"Hmm?!"
Mr. Ji was almost lting from the sweet, soft voice of Baobao, and without thinking, he reached out to hug the little guy, looking like he wanted to pick up Baobao.
Baobao noticed his intention and quickly pushed away with his little hands, slipping out of Mr. Ji’s arms.
"Baobao..." Mr. Ji was quite upset at being rejected. It was one thing to be turned down by his granddaughter, but even this six-year-old little rascal didn’t care for his old bones?
"Great grandpa, you’re getting old, you can’t just pick up Baobao like that! Mommy says, as people get older, their bones beco looser and more brittle, so they can’t just pick up kids. You’re already eighty-five, your bones can’t take it..."
Misunderstood, Baobao had no idea that he had inadvertently hurt Mr. Ji’s tender heart, which was bleeding taphorically, and he earnestly began lecturing the still secretly heartbroken Mr. Ji.
Mr. Ji’s expression changed from sad to happy as he finally understood that it wasn’t that this little guy didn’t like him, but rather the opposite—the little guy was worried about him!
"Alright! Alright! Great grandpa won’t pick you up, I’ll just hold your hand, okay?" Mr. Ji tried to hold Baobao’s hand, and seeing no objection, he reassuredly led him to the living room.
Baobao was in a good mood, swinging Mr. Ji’s hand up high, but he changed his usual habit of jumping around while he walked, carefully matching Mr. Ji’s slower pace into the living room.
"Great grandpa, you must rember what Baobao told you just now! Grandpa only broke his leg because he wasn’t careful."
Mr. Ji had had a fair amount of contact with Mr. Ji from the Ji Family before. Now, hearing the little guy’s words, he looked at Ji Rui in surprise, "Your dad broke his leg? When did that happen?"
Ji Rui didn’t bla Baobao for speaking out of turn, and he calmly replied, "Yeah, he fell down the stairs not too long ago."
"How could he be so careless?!"
Mr. Ji frowned. Previously, he saw Mr. Ji from the Ji Family as an opponent; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they viewed each other as thorns in their eyes.
But now, because of Le Tong, because of Baobao, Mr. Ji from the Ji Family was considered family in Mr. Ji’s eyes. Mr. Ji was straightforward, so since they were family now, past grievances were wiped away.
And for him, it was only natural to care about family, wasn’t it?
Ji Rui, being soone who was used to dealing with the world, didn’t find Mr. Ji’s obvious change in attitude surprising.
"He probably got dizzy early in the morning." Ji Rui gave an answer that seed dismissive, yet was irrefutable.
"Dizzy?" Mr. Ji wasn’t quite convinced by this answer.
"Yeah, grandpa says it’s common to feel dizzy at his age."
Back when Mr. Ji from the Ji Family was worried his smart grandson wouldn’t believe him, he did emphasize this point several tis, and thus Baobao was deeply convinced.
Just as Mr. Ji was pondering, Baobao looked at him seriously and said, "Great grandpa, you’re not young anymore either, you should be careful in your daily comings and goings."
Being comforted by his thoughtful great-grandson like this, the gloominess in Mr. Ji’s heart began to lt away like snow in the hot sun.
"Great grandpa understands..."
Aside from Yang Sheng, who seed like a rebellious grandson, no one else in the Yang Family truly cared about his old bones anymore.
As Mr. Ji was still imrsed in a wave of emotion, Baobao turned around and picked up a small plate of snacks from the coffee table, respectfully offering it to him.
"Great grandpa, have so snacks. Mommy says that old people should eat small, frequent als to ensure enough nutritional supply without overloading the stomach."
These were indeed words Le Tong had told Baobao concerning Mr. Ji from the Ji Family. But when Baobao repeated them now, it felt like Le Tong was specifically advising Mr. Ji.
This gave Mr. Ji the mistaken impression that, actually, Le Tong was also very concerned about his old bones.
It’s just that she might be too shy to express it directly, so she conveyed it through Baobao’s words and actions.
Yang Sheng, sitting next to Ji Rui, watched Baobao’s series of heartwarming actions and secretly gave the little guy a thumbs up.
Baobao proudly winked back at him and then saw Mr. Ji enjoying the snacks he had been given, which allowed Baobao to relax and bounce over to Le Tong, bending down to plant a kiss on Nuonuo’s chubby cheek.
"Mommy, has Nuonuo gotten fatter?"
The little guy knelt in front of the sofa, resting his chin in his hands, tilting his head as he looked at Le Tong.
Le Tong stared into the little guy’s blinking eyes, wondering, what was the little rascal up to now?
"Silly boy, Nuonuo is so small now, gaining weight every day is completely normal."
Le Tong might not have personal experience raising kids, but she had watched plenty of parenting shows and read parenting books. She knew that a healthy newborn baby should gain about two hundred to two hundred fifty grams a week.
Baobao responded with an "Oh...," then proficiently picked up the now full and burping Nuonuo.
Baobao skillfully cradled Nuonuo, gently swaying her in the hallway, starting to hum a lullaby that Le Tong didn’t understand to soothe Nuonuo.
Mr. Ji, who was eating his snacks, pricked his ears at the sound for a while and beckoned the little guy over.
Baobao carefully carried the little one over, "Baobao, let great grandpa hold Nuonuo."
Baobao hesitated for a mont, then turned back to ask Le Tong, "Mommy, Nuonuo is so small and light, it’s okay for great grandpa to hold her, right?"
Le Tong also hesitated; of course, her hesitation was different from Baobao’s. She hesitated because she feared that refusing even such a small request would deeply sadden Mr. Ji.
"Mm."
Seeing Le Tong finally nodding, both the elderly and the young alike sighed in relief.
Carefully placing Nuonuo into Mr. Ji’s arms, Baobao scampered between Yang Sheng and Ji Rui, climbing up like a monkey and hooking his arms around both their necks.
"Uncle, when are you going to take Baobao out for that seafood feast?"
Before leaving R City, Yang Sheng promised that once Baobao had recovered, he would take him out for a seafood dinner—and this little foodie had never forgotten.
"Eat, eat, eat. Aren’t you afraid of becoming a pig?" Yang Sheng pinched the little guy’s nose. Regarding the way this little guy had adeptly addressed him as "uncle," Yang Sheng found it incredibly pleasant to hear.
If only he could hear Le Tong call him "Brother," he figured it would be even sweeter.
"Mommy, when are we going ho?!"
This little guy was getting smarter by the day, knowing that the decision-making was now entirely in Mommy’s hands because Daddy always listened to Mommy.
"In the afternoon." Le Tong hadn’t figured out why Baobao had suddenly asked about this.
"Then can we leave a little later? If we don’t claim the seafood feast Uncle owes Baobao, it’ll expire!"
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