Yan Zhiyi had brought plenty of things. One glance was enough to tell that many of them were quite valuable, a clear sign of his sincerity.
"Uncle, Auntie."
"Oh! Hello, hello, President Yan. Please, sit down!" Ming Yue instantly forgot that she was supposed to be playing the "villain" and welcomed him to sit with a broad smile.
Remembering Xia Shule's reminder from yesterday, Yan Zhiyi deliberately sat right up against him, making them look inseparably close.
Ming Yue took it all in. It really did look quite a bit like love at first sight. She was still assessing him, though. Even President Yan had to treat her Lele well.
Xia Shule said nothing, but inwardly complained about how hot it was with him sitting so close. In this sweltering weather, his pores were practically crying.
"I brought a few gifts for my first visit. Just a small token of my respect." Yan Zhiyi pushed the assortment of gifts on the table toward them.
Xia Dunrong also pushed the gifts their family had prepared toward him.
Xia Shule couldn't help grumbling to himself. Why did this look so much like a trade? You push yours over, I push mine back...
They might as well each take their own things home. It was all just going through the motions anyway. Xia Shule began zoning out, his thoughts wandering until even he no longer knew where they had gone.
From how much Yan Zhiyi's car outside cost, his thoughts drifted to how big the Pacific Ocean was, before finally settling on how humans could learn to fly.
Yan Zhiyi's conversation with Xia Shule's parents went fairly well. Mostly, they talked about how their son was still young and rather delicate, and hoped he would take extra care of him.
Noticing that the youngster beside him hadn't made a sound, he glanced over out of the corner of his eye.
He discovered that the youngster was actually zoning out, his two dark, grape-like eyes staring blankly ahead.
Yan Zhiyi found him utterly adorable. His expression softened further, and even his voice changed its tone. "Lele?"
The rich voice beside his ear dragged Xia Shule out of his imaginary world. His train of thought broke, and he gave a start.
"Huh?!" Xia Shule snapped back to reality and found all three of them staring at him.
He had been caught zoning out. Although this was no longer a high school classroom, Xia Shule still couldn't help feeling a little guilty.
Xia Shule pretended nothing had happened. "Go on with your conversation. I've been listening the whole time."
"What were we just talking about?" Ming Yue asked.
"..." Xia Shule's mouth stiffened. What was his mom trying to do?
"Pfft..." Watching the youngster's face gradually stiffen, Yan Zhiyi couldn't hold back a laugh.
That laugh was like an invitation to draw fire. Having found an outlet, Xia Shule immediately turned and glared at him.
I can't tell Mommy off, but that doesn't mean I can't tell you off! You've made me mad, old man!
"What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing."
"Laughing at me?"
"No."
"You were laughing at me, weren't you?"
"I wasn't."
Yan Zhiyi turned away, held a fist to his mouth, and coughed lightly, suppressing his smile. When he turned back, his face was perfectly solemn.
Watching this, Xia Shule's parents felt rather reassured. It seemed the two really did get along well.
Even someone like President Yan would coax their son. It had to be true love~ Ming Yue was already shipping them.
Seeing his usual coffin-face expression, Xia Shule felt much more satisfied. He didn't have the nerve to get angry with his mother, so he could only make things difficult for this old man.
He leaned over to the man's ear and whispered, "What were you talking about?"
Yan Zhiyi copied him, bringing his mouth to Xia Shule's ear before saying, "Your parents were telling me not to bully you."
Yan Zhiyi put particular emphasis on "bully." Who knew whether he meant something else by it.
Whether he did or not, Xia Shule's brain couldn't process it.
He thought nothing of it and continued quietly listening to Yan Zhiyi talk with his parents.
This time, he got clever. After zoning out for a while, he would secretly snap back for a moment to eavesdrop on their conversation. That way, they wouldn't catch him~
Until...
Xia Shule heard Ming Yue start talking about embarrassing incidents from his childhood. How he had been so pretty that she always loved putting him in dresses, and then the little boys at kindergarten would line up to confess to him and ask him to be their wife.
Or how he had thrown little young-master tantrums from an early age, bringing other children home and hiding them away so they could only play with him and no one else.
Or how he had been too embarrassed to admit he'd wet his pants, and by the time anyone noticed, they had already air-dried...
"Mommy!!!!" Xia Shule shouted to stop Ming Yue. How could she just tell other people things like that? Boohoo...
It was super embarrassing. How was he supposed to face Yan Zhiyi from now on?
Ming Yue thought nothing of it and looked at her son fondly. "What? We'll all be family in the future, so it's fine~ Besides, I think it's adorable~"
You think it's adorable, but that doesn't mean he will, Mommy! This is so embarrassing...
Xia Shule pouted without saying a word.
Yan Zhiyi turned to look at his profile. His lips stuck out so far that he looked like a little duck.
"Very adorable," he said.
Xia Shule whipped his head around. Yan Zhiyi was so close that their breaths mingled, and they almost...
*!!...!!*
What was this? Why did it feel like an idol drama...?
Xia Shule wasn't buying any of that. He huffed and turned away, not taking it to heart. But he did believe the part about being adorable. Hehe!
Once Ming Yue got onto this subject, there was no stopping her. She continued, "This boy had such a strong sense of justice when he was little. His little face was especially cute when he got serious."
"He might have quite a temper, but he's a really good kid when it comes to how he treats people and handles things. Back in elementary school, there was a little boy who kept getting bullied because he looked so much like a girl. The poor child became timid and withdrawn every day. Our boy couldn't stand it, so he marched right up with that tiny little body of his and fought the bully. The other boy was a whole size bigger than him! I never expected my son to actually win, hahaha~"
Xia Shule raised his head. This one was Xiang Lin.
"There were so many incidents like that. I know of quite a few myself. That's basically how he met all his close friends and buddies. Like you young people say, those are... bonds forged through life and death!" Ming Yue's face brimmed with pride.
"There was another child whose family wasn't very well-off. Someone accused him of stealing money, and he couldn't clear his name no matter what he said. Lele went right up and gave the accuser a good scolding. Such a tiny little thing, no bigger than a booger, and he told them, 'It's only this much money. I'll pay it.' In the end, it turned out the accuser had lost the money themselves, and they paid compensation."
This one was Chen Jin.
"I remember there was a girl, too. She spoke bluntly and had a bit of a sharp tongue, so people kept excluding and bullying her. They even said her fiancé had broken off their engagement because he couldn't stand her... Anyway, they said some really nasty things. Lele started bringing her along to play, and no one dared bully her. Hahaha, back then our Lele even had the nickname Villain Le~"
This one was Ruan Jiaojiao.
"There's another one I remember especially well. I think his father was newly rich, supposedly from gambling, and some students looked down on him. A whole group surrounded that child and beat him up, taking his money as well. When Lele found him, he was lying on the ground, barely hanging on, with blood all over the floor. After that, Lele always backed him up and told him to fight back. Whenever that group saw the child, they would always see Lele standing behind him."
This one... was Zhou Anyang...
Ming Yue paused before continuing, "I don't mean anything else by telling you all this. I just want to say that Lele is a good boy. Even if you stop liking him someday, please don't ever hurt him."
The beautiful woman's face held an indescribable worry, tinged with a faint plea. She knew President Yan was a good man, but matters of the heart and a person's character were not the same thing.
Yan Zhiyi carefully took in her words. So... I wasn't the only person you spoke up for. There were so many others, too.
So... you've always been this kindhearted by nature.