The Great Elder's gaze toward Xiao Fan turned strange. "Fan'er, although Grandpa's way of teaching you was rather hands-off, when it comes to marriage, the most basic thing is..."
The Great Elder realized he had no way to explain the matter clearly, so he changed his approach. "Fan'er, Grandpa knows how excited you are to have found your family, but family is family. Especially with such a cute little girl as your sister, as her older brother, you need to guide her properly..."
"Grandpa, Grandpa, it's not what you think! Qing Lin is the little sister I adopted!" Xiao Fan panicked as well. If he did not explain himself now, he would end up with more than just the label of a sister-con.
Little Qing Lin, meanwhile, looked somewhat dejected. She quietly tugged on Zi Yan's sleeve and asked, "Sister Zi Yan, did Qing Lin fail to receive a blessing...?"
"Of course not... Uh, this isn't easy to explain..." Zi Yan had never been good at dealing with interpersonal matters. If possible, her life could be summed up in just two words: hungry, sleepy.
Trying to explain it now would only make things more confusing.
"Adopted?"
The Great Elder looked at little Qing Lin's eyes, then at Xiao Fan, his expression plainly asking, Do you think I believe that...?
"Fan'er, you're still young. At this stage..." The Great Elder had just begun another round of lecturing when Xiao Fan cut him off.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, I really didn't lie to you. Qing Lin really is the little sister I adopted."
Xiao Fan was truly unable to defend himself. No one in the Imperial Capital had said he looked like little Qing Lin, yet the moment he returned, the entire Great Elder's family misunderstood.
It took quite a bit of explanation before