The Tender Beauty is Sweetly Doted in the 20th Century Novel!-Chapter 244 - 243: Grandpa Loves Hawthorn Balls the Most
The old man has two faces.
Ye Manman was amused by her grandfather’s childish behavior.
Indeed, as people age, they gradually regress to childlike behavior, and her grandfather was a typical example.
"Alright, Grandpa, I’ll go see Mom first. You don’t need to fuss, I’m not in the mood for snacks."
She noticed that Liu Gaoyuan was about to take an apple to wash, but she wasn’t interested in eating it now.
Liu Gaoyuan cheerfully said he understood, but still went off with the apple.
Ye Manman chuckled helplessly and headed over to the iron gate.
Liu Rulan was sitting under the orange tree, wiping a trophy, which was already glowing with a golden sheen, and she was polishing it to a reflective shine.
"Mom, I’m here to see you."
Ye Manman called out to her and waved the paper bag in her hand.
"Come and see what goodies I brought for you."
Liu Rulan immediately put down the trophy and ran over when she heard her voice.
"Manman..."
Her eyes were fixed on Ye Manman, her gaze unbelievably gentle. If it weren’t for her difficulty speaking freely, Liu Rulan would have looked just like any other person at the moment.
Ye Manman happily opened the paper bag, reached inside, and took out a hawthorn ball wrapped in sugar frosting.
"Ta-da! Mom, do you like hawthorn balls? It’s not like candied hawthorn; the sugar outside is soft and sweet. Want to try it?"
She held it to Liu Rulan’s mouth, and Liu Rulan obediently ate it.
Ye Manman looked at her with anticipation, as if trying to show how much she liked it, Liu Rulan chewed hard and swallowed.
However, Liu Rulan wasn’t good at hiding her preferences.
The sour and sweet hawthorn ball made her face scrunch, and her eyes even got a bit misty.
"Mom, if you don’t like it, you can spit it out..."
Seeing that her mom struggled with the hawthorn ball but forced it down, Ye Manman quickly hid the paper bag behind her.
"It’s delicious, Mom likes it."
Liu Rulan wasn’t adept at eating hawthorn balls. She held it in her mouth for so long that the sugar frosting melted, so she ended up eating a hard piece of hawthorn, with tears almost streaming down from the sourness.
But she still braved it, swallowing hard and looking at Ye Manman.
"Everything Manman buys, Mom likes."
She could now say many complete short sentences, but only when communicating with Ye Manman, and the sentences mostly revolved around the two of them.
No one knew how long Liu Rulan practiced daily in the yard.
Ye Manman suddenly regretted not asking Liu Gaoyuan first before impulsively bringing the snack she had whimsically bought.
"I’m sorry, Mom, I didn’t know you couldn’t eat hawthorn..."
Some people just can’t handle sour things. She thought Liu Rulan liked oranges and assumed she could handle sourness, so she bought a freshly made hawthorn ball when she saw it.
But now, something meant to make her mom happy ended up causing discomfort.
"Mom likes it."
Seeing her lower her head in guilt, Liu Rulan blinked and swallowed hard before holding her hand.
"Manman, don’t cry. Mom likes to eat."
It was the first time Ye Manman messed up something like this and felt a bit guilty, but she didn’t cry, just a little red-eyed, understanding that Liu Rulan was probably telling her not to feel bad or cry.
Remembering her purpose for coming, she quickly regained her composure, turned over, and placed Liu Rulan’s hand on her belly.
"Mom, yesterday your little grandson started moving. He even kicked me today. Touch here and see if he’ll greet you."
Liu Rulan could roughly control her movements now, but she nervously flinched her fingers when she touched Ye Manman’s belly.
There was no movement, as if the little one was still quite aloof.
Liu Rulan looked nervously and blankly at her, then at the belly, seemingly not understanding why he didn’t greet her.
Ye Manman felt a bit helpless, "Maybe he’s still sleeping."
Just after she said that, there was movement in her belly.
With clothes on, the slight bulge on her belly wasn’t obvious, but with Liu Rulan’s hand on it, the sensation was quite clear,
She didn’t dare move, her eyes widening in surprise.
"It moved!"
Ye Manman smiled and nodded, "Yes, it seems he also wants to meet Grandma."
Liu Rulan withdrew her hand, overjoyed, unsure of what to say at the moment.
Ye Manman held her hand, looked steadily into her eyes, and her expression turned serious.
"So, Mom, you must get better soon. When the little grandson arrives, he’ll definitely want a hug from Grandma. You want to hold him, don’t you?"
She spoke slowly, striving for Liu Rulan to understand.
Fortunately, Liu Rulan’s mental state was improving; she understood, even making a fist.
"Yes!"
"Mom must get better."
How could she not want to open this iron gate and go out?
Liu Rulan was unhinged, but not foolish.
Inside her, there’s a normal self struggling desperately to break free from shackles, to leave this iron gate, to embrace her daughter, to hold her grandson.
Her daughter came to see her every day, encouraging her, which was her greatest source of strength.
Ye Manman increasingly felt that Liu Rulan’s gaze seemed normal, though she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, given that Liu Rulan always seemed lucid when facing her.
After chatting about some daily matters, Ye Manman took the hawthorn balls back to the living room.
As expected, Liu Gaoyuan had washed the apples and even placed them on a plate.
She was somewhat helpless, took out the paper bag, and sat down.
"Grandpa, does my mom not like hawthorn?"
"Yeah, don’t be fooled by how she likes oranges. That’s because she always picks the sweetest and juiciest ones. If they’re too sour, she’d give them to her brother, because Yanghua can eat anything and doesn’t mind sourness."
After speaking, Liu Gaoyuan noticed the paper bag she had placed on the table.
"What’s this?"
He picked it up and looked inside, finding it full of hawthorn balls.
"No wonder you asked me that; did she eat one and spit it all out? Don’t be upset if she doesn’t like hawthorn. Grandpa loves it; Grandpa absolutely adores hawthorn balls."
Fearing she might feel bad, Liu Gaoyuan finished his words and immediately took out a hawthorn ball to stuff into his mouth.
Ye Manman quickly stopped him, "No! Grandpa, last time you said you liked pineapple and ended up eating porridge for days. If you eat this hawthorn, you’ll be eating porridge for over a week!"
Liu Gaoyuan was careful not to get sugar frosting on his hands, so he cautiously held the ball. Her sudden loud voice startled him, and the hawthorn ball nearly dropped from his hand.
"..."
Liu Gaoyuan awkwardly watched the hawthorn ball roll away, casting a resentful glance at her.
"You... how long has it been since that happened, yet you still bring it up..."
"Don’t imitate your uncle."
