Nowadays, the most powerful and influential families in Beijing were definitely the Zhai family and the Jian family.
Zhai Zhongshen and Zhai Yunsheng’s decision-making abilities were as strong as ever. Over the years, their business empire expanded and developed.
Similarly, the Jian family had many successes.
Jian Yuncheng continued to expand his gaming company;
Jian Yumin who was a former celebrity also ran his own business;
Jian Yiheng furthered his career as a martial artist;
Jian Yunmo continued to engage in scientific research;
Jian Yubo furthered his career in Go;
Jian Yichen became the commander of an investigation team;
Jian Yunnao furthered his career as an outstanding young pianist;
And Jian Yujie became a renowned magician.
Out of the eight Jian brothers, five of them were still single. Fortunately, three of them were married and working hard to contribute to the fourth generation of the Jian family.
The three that were married were Jian Yumin, Jian Yichen, and Jian Yunnao.
The remaining five either did not want to get married or were just outright unable to find a girlfriend. For example, Jian Yiheng was only interested in eating or fighting. Hence, instead of putting one’s hopes into Jian Yiheng getting married, his mother decided to encourage his brother to have more children.
Fortunately, everyone in the Jian family was rather open-minded. As long as there was someone to pass on their legacy to, they wouldn’t force everyone to get married. Therefore, the rest of the Jian brothers could do what they wanted.
The Jian family’s Y chromosome continued to have a strong impact. In Jian Yiling’s generation, she was the only girl. However, so far, the generation after Jian Yiling were all boys. When Luo Xiuen’s fourth child was also a boy, she completely gave up.
Similarly, Jian Yiling also gave birth to three boys in a row. Finally, her fourth child was a daughter. Despite Zhai Yunsheng not wanting more children, Jian Yiling wanted the Zhai family to be lively. Hence, Zhai Yunsheng could only begrudgingly agree to cooperate.
After Jian Yiling gave birth to a baby girl, the Zhai family and the Jian family were both overjoyed.
Master Zhai kept gloating in front of Grandpa Jian. He managed to get a great-granddaughter before Grandpa Jian!
Grandpa Jian was slightly upset at this. However, he had no one to blame but the Jian brothers.
Surprisingly, even Zhai Yunsheng who had always opposed Jian Yiling giving birth to more children was delighted to see a baby girl.
He did not put much thought into the nicknames he gave to his first three sons. However, this time around, Zhai Yunsheng pondered through several names and finally decided on Ruanruan.
As the nickname suggested, Ruanruan was soft-looking and very well-behaved.
She looked similar to her mother and her face was adorable.
Her three older brothers were thrown into another room with wet nurses before they turned a month old.
However, Ruanruan stayed with Jian Yiling until her first birthday before she was sent to her own small room by Zhai Yunsheng.
Ruanruan never spent a single night by herself.
Her brothers would occasionally squeeze into her crib or her aunts and uncles would come and accompany her throughout the night.
And thus, her poor little bed had to bear a lot of weight.
Ruanruan was a very well-behaved child. She did not demand milk during the night and would often fall asleep incredibly quickly. However, for some reason or another, everyone seemed to assume that she would cry if she was left alone at night.
Unlike the rowdy brats from Jian Yumin’s family, Zhai Ruanruan was quiet like her mother.
When her mother read reports, she would flick through picture books.
When her mother did experiments, she would stack blocks.
When her mother planted flowers, she would look at the pretty flowers.
Zhai Ruanruan was essentially a miniature version of Jian Yiling.
This was also the case today. As Jian Yiling worked from home, Zhai Ruanruan sat on a fleece blanket and tried to put together a jigsaw puzzle.
It seemed as though Zhai Ruanruan inherited her intelligence from her mother as well. She could easily piece together a puzzle that was meant for older children.
Ruanruan was also interested in things that other children weren’t interested in.
When Zhai Yunsheng came home from work, he saw Jian Yiling and Ruanruan quietly minding their own business in a room.
When she heard footsteps, Ruanruan raised her head and cried out: “Daddy!”
Zhai Yunsheng squatted down and picked up his daughter. Then, he walked over to Jian Yiling and asked softly: “Are you done with your work?”
“Almost done.”
“Then let’s get ready to go.”
Little Ruanruan was going to attend her little uncle’s birthday party with her parents and brothers.
Her little uncle was the son of Zhai Zhongshen and Long Yuetian. He was only five years older than Zhai Ruanruan and two years younger than Zhai Ruanruan’s eldest brother.
Jian Yiling took Zhai Ruanruan from Zhai Yunsheng’s arms and went to change.
Zhai Ruanruan had her own cloakroom room. When she was one year old, her great-grandpa ordered someone to design one for her.
Her cloakroom room was filled with gifts from her brothers and uncles.
Jian Yiling picked out a set of traditional Chinese clothes for Ruanruan. In those clothes, she was extraordinarily cute.
“Mommy! I want the bear bag!”
Ruanruan had many bags in her cloakroom room. However, her favorite one was the bear bag. It was gifted to her by her eldest brother who saved up a year’s worth of red pocket money for it.
Upon hearing this, Jian Yiling handed the bear bag to Zhai Ruanruan.
Then, she walked out of the cloakroom room with Zhai Ruanruan.
Zhai Yunsheng stared at them
“What’s wrong?” Jian Yiling asked.
“Nice to look at,” Zhai Yunsheng commented with a smile. He looked at her with lust in his eyes.
Jian Yiling quickly sensed this. Their daughter was right beside them… How could he look at her with such lustful eyes…
“We’re going out.”
“Then we can come back and continue this conversation later.”
But would this really just be a “conversation” later on?
Jian Yiling’s three sons were already at the birthday party.
On the other hand, Ruanruan was carried into the birthday venue by her father.
As it was a five-year-old’s birthday party, only his close friends from kindergarten and his family members were invited.
As there were a bunch of young boys in the room, there was a lot of noise.
The three boys from Jian Yumin’s family were particularly loud and chaotic.
No wonder Luo Xiuen’s mother was only willing to give birth to Luo Xiuen back then.
And now, Luo Xiuen could only pray that her fourth son wouldn’t grow up to be as rowdy as the first three.
As soon as Zhai Yunsheng and Jian Yiling appeared with Zhai Ruanruan, a crowd gathered around them.
In her father’s arms, Zhai Ruanruan looked like a soft and cuddly rabbit.
This made the brothers in the Jian family incredibly jealous.
This was especially the case for the ones who were married and had children.
They also wanted a cute daughter!
Ruanruan greeted her uncles one by one: “Eldest uncle, second uncle, third uncle…”
As her uncles listened to Little Ruanruan’s greetings, they scrambled forward to hug her.
“Ruanruan, give your second uncle a big hug.”
“No no. Let me hold her.”
“Hey, don’t argue with me! You’re making so much noise!”
Back then, all of them fought over Jian Yiling. Now, they were fighting over Little Ruanruan.
It seemed as though even though many years had passed, the Jian brothers hadn’t grown up in this aspect.
“I also want to hold her!”
A little voice amongst them piped up.
This voice belonged to Zhai Yunfeng who was turning five years old today. He waved his hand around frantically. In terms of seniority, he was technically from the same generation as the Jian brothers.
He was representative of the Zhai family. He couldn’t back down now!
As the son of the Second Master of the Zhai family, Zhai Yunfeng was nothing like his father.
And thus, everyone assumed his personality came from his mother Long Yuetian.
This was up until Master Zhai showed everyone a video of Zhai Zhongshen when he was a child. The video made everyone realize that Zhai Zhongshen was also naughty and incredibly cheeky as a young boy.
“Give up on that thought. You’re still too small. You won’t be able to hold Ruanruan.”
“Yep, he’s right.”
The Jian brothers refused to let Zhai Yunfeng hold Little Ruanruan. They were all scared of him accidentally dropping Little Ruanruan.
“If you guys get to hold her, I also want to hold her!” Zhai Yunfeng pouted. There was an aggrieved expression on his face.
“But all the other kids aren’t holding Little Ruanruan,” Jian Yujie attempted to reason.
“But I’m not like them! They’re her brothers. I’m her uncle!”
In terms of seniority, Zhai Yunfeng was indeed Zhai Ruanruan’s uncle.
“Brother-in-law, sister-in-law, I want to hold Little Ruanruan!” Zhai Yunfeng pouted.
Upon hearing this, Zhai Yunsheng attempted to change the topic of conversation: “Where are your parents?”
Today was Zhai Yunfeng’s birthday. As the birthday boy’s parents, Zhai Zhongshen and Long Yuetian were yet to show up.
“Mommy got bitten by a mosquito! My daddy is applying cream to her mosquito bites!” Zhai Yunfeng answered honestly. Then he added: “That mosquito was super fierce! It bit all over my mommy’s neck and legs!”
Everyone else: “…”
A smile appeared on Zhai Yunsheng’s lips as he said: “Well, that mosquito is indeed quite fierce.”
Luo Xiuen also muttered: “I can only blame Ms. Long’s legs for being too beautiful. If I were a mosquito, I would also bite her legs.”
“Mommy, let me hold Little Ruanruan.”
Jian Yiling’s oldest son Zhai Yuze was seven years old this year. As he had been “exercising” with Zhai Yunsheng since he was a child, he was significantly taller than his peers. If this trend continued, he would be able to surpass Jian Yiling in height in no time.
Furthermore, as he was much stronger than his peers, he could hold Little Ruanruan without a problem.
And out of their four children, Zhai Yuze resembled Zhai Yunsheng the most. He was essentially a miniature version of Zhai Yunsheng.
“Eldest brother! Hugs!”
Before Jian Yiling got a chance to respond, Little Ruanruan already reached out to her eldest brother. After she reached him, she planted a kiss on Zhai Yuze’s left cheek.
This made everyone else incredibly jealous.
Zhai Yunfeng said enviously: “Why can he hold Little Ruanruan but I can’t? I’m her uncle!”
“Even though you’re her uncle, you’re only five years old. A Ze is seven years old and he’s particularly strong. When you are his age, you can also hold Little Ruanruan,” Jian Yiling said comfortingly.
“Little uncle! Don’t cry! I have a gift for you!” Little Ruanruan exclaimed.
She prepared a gift for her little uncle’s birthday. Before leaving home today, she asked her mommy to put the gift inside her little bear bag.
As she said this, her small hands rummaged through her little bear bag for quite some time. After a while, she finally found the piece of candy she stashed away. After finding it, Little Ruanruan generously handed it to Zhai Yunfeng.
Candies and sweets were Little Ruanruan’s treasures.
Like her mother, Little Ruanruan loved candies and sweets. However, as she was still young, her sugar consumption was strictly controlled by Zhai Yunsheng and Jian Yiling. She could only eat candies and sweets very occasionally. And even when she did, she could only lick the candy as she was not allowed to eat the entire piece.
Therefore, in Little Ruanruan’s mind, candy was an incredibly precious thing. It was more precious than diamonds and gold!
After all, she had a lot of diamonds, gold, and jade but she couldn’t find candy even if she searched the entire room.
Zhai Yunfeng happily accepted the piece of candy from Little Ruanruan’s hands. He smiled and said: “Thank you Little Ruanruan! This is the best gift I’ve received today!”
Everyone knew Little Ruanruan loved candy. This meant she was super reluctant to give candy to anyone unless she liked them a lot.
And since he received candy as a gift, this meant Little Ruanruan liked him very much.
However, this gift instantly made him the center of attention. All the Jian brothers cast him countless jealous glares.
They also wanted candy from Little Ruanruan!
It didn’t matter whether the candy was good or not! It was the thought that counted!
“Where’s my second brother?” Little Ruanruan asked as she looked around. There was disappointment on her small face.
“He’s with Uncle Yubo,” Zhai Yuze explained to her.
Jian Yiling and Zhai Yunsheng’s second son was Zhai Yutang. When he grabbed two chess pieces when he was one year old, his father decided to generously send him over to Jian Yubo once he turned three years old.
Surprisingly, Zhai Yutang actually enjoyed Go. Hence, he spent one or two days a week at Jian Yubo’s place to learn to play Go.
With a little boy accompanying him, Jian Yubo’s personality also became slightly more open and cheerful.
Even though Zhai Yutang was only five and a half years old, he was already quite good at Go.
There was an old saying that one’s nephew would resemble their uncle. This saying appeared to be true with Zhai Yutang and Jian Yubo.
Jian Yiling’s third son was Zhai Yuting. He was currently four years old and spent yesterday with Master Zhai. As Jian Yiling informed Little Ruanruan about this before leaving the house, Little Ruanruan did not ask about her third brother’s whereabouts.
Zhai Yuting was an accidental child. After Jian Yiling gave birth to Zhai Yutang, Zhai Yunsheng said he was going to have a vasectomy. He didn’t want Jian Yiling to get pregnant again.
However, Jian Yiling was against this. For the first time in her life, she got into a fierce argument with Zhai Yunsheng.
As they argued, they somehow rolled into bed.
Under those circumstances, Zhai Yunsheng forgot to take contraceptive measures.
The next morning, he assumed it would be alright but he clearly underestimated Jian Yiling’s fertility.
And thus, Zhai Yunsheng and Jian Yiling’s second and third sons were only one and a half years apart in age.
Jian Yiling did not mind this. After all, she wanted her children to be roughly the same age. She wanted them to grow up with their brothers and sisters happily.
At this moment, Zhai Yuting arrived at the venue with Master Zhai.
As soon as he entered the doors, he jumped out of Master Zhai’s arms and rushed towards Little Ruanruan.
Even though he was only a bit older than Little Ruanruan, Zhai Yuting somehow ran super fast.
“Ruanruan! Ruanruan!” Zhai Yuting cried out with a smile on his face.
Zhai Yuting liked to smile a lot and this was especially the case when he saw his sister.
“Eldest brother! I want to hold Ruanruan as well! I want to hold her!” Zhai Yuting cried out as he impatiently stamped his feet on the ground.
“But you’re still small. You won’t be able to hold her,” Zhai Yuze patiently explained to his brother.
“Wa…”
“Then how about you give your sister a kiss?” Zhai Yuze compromised as he squatted down so Zhai Yuting could reach Little Ruanruan.
“Mwah,” Zhai Yuting kissed Little Ruanruan’s cheek.
Little Ruanruan also took the initiative to kiss her second brother on the cheek as well.
When he received the kiss, Zhai Yuting began to grin from ear to ear.
At the same time, Zhai Ruanruan’s other brothers also began to ask for kisses.
“Ruanruan, kiss me too,” Jian Dan said as he moved his way to the front of the crowd.
“Me! Me too!” Zhai Yunfeng piped up. As Zhai Ruanruan’s uncle, he refused to be left out.
Zhai Ruanruan’s other brothers and cousins also crowded around her.
Upon seeing this, Master Zhai scolded: “Shoo shoo! Give her some space! Ruanruan is going to be frightened by you lot!”
Initially, Master Zhai did not care whether his great-grandchild was a boy or a girl. However, after he had three great-grandsons in a row, he began to wish for a great-granddaughter. After all, when a thing is scarce, it becomes precious.
As Zhai Ruanruan was the only great-granddaughter in the Zhai family and the Jian family, it was only natural that all of them had to treasure her!
Hence, out of everyone in their family, Zhai Ruanruan undoubtedly held the most importance in Master Zhai’s mind.
Master Zhai finally began to understand why Grandpa Jian treasured Jian Yiling more than the Jian brothers.
In addition, if anyone wanted to marry Ruanruan in the future, he’d definitely skin them before they got a chance to approach her!
Even though he might not live to see that, just thinking about it right now made him feel angry.
“Great-grandfather Zhai, don’t be mean,” Little Ruanruan said with a serious expression on her small face.
“I’m not being mean. I just think they’re too noisy.”
Little Ruanruan shook her head and said: “They’re not noisy.”
Even though she was still young, Zhai Ruanruan was already very protective of her family. She refused to allow anyone to criticize her brothers.
“Oh… Of course not. They’re not noisy at all,” Master Zhai hurriedly corrected himself.
Ruanruan was always right. He wasn’t going to make her upset.
“Yuze, why don’t you hand Ruanruan to me? I can hold her for a while,” Master Zhai offered with a smile.
“Great-grandfather Zhai, I don’t feel tired. The weights my father asked me to lift are much heavier than Little Ruanruan.”
Upon hearing this response, Master Zhai thought to himself: Who cares if you’re tired or not? I just want to hold Little Ruanruan whilst I still can!
Ruanruan nestled her head in Zhai Yuze’s arms. It appeared as though she had no intentions to move anywhere else.
And thus, Master Zhai had no choice but to give up.
Zhai Ruanruan’s brothers crowded around her.
Out of everyone there, Luo Xiuen’s sons were the noisest. Even though Jian Dan was the oldest, compared to Zhai Yuze, his personality was much more naughty and cheeky.
As Luo Xiuen watched her sons, she let out a small sigh: “I understand why Ruanruan is quiet and obedient. But why are your sons much more obedient as well?”
All of Jian Yiling’s children were quiet and docile. They didn’t make much of a fuss and Jian Yiling hardly had to suffer.
And thus, Luo Xiuen was quite envious and jealous of Jian Yiling.
All of her sons caused her a massive headache.
“Ummm… Sister-in-law… Children often take the characteristics of their parents…” Jian Yujie said weakly.
Despite hearing this, Luo Xiuen replied: “But I want Ruanruan!”
Ahhh… Why couldn’t she have a baby girl?
It seemed as though she was fated to not have a sister and a baby girl during this lifetime.
Jian Yiling could not help with this either.
After all, only her fourth child was a baby girl.
“By the way, where are Yunnao, Zhang Yun, Yichen, and Yufan? Are they not coming?” Luo Xiuen asked as she looked around. She noticed the two married couples were the ones not present yet.
Why were the married ones less punctual to a birthday party than the single ones?
Jian Yuncheng replied: “In the past few days, Yunnao was accompanying Zhang Yun back to her home.
They only returned to Beijing this morning so they’re still on their way here. On the other hand, Yichen and Yufan had to deal with a problem that arose in their business. They will come here after the problem has been dealt with.”
Upon hearing this, Luo Xiuen lamented: “Ahh… That’s fair. Married couples indeed have more things to deal with. Hm… I wonder when I’m going to hear good news from my brothers-in-law who are yet to be married.”
“Sister-in-law… Can you stop mentioning this? Isn’t it enough to have you carry on the legacy of our Jian family?” Jian Yujie muttered.
“Well, it’s super boring to have so many sons and I also don’t plan to have any more children. Therefore, I’m counting on you guys to get married to give me a little niece,” Luo Xiuen replied righteously.
After giving birth to four stinky brats, she didn’t dare to try again.
The biggest problem of all was her four sons all seemed to inherit her loud and clamorous personality.
If this trend continued on, the Jian family would be torn apart with noise.
As Jian Yunnao and Zhang Yun gave birth to triplets, it was unlikely that they would try for another child anytime soon.
Jian Yichen and Qin Yufan also gave birth to a boy. In addition, there was also another baby boy in Qin Yufan’s belly.
This meant that if Luo Xiuen wanted a niece, she’d have to put all her hopes on her unmarried brother-in-laws.
A while later, Zhai Zhongshen and Long Yuetian finally appeared.
As always, Zhai Zhongshen gave off an intimidating aura that made everyone fear him.
Similarly, Long Yuetian did not change much.
“Have your mosquito bites gotten better?” Jian Yiling asked sincerely.
Out of everyone there, she was probably the only one who took Zhai Yunfeng’s words seriously. She assumed his words did not have any other meaning.
At first, Long Yuetian did not know what Jian Yiling meant by a mosquito bite. After all, she hadn’t gotten bitten. However, when she saw the looks on everyone’s faces, she quickly understood what they were thinking.
She recalled what her husband told their son.
Despite hearing this question, Zhai Zhongshen’s face was serious and indifferent as always.
Zhai Yunsheng lowered his head and whispered into Jian Yiling’s ears.
After hearing Zhai Yunsheng’s words, Jian Yiling’s face flushed red and she hurriedly lowered her head.
Ahh… That’s what they meant… She thought it was an actual mosquito bite…
Uncle Zhai and Yuetian were… Quite intense…
Half an hour later, Little Ruanruan ended up in Zhai Yuze’s arms again.
Little Ruanruan only managed to have fun for half an hour before she felt tired. Once she felt tired, she fell asleep soundly in her brother’s arms. The way she slept made her look like a little koala.
Zhai Yuze handed Little Ruanruan to his mother.
This was because Little Ruanruan could fall asleep in anyone’s arms. However, when she woke up, she had to see her mother. If she didn’t, she would immediately start to cry.
As no one wanted to see Little Ruanruan cry, once she fell asleep, everyone would hand her to Jian Yiling.
When Luo Xiuen saw Little Ruanruan sleeping quietly in Jian Yiling’s arms, she became jealous again.
“Could you let me hold her for a while? If she cries, I will hand her back to you immediately,” Luo Xiuen said to Jian Yiling.
She really wanted to hold her!
Upon being asked this, Jian Yiling handed Little Ruanruan to Luo Xiuen to hold.
A while later, Little Ruanruan woke up. She blinked twice when she saw Auntie Xiuen.
When she confirmed that it was not her mommy holding her, teardrops began to well in her eyes.
“No no… Please don’t cry. Your mother is here. She just went to the bathroom. She will be back soon. As soon as she comes back, I will return you to her,” Luo Xiuen said with panic.
It was heartbreaking to see Little Ruanruan cry.
This was particularly the case because Little Ruanruan cried differently from her older brothers.
Luo Xiuen’s sons would wail like a siren when they cried and she would not feel bad at all. In fact, at times, she even wanted to beat their little ass.
However, Little Ruanruan would choke on her tears. As her tears rolled out of her eyes one by one, it was super heartbreaking for Luo Xiuen to see.
As soon as Jian Yiling came back, Luo Xiuen hurriedly shoved Little Ruanruan into her arms.
Sure enough, when she returned to her mother’s arms, Ruanruan immediately stopped crying. Her small hands tightly grasped at Jian Yiling’s clothes as she leaned into her.
“Goodness. I will definitely not ask to hold her whilst she’s sleeping in the future. It’s heartbreaking to see her cry,” Luo Xiuen muttered to herself. Next time, she would hold her when she’s awake.
After a while, Little Ruanruan looked around with her teary eyes. When she saw Zhai Yunsheng, she cried out: “Daddy!”
Her arms were open wide and she seemed as though she wanted a hug.
Zhai Yunsheng would rarely hold any of his sons. However, he almost never said no to Little Ruanruan.
And thus, he took her from his wife’s arms.
As Little Ruanruan moved into her father’s arms, she softly exclaimed: “Daddy! Daddy!”
“You don’t need to be afraid. Your mommy and daddy are here.”
“Mhmm.”
“Are you hungry? Do you want to eat?” Zhai Yunsheng asked.
It just so happened that Jian Yunmo arrived at this time.
He quickly noticed Little Ruanruan’s eyes were red.
Jian Yunmo hurriedly asked: “What’s wrong? Are you feeling alright?”
“Uncle Momo!”
When she saw Jian Yunmo, Little Ruanruan attempted to dive into Jian Yunmo’s arms.
Similar to her mother, out of all her uncles, Little Ruanruan liked Jian Yunmo the most.
As she was still learning how to speak, instead of calling him Uncle Yunmo, she would instead say Uncle Momo.
When this happened, Zhai Yunsheng’s face darkened slightly. For some reason, he felt that Little Ruanruan liked Jian Yunmo more than she liked him.
If any of his sons acted like this, he would immediately send that brat to their uncle to raise.
However, Little Ruanruan acting like this just made him feel jealous.
Objectively, Little Ruanruan liked Jian Yunmo the most because out of all her uncles, he was the one who knew how to take care of young children the best.
He knew how to take care of her when it came to food, clothes, and anything else. When Little Ruanruan cried, Jian Yunmo would also immediately understand why she was crying.
Regarding this matter, Grandma Jian jokingly said to Zhai Yunsheng in the past that since he kidnapped Jian Yunmo’s little sister who he had taken care of for his entire life, he had to return a cute niece to him.
Naturally, Zhai Yunsheng could not argue against this.
“Do you feel sick?” Jian Yunmo asked softly.
“Nope!” Little Ruanruan replied as she shook her head from side to side.
“Uncle Momo! Flower hair clip!”
Little Ruanruan had a very good memory. Last time, Jian Yunmo promised her to make a beautiful hair clip with real flowers. And thus, she remembered this and asked Jian Yunmo for it as soon as they met.
Upon hearing this, Jian Yunmo reached for his pockets and took out a small box. The flower hair clip for Little Ruanruan was placed in that box.
When he opened it, there was a beautiful hair clip with little purple flowers on it. Jian Yunmo used the latest technology he developed to preserve the shape and color of the flowers. In addition, it could not be damaged easily.
“Pretty!” Little Ruanruan exclaimed when she saw the hair clip. She took the initiative to give Jian Yunmo a kiss on his cheek to express her gratitude and liking.
“Should I put it on for you?”
“Yes!”
Countless jealous gazes looked at Jian Yunmo.
All of Little Ruanruan’s brothers were super envious.
They also wanted kisses from her!
Wasn’t it just a flower hair clip?
They could also get flowers!
If Little Ruanruan wanted it, they were willing to move an entire garden in front of her!
And thus, several of them collectively ran off to pick flowers from Zhai Zhongshen’s small garden.
The small garden where Zhai Zhongshen proposed to Long Yuetian was filled with various rare roses.
However, the young boys did not know this. They only knew Little Ruanruan liked pretty flowers.
This included Zhai Yunfeng. It seemed as though he forgot his father put a lot of time and effort into proposing to his mother back in the day.
And thus, the group of young boys ravaged and destroyed the garden and brought back all kinds of flowers to Little Ruanruan.
“Ruanruan, look at these flowers I got you!”
“Ruanruan, I picked all of these flowers for you!”
“Look at mine! Mine are particularly pretty!”
“Me too! Me too!”
Her brothers crowded in front of her to show her the flowers that they picked.
When Little Ruanruan looked at all the flowers, she didn’t know what to do.
She only wanted small flowers that could be clipped onto her hair. She didn’t want to put a big flower in her hair. It’d look clunky and ugly!
However, these were gifts from her brothers. If she said no, they’d definitely be sad.
“Uncle Momo… I can’t hold all these flowers…” Little Ruanruan said quietly as she asked Jian Yunmo for help.
“I’ll weave you a small flower basket then. With a flower basket, you’ll be able to hold all of these flowers. How does that sound?”
Upon hearing this, Little Ruanruan’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Yes!”
She liked flower baskets! Those things were very pretty!
Jian Yunmo indeed knew what little girls liked. A few sentences managed to change Ruanruan’s expression from worry to anticipation.
When Long Yuetian saw the roses in everyone’s hands, her eyes widened.
“Where did you get these flowers?”
“I got them from mommy’s garden! There were a lot of them!” Zhai Yunfeng announced with a proud look on his face.
“Did you pick those flowers from my garden???” Long Yuetian questioned as she stood up.
“Mhmm!” Zhai Yunfeng replied happily. He did not realize the danger that was coming.
This response made Long Yuetian incredibly angry.
That was her most treasured garden!
Zhai Zhongshen patted Long Yuetian on the shoulder and said: “Don’t be angry.”
Then, he walked forward and yanked Zhai Yunfeng’s collar with one hand and lifted him up.
“Ahhh… Daddy… What are you doing…” Zhai Yunfeng wailed.
Zhai Yunfeng was scared of his father. His father was super fierce when angry.
Zhai Zhongshen carried Zhai Yunfeng into another room.
Then, wailing could be heard from that room and it was clear that Zhai Yunfeng was getting disciplined by his father.
After attending Zhai Yunfeng’s fifth birthday party, Little Ruanruan returned home with her mother and father.
Later that night, when she went to sleep, Little Ruanruan squeezed between Zhai Yunsheng and Jian Yiling.
Her brothers basically never slept with Zhai Yunsheng and Jian Yiling. However, as she was the youngest child and only daughter, Little Ruanruan would still sleep in Zhai Yunsheng and Jian Yiling’s room occasionally.
As Little Ruanruan lay in bed, she cradled a doll in her arms. However, the expression on her small face was not very happy.
“What’s wrong?” Zhai Yunsheng patiently asked his daughter.
“Daddy. I want to go to school” Little Ruanruan replied with a serious expression on her face.
“You’re only two years old. It’s not time to go to school yet.”
Zhai Ruanruan could barely articulate her words at times. So why was she thinking about going to school?
“But… But… My brothers are going to school…” Little Ruanruan muttered quietly.
During the birthday party, Little Ruanruan realized that all her brothers had begun to attend school.
Even though she didn’t really know what “school” meant, since all her brothers were attending, Little Ruanruan didn’t want to be left out.
She wanted to always be with her brothers!
When Zhai Yunsheng saw the upset expression on Little Ruanruan’s face, he felt rather distraught.
“Then I will ask your brothers to not go and accompany you at home,” Zhai Yunsheng said.
After all, his daughter was only two years old. It was impossible for her to attend school. And thus, the only possible solution was to ask his sons to accompany their sister at home.
Upon hearing this, Jian Yiling glared at Zhai Yunsheng and said: “A Sheng, don’t speak nonsense.”
Despite Jian Yiling’s glare, Zhai Yunsheng replied: “It doesn’t matter whether they go to school or not. They’ve probably already learned all the stuff they’re teaching in primary school.”
After all, as the children of Jian Yiling and Zhai Yunsheng, their IQ was definitely not low.
Yuze was being taught by Grandpa Sun, Yutang was being taught by Jian Yubo, and Yuting was being looked after by Master Zhai.
This meant they didn’t necessarily have to go to school.
“But you can make friends and interact with your classmates at school,” Jian Yiling replied seriously.
Upon hearing this response, Zhai Yunsheng suddenly recalled that during her childhood, Jian Yiling didn’t have the opportunity to spend time with people the same age as her.
“I suppose it’s better to let them go to school then,” Zhai Yunsheng replied. Between his daughter and his wife, his wife was still more important.
Jian Yiling turned around to comfort her daughter: “Ruanruan, be a good girl. Your brothers are just going to school during the day. They will come home at night.”
“But… But will my brothers not… Not like me anymore…” Little Ruanruan asked sadly.
“Of course not. No matter how many friends your brothers have, the position you hold in their hearts will never change. You’re you. No one can replace you,” Jian Yiling patiently explained to Little Ruanruan.
“Oh!” Little Ruanruan exclaimed as she nodded her head obediently.
“Why don’t we make bento boxes for your brothers to take to school tomorrow morning? That way, your brothers can think of Little Ruanruan when they eat their lunch,” Jian Yiling suggested.
“Yes!” Little Ruanruan nodded with great interest.
“Then you need to go to sleep now. Otherwise, you won’t be able to get up in the morning.”
“Okay!” Little Ruanruan answered and laid down immediately. She covered her body with a small blanket and closed her eyes.
Once Little Ruanruan fell asleep, Zhai Yunsheng approached Jian Yiling and lowered his head to nibble on her neck.
“Don’t make a fuss. You’ll wake up Little Ruanruan,” Jian Yiling protested in a small voice.
“Then let’s go to the study,” Zhai Yunsheng responded in a deep voice.
“No… That’s not good…”
However, Zhai Yunsheng did not give Jian Yiling a chance to refuse. He carried her into the study and placed her on the desk.
Then, a passionate kiss followed.
By doing this, Zhai Yunsheng and Jian Yiling left Little Ruanruan inside the bedroom. She had no idea what her mother and father were doing. Instead, her dreams were probably filled with thoughts of making bento boxes for her brothers tomorrow morning.
Little Ruanruan woke up super early on Monday morning.
She still remembered what her mother said before she went to sleep last night. And thus, she was eager to help in making bento boxes for her brothers.
Originally, Jian Yiling assumed Little Ruanruan would have forgotten about it. However, Little Ruanruan woke up earlier than Jian Yiling.
Furthermore, she was ready to help her mother in the kitchen.
Little Ruanruan laid on the tabletop as she patted rice balls with Jian Yiling.
Before being given this task, Jian Yiling made sure Little Ruanruan’s hands were clean. As for what shape the rice ball would be made into, that was up to fate.
Little Ruanruan’s brothers woke up one after another.
Zhai Yuze was the first to get up. When he saw his sister kneading rice balls in the kitchen, he hurriedly ran over and said: “Ruanruan, don’t lie there. It’s easy to fall off.”
“Brother! Look! Ball ball!” Little Ruanruan said gleefully as she held up the little rice ball she made.
The rice ball in her hands was somewhat miserable to look like.
However, Zhai Yuze said: “Wow. Thank you Ruanruan. It’s amazing.”
After all, his sister kneaded it herself!
Upon hearing this response, Little Ruanruan smiled happily.
“But let’s get down first okay?” Zhai Yuze continued. He did not want his sister to stay in a high place. It made him feel super stressed.
“No! I want to make more rice balls!” Ruanruan exclaimed.
Before Zhai Yuze got a chance to say anything else, Zhai Yunsheng rolled his eyes at his son and asked: “Do you think I’m here for decoration?”
Ruanruan was not up there by herself. Zhai Yunsheng and Jian Yiling were both beside her. Even if he didn’t trust his father, did he not trust his mother? Jian Yiling would definitely not let Ruanruan fall off the desk.
Zhai Yuze retorted: “But you’re always staring at mommy. What if your attention is diverted elsewhere when Ruanruan falls?”
Zhai Yuze’s reasoning was also very valid.
Sons were indeed born to collect debts from their fathers. Even though Zhai Yuze was not yet ten years old, he was already arguing back against his father.
Not long after, Zhai Yuting and Zhai Yutang woke up as well.
When they saw their sister making riceballs, they were both overjoyed. Then, they scrambled to get the rice balls made by her.
“This one is mine!”
“She’s making them for me!”
“No! Ruanruan likes me the most!”
The three brats fought each other for the riceballs.
Upon hearing this, Jian Yiling said: “You guys share the ones your sister made. You can also take a few of the ones I made.”
All her sons grabbed for the rice balls Jian Yiling made.
After all, the rice balls made by their mother smelled incredibly delicious.
However, Zhai Yunsheng stopped his sons from reaching out. He told them: “These ones are mine.”
It didn’t matter if they took Ruanruan’s rice balls. However, the ones his wife made must be his.
The three brothers had no choice but to return empty-handed.
Hmph!
Their father was super stingy!
Despite being unhappy with this arrangement, the three of them could do nothing about it. After all, their father could probably beat up the three of them with one hand.
And thus, they could only accept reality.
Although Zhai Yunsheng was stingy, Jian Yiling still filled her son’s bento boxes with rice balls. After all, they couldn’t just rely on the few rice balls that Ruanruan made.
This was especially the case for Zhai Yuze. He was the oldest of the three and he had martial arts training every day. This meant he needed to eat much more food.
After breakfast, the three brothers headed to school with the bento box made by their mother and sister.
“Eldest brother, second brother, third brother! Hug!” Ruanruan exclaimed as she opened her arms.
One after another, they hugged their adorable sister. Then, they reluctantly headed to school.
After that, Zhai Yunsheng took his wife and daughter to Lahaisen Hospital’s Beijing branch before he went to work.
As soon as Little Ruanruan arrived at the hospital, everyone crowded around her.
“Ruanruan, let me hug you!”
“Ruanruan, your dress is so beautiful today!”
“Ruanruan, you’re growing prettier and prettier!”
“…”
Liu Ting was a strange man. When he looked at Little Ruanruan, his mouth couldn’t help but water.
When Wen Yan saw this, he yanked Liu Ting away and exclaimed: “What are you doing? Don’t smile strangely at my niece.”
Ever since Wen Yan’s legs fully recovered, he would occasionally visit Lahaisen Hospital. Over the years, he developed a good relationship with Liu Ting.
“Smile strangely? When would I ever do that? Little Yanyan, are you jealous?” Liu Ting replied.
“Jealous? Jealous of what? Are you crazy or sick in the head?”
“Jealous of your niece stealing my attention away,” Liu Ting answered shamelessly.
“You’re definitely sick in the head!” Wen Yan said as he rolled his eyes.
“Hey, don’t be angry. Little Ruanruan is adorable. As she’s related to you by blood, if you infer a few things, I’m technically praising you,” Liu Ting smiled.
“Get lost!” Wen Yan exclaimed as he held Little Ruanruan in his arms. There was a look of disdain on his face.
Upon hearing this response, Liu Ting turned around to complain to Jian Yiling. “Dean, your cousin is being mean to me again. If he keeps frowning, he’s going to age incredibly quickly.”
Jian Yiling was already used to these things. She told Liu Ting: “Stop teasing Brother Wen Yan.”
Even after making fun of Wen Yan for so many years, why was Liu Ting still not bored? He clearly knew Wen Yan got upset easily.
“I’m not teasing him,” Liu Ting replied. “As his former doctor, I’m merely concerned about the physical and mental health of my patient.”
“Uncle! No angry!” Little Ruanruan said as she patted Wen Yan’s chest to “comfort” him.
“Mhmm. I won’t be angry,” Wen Yan answered. After being comforted by his niece, how could he still be angry?
Upon hearing this response, Liu Ting scoffed and said: “Little Yanyan, what’s up with that quick change in attitude?”
“Tch.”
“Uncle! No arguing!” Little Ruanruan exclaimed as she waved her hand to stop the fight.
This sentence was directed at Liu Ting.
As Little Ruanruan was only two years old, she couldn’t really differentiate between her uncles.
Hence, other than Jian Yunmo and Zhai Yunfeng, she called everyone uncle.
It was not easy for her to remember everyone. She already had a hard time remembering all of her brothers in the Jian family and the Zhai family.
At this moment, Luo Xiuen walked out and glared at everyone surrounding Little Ruanruan. Then she ordered: “Go back to your own work. Don’t disturb our Little Ruanruan.”
Following this, Little Ruanruan was snatched from Wen Yan’s arms.
Then, Luo Xiuen placed her on a soft cushion in the corner of the laboratory.
This spot was reserved for Little Ruanruan to move in.
As people passed by, they would take turns looking after and playing with her.
Even though they were technically helping Jian Yiling to take care of Little Ruanruan, over time, Little Ruanruan had become a big motivation for people to come to work.
She was there to provide encouragement and happiness for everyone.
Furthermore, all the researchers were attempting to inform and teach Little Ruanruan about their area of expertise.
They were attempting to cultivate her hobbies and interests from an early age.
After all, they wanted Little Ruanruan to learn from them in the future!
Little Ruanruan was quite different from other children her age. She didn’t like fairy tales. Instead, she enjoyed listening to her uncles and aunts telling her about the history of scientific development.
It seemed as though Jian Yiling’s genes were rather powerful. Little Ruanruan completely inherited her intelligence from her mother and she had a super smart brain from a very young age.
The weather in Beijing gradually became cooler.
Grandpa Jian’s garden was filled with precious flowers of all colors, shapes, and species.
In fact, some of these flowers could only be seen inside this garden. This was because they had been cultivated for him by his grandson and granddaughter.
Hence, many of Grandpa Jian’s friends were incredibly envious of him.
Recently, Grandpa Jian discovered his grandchildren began to wear turtleneck sweaters with similar designs.
“Old woman, have our grandchildren been wearing new sweaters lately?” Grandpa Jian asked Grandma Jian.
“Mhmm. Our darling knitted them new ones,” Grandma Jian replied. She seemed to know this from the very beginning.
“Knitted them new ones?” Grandpa Jian repeated. He paused for a moment and then asked: “Then why did she not knit one for me?”
“Back then, didn’t you say you didn’t want her to work too hard?”
“Hey! That was so many years ago. Why do you still remember that comment?”
“Huh? So you’ve changed your mind now? You no longer mind if Yiling is overworked?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just saying that if she’s knitting sweaters for her brothers, she can knit one less sweater for them. If she does that, she can put that time and effort into knitting a sweater for me instead. After all, she has so many brothers and only one grandpa,” Grandpa Jian replied.
“It’s alright. You don’t need to be jealous of your grandsons. Yiling has already knitted a sweater for you,” Grandma Jian replied with a smile on her face.
“Huh? Did she knit one already? Where is it?” Grandpa Jian asked. He was completely unaware of this.
“She gave it to me two months ago,” Grandma Jian answered.
“Then why didn’t you tell me? You secretly hid it away!” Grandpa Jian complained.
“Well, it wasn’t cold enough to wear a sweater yet. So why would I take it out to show you? You couldn’t wear it anyways.”
“Even if that’s the case, I could still look at it and be happy knowing that Yiling knitted it for me! And it’s getting cold now so it’s time for me to wear it. Hurry up and bring me the sweater that Yiling knitted for me!”
“Okay, okay. I’ll bring the sweater to you. You can sleep at night with the sweater Yiling knitted for you!”
“That’s none of your business!” Grandpa Jian huffed.
When Grandma Jian handed Grandpa Jian the sweater, he was so happy that he refused to put the sweater down.
Perhaps he could sleep with the sweater in his arms tonight!
After a while, Grandpa Jian suddenly remembered something: “Old woman, will Yiling be knitting all those brats a sweater this time?”
“What’s the problem?”
“It’s just about Yunnao…”
Grandma Jian instantly understood what Grandpa Jian was saying. She told him: “Don’t worry. She’s also knitting a sweater for Yunnao. However, since she’s knitting the sweaters one by one, it might take a few more days before he receives his.”
Jian Yiling knitted sweaters for her family members by generation.
This meant Grandpa Jian’s sweater was knitted first.
As Jian Yunnao was the second youngest of the Jian brothers, he would be receiving his sweater near the end.
“That’s good, that’s good.” Grandpa Jian said repeatedly.
As the days became cooler, Jian Yunnao also recently noticed a change in style in the sweaters his brothers wore. Even though the color of the sweater did not change, the style became the popular look for sweaters this year.
Naturally, he knew Yiling knitted the sweaters for them.
This realization made Jian Yunnao somewhat sad. Even though he knew he wouldn’t be receiving one, he still felt a little disappointed.
At this time, Zhang Yun came back from work. Zhang Yun was officially a doctor at Lahaisen Hospital’s Beijing branch.
She walked over with a paper bag in her hand and placed it in front of Jian Yunnao.
When Jian Yunnao saw the sweater texture in the paper bag, he froze for an entire moment.
His heart began to beat rapidly as he apprehensively opened the bag.
It was a sweater. A blue sweater.
This was the color Jian Yiling selected for him.
Jian Yunnao silently picked up the sweater and cradled it in his arms.
He felt its softness and warmth.
Finally…
She finally accepted him…
She finally recognized him as her brother again.
(THE END)