He Yi nodded, then shook his head.
”Are you afraid or not?” Shang Jingwu was unusually patient.
“I’m afraid of ghosts, but I’m not afraid of you. Even if you are a ghost, you’re a good one,” He Yi said earnestly.
”Why?”
This morning they said he was a good person, and now they’re saying he’s a good ghost. He really doesn’t know how he got associated with the word “good.”
”Because you’re my husband. You give me cake, and you don’t yell at me all the time. You didn’t lock me in the dark room when I made a mistake…” He Yi listed his reasons one by one on his fingers.
Shang Jingwu raised an eyebrow in surprise. This kid wasn’t completely stupid after all; at least he knew he had caused trouble.
He followed up on He Yi’s question by asking, “What mistake did you make?”
He Yi suddenly realized he had let something slip. He wanted to brush it off, but seeing Shang Jingwu’s serious questioning look, he didn’t dare to lie anymore. He lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, “I ate something.”
Seeing him instantly cower like a quail, Shang Jingwu found it amusing, but maintained a serious expression on his face. “Hmm, is there anything else?”
“And…” He Yi scratched his head, thought seriously for a while, and then continued, “I am not proper.”
”What’s wrong with it?” Shang Jingwu asked curiously.
”He ate in a very unseemly manner, grabbing the meat with his hands,” He Yi said listlessly.
The thought of meat made him swallow hard again; he was still so hungry.
”That’s all?” Shang Jingwu asked.
He Yi looked confused. “Is there anything else?”
Shang Jingwu thought to himself, “As expected, this little fool really doesn’t know what trouble he’s caused.” However, he didn’t have the patience to educate the child. Besides, He Yi had only ruined a wedding banquet, which he didn’t consider a big deal. So he said perfunctorily, “That’s all.”
He Yi suddenly remembered something and leaned closer to Shang Jingwu and whispered, “Oh, right, honey, I’ll tell you a secret. Actually, I’m a ghost too.”
Seeing his deliberately mysterious demeanor, Shang Jingwu almost couldn’t help but laugh and casually asked, “A starving ghost?”
To everyone’s surprise, He Yi nodded seriously and said excitedly, “Yes, yes, honey, how did you know?”
Shang Jingwu didn’t take it seriously. Seeing that it was getting late, he skipped the topic and pointed to a set of clothes folded by the bed, saying to He Yi, “Change into those clothes.”
This silly boy got his formal attire all dirty after eating a meal, and now he’s wearing the pajamas the caregiver helped him change into. The family dinner is about to start tonight, and we can’t let him go out like this.
He Yi obediently responded, then cautiously asked, “Can we go eat after I change my clothes? I’m so hungry.”
He didn’t eat breakfast, and he wasn’t full at lunch either, so now his stomach is rumbling again.
”I’ll take you out to eat after you’ve changed, you little glutton,” Shang Jingwu said rather rudely.
He Yi didn’t think there was anything wrong with the nickname “Little Glutton.” Hearing that he could go eat soon, he immediately ran to change his clothes. In front of Shang Jingwu, he quickly stripped off his pajamas and wandered around the room wearing only his underwear. His milky white skin was very eye-catching in the slightly dim room. When he was putting on his pants, he unconsciously stuck out his pert buttocks in front of Shang Jingwu behind him. It took him a while to finally put on his pants.
This little fool looks quite thin when he’s dressed, but I didn’t expect him to be so well-built in all the right places.
Seeing He Yi’s unrestrained manner, Shang Jingwu originally wanted to look away, but somehow ended up watching the whole process of He Yi changing clothes.
He Yi hurriedly buttoned up his shirt and ran excitedly towards Shang Jingwu like a puppy, “Honey, I’m all dressed! Let’s go eat! This little glutton wants to fill his empty stomach.”
Shang Jingwu was amused by him and couldn’t help but ask, “Where did you learn these words?”
He just said he was gluttonous, and now he’s saying he’s completely empty.
”In the textbook,” He Yi said matter-of-factly.
”You still remember what you learned in the textbook?” Shang Jingwu asked, somewhat surprised.
Didn’t they say he hit his head and lost his memory? Could it be that he just doesn’t remember the past, but still remembers what he’s learned?
”Yes, I remember it perfectly. So I’m not a little fool, I’m a little clever one,” He Yi said confidently.
Shang Jingwu smiled noncommittally and led his clever little boy to dinner.
This family banquet was held at the Shang family’s old residence. It was a small family gathering, with no members of the collateral branches participating. Apart from Old Master Shang and Shang Jingwu and his wife, only the Second Uncle’s family was present.
Shang Jingwu and his group arrived late; everyone else had already arrived by the time they got there.
The old man sat in the main seat. When he saw that Shang Jingwu and He Yi had come together, a smile appeared on his face. He waved to He Yi and said, “Little Yi, right? Come sit here with Grandpa.”
He Yi glanced at Shang Jingwu secretly, and when Shang Jingwu nodded slightly, he happily ran to sit down next to the old man and obediently called him “Grandpa”.
The old man noticed their interaction and his wrinkles deepened with a smile. He affectionately patted He Yi’s head and praised, “Isn’t Xiao Yi quite sensible?”
Second Uncle Shang standing to the side looked a little stiff. That afternoon, he had openly and subtly complained to the old man about how He Yi’s performance at the wedding had caused him a lot of trouble and made the business lose face. He didn’t expect that the old man had no intention of pursuing the matter at all.
Although everyone knew that the old man favored Shang Jingwu, he was still extremely jealous.
The only thing that made him feel fortunate was that Shang Jingwu was marrying a man, and a fool who was only a burden. The He family, being a small and insignificant family, was of no help to Shang Jingwu. Even if this marriage brought good luck and allowed the sickly man to live past 28, as long as He Yi did not die, he would not have a legitimate child, because a marriage brought good luck cannot end in divorce, otherwise it would break the rules.
The illegitimate child could never inherit the business; it would eventually fall into the hands of the second branch. Thinking this way made him feel a little better.
He Yi naturally couldn’t understand the power struggles within wealthy families. When he heard the kind-looking old man praising him, he immediately said proudly, “Yes, yes, I’m very sensible.”
This time he didn’t grab the food on the table with his hands, which shows he’s really well-behaved!
The old man was amused by him and happily introduced the others present to him: “This is your second uncle and aunt, and your two cousins.”
He Yi greeted everyone respectfully, and the old man praised him a couple more times before cheerfully inviting everyone to sit down and eat.
He Yi wasn’t familiar with anyone else, except for Shang Jingwu, whom he knew a little better. He felt safer sitting with someone he knew, so he patted the seat next to him, craned his neck, and said to Shang Jingwu, who was sitting on the other side, “Honey! Come sit here!”
His actions drew everyone’s attention, but He Yi remained oblivious. Seeing that Shang Jingwu didn’t move, he continued to enthusiastically call out to his new friend, just like a kindergarten child.
Just as the Second Uncle Shang was about to reprimand He Yi for his lack of manners, his wife Xu Qian stopped him by pulling on his sleeve.
Shang Xingzhi followed his wife’s gaze and saw that the old man not only did not blame He Yi at all, but was smiling so much that his eyes were narrowed into slits.
The old man was clearly very satisfied with his granddaughter-in-law. Looking at his beloved grandson with a sour face, he said, “Jingwu, you can sit next to Xiaoyi.”
Shang Jingwu reluctantly let the caregiver push the wheelchair over, and whispered to He Yi, “Don’t eat too messily later, remember to use utensils.”
”This kid is so restless while eating. I’m afraid he might splatter oil all over him while he’s eating,” Shang Jingwu thought with disdain.
He Yi nodded obediently and replied, “Okay, honey, I know.”
Then he stared longingly at the appetizers on the table, licked his lips, and asked expectantly, “Can we start eating now?”
The old man smiled and pushed the snacks in front of him, saying with a kind face, “Little Yi must be starving, right? Try this red bean cake first, and I’ll have someone prepare the dishes right away.”
”Thank you, Grandpa!”
As He Yi spoke, he couldn’t help but reach out to take it. Remembering what Shang Jingwu had just said, he looked at Shang Jingwu with a troubled expression and asked, “Honey, what should we eat this with?”
Shang Jingwu started having a headache again, but with the old man present, he couldn’t directly vent his anger on He Yi. So he simply picked up a piece of pastry with his chopsticks, threw it into the plate in front of He Yi, and said irritably, “Use your mouth.”
He Yi said “Oh,” then lowered his head and, like a puppy, started munching on the pastries directly from the plate, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
”Big cousin, don’t be so mean to sister-in-law,” Shang Jingyun said with a smile.
Shang Xingzhi quickly gave his son a wink, signaling him not to interrupt.
Before Shang Jingwu could say anything, He Yi retorted, “My husband isn’t fierce at all, not fierce at all.”
Shang Jingyun, oblivious to his father’s meaningful glance, continued jokingly, “My sister-in-law is quite protective of his own, eldest cousin, you’d better treat him better in the future.”
Shang Jingwu glanced at him indifferently without replying. He Yi was busy eating red bean cake and didn’t have time to talk, so the atmosphere suddenly turned cold. Xu Qian quickly tried to smooth things over: “Jingyun, would you like to try this dessert too?”
Shang Jingyun’s smile vanished, and he said bluntly, “I don’t like sweets.”
Shang Xingzhi kicked him under the table and scolded him in a low voice, “How dare you talk to your mother like that, you brat?”
Shang Jingyun curled his lip in disdain and muttered under his breath, “She’s not my biological mother.”
The younger son, Shang Jingzhao, shook Xu Qian’s arm and said in a spoiled tone, “Mom, I want something sweet.”
Just as Xu Qian was about to help her son pick up some pastries, Shang Jingyun suddenly shoved the whole plate in front of him, looked at his adopted younger brother with hostility, and mouthed silently, “I’m not giving you any.”