Looking for crickets?
Fu Xiaofan was so engrossed in his search that he didn't even notice his dad coming. Naturally, he didn't realize his dad was approaching. When his voice suddenly appeared, he was so startled that his eyes lit up.
That was the system's self-protection mechanism. At that moment, Fu Xiaofan cached and archived all the cloud data in the system to prevent leakage.
"Holy crap!" Zhou Zhou exclaimed in a low voice, quickly moving his body to shield the other party and prevent the three people outside the bushes from seeing this bizarre scene.
The data cached quickly, and when Fu Xiaofan realized what was happening, her face contorted in a grimace. She lowered her voice and scolded, "What are you doing? You scared me!"
Fu Xiaofan gave a rather childish snort and continued what he was doing.
"Who knew you'd react so strongly? You're the system, what are you afraid of?" Zhou Zhou muttered under his breath, following Fu Xiaofan's gaze. The other's delicate little hands were digging through the grass roots again.
"Wow, son, you're really catching crickets?"
"You little cricket who's been catching my butt." Fu Xiaofan was still in a bad mood from the shock, and even his speech became much more rude. "I lost Grandma's jade ring, and I'm looking for it now."
"I knew it," Zhou Zhou smiled. "Let's look for it tomorrow morning; it's not easy to find it at night."
A single emerald green amidst a sea of emerald green would be hard to spot at night.
“…No.” Fu Xiaofan kept tugging at the cloth. “That’s a birthday gift from Grandma to Great-Grandpa. It has to be delivered tomorrow morning.”
"What the hell?" Zhou Zhou panicked upon hearing this. It took him less than a second to go from watching the show to joining in. Together they rummaged through the grass, and Zhou Zhou scolded him in a low voice, "You unlucky kid, what are you doing touching the old man's congratulatory gift?"
“…I didn’t know at first. When I asked for it, I didn’t say it was a birthday gift. I only found out after I accidentally lost it.” Fu Xiaofan switched between the two expressions with ease, pouting pitifully, “Dad, you have to help me. I can’t be that kind of inconsiderate child.”
The pampering you receive will be greatly diminished.
"I'm looking for it for you."
Two figures, one tall and one short, were busy in the grass. Fu Xiong asked a few questions about what had happened during the day.
"Is it true that his private life in college was chaotic?" Fu Xiong frowned as he stared at Zhou Zhou's back.
“It’s fake. Zhou Zhou never dated during college, and Uncle Zhou and Aunt Yang are very strict with their children. This is obviously a malicious rumor. I’ve already asked someone to contact the person who posted it.” Fu Hengzhi looked at his grandfather’s eyes and continued, “Grandpa, haven’t you always been someone who doesn’t pay attention to these things online?”
“Your aunt saw it during the day and told me.” Fu Xiong turned his head and saw his scrutinizing gaze. He said in an unhappy tone, “I know what you’re thinking. Your aunt meant well. Since he’s a man who has married into the Fu family, he can’t have any stains on his record.”
Grandpa Fu was extremely strict with the younger generation in this regard.
“No stains.” Fu Hengzhi suddenly lost interest in continuing the conversation with his elder, turned to look at the bushes in front of him, and then his eyes lit up as he bent down.
"Is this the area? Are you sure?" Zhou Zhou asked softly, his hands constantly brushing away at the grass roots, when suddenly a shout came from behind him.
"I caught a cricket, you two come over here."
Zhou Zhou: "..."
Fu Xiaofan: "..."
Fu Xiaofan steeled himself and glanced at the cricket held in Fu Hengzhi's palm. He chirped twice, looked up, and blinked in his childish voice, saying, "Daddy, this isn't the one I was looking for~"
"Aren't all crickets the same? Let's just take this one, shall we?" Liu Yuelian had been standing outside for a long time, and her knees were aching, so she wanted to go inside and rest.
"No, I want to find the one I want." Fu Xiaofan noticed that the old man was not feeling well, and winked at Fu Hengzhi, saying, "Daddy~ can you help Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa into the house? Daddy said he'll help me look for it here."
“Alright.” Fu Hengzhi couldn’t let his elderly grandparents keep up with his son’s antics. He glanced at Zhou Zhou, who was still searching in the grass, released the cricket in his hand, wiped his hands with a handkerchief, and rubbed Fu Xiaofan’s head. “Then you and Daddy can look for it first. Daddy will look for it with you later.”
Fu Xiaofan: "..." No, let's not.
Before Fu Xiaofan could refuse, Fu Hengzhi had already helped Liu Yuelian walk towards the villa. Liu Yuelian looked back every few steps, and Fu Xiaofan could only persuade Fu Xiong, who still wanted to stay with him, to leave as well.
"Great-Grandpa, please go inside and rest. Xiaofan is worried about you staying here."
Once all the unrelated people had entered the house, Fu Xiaofan immediately rushed to Zhou Zhou's side and sped up the search.
"Quickly, your husband, my dad, is coming to help us look for it later."
"You really are..." Zhou Zhou looked at his flustered little face and smiled helplessly, when something stuck in his hand.
"Found it, let's go, let's go back inside." Zhou Zhou took out the jade thumb ring and stuffed it into his pocket. He had been kneeling there for a while and had several mosquito bites on his legs. He didn't want to stay there any longer, so he picked up Fu Xiaofan and headed towards the villa.
'Drip—Drip—'
A white Mercedes-Benz approached from a distance. Zhou Zhou, holding the child, made way for the other vehicle. After the Mercedes-Benz stopped, Fu Shuiling got out of the car.
"aunt."
"Grandma~"
The father and son greeted each other, but Fu Shuiling only glanced at them indifferently, sneered, moved closer, and then brushed past them.
The sound was soft, but clear.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhou frowned and stared at the other person's back. Fu Xiaofan also looked unhappy.
Because the other party just said, "How long do you think you can stay in the Fu family?"
Chapter 113 Zhou Zhou, don't cause trouble, thank you.
Chapter 113 Zhou Zhou: Don't cause trouble, thank you.
Zhou Zhou herself was quite confused, as was Fu Xiaofan.
Prejudice will always exist, but we are all family after all, and we shouldn't show it no matter what.
“Dad.” Fu Xiaofan looked at the closed gate of the villa and tilted her head at Zhou Zhou. “She doesn’t treat you like family.”
Zhou Zhou: "Mm."
The faint "hmm" was ambiguous, making it impossible to discern his true feelings.
"Ugh, so annoying~" Fu Xiaofan was being held by Zhou Zhou, his bottom supported, so the two were at eye level. He patted Zhou Zhou's shoulder with his chubby little hands and said in a childish voice, "I'm going to tell on her~ Let her parents teach her a lesson~"
These words sound like a child tattling innocently, but Fu Xiaofan had already figured out the temperaments of these elders perfectly through their interactions over the past few days. He knew how to embellish the situation and make Fu Shuiling suffer.
“No need.” Zhou Zhou had been staring at the direction the other party had left in since earlier, his eyes dim. “I have a way to handle this. Let’s see what she’s up to first.”
Zhou Zhou didn't mention the question, "How long do you think you can stay in the Fu family?" to Fu Hengzhi. He just felt it was rather pointless and meaningless for an aunt to interfere in her own nephew's family.
sad.
After Zhou Zhou carried Fu Xiaofan into the house, Fu Shuiling greeted him with a smile on the sofa, and he returned the smile.
Fu Xiaofan was, after all, playing the role of a four-year-old child, and a child should act like a child. He was too lazy to deal with the scheming between adults. From an angle that Fu Shuiling couldn't see, he rolled his eyes to the sky. Zhou Zhou glanced at him and saw that he was looking at the sofa and mouthing two words.
'hypocritical'
"Hehe." Zhou Zhou laughed.
Because the fathers came, Fu Xiaofan was unable to sleep freely in her own little room that night. Wearing her pajamas, she was carried by Duan Yun between Fu Hengzhi and Zhou Zhou.
The stated reason is to allow children to receive ample companionship from their fathers.
The bedroom, which should have been filled with passionate lovemaking, remained peaceful all night because of Fu Xiaofan's presence.
Because the next day was Grandpa Fu's 80th birthday, and the two elderly people usually went to bed early and got up even earlier, everyone else had to get ready before the two elderly people got up.
The moment the bedroom door on the second floor opened, Fu Xiaofan, with remarkable awareness, called out in a loud and clear voice, "Happy birthday, Great-Grandpa!"
"Hey, great-grandfather's good great-grandson!" Fu Xiong and Liu Yuelian, supported by Fu Hongjiang and Fu Shuiling, came downstairs and smiled as they looked at the jade ring that Fu Xiaofan handed over.
"Great-Grandpa, this is a birthday gift from Grandma~" Fu Xiaofan said in a childish voice.
"well."
Breakfast was prepared by Aunt Feng and Duan Yun, and everyone had a light snack first. After eight o'clock, people who were in charge of setting up the venue arrived, and people who came to wish Grandpa Fu a happy birthday also arrived one after another.
Many of the faces Zhou Zhou recognized were among them.
"President Cai, President Yuan." Zhou Zhou greeted these two 'old acquaintances'. Yuan Qing noticed that Zhou Zhou's expression wasn't very good, making Zhou Zhou wonder if he had offended the other party in some way, even though the other party had spoken up for him on the official Weibo account yesterday.
"Xiao Zhou, is it okay if I call you that?" Cai Qi asked gently. After receiving permission, he smiled slightly and explained, "A Qing just thinks you're being too formal."
"Ah." After all, the other party said yesterday that he was his younger brother. Zhou Zhou pursed his lips and softly called out to Yuan Qing, "Brother Yuan."
Yuan Qing glanced at Cai Ye indifferently, then nodded to Zhou Zhou, "Don't take yesterday's matter to heart. I also made mistakes in what I did before."
Zhou Zhou shook his head, "I should also thank Brother Yuan for helping me yesterday."
“You are the teacher’s only child, I will help you out of all circumstances…” Yuan Qing’s voice suddenly went hoarse before she could finish speaking. She turned slightly to look at the child in Duan Yun’s arms, her pupils gradually dilating. She looked at the person in front of her, then at the child, her face filled with shock.
Cai Qi followed the other person's gaze and was taken aback, blurting out, "Your brother?"
The two looked so alike that it would be a stretch to call them father and son. But as soon as he said it, he remembered that the other was an only child whose parents had passed away and he was unable to have another child. His good upbringing made him quickly change his mind, "Sorry, I don't think so."
"My son." Zhou Zhou raised the corners of his mouth, went over to greet Duan Yun, and picked up Fu Xiaofan to recognize him.
“These are Uncle Yuan and Uncle Cai,” Zhou Zhou said softly.
Fu Xiaofan blinked, grinned, and chuckled, his childlike voice clear and innocent, "Hello Uncle Yuan~ Hello Uncle Cai~"
"Good boy." Yuan Qing smiled gently at his face, her eyes flashing as she looked at Zhou Zhou. "How come I've never heard that you have a child?"
“When I first came of age, I was with my husband…” Zhou Zhou pursed her lips and didn’t continue. Yuan Qing frowned upon hearing this, her voice suddenly turning icy cold, “So the teacher didn’t know about this child?”
“…” Zhou Zhou paused, then slowly nodded. He had a premonition that he was going to get scolded.
"This is utter nonsense." Yuan Qing shouted at him in a suppressed voice, his face flushed. He was the kind of person whose emotions were easily agitated and whose face would turn red.
Seeing this, Cai Lin quickly comforted him, stroking his back gently, "Aqing, don't be angry, don't be angry. Xiaozhou must have had his reasons for doing that."
"Brother Yuan, I'll explain to you later, okay?" More and more guests arrived, and Duan Yun was having trouble handling them, so Zhou Zhou went to help her.
“…” Yuan Qing turned her head away and didn’t say anything.
Cai Qi quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Xiao Zhou, you go ahead and do your work. I'll take care of him."
As she spoke, she met the gaze of Fu Xiaofan, who was blinking and tilting his head in the other person's arms. She paused for a moment, then realized what was happening and muttered softly, "It's so nice to have a child."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Qing glared at him.
"Xiao Zhou, go to the door and meet your uncle and the others. They just called and said they're on their way; they should be here by now." Duan Yun took Fu Xiaofan from her, then adopted the air of a wealthy lady, smiling as she approached the new guests, "Mrs. Xu, it's been a long time! This is my grandson, hahaha..."
Although they were there to offer birthday wishes, most of the people present gathered around Fu Hengzhi and Fu Hongjiang, while those who genuinely offered their congratulations to Fu Xiong and Liu Yuelian were mostly elders of similar age from various families.
Several people tried to surround Zhou Zhou, but he politely smiled and waved them away. When he reached the door, he saw a familiar figure.
"Dr. Bai?"
"Hello, Mr. Zhou." Dr. Bai was dressed in a suit and carrying a congratulatory gift for Old Master Fu.
Dr. Bai works at a private hospital and is affiliated with the Fu family, making him a semi-exclusive physician for them. Zhou Zhou met Dr. Bai when the father and his two sons visited the hospital last time.
"I've come to wish the old man a happy birthday, and I also have some other matters to attend to." Dr. Bai smiled, and Zhou Zhou returned the smile, stepping aside to let him pass. "Dr. Bai, please. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll have to keep you company for now."