Chapter 164
Chapter 164
"Go straight home."
"Huh?"
"Bob's done at the center. He told us to go home and prepare for the party."
"Alright." Zhihao nodded.
"Mom? Why are we going home?" Zihan asked.
"How bout cousin?"
"Yeah! Cousin!"
"We'll be meeting your cousin at home. We have to prepare a surprise for him first." Ying Yue replied.
"Surprise?!" The triplets immediately sat up excitedly.
Zhihao chuckled.
"Listen… when you meet him later on, be kind. Okay? Your cousin… he's special." He said carefully.
"Why?"
"Why special?"
"Special!"
Zhihao paused.
"Well… he lost a lot early on in his life. We can't get it back for him but… we can try filling it with love."
The triplets paused, confused.
"It's okay!" Zihan started. "The three of us has lots of love!"
"Yeah!"
"Times three!"
Ying Yue smiled.
---
Meanwhile, Bob carried Kai out of the adoption center and gently entered the back seat of his car with him. Today, he knew that he'd be too emotional to drive so he brought a driver with him.
Inside the car, Kai sat on Bob's lap, unwilling to get down. He laid his head onto his chest, his hands gripping Bob's shirt tightly.
When he was two, Kai lost his parents in a car crash. The debris fell onto his left leg and they had to amputate it. Unwanted by relatives, he was dumped in the orphanage.
A year ago, Bob started visiting the center. He was given the children's information sheet and he scanned the profiles of candidates ready for adoption. Kai immediately caught his attention. He was a very cute boy and he seemed very obedient.
"Mr. Zheng… you might want to reconsider." The staff persuaded him.
"Huh? Why?"
"Well… Little Kai is an amputee…"
Bob's eyes widened. Before he could react, the staff continued speaking.
"Usually, couples who come in always choose him first. But after finding out about… his special circumstance, they immediately refuse. It's been hard on the boy… So now we tell everyone upfront about his condition."
Bob frowned. After a short pause, he continued.
"Can I see him?" He asked.
The staff hesitated. If Bob changes his mind, the little boy would be disappointed again. Still, Bob was a Zheng and they couldn't refuse him. As such, a staff went to fetch the boy.
Soon, Kai entered the office shyly. He was thin and his clothes were big on him. Instinctively, Bob looked at his legs. They boy was limping and he felt his heart clench tightly.
"Hey there buddy…" Bob gently approached him.
At first, Kai was always afraid of Bob. He looked like a thug and even though he wore a suit now, his bald head still scared the boy. Still, Bob was very patient and he came to visit Kai every weekend. He bought him clothes, gave him lots of food, and he spent endless hours talking and playing with him.
When he found out that Kai was being bullied, he was furious. Still, he confronted the other kids as calm as he could and he talked to them. Of course, the little kids were scared. They didn't bully Kai anymore but they didn't want to play or associate with him either. But seeing how Bob came over every weekend to play with Kai, they were all jealous. They wanted to play with Bob too. As such, they mustered the courage to talk to Bob and before long, they all became friends.
"Your Uncle Bob is so cool!"
"Yeah! Wouldn't it be nice if he became your daddy?"
Kai gripped his shorts tightly and nodded.
"Yeah…"
When Bob thought that Kai was ready, he began bringing Ben Ben over. Ben Ben loved children as much as Bob did. He was always gentle and careful and he was very patient with them. To the very shy and silent Kai, Ben Ben took the initiative to approach and play with him. As if knowing that Bob treated this boy specially, Ben Ben also paid special attention to him.
"Ben Ben loves you a lot. See. He likes keeping an eye on you." Bob explained.
Kai stared at the dog and smiled. He stretched out his arm and gently ruffled Ben Ben's head.
"I… I like you too, Ben Ben…"
"Arf!"
Soon, Bob's visits became a norm and everyone started looked forward to it. Even the staff who were suspicious of him at first had been won over. Before long, the once shy little Kai refused to let go of Bob. He would cry whenever Bob left and he couldn't wait until the weekends came.
"Kai, why don't you wait inside? Your Uncle Bob gave us a call earlier and said that he'd be a little late today."
Kai paused before shaking his head. He stood at the adoption center's gate stubbornly, enduring the heat of the sun.
"Kai will wait here. So that Uncle Bob will see me."
On Kai's birthday, Bob gave him a prosthetic leg he designed himself. He spent hours studying under a professional and he spent even more hours working on the leg. He made it as cool as possible and he nervously wrapped it up for Kai. When he presented it to the little boy, his heart was filled with warmth upon seeing the joy in Kai's eyes.
"Do… do you like it?" Bob asked nervously.
Kai nodded vigorously, his hands gripping his shorts tightly. Soon, tears began streaming down his face and he could not help but sob.
"W-What's wrong?!" Bob panicked.
"Uncle Bob…" He sobbed.
"Yes?" He asked, his brows furrowed.
"It's the best gift ever…"
When Bob had decided to adopt Kai, Zhihao sat down to have a talk with him.
"You sure you want this kid? It's going to be a huge responsibility…" Zhihao asked.
Bob paused to think before nodding.
"Don't you think we're well matched? He needs lots of love and… I've got too much of it." He grinned.
Zhihao laughed.
"Well. There's always room for another Zheng. Whatever your decision is, we got your back." He said as he patted Bob's back.
Now that Kai was in his arms, Bob was determined to take care of him well. He gently hugged the boy, his big hands rubbing Kai's back.
"We're almost there… You'll get to meet your big family soon." He smiled.
---
Back at the Zheng Residences, everyone stood waiting for the pair to arrive. Soon, they heard footsteps and Bob arrived at the scene, carrying a cute little Kai.
"Uncle Bob!!!" The triplets ran to him excitedly.
Kai, upon hearing the voice of children, turned his head and stared at them.
"D-Dad…"
"Mmm?"
"There are three copies…"
Bob laughed. He bent down and gently lowered Kai onto the floor.
"Kai, these are your cousins. They're one year younger than you."
The triplets stared at Kai curiously, their big eyes blinking.
"This is Zihan, Zixuan, and Ziwei." Bob introduced.
Kai tightened his grip on Bob's arm before shyly waving his hand.
"H-Hi… I'm Kai…"
"Hi cousin!"
"Hi!"
"Kai!"
Kai slowly smiled.
Haoran came to greet Kai too and Bob introduced him.
"This is Haoran. He's your big brother."
Haoran smiled sweetly and gently patted Kai's head.
Soon, everyone sat around the table. They lit up the candles on Kai's cake and he made a wish. After that, everyone began eating. The table was noisy and the room was full of life. Kai looked around, his heart overflowing with warmth.
After the meal, the adults sat and talked.
"Kai! Let's play!"
"Play!!!" The triplets began pulling his arm.
Kai instinctively looked at Bob and the latter nodded and smiled.
"You three monkeys be careful, alright. Don't be rough with him." Bob warned and the three demons nodded. They then dragged Kai away.
As they played outside in the yard, they ran and ran until they were tired. At some point, the three little idiots rushed to Kai and they all fell down. Kai's prosthetic leg was knocked over and flew to the ground.
The triplets stared in horror before screaming.
"W…WAAAAAAH!!!"
Kai watched, his heart breaking.
"D-Don't be scared!" He tried to explain but Ziwei began crying.
Zixuan picked the leg up and ran to Kai in a panic.
"D-Does it hurt?" Zihan asked nervously.
Kai shook his head.
"W-Will it grow back?" Zixuan asked.
Kai paused before shaking his head.
"WAAAAAH!" Ziwei cried even harder.
"W-We broke our cousin!!!" He sobbed and the two other kids began crying too.
"S-Sorry Kai! W-We're sorry!" They sobbed.
Meanwhile, Haoran who had witnessed the scene immediately called the attention of the adults and they came rushing out.
Zihan stared at Kai's leg before biting his lip.
"Y-You can have my leg, Kai!"
Ying Yue paused, her eyes widening.
"M-Mine too." Zixuan offered.
"Can have – can have my arm too!" Ziwei cried.
Kai watched as his three little cousins offered themselves up to make him feel better and he could not help but cry too. Upon seeing him cry, the triplets cried even harder.
"D-Don't cry! We'll help you! D-Dad will know what to do!" Zihan explained.
"Yeah! Dad is amazing! He will fix your leg, I'm sure!" Zixuan nodded.
Ziwei hugged Kai tightly, sobbing onto his neck.
Ying Yue sighed and let out a light chuckle.
"You hear that? Your kids think you're almighty." She smiled at Zhihao who was ugly crying too. His little demons – they offered up their limbs for their new cousin!
"Dad!" Zihan ran to his father with tears in his eyes.
"T-Take my leg! Please give it to Kai!" He begged.
Zhihao bent down and hugged his idiot son tightly.
---
After the children had calmed down, Ying Yue explained the matter to them slowly. The triplets pouted, their eyes still teary.
Zihan stood up and gently hugged Kai. Soon, the two others followed.
"We'll love you lots Kai!"
They peppered him with gentle kisses and smiled.
"The three of us will take care of you. We promise!"
"Yeah! Legs are over… overrated anyway!"
Kai wiped his tears away and smiled.
That day, for the first time in a long time, Kai felt that he was lucky. For all the things he had lost… life had given back to him today in threefold.