"I'm not afraid anymore, Dad."
Little Guli braced herself against Lin Yao's chest with her two small hands, lifting herself off his shoulder. "I'm brave!"
"Mm." Lin Yao nodded emphatically. Seeing that the little guy's emotions had stabilized, he turned to look at Gu Zhuofei, whose face was full of sorrow, and nodded slightly, giving the mother a lot of encouragement.
“Old man Xiao, what are you still standing here for? Hurry up and go to the meeting. You don’t need to worry about this. Zhuo Fei is cooking for Uncle General. He hasn’t eaten since dinner was served and he’s starving. Also, make some food for my good great-grandson. I bet the little guy hasn’t eaten either.”
General Xia glanced at the antique grandfather clock in the living room and urged General Xiao Li'ao to go to the military headquarters for a meeting. He didn't treat himself as an outsider at all, and started arranging dinner before the host had even left.
General Xiao Li'ao, who was agonizing over his grandson's situation, glared angrily at General Xia, "You not only destroyed your own home, but now you've demolished mine! I'll settle this score with you later!"
Before General Xia could react, Gu Zhuofei, whose mind was a little slow, finally understood her work assignment. With a complicated expression, she looked at Gu Li, who was still sitting in Lin Yao's arms discussing with Nannan how to fight bad guys, then glanced at General Xia before saying "Oh" and walking towards the kitchen.
Gu Zhuofei's performance rendered General Xiao Li'ao speechless. It seemed he could no longer trouble General Xia with the damage done to his family. He glared at his son Xiao Deli, ignored the broken glass shards scattered on the ground, rushed to the coat rack, grabbed his clothes, quickly dressed, and left without saying a word.
At this moment, he dared not provoke Xiao Guli. Of course, he couldn't talk to Lin Yao either; his daughter-in-law's previous conversation made him feel that leaving was the best course of action.
When Lin Yao and General Xia arrived, the orderly responsible for General Xiao Li'ao's meals and lodging had all been kicked out of the room. Only two lunches remained on the dining table. Of course, these lunches were interrupted by Lin Yao and his men before they could even start eating.
With so many people at home, everyone was hungry. The tense scene earlier had intensified their hunger. After the matter was resolved, they naturally had to eat. It would be difficult for Gu Zhuofei to handle it alone, so Xia Yuwen, Dika, and Alina went to the kitchen to help. Alina also slipped Nannan into Lin Yao's other arm.
"Lili, let's go downstairs and play. We can't let Uncle Yao carry us all the time."
Nannan grabbed Xiao Guli's hand and shook it vigorously, her face still streaked with tears—tears she had shed while Xiao Guli was wailing. She wasn't embarrassed at all; instead, she was smiling happily.
"Oh." Little Guli responded, looked around the living room, feeling a vague sense of familiarity, but no longer afraid. He twisted his body and said in a soft voice, "Daddy, I'm coming down to play with Sister Nannan."
"Okay, wait a moment."
Lin Yao readily agreed and immediately mobilized the energy of heaven and earth, carefully controlling it to clear the broken glass, wood, and some stones and cement from the ground to a corner of the living room. "Watch out, there's a big hole in the floor. Don't fall into it while you're playing."
“Okay, Uncle Yao,” Nannan answered first, her voice clear and bright. “This place is so strange! There are several big holes in the house. Aren’t they afraid of falling and getting hurt living here?”
General Xia finally couldn't help but burst into laughter. After a while, he proudly explained to the little guy, "That's a hole your great-grandfather made. Isn't that amazing?"
"Amazing! Great-Grandpa is the best!"
Nannan had already started calling General Xia "Great-Grandpa" along with Xiao Guli. She also liked this old man who, although his voice was a bit loud, was very generous. "Great-Grandpa, could you pluck a few more? Lili and I will go outside and get some flowers to plant here. This place will be even more beautiful in the future."
Nannan's words made the veins on Xiao Deli's neck bulge as he awkwardly endured the pain. His face, already darkened by the sea breeze, became even darker and shinier due to the flushing. He quickly glanced at Xiao Guli, then turned his head away, worried that if he looked too much, he might say something that would upset his son. The pain in his heart reached its peak in five years, and his guilt towards his wife and son was stronger than ever before.
Lin Yao put Xiao Guli and Nannan down on the ground, and they immediately started chasing each other around the living room. Although they were vaguely familiar with the layout of the living room, Xiao Guli didn't show any unusual behavior. Even when he saw Xiao Deli blocking his way, he naturally called out, "Uncle, move aside," and then quickly brushed past him.
Xiao Guli didn't have a deep memory of his father, Xiao Deli, but he was impressed by his military uniform. He was born just as Xiao Deli was being promoted to major general, and he was away from home for many years with the North Sea Fleet. From the time he could remember until he was four years old, he didn't see Xiao Deli very often, so he had no memory of this "uncle" at all.
The two little ones darted around the living room like two nimble monkeys. Their speed made Xiao Deli, who was confident in his training skills, feel ashamed. He thought to himself that he had wasted his life on dogs, and now even his nine-year-old son was much better than him. A complex mix of emotions, including relief, joy, hesitation, and sadness, welled up in his heart, and he stood there dumbfounded, like a wooden statue.
General Xia, of course, ignored this "useless" little bastard in his eyes. Sitting on the sofa with Elder Yi Potian, chatting animatedly, Lin Yao didn't know how to interact with Xiao Guli's legitimate father. He knew little about Xiao Deli, except that Xiao Deli was the commander of the North Sea Fleet. Clearly, this naval commander bore responsibility for Xiao Guli's abduction, so it was best to play dumb until he understood the situation.
"Sister Nannan, I'll take you to play on the seesaw. There's a seesaw in the room inside."
Xiao Guli suddenly stopped, panting, and pointed to the stairwell of the semi-duplex building, beckoning Nannan to come up and play with him.
"Okay, but playing on the seesaw in the room is no fun. We can't bounce into the air, or we'll hit the ceiling if we jump too high."
Nannan quickly stopped beside Xiao Guli, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and suddenly remembered something. She turned to look at Xiao Guli and said, "Lili, how did you know there was a seesaw inside? This is our first time here."
"Ah~~" Little Guli was stunned, blinking his big eyes with a troubled expression. "I don't know either. I think I've been here before and I know there's a seesaw inside."
"Let's go take a look. It's okay if it's not there. Playing on the seesaw in the room is no fun anyway. We can play it when we get home. This time, I'm determined to fly over four meters!"
Without asking any further questions, Nannan grabbed Xiao Guli's hand and rushed towards the stairwell. The two little ones quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.
“This is my son…” Xiao Deli stared blankly in the direction where Xiao Guli disappeared. “He remembers there was a seesaw inside. Nothing here has changed. The seesaw is still there.”
"So what if he is? I will never give my great-grandson back to you!"
General Xia suddenly stopped chatting with the Grand Elder, turned around and glared at Xiao Deli, who was standing in the middle of the living room. "Unless you ask your stubborn old man to help us, if you want a son, go have another one yourself. Can't you see the little guy doesn't even recognize you?"
"Kelili remembers his mother!"
Xiao Deli bravely met General Xia's gaze. His eyes were unwavering, and his attitude was extremely firm. "Uncle Xia, you can't do this!"
"Why not?" General Xia shook his head indifferently. "At worst, I'll just adopt Zhuo Fei as my goddaughter!"
"No, I took Zhuo Fei as my goddaughter, making her the same generation as my good son-in-law."
...
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Chapter 468 Xiao Deli Entrusts His Son to Someone
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