Things like adopting a child could not be hidden from the media, so Twain did not do it secretly. The Chinese media all knew that Twain was coming to China to adopt a child, but this kind of celebrity privacy could only be reported in the tabloids. The big media would not publish it. When had you ever seen Xinhua News Agency or China Central Television report on a celebrity coming to China to adopt a child? No, right? In fact, there were many foreigners who came to China to adopt children. There were also many foreign celebrities, but the general media did not report it.
Foreigners who adopted children in China had to pay a large sum of money, even if the procedures were complete. China set a high threshold for foreigners to adopt Chinese children. Even a celebrity like Twain had to follow the procedures. The money had to be paid, and the procedures had to be shown. But to Twain, any problem that could be solved with money was not a problem. He did not lack money, and the procedures were complete. He was determined to succeed in China.
Twain had set the scope of the adoption in Sichuan from the beginning. He was a Sichuanese and had feelings for this land. He also had feelings for the children of this land.
He went around the various welfare homes in Sichuan and picked out a few children with better conditions. After discussing with Shania, he finally chose a four-year-old girl. In China, the idea of valuing boys over girls was still very popular in backward and remote places. Many people struggled to have boys, but they could not keep them alive, so girls were either given away or abandoned. As a result, there were many girls in the welfare homes, but not many boys. Most of them were physically disabled. Twain did not have the idea of valuing boys over girls, and Shania even less so. To them, boys had their good points, and girls had their cuteness. It was just that there were many girls in the welfare homes, so they naturally chose girls to adopt.
The little girl, who was almost five years old, was not as noisy as the other children when she saw Twain and Shania. She was very quiet, wearing a red floral dress. She sat on a chair, blinking her big eyes at the two strangers in front of her. She was a little scared, like an innocent little animal, which made people want to love her.
Shania liked her at first sight, and her quiet manner was also very pleasing to Twain. Due to his work, Tang En preferred peace and quiet in his life. He did not like noisy children, but quiet children were to his liking. According to the orphanage's files, the little girl was from Zigong, Sichuan. She was abandoned at the entrance of the orphanage not long after she was born. Her cruel parents didn't even give her a name. Other than leaving her at the entrance of the orphanage, they didn't leave any information behind. Therefore, the orphanage named her Liu Ai, which was a homonym for "love". They hoped that they could keep love for her. Her birthday was the day the orphanage found her — October 3rd.
Since they had chosen their target, they would begin the adoption procedures. Once the procedures were completed, Liu Ai would have nothing to do with the orphanage. She would officially become their first child, even though she was adopted.
During the process of going through the formalities, Twain realized how lucky he was. According to Chinese law, foreigners who wanted to adopt a Chinese child had to be older than 30 and not younger than 50. Twain was two months away from turning 50, which was just within the limits of the law. If he had come two months later, he wouldn't have been able to fulfill this wish.
Twain was a celebrity. He was well-known even in the small city of Zigong in Southern Sichuan. Moreover, the person who accompanied him was even more well-known than he was in China. The world-famous model and Hollywood movie star Shania had long entered the China market. The print posters and TV commercials of the products she endorsed had long been known by the Chinese people.
There was an advantage to being a celebrity. Their identities were valued, and the efficiency of the orphanage and the civil affairs department was satisfactory.
It only took a day for Liu Ai to become Twain and Shania's child. However, since she was a foreigner's child, she had to have a foreign name. Twain kept Liu Ai's Chinese name. He and China had an inexplicable fate, and this child was a part of it. How could she not have a Chinese name? Shania was responsible for giving Liu Ai a foreign name. In the end, she chose the word "Teresa." In Greek, it meant "harvester." In Portuguese, it represented the goddess of harvest. This name was often used to describe beautiful, black-haired women who were quiet, direct, and extremely devout in their faith. Faith aside, the other aspects of the name were quite compatible with Liu Ai's image and character.
After completing the formalities, the auntie of the orphanage packed up Liu Ai's — now Teresa's — personal belongings and handed them over to Twain and Shania. It was nothing much. It was just some toys and books that were donated to the orphanage from various social circles. There were originally a few clothes, but Twain didn't want them. He only kept the toys and books. Of course, the clothes had to be bought new. How could she still wear those old clothes? His daughter had to dress up beautifully like a princess.
Throughout the process, Liu Ai rarely spoke. She only hugged a teddy bear doll that belonged to her and followed by his side. This made Twain even happier. He liked quiet and sensible children like her.
Finally, they stood at the entrance of the orphanage. A group of children from the orphanage came out to send Liu Ai off. She was adopted by foreign parents and was going to a faraway country. They might never see her again. The group of children cried and laughed together, reluctant to part. Twain spoke to the director of the orphanage on the other side. He was simply thanking Twain and Shania for being so kind to adopt Liu Ai and hoped that they would treat her well.
"Mr. Twain, Ms. Shania. Ai Ai doesn't like to talk much. She likes to keep many things in her heart and not tell us. I know you're both celebrities and busy with work, but you must be careful not to neglect her. "Auntie Du, who usually took care of Liu Ai, seemed worried and specifically instructed them. She knew Liu Ai very well. She was afraid that with Liu Ai's personality, she would be unhappy if she went to a foreign country. There was another worry that she did not mention. Twain and Shania were foreigners and celebrities. Celebrity marriages did not seem to end well. What would happen to Ai Ai if they got a divorce in the future? Also, who knew if Twain and Shania were really compassionate and could truly love this adopted daughter?
Twain did not know that Auntie Du was suspicious of him. He was still happy that he had a daughter, so he naturally agreed to all of Auntie Du's advice. "No problem. I'm retired now. I can take care of my daughter at home in peace. Ha! "
Since Shania could not speak Mandarin, Twain was the one who handled the external communication. Shania just stayed by his side. Her eyes were full of love as she looked at Teresa, who was saying goodbye to her friends not far away. She had always wanted a child, but she and her husband had tried hard for nine years and still could not get pregnant. She could only settle for the next best thing and adopt one. Now that she had a daughter, her suppressed maternal love for many years was sprouting. In the future, her Uncle Tony would probably be neglected.
The children finally finished saying their goodbyes under the urging of the other aunties. Teresa, or Liu Ai, was brought to Twain and Shania.
Shania saw the tear stains on her daughter's face. It was obvious that she had just cried. She quickly took out a handkerchief and squatted down to gently wipe away Teresa's tears. There was a trace of sadness in her eyes, and her smile was a little forced. It was as if this short interaction had made her and her daughter develop a telepathic connection. She could not be happy when she saw her daughter unhappy.
Twain also noticed something else. His daughter was very sad when she said goodbye, but she was able to calm down after seeing them. She was obviously a sensible girl. He liked her more and more.
The director of the orphanage was a woman in her fifties. She had worked here for more than 20 years. She was also a little reluctant to see another child go. She also squatted down and stroked Liu Ai's head. She said softly, "Love, from today onwards, you have a father and a mother. Are you happy?"
Little Love lowered her head and glanced at Twain. She lowered her eyes again and nodded.
"Grandma hopes that you will live a healthy and happy life in England."
The director stood up and patted Liu Ai on the shoulder, motioning for her to walk over.
The little girl slowly took two steps forward and walked in front of Twain and Shania. Then she called out shyly in a low voice, "Daddy, Mommy."
Although she was using Mandarin and a Sichuan dialect. But the pronunciation of "Mommy" was the same all over the world. Shania understood it very well. She squatted down happily, hugged her daughter, and kissed her little face.
Twain did not show his feelings as openly as his wife. He just smiled brightly. He and Shania had been married for nine years and finally had a child. Even if it was an adopted child, he was very satisfied. After all, he had always thought that he was infertile. This summer, he had just led the team to the highest honor in the world of football — the World Cup. After he retired from football, he had his first child. This year was the happiest year of his life.
Just like that, Liu Ai — now called Teresa — left the orphanage where she had lived for four years with her new parents under the reluctant gazes of her friends, and began a brand new life.
Twain was in a good mood after he had his first daughter. No matter what, he was finally a father. Twain did not have much experience as a father. He only knew that he had to make the child happy. So the next day, he brought Teresa back to Chengdu to play. He took her to see the charmingly cute and lively giant pandas and bought her a lot of panda dolls. After playing around in Chengdu, they went on a trip to Jiuzhaigou to let the little girl, who had never left the orphanage, see the beauty of the world to her heart's content.
During the trip, after interacting with Teresa for a few days, Twain also discovered the problem that the aunt at the orphanage had mentioned: Teresa was too quiet and did not know how to smile happily. This was not a good habit. A child who did not know how to smile was too scary. Twain decided to correct her overly introverted personality. Since she was a child, she should be lively when it was time.
So after returning from Jiuzhaigou, Twain and Shania took her to Hong Kong's Disneyland, Ocean Park, and other amusement parks to give her a new experience and a happy feeling.
After playing in Hong Kong, they went to Beijing. Twain specially took her to Tiananmen Square to watch the flag-raising ceremony. This was not arranged by Twain. It was Teresa's own request. Because she used to always watch the flag-raising ceremony on television, she wanted to go and see what it was like. How could he not satisfy his daughter's request? Twain took her to Tiananmen Square to watch the flag-raising ceremony. He also took her to climb the Great Wall, tour the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and other places of interest in Beijing. He took her to the zoo to see lions, tigers, monkeys, and elephants. He took her to the amusement park to ride the roller coaster and the Ferris wheel. On the roller coaster, he finally made the quiet girl scream loudly. Although she was a little scared after coming down, Twain could see the excitement on her little face. Teresa was also the only child from the orphanage who had come to Beijing to play. It could be said that she had fulfilled a wish on behalf of her friends in the orphanage. In the future, she would print out the photos of this experience and send them back so that her friends could share it with her.
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Having a good time in China had also improved the relationship between the Twains and their new daughter. At the very least, Teresa's voice was no longer low and shy when she called out for her parents. She could now get along with her new parents in a very natural manner.
After the trip to China, Twain and Shania flew directly from China to Brazil with their daughter so that Shania's parents could see their granddaughter. Shania's parents also liked their obedient and sensible granddaughter. Even though she was not their daughter's biological daughter, as long as their daughter liked her, then they liked her. Moreover, they didn't have a preference for boys over girls. On the contrary, they preferred girls over boys.
"But I won't allow Teresa to walk down my path in the future!" Shania took precautions and made a vow to her parents. She did not expect her daughter to make a lot of money or become famous in the future. Those things were too far away. She only wanted Teresa to have a healthy and happy childhood.
"She's your daughter, Jordie. You have the final say. "
The parents were not angry. All this time, no one knew their children better than their parents. They all knew that their daughter wanted a child, but Twain could not do anything about it. Now that they finally had a daughter through adoption, the parents were content to see her so happy. Why would they have the time to think about their granddaughter's grooming plan …
Teresa also behaved very well and won the favor of her grandparents. They bought her a lot of things and brought them back to England.
After staying in Brazil for a week, Twain and Shania returned to England with Teresa. At London Heathrow Airport, Twain and his family were surrounded by reporters who came after hearing the news. The scene suddenly became chaotic, and the airport security was on guard. Amidst the continuous flashes and noise, Teresa was a little scared and hid behind Twain.
This scene also made Twain frown. It seemed that the ferocious media had scared Teresa.
He did not care about being harassed by the media, but his daughter must not be harassed by the media. The child could not understand why so many people came to see her, and it would cause her a lot of trouble.
So he pointed at the girl hiding behind him and said to the reporters, "My daughter, Teresa. Now that you've scared her, I've decided to refuse to be interviewed by you. If you have any questions, ask me when I'm alone. I hope that in the future, you will not disturb my daughter. " After saying this, he pulled his wife and daughter and quickly disappeared at the end of the exit passage of the airport.
Only then did the reporters realize that Twain actually had a daughter! And it was obvious that he loved his daughter very much. It seemed that they would have to pay extra attention to this when they dealt with him in the future …
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PS, Twain finally has a child. Asking for monthly votes ~ ~ ~ ~
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