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Chapter 48
"Mu Mu?" Bai Le blurted out his name.
Xi Yan thought he was looking at Xiao Mu Mu, so she followed his gaze and was slightly taken aback when she saw that it was an unfamiliar boy.
"You know him?"
Bai Le nodded, his expression complicated. "It's the child I told you about before, the one with the same name as Mu Mu."
His expression was complicated because he saw the young couple with Mu Mu, who turned out to be Xie Qizhi and a strange man. That man should be her husband. He had heard Chen Suqiu gossip about it before, saying that Xie Qizhi had married her college classmate, and that man was a son-in-law who had moved into her family home.
Bai Le had only met Xie Qizhi once, when Xi Yan was "selecting concubines." She and her younger sister were the most favored. In his memory, she was a well-educated and virtuous young lady from a prominent family, with an air of scholarly refinement about her.
I hadn't even noticed when Chen Suqiu mentioned her plans to adopt Mumu; I never imagined that she would be the one to adopt Mu Mu in the end.
Mu Mu didn't notice Bai Le; instead, she quietly hid behind Xie Qizhi, listening intently to the adults speaking.
Bai Le glanced at him several times, hesitating whether to go up and say hello, wondering if it would be disturbing him if he did.
"Dad."
Little Mu Mu clung to Bai Le's leg, wishing he could hang on him. There were still some lipstick marks on his fair face. Bai Le couldn't help but chuckle when he saw this. Just as he was about to reach out and wipe the lipstick marks off his face, he suddenly heard a childish boy's voice hesitantly ring out.
"Big brother?"
Bai Le looked over and saw Lin Xu cautiously peeking out from behind Xie Qizhi. After confirming that it was indeed him, his eyes seemed to light up.
Xie Qizhi was somewhat surprised by Mu Mu's sudden reaction and glanced at Bai Le, "You two know each other?"
Bai Le was unwilling to mention the orphanage again, since Mu Mu had already started anew and was living her own life.
So he only vaguely replied, "We've met before."
Xie Qizhi smiled and didn't press further. She introduced the child beside her generously, "This is Lin Xu, just call him Xiaoxu, he's eight years old."
Bai Le knew this should be his new name, the name given to him by his new parents, and he really couldn't call him by his old name from the orphanage anymore.
So she smiled and patted his head, "Xiaoxu, long time no see."
Mu Mu, no, it should be Lin Xu now. Lin Xu looked at him with shining eyes, but still didn't let go of Xie Qizhi's clothes.
Xie Qizhi's gaze then fell on Mu Mu next to Bai Le. "Is he your child? He's so cute. I saw him at his first birthday party. Kids really do change every day."
Mu Mu wasn't afraid of people at all, and wasn't shy at all. She giggled and her eyes curved into two crescent moons.
Xie Qizhi squatted down, pointed at Xiao Mu Mu, and then said to the silent child beside her, "You should call this little brother. You're the older brother, understand?"
Little Mu Mu probably knew they were talking about her, and tilted her head, curiously looking at this unfamiliar older brother.
Lin Xu glanced at him and suddenly couldn't help but smile, but he immediately realized what he had done, the smile on his lips narrowed, and he lowered his head as if he had done something wrong.
Xie Qizhi looked at him, slightly surprised. This was the first time she had seen the child smile since she had brought him home.
"What's wrong, Xiaoxu? Is something happy?"
"I..." Lin Xu's voice was very soft, then he quickly looked up at Mu Mu, "His face..."
The adults were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Mu Mu's face was kissed by those older girls, and I was just about to wipe his face."
Mu Mu tilted her head and looked up at the adults, wondering what they were laughing at.
Xi Yan smiled faintly, squatted down, and took out a tissue to wipe his face clean.
"Next time someone kisses you, just dodge them." She paused, then added, "Except for Dad and your father."
Watching this scene, Lin Xu recalled what he had just heard and asked cautiously with some curiosity, "Is his name also Mu Mu?"
Xie Qizhi was taken aback, remembering that Mu Mu was his name in the orphanage.
Bai Le nodded, then patted Mu Mu's head and made him look at Lin Xu: "Good boy, call him brother."
Mu Mu sniffed and called out in a childish voice, "Brother."
Lin Xu pursed his lips somewhat shyly and nodded in a very soft voice.
"You kids go play over there." Since the children were all gathered together, Bai Le pointed to a pile of toys nearby, which Old Master Xi had specially prepared for Mu Mu. "Stay with your brother and don't run around."
Mu Mu nodded heavily, then took her short legs and went forward to grab Lin Xu's hand, pulling him towards her.
"Brother, let's go."
Lin Xu was stunned for a moment, and before he could react, he was pulled away.
Xie Qizhi watched the two children's departing figures and smiled, "That's what makes children like them. Xiaoxu is so quiet now."
Bai Le chuckled and said, "Isn't quiet better? If it gets noisy, it'll give people a headache." He seemed to agree with this sentiment.
Xie Qizhi sighed softly, "Xiaoxu is certainly a good kid, I like him very much, it's just that he's too sensitive. Kids who grow up in that kind of environment are bound to be cautious and insecure. Even though I promised that I would always treat him like my own son, he's still afraid of being abandoned."
Bai Le also fell silent, because he felt that Xie Qizhi had said a lot, and he didn't know how to respond.
Xi Yan frowned slightly. He wasn't interested in what they were talking about, nor would he care about people who were unimportant to him. So he turned to look at Bai Le.
Bai Le met his gaze and immediately understood what he meant, but with Xie Qizhi present, he could only tug at his sleeve, cover his mouth, and mouth to ask him to wait a moment.