Chapter 13

The arrangement in the room was comfortable and stylish, the scented rosewood furniture emitting a faint fresh fragrance.

Grandmother Mu had already prepared snacks and tea for her grandchildren. She brewed the sour plum tea herself. The sour and sweet feel was extremely tasty. For snacks, they had yam and glutinous rice cakes, freshly steamed. There was a layer of shredded coconut on top, the fragrance assaulting the nostrils.

After Grandmother Mu resigned, she enjoyed staying at home and baking these snacks. However, she only made them for her grandchildren. Outsiders didn’t get this opportunity.

Mu Yixi and Mu Yixuan both liked sweets. Grandmother Mu baked her snacks using natural materials. It was sweet but not greasy. In his two lives, he’d always like these snacks. He didn’t get to see Grandmother Mu that often. She had been protected by Mu Jingwei for life. Despite wearing an upper-class woman's temperament and she was also intelligent, she was in fact just a simple woman. She treated her grandchildren kindly. Grandmother Mu adored Mu Yiqi the most. Because Mu Yixi and Mu Yiqi looked similar, she treated him pleasantly. Therefore, Mu Yixi didn’t place her probing in his heart. He knew that Mu Jingwei and Grandmother Mu wanted to see Mrs. Mu’s reaction. He was still young, so they didn’t place him in their hearts.

Mu Yixi ate the snacks with Mu Yiqi and Mu Yixuan in comfort. Likewise, both of them enjoyed Grandmother Mu’s snacks a lot. The three ate the snacks in satisfaction.

“Slow down. Don’t choke on the food.” Seeing that the children enjoyed eating the food, Grandmother Mu revealed a smile. She patted each one of their backs and told them to slow down. When it was Mu Yixi’s turn, she did the same. Mu Yixi’s cheeks were puffed up from the food. Shredded coconut got on the corner of her lips. He smiled shyly at her, leading her to feel tender towards him. Grandmother Mu couldn’t help but pat his head.

Glutinous rice was hard to digest. Grandmother Mu didn’t want them to eac that much. Each person had two pieces before she told the servants to take the plate away. She then had them drink tea and digest the snacks.

Mu Jingwei waited for them to finish eating before calling them over one by one to make inquiries. He basically asked them what they had learned and if they made any friends, as well as any interesting events that happened recently. Mu Yiqi and Mu Yixuan answered the questions casually and simply.  

They were lively and easy to get along with. Clearly, they had answered these questions before. Mu Jingwei asked in a gentle tone. He didn’t prompt them nor did he tell him to sit up properly. It was relaxing. They seemed like ordinary grandchildren and grandparents.

Mu Jingwei was knowledgeable and talented, open-minded and intelligent. He received Mu Yiqi and Mu Yixuan’s admiration in just a few simple words. No wonder Mu Yiqi and Mu Yixuan never refused to come to the residence to meet their grandparents. After all, they viewed Mu Jingwei as their role model.

Mu Yixi wore a straight and stiff face. He couldn’t help but make remarks inside his heart in order to shift his attention and become less nervous. He was a bit scared of facing Mu Jingwei.

After Mu Jingwei finished asking Mu Yiqi and Mu Yixuan, as expected, he smiled and indicated for Mu Yixi to come over. Mu Yixi’s heart thumped rapidly and he subconsciously turned around to look at Mrs. Mu. She sat by Grandmother Mu’s side, encouragingly nodding her head. But she clearly couldn’t help him with anything else. After all, M Jingwei was Mrs. Mu’s parent-in-law. As his daughter-in-law, she couldn’t really question his decisions.

At this time, Mu Jingwei had taken off his presbyopic glasses, looking at him carefully. He wore a gentle smile as if the indifferent and interrogating expression on his face before was Mu Yixi’s illusion. If Mu Yixi was really a six-years old boy, he’d definitely be deceived. However, Mu Yixi wasn’t. At this time, he clearly realized that no matter how hard he pretended to be six-years old, he wasn’t really six-years old.

“Don’t be nervous. I won’t eat you.” Mu Jingwei blinked his eyes in amusement. “You’re Yixi, right?” Mu Jingwei faced Mu Yixi, not asking the questions he’d done for his other two grandchildren.

“Yes, grandfather.” Mu Yixi suddenly calmed down.

Ming Jingwei asked, “Do you like Xiao Qi and Xiao Xuan’s family?”

Xiao Qi and Xiao Xuan’s family...

Mu Yixi’s heart skipped a beat. He looked at him openly and replied, “I do.”

Mu Jingwei’s white brows slightly moved. “Do you like Xiao Qi and Xiao Xuan?”

Mu Yixi nodded. “I do.”

“Do you like father?”

“...I do.”

The conversation sounded simple, but it also held profoundness.

Mu Jingwei smiled like a kind grandfather. After he thought deeply for a moment, he slowly said, “Since you like them, then stay in the family. You’re the elder brother, so you need to take care of your younger brother and sister!”

“Okay.” Mu Yixi responded.

“You’re a good kid.” Mu Jingwei patted his shoulders and asked Mrs. Mu, “Where does he go to school?”

Mrs. Mu replied, “He was previously injured, so he had been at home recuperating. I hired a tutor to tutor him. When school starts, I plan on taking him to Ya’an to do a test. I’ll have him be put in Xiao Qi’s class afterwards.”

Mu Jingwei lifted his head. “You’re in charge since you’re raising him. Teach them well. Don’t let him go on the wrong path. If you have any problems, just ask Jiurong to help you.”

“Okay, thank you father.” Mrs. Mu said. She knew that he approved Mu Yixi. Compared to Mu Jiurong who was arrogant, her grandparents had done everything perfectly no matter what thoughts they held towards Mu Yixi.

As a result, Mu Yixi became Mrs. Mu’s responsibility. Of course, this had to do with Mrs. Mu actively going to adopt Mu Yixi. After all, Mu Jiurong had been putting this to the side, clearly not recognizing Mu Yixi as his son. Mrs. Mu couldn’t accept this, however. She brought him into the family. As for Mu Jingwei and Grandmother Mu, they had made sure to present their position clearly, prioritizing the family members. Therefore, they reluctantly recognized Mu Yixi as their grandson as well.

Mrs. Mu had adopted her husband’s illegitimate son, and even needed to thank her husband’s family for letting her do so. They didn’t even have a chance to feel depressed as Mu Yixi was their grandson. They indicated that they would take responsibility. If Mrs. Mu couldn’t take care of him, Mu Jiurong will naturally help along. Everything was set up perfectly and they definitely won’t have to deal with any losses.

However, since Mrs. Mu had married into the Mu Family for several years, she knew how powerful the family was. She never expected the Mu Family to comfort her for adopting Mu Yixi. After Mu Yixi passed the two Mu elders’ test, outsiders naturally couldn’t question his status anymore. This was the most important. As for whether he could genuinely obtain their approvals in the future, he needed to work hard for it himself.

Mu Jingwei said, “Bring Xiao Xi over more often. I think he has some talent in calligraphy.”

Mrs. Mu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Mu Jingwei enjoyed writing, so he had perfected his handwriting. When he had to raise his son, he was busy with work. Therefore, it was his regret that he couldn’t let his sons learn calligraphy with him. In his later years, Mu Jingwei retired. As a result, he had a lot of free time, so he enjoyed making his grandchildren lean with him. From the oldest Mu Yiqi to the second son, Mu Jiuan’s youngest daughter, Mu Yiyun, none of them escaped his clutches. His opening line was always “I think he has some talent in calligraphy.”

Mu Yiqi immediately became happy. “I want to go with Xiao Xi!” He finally wouldn’t be the only one suffering!

Mu Yiqi liked to move around. Forcing him to write with the writing brush was basically a nightmare. But this was the homework his grandfather gave him. He and his cousin couldn’t escape from it. Since they couldn't escape from it, it’d be nice to have an extra companion too.

“Okay.” Seeing how happy Mu Yiqi was, she smiled beautifully. Her unhappiness that rose from the two elders’ methods had vanished.

Mu Jingwei patted his thighs and said, “Instead of setting up a date, why don’t we do it today? Come here and try writing something.” He smiled and indicated for Mu Yixi and Mu Yiqi to come to the study with him.

Mu Yiqi enthusiastically pulled the confused Mu Yixi over with him. In an incomparable passionate voice, “Coming!”

Mu Yixuan, the bum beetle, immediately said, “I’m coming together!” She was determined to do the same thing as her big brothers!

Mu Jingwei thought that since his two granddaughters were still young, it would be hard for them to hold the writing brushes. Therefore, he didn’t count them in. It was rare for one of his granddaughters to walk right into his trap. Mu Jingwei nodded happily. “Okay, come along. Although you can’t hold the writing brush right now, you can watch by the side and learn too…”

Therefore, following a lively and hearty old man was a group of small children. They walked towards the study majestically.

They passed by a private room in the process and a wooden door carved with pine tree patterns had creaked open. The person inside walked out and clearly froze after seeing the scene in front of him.

He was an extremely exquisite child, about four to five years old. He had light brown soft hair with brows only seen in painting. He had smooth and fair skin like a perfect porcelain doll. His expression was quite indifferent; it didn’t seem real.

The group of people were all stunned when they saw him.

Especially Mu Yixi. He never thought that person would appear here.

Shouldn’t he be in France?

Thankfully, everyone was very shocked and their attention was on the boy that suddenly appeared. No one noticed Mu Yixi’s abnormalness. After all, Mu Yixi probably shouldn’t know that person nor should he reveal such a shocking expression.

“Weiming, you’re awake?” Mu Jingwei snapped out of his trance first and asked in a gentle tone mixed with concern. There was a slight difference in the way he treated him versus the other children.

Feng Weiming was the adopted son of Mu Family’s Third Young Master, Mu Jiuqing. He was five years old this year, and his birth parents’ whereabouts were unknown. He experienced an accident when he was three and was saved by Mu Jiuqing. He lost his memory, and became emotionless and quiet. He was more indifferent and cold than kids his age. He was quite reserved. He and Mu Jiuqing had been living in France for a long time. This time, Mu Jiurong and Mrs. Mu decided to take the kids to France so that they could also visit Mu Jiuqing and Feng Weiming. Who knew that they returned before they could go to France.

“Grandmother.” Feng Weiming greeted expressionlessly, “Little Qi, Little Xuan.” He didn’t even look at Mu Yixi.

“Mingming, you’re back.”

“Brother Mingming.”

Mu Yiqi and Mu Yixuan said at the same time. “Mingming” was the nickname Mu Yiqi gave him because Feng Weiming refused to respond when he called him “Little Ming.” Under his adopted father’s guidance, he reluctantly accepted “Mingming.” Mu Yiqi originally didn’t like how Feng Weiming’s closed off personality but his Third Uncle, Mu Jiuqing, had requested him to take care of him. Therefore, Mu Yiqi braced himself and tried to get close to Weiming. After a while, he ended up being immune to Feng Weiming’s indifference. Right now, he wasn’t affected by Feng Weiming’s coldness. He walked over and patted his shoulders. The latter subconsciously ducked it. He had serious mysophobia and disliked people touching him. Mu Yiqi didn’t get to pat him as he wished, but he tried again, seemingly not affected. Only when he finally did get to pat Feng Weiming’s shoulder did he give up. The latter stiffened and his expression became colder, as though being invisibly angry.

Mu Yixi laughed in his heart. When Feng Weiming grew up in the future, he still acted like this. There was always a sense of pride surrounding him. Yet, he could do nothing about Mu Yiqi trying to be close to him. Only Mu Yiqi could make him act more like a human. As for the others, he never placed them in his eyes.

It was because he lost to Mu Yiqi in the future that his expression became unwell. Feng Weiming thought that he could save Mu Yiqi, but the latter ended up messing up his plan, making this arrogant and heartless young master battered.

Mu Yixi was in an extremely good mood. Even though he was ignored, he wasn’t angry. He was itching to bully someone.

What a pity that he was supposed to act well-behaved and shy right now.

Mu Yixipoked Mu Yiqi shyly, asking in a small voice, “Xiao Qi, who is he?”