Only you in my love

Kian was not injured. The bullies had just pushed him to the ground. Thus, his face was covered in dust.

Upon seeing his dirty face, Kian's grandmother knew that something bad had happened to him. She pulled him close and made a fuss about this as they stood by the kindergarten's gate. Leon ignored the two and ushered his two nephews away from the place.

In the car, Nine was leaning over the window. Its tongue was sticking out and its tail was wagging furiously. Its enthusiasm had attracted attention from passers-by.

Van's face instantly lit up upon seeing Nine's fluffy head protruding out from the car window. The wind gently ruffled its snow-white fur. He happily ran to the dog and rubbed its head. "Nine, you're here! Did my uncle bring you with him to fetch us?"

Van's voice was so sweet and clear as he rubbed his cheek against the top of Nine's head.

Don also ran over, patting Nine's head as he smiled and called out its name.

The two brothers spent some time showering the dog with affection before getting into the car together. Meanwhile, Nine kept sniffing at the two.

Leon was still making a phone call outside. He kept his eyes locked on the two kids inside the car.

He briefly told Amy what happened in the kindergarten. He would leave the rest up to her.

After getting inside the car, he noticed that Nine was getting restless. It kept rubbing its body against Van, sniffing at the child until it finally stopped on his left hand. As Van tried to pull back his left sleeve, Nine bit down on it and began to tug.

"Stop biting me, Nine." With his right hand, Van touched Nine's head comfortingly. Nine was usually clingy and obedient towards Van, but it was acting oddly today. It continued tugging at Van's sleeve and drag him out of his seat.

Don was starting to get a little scared. He tried to push Nine's head away and shouted, "Stop biting him, Nine. Don't be such a bully."

Van frowned and continued petting Nine comfortingly. "Look. I'm fine. See?"

He stretched out his left hand, fully showing his palm.

Nine finally loosened his sleeve. It looked straight at him, its tongue lolling out of its mouth to lick his palm.

Don let out a sigh of relief. He then touched Nine's head and asked childishly, "Why did you run after Van this morning, Nine? And now, why are you biting his hand?"

Nine turned its head to look at him and then looked back at Van. It pushed its nose against his palm as if it wanted him to overturn his hand. But Van didn't.

Leon witnessed the whole scene unfold. His eyes narrowed.

He then drove the car towards the gate of the Feng Group's hospital. Upon parking the car, he turned around and said to his nephews, "Van, you'll come with me to the hospital to get something. Don and Nine, wait for us here in the car."

Van looked straight into his uncle's eyes, noting the gentle smile on his face. Lowering his head guiltily, he put his two hands around Nine's neck and rubbed it gently.

"Why just Van? I want to go with you." Don sulked.

"Pets aren't allowed inside the hospital. You have to stay with Nine in the car. It won't bite you, but it might bite your brother's clothes if I leave him here instead." Leon unfastened his seat belt and opened the door at Van's side. Together, they walked inside the hospital. As soon as they entered, he squatted down in front of his nephew and said, "Give me your hand."

Van obediently stretched out his left hand. There were three scratches at the back of it. It looked deep enough to hurt. His skin was broken and bloody.

The most severe of the three scratches looked serious. It was still dripping with blood.

The little girl from the other group was the one who pushed Kian and ordered the other boys to bully him.

Don appeared and warned them off. Then the girl asked the other boys to beat him up instead. Once the group realized that they were at a disadvantage, the girl picked up a small stone, intending to sneak an attack from behind.

Van grabbed her wrist tightly, forcing her to let go of the stone in her hand. In retaliation, she scratched his hand angrily.

Van wasn't aware that girls could scratch like that, and so he was unprepared for it. That was why he got hurt.

The girl was very confident at first, but when she saw that Don was good at fighting, she fled, leaving her friends behind.

Leon didn't see the girl in the surveillance video. He only saw Don fighting against the two boys, and Van coaxing Kian. Therefore, he didn't think about it too much.

If it weren't for Nine's odd behavior, he wouldn't have known that Van was hurt.

Van told Leon everything that had happened. Leon blew gently at his injured hand and asked, "Does it hurt?"

The child shook his head at first, but upon seeing the look in his uncle's eyes, he nodded. "It hurts, but don't let Don know."

"Why? You did great by protecting him, and he has the right to know that you are injured." Leon picked him up and took him to the doctor.

"I'm his elder brother, so I must protect him. It's my responsibility."

Van's eyes were just like Leon's. It was amber, clear, and bright. He still had that childish innocence in them. But also, there was a trace of toughness in those eyes. It reminded Leon so much of his sister, Nina. But Van was barely five years old.

"Van, you're only a minute older than your brother. It's not your responsibility to protect him. You must protect yourself. Your father has told you this, right?" Leon said gently.

Van nodded seriously. "Yes, he did.

But I still need to protect my brother. I don't want to see him hurting or bleeding. I'll cry if that happens. And then Mommy will get sick if she finds out."

The gentle smile on Leon's face faded away. He asked Van earnestly, "How do you know that?"

'That's impossible. Nini and John will never tell their children that. Other members of the Shi family don't know, and neither does Michelle.'

Van clutched Leon's arm tightly and said forlornly, "I saw Mommy taking medicine before. I also heard her say that she'll be fine as long as my brother is fine. But if something bad happens to him, she will get sick as well."

Don was a lively and rowdy boy. He liked to cause trouble every now and then. It was because of this personality that Nina was constantly worried that he would get into an accident someday. Van, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of his brother. He was a quiet and precocious child. Nina never feared that he would cause any trouble.

For so long, she had been hiding the fact that she was taking medicine from her children. But Van had discovered her secret that one time he couldn't fall asleep. He accidentally overheard her talking about it. However, he only heard bits and pieces of it. He didn't know the entire story.

He didn't know what his mother meant. One thing he was sure of was that as long as his brother was fine, their mother would be fine.

He didn't want his mother to get hurt, so he must make sure that his brother would be okay.

Adults often thought that children were too young to be sensible. But in truth, they were the most sensitive creatures on earth. Van's young age made it difficult for him to fully grasp the true meaning of his mother's words. Nonetheless, he would eventually come to understand it once he matured.

For now, Leon was touched by his nephew's compassion. He pressed the boy's head against his chest and said softly, "Your mommy isn't sick. She just took some medicine for her cold. And when she said that she will be fine as long as your brother is fine, it doesn't mean she loves Don more. As a mother, she's always worried about both of you getting into an accident or sick. She knows that you're very cautious and smart, so she doesn't worry much about you. But Don isn't like you, so she keeps an extra eye on him."

Leon then pretended to be angry as he added, "You did tell us about your injury. If your mommy find out, she will get worried too. Both of your parents love you and your brother very much. You are both their babies, understand? You should protect yourself, too, okay?" Van chuckled and nodded. "Okay!"

"That's it, Van. You look so much better when you smile."

While the doctor was dealing with Van's injured hand, the child couldn't help but cry out a little. A few tears escaped the corners of his eyes. Leon felt sorry for his nephew so he tried to comfort him as best as he could.

Van said, "Uncle Leon, don't tell Daddy and Mommy about this, okay? I don't want them to be unhappy."

Moved by his nephew's words, Leon nodded in agreement.

But in the end, he lied to Van. While the doctor was busy applying medicine on Van's wounds, Leon went outside and called Nina. He told her and John everything that had happened at the kindergarten. He also told them everything that Van had told him, reminding them that they should never mention a word to Van about it.

After their conversation, Nina's eyes turned red. The news about her children ruined her excitement for her honeymoon. Before she could even mention it, John had already bought tickets back to Lexingport City.