Ji Xiaofeng’s cheerful laughter caused the dumbfounded Lu Ying’s head to spin for a few seconds.
He then rolled over and got up, dressed quickly and left the house. In the middle of the night, he ran alone towards Qixia Mountain.
Only halfway there did he remember to give Jin Dachu a warning in case Zaizai woke up and couldn’t find him. Qin Zhuopu’s bodyguard now lived opposite his apartment, keeping a low profile at night, but appearing at the doorstep during the day to wait for Lu Zaizai to go to school. When Lu Ying was particularly busy, Jin Dachu would also do the grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning and other chores, which was very handy and made it much easier for Lu Ying.
Only Qin Zhuopu’s watchful eyes reminded him from time to time to be careful; even a male bodyguard was not allowed to live under one roof with Lu Ying.
When Lu Ying heard it, he was speechless. Qin Zhuopu had purposely arranged for a bodyguard with such a ‘distinctive’ look; wasn’t his narrow mind too obvious? Hehe, he was clearly lacking trust in Lu Ying, as if Lu Ying would be tempted when meeting a good-looking guy. If it were so, he would have been with Brother Ji years ago! There was also such an elegant and handsome man as Brother Yang, who was even more likely to make a heart grow fonder…
Ouch; Lu Ying shivered.
Shaking his head in the cold night air, he remembered that Brother Yang’s daughter had been born, and Brother Yang’s never-to-be-seen lover would finally show his face…
Lu Ying didn’t know if his constant suspicions and guesses were right all along, but Ji Xiaofeng’s teasing was like a shot that pierced his heart and made his scalp feel numb.
A little aunt, oh, an aunt younger than his son… Lu Ying was about to vomit blood.
As soon as Lu Ying arrived at the intersection near Lujia Village, he happened to run into Liu Dichuan who got out of the car. The two met and smiled at each other, and then Liu Dichuan couldn’t stop laughing. His ‘hahaha‘ was shaking the mountain and fields for a long time.
Lu Ying: “…… ” It feels like all of you knew the secret and hid it from me! Am I still the most favoured Little Piggy Lu on Qixia Mountain, after all? t﹏t
“Is it that funny?… Brother Liu, I’ll be angry if you laugh again.” Lu Ying pouted and sighed.
“Hahaha, Lu Ying, why aren’t you laughing? Are you so unhappy that your little aunt was born? No, it should be said that your little niece was born, Brother Yang’s daughter, oh. I wonder if Brother Yang will agree to let me be the godfather of the little princess. I like cute little girls the most.” Liu Dichuan was full of energy that almost matched Ji Xiaofeng’s.
Lu Ying was walking fast and furious. He didn’t want to care about the ‘gloating’ Liu Dichuan but he couldn’t help but blurt out, “Brother Liu likes little girls so much, he can have one himself. Brother Yang can do it, so you can too. Go for it!”
“No! I can’t.” Liu Dichuan waved his hand with a frightened look on his face: “I only like ladies with delicate soft bodies and big sisters with nice front and back curves.”
Lu Ying showed no mercy: “But you’ve always been a single dog.”
“!!!” Liu Dichuan was heartbroken: “Ouch, I can’t afford to mess with you!” Quickly shutting his mouth, he chased after Lu Ying and ran towards Qixia Mountain.
When they arrived at the mansion in the mountain, Lu Ying stopped at the door and took a few deep breaths, mentally preparing himself before stepping inside. Liu Dichuan was already a few steps ahead of him and rushed to the inner room.
The door to the room was open, and the sound of lively laughter came out from time to time.
When Lu Ying walked in, the first thing he saw was the profile of the man sitting at the mahogany table, holding a swaddled baby and concentrating on feeding it with a bottle.
It was a face that was all too familiar, yet inevitably unfamiliar.
“Lu Ying, you’re here.” Without waiting for the bewildered Lu Ying to speak, the man looked up at him. A familiar voice, a familiar gentle smile; it was the same as before, as if he had never left at all.
Lu Ying instantly burst into tears: “Grand… Grandpa… woo! Why didn’t you… tell me?” Obviously he was alive and well and so close to him, and he didn’t let him know, he even deliberately avoided him. Grandpa did it and Brother Yang was also an accomplice.
Lu Qianchuan let out a long sigh, “This is a long story. Do you want to see… your little aunt first?”
Lu Ying was so annoyed that he immediately snorted a snot bubble, wiped his hands and corrected through the gritted teeth: “Okay! Let me see Brother Yang’s little princess, my little niece!” As he said that, he stepped forward with reddened eyes and looked intently at the newborn baby who was drinking milk powder.
“……” Lu Qianchuan’s heart stuttered and his old face turned red.
Liu Dichuan and Ji Xiaofeng in the room clapped their hands and laughed, and Yang Sigu, who was lying on the bed pretending to be asleep, couldn’t hold back his laughter and pulled the wound, which was not a pleasant feeling. But his heart was happy; he wanted his daughter to be Zaizai’s little sister, not some aunt.
“She looks so much like Brother Yang, elegant and beautiful.” Lu Ying couldn’t help but smile and praise. The little baby was white and clean, with round eyes and double eyelids. Although she was only a newborn, she was already very energetic and looked excited with her big eyes wide open, staring ahead and quietly drinking milk. Lying in Lu Qianchuan’s embrace, she was enjoying herself, feeling very comfortable.
Soon, the bottle of milk was drained by her and she burped a little. Lu Ying’s heart melted and he couldn’t help but reach out, “Let me hug her! I want to hug her!” The little baby reminded him of when Lu Zaizai was born; he also looked so cute but of course Lu Zaizai’s fleshy face was a lot bigger than hers.
How could Lu Qianchuan refuse Lu Ying? He carefully gave the child to Lu Ying. Lu Ying accepted her skillfully. The little girl arched in his arms, as if resisting the strange embrace. She wriggled twice, her little face turned red, she opened her mouth and started crying…
Lu Ying panicked and quickly stuffed the child back into Lu Qianchuan’s arms: “Is she afraid of me?”
It was amazing that the little baby immediately stopped crying as soon as she returned to Lu Qianchuan’s arms. She yawned, closed her eyes and fell asleep.
“Sure enough, she recognises her origin.” Lu Ying sighed helplessly.
“Yeah, yeah, she doesn’t even want me, she cries as soon as I hug her, this little princess is really of a different kind.” Ji Xiaofeng almost laughed out loud. The past few days were hard. Ever since he found out who Brother Yang’s lover was, he had felt shocked and suffocated, and now he could finally let off steam.
“What else would a little princess be? She must be sensitive and delicate. It’s not the same as a little brat.” Liu Dichuan agreed, helplessly spreading his hands, “It’s a pity she won’t let me hug her either.”
Lu Ying laughed, “A lot of little kids are like that. I guess she only wants to be hugged by Brother Yang and Grandpa Lu.”
“En, she doesn’t want anyone, she only wants to be hugged by the two of us to stop crying.” Lu Qianchuan smiled, his eyes full of uncontrollable tenderness and pride.
When Lu Ying saw him looking intently at the little girl in his arms, he couldn’t help but think of himself when he was a little boy. Lu Qianchuan loved him and Zaizai very much, didn’t he? No matter how little Grandpa Lu said in front of outsiders, he was always responsive to them and answered all their questions.
Only this time Lu Ying was kept completely in the dark. But he was sure that Grandpa Lu had a reason and would give him an explanation anyway.
Lu Ying adjusted his mood and felt much lighter. No matter what, he had to congratulate the first-time fathers, his grandfather and Brother Yang. Lu Ying said softly with a sly smile: “Congratulations on becoming a father, Sister-in-law!” Then he quickly scurried to Brother Yang’s side and squatted down.
“…Lu Ying, you!!!” Lu Qianchuan was furious, glaring at Lu Ying fiercely.
“Hahaha, no, my stomach hurts from laughing today!” Ji Xiaofeng clutched his belly and bent back in laughter. Even Dr. Hu, who had just entered the door, couldn’t help but gloat at his old friend’s black face.
“Wow, hahaha…” Liu Dichuan was too loud, so he covered his mouth and rushed out to laugh.
“Good job, little piggy Lu, this ‘Sister-in-law’ sounds really moving.” Ji Xiaofeng shivered, “Today Brother Ji is convinced and calls you ‘Big Brother’!”
“What a load of nonsense!” Lu Qianchuan was so angry that his eyes crossed. He reacted too much and the daughter in his arms suddenly shrunk and wanted to cry. Lu Qianchuan quickly changed his face, picked up his daughter and shook her gently, shutting his mouth and not daring to admonish anyone again.
Lu Ying, who escaped the catastrophe, chuckled in a low voice, “Heh… I’m so happy! Brother Yang, congratulations on becoming a father, with an extra sweet little padded jacket!”
Yang Sigu wanted to laugh but didn’t dare. When he heard the words, he felt relieved, “Thank you, Lu Ying. Your sister-in-law is right, you’re really funny. You made me laugh as soon as you came. How come your little mouth is so sweet? I really like it so much (*^^^*)”
Advertisements
“Hehe, that’s not true, Sister-in-law praises me too much.” Lu Ying scratched his head and smiled: “Is Brother Yang feeling well? I’ll bring you the stew tomorrow and get you anything else you want to eat.”
“Thank you, I don’t want to bother you with all the running around, I’ll take the baby home in a few days anyway.”
“No trouble at all, I’m definitely bringing Zaizai over tomorrow to see his… little sister. I had originally prepared some daily necessities for the little one, so I’ll bring them along tomorrow.” Heh, what little aunt, not recognising any little aunts!
Yang Sigu bowed his head and smiled: “Okay, okay, Zaizai, her big brother, is always welcome to visit her. The little girl will definitely be very happy, and she will need Zaizai to take his little sister to play in the future.”
“No problem, Zaizai always envied other kids who have a little brother or sister to play games together. Now it’s okay, finally he has a little buddy.”
Lu Qianchuan, who was holding the baby, listened to all their chatter, feeling indescribably helpless as Lu Ying and Yang Sigu pulled his seniority status down to the ground and trampled on it!
There was nothing he could do about it.
He couldn’t even yell at the kid if he wanted to. Okay, he could yell but then he would have to coax the little girl when she got scared.
And to yell at Yang Sigu? This was even more impossible, don’t dare, don’t dare.
Lu Qianchuan had no choice but to hold the child, sulking, his brow furrowed into a ‘chuan’ frown (‘川’ – chuān – river).
After chatting with Brother Yang for a while, Lu Ying consciously went out, closed the door and let Brother Yang have a good rest, leaving only Lu Qianchuan and the baby guarding him.
Elder Xu prepared supper, and everyone sat down to eat and chat. No matter what, today was a good day, and the addition of a new baby in the mountains was a joy. The rest of the group were still on their way. They heard that Brother Yang had given birth to a daughter, and everyone wanted to see her.
Although Lu Ying still had some unanswered questions on his mind, he was happy.
On the way back, he couldn’t resist posting on Moments.
Perfect Dad: Welcome my little niece (*▽*)
[Picture 1]
The photo was just a white tender paw of a little baby that he stole from Brother Ji in the group.
In the morning Lu Ying told Lu Zaizai the good news as soon as the child woke up. But Lu Zaizai was not so happy after hearing it; instead he was confused, “Dad, then who gave birth to my little niece?”
“She’s… ahem, your Uncle Yang’s daughter.” Lu Ying rubbed his forehead.
Lu Zaizai frowned:, “But Uncle Yang is not married. Last time I saw him he was still a bachelor!”
“Geez, you know the word bachelor? Don’t ask so many questions, anyway, your little sister’s father is Uncle Yang and…” Lu Ying covered his face, really unable to explain to his son.
Lu Ying thought frantically, secretly cursing Grandpa Lu for being a dishonourable old guy!
On the first day of vacation, Jin Dachu was responsible for taking Lu Zouxiu to play in the community playground, and Lu Ying went to work in the bakery by himself.
On the way, he looked through his mobile phone; now he received many likes from friends and colleagues, as well as Qin Zhuopu’s message.
Qin Zhuopu: The little hand is the hand of a beautiful little princess at first glance. Congratulations on becoming an uncle.
Perfect Dad: Very cute, right? Thank you.
Qin Zhuopu: Really cute. If only Zaizai were a girl. I’d like a daughter.
Perfect Dad: You can’t force it, just accept your fate.
Qin Zhuopu: Anyway, although my son is a big guy, he is also a little padded jacket and a sweetie.
Perfect Dad: Tsk, don’t be shameless, who is your son? Did I agree? Did Zaizai agree? Wait for him to call your Dad, then you can talk about it again.
Qin Zhuopu: Disagreeing doesn’t change the fact. The fat kid can call me anything he wants, I don’t care now.
Perfect Dad: Just cry in your heart. Let’s not talk anymore. I’m going to start work.
Qin Zhuopu: Go ahead! The mooncake gift box was already received in the office. The employees all said that the mooncakes this year are delicious. You are awesome!
Perfect Dad: (#^^#) kiss.jpg
Putting down his mobile phone, Qin Zhuopu turned the pen in his hand, his eyes a little distant.
Advertisements
Although Lu Ying hadn’t told him who his little niece’s parents were, he could more or less guess that one of them should be Boss Yang of the bakery.
Last time Boss Yang was sick and almost fainted, he and Lu Ying personally sent him to Dr. Hu’s house. Since then, Boss Yang had been recuperating behind closed doors, and Lu Ying was making delicious soups and delivering them to Boss Yang’s house every day.
What’s more, once he accidentally saw Boss Yang himself. If it had been before, Qin Zhuopu would have reasonably thought that Boss Yang had put on a little weight in his middle age.
But now, he was almost 100% sure that Lu Ying’s little niece was born to Boss Yang himself. He just didn’t know who the other father of the child was. Lu Ying’s siblings all probably were not mere mortals.
Lu Ying had been busy all day, and in the evening he took Lu Zaizai to Qixia Mountain to visit Brother Yang and the little baby. He had already prepared his son on the way, but when Zaizai really saw Grandpa Lu, the little guy still rushed over like a little cannonball in surprise: “Grandpa Lu! It’s really you!”
Lu Qianchuan subconsciously reached out and hugged him, showing a doting smile: “Little Zaizai, you’ve grown up.” One big guy and one little guy hugged each other happily, and Lu Ying was very relieved watching this picture he hadn’t seen for a long time.
No matter how angry he was at Grandpa Lu for this ‘secret’, he would never really blame him. Not only had Lu Qianchuan raised him; Zaizai was also in Grandpa Lu’s care until he was three, otherwise Lu Ying would have had problems trying to go out to work.
“Where have you been, Grandpa Lu? Dad said we would never see you again after you died, but why are you alive again now? And Grandpa Lu, you seem to be a little younger! Zaizai missed you so much!” Zaizai kept babbling happily. Lu Qianchuan was very patient with the child he had brought up for three years, able to put away any bad temper he had.
Lu Qianchuan wanted to explain everything to Lu Ying today, and now was a good time to do so.
“Zaizai, Grandpa Lu was reborn in fire.” Lu Qianchuan stroked the child’s hair and said, “Grandpa Lu missed you too, good boy.” He gave Lu Zaizai a hug. During his weakest and most difficult time, this innocent and lovely child accompanied him and watching him grow up, Lu Qianchuan had managed to change his mentality a lot unconsciously.
“Then Grandpa Lu won’t go away from now on, right? Will I still be able to see Grandpa Lu often?” Lu Zaizai looked at the man nervously.
Lu Qianchuan nodded, “Grandpa Lu won’t leave in the future. Grandpa Lu can watch cartoons with you.”
“Great! Are you happy, Dad?”
Lu Ying smiled, “Of course I’m happy.”
Lu Zaizai suddenly hugged him, “It’s so good, Grandpa Lu comes home and Dad won’t be sad anymore.”
“……” Lu Ying sighed. He was very sad and depressed when Grandpa Lu left, but he didn’t expect the child to still remember it.
Lu Qianchuan’s eyes flickered slightly, full of guilt.
“Zaizai, go to see your little sister. She is very cute. Remember not to touch your little sister carelessly, just protect her.” Lu Ying instructed his son.
Lu Zaizai forgot what he had asked and went to see his little sister with great interest.
Lu Qianchuan sighed and corrected, “It’s his aunt, not little sister, how can you lower our seniority so much? You even dare to call me Sister-in-law, really, really… whose bad example did you learn from, hey!”
The guy still wanted to talk about seniority! Lu Ying sat down at the table and took a sip of cold water, unceremoniously saying to Lu Qianchuan, “I have a good relationship with Brother Yang, of course I count according to his seniority. Besides, this looks more reasonable. Otherwise, if Zaizai takes the little princess out to play on the slide in the future and calls her ‘Aunt’, Grandpa, don’t you think it’ll be creepy?”
“What’s creepy about it…? The truth is the truth, I am the elder, my daughter’s seniority is higher than yours.” Lu Qianchuan was unconvinced.
Lu Ying hummed, “Hehe… how come I didn’t know before that Grandpa Lu was so shameless, an embarrassment to all the elders! You’re an old cow eating young grass! Brother Yang has such a good personality, is versatile and capable, and he is the man I call Brother Yang. You are already a grandfather, a real old-timer, how can you have the nerve to do a thing like this to him…?”
Lu Ying’s words made Lu Qianchuan’s blood pressure soar and he retorted with an angry glare, “You’re offending your elders and you’re calling me shameless? How can I be shameless? I am in love with Yangyang, and we are willing to do it, why do you make it sound so unpleasant? You think I’m an old bastard? There’s not much difference in age between me and him! Don’t talk nonsense if you don’t know.”
Yangyang? Sheep sheep? (the character for ‘yáng’ is ‘sheep’, not Yang in Brother Yang’s surname)
o(╯□╰)o
Lu Ying’s teeth suddenly ached, ah… this elder was killing him, oh horror.
Quickly shaking his head to stop himself from fantasising about the pictures he shouldn’t have imagined, Lu Ying muttered: “I didn’t say you’re an old bastard, you admit it yourself, not bad.”
“How dare you!” Lu Qianchuan was so angry that he slapped the table, “Following bad examples, you, you never dared to speak to me like that before. So rude and impolite, what have I done to make you lecture me like that?”
Lu Ying propped up his head and continued, “You’ve been hiding from me, not telling me anything. Brother Yang also kept it from me and didn’t let me know until the baby was born. Were you afraid that I would laugh at you? Or were you afraid that I would stop you? Although I think you’re particularly cheeky for doing this, Grandpa Lu, but Brother Yang and you did it willingly, so how could I say anything against it? I don’t know anything if you hide it from me. As long as I’m told, of course I’ll support you.”
Lu Ying said in exasperation, “You’ve actually lived at Brother Yang’s house this year, haven’t you? And I haven’t seen you. You were deliberately avoiding me.”
Lu Qianchuan didn’t expect Lu Ying’s words. He explained, “I didn’t see you not because of that. Your Brother Yang and I had known each other for many years long before you were born. But we weren’t together for too long before, we broke up because of our incompatible personalities.”
Lu Ying was shocked; so it turned out to be a reunion of old lovers! No wonder he had grown up living in the mountains but rarely saw Brother Yang come there. Grandpa stayed in the mountains all year round and never went out, while Brother Yang was always out and about experiencing life, probably travelling around the world several times. When Brother Yang later settled in Qixia Town, Lu Ying was already sensible.
No one on the mountain ever talked about their past. It was possible that no one had even known about it.
Forget it, forget it, it was none of his business what the elders did with their twilight romance. The baby was born, so of course it was better to bless them.
What Lu Ying cared about was not the fact that the elders were in love; he was angry that Grandpa Lu was around but wouldn’t show up.
“If it’s not because of that, then why did everyone know but I didn’t?” Lu Ying said sullenly, “If the child hadn’t been born, would you still have kept it from me?”
Lu Qianchuan shook his head, “I didn’t mean to hide it from you. My situation was more complicated before.”
Exhaling, Lu Ying took the initiative to change the subject and didn’t intentionally anger Grandpa Lu anymore.
“When Zaizai was three years old, you clearly… I, I buried you in the stone chamber with my own hands. What is the situation now?” Lu Ying asked grimly. At that time he was grief-stricken and sad and it took a long time to get over it.
Lu Qianchuan said guiltily, “I shouldn’t have woken up. You could also see, I was already very weakened then.”
“En, could it be that Brother Yang…?” Lu Ying guessed a possibility.
Lu Qianchuan nodded, “He was the one who woke me up, at a great cost.” He said with a smile, “But it’s okay to accept this condition. To join hands for life and grow old together.”
“You guys…” Lu Ying had a dull ache in his heart. He didn’t expect Brother Yang to pay so much. He knew what it meant. For a moment, there was nothing to say except admiration.
Lu Qianchuan stroked his hair and said soothingly, “Don’t worry so much about the two of us, you child. It’s all fine now, don’t worry about it.”
“I’m not a child.” Lu Ying retorted, adding, “I want your family to be happy.”
“You’ll always be a child in my eyes.” Lu Qianchuan smiled kindly.
Lu Qianchuan continued, “I was very weak when I woke up and my situation was uncertain. So I didn’t let him or the old fox tell the public.”
“So that’s what happened…” Lu Ying understood. But he wasn’t an outsider, was he?
“I deliberately avoided you… because I did something wrong to you.” Lu Qianchuan sighed.
Lu Ying was confused: “Grandpa Lu, you would do something wrong to me?”
“I…”
Jingle bells, jingle bells.
Lu Ying smiled apologetically, “I’ll take a call.”
He stepped aside and lowered his voice, “Hello, what is it? Ah, you’re over here already? I’m on Qixia Mountain, not at home. You bought my niece a present? This…”
He hesitated, wondering if he should ask Qin Zhuopu to come up the mountain at this time. After all, Brother Yang had just given birth.
Lu Qianchuan put down his teacup and said, “Let him come here, just in time for you two to be together so that I can make it clear all at once.”
“Is it okay?” Lu Ying looked into the room.
Lu Qianchuan nodded, “He should know what he should know. You’re sure of him anyway, aren’t you?”
“En.” Lu Ying blushed, his attitude very clear.
“Hey…” Lu Qianchuan had a headache. The more Lu Ying cared for that boy, the more he felt guilty for what he had done back then.
Lu Ying asked carefully, “Then I’ll let him up here?”
“Yes.”
Lu Ying joyfully informed Qin Zhuopu, “Come straight up to Qixia Mountain, my Grandpa Lu wants to see you.”
In Qixia Town, Qin Zhuopu hung up the phone; a smile appeared on his face as he walked towards Qixia Mountain.
The place he had not been able to reach seven years ago, this time he could finally walk into it openly and honestly.
***
Mini-theatre:
Zaizai: Let me introduce to you all, this is my little sister Yang Xiaolu (Little Deer)! She’s under my protection!
Xiaolu: No, I’m his aunt!
Zaizai: ……
Mini theatre-2:
Zaizai: Don’t be mad, dear, that was my sister just now, you misunderstood!
Xiaolu: He lied to you! Don’t listen to him! I’m not his sister!
Zaizai: Yes, yes, yes! You’re my aunt!
Onlookers: ……
Mini-theatre-3:
Mr. Qin: I bought a lot of gifts for your niece. Your niece is my niece.
Lu Ying: ^_^ Not bad, not bad..
Mr. Qin: My little niece is so cute, come on, come on, here’s a red envelope, take it!
Lu Qianchuan: This is your little aunt!
Mr. Qin: ……
Lu Ying: Little aunt is an elder, so why don’t you take back the red envelope?
Mr. Qin: ……
Lu Qianchuan: ……
Brother Yang: Ahem, she’s your niece! Where’s the red envelope?l
Ji Xiaofeng’s cheerful laughter caused the dumbfounded Lu Ying’s head to spin for a few seconds.
He then rolled over and got up, dressed quickly and left the house. In the middle of the night, he ran alone towards Qixia Mountain.
Only halfway there did he remember to give Jin Dachu a warning in case Zaizai woke up and couldn’t find him. Qin Zhuopu’s bodyguard now lived opposite his apartment, keeping a low profile at night, but appearing at the doorstep during the day to wait for Lu Zaizai to go to school. When Lu Ying was particularly busy, Jin Dachu would also do the grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning and other chores, which was very handy and made it much easier for Lu Ying.
Only Qin Zhuopu’s watchful eyes reminded him from time to time to be careful; even a male bodyguard was not allowed to live under one roof with Lu Ying.
When Lu Ying heard it, he was speechless. Qin Zhuopu had purposely arranged for a bodyguard with such a ‘distinctive’ look; wasn’t his narrow mind too obvious? Hehe, he was clearly lacking trust in Lu Ying, as if Lu Ying would be tempted when meeting a good-looking guy. If it were so, he would have been with Brother Ji years ago! There was also such an elegant and handsome man as Brother Yang, who was even more likely to make a heart grow fonder…
Ouch; Lu Ying shivered.
Shaking his head in the cold night air, he remembered that Brother Yang’s daughter had been born, and Brother Yang’s never-to-be-seen lover would finally show his face…
Lu Ying didn’t know if his constant suspicions and guesses were right all along, but Ji Xiaofeng’s teasing was like a shot that pierced his heart and made his scalp feel numb.
A little aunt, oh, an aunt younger than his son… Lu Ying was about to vomit blood.
As soon as Lu Ying arrived at the intersection near Lujia Village, he happened to run into Liu Dichuan who got out of the car. The two met and smiled at each other, and then Liu Dichuan couldn’t stop laughing. His ‘hahaha‘ was shaking the mountain and fields for a long time.
Lu Ying: “…… ” It feels like all of you knew the secret and hid it from me! Am I still the most favoured Little Piggy Lu on Qixia Mountain, after all? t﹏t
“Is it that funny?… Brother Liu, I’ll be angry if you laugh again.” Lu Ying pouted and sighed.
“Hahaha, Lu Ying, why aren’t you laughing? Are you so unhappy that your little aunt was born? No, it should be said that your little niece was born, Brother Yang’s daughter, oh. I wonder if Brother Yang will agree to let me be the godfather of the little princess. I like cute little girls the most.” Liu Dichuan was full of energy that almost matched Ji Xiaofeng’s.
Lu Ying was walking fast and furious. He didn’t want to care about the ‘gloating’ Liu Dichuan but he couldn’t help but blurt out, “Brother Liu likes little girls so much, he can have one himself. Brother Yang can do it, so you can too. Go for it!”
“No! I can’t.” Liu Dichuan waved his hand with a frightened look on his face: “I only like ladies with delicate soft bodies and big sisters with nice front and back curves.”
Lu Ying showed no mercy: “But you’ve always been a single dog.”
“!!!” Liu Dichuan was heartbroken: “Ouch, I can’t afford to mess with you!” Quickly shutting his mouth, he chased after Lu Ying and ran towards Qixia Mountain.
When they arrived at the mansion in the mountain, Lu Ying stopped at the door and took a few deep breaths, mentally preparing himself before stepping inside. Liu Dichuan was already a few steps ahead of him and rushed to the inner room.
The door to the room was open, and the sound of lively laughter came out from time to time.
When Lu Ying walked in, the first thing he saw was the profile of the man sitting at the mahogany table, holding a swaddled baby and concentrating on feeding it with a bottle.
It was a face that was all too familiar, yet inevitably unfamiliar.
“Lu Ying, you’re here.” Without waiting for the bewildered Lu Ying to speak, the man looked up at him. A familiar voice, a familiar gentle smile; it was the same as before, as if he had never left at all.
Lu Ying instantly burst into tears: “Grand… Grandpa… woo! Why didn’t you… tell me?” Obviously he was alive and well and so close to him, and he didn’t let him know, he even deliberately avoided him. Grandpa did it and Brother Yang was also an accomplice.
Lu Qianchuan let out a long sigh, “This is a long story. Do you want to see… your little aunt first?”
Lu Ying was so annoyed that he immediately snorted a snot bubble, wiped his hands and corrected through the gritted teeth: “Okay! Let me see Brother Yang’s little princess, my little niece!” As he said that, he stepped forward with reddened eyes and looked intently at the newborn baby who was drinking milk powder.
“……” Lu Qianchuan’s heart stuttered and his old face turned red.
Liu Dichuan and Ji Xiaofeng in the room clapped their hands and laughed, and Yang Sigu, who was lying on the bed pretending to be asleep, couldn’t hold back his laughter and pulled the wound, which was not a pleasant feeling. But his heart was happy; he wanted his daughter to be Zaizai’s little sister, not some aunt.
“She looks so much like Brother Yang, elegant and beautiful.” Lu Ying couldn’t help but smile and praise. The little baby was white and clean, with round eyes and double eyelids. Although she was only a newborn, she was already very energetic and looked excited with her big eyes wide open, staring ahead and quietly drinking milk. Lying in Lu Qianchuan’s embrace, she was enjoying herself, feeling very comfortable.
Soon, the bottle of milk was drained by her and she burped a little. Lu Ying’s heart melted and he couldn’t help but reach out, “Let me hug her! I want to hug her!” The little baby reminded him of when Lu Zaizai was born; he also looked so cute but of course Lu Zaizai’s fleshy face was a lot bigger than hers.
How could Lu Qianchuan refuse Lu Ying? He carefully gave the child to Lu Ying. Lu Ying accepted her skillfully. The little girl arched in his arms, as if resisting the strange embrace. She wriggled twice, her little face turned red, she opened her mouth and started crying…
Lu Ying panicked and quickly stuffed the child back into Lu Qianchuan’s arms: “Is she afraid of me?”
It was amazing that the little baby immediately stopped crying as soon as she returned to Lu Qianchuan’s arms. She yawned, closed her eyes and fell asleep.
“Sure enough, she recognises her origin.” Lu Ying sighed helplessly.
“Yeah, yeah, she doesn’t even want me, she cries as soon as I hug her, this little princess is really of a different kind.” Ji Xiaofeng almost laughed out loud. The past few days were hard. Ever since he found out who Brother Yang’s lover was, he had felt shocked and suffocated, and now he could finally let off steam.
“What else would a little princess be? She must be sensitive and delicate. It’s not the same as a little brat.” Liu Dichuan agreed, helplessly spreading his hands, “It’s a pity she won’t let me hug her either.”
Lu Ying laughed, “A lot of little kids are like that. I guess she only wants to be hugged by Brother Yang and Grandpa Lu.”
“En, she doesn’t want anyone, she only wants to be hugged by the two of us to stop crying.” Lu Qianchuan smiled, his eyes full of uncontrollable tenderness and pride.
When Lu Ying saw him looking intently at the little girl in his arms, he couldn’t help but think of himself when he was a little boy. Lu Qianchuan loved him and Zaizai very much, didn’t he? No matter how little Grandpa Lu said in front of outsiders, he was always responsive to them and answered all their questions.
Only this time Lu Ying was kept completely in the dark. But he was sure that Grandpa Lu had a reason and would give him an explanation anyway.
Lu Ying adjusted his mood and felt much lighter. No matter what, he had to congratulate the first-time fathers, his grandfather and Brother Yang. Lu Ying said softly with a sly smile: “Congratulations on becoming a father, Sister-in-law!” Then he quickly scurried to Brother Yang’s side and squatted down.
“…Lu Ying, you!!!” Lu Qianchuan was furious, glaring at Lu Ying fiercely.
“Hahaha, no, my stomach hurts from laughing today!” Ji Xiaofeng clutched his belly and bent back in laughter. Even Dr. Hu, who had just entered the door, couldn’t help but gloat at his old friend’s black face.
“Wow, hahaha…” Liu Dichuan was too loud, so he covered his mouth and rushed out to laugh.
“Good job, little piggy Lu, this ‘Sister-in-law’ sounds really moving.” Ji Xiaofeng shivered, “Today Brother Ji is convinced and calls you ‘Big Brother’!”
“What a load of nonsense!” Lu Qianchuan was so angry that his eyes crossed. He reacted too much and the daughter in his arms suddenly shrunk and wanted to cry. Lu Qianchuan quickly changed his face, picked up his daughter and shook her gently, shutting his mouth and not daring to admonish anyone again.
Lu Ying, who escaped the catastrophe, chuckled in a low voice, “Heh… I’m so happy! Brother Yang, congratulations on becoming a father, with an extra sweet little padded jacket!”
Yang Sigu wanted to laugh but didn’t dare. When he heard the words, he felt relieved, “Thank you, Lu Ying. Your sister-in-law is right, you’re really funny. You made me laugh as soon as you came. How come your little mouth is so sweet? I really like it so much (*^^^*)”
Advertisements
“Hehe, that’s not true, Sister-in-law praises me too much.” Lu Ying scratched his head and smiled: “Is Brother Yang feeling well? I’ll bring you the stew tomorrow and get you anything else you want to eat.”
“Thank you, I don’t want to bother you with all the running around, I’ll take the baby home in a few days anyway.”
“No trouble at all, I’m definitely bringing Zaizai over tomorrow to see his… little sister. I had originally prepared some daily necessities for the little one, so I’ll bring them along tomorrow.” Heh, what little aunt, not recognising any little aunts!
Yang Sigu bowed his head and smiled: “Okay, okay, Zaizai, her big brother, is always welcome to visit her. The little girl will definitely be very happy, and she will need Zaizai to take his little sister to play in the future.”
“No problem, Zaizai always envied other kids who have a little brother or sister to play games together. Now it’s okay, finally he has a little buddy.”
Lu Qianchuan, who was holding the baby, listened to all their chatter, feeling indescribably helpless as Lu Ying and Yang Sigu pulled his seniority status down to the ground and trampled on it!
There was nothing he could do about it.
He couldn’t even yell at the kid if he wanted to. Okay, he could yell but then he would have to coax the little girl when she got scared.
And to yell at Yang Sigu? This was even more impossible, don’t dare, don’t dare.
Lu Qianchuan had no choice but to hold the child, sulking, his brow furrowed into a ‘chuan’ frown (‘川’ – chuān – river).
After chatting with Brother Yang for a while, Lu Ying consciously went out, closed the door and let Brother Yang have a good rest, leaving only Lu Qianchuan and the baby guarding him.
Elder Xu prepared supper, and everyone sat down to eat and chat. No matter what, today was a good day, and the addition of a new baby in the mountains was a joy. The rest of the group were still on their way. They heard that Brother Yang had given birth to a daughter, and everyone wanted to see her.
Although Lu Ying still had some unanswered questions on his mind, he was happy.
On the way back, he couldn’t resist posting on Moments.
Perfect Dad: Welcome my little niece (*▽*)
[Picture 1]
The photo was just a white tender paw of a little baby that he stole from Brother Ji in the group.
In the morning Lu Ying told Lu Zaizai the good news as soon as the child woke up. But Lu Zaizai was not so happy after hearing it; instead he was confused, “Dad, then who gave birth to my little niece?”
“She’s… ahem, your Uncle Yang’s daughter.” Lu Ying rubbed his forehead.
Lu Zaizai frowned:, “But Uncle Yang is not married. Last time I saw him he was still a bachelor!”
“Geez, you know the word bachelor? Don’t ask so many questions, anyway, your little sister’s father is Uncle Yang and…” Lu Ying covered his face, really unable to explain to his son.
Lu Ying thought frantically, secretly cursing Grandpa Lu for being a dishonourable old guy!
On the first day of vacation, Jin Dachu was responsible for taking Lu Zouxiu to play in the community playground, and Lu Ying went to work in the bakery by himself.
On the way, he looked through his mobile phone; now he received many likes from friends and colleagues, as well as Qin Zhuopu’s message.
Qin Zhuopu: The little hand is the hand of a beautiful little princess at first glance. Congratulations on becoming an uncle.
Perfect Dad: Very cute, right? Thank you.
Qin Zhuopu: Really cute. If only Zaizai were a girl. I’d like a daughter.
Perfect Dad: You can’t force it, just accept your fate.
Qin Zhuopu: Anyway, although my son is a big guy, he is also a little padded jacket and a sweetie.
Perfect Dad: Tsk, don’t be shameless, who is your son? Did I agree? Did Zaizai agree? Wait for him to call your Dad, then you can talk about it again.
Qin Zhuopu: Disagreeing doesn’t change the fact. The fat kid can call me anything he wants, I don’t care now.
Perfect Dad: Just cry in your heart. Let’s not talk anymore. I’m going to start work.
Qin Zhuopu: Go ahead! The mooncake gift box was already received in the office. The employees all said that the mooncakes this year are delicious. You are awesome!
Perfect Dad: (#^^#) kiss.jpg
Putting down his mobile phone, Qin Zhuopu turned the pen in his hand, his eyes a little distant.
Advertisements
Although Lu Ying hadn’t told him who his little niece’s parents were, he could more or less guess that one of them should be Boss Yang of the bakery.
Last time Boss Yang was sick and almost fainted, he and Lu Ying personally sent him to Dr. Hu’s house. Since then, Boss Yang had been recuperating behind closed doors, and Lu Ying was making delicious soups and delivering them to Boss Yang’s house every day.
What’s more, once he accidentally saw Boss Yang himself. If it had been before, Qin Zhuopu would have reasonably thought that Boss Yang had put on a little weight in his middle age.
But now, he was almost 100% sure that Lu Ying’s little niece was born to Boss Yang himself. He just didn’t know who the other father of the child was. Lu Ying’s siblings all probably were not mere mortals.
Lu Ying had been busy all day, and in the evening he took Lu Zaizai to Qixia Mountain to visit Brother Yang and the little baby. He had already prepared his son on the way, but when Zaizai really saw Grandpa Lu, the little guy still rushed over like a little cannonball in surprise: “Grandpa Lu! It’s really you!”
Lu Qianchuan subconsciously reached out and hugged him, showing a doting smile: “Little Zaizai, you’ve grown up.” One big guy and one little guy hugged each other happily, and Lu Ying was very relieved watching this picture he hadn’t seen for a long time.
No matter how angry he was at Grandpa Lu for this ‘secret’, he would never really blame him. Not only had Lu Qianchuan raised him; Zaizai was also in Grandpa Lu’s care until he was three, otherwise Lu Ying would have had problems trying to go out to work.
“Where have you been, Grandpa Lu? Dad said we would never see you again after you died, but why are you alive again now? And Grandpa Lu, you seem to be a little younger! Zaizai missed you so much!” Zaizai kept babbling happily. Lu Qianchuan was very patient with the child he had brought up for three years, able to put away any bad temper he had.
Lu Qianchuan wanted to explain everything to Lu Ying today, and now was a good time to do so.
“Zaizai, Grandpa Lu was reborn in fire.” Lu Qianchuan stroked the child’s hair and said, “Grandpa Lu missed you too, good boy.” He gave Lu Zaizai a hug. During his weakest and most difficult time, this innocent and lovely child accompanied him and watching him grow up, Lu Qianchuan had managed to change his mentality a lot unconsciously.
“Then Grandpa Lu won’t go away from now on, right? Will I still be able to see Grandpa Lu often?” Lu Zaizai looked at the man nervously.
Lu Qianchuan nodded, “Grandpa Lu won’t leave in the future. Grandpa Lu can watch cartoons with you.”
“Great! Are you happy, Dad?”
Lu Ying smiled, “Of course I’m happy.”
Lu Zaizai suddenly hugged him, “It’s so good, Grandpa Lu comes home and Dad won’t be sad anymore.”
“……” Lu Ying sighed. He was very sad and depressed when Grandpa Lu left, but he didn’t expect the child to still remember it.
Lu Qianchuan’s eyes flickered slightly, full of guilt.
“Zaizai, go to see your little sister. She is very cute. Remember not to touch your little sister carelessly, just protect her.” Lu Ying instructed his son.
Lu Zaizai forgot what he had asked and went to see his little sister with great interest.
Lu Qianchuan sighed and corrected, “It’s his aunt, not little sister, how can you lower our seniority so much? You even dare to call me Sister-in-law, really, really… whose bad example did you learn from, hey!”
The guy still wanted to talk about seniority! Lu Ying sat down at the table and took a sip of cold water, unceremoniously saying to Lu Qianchuan, “I have a good relationship with Brother Yang, of course I count according to his seniority. Besides, this looks more reasonable. Otherwise, if Zaizai takes the little princess out to play on the slide in the future and calls her ‘Aunt’, Grandpa, don’t you think it’ll be creepy?”
“What’s creepy about it…? The truth is the truth, I am the elder, my daughter’s seniority is higher than yours.” Lu Qianchuan was unconvinced.
Lu Ying hummed, “Hehe… how come I didn’t know before that Grandpa Lu was so shameless, an embarrassment to all the elders! You’re an old cow eating young grass! Brother Yang has such a good personality, is versatile and capable, and he is the man I call Brother Yang. You are already a grandfather, a real old-timer, how can you have the nerve to do a thing like this to him…?”
Lu Ying’s words made Lu Qianchuan’s blood pressure soar and he retorted with an angry glare, “You’re offending your elders and you’re calling me shameless? How can I be shameless? I am in love with Yangyang, and we are willing to do it, why do you make it sound so unpleasant? You think I’m an old bastard? There’s not much difference in age between me and him! Don’t talk nonsense if you don’t know.”
Yangyang? Sheep sheep? (the character for ‘yáng’ is ‘sheep’, not Yang in Brother Yang’s surname)
o(╯□╰)o
Lu Ying’s teeth suddenly ached, ah… this elder was killing him, oh horror.
Quickly shaking his head to stop himself from fantasising about the pictures he shouldn’t have imagined, Lu Ying muttered: “I didn’t say you’re an old bastard, you admit it yourself, not bad.”
“How dare you!” Lu Qianchuan was so angry that he slapped the table, “Following bad examples, you, you never dared to speak to me like that before. So rude and impolite, what have I done to make you lecture me like that?”
Lu Ying propped up his head and continued, “You’ve been hiding from me, not telling me anything. Brother Yang also kept it from me and didn’t let me know until the baby was born. Were you afraid that I would laugh at you? Or were you afraid that I would stop you? Although I think you’re particularly cheeky for doing this, Grandpa Lu, but Brother Yang and you did it willingly, so how could I say anything against it? I don’t know anything if you hide it from me. As long as I’m told, of course I’ll support you.”
Lu Ying said in exasperation, “You’ve actually lived at Brother Yang’s house this year, haven’t you? And I haven’t seen you. You were deliberately avoiding me.”
Lu Qianchuan didn’t expect Lu Ying’s words. He explained, “I didn’t see you not because of that. Your Brother Yang and I had known each other for many years long before you were born. But we weren’t together for too long before, we broke up because of our incompatible personalities.”
Lu Ying was shocked; so it turned out to be a reunion of old lovers! No wonder he had grown up living in the mountains but rarely saw Brother Yang come there. Grandpa stayed in the mountains all year round and never went out, while Brother Yang was always out and about experiencing life, probably travelling around the world several times. When Brother Yang later settled in Qixia Town, Lu Ying was already sensible.
No one on the mountain ever talked about their past. It was possible that no one had even known about it.
Forget it, forget it, it was none of his business what the elders did with their twilight romance. The baby was born, so of course it was better to bless them.
What Lu Ying cared about was not the fact that the elders were in love; he was angry that Grandpa Lu was around but wouldn’t show up.
“If it’s not because of that, then why did everyone know but I didn’t?” Lu Ying said sullenly, “If the child hadn’t been born, would you still have kept it from me?”
Lu Qianchuan shook his head, “I didn’t mean to hide it from you. My situation was more complicated before.”
Exhaling, Lu Ying took the initiative to change the subject and didn’t intentionally anger Grandpa Lu anymore.
“When Zaizai was three years old, you clearly… I, I buried you in the stone chamber with my own hands. What is the situation now?” Lu Ying asked grimly. At that time he was grief-stricken and sad and it took a long time to get over it.
Lu Qianchuan said guiltily, “I shouldn’t have woken up. You could also see, I was already very weakened then.”
“En, could it be that Brother Yang…?” Lu Ying guessed a possibility.
Lu Qianchuan nodded, “He was the one who woke me up, at a great cost.” He said with a smile, “But it’s okay to accept this condition. To join hands for life and grow old together.”
“You guys…” Lu Ying had a dull ache in his heart. He didn’t expect Brother Yang to pay so much. He knew what it meant. For a moment, there was nothing to say except admiration.
Lu Qianchuan stroked his hair and said soothingly, “Don’t worry so much about the two of us, you child. It’s all fine now, don’t worry about it.”
“I’m not a child.” Lu Ying retorted, adding, “I want your family to be happy.”
“You’ll always be a child in my eyes.” Lu Qianchuan smiled kindly.
Lu Qianchuan continued, “I was very weak when I woke up and my situation was uncertain. So I didn’t let him or the old fox tell the public.”
“So that’s what happened…” Lu Ying understood. But he wasn’t an outsider, was he?
“I deliberately avoided you… because I did something wrong to you.” Lu Qianchuan sighed.
Lu Ying was confused: “Grandpa Lu, you would do something wrong to me?”
“I…”
Jingle bells, jingle bells.
Lu Ying smiled apologetically, “I’ll take a call.”
He stepped aside and lowered his voice, “Hello, what is it? Ah, you’re over here already? I’m on Qixia Mountain, not at home. You bought my niece a present? This…”
He hesitated, wondering if he should ask Qin Zhuopu to come up the mountain at this time. After all, Brother Yang had just given birth.
Lu Qianchuan put down his teacup and said, “Let him come here, just in time for you two to be together so that I can make it clear all at once.”
“Is it okay?” Lu Ying looked into the room.
Lu Qianchuan nodded, “He should know what he should know. You’re sure of him anyway, aren’t you?”
“En.” Lu Ying blushed, his attitude very clear.
“Hey…” Lu Qianchuan had a headache. The more Lu Ying cared for that boy, the more he felt guilty for what he had done back then.
Lu Ying asked carefully, “Then I’ll let him up here?”
“Yes.”
Lu Ying joyfully informed Qin Zhuopu, “Come straight up to Qixia Mountain, my Grandpa Lu wants to see you.”
In Qixia Town, Qin Zhuopu hung up the phone; a smile appeared on his face as he walked towards Qixia Mountain.
The place he had not been able to reach seven years ago, this time he could finally walk into it openly and honestly.
***
Mini-theatre:
Zaizai: Let me introduce to you all, this is my little sister Yang Xiaolu (Little Deer)! She’s under my protection!
Xiaolu: No, I’m his aunt!
Zaizai: ……
Mini theatre-2:
Zaizai: Don’t be mad, dear, that was my sister just now, you misunderstood!
Xiaolu: He lied to you! Don’t listen to him! I’m not his sister!
Zaizai: Yes, yes, yes! You’re my aunt!
Onlookers: ……
Mini-theatre-3:
Mr. Qin: I bought a lot of gifts for your niece. Your niece is my niece.
Lu Ying: ^_^ Not bad, not bad..
Mr. Qin: My little niece is so cute, come on, come on, here’s a red envelope, take it!
Lu Qianchuan: This is your little aunt!
Mr. Qin: ……
Lu Ying: Little aunt is an elder, so why don’t you take back the red envelope?
Mr. Qin: ……
Lu Qianchuan: ……
Brother Yang: Ahem, she’s your niece! Where’s the red envelope?l
