Youngest uncle's gift

Fu Nanshan took one last look at the fish tank, then slowly walked out.

While he was still in the corridor, he saw the soft, fair little bundle, who had already taken the elevator down to the lobby, trot toward the door.

Then a tall man scooped her up.

Fu Yunting was very strong, and his broad hands easily lifted the beautiful little baby into the air.

Qin Yan's short little legs bent slightly backward.

"Uncle."

Her eyes curved into little crescents as she called to him in her soft, sweet voice.

Fu Yunting held her securely with one arm. A beastlike instinct made him look upstairs.

He raised an eyebrow when he spotted the young man dressed entirely in white on the second floor.

"You're back, little brother."

Dressed entirely in black himself, he offered a rather perfunctory greeting.

How should one describe the brothers in this family?

They had affection for one another, but not much.

They had all been independent since childhood and had shown talent in their own fields.

And regardless of their personalities or temperaments, they were all like beasts in the wild, disliking anyone encroaching on their territory.

Except for their little sister.

When they were children, Fu Qinghuan had been the strongest bond between the brothers.

Later, as they grew up and spent more time apart, and their little sister married, they came home even less often.

Despite having several outstanding sons, Old Master Fu had somehow ended up living like an elderly man left behind by his children.

His sons came home pitifully rarely.

They also worked in different fields and hardly even messaged one another.

What should have been a perfectly good family felt like something cobbled together.

The one on the second floor was even less talkative. He did not reply, merely nodding in greeting.

After Fu Nanshan came downstairs, the brothers sat at opposite ends of the sofa, while Old Master Fu sat in the middle, expressing some fatherly concern for his youngest son.

Fu Yunting sat with his legs spread, his whole bearing exuding dominance.

He was showing Qin Yan photos on his phone.

The photos showed how the calico cat was doing.

"Zhaocai was brought to the company today."

Zhaocai was the name Fu Yunting had chosen, and it suited the calico cat's particular traits very well.

From now on, this calico cat would count as the company mascot.

Qin Yan asked, "Can I go see Zhaocai?"

The fair little baby tipped her face up slightly, her eyes shining as she asked.

Her babyish voice carried a hint of anticipation and pleading.

Fu Yunting said, "Of course."

In fact, he could hardly wait for her to come along.

"Secretary Lin and the others miss you."

The old master had come home these past few days, so Qin Yan had not gone to the company. Every day when Fu Yunting went in, the first thing the secretaries asked when they saw him was whether the baby was coming today.

Their expressions of regret were really something. They had never looked so disappointed even when a project failed.

Qin Yan was already thinking about which little dress to wear tomorrow.

The weather was getting warmer now, and she no longer wore fluffy, one-piece animal outfits.

Soon, evening arrived.

Qin Yan carefully washed her face, brushed her teeth, and changed into her pajamas.

Then, carrying Tuantuan, with Jinbao following behind her like a tail, she went to say good night to her grandfather and two uncles.

"Good night, Grandpa."

After leaving her grandfather's doorway, she went to knock on her eldest uncle's door.

"Come in."

Standing on tiptoe, she caught the door handle and opened the door, poking half her little fluffy head inside.

Uncle is so busy.

"Uncle, good night. Make sure you go to bed early."

The good little baby was worried about her eldest uncle's health.

Not sleeping well felt awful.

Fu Yunting stopped working and came over with something in his hand.

"Here. A present."

"What is it?"

She opened one small hand, and something gleaming gold appeared in her fair palm.

"It's a little sheep."

Indeed, it was a little gold chibi sheep.

A little sheep with fluffy-looking wool and big eyes.

Qin Yan's Chinese zodiac sign was the sheep.

The fair little bundle was delighted to receive a present.

"Thank you, Uncle."

She even hugged Fu Yunting before leaving in high spirits.

As she left, her little feet began skipping lightly.

She looked like a snowy-white, fluffy little bunny hopping along.

Then the little bunny arrived at Younger Uncle's door and, very hesitantly, knocked softly.

She thought that if Younger Uncle did not open the door, he must be asleep.

If he was asleep, she would not disturb him...

Before she could finish that thought, the door opened.

Qin Yan tilted her pretty, soft little face up, looking with clear, dark eyes at the man standing in the doorway like a snow-covered cedar.

"Younger Uncle."

Her voice was quiet, with the softness unique to children. She looked very timid and easy to bully.

"I came to say good night."

Fu Nanshan murmured an acknowledgment.

"I'll go now, then."

Fu Nanshan said, "Wait."

Qin Yan obediently stood still.

Fu Nanshan took out a jade pendant, crouched down, and put it around her neck.

"A present."

Qin Yan lowered her little head and held it in one small hand.

It was a small, delicate jade pendant.

Some very intricate golden runes were carved into it, but she could not understand them.

"Keep it on."

Qin Yan nodded and thanked him softly. "Thank you, Younger Uncle."

Fu Nanshan reached out and gently pressed his hand against her fluffy hair.

The little baby was so well-behaved, like an innocent little white kitten.

After saying goodbye to Younger Uncle, Qin Yan finally returned to her own room.

She was already sleepy and dazed. She climbed into bed and fell into a sweet sleep.

Jinbao lay beside her bed like a faithful guard.

"Fuck, we're losing more and more followers. It's all these useless little beasts' fault."

In an upscale villa community not far from the Fu Family's old residence.

Three men and a woman were sitting in the living room, smoking and drinking.

Not far away was a golden retriever that had been whipped.

They cursed and swore.

"Those idiots in the livestream are asking where Nuomi went. What do we do?"

"What else can we do? Find an identical cat."

"These beasts are so hard to train. They can't even put on an act in front of the viewers."

"Third Brother, that golden retriever nearly bit me today. Let's replace it."

The woman in a red dress looked with disgust at the golden retriever locked in the cage.

"I don't want to get bitten in front of all those people during our next livestream. What if those morons figure it out?"

"Fine. Second Brother, go get rid of that golden retriever. Next time, we'll make a video rescuing a cat from a trash can. Find a kitten, starve it for a few days, and break its legs..."

As they discussed how to use online traffic to gain followers, the cats and dogs locked up in the house suddenly began crying out frantically.

The cats' cries in particular were piercing and shrill.

"What are you making all that noise for!"

The sudden noise startled them.

One of the men picked up a club, walked over to the cages, and struck them several times.

But the cats and dogs inside kept shrieking as though something had agitated them.

In an instant, the sounds mingled within the small villa, inexplicably creating a hair-raising sense of terror.

The woman swallowed.

"Third Brother, why do I feel like something's watching us?"

"They've never acted like this before."

The man called Third Brother swallowed. "Stop scaring yourselves. A few hits will make them behave."