Yu Ruicheng was cold by nature and had even less to say to people he didn't know well. He merely gave a slight nod.
Su Huaiming nodded back without trying to strike up a conversation and getting the cold shoulder.
Fu Xiaoxiao dragged his suitcase around the house as though inspecting his territory. After making a circuit, he looked up at Su Huaiming and asked, "Where's our room?"
Yu Ruicheng spoke. "Upstairs. Pick one yourself."
Short and to the point, without a word to spare.
Su Huaiming and Fu Xiaoxiao took their suitcases upstairs. Fu Xiaoxiao chose the room he thought was coolest and dragged his suitcase inside.
After putting away his luggage, Su Huaiming came out and saw a fair, chubby little dumpling at the door.
The little boy was about the same height as Fu Xiaoxiao, with bright, round eyes like black agates. He was very cute.
Though it was their first meeting, the little boy wasn't afraid of Su Huaiming at all. He looked up at him, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. "Big brother, you're sooo handsome!"
Who didn't like a sweet-talking child? Su Huaiming smiled, squatted down, and gently stroked the little boy's hair.
"My name's Yu Xuanxuan." The little boy opened his mouth wide to show Su Huaiming the tooth he'd accidentally knocked out. "I've got a lithp lately, so pleathe be..."
Yu Xuanxuan suddenly got stuck. He'd forgotten the word his brother had taught him earlier and scratched his soft hair in confusion.
"Understanding," Su Huaiming prompted with a smile.
Yu Xuanxuan's eyes went round, and he opened his mouth with a wow. He stared at Su Huaiming in amazement. "Big brother, you're tho amazing! How did you know what I wanted to thay?"
Before Su Huaiming could answer, Fu Xiaoxiao came out of the room.
Yu Xuanxuan was friendly with strangers. "Hello, my name's Xuanxuan. What'th yourth?"
"I'm Xiao Xiao. I'm three years old."
"Me too!" Yu Xuanxuan immediately went over to him and asked, "When's your birthday?"
The two little ones had no trouble communicating, and the more they talked, the more excited they got.
Su Huaiming noticed that Fu Xiaoxiao's bratty temper seemed to be reserved for adults; he was fairly friendly toward children his own age.
Children's friendships were strange. After just a few words, Yu Xuanxuan affectionately took Fu Xiaoxiao's hand and offered to show him his dolls.
But before they could go, the villa's front door was pushed open again. The third group of guests had arrived.
A tall, handsome man walked in, holding a little girl's hand. She wore a pink lace dress with a fluffy coat and looked younger than both Yu Xuanxuan and Fu Xiaoxiao.
[Ahhh, Film Emperor Ji has finally made his comeback! This fan is going to cry herself unconscious in the bathroom!]
[That heartless man hasn't given us a scrap of news for two whole years! We've been crying and wailing in his supertopic every day, and we've watched his old movies so many times we've worn them smooth!]
[Ji Mingzhe's daughter is so cute. She'll definitely be a great beauty when she grows up.]
[These three little cubs are so adorable! Come here and let Auntie kiss you all, one by one!]
When Yu Xuanxuan saw their new friend, he immediately pulled Fu Xiaoxiao down the stairs and pattered over to Ji Mingzhe and his daughter.
"Hello, everyone! My name'th Yu Xuanxuan."
Following Yu Xuanxuan's lead, Fu Xiaoxiao also introduced himself. "I'm Xiao Xiao."
Ji Mingzhe was the oldest person there, with a mature, refined air. He smiled gently and greeted the children without putting on any airs.
"Hello, I'm Ji Mingzhe. Nice to meet you." As he spoke, Ji Mingzhe held out his hand.
Yu Xuanxuan and Fu Xiaoxiao each wrapped a soft little hand around one of Ji Mingzhe's fingers and gave it a gentle shake, making do with that as a handshake.
Ji Youyou was young, shy, and timid around strangers. When the two unfamiliar children suddenly ran over, she was so frightened that she hugged her father's leg and hid behind him.
After greeting Ji Mingzhe, Fu Xiaoxiao and Yu Xuanxuan turned their eyes toward Ji Youyou, who had only half her face showing.
Ji Mingzhe lowered his head and stroked his daughter's cheek comfortingly. "Youyou, say hello to them. Haven't you been wanting to meet these two big brothers?"
Feeling a little safer with her father, Ji Youyou cautiously peeked out from behind his leg, her cheeks red. Blinking, she said in a voice as tiny as a mosquito's hum, "I-I'm Ji Youyou."
Yu Xuanxuan gave her a sweet smile. "Hello, little thithter Youyou."
Seeing the smile on Yu Xuanxuan's face, Ji Youyou grew a little bolder and said politely, "Big brother Xuanxuan."
Then she turned to the coolly dressed Fu Xiaoxiao and said softly, "Little-little big brother."
Fu Xiaoxiao couldn't help frowning when he heard Ji Youyou's pronunciation.
Being called big brother by a little girl was one thing, but little-little big brother? Didn't that make him sound especially little?!
Fu Xiaoxiao corrected Ji Youyou's pronunciation. "It's not 'little-little.' It's Xiao Xiao."
Ji Youyou tilted her head in confusion. "Little-little?"
"Not 'little-little.'" Fu Xiaoxiao exaggerated the shape of his mouth, pursing his little lips. "It's Xiao Xiao!"
Ji Youyou copied Fu Xiaoxiao, pursing her lips too. "Xiao Xiao?"
"Not Xiao Xiao," Fu Xiaoxiao went on. "It's little-little!"
Ji Youyou: "Huh??"
Ji Mingzhe: "..."
The other adults: "..."
The livestream viewers: "..."
[Hahahahaha, Xiao Xiao, what are you teaching her? You've got Youyou all confused!]
[Got it. Fu Xiaoxiao is little-little big brother.]
[The two little cubs look so cute pursing their lips! I know they're doing it because they want me to kiss them, doge.jpg]
[Watching human cubs chat is so much fun. I could watch all day!]
After Ji Youyou and Fu Xiaoxiao finally sorted out the pronunciation, Yu Xuanxuan's eyes darted around. He stood on tiptoe and waved repeatedly in a certain direction. "Big brother, come over here!"
Yu Ruicheng, who had been in the kitchen, walked over and gave Ji Mingzhe a slight nod. "Brother Ji."
Ji Mingzhe had entered the entertainment industry at eight and become the youngest film emperor at seventeen. He had won countless awards and, in recent years, stepped behind the scenes to become a film investor. He held a high standing in the industry.
He didn't mind Yu Ruicheng's cool attitude and held out his hand warmly. "Long time no see, Ruicheng."
Ji Mingzhe then offered his hand to Su Huaiming. "We're all friends from now on."
Su Huaiming shook Ji Mingzhe's hand too. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
While Su Huaiming and Ji Mingzhe were talking, Yu Xuanxuan looked up at his brother, who had remained silent. Looking a little anxious, he tugged at the hem of his brother's clothes.
Yu Ruicheng's expression stiffened, but he acted as though he hadn't felt it and deliberately avoided looking at Yu Xuanxuan.
Seeing his brother playing dumb again, Yu Xuanxuan folded his arms and sighed helplessly.
He took his brother's hand and forcibly pulled him forward a few steps. Then he said to Su Huaiming and Ji Mingzhe, "This ith my big brother. He lookth cool, but he's actually really happy to meet you. He liketh thinging and thkiing, so you have to invite him out to play later. He really wantth thomeone to keep him company..."
Yu Xuanxuan lisped, but his little mouth was nimble. He chattered on and on without the slightest sign of stopping.
Yu Ruicheng always wore a cold expression and never showed any unnecessary emotion, but this time everyone could sense a hint of a breakdown on his face.
[Hahahahaha, Xuanxuan may be little, but he's definitely a social butterfly!]
[Yu Ruicheng: Please shut up, you're about to expose all my secrets!]
[Could it be that Yu Ruicheng isn't cold, just socially anxious?]
[A socially anxious big brother and a social butterfly little brother, what a fun combination!]
[Look, the tips of Yu Ruicheng's ears are red!]
[Hahahahaha, I can feel Yu Ruicheng's breakdown and embarrassment through the screen.]
When Yu Xuanxuan finally finished, Yu Ruicheng merely met Su Huaiming's and Ji Mingzhe's eyes before he couldn't hold it together anymore. "I'm going outside for some air," he said, then hurried off.
Yu Xuanxuan watched his brother leave and sighed like a world-weary old man, looking as though he worried himself sick over him.
"Make sure you invite my big brother out to play sometime," Yu Xuanxuan reminded them again.
Ji Mingzhe smiled and said gently, "All right, I certainly will."
Yu Xuanxuan and Fu Xiaoxiao went out to play together. Su Huaiming had just taken a step when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ji Youyou hugging her father's leg and peeking at him.
Su Huaiming met Ji Youyou's gaze. The little girl's cheeks turned red, and she shyly hid again, burying her whole face against her father's leg.
Su Huaiming thought the little girl was cute. He took the last milk candy from his pocket, squatted down, and held it out to Ji Youyou. "Would you like a candy, Youyou?"
Hearing Su Huaiming's gentle voice, Ji Youyou moved her little hand and secretly peeked out with one eye.
When her eyes met Su Huaiming's, Ji Youyou shyly hid again. Su Huaiming waited patiently, and only then did she smile at him, her cheeks red. She reached out a fair, tender little hand and took the milk candy from his palm. In a soft, sweet voice, she said, "Thank you, big brother."
"You're welcome," Su Huaiming said with a smile. "I'm glad you like it."
Seeing Su Huaiming smile, Ji Youyou hid behind her father's leg again, though she kept sneaking glances at him.
Ji Mingzhe hadn't expected his daughter to like handsome men at such a young age. He chuckled and turned to Su Huaiming. "Youyou likes you very much."
Su Huaiming smiled and looked at Ji Youyou. "I like Youyou very much too."
Ji Youyou shyly hugged her father's leg like a little snail and refused to come out at all.
The livestream viewers were all discussing how cute Ji Youyou was, but a group of Su Huaiming's antis were still making a fuss.
[Su Huaiming is so scheming, trying to ride the film emperor's and his daughter's coattails again.]
[Look at Su Huaiming acting like such a simp. It's disgusting.]
[Get lost! Su Huaiming, stay away from my idol!]
[Ji Mingzhe entered the entertainment industry early and has long been familiar with these unspoken rules. I'm dying, does Su Huaiming think he can ride anyone's coattails?]
The comments were full of people accusing Su Huaiming of riding Ji Mingzhe's coattails, but in reality, Su Huaiming had been polite and kept things brief when speaking to him. Su Huaiming went to sit in the living room, while the film emperor took Ji Youyou upstairs to put away their luggage.
The two had spent very little time in the same frame. Su Huaiming hadn't ridden Ji Mingzhe's coattails at all, nor had he acted like a simp in the slightest.
[Hahahahaha, netizens these days are so good at slapping their own faces.]
[Why isn't anyone apologizing?]
[They were making such a fuss before, and now they're playing dead, pointing fingers.jpg]
Su Huaiming sat alone in the living room. After playing on his phone for a few minutes, he suddenly felt weak in his arms and legs, and his heart began to race.
The long journey had been exhausting too, and Su Huaiming's blood sugar suddenly dropped. He knew he had this problem and always kept candy on him, but when he felt his empty pocket, he remembered he'd given the last milk candy to Ji Youyou.
The rest of the candy was in his suitcase upstairs. Su Huaiming forced himself to endure the discomfort and intended to go upstairs to get it.