Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Aunt Ge’s shouting drew the attention of countless other people.
“Yo, this is too much!”
“Isn’t that the Qi family’s great-grandson? Thank God they didn’t take him away.”
“Doing this in broad daylight? This is outrageous!”
“This is too heartless!”
Wu Qiaoyin’s face turned green, then red, and she anxiously said, “I… I have money. Why should I kidnap children! I… I drove here! Big Sister Song, I’m so disappointed in you. I treated you as a friend and I wanted to meet your elders, but you’re accusing me like this!”
Unable to bear with it any longer, she ran to the car crying as soon as she finished speaking, then drove off.
The crowd dispersed after seeing her leave.
Song Yu protected the little boy and thanked Aunt Ge. “Sorry for troubling you.”
“It’s fine. We’re all neighbors, aren’t we? If we see something amiss, we have to help.” Aunt Ge waved it off happily. “It was a coincidence too. I just finished plaza dancing and I saw this when I came back.”
Seeing Qi Youxuan hugging Song Yu’s thigh listlessly, Aunt Ge thought that it was because the child was scared silly. She told them to hurry in.
Song Yu then waved goodbye to Aunt Ge and brought the child into the courtyard before saying, “Usually, you’re not allowed to lie to good people, but when there are bad people, it’s a way to save yourself. There are many types of lies, and if it’s for a good reason, then it’s fine. You’re a smart child. Don’t beat yourself up over this.
“Not letting her into our house is a good thing. And the only thing we can say about that is that you’re smart,” Song Yu said.
“I know.” The little guy was still feeling bummed, but in a split second, he understood everything and puffed out his little tummy, exclaiming confidently, “I’m a really smart person!”
…
Song Yu went back and told everything to Qi Chenglin, including the little boy’s concerns.
In the end, little Qi Youxuan received a look of approval from his dad. “Don’t be silly. Always do that to those kinds of women. If she’s shameless, then we’ll undermine her and shame her.”
Qi Youxuan’s vigor perked up and he immediately gave Qi Chenglin a thumbs up. “Dad! You’re absolutely right!”
He tapped his fat little hand onto his chest and said, “Dad, don’t worry. I’ll definitely do my best! You’ll have to reward me tonight by letting me eat some meat tonight, okay?”
Qi Chenglin looked at him from head to toe and pointed at the digital scale by the wall. “Go and weigh. Let’s see how many kilos you’ve shed.”
Qi Youxuan felt briefly choked. He looked down at his own belly, then at the scale, before finally looking at Qi Chenglin. “Dad, I just drank a big box of milk. I’m filled with water now and it won’t be accurate! Measuring weight is most accurate in the morning, before breakfast.”
He looked at Qi Chenglin and narrowed his eyes, after which he threw himself into his great-grandmother’s arms. “Great-grandma! Have pity on your cute grandson! Look at how skinny I am! Dad only lets me eat vegetables every day, and I’ve eaten so much that my face turned green. When I go to school like this, people think that my family’s broke! Great-Grandma, Xuan… Xuanxuan’s so misewwuhble…”
Everyone else in the house was turned off by his last three words.
The old lady sighed helplessly and hugged the little ball of fat in her arms. She could feel his entire weight making her feel sore, and when he sat up, she could not feel the slightest trace of bone in that butt of his. He ought to be going on a diet!
“Don’t be silly, our family’s not broke. Letting you eat more vegetables is for your own good, and besides, it’s not like we didn’t let you eat any meat at all, right?” The old lady wanted to carry him up but was unable to do so. Her face muscles twitched and she said, “You’ve…really put on some weight now.”
Qi Youxuan’s heart was thoroughly hurt by the old lady, and his pinkish-tender face looked defeated once more.
The old lady could not bear it. She looked guiltily at Qi Chenglin and then at Guan Liya. It was obvious she wanted Guan Liya to be the interceder.
Guan Liya met with her son’s gaze and giggled before abruptly looking away from the old lady.
The old lady was speechless.
Since Guan Liya was not helping, Grandmother Qi chuckled before saying, “There’s plenty of good food tonight to replenish your mom’s nutrients. You can eat them too, but veggies must form the bulk of your meal!”
Qi Youxuan nodded tearfully. He decided that he would look for his uncle tomorrow at his mom’s parents’ place, as his uncle would give him plenty of meat to eat.
Nevertheless, the little boy’s plans were disrupted. That night, Ruan Danchen received Grandmother Ruan’s call, informing that Grandfather Ruan was already on a flight home. He ditched his meeting just to see her and would be arriving on Sunday.
“What your grandfather means is that we’ll go visit the Qi family once he comes back tomorrow,” Grandmother Ruan said.
Ruan Danchen did not expect Grandfather Ruan to just fly home and leave the group of people behind. She felt warm in her heart, but at the thought of Grandfather Ruan’s age, she said, “I’ve spoken with the elders today. Grandmother Qi says not to rush. Grandpa’s old, and he has to deal with jet lag after more than ten hours in the air. It’s going to be unbearable. He doesn’t need to come here immediately after arriving. Grandmother Qi says that there’s plenty of time, and they all understand.”
“Their understanding is one matter. Whether we do it or not is another matter altogether,” Grandmother Ruan said. “Dragging it too long is rude. This is our etiquette. Besides, your grandfather came back here without staying too long overseas. The jet lag hasn’t set in yet. He’ll get enough sleep on the plane and it won’t be a problem.”
Therefore, when morning came, Qi Chenglin brought Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan to the Ruan family. Qi Chenglin called the manor and notified them that Grandfather Ruan was back and they would all visit the manor that night.
The old lady heard that and immediately started preparing. After a headcount, she said, “It seems like there are too many people now. Xiao Liu might not be able to prepare everything. Should we just make a reservation at Dynasty? We’ll go there to have dinner after we sit around at home?”
She called over Xia Wenna and Guan Liya to mull it over. After some thought, she still felt worried. “Will they think that we’re showing off our wealth if we go to Dynasty? But if we go to Shengyue, it doesn’t feel good enough. We definitely can’t make it if we prepare at home.”
Beside them, Grandfather Qi placed down his morning papers. He huffed, glared at them, and said, “It’s just meeting the in-laws. Why are you so anxious about it?”
“They’re scientists. How can I not be anxious? I’ve never met true scientists before in my entire life!” The old lady pointed proudly at the television behind her. “They’re people who went on TV before!”
Grandfather Qi, “…”
“Our family keeps a low profile. If we didn’t, we’d be on TV too!” Grandfather Qi said without mincing his words.
Grandmother Qi chuckled, “Hehe.”
…
Leaving the raucous discussion at the old manor, Qi Chenglin had already brought Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan to the Ruan family home.
As soon as they opened the door, the little boy threw himself into Grandmother Ruan’s arms. “Great-Grandma Ruan! I miss you!”
“Oh, my darling, my darling!” Grandmother Ruan felt incredibly content when that little round ball of fat hugged her. She stumbled back a couple of steps, but fortunately, Ruan Zeer was there to hold her, otherwise, her waist would not be able to withstand it.
Grandmother Ruan did not mind too much because she was so busy holding up the little guy. She tried picking him up, but was unable to do so.
Grandmother Ruan’s mouth twitched with a smile, and she immediately made a second attempt, which failed too.
Thus, Grandmother Ruan gave up and found a low chair to sit down, enabling Qi Youxuan to crawl onto her lap.
When Qi Youxuan used his little fat hands to prop himself on her legs, Mrs. Ruan felt that her old legs were giving way already.
“Great-Grandma Ruan, look at me. Do I look different?” The little boy stared at Grandmother Ruan eagerly and tried to suck in his cheeks.
Scrutinizing the little guy from head to toe, Grandmother Ruan did not see any changes. She could only guess and ask, “New clothes?”
“Nope.” Qi Youxuan twisted his waist. “Guess again.”
The old lady said, “Oh dear,” and was struggling to hold the wiggling Qi Youxuan.
“Is it… a hairstyle change?” she mumbled despite sensing nothing different.
“No, Great-Grandma Ruan. Your cute little Xuanxuan has slimmed down!” Qi Youxuan pointed to his own small face, “Didn’t you notice that I got thin? When I got up this morning to take a look, I saw that my face was blue.”
After the little guy finished his sentence, he arched into Grandma Ruan’s arms. “I ate vegetables the entire day yesterday, and I have no energy!”
“This …” Grandmother Ruan could not bear to look at the others.
“He drank plenty of Danchen’s herbal soup last night,” Qi Chenglin said softly.
That thought made Qi Youxuan feel sad. When he drank it, Guan Liya even said, “Why are you drinking the soup that’s meant for your sister?”
He felt bitterness in his heart. He was sidelined like Little Cabbage1 even before his sister was born.
Grandmother Ruan touched his hair and froze for a long time before saying, “This… This… it looks like…you’re thinner?”
Qi Youxuan rushed into Ruan Keshan’s arms next. “Granduncle 1, your grandson is suffering!”
Ruan Keshan was also red-eyed. “Sigh, my little grandson, how could they not let you have rice?”
Not have rice? It was only meat that they did not let him eat too much.
He had plenty of vegetables to eat too!
Seeing the old man and the young boy holding each other and crying, everyone’s mouth began twitching.
Ruan Zeer covered his face because he could not bear to look at the scene.
When he was young, Ruan Keshan cried while holding him in the exact same way too.
Rumor had it that when Ruan Keyu was younger, Ruan Keshan did the same as well.
Qi Chenglin had enough of it. He carried Qi Youxuan by the shirt collar while sporting an unhappy expression. The boy was lifted out of Ruan Keshan’s arms. “Stand up straight and stop making a fuss! Don’t think that you can eat more meat just because you have extended family members now. Haven’t you seen how fat you are now? And you still have the decency to call yourself the best among your year. What do you take Dai Zhiyao for? Furniture?”
The little boy moved his lips as if to say something, but he did not rebuff his father’s words. Facts spoke louder than words, and as of that moment, Dai Zhiyao’s popularity surpassed him just a little bit more.
“Muran’s going to start attending elementary school too,” Qi Chenglin said casually.
Qi Youxuan bit the handkerchief that Ruan Keshan handed over to dry his tears. After an inner tussle, he said, “I… I’ll work harder to slim down.”
“Since that’s the case, Zeer, you can put away the roasted chicken we bought this morning.” Ruan Keshan did not want to dampen his grandson’s zeal. “The pork ribs and pork trotters too… Put them back in the fridge. We won’t be eating them this afternoon.”
As he said that, he felt that something was amiss. His shirt was wet and sticking to his skin.
When he looked down, it was all due to Qi Youxuan’s saliva.
“We… We were going to eat so much good food this afternoon?” the little boy’s saliva was like a faucet and he asked with tears in his eyes.
“Sweet and sour pork ribs. Don’t you like to eat them? Also, rock-sugar braised pork trotters. They’ll be soft after braising. That melt-in-your-mouth skin and chewy tendons. The roast chicken was bought from a roasted meats shop in our nearby market. The chicken skin is thin, crispy, and the meat is smooth and tender. There’s even juice when you bite into it, you know!” Ruan Keshan thought that it would be good to describe all that good food to him since he could not eat them.
Ruan Keshan then gave him a regretful look. “But if you don’t eat. We’ll keep them. We haven’t started preparing anyway, so when you’re not around, we’ll eat them again.”
The little boy was shocked. Did his granduncle really like him? Why did it seem like his granduncle was trying to anger him on purpose!
Qi Youxuan crept down sorrowfully from Ruan Keshan’s lap. He turned to Chen Minxia and went into her embrace. “Grandaunt 1, I can’t!”
Chen Minxia patted his back and tested the waters by asking Qi Chenglin, “How about we just let him eat some? Just a bit, for him to have a taste.”
Qi Chenglin pondered for a bit and replied, “Perhaps you can just cook it. We’ll just let him have a bite to satisfy his cravings. We can’t just let the entire family go meatless just because of him.”
Qi Youxuan, “…”
…
Things turned out exactly as Qi Chenglin said. When lunchtime came, Qi Youxuan widened his eyes at the large portion of pig trotters, but Qi Chenglin merely gave him a small piece of skin. Ruan Danchen was still the one who felt sorry for him, so she took a piece of al dente tendon and gave it to him. Qi Youxuan was only given a small piece of chicken thigh meat, and not even the chicken wings were given to him. Another small piece of pork rib was allowed, but other than that, nothing else was given.
After he finished his meat, he carried his bowl of vegetables and went over to sing Little Cabbage [1] in a corner. He would rather not sit at the table and look at all that delicious food when he could not even eat them.
Once they had all eaten, Ruan Danchen and Chen Minxia did not do the cleaning up because the family’s housekeeper was present to do all that.
Ruan Danchen sat on the sofa and felt waves of nausea. She knew it was because of the nervousness.
Her paling face prompted Qi Chenglin to hold her hand. Finding everything rather amusing, he asked, “Nervous?”
“Mm. It’s Grandpa we’re talking about.” Ruan Danchen realized that her breathing was becoming erratic, as if she lacked oxygen.
“Don’t be nervous. He’s not someone who’ll make you feel nervous.” Grandmother Ruan’s face twitched after she thought of the old man. “His character, how I do I put it… You’ll see it when you meet him. Don’t be worried. When you see him, you won’t even think about getting nervous.”
“Mm, don’t just go along with him when it comes to things. Your grandpa, he…can’t be controlled.” Ruan Keshan’s expression turned odd at the mere mention of Grandfather Ruan.
Chen Minxia was not in a position to say anything, as she was merely the old man’s daughter-in-law. All she could do was drink tea. Ruan Zeer, on the other hand, looked as though he did not want to dwell on past happenings.
Their expressions piqued Ruan Danchen’s curiosity and she no longer felt that anxious anymore.
Ruan Zeer and Qi Youxuan’s constant banter made her relax tremendously.
Not long later, the doorbell rang.
“Ah! Your grandpa’s back!” Grandmother Ruan said and got up.
Ruan Keshan moved faster than her and was the first to reach the door. Standing at the entrance was a white-haired old man, with a driver right behind him. The driver was specifically provided for by the academy. Since the old man’s assistant remained in America to take the old man’s place in the meeting, the driver went down to the airport just to pick the old man up.
Grandfather Ruan immediately pushed Ruan Keshan aside when he saw that his son was standing at the door. He ran into the house while shouting, “Where’s my granddaughter?!”
His eyes swiftly scanned across the room. He knew everyone there except Qi Chenglin’s family of three, so his eyes were fixed on Ruan Danchen.
Ruan Danchen had already stood up. She looked at the old man emotionally.
Grandfather Ruan knew it was Ruan Danchen the instant he laid eyes on her. How could she not be his granddaughter when she looked just like Keyu!
No wonder Ruan Keshan was so confident, even without a paternity test, that she was Keyu’s daughter.
“MY GRANDDAUGHTER!” Grandfather Ruan shouted at the top of his lungs. With teary eyes, he ran over and hugged Ruan Danchen’s tightly, all while crying, screaming, and calling her his granddaughter.
“You’ve suffered so much all these years! You suffered so much! Grandpa’s little darling!” Grandfather Ruan hugged Ruan Danchen and cried so much that Ruan Danchen did not even have the chance to speak. “You have Grandpa now. Grandpa will protect you! No one can bully you, if someone does, I’ll beat him to death!”
“…” Ruan Danchen was stunned. “Gra-grandpa?”
Where was that so-called ‘national treasure’? Where was that so-called ‘person of virtue and prestige’? Where was the renowned scientist?
All of a sudden, Ruan Danchen was enlightened as to why everyone else had such odd expressions on their face when Grandfather Ruan was brought up.
“Ah!” Grandfather Ruan acknowledged immediately. “My good granddaughter, my good granddaughter!”
Grandfather Ruan hugged him and cried for quite some time. It took a while for Ruan Keshan to pry the two apart. Upon seeing his old man cry, he cried too and gave Grandfather Ruan a bear-hug. “Dad, we found her, we found her!” he cried even louder.
“Agh, let me go. Let me hug my granddaughter,” Grandfather Ruan said tearfully.
His son, however, hugged him adamantly and cried.
After some time, Grandfather Ruan stopped crying. He froze there as Ruan Keshan hugged him, with his clothes already soaked in tears.
His son had numerous good qualities, among them honesty, filial piety, kindness, and responsibility toward wife and family—the one drawback was an abundance of emotions, well-developed lacrimal glands, and a frail heart.
Once Ruan Keshan finished crying, Grandfather Ruan calmed down significantly too. He felt as though his son had cried out all of his tears on his behalf. He pouted and plopped himself unhappily onto the sofa, looking intently at Ruan Danchen.
Ruan Danchen was getting unnerved by his stare, so she pulled Qi Youxuan over. “Grandpa, this is my son, Youxuan. Say hi to your great-grandpa, Youxuan.”
The first meeting was always a shy one for Qi Youxuan, but subsequent meetings would be no big deal for him.
At that point, the little boy held his round tummy and blushed due to bashfulness. “Hi, Great-Grandpa.”
Everyone felt a bit uneasy when they thought of the things he did in the afternoon.
“Oh my, good little child. So chubby and likable, so white and round like paper cuttings.” Grandfather Ruan was grinning from ear to ear.
Qi Youxuan turned to look at the huge, round paper cuttings at the window. “…”
“Come come, let Great-Grandpa hug you.” Grandfather Ruan stretched both his arms eagerly at the boy, whose fair-skin and chubbiness was much cuter than Ruan Zeer.
Ruan Zeer was too skinny when he was young. He was a handsome baby who grew up to be a handsome young man. Never once did he plump up.
Grandfather Ruan had no chance to feed Ruan Zeer and fatten him up, as Chen Minxia kept a strict watch on his diet. Thinking of that made Grandfather Ruan look at Chen Minxia somewhat dissatisfied.
Translator’s note:
[1] 小白菜– translated as Little Cabbage. It is a traditional song lamenting the trials and tribulations of a daughter whose mother passed away and father remarried. In the song, the father had another child with the second wife—a son—and they both cared for the son more than the daughter, leaving the daughter with much less to eat (one of the verses said that she ate only soup while her brother had noodles). Youxuan may be lamenting his lack of meat by singing the song, as the song ends with the girl missing the mother. Our Youxuan already found his mother, so the only thing that is worthy of his lamentations are lack of meat (and by extension, good food) and an overabundance of veggies!
[2] 外公– the author used this. It means maternal grandfather, but since Ruan Zeer is Qi Youxuan’s uncle, that would mean Ruan Keshan is Qi Youxuan’s granduncle.
[3] 外婆– It means grandmother and has similar logic to [1] but is actually referring to grandaunt. The author also used this.
