That child was quite sensitive; noticing eyes on him, he immediately turned his gaze toward Min Zhuozhou.
Min Zhuozhou offered the child a friendly smile.
The young boy froze for a moment, and then a hint of childish anxiety crossed his youthful face as he hurriedly averted his head to look elsewhere.
Min Zhuozhou’s smile remained fixed on the corners of his lips, but as he withdrew his gaze, he felt a bit puzzled, worried that he might have frightened the child.
He shouldn’t have, though…
His facial features were clean and smooth, the kind of face that naturally looked gentle when relaxed, and even more like a warm spring breeze when he smiled. Logically, it shouldn’t scare a child, yet the boy looked at him as if he had just seen a big bad wolf that ate children.
Could it be that he was dressed inappropriately?
Min Zhuozhou looked down to inspect his simple yet well-tailored shirt and trousers, finding nothing amiss.
However, children view the world differently from adults after all. Usually, he only had contact with Min Hua and lacked experience interacting with other children. Now, suddenly faced with several human toddlers, he couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive.
Handsome big brother, can you hug Yan’yan?
A child’s voice suddenly coming from below interrupted Min Zhuozhou’s thoughts. He looked down and saw a little girl with a princess hairstyle and a puffy dress hugging his leg.
The little girl named Yan’yan blinked her big, watery eyes, looking up at him full of expectation. She had exquisite features, and when she smiled, she possessed an immensely endearing, innocent charm.
Mingyan, quickly let go of the big brother. That’s so rude.
The guest who had originally been leading her rushed over, grabbing Yan’yan’s hand, and said apologetically to Min Zhuozhou, The little girl doesn’t know any better. Did she get your clothes dirty?
Min Zhuozhou shook his head with an easygoing attitude, indicating it was no trouble at all.
Seeing that Min Zhuozhou showed no sign of annoyance at being interrupted, the guest relaxed a bit and said politely, You must be Teacher Min, right? I’m Gu Chou, and this is my little niece, Luo Mingyan, nickname Yan’yan.
Just call me by my name, Min Zhuozhou said modestly, taking the initiative to shake hands with him, and added with genuine sincerity, The little girl is so pretty.
No adult dislikes hearing their child praised. Gu Chou smiled, his demeanor growing warmer.
He had originally wanted to call him Brother Min, but then realized Mingyan had already called him big brother. If he called him that too, the family generations would be mixed up, so he had to change his tone: Then I won’t stand on ceremony. May I call you ‘Zhuozhou’?
Min Zhuozhou had no reservations about forms of address and smiled, indicating he could do as he pleased.
Gu Chou explained, This little girl in our family has been obsessed with good looks since she was tiny. As soon as she sees a handsome big brother or pretty big sister, she can’t even walk away. Ever since you walked in, her eyes have been glued to you. Who knows how much she likes you in her heart? I just looked away for a second, and she slipped right over to your side.
The little girl was feeling shy now, pulling at Gu Chou’s hem and hiding behind him, softly protesting, Uncle…
So the good-looking ones are ‘big brothers’, and the average ones are ‘uncles’, huh?
Gu Chou was only in his early twenties, originally several years younger than Min Zhuozhou. He only looked a bit older because he was wearing a suit, but the little girl couldn’t tell the difference and just threw honorifics around haphazardly.
A touch of gentle teasing flashed in Min Zhuozhou’s eyes. The slight hesitation and anxiety he felt earlier about not being liked by children were completely smoothed over by the little girl’s cute antics.
He squatted down. Out of safety considerations, he didn’t pick up the sweet-smelling, soft little girl, but instead wrapped his arms gently around her, asking, Is this okay, Yan’yan?
Yan’yan’s little face flushed pink as she hugged Min Zhuozhou back, staring infatuatedly at his face, and said in a milky voice, Brother, you are so handsome.
Immediately after, she looked toward Min Hua, who was standing quietly nearby, her eyes sparkling bright: You look good too! Can I play with you?
Min Hua had never met such an enthusiastic peer before and introduced himself a little shyly: Hello, my name is Min Hua.
Hua… Yan’yan thought for a moment and asked, Then is your nickname Painter?
Min Hua didn’t quite understand and uttered a soft, bewildered Ah?
Because ‘Painter’ means artist, and it sounds like ‘Pei-yin-te’.
Yan’yan was still young after all, and naturally felt that anyone called Painter was an artist, and anyone with Hua in their name would paint in the future. So she said, Then I’ll call you Brother Painter from now on.
Min Hua good-naturedly accepted his newly acquired English name out of nowhere.
Min Zhuozhou had brought Min Hua here precisely so he could make more new friends, so he was glad to see another child approaching him. Standing up to give the two little ones their space, he turned to Gu Chou and said, Yan’yan is so young, yet her foreign language pronunciation is so standard.
Gu Chou smiled and shook his head: Her Chinese pronunciation isn’t very standard though. She’s Chinese-Italian mixed. She lived abroad before, and the family nanny was used to speaking English.
Min Zhuozhou understood and casually praised the child: No wonder. When I first saw her, I felt like I was looking at a doll.
During their conversation, the remaining groups of guests arrived one after another. Only Ji Subai had called his assistant ahead of time, saying he was stuck in traffic and might arrive a little late.
Recording the show’s opening sequence was part of the preliminary preparation for the variety show and wasn’t live-streamed. Everyone had plenty of time scheduled for the afternoon, so they all expressed their understanding. Even if anyone felt somewhat displeased in their heart, out of courtesy for their first meeting, no one brought it up.
At this moment, the person in charge of the production crew walked over and said that a place had been arranged for everyone to rest and socialize, inviting them to move over.
As Min Zhuozhou led Min Hua along with the staff, he glanced toward the corner and noticed that the solitary little boy was still there.
Sitting there, when the boy noticed Min Zhuozhou’s gaze, he looked back at him timidly. Like a kitten abandoned on the spot, his expression was pitiable, completely out of place with the relaxed atmosphere of the entire venue.
Min Hua noticed it too, looked up, and asked softly, Little Uncle, can we take the little brother sitting over there with us?
Min Zhuozhou pondered. Remembering the child’s rather unfriendly attitude toward him, he worried about causing a conflict, so he coaxed Min Hua to go ahead first: He might be waiting for his parent. We can’t just take him away directly… How about this: I’ll go ask what’s going on, and you go play with Yan’yan and the others first, okay?
Min Hua nodded obediently and agreed gently, Then Little Uncle go ask first. I’ll follow Sister Yan’yan and won’t run around.
Min Zhuozhou patted his hair: Good boy.
After seeing Min Hua off, Min Zhuozhou walked over to the little boy and softened his voice as much as possible to be gentle and friendly: Hello little friend, are you waiting for your family?
The boy looked down with a gloomy expression, not looking at Min Zhuozhou, and merely whispered, My brother will be here in a moment.
Min Zhuozhou asked, Is your brother Ji Subai?
The little boy immediately raised his eyes, looking at him defensively: What do you want to do?
Min Zhuozhou confirmed the child’s identity, but found his reaction amusing, saying peacefully, Baby, I won’t do anything to you or your brother.
The little boy pouted and mumbled softly, Who knows… My brother said…
As if remembering something, the child instantly clamped his mouth shut tight.
Min Zhuozhou’s attitude remained gentle, but he knew in his heart that for this child to be so guarded against him, his adult must have definitely told him something.
Probably realizing he had said the wrong thing, the little boy trembled all over, looking at the adult before him in panic.
A slight trace of astonishment flashed between Min Zhuozhou’s brows, feeling that this child seemed a bit too sensitive.
Children at this age are still filled with youthful innocence; their likes and dislikes are easy to see, and their emotional expressions are very direct. But this little boy gave him a rather uncomfortable feeling… His tightly wound, tense state looked as if he would suffer punishment the moment he said or did the wrong thing.
Once the thought of punishment emerged, Min Zhuozhou fell into a subtle silence. He looked at the child with hesitation, when suddenly a familiar male voice came from behind:
Nan’nan?
Min Zhuozhou turned to look, and sure enough, it was the late-arriving Ji Subai.
The child named Nan’nan seemed to finally see the light of hope. As if granted a grand pardon, he stood up and ran toward Ji Subai, throwing himself against his leg and calling out with deep reliance, Brother!
However, Ji Subai, lacking any tenderness, frowned and pulled the little boy off his leg like picking up a chick. Bending down, he smoothed out his wrinkled suit trousers, softly scolding:
Xi Nan, what did I tell you? Maintain politeness outside and be a little gentleman.
For young children, the power of being called by their full name was second only to the legendary intimidation of a strict parent calling them out. Sure enough, Xi Nan’s eyes dimmed down. He uttered a low Oh and stood beside Ji Subai without making a sound, looking as obedient as could be.
Ji Subai smiled with great satisfaction, then looked at Min Zhuozhou, addressing him politely, Teacher Min, while placing his hand gently on Nan’nan’s shoulder: Nan’nan, did you greet the uncle?
Xi Nan glanced timidly at Min Zhuozhou, wanting to say yes, but was afraid that if he lied, the man in front of him would expose him.
It’s fine, Min Zhuozhou smiled faintly. The little kid sat here waiting for you for a long time, he was probably worried sick.
Ji Subai didn’t focus on the main point of this sentence, Xi Nan’nan’s emotions. Instead, assuming Min Zhuozhou was dissatisfied with his late arrival, he sighed in a low tone: When I was stuck in traffic, I was dying of anxiety too. I’m truly so sorry; Teacher Min won’t blame me, right?
The smile on Min Zhuozhou’s lips slowly faded. He didn’t offer Ji Subai the customary polite exit of It’s fine, it’s not late, but merely looked at Nan’nan and said softly, Coax the little baby properly; otherwise he’ll be upset.
Ji Subai’s hand resting on the child’s shoulder dropped silently, lightly holding Nan’nan’s hand: That goes without saying. Thank you for your concern, Teacher Min.
Min Zhuozhou still maintained a polite demeanor. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he turned around to look for Min Hua.
The moment he turned around, the smile on Ji Subai’s face vanished like tiny osmanthus blossoms brushed away in the autumn wind.
Nan’nan looked at Ji Subai timidly and whispered, Bro… brother, did you get carsick while stuck in traffic? I remember you get carsick.
Ji Subai completely ignored Xi Nan’s question. His gaze turned cold, replacing his usual warm demeanor, and his voice sounded somewhat gloomy: What did he come to find you for? Did you say anything to him?
I didn’t say anything, I don’t know why he came to find me either…
Xi Nan hung his head, his small hand silently tightening around Ji Subai’s, a clear sign of deep insecurity.
Don’t tell him anything, understand? Ji Subai looked toward the direction where Min Zhuozhou left with deep suspicion, emphasizing with double meaning, Especially that matter.
Xi Nan’s small frame shuddered silently. He nodded submissively, only to find that Ji Subai had already released his hand. He wanted to reach out to grab it, but couldn’t catch up to that retreating figure.