“Little short legs, stunned?”
A cold, slightly mocking voice came from behind. Xiao Asui turned her head and saw Fifth Uncle Nian Jinglin looking at her with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.
“The Nan family isn’t as poor and shabby as you imagined. Happy?”
Nan Jingyan frowned slightly, while Nan Zhizhi instinctively pulled A Sui behind her, calling out with displeasure,
“Fifth Brother!”
Nian Jinglin glanced at her, his tone equally unkind.
“Don’t call me brother. Don’t think that just because I went to pick you up, I’ve forgiven you. I don’t like either you or this little short legs.”
Thinking about how the birthday gift he had secretly sent to this child was dismissed as shabby and thrown into the trash, Nian Jinglin couldn’t muster even a shred of fondness for the delicate-looking little girl before him.
In his eyes, this child was just like her father—both adept at using their looks to deceive others.
Xiao Asui glared angrily at Fifth Uncle. “A Sui is not little short legs!”
Nian Jinglin sneered.
“Why don’t you look around and see whose legs are shorter than yours?”
Xiao Asui actually did glance around. Since she was standing, all she could see were legs—everyone’s longer than hers.
But so what?
She was only four and a half years old. It wasn’t like she wouldn’t grow taller.
This Fifth Uncle was so annoying!
She wanted to throw him away!
Perhaps seeing the little girl’s puffed-up, frustrated expression, Nan Jingyan finally spoke up to stop it.
“Old Fifth, don’t bully the child.”
Old Fifth shrugged and walked inside on his own.
The butler in a traditional Chinese robe finally stepped forward. He first glanced at Nan Zhizhi, then looked at Xiao Asui beside her, bending slightly to offer a kind smile.
“This must be the young miss, right? Welcome home.”
Xiao Asui was still upset, but suddenly feeling the warmth and kindness from the other person, the little girl immediately forgot about the mean uncle. She lifted her head and gave the butler a sweet smile.
“Hello, Uncle!”
The butler was forty-eight, so calling him “Uncle” was perfectly fine.
Her crisp, childish voice carried no hint of awkwardness or hesitation—just hearing it brought joy.
The butler’s smile deepened.
Truly the child of the Sixth Young Miss, just as adorable as she was in her childhood.
The butler was delighted, but Nian Jinglin, who had just walked ahead, and the four uncles behind him felt inexplicably displeased.
If they remembered correctly, this little girl hadn’t once called them “Uncle” on her own since leaving the Wan family, had she?
She wouldn’t even call her own uncles, yet she was so eager to please the butler first.
So young, yet already so calculating!
Xiao Asui paid no mind to the uncles behind her and followed her mother and the butler into the villa.
Nan Jingyan had already informed the family about Nan Zhizhi bringing the child back. Glancing toward the direction of the old master’s study upstairs, he signaled to Nan Zhizhi.
“We’ll talk about you and Wan Yuntao later. First, take the child to see Father and apologize properly.”
Nan Zhizhi nodded and was about to lead Xiao Asui upstairs when she noticed Nan Jingyan and the other four following closely behind.
Clearly, they were worried that their younger sister might be scolded by their father and were ready to step in and speak up for her at any moment.
Nian Jinglin claimed he hadn’t forgiven her, but his footsteps still followed his brothers.
Nan Zhizhi saw this, and her heart ached with emotion once more.
The six adults and one child made their way to the door of the old master’s study. As soon as they knocked, a deep yet steady voice came from inside—authoritative and cold.
"No need to come see me. It was your brothers who made you come back."
The implication was clear—he had not agreed.
Not agreeing meant not forgiving.
Nan Zhizhi's face paled, her eyes reddening once more, both because of her father's attitude and because of her own past willful foolishness.
But whether it was her or the five Nan brothers, they all knew their father never went back on his word. If he said he wouldn't see her, he truly wouldn't.
Nan Jingyan's expression tightened slightly. Just as he was about to say something, a crisp, childish voice suddenly spoke up beside his feet, addressing the butler who had accompanied them:
"Uncle Butler, Mama fell on the stairs earlier. Can you get some medicine to help Mama?"
The child's voice, completely unguarded, clearly reached everyone's ears.
It also reached the elderly man inside the door.
The old man, who had been sitting upright, tensed for a moment before quickly regaining his expressionless demeanor, still paying no heed to the commotion outside.
Meanwhile, outside the door, the Nan brothers' expressions darkened upon hearing Xiao Asui's words.
Their little sister fell?
Why hadn't she mentioned it earlier?!
Nan Jingyan immediately pressed in a low voice,
"Where did you fall? Why didn't you say anything when you got back?"
Nan Jinghe asked coldly,
"Was it Wan Yuntao's doing?"
Nan Jinglan said,
"I'll contact the family doctor right now to come give you a full check-up."
Nan Jingting was the most impulsive. Without another word, he turned and hurried downstairs to call for someone.
Although Nan Jinglin didn't speak, his brow remained tightly furrowed as he kept his gaze fixed on Nan Zhizhi.
Xiao Asui was suddenly pushed aside by her uncles and felt a bit displeased.
What's going on? What's going on?
That's A Sui's mama!
Nan Zhizhi didn't notice her daughter being pushed aside. Suddenly surrounded by her brothers' concern, she was a bit taken aback.
Come to think of it, her back had hurt quite a bit when she hit the stairs earlier, but then the pain seemed to have suddenly vanished.
If Sui Sui hadn't brought it up, she would have forgotten about it entirely.
Did Sui Sui mention it on purpose to help draw her father's attention inside the house?
The thought made Nan Zhizhi somewhat astonished. Was that even possible?
If so, her Sui Sui was far too clever!
Before Nan Zhizhi could ponder further, she was quickly ushered away by her brothers' insistence to undergo a check-up.
Xiao Asui was naturally left behind, only to find herself surrounded by her five uncles.
Nan Jingting was the first to ask her,
"What happened with your mother's injury?"
Nan Jinglin also asked with a stern face,
"Was it that scoundrel Wan Yuntao who hurt her?! Did you help your rotten father bully your mother again?!"
Nan Jinglin's question wasn't without reason.
He had heard before that the Wan family's little princess had skipped her own mother's birthday, instead pestering her father to visit her idol, Lu Xuetong, on set.
The incident had even made headlines, with Lu Xuetong being accused of being the other woman. In the end, it was Nan Zhizhi who stepped forward to clear Lu Xuetong's name.
Later, he had someone look into it and was told the child had thrown a tantrum at home, forcing her mother to speak up.
Remembering all this, Nan Jinglin couldn't help but view his little niece with distaste.
"I'm warning you, since you've come back to the Nan family, behave yourself. If I find out you're secretly contacting that father of yours, don't blame me for packing you up and sending you back."
With Nan Zhizhi absent, Nan Jinglin made no effort to hide his disdain and disgust for Xiao Asui.
Seeing him grow increasingly outrageous, especially towards a child barely over four years old, Nan Jingyan and the others were about to step in to stop him. Unexpectedly, Xiao Asui's voice cut through faster than theirs.
She tilted her head back, surrounded yet not the least bit intimidated. Instead, she planted her hands on her hips and glared at Nian Jinglin.
"You're so annoying! I don't want to talk to you!"
And she only spoke without making a move, leaving A Sui with no justification for self-defense.
Hearing her call him annoying, Nian Jinglin became even more convinced that this little shorty had two faces. In a fit of anger, he was about to scold her.
"You…"
But before he could finish, the butler appeared out of nowhere, holding a tray, and addressed her directly,
"Little Miss Sui Sui, you must be hungry. Why not come over and have some snacks?"
The reprimand Nian Jinglin was about to deliver suddenly got stuck in his throat at the butler's address of "Little Miss Sui Sui."
Belatedly, he realized something and turned stiffly toward the butler.
"What did you call her…? Isn't her name Jiaojiao?"
The butler looked at his fifth young master with pity, but his tone remained calm.
"Little Miss Sui Sui is the biological daughter Madam brought home today. As for the Jiaojiao you mentioned, she is likely the child Wan Yuntao and another woman raised in the Wan family."
As he spoke, the butler couldn't resist asking his young master, his tone sincere,
"Didn't you know about this, Young Master Jinglin?"
Nian Jinglin: …
He did not know.