"I thought—"
Gongxi Chou nearly let his foolish fantasy slip out.
Ever since he learned that there was a young man named "Thirteenth" by his eldest nephew's side, he had assumed his big brother and sister-in-law had really given him thirteen nephews and nieces. For a while, he'd even fretted over what to prepare as meeting gifts. Only now did he learn that this Thirteenth was not that Thirteenth.
This Thirteenth was Gu Ren's sworn younger brother.
The little lunatic he'd nearly slaughtered back then.
Hmph. Thirteenth was the reason his emotions had been tossed around so wildly.
With his eldest nephew present, Gongxi Chou could only swallow his dissatisfaction, his gaze dark and cold. He wasn't completely oblivious to other people's feelings. Just from the way these five carried themselves, he could tell that Shao Chong was his eldest nephew's friend, and there was a good chance these people had stayed by his eldest nephew's side as he endured the pain of losing his father. He hadn't yet built a deep uncle-nephew bond with his eldest nephew. This blood relation alone might not be enough to outweigh Shao Chong's place in the boy's heart.
Hmph, let this brat strut around for a few days.
Once his eldest nephew truly admired him and accepted him, and was willing to call him Second Uncle, these people wouldn't hold a candle to him.
At that thought, Gongxi Chou's expression softened.
He said gravely, "It's nothing, just a bit of a misunderstanding."
Shao Chong didn't understand what was going on, but his instincts told him he didn't like Shaobai's Second Uncle, and Shaobai's Second Uncle didn't like him either. He wasn't one to hide his feelings, so he made his dislike of Gongxi Chou plain. He held out his empty bowl. "Another bowl!"