Feng Yuan’s chubby little body was lifted. His two small hands naturally wrapped tightly around Grandpa’s neck.
A wet little kiss landed on Li Heng’s cheek.
This was a thank-you kiss from his little chubby grandson.
“Grandpa, Yuan Yuan loves you.”
A kiss alone wasn’t enough. Feng Yuan hugged Grandpa’s neck and even gave a declaration of love.
Li Heng had raised many children, but the one who openly expressed love to him was only this one.
The little guy didn’t yet realize how rare his declaration of love was in this family.
He simply relied on the adult with all his heart and liked the adult sincerely.
His affection was pure to the extreme and dazzling to the extreme as well.
All the way out, Feng Yuan hardly ever left Li Heng’s side.
Even when sitting in the car, he would nuzzle and touch his grandpa whenever he could.
When children are in the car, adults cannot be careless.
Because kids are full of curiosity, and their little hands can get into trouble.
They might try to open the car door.
The driver, while driving, had locked the doors.
But at the position of the car handle, fiddling with it a few more times could unlock it.
Li Heng kept his eyes fixed on Feng Yuan, not daring to look away for a moment, afraid that his little chubby hands would start tampering with the car lock.
“Yuan Yuan, do you want to look at a picture book?”
With Li Heng’s occasional reminders, Feng Yuan stopped touching the car lock, but he kept pressing the window control buttons.
The car windows went up and down repeatedly. The little guy laughed as the wind from outside blew in.
When he heard Grandpa’s question, Feng Yuan, still enjoying the breeze, shook his head without a second thought.
“Yuan Yuan doesn’t want to look at picture books.”
Feng Yuan didn’t like picture books. He loved watching TV and playing on the game console.
Seeing that he wouldn’t settle down, Li Heng had no choice but to support his little body with his large hand and keep a close eye on him.
All the way, Feng Yuan didn’t sleep a wink.
They had left early. Feng Yuan had only just woken up a little while ago when they went out.
So he was still full of energy.
The two of them—big and small—were heading toward the art exhibition. Meanwhile, Li Sheng, realizing that Feng Yuan had gone out with Grandpa, suddenly remembered something.
He slightly furrowed his brow, his expression showing some hesitation.
“How long has Yuan Yuan been gone?”
“A little while, probably almost there. Why?”
Feng Qi noticed that Li Sheng’s expression seemed off and casually asked.
Li Sheng paused for a moment, then explained, “At Aunt Fang’s art exhibition, Uncle Yu will definitely be there. He’ll see Yuan Yuan.”
Feng Qi: “?”
Feng Qi was even more puzzled. “If he sees Yuan Yuan, what’s the problem? Do you think our Yuan Yuan shouldn’t be seen by others?”
“Of course not.”
Li Sheng immediately clarified seriously to dispel the misunderstanding: “Our Yuan Yuan is beautiful and adorable. I’ve never been afraid of anyone seeing him.”
“It’s just that Yu Yi warned me not to bring Yuan Yuan in front of Uncle Yu.”
“He said Yuan Yuan is too cute. If Uncle Yu sees him, he wouldn’t handle it well.”
“Uncle Yu is really pushy about marriage. Yu Yi is afraid that if Uncle Yu sees Yuan Yuan, he’ll push for a child immediately.”
Li Sheng’s explanation barely passed the test.
Feng Qi didn’t dwell on the issue any longer.
However, he was still incredulous about another matter.
“Your father knows about Yuan Yuan and me, and he’s surprisingly so calm. That really surprised me.”
In front of the old master, Feng Qi had directly turned Yuan Yuan from a little chick into a little cub.
If an ordinary elder had seen this scene, they probably would have been scared out of their wits.
Yet, despite his shock, the old master remained steady and composed.
It must be said that the old master’s physical and mental resilience were not ordinary at all.
“My dad wasn’t as calm as you saw.”
Li Sheng didn’t hesitate to expose his own father in front of Feng Qi.
He said, “My dad barely slept that whole night.”
“The next day, he even talked with me about it.”
After the old master confirmed that his little chubby grandson was indeed a little phoenix, he remained silent for a long time.
And when he learned that Feng Qi was also the last great phoenix in the world, he let out a rare sigh.
At that moment, he stared steadily at Li Sheng and uttered only one sentence:
“Phoenixes are a sign of auspice. In ancient times, even the imperial family might not have earned a phoenix’s favor. Our family… really has reached too high.”
Li Sheng himself felt the same that it was indeed reaching too high.
Under the old master’s complex gaze, he calmly promised that he would take good care of this great phoenix and also the little phoenix.
“Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore.”
Feng Qi, having chatted idly until now and seeing that they were almost at their destination, had no interest in continuing the conversation.
Meanwhile.
The little phoenix they had just been talking about was now finally being held by Grandpa and had gotten out of the car.
Feng Yuan didn’t have training today, so he didn’t need to wear his little camouflage outfit.
But when he woke up in the morning, he still wanted to wear it.
He wanted to go out and play in his little camouflage clothes.
Feng Qi thought that wearing the little camouflage outfit would draw a lot of attention.
So he let Feng Yuan decide for himself.
Feng Yuan touched his little camouflage outfit. Perhaps in this foreign city, he hadn’t found a sense of familiarity yet.
After giving it careful thought, the little guy pushed the camouflage clothes aside and changed into a stylish children’s designer brand outfit.
He pinned the stars from the camouflage outfit onto the designer T-shirt.
Feng Yuan was dressed head to toe in the designer brand, with a pair of sandals on his feet.
He exercised a lot every day—walking and running frequently. In the middle of summer, sandals were more convenient and cooler.
From head to toe, his outfit, whether it was just luck or the way the child wore it, looked far better than the child stars in advertisements.
“Grandpa, carry me.”
The moment Feng Yuan got out of the car, he was surrounded by countless eyes.
Many, many strangers were looking at him.
Feng Yuan, who was normally a bit socially confident, was so intimidated by all these people staring that he immediately regressed into social anxiety.
He tugged at Grandpa, wanting to be picked up.
“Don’t be afraid. You don’t have to look at them.”
Li Heng held his little chubby grandson and whispered soothingly, “Our Yuan Yuan is the bravest.”
Encouraged and comforted by Grandpa, the little one slowly peeked his head out from Li Heng’s neck, where he had been hiding his face.
His appearance, along with the intimate way Li Heng was holding him, immediately sparked quite a discussion among the onlookers.
“Looks like the rumors are true. Li Heng really does have a new grandson.”
“A while back, several people came to me crying, saying that Li Heng had taken out his anger on them because of his grandson. At the time, I didn’t really believe it…”
“It’s really surprising. Li Heng actually has such a warm side.”
Some murmurs spread quietly through the crowd.
Li Heng, being the person involved, didn’t pay any attention to them.
As soon as he arrived, he went straight to the main hall of the exhibition.
Madam Fang, who had just dyed her hair black and was wearing a simple and elegant qipao, was not far away, smiling as she greeted the guests.
Fang Fang was petite and very pretty. Standing beside her husband, Master Yu Lian, with both of them smiling, they looked perfectly matched.
When they were young, they were like playful rivals. Whenever they met, they would end up bickering.
If it weren’t for Brother Zhu’s astrological advice at the time, giving them a little push, these two probably wouldn’t have ended up together so easily.
Even when they dated, they often quarreled endlessly.
Back then, Li Heng was constantly getting a headache from their endless bickering.
These two noisy, quarrelsome people, in the blink of an eye, had stayed together for decades.
Over those decades, they had their disagreements and conflicts, but their love overcame everything.
“Li Heng!”
Madam Fang, who had been greeting the other guests, caught sight of Li Sheng. Her eyes lit up instantly. Excitedly, she waved, “You’re here!”
Standing beside Madam Fang, Yu Lian noticed his partner’s excitement and said with a tinge of jealousy, “Fang the artist really has sharp eyes. I didn’t even see him coming, but you spotted him right away.”
Yu Lian was extremely jealous.
Even if his wife spoke a few words to a stray dog on the street, he would get jealous.
Over the years, most of their arguments were caused by Yu Lian’s irrational jealousy.
Madam Fang ignored her jealous husband’s sarcastic remark, took a few steps forward, and stopped in front of Li Heng.
“And this little one in your arms is?”
“My grandson, Feng Yuan. He just came back to the old house recently.”
Both Madam Fang and Yu Lian had heard the news that Li Heng had a new grandson.
However, Li Heng had never formally announced it, nor had he brought the little grandson out to meet anyone, so they had just pretended not to know.
They already knew about Li Heng’s other twin grandchildren.
Precisely because they knew, they hadn’t said anything about the new grandson.
Now that the little one had been brought up close, they naturally had to ask openly.
“Hello, Grandpa and Grandma, I’m Yuan Yuan. I’m three years old. I came to see Grandma’s paintings.”
“My Grandpa said Grandma’s paintings are beautiful!”
After a brief moment of social anxiety, Feng Yuan regained his confidence and became a little social butterfly. In a sweet, soft little voice, he greeted the grandparents, making Madam Fang’s heart melt.
Madam Fang stared intently at this new little one. She felt that he seemed different from the twins.
“Thank you, Yuan Yuan, for coming to see Grandma’s paintings. Come, would you like Grandma to hold you? Grandma will hold you and show you the paintings.”
Some children are shy around strangers and won’t let people hold them.
Feng Yuan wasn’t shy at all.
Right there, he stretched out his little body and opened his arms for Grandma to pick him up.
Madam Fang lifted him, her face bright with a joyful smile.
Feng Yuan smiled, too, his eyes curving happily.
“Grandma, your clothes are so pretty, and you’re so beautiful, too!”
Madam Fang had a cheerful personality, never holding onto worries, which made her look very young.
Now, hearing the little cub’s compliments, she couldn’t stop smiling.
“I’m old now, not very pretty,” she said, pretending to be modest.
Feng Yuan shook his head.
“Grandma isn’t old. You’re beautiful!”
Feng Yuan was a little cub who really knew how to notice beauty.
In his eyes, Grandma Fang, always smiling, was beautiful.
Seeing his wife almost completely charmed by a little cub, Yu Lian, beside her, couldn’t stand it any longer.
He snorted coldly to assert his presence.
“Yuan Yuan, huh? Who taught you to say these things? Was it Grandpa?”
Feng Yuan: “No.”
He blinked his little eyes. “Grandpa didn’t teach Yuan Yuan to talk!”
“Is that so?”
Yu Lian, still huffing, didn’t quite believe it.
Before he could continue interrogating the little one, Feng Yuan grinned at him. His soft, sweet little voice rang out again.
“Grandpa, your clothes are really nice, too! You and Grandma are wearing matching outfits!”
Feng Yuan knew about matching outfits.
His two dads often wore matching outfits!
Grandpa Yu, wearing a traditional-style outfit in the same color as his wife’s, intended to show off a little.
Now, seeing that the little one recognized their matching outfits, he felt a quiet thrill inside.
“You’ve got quite an eye.”
Yu Lian reached out and pinched the little one’s dough-like cheeks.
He even felt a little like picking him up.
But since his wife was holding him, he couldn’t compete.
The few of them chatted in the middle of the main hall, but not for long before Madam Fang suggested moving somewhere else.
There were simply too many people watching them where they were.
Madam Fang felt it wasn’t comfortable enough for a proper conversation.
The exhibition had a lounge area.
Feng Yuan was carried into the lounge to play with his newly met grandparents.
Both Grandpa and Grandma had brought him gifts for their first meeting.
Grandpa gave him a jade pendant, and Grandma gave him a piece of imperial green jade.
Feng Yuan didn’t yet know how valuable these gifts were.
After softly saying thank you, he obediently put on the jade pendant and jade piece, showing them to Grandpa and Grandma.
“Beautiful!”
“Not bad.”
The elderly couple praised him in unison.
The more they looked at Feng Yuan, the more they liked him. Li Heng, who had brought Feng Yuan over, was completely ignored.
He didn’t mind at all.
He just glanced at the time while casually asking, “When is Brother Zhu coming?”
“He should be here soon.”
Yu Lian quickly replied in the midst of his busy schedule, “That guy isn’t earlier than you.”
Brother Zhu had never married and had no children.
He lived alone, seemingly quite free and unrestrained.
But arranging a meeting with him wasn’t easy.
In his youth, he had wandered far and wide, traveled to many places. He is a true wanderer.
By middle age, he had grown tired of roaming and changed his old habits, preferring to stay at home.
“You’ve been asking about him every day these past two days. Do you need to see him for something?”
“Nothing in particular. I just haven’t seen him in a long time.”
“Tsk, it’s normal not to see him. I think he’s just becoming more and more reclusive. If it weren’t for Teacher Fang’s exhibition, I don’t think he would have come out at all.”
While the adults talked, Feng Yuan quietly played with the pendant nearby, not disturbing anyone.
After a while, Li Heng patted his head and let him go play.
Fang Fang and Yu Lian watched the little one leave, feeling a bit reluctant to let him go.
But staying right next to the little one wasn’t much fun.
Now that Grandpa had approved him to go play, Feng Yuan wandered around the exhibition, looking here and there, finding everything fascinating.
There were plenty of sofas and small lounge areas in the exhibition where visitors could rest.
Some of these spots even offered snacks.
Smelling something delicious, Feng Yuan walked up to a small lounge table.
He stood on tiptoe, holding up his little hands, trying to grab some food.
Before he could reach it, a not-so-friendly voice sounded from behind him.
“So, you’re the Li family’s new little weirdo?”
Feng Yuan: “?”
Being called a little weirdo, Feng Yuan turned around, frowning as he looked at the person behind him.
