If you end up with them, I’d feel at ease. You’re luckier than me.”
Director He had never had children of her own. She had been married once when she was young, but her husband was abusive, and her in-laws were not kind people either. She had gathered the courage to leave, and from then on, she dedicated her life to the orphanage, just like Mother Xu.
But perhaps because her mindset had changed over time, when Xu Youyou heard those words, she unexpectedly felt a bit uncomfortable.
“Aunt He, a person’s happiness shouldn’t be defined by whether they have a good partner or good in-laws. It should come from always loving themselves,” Xu Youyou said seriously.
Director He was momentarily stunned. After a long pause, she nodded. “You’re right. Only by loving yourself can you truly love others. Knowing what you’re doing and understanding what you want—those things are more important than anything else. That way, you won’t lose yourself in a relationship.”
Xu Youyou took Director He’s hand and said, “Aunt He, don’t worry. Whether I get married or not, please trust me—I will live a good life.”
She had money now, and with the system backing her, she didn’t know if it would stay with her forever. But as long as it was by her side, she would seize the opportunity to learn every survival skill possible.
Even if the system left one day, she would still be able to live well on her own abilities.
Director He stroked Xu Youyou’s hair and smiled. “You’ve grown up.”
The next morning, as soon as Xu Youyou woke up, she saw a world of white outside her window.
“It’s snowing!” The children’s joyful shouts echoed from the yard.
In past years, the children had feared winter. The orphanage didn’t have the best conditions, and since the kids were still growing, their winter clothes never quite fit.
Their worn-out down jackets were often full of loose feathers, and some didn’t even have proper winter clothes. Winters were always a struggle for the poor.
But this year, thanks to Xu Youyou’s continuous support, all the children were wearing brand-new down jackets. They no longer feared the cold and could enjoy playing in the snow just like other kids.
After getting dressed, Xu Youyou stepped outside and saw that snowmen had already been built in the yard.
“Youyou-jie, look! This is your snowman! This is us! This is Mama He! And these are Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu!” a child shouted up to her.
Xu Youyou followed their pointing fingers and saw a group of small snowmen surrounding a few larger ones.
“Do you want to have a snowball fight?” Xu Youyou asked with a grin.
The children’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Yes! Youyou-jie, I want to be on your team!”
Xu Youyou raised her chin confidently. “It doesn’t matter whose team you’re on—I won’t go easy on anyone!”
“Youyou, come down for breakfast!” Director He called from downstairs, sounding just like a mother summoning her daughter.
Xu Youyou responded and quickly made her way down the hall.
At the stairwell, she ran into Lu Jingyao, who was coming upstairs.
“You…”
“You’re up already.”
After his confession yesterday, even though there was no official answer yet, meeting him again today made Xu Youyou feel a bit awkward.
