Outside the room, Bai Hua took out some fruits and pastries for the children.
However, they refused to eat, merely staring at Bai Hua.
“I’m your grandmother. Don’t look at me like that. I won’t hurt you,” assured Bai Hua.
Still unaffected, the children remained motionless.
“These pastries are really yummy! They’re made by a famous pastry chef in Tokyo,” persuaded Bai Hua.
By now, Erbao was starting to be tempted. As a glutton, she knew that the pastries were yummy just from the fragrance.
However, as Dabao did not move, neither would she.
“We’ve already eaten. Thank you, grandma,” stated Dabao expressionlessly.
“You called me grandma?” exclaimed Bai Hua in surprise.
“Well, with your age, we should call you grandma,” replied Dabao politely.
His words were courteous, but it revealed an implicit fact—he did not call her grandma out of sincerity, but because of her old age.
In other words, it was just a way of addressing her, not an acknowledgement of her as their grandma.
“Why do you speak so unpleasantly? What do you mean that you should call me grandma because of my age? I’m your grandma for a fact,” said Bai Hua in frustration.
“I don’t know you.” Erbao chimed in.
“You…”
Bai Hua was about to fly into a rage, but she remembered that she must not offend these two kids.
After all, they were the Nan family’s precious darlings. Everyone would have to concede to them.
If she did not have a good relationship with the kids, it would be harder for her to assimilate into the Nan family.
Hence, Bai Hua had no choice but to suppress the urge to be firm with the kids.
“I know that you’re not familiar with me. That’s because I’ve been living overseas for a long time. Now that I’ve just returned, I really wish to get along well with you. After all, we’re a family,” coaxed Bai Hua with a smile.
However, her smile looked a little fake, making the kids feel uneasy.
Although they were children, they were sensitive towards adults’ emotions.
Dabao and Erbao both knew that this old lady’s smile was not sincere, hence they kept quiet.
“Come on. Let’s have a bite.” Bai Hua insisted on persuading them.
“No, thanks.” Dabao still refused.
Bai Hua could not help but get angry. “What’s wrong with you? I’m speaking to you so nicely, but you just refuse to listen to me. Are you crazy?”
While what she said at the start was fine, her last sentence was already an insult.
“Who are you to scold Dabao? You’re the crazy one!” rebuked Erbao furiously.
“How dare you scold me, you damned brat?” Bai Hua could not hold herself back anymore.
“You’re not allowed to scold my sister!” Dabao defended Erbao too.
After all, the siblings were so close that it seemed like they were joined at the hips. If they heard the other being scolded, they would feel even more upset.
“Hah! Are you trying to rebel? So what if I scolded you? Your mom is so uncivilized that she taught you to behave like this! That woman is so crude. Her children lack even the most basic manners!”
She had finally crossed the line. Earlier, she only scolded Erbao and Dabao. Now, she was scolding their mother.
The two kids were utterly enraged. How can she scold Mommy? How can she?
“You’re a bad grandma!” Erbao’s face flushed red in anger. “You scolded my Mommy!”
Although she was furious, Erbao did not know how to curse and hurl insults like the people on the streets. Hence, this was the most she could do.
“Are you angry? Your mother did not do a good job teaching you! You’re grandchildren from the Nan family. How can you not know basic manners?” scoffed Bai Hua coldly.
“Despite your old age, you deserve no respect!” Dabao snapped.
Dabao’s rebukes were much skilled than Erbao. Although he did not know those common insults, his words were much more scathing than Erbao’s.
Just with that sentence, it was clear how critical he was.
“What did you say? What did you call me?” Bai Hua was enraged.
“I said that despite your old age, you deserve no respect. You’re a vicious woman,” repeated Dabao expressionlessly.
Bai Hua was so furious that her face flushed. “You…”
“You’re a baddie! A big baddie…” Erbao furiously yelled at Bai Hua.
As Bai Hua insulted Ning Ran, Erbao resented her now.
“You damned brat! If you scold me again, your mother will never be allowed into the Nan family. I’ll make her get lost, so you’ll never see her again!”
Bai Hua was acting absurdly too. In her fury, she actually started arguing with two kids.
Erbao became even more anxious when she heard that. This wicked old lady wants to chase Mommy away, and prevent us from seeing her forever!
She’s going overboard!
“You baddie! You’re not allowed to insult Mommy or chase her away. You’re such a mean woman…”
With flushed cheeks, Erbao bellowed at Bai Hua.
“What are you doing, Erbao?” Nan Chen finally came back.
When Erbao spotted Nan Chen, she could not hold her aggrieved feelings back anymore and burst into tears.
This time, it was not an act. She was actually crying.
After all, Erbao was just a child. After hearing her mother being insulted, threatened to be chased away and that she would never see her mother again, her young self could not withstand such a blow.
“What’s wrong, darling?” Nan Chen jogged towards her and hugged her.
“Meanie…” Erbao wailed even louder.
When children felt like they had been wronged, they would endure it before their pillar of support came. Now that he had arrived, Erbao vented her frustration all at once.
“Don’t cry… Good girl…”
When Nan Chen saw Erbao crying so devastatingly, his heart ached.
As Bai Hua did not expect Nan Chen to come out so quickly, she was at a loss for how to explain this.
“What happened?” Nan Chen asked Dabao, who had a cold expression on his face.
“Grandma bullied Erbao.” Dabao’s answer was very straightforward.
“Hey, what are you talking about? How did I bully her? She’s the one insulting me, okay? Chen, don’t listen to his nonsense. They’re my grandchildren. I’ll never bully them,” explained Bai Hua hurriedly.
However, Nan Chen’s expression was still frosty. He did not even spare a single glance at Bai Hua.
Instead of asking Bai Hua what happened, he asked Dabao directly. This had implied that he did not trust Bai Hua.
“Grandma scolded us for not knowing any manners. She even insulted Mommy! As Erbao became unhappy, she rebuked her. Then, grandma scolded Erbao,” continued Dabao.
Nan Chen’s expression turned even grimmer.
Although he was not the type to be overly defensive of his children, he believed Dabao’s words.
The reason was because he saw how heartbroken Erbao was.
Erbao was an optimistic person. Sometimes, she would pretend to be sad, but that was different from how she was behaving now.
She was crying so much that she could barely even speak. This meant that she was really sad.
Nothing could make Erbao so sad, except for something that involved her mother.
Hence, Nan Chen deduced that Bai Hua must have said something extremely vicious to make Erbao so devastated.
“Do you think it’s appropriate to treat my children like this?” Nan Chen shot a cold glare at Bai Hua.
“Why are you believing what the kids say? I didn’t even say anything. They’re kicking up a fuss themselves.” Bai Hua was in a rush to explain herself.
“Even if the adults have committed a mistake, the children are innocent. It’s fine if you don’t like them, but you shouldn’t hurt them!” yelled Nan Chen furiously.
“Hey! I’ve already said that I didn’t do anything. Why won’t you believe me?” Bai Hua was starting to become anxious.
“You’re the elder here. You shouldn’t be such a bad role model for the children.”
With that, Nan Chen carried Erbao. “It’s okay. Let’s go.”
