Chapter 27
Tiantian picked up the green vegetable with his small chopsticks, nibbled on one end, and finished the whole stalk with a crunching sound, like a little hamster.
After finishing, he even stuck out his tongue, as if to spit out the unpleasant taste of the vegetable.
Seeing this, Grandma smiled and gave her little grandson two more stalks of green vegetables.
Tiantian’s hand, holding the small chopsticks, was trembling.
He didn’t like to eat tasteless green vegetables. Eating one stalk in a meal was already his absolute limit.
His meal interrupted by a green vegetable, Tiantian’s head finally started to slowly turn again. As if remembering something, he looked over at Qin Ye, who was sitting opposite him.
Qin Ye was a year older than him. The four- or five-year-old child sat upright while eating, and his movements were also very refined.
He had very few expressions on his face, and his pupils were a rare gray. If you didn’t look closely, you would only think that his eyes were covered in a layer of mist, making them difficult to see clearly.
Only then did Grandma remember that the two of them hadn’t been introduced yet. She quickly introduced them to Shen Tiantian:
“This is Qin Ye, a pitiful child. Your Grandpa Qin found him on the mountain. His head was injured, and he couldn’t remember anything except his name. He was in bed for more than a month before he could walk.”
Grandma hoped that Qin Ye could get along well with Tiantian. For Tiantian’s sake, it would be easier for Qin Ye to stay at the Shen family.
It would also give him a better chance of finding his biological parents.
Thinking of this, Grandma couldn’t help but sigh and ruffle her little grandson’s head.
“Can Tiantian be good friends with Qin Ye?”
Tiantian’s baby-fat cheeks puffed out. Under his cousin’s intense, oppressive gaze, he looked up and gently shook his head.
“No, Grandma. I’m a Long Tiantian cub. I can only have little followers, not good fwiends.”
Grandma’s long, slender, gray eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“What Long Tiantian? Your surname is Shen, and your name is Shen Tiantian. You can’t just change your surname.”
The light in Qin Ye’s eyes, who was sitting opposite, dimmed for a moment. But when he heard Shen Tiantian’s next words, a little light rekindled in his eyes.
“Alright, alright, then let Qin Ye be my little follower.”
Shen Tiantian was very excited, his little expression quite thrilled as he said to Qin Ye:
“You’re my first little follower! In the future, if I have a bite of meat to eat, you’ll have a bite of green vegetables to eat!”
With that, Shen Tiantian pushed the disliked green vegetables in his bowl over and waved his hand magnanimously.
“You eat!”
Qin Ye looked at Tiantian, who was sharing his green vegetables with him. His eyes were sparkling, like the small neon lights on the street at night.
Qin Ye was dazzled. He couldn’t help but let out a smile and nodded heavily.
He wasn’t a picky eater. He lowered his head and ate both stalks of green vegetables.
On the side, Ye Jiabao watched Shen Tiantian inexplicably take on a little brother, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
“What are you doing?”
Ye Jiabao pinched Shen Tiantian’s ear and hissed in his ear.
Shen Tiantian was bothered by the hot air from his mouth. He rubbed his ear with his small hand and said unhappily:
“Didn’t you say that Qin Ye is a bad child, cousin? Only bad children eat green vegetables. I’m a good child, so I don’t eat green vegetables.”
Shen Tiantian had his own logic, and it was self-consistent. It was difficult for others to easily shake his thoughts.
Ye Jiabao was truly exasperated.
“You’re almost four this year! You’re not some one- or two-year-old brat who’s easy to fool. Can’t you be a little more mindful?”
Ye Jiabao’s voice couldn’t help but get a little louder. Afraid that others would hear, he quickly pulled Shen Tiantian to the side and hissed in a low voice:
“You can’t let Qin Ye have it too easy, and don’t be deceived by him, understand?”
Shen Tiantian couldn’t help but want to scratch the scab on his chin. Afraid of ruining his looks, he managed to resist.
“I know.”
Shen Tiantian looked at his cousin, who was leaving in a huff, shrugged his shoulders, and pouted with a hmph.
Cousin is a little fool.
He’s the little protagonist. He won’t be deceived!
Shen Tiantian bounced back. Seeing that the chicken soup his grandma had brought was ready, he let out a “wow,” his eyes glued to the chicken meat, unable to move.
“So fragrant, so fragrant!”
Holding his small bowl, Shen Tiantian drank half a bowl of chicken soup and was completely delighted.
Seeing that Qin Ye was only eating the dishes close to him on the table, Grandma, after all, felt sorry for the child and also gave him a bowl of chicken soup.
“Xiaoye, you have some soup too, so you can grow big and strong.”
Qin Ye felt the kindness from Grandma, nodded, and, still quiet and silent, held his bowl and drank the soup.
However, before drinking the soup, Qin Ye looked up at Shen Tiantian, who was shaking his little head, his expression blissful.
Just by looking, Qin Ye could feel the overflowing joy from Shen Tiantian.
It was straightforward and passionate, like a colorful candy. When he smiled, the air became sweet and lively.
Qin Ye pressed his lips together and smiled along, his heart also warming up.
As autumn turned to winter, the afternoon sun became a rare and precious thing. The light that shone down was finally no longer bitingly cold but carried a hint of warmth, making one feel drowsy.
After lunch, Grandma inquired about Shen Yuanchuan’s schedule. Knowing that he wouldn’t be back in the afternoon, she couldn’t help but hesitate.
She had originally thought of meeting Shen Yuanchuan and explaining to him that Qin Ye would be staying at the Shen family for a while.
But she also felt that a big boss like Shen Yuanchuan probably didn’t even see a common person like her.
Grandma was restless. She could only pull the kind-faced Butler Zhou aside and ask:
“Brother Zhou, do you think Mr. Shen will be angry about Qin Ye’s matter?”
Grandma felt that she and Qin Ye were like poor relatives who had come to freeload, sucking the blood of her little grandson, and she felt very insecure.
The butler had long since figured out Shen Yuanchuan’s somewhat cold and indifferent temperament and shook his head.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Shen is very busy. It’s no problem for this child, Qin Ye, to stay here. Mr. Shen probably won’t even notice.”
For Shen Yuanchuan to care, a person either had to have extremely high value or hold an extremely high place in his heart.
Other than that, Shen Yuanchuan would not bother with most miscellaneous matters.
His time was money, and he had no energy to deal with these trivial things.
“Don’t worry. Before, Xiuze, that is, Tiantian’s big brother, his cousin also came to stay at the Shen family for a while, and Mr. Shen never even mentioned it.”
Shen Xiuze’s uncle’s son had been sent to the Shen family in the hopes that he could infiltrate the Shen family, curry favor with Shen Yuanchuan, and become a help to Shen Xiuze in taking over the company.
Unfortunately, after staying for three or four years, let alone becoming a help, he could count the number of times he had seen Shen Yuanchuan on one hand.
In the end, he had offended Shen Xiuze for some reason, and after being kicked out of the Shen family, he had never appeared again.
Hearing the butler’s words, Grandma finally felt a little relieved.
“That’s good, that’s good.”
Grandma had lived a simple life. Her shabby package contained almost half of her belongings.
She left the small package for Tiantian and Qin Ye and wanted to take the bus back to the countryside before it got dark.
But Tiantian, having finally seen his grandma, was reluctant to let her go. He clung to her with his hands and feet, refusing to let her leave.
“Grandma, stay with me. There are so many rooms at home. We can live together.”
Shen Tiantian’s ability to act cute and pester people was top-notch. He pressed his little fleshy face against his grandma’s neck, hugged her arm with his small hands, and his voice was as soft and sweet as honey.
“Does Grandma not wike Tiantian anymore? You won’t stay with me?”
Grandma was old and couldn’t stand it when the younger generation acted pitiful in front of her. Her heart was instantly softened. She held Tiantian and coaxed him for a long time.
Shen Tiantian giggled, nestled in his grandma’s arms. His grandma even put a piece of milk candy in his little mouth, and he chewed hard with his puffed-out baby-fat cheeks.
Qin Ye stood to the side, watching Shen Tiantian’s cheeks puff out, his light-colored lips chewing, like a little mouse that had stolen a treat.
He found it very interesting and stared for a few more moments.
Ye Jiabao watched Shen Tiantian act foolish and cute in front of his grandma, looking like a little brat who hadn’t grown up and had no ulterior motives, and sneered inwardly.
This little fool is still unreliable!
Ye Jiabao’s mind whirred. He directly pulled Qin Ye and looked up with his little face.
“Grandma, Tiantian, I’ll take Qin Ye to play somewhere else.”
Grandma looked up and saw her other little grandson. Her lips moved a couple of times, but in the end, she didn’t say anything and just nodded.
For some reason, Grandma just couldn’t bring herself to like this little grandson, Ye Jiabao.
It was fine two years ago. Ye Jiabao was just a somewhat naughty little brat.
But in the first half of this year, when Grandma was still in the city helping her two daughters take care of their children, she would occasionally catch a glimpse of Ye Jiabao’s eyes and feel a chill in her heart.
Grandma didn’t know how to describe that feeling. It was stubborn and cold, as if he were trapped in his own world, and yet also triumphant, as if he were mocking the fate of others.
Grandma had been scared by her little grandson several times. In the end, when she returned to the countryside, she didn’t see any reluctance from Ye Jiabao, only Shen Tiantian crying his eyes out.
Grandma’s heart had completely turned cold.
The little grandson she had raised was not close to her at all.
But she was ultimately soft-hearted. Seeing Ye Jiabao take Qin Ye away, she whispered to Tiantian:
“There are pastries that Grandma made in the package. Your cousin used to love these. You should leave a small half for him. And there are also wild mulberries picked from the mountain. The three of you can share them…”
She chattered on for a long time, and Shen Tiantian’s little gluttonous bug was awakened, his mouth watering.
He licked his lips, patted his little chest, and promised repeatedly:
“I will!”
On the other side.
Ye Jiabao pretended to take Qin Ye to play in the back.
When they reached the small garden, a desolate wind blew by. With no one else around, Ye Jiabao immediately let go of Qin Ye’s arm.
“Your name is Qin Ye?”
Qin Ye nodded, his misty eyes gray, with a hint of silence.
“I heard Grandma mention you before. You’re going to be living with Tiantian at the Shen family from now on. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Tiantian is a little tyrant. If you don’t perform well, he definitely won’t let you off!”
Hearing this, Qin Ye didn’t say anything, which made Ye Jiabao a little angry.
“Are you mute? Why aren’t you talking? I’m doing this for your own good. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be telling you this. When you get bullied by Shen Tiantian, you’ll have nowhere to complain.”
Qin Ye looked up, his slightly childish face still unable to hide his expression. He said:
“Tiantian is quite nice.”
Even if he’s a little tyrant, he’s still very cute.
