"Daddy, where are we going?"
Little Yan Chi clung to the windowsill, tiptoeing, peering curiously. He watched the scenery outside change in an instant—from vibrant spring to a blizzard, from a tranquil valley to a vast grassland—his eyes widening in amazement.
That was [I] adjusting to different worlds.
Yan Qingyuan sat beside the little guy, placing his hands under his armpits, gently lifting him onto his lap, and asked, "And you? Where do you want to live?"
Little Yan Chi frowned, pondering for a moment. In that moment, [I] had transformed into a lush forest, pine trees adorned with pine cones on their branches, and a fierce tiger lurking, ready to pounce.
“I love it here,” Little Yan Chi exclaimed happily, looking at the animals. He turned excitedly to Yan Qingyuan and asked, “Can I go, Daddy?”
“Of course.”
[I]'s vision froze in this jungle. Little Yan Chi eagerly pulled Yan Qingyuan outside. Yan Qingyuan held his warm little hand, his eyes filled with obvious amusement. “Slow down, you’ll fall.”
Little Yan Chi obediently slowed his pace. “Okay.”
His goal was clear: head straight for the tiger.
This tiger, easily three meters long, was resting in the sun, occasionally licking its fur and leisurely swishing its tail. Suddenly, it smelled an unfamiliar scent and immediately scanned its surroundings warily. When it saw the unfamiliar father and son, it clearly paused.
These two two-legged creatures…don’t they even flinch at it?
"Daddy, this orange cat is so big!" Little Yan Chi exclaimed in amazement at the enormous "cat" before him. But as soon as he took a step closer, the grumpy cat growled at him, baring its terrifying fangs.
Little Yan Chi shuddered, instinctively tucking his hands behind his back and burying himself in Yan Qingyuan's arms. "Daddy..."
Yan Qingyuan looked up at the tiger. "Be good, little kitten."
"Roar—Meow~"
The tiger's body trembled. It opened its mouth again, "Meow~"
This sound was sweet and coquettish, completely lacking its previous fierce and domineering roar. The tiger's pupils dilated in shock. It couldn't accept that it had become a whiny, affectionate tiger. Had its regal aura run away?!
"Meow~ Meow meow~"
The tiger let out two more desperate meows, then, utterly dejected, it lay slumped on the ground, its tail drooping.
Yan Qingyuan patted Little Yan Chi's shoulder. "Look, the kitten was just joking with you."
Little Yan Chi gripped his father's sleeve tightly, glancing at the now noticeably more docile kitten, still shaken. He loved animals, and although this one was a bit big, he treated them all the same.
"Can you...can you not yell at me?" Little Yan Chi tried to reason with this fierce "kitten," then slowly approached. "Can I touch you? Your fur looks so soft."
The tiger glanced at him. "Meow."
Even more annoyed.
But strangely, when this two-legged cub approached, the tiger felt no wariness whatsoever. It was indeed as docile as a kitten, merely lazily lifting its eyelids to glance at the little guy before lying back down.
Yan Chi carefully stroked the tiger's head; it was a bit hard. Then he touched its fluffy ears, which twitched and gently patted the back of his hand.
"So cute, little kitty..." Little Yan Chi was absolutely smitten.
He boldly pounced on the tiger's belly, rubbing against its skin. "Kitty, kitty, you're so cute, I love you."
Such an affectionate little cub.
The tiger rolled over, revealing its soft belly. Little Yan Chi cheered and immediately buried his face in its fur, taking several deep breaths.
Yan Qingyuan quietly watched their play.
Time passed quickly. Because his father was always by his side, little Yan Chi grew very fast, his height increasing little by little, and his eyebrows gradually opening up.
That day, the dazzling sunlight was blocked by layers of leaves, with only a few rays occasionally filtering through the gaps and falling on the ground. Yan Qingyuan and Yan Chi were fishing by the lake, the little tiger nestled at Yan Chi's feet, intently watching the fishing float on the lake's surface.
After a cycle, the big tiger became a little tiger, continuing to stay by Yan Chi's side.
Suddenly, Yan Qingyuan turned to Yan Chi and asked, "Little Chi, do you want to go to school in Yunzhou?"
Yan Chi's tranquil amber eyes remained fixed on the lake. His eyelashes were long and distinct, and his profile resembled Yan Qingyuan by about eight-tenths, only his features were softer, lacking Yan Qingyuan's sharp and aggressive features.
"Going to Yunzhou?" Yan Chi hesitated. He had lived with his father for many years and wasn't very keen on experiencing the outside world. He asked, "Will my brothers be going too?"
Yan Qingyuan was uncertain. "Li Huai and Feng Wang should be going, and Chang Le will be going too."
Yan Chi remembered the three of them and smiled. "Then I'll go too."
Having familiar friends by his side was enough; if he had to go to this unfamiliar place alone, he definitely wouldn't want to.
The father and son had made their decision, and [I], too, began another move, returning to my previous place. Naturally, Xing Zhinan was the first to know of their return.
Xing Zhinan also wanted to ask about the children's schooling.
"Hello, Uncle Zhinan." Yan Chi greeted Xing Zhinan politely, looking at him as if he were almost identical to his memory. But the next second, his cheek was pinched.
"Wow, little Chi has grown so much!" Xing Zhinan teased Yan Chi with a friendly, overjoyed expression, "Oh, you even have a golden chinchilla?"
Yan Qingyuan: "..."
He seemed to understand why little Yan Chi had stubbornly thought the tiger was a cat the first time he saw it; the culprit was right in front of him.
The little tiger huddled behind Yan Chi's legs. Small animals have the strongest sense of danger; it could sense the oppressive aura emanating from these two strange two-legged creatures.
Yan Chi chuckled, recalling the childhood joke of mistaking a tiger for a cat. "Its name is Xiao Jin."
Xiao Jin wasn't entirely happy with the name, but there was nothing he could do; he had no say in the family.
"So, are you going to take Xiao Jin to school with you?" Xingluo hooked his arm around Yan Chi's neck. "We can live together then."
Xing Zhinan looked at his son curiously. "Didn't you hate going to school? I remember you saying something like, 'School's a waste of time, a place to squander your youth. What if you run into some awful classmates? It'll only make your already miserable school life worse.'"
He mimicked Xingluo's tone, playfully tapping his head. "Am I mistaken?"
Xingluo didn't deny it. "I'm not mistaken, but I've changed my mind. I'm going to school with Xiao Chi."
To demonstrate their past brotherly bond, Xingluo reached for Yan Chi's hand. When their fingertips touched, Xingluo visibly froze, staring at Yan Chi with a surprised expression.
Yan Chi looked bewildered. "What's wrong?"
Why were they staring at him like he'd seen a ghost?
Xingluo's reaction was truly strange. Yan Qingyuan and Xing Zhinan also turned to look at him. Xingluo took a few minutes to compose himself. "Nothing, it's just that I haven't seen Xiao Chi in so long, I'm a little slow to react."
Xing Zhinan gave a knowing smile. "Well, your reaction is a bit delayed."
They'd been there for over half an hour, and only now was he starting to feel uncomfortable with the grown-up Yan Chi.
Xingluo touched his nose, turned to look at Yan Chi, a hint of excitement in his eyes. "Xiao Chi, you still haven't said whether you want to live with me."
"I do."
Yan Chi readily agreed. He'd often played with Xingluo when he was little, so he wasn't uncomfortable at all. But he hesitated about whether to bring Xiao Jin to school.
"Daddy," Yan Chi said, carrying Xiao Jin to Yan Qingyuan's side, "Can you take care of Xiao Jin while I'm at school?"
Xiao Jin looked at Yan Qingyuan with horror, its paws gripping Yan Chi's sleeve tightly, its head buried in his chest, every hair on its body screaming resistance.
No! Don't let this horrible two-legged beast take care of it!
Unfortunately, Yan Chi couldn't understand its inner thoughts.
Yan Qingyuan glanced at the tiger. To be honest, he didn't like these fluffy pets; they shed, and were useless except for eating.
Especially because Yan Chi spoiled it, this tiger had lost its wild ferocity. Now it only ate cat food and canned food, and wouldn't even budge if you threw raw meat in front of it.
It would be better to raise Yi Luo; at least Yi Luo was a beautiful but useless creature.
"Hmm, leave it to me," Yan Qingyuan said, not refusing Yan Chi. He picked up the useless tiger cub and patted its paw as it tried to hold on.
Little Jin nestled obediently in Yan Qingyuan's arms. Yan Chi smiled and patted its little head. "Little Jin, you're such a good boy. You have to be a good boy and listen to Daddy, okay?"
Little Jin: "Meow~ woof..."
Dare it disobey?
It didn't even have the courage to face Yan Qingyuan directly.
A few days later, Yan Chi went to school in Yunzhou accompanied by Yan Qingyuan. Although Yan Chi had said he was old enough to go to school without his parents, Yan Qingyuan insisted.
The school had already prepared accommodations for each new student; they could move in immediately with just their bags. Everything was ready. Yan Chi shared a room with Xingluo, choosing the room facing the small garden.
Yan Qingyuan, holding Xiao Jin, looked around the bright room and nodded. "Not bad."
Yan Chi was also satisfied. "So, Dad, are you relieved?"
"Not at all." Yan Qingyuan frowned. For some reason, he was reluctant to let Yan Chi attend this school. A sense of foreboding lingered in his heart. He told Yan Chi, "Your Aunt Ruoqin lives nearby. You can go to her if you need anything."
"If you're unhappy here, or if you encounter any troubles, just come home anytime."
In short, Yan Qingyuan didn't care about Yan Chi's academic performance at all. If he was unhappy, they would just go home.
Yan Chi couldn't help but laugh, went forward and hugged his father, acting all clingy and affectionate. "Okay, I know."
Only when Yan Qingyuan was sure that Yan Chi didn't need him anymore did he prepare to leave the school. But as he turned around, he almost bumped into Xing Zhinan. This person, for some reason, stood silently behind him.
Yan Qingyuan pushed him aside. "Go away, don't block the way."
Xing Zhinan glanced at Yan Chi, who was packing his things. He had to admit, after growing up, the childishness had faded, revealing his unique gentle and sunny disposition.
He was a lovable child.
He was completely different from his father.
Xing Zhinan followed behind Yan Qingyuan, hesitating for a while before tentatively speaking, "Um... Yuanyuan..."
Yan Qingyuan gave him a look, signaling him to speak quickly.
But Xing Zhinan, usually so eloquent, suddenly stammered, his face unnatural, as if something was on his mind. "Um... Yuanyuan, what do you think of Shen Mingsu?"
"Not good." Yan Qingyuan found the name unlucky, pinching Xing Zhinan's little golden ear. "Why bring him up for no reason? It's a waste of your time."
Xing Zhinan, still hopeful, asked, "Is it possible for you to get along with him peacefully?"
Yan Qingyuan stopped, his sharp gaze piercing Xing Zhinan like needles. The latter didn't dare meet his eyes, scratching her cheek and looking away.
"You're acting strange today."
Yan Qingyuan took a step closer. "Xing Zhinan, is there something you haven't told me? Is it related to Shen Mingsu?"
"No, no," Xing Zhinan denied repeatedly. "How could I possibly hide anything from you? Given our relationship, if I were to hide something from Xingluo, I definitely wouldn't hide anything from you."
Yan Qingyuan sneered, not believing his sweet talk for a second.
"Yuanyuan!"
Li Xian saw Yan Qingyuan and Xing Zhinan standing together from afar. He excitedly ran to them and threw himself at Yan Qingyuan. "Are you here to take the children to school too?"
Yan Qingyuan gave a brief "Mmm," continuing to threaten Xing Zhinan with his eyes to tell the truth.
Xing Zhinan pretended not to hear.
The atmosphere between the two confused Li Xian. He glanced at the cold-faced Yan Qingyuan, then at Xing Zhinan, who was clearly hiding something.
Li Xian: "You two... had a fight?"
"No, we didn't fight." Yan Qingyuan's patience wore thin. He told Xing Zhinan directly, "I don't like Shen Mingsu, and I won't give him a friendly look anymore. I don't care what riddles you're trying to say. Just don't mention him in front of me again."
With that, Yan Qingyuan turned and left.
Li Xian was stunned for a moment, guessing what had happened from Yan Qingyuan's brief words.
Everyone knew that Yan Qingyuan and Shen Mingsu didn't get along, and now Xing Zhinan had mentioned Shen Mingsu in front of Qingyuan, and then they even had a conflict... Could it be that Xing Zhinan had betrayed their friendship?!
Li Xian condemned Xing Zhinan, "Well, you know that Qingyuan doesn't like Shen Mingsu, yet you still get close to him. Don't you consider us friends at all?"
They also had their own clique, and Xing Zhinan, Li Xian, and Yan Qingyuan were often together. They should have been united against outsiders, but instead, Xing Zhinan became the traitor.
Xing Zhinan, speechless with frustration, scratched his head and sighed, "That's not it at all, don't make wild guesses."
Li Xian: "What exactly happened?"
"Uh... let me give you an example." Xing Zhinan pondered for a moment, "If, I mean if—if Li Huai were... with Yi Luo, what would you think?"
Li Xian froze for a few seconds, questioning his ears, "...Are you crazy?"
Xing Zhinan wanted to tell him that he wasn't the crazy one, "Tell me what you would do first?"
Li Xian: "...I can only apologize to Yi Luo and let him die."
Xing Zhinan wore an expression of unsurprising agreement, now only hoping that Yan Qingyuan's precious son could stop him at the crucial moment and prevent his father from going on a killing spree.
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