Chapter 46: Graduation Banquet

“Ah—”

Gu Xiaobao sat on a chair, glancing left and right for a long time, noticing no one was looking their way.

He sat up straight, but his body leaned slightly forward, and the two legs hanging down were not swinging, resting closely together.

Gu Xiaobao wore a pair of shorts, and the small muscles on his legs were visibly taut, his little feet resting on the support bar beneath the stool.

Before proceeding with his plan, Gu Xiaobao looked around to confirm it was safe. Only after ensuring everything was in order did he extend his little finger swiftly toward the table. When he withdrew his hand, he clutched a small flaky pastry.

The pastry was fried to a golden crisp and crunchy when bitten into.

Gu Xiaobao stared at the flaky pastry in his hand for a few seconds, then cupped his left hand in a trumpet shape and leaned it toward the ear of a nearby child dressed in a peach-coloured skirt, whispering softly, “Hurry and eat.”

As he spoke, he fed the pastry to the child with his right hand.

Gu Xiaobao’s little throat bobbed up and down as he extended his tongue to wet his lips. Today was very important, and he could not act without rules. After feeding the child, he swiftly pulled his hand back.

The child chewed a couple of times before swallowing the pastry, just about to speak when Gu Xiaobao covered his mouth.

Gu Xiaobao placed a finger over his lips, gesturing with his mouth to indicate “shh.”

The child immediately covered his mouth, swallowing the words he had wanted to say, his little face puffed up, round and chubby. He slid down from the chair, taking small, hurried steps as he shuffled his chair closer to Gu Xiaobao.

“Brother, I want to eat more,” he said softly, delicately.

Gu Xiaobao, showing a look of disgust, wiped the child’s face with his hand, then turned his head seriously to gaze at the plate of flaky pastries on the table.

The child innocently stuck out his tongue to lick the corner of his mouth, where there was still a bit of pastry crumb. He curled his tongue around the crumb at the corner of his mouth, his eyes squinting joyfully.

Witnessing all this, Gao Qiusheng squeezed in beside the two kids, laughing heartily.

“Xiaobao, is this your sister?”

Gu Xiaobao and Gao Qiusheng exchanged glances. His ears flushed a bright red, resembling soft pink cherries.

“I-I’m not a little girl,” the child raised his head, a small tuft of hair bobbing with the movement of his head.

“I,” he poked his chest, “I’m a boy. My name is…”

His right hand began to fidget as he spoke, seemingly trying to remind Gao Qiusheng. His tender little fingers wiggled as he counted, “One, two, three,” saying, “Li. Huai. An.”

Gao Qiusheng chuckled and ruffled Er Gouzi’s hair.

Immediately, Er Gouzi took advantage of the situation, pointing at the plate of flaky pastries on the table with a pitiful expression. “Uncle, I want to eat.”

Gu Xiaobao averted his gaze awkwardly and sighed quietly, then noticed Su Huailin, the person he had seen last time. His mom had told him to call him Uncle.

“Uncle!” Gu Xiaobao raised his right arm slightly, his body leaning forward in excitement, though he didn’t show it on his face.

Su Huailin felt quite bored staying with the family and stood up to stretch. Just as he turned his head, he heard someone calling for an uncle.

The young man smiled, his beautiful eyes sparkling as he approached Gu Xiaobao.

“Uncle! Uncle!” Er Gouzi, cradled in Gao Qiusheng’s arms, pointed at the plate of pastries in front of him. His hands were stuffed with several pastries, and as he spoke, he shoved one into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out, eager to say more.

“Little bun, are you calling me uncle?” Su Huailin pulled out a chair and sat beside Gu Xiaobao, reaching over to ruffle his nephew’s hair.

At the age of five or six, children are in the phase of growing tall and slim. Gu Xiaobao seemed to have grown taller and thinner. His once slightly chubby chin had become sharp, and he rarely smiled, slowly learning to hide his emotions.

Su Huailin clicked his tongue inwardly, thinking that this must be the child brought out by his brother-in-law, who was raised with strictness and showed no signs of mischief.

Choosing to act impulsively, Su Huailin picked up Gu Xiaobao and hugged him.

Gu Xiaobao’s body stiffened, his muscles tensing up. As Su Huailin held him, Gu Xiaobao struggled with his little arms for a moment but was soon restrained by Su Huailin.

“Be good; it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. Let Uncle give you a hug.”

While munching on the pastry, Er Gouzi made a crunching sound, chiming in like a little master, “Yes, little kids should be held by adults; otherwise, they take up too much space.”

Gu Xiaobao’s face turned red, and he remained silent.

Er Gouzi stuffed the last bit of his delicious treat into his mouth and patted Gao Qiusheng’s shoulder. “Uncle, I want to get down.”

After saying that, he slipped out of Gao Qiusheng’s embrace.

Gao Qiusheng thought, “You can’t just abandon me because this young man is good-looking!”

Even though he was my family’s charming younger brother, that was still unacceptable!

Er Gouzi ran a few steps to Su Huailin, standing on his tiptoes. He leaned in close to Su Huailin’s ear and whispered, “Uncle, my name is Li Huai An.”

Then he slyly pinched Su Huailin’s arm and winked, “You can also call me Er Gouzi; I usually don’t tell others.”

As he spoke, Er Gouzi somehow pulled out a small cookie from somewhere, lifted it, and stuffed it into Su Huailin’s mouth. “Here, for you to eat.”

While the family was enjoying their time together, a loud “bang” suddenly rang out from the central seating area. Su Huailin, chewing on a cookie, turned his gaze toward the sound, his expression shifting slightly.

That was where they had been sitting earlier. He genuinely feared that his mother would cause trouble today. However, squinting, he didn’t see the other three members of the Su family in the crowd.

“Really sorry about that. I accidentally dropped it.” A man wearing a black trench coat stood in the center, with deep-set features and dark brows. Although he spoke apologetically, there was no hint of remorse on his face.

Su Huailin exhaled, grabbed a flaky pastry, and fed one to Gu Xiaobao, giving another to Er Gouzi. He thought about how the man didn’t seem to mind the risk of developing a heat rash on such a hot day.

Su Nianmei finally emerged after hearing the commotion.

A few days ago, Er Gouzi had been sent over by Li Jianjun’s mother-in-law. She said that since the child was finally spending a few days in Kyoto during the summer vacation, he was making a fuss about seeing Gu Xiaobao. It just so happened that the graduation banquet was taking place, so she sent Er Gouzi to represent their family. Er Gouzi had been staying with the Gu family for a few days.

While playing with the two children, Su Nianmei accidentally got caught in the rain, and as a result, the two kids were fine, but she ended up catching a cold.

She had just been feeling dizzy, and after being advised by Gu Baiting, she went to the small room inside to rest for a while. Hearing some noise, she stepped outside.

Seeing that it was Zhong Yi who had arrived, Su Nianmei momentarily froze, and after a brief moment, she regained her composure. This graduation banquet was not a large affair; they had mostly invited close relatives, so she was somewhat surprised to see Zhong Yi.

Zhong Yi waved the gift box in his hand and said, “Our Mei Mei really isn’t being fair. We’ve known each other since our time in the Northwest, and I was injured back then. So, by all accounts, we’re practically life-and-death friends. How come you only invited An Ge to your graduation banquet and didn’t call me?”

Su Nianmei smiled as she took the gift box from him. “How could I forget you? I just thought you might be busy. I didn’t want to disturb you over such a small matter. Everyone else is a guest, so Zhong Ge, please take a seat.”

Zhong Yi raised his hand to wave at Ji Yuan and said, “I won’t be sitting down. I still have some things to attend to. I just came to drop off a gift to express my thoughts, and then I’ll leave.”

After saying this, Zhong Yi walked away, glancing meaningfully at Ji Yuan before he left.

Su Nianmei sniffled, feeling somewhat guilty in her heart.

She went to the main table to greet the guests. Gu Xichao had been busy these days and couldn’t spare the time; only Gu Baiting was handling the situation.

In the evening, Gu Xichao finally returned to a dark house. He had rushed back after finishing up, and despite the heavy workload these past few days, he wanted to see Su Nianmei on such an important day as her graduation banquet.

The banquet was scheduled for the day before the new school year began, and, he could send his wife off to school tomorrow. Gu Xichao felt a sense of anticipation bubbling within him.

As he stepped into the bedroom, he heard heavy breathing coming from the room. The curtains were open, and by the moonlight, Gu Xichao saw the person on the bed trembling slightly.

Su Nianmei was completely buried under the covers, which made Gu Xichao frown and purse his lips. He had heard a few days ago that Su Nianmei had fallen ill. Here she was, an adult, still like a child, hiding her head under the blankets. How could she possibly recover from a cold like this?

The moment Gu Xichao lifted the edge of the blanket, Su Nianmei’s arm shot out.

Kneeling slightly on the bed, Gu Xichao wasn’t exerting much force when he was suddenly yanked forward by Su Nianmei, his upper body pressed close against hers, their chests aligned.

Su Nianmei’s face was bright with a mischievous smile. However, before anything affectionate could unfold, Gu Xichao caught a flicker of surprise on her face, her fingers poking his right shoulder twice.

Turning his head, Gu Xichao noticed the hallway light was on. Peeking from the slightly open doorway were two small heads stacked one above the other—Gu Xiaobao and Er Gouzi, clinging to the doorframe.

Gu Xiaobao had his hand over Er Gouzi’s eyes while Er Gouzi squirmed, trying to pry his hand away.

“Dad, we were just playing hide-and-seek! We didn’t see anything!”

Gu Xichao: “…”

Meanwhile, Su Huailin, staying in the guest room, couldn’t settle down all night. On the one hand, he was anxious about the whereabouts of the other three members of the Su family, and he had no way to contact them. On the other hand…

The teenager’s ears reddened in a rare blush.

The guest room was just a wall away from the master bedroom. Su Huailin lay in bed, head propped up against the headboard, and sounds from the other side of the wall drifted down to him.

Words like “baby” and “a little softer” seeped uncomfortably into Su Huailin’s ears.

Flustered and feeling parched, Su Huailin tossed and turned. At this age, he was in that shy, confusing phase where his understanding of romantic matters was hazy and delicate—like snowflakes, dissolving at the slightest touch or blazing up with the faintest spark.

Getting up, he threw his pillow onto the other side of the bed and flopped over himself, yanking the blanket over his head. The thought that lingered in his mind was the most surprising of all: his sister had really changed.

Only around midnight did Su Huailin finally drift off to a restless sleep.

Elsewhere, at the Zhong family home…

“Those people from the Su family had barely settled in their seats when you managed to lure them away, didn’t you?” A woman’s voice, soft and velvety, drifted across the room.

“You, the esteemed young master of the Zhong family, don’t need to meddle in the Ji family’s affairs. I did it because I can’t stand to see Su Nianmei doing well, and it’s all because I care about Xichao. But you—” Ji Yun paused.

“What’s your reason?”

Zhong Yi looked out into the distant night, where dark clouds churned and rolled across the deep blue sky. His gaze lowered, and beneath his thick lashes, his dark eyes remained unreadable, calm as an untouched lake.

His voice was a low, raspy murmur. “Xiao Yun’er, the weather’s cooling down.”

The woman sitting in the chair suddenly lifted her head. A cigarette burned low between her fingertips, the scarlet ember wrapped in a thin layer of white ash, teetering as if on the verge of falling.

She flicked her finger, and the ash drifted gently to the ground.