Chapter 260 Respecting a child's choice, regardless of their age.

The afternoon sun streamed in through the glass windows of the hospital corridor, casting a warm yellow glow on the floor.

Ye Wenxi and Zhang Yunxia walked slowly alongside Ding Jiahe, one on each side.

Ding Jiahe's right arm injury has not yet healed, but his legs and feet are nimble, and he walks at a moderate pace.

Zhang Xiangyang ran in front, occasionally turning back to shout, "Mom, hurry up!"

Zhang Yunxia quickly waved: "Xiangyang, come back. You can't run in the hospital corridor."

Zhang Xiangyang ignored him, rushed forward a few more steps, then squatted down to study a row of ants in the corner, his little head extremely close.

Ye Wenxi watched his retreating figure, a slight smile curving her lips.

"He's really had a blast these past few days."

"That's right." Zhang Yunxia's eyes were smiling. "I was laughing in my dream last night, shouting, 'Mom, Daddy Chen is chasing me!' It made both me and Old Chen laugh."

Ding Jiahe listened and laughed along. After laughing, she suddenly spoke:

"Shouldn't you be going back?"

Ye Wenxi turned to look at her.

"Given our condition, Wang Hao and I will have to stay here for a while longer." Ding Jiahe lowered her head, fiddling with the edge of the bandage with her left hand. "The doctor said I'll need another week, and Wang Hao at least two more. You can't stay here indefinitely."

"We need to discuss it. Old Chen has a lot of things to do, and Wei Dong has to go back too." Zhang Yunxia sighed and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

She paused, then looked up at Ye Wenxi:

"Why don't you guys go first? I'll take Xiangyang and Xiaoding and wait for Wang Hao. It won't be convenient for him to return alone after he's discharged from the hospital."

Ding Jiahe couldn't bear to leave Wang Hao there alone, so she wanted to stay with him.

Zhang Yunxia was also reluctant to part with him; she couldn't bear to part with Zhang Xiangyang.

Although it has been decided that she will take Zhang Xiangyang back to Northeast China regardless of whether she takes him in or not, this period may be the last time Zhang Xiangyang calls her "Mom".

Ye Wenxi actually wanted to spend more time with them; having another person take care of them would make the two injured people more comfortable.

The Light Industry Bureau is waiting for her designs, the school is waiting for her to share them, and the garment company still has a bunch of issues to deal with.

"It's alright." Ding Jiahe looked up at her. "I can basically move around normally now, and Wang Hao can take care of himself to some extent. You should go back now, don't delay your business."

"Okay." Ye Wenxi nodded. "Then I'll go back with Lu Weidong and the others first."

"However, I should stay in Harbin for a few more days, and then I'll pick you up."

"Yes!" Ding Jiahe nodded vigorously.

"Xiangyang, come here, stop playing." Zhang Yunxia called out to Zhang Xiangyang, who was squatting down nearby playing with ants.

The child did not move.

She remained squatting there, her back to them, her small shoulders slightly hunched.

"Xiangyang?" Zhang Yunxia called out again.

He still didn't move.

Ye Wenxi and Ding Jiahe exchanged a glance, both somewhat stunned.

Zhang Yunxia walked over, squatted down behind him, and gently patted his shoulder:

"Xiangyang, what's wrong?"

The child didn't turn around, but his little shoulders trembled slightly.

Zhang Yunxia walked around to him, squatted down, and when she saw his face, her heart clenched.

Zhang Xiangyang lowered his head, his eyes were red, and his small hands were clutching the hem of his clothes.

"Xiangyang?" Zhang Yunxia's voice softened.

The child didn't answer; tears just streamed down his face, falling to the ground.

Ding Jiahe and Ye Wenxi also came over.

"Xiangyang, tell your mother what's wrong?" Zhang Yunxia reached out to wipe his tears.

Zhang Xiangyang suddenly looked up at her, his lips pursed slightly:

"Mom, I don't want to go."

Zhang Yunxia was stunned.

"Why? Didn't you want to go back to Northeast China?"

Zhang Xiangyang remained silent, lowered his head, and his tears fell even more fiercely.

A long time passed, so long that everyone thought he wouldn't answer, before he finally spoke very softly and gently:

"I want my mom."

These words caused everyone's hearts to clench.

In Zhang Xiangyang's two short sentences, all the fear in his small world is hidden.

He wanted to go back to Northeast China.

In that familiar environment, there was snow, his favorite food, and the home he remembered.

But he knew even more that once he went back, there might be no "mother" left.

So he preferred to stay in this unfamiliar place, as long as his mother was there.

Zhang Xiangyang is five and a half years old this year. His little head is already able to understand some things.

In the reformatory, some children told him: We are orphans, only orphans are sent here.

He asked what an orphan was.

The older child said: "It means that everyone in my family died."

Later, he asked Zhang Yunxia twice, "When will Grandma get better? Will Grandma come back to Northeast China with us?"

Zhang Yunxia patted his head and brushed it off with some words.

He never asked again.

But deep down, he vaguely knew.

He was squatting on the ground, poking ants with a twig, but he was listening to the adults talking.

They said they wanted to leave, that they wanted to go back, and they discussed who would leave first and who would leave last...

He didn't quite understand those words, but he understood the word "go back".

Going back means leaving my mother behind.

In his young heart, the little bit of warmth and security that he had painstakingly cultivated was being peeled away bit by bit with fingernails, revealing the wounds underneath that had not yet healed.

Zhang Yunxia held him, feeling the small body trembling in her arms, trembling so much that it broke her heart.

She rested her chin on the top of his head and gently rubbed it against him.

"Xiangyang, listen to what your mother has to say."

Zhang Xiangyang didn't look up, but simply hugged her even tighter.

"Mom will never abandon you. Whether you go back to Northeast China or not, Mom will always be by your side."

The little head in my arms stirred, and a muffled voice came out: "Really?"

"real."

Zhang Yunxia cupped his little face in her hands and gently wiped away his tears with her thumb, one by one.

"Do you remember what your mother told you?"

The child didn't speak.

"Mom said that no matter what happens in the future, you will always be Mom's child."

Zhang Xiangyang looked at her; her eyes were red, but she had stopped crying.

He hugged her tightly, buried his face in her neck, and rubbed against her repeatedly.

That hug, those words, seemed to fill the hole in his heart.

Zhang Xiangyang stopped crying, sniffled, and ran off to play again.

On the way back, after a moment of silence, Ye Wenxi couldn't help but ask:

"Sister Yunxia, ​​what is Commander Chen struggling with?"

Zhang Yunxia sighed and told the two about Chen Yuanchuan's childhood experiences.

Ding Jiahe was stunned after hearing this, and Ye Wenxi was speechless for a long time.

It turns out he didn't dislike her; he liked her so much that he was so careful, afraid she would experience his pain.

"Why not talk to the child directly?" Ye Wenxi suggested softly.

"Children actually understand more than we think. We should talk to them directly and respect their choices."

Zhang Yunxia was stunned.

During this time, she and Chen Yuanchuan had been thinking about whether to lean more towards Zhang Yunxia's feelings or to consider Chen Yuanchuan's inner conflict and struggle.

Only...

I hadn't thought of asking Zhang Xiangyang what he thought.

"Don't underestimate him just because he's only five years old," Ye Wenxi said softly, watching the small figure climbing the tree in the distance.

"He knows where he is, who is good to him, and what he is afraid of."

"Why not tell him about the difficulties and problems and let him make his own choice?"

Zhang Yunxia turned to look at Zhang Xiangyang.

He was so young that even climbing onto the flower bed was difficult for him. He probably couldn't fully understand the adults' good intentions and the difficulties he would face in the future.

However, Ye Wenxi is right.

Respecting a child's choice has nothing to do with their age.