After heading out, Wen Niao got into the executive car parked right at the entrance.
“Uncle Li, I want to go to downtown Jincheng. Could you drive me there, please?”
Wen Niao urged the young man in the driver’s seat with a pitiful expression.
Li Yunqian was Wen Jingyu’s right-hand man and driver. Having worked for the Wen family for over two years, he was trustworthy and reliable. Wen Jingyu always felt entirely at ease leaving more important matters in his hands.
“Young Master, the boss has an important contract that needs to be signed urgently. Let me drop off the documents for him first, and then I will take you to downtown. Is that alright?”
“Alright, Uncle Li.”
The executive car parked downstairs at the Wen Corporation building, and Wen Niao found himself growing a bit bored waiting inside.
The cold air outside had caused a layer of fog to form on the car window. Wen Niao used his finger to trace upon it.
On the window:
A little boy wearing tiger pajamas wore an expression that was extremely reluctant yet utterly helpless, looking wonderfully adorable. Wen Niao vividly recreated the look of Luo Jin wearing his pajamas the other day.
Above the head of the arrogant yet adorable little figure, he drew a dialogue box, accompanied by a cute emoticon:
ヽ(ゝω)☆
Looking at the little figure on the window, Wen Niao was reminded of Luo Jin’s embarrassed look that day, and as he thought about it, he couldn’t help pressing his lips together into a smile.
When Li Yunqian opened the car door, he saw the Young Master sitting there with a dazed, silly look on his face and was amused by Wen Niao’s foolish appearance.
Seeing that Li Yunqian had returned, Wen Niao cleared his throat and straightened his expression to look more serious.
When Luo Jin came downstairs for breakfast, he scanned the entire villa and couldn’t find Wen Niao anywhere, which made him feel deeply insecure. He sat at the dining table with a slightly stiff body, eating his breakfast numbly.
The observant Tang Miao noticed Luo Jin’s embarrassed gaze and his slightly tense posture born of a lack of security, and she explained with a gentle voice:
“Xiao Jin, Niao Niao had things to attend to early this morning, but he’ll be back later. Don’t worry, relax. From now on, this is your home too, just treat it like your own place.”
Hearing Tang Miao’s words, Luo Jin’s tense body slowly relaxed.
He thanked Tang Miao somewhat cautiously, then buried his head in his food and ate earnestly without uttering another word.
After finishing breakfast, Tang Miao went upstairs back to her room.
Wen Jingyu had to head to the office for work after breakfast.
“Xiao Jin, take your time eating. Once you’re done, feel free to look around. Just let the servants clean up the dining table. Uncle is heading out now.”
“Alright, goodbye Uncle Wen!”
Luo Jin ate a little and then returned to his room. The flowers in the porcelain vase on the nightstand had withered tips at the petals, looking completely dejected, just like Luo Jin’s mood.
So boring, unhappy.
The Maybach parked downstairs at a shopping mall in downtown Jincheng, the prime location radiating an atmosphere of wealth and luxury.
“Uncle Li, I’m going to look around the mall. You can pick me up in the afternoon; I’ll call you then. Bye-bye!”
After seeing Li Yunqian off, Wen Niao walked into a boutique gift shop with an exquisitely warm and cozy interior.
Before he could even clearly register the scene inside, Wen Niao was tackled to the ground by an enthusiastic behemoth.
A giant Husky was enthusiastically pouncing on Wen Niao and licking his face, which was more than Wen Niao could quite handle.
“Yuanyuan, get up quickly! I’m going to be crushed to the point where I can’t breathe, cough cough!”
Yuanyuan was a typical little foodie. When it was young, it looked foolishly cute, and while it was still cute as an adult, it had evolved into a hundred-pound cutie.
Looking at Yuanyuan’s ever-increasing weight and increasingly round physique, Xia Mexi had changed its original name of Haha to Yuanyuan.
Man and dog shoved at each other, neither willing to yield, each afraid of losing the upper hand first.
The Husky dependently pressed against Wen Niao’s neck, emitting a rumbling sound from its throat.
After being forcefully pushed away by Wen Niao, the Husky looked at Wen Niao with a hint of grievance, whimpering with soft whines as if crying out against injustice.
Seeing Yuanyuan’s pitiful appearance, Wen Niao didn’t have the heart to scold it any further.
“Yuanyuan, do you still think you’re a puppy? Look how cute you were when you were little, how did you manage to grow so crooked as you got older?
Look at you, you’re almost as round as a ball now, yet you still pounce on me for dear life. Are you trying to crush me to death?”
Wen Niao complained mercilessly.
Upon hearing this, the Husky refused to let it rest, yipping and howling endlessly as man and dog started bickering once more.
“You two, fighting again. Every time you meet you bicker, there’s really no helping you. By the way, Niao Niao, it’s been a while since you came by. Is there something you’re looking to buy today?”
The boutique owner was a very kind young man. The Wen family had shown him grace in the past, and Wen Niao was also very endearing, so he had always looked after Wen Niao warmly.
“Brother Mo, a friend of mine is having a birthday soon, and it’s on Christmas Eve. I want to prepare an exquisite and thoughtful gift for him.”
“We just got some new novelties in recently. Niao Niao, take a look and let me know which one catches your eye, and I’ll wrap it up for you.”
“Alright, Brother Mo, thank you.”
Wen Niao wandered around the shop for a long time without finding a single gift to his liking.
“Niao Niao, if you really have no idea what to buy, why not get a cute plush toy? People love them, most people would be happy with a gift like that.”
Xia Mexi’s suggestion made Wen Niao’s eyes light up.
“Thank you, Brother Mo, I’ll go pick one out right away.”
Yuanyuan stayed in the boutique, sniffing here and scratching there, a pure little troublemaker.
Wen Niao cheerfully headed over to the plush toy section he had previously passed over.
Every single toy was adorable, and Wen Niao felt his indecisiveness acting up again.
I like this one, awww, that one is so cute too.
Wuwuwu, I want to take them all home.
。(ˊωˋ)*。
In the end, Wen Niao chose a goofy and adorable penguin plushie: the little penguin wore a small yellow backpack and a light green hat, with the two little cotton balls below the hat tied into a bow.
To make it convenient for Luo Jin to hold while sleeping, Wen Niao had this penguin plushie custom-made in a size measuring 78 centimeters long and 67 centimeters wide.
The plushie would take three days to complete. After saying goodbye to Yuanyuan and Xia Mexi, Wen Niao left the boutique.
Wen Niao found a bakery with good reviews and ordered a ten-inch Black Forest cake.
He asked the clerk for candles and a birthday crown, and after scheduling to pick up the cake in three days, Wen Niao called Li Yunqian to pick him up.
When Wen Niao returned home, it was already evening. At that moment, a torrential downpour suddenly started outside, accompanied by rolling thunder and a flash of lightning that tore across the sky. The villa was dead silent, making it feel rather hair-raising.
The servants had all gone off duty by this hour, Tang Miao had already turned in for the night, and Wen Jingyu was still working overtime at the company and hadn’t come home yet. The entire villa was pitch-black and felt completely empty.
Wen Niao pushed open the door, turned on the lights in the villa’s living room, changed his shoes, and went upstairs to knock on Luo Jin’s bedroom door.
Inside the bedroom:
Luo Jin was curled up under the covers, drawing himself into a tight ball, holding the soft blanket tightly as if lacking any sense of security.
He seemed to have fallen into a nightmare, his brow furrowed tightly, his complexion slightly pale, and a thin layer of sweat slicking his forehead.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Luo Jin’s body gave a start.
Wen Niao remembered the plot transmitted by System 101:
It was on a thunderstorm night just like this that Director Song was picked up by his family and taken away with his luggage.
At that time, Luo Jin was still young and simply thought he was being abandoned yet again.
Director Song’s departure hurt him all the more, making him feel that he truly wasn’t worthy of being loved, and making him unwilling to trust anyone else or approach strangers anymore.