The surprise in the box

In the end, everyone's ice cream was bigger than Qin Yan's.

Qin Yan: ...

She kept cycling between taking a bite and brightening up, then looking at everyone else's larger servings and drooping her pretty little face in dismay.

Her changing expressions were so easy to read.

Adorable and pitiful.

Pitiful as she was, she still needed to eat less for her health.

After she finished her ice cream, she was taken outside to bask in the sun for a while.

The butler had put up a lovely swing in the garden.

Qin Yan had barely sat down before Fu Nanshan silently began pushing from behind.

Meimei jumped up.

Jinbao jumped up too.

Tuantuan... couldn't jump up.

"Younger Uncle, stop for a second."

She picked Tuantuan up before sitting back down, then turned to look at Younger Uncle with sparkling eyes.

Fu Nanshan continued looking after the child without complaint.

Qin Yan smiled so happily on the swing.

But because of her personality, her smile was silent, simply looking sweet and warm.

After a while, she stopped having Younger Uncle push her and patted the empty space on the swing.

"Younger Uncle, sit."

The sun was so warm it made people sleepy.

Sitting on the swing, Fu Nanshan looked as though he were contemplating something serious, with his cool demeanor and exceptionally handsome face.

In reality, he was spacing out.

A soft little child smelling of grapes leaned against him.

Qin Yan had fallen asleep.

Fu Nanshan came back to himself and stared for a few seconds at the little pink-and-white bundle leaning toward him.

Then he adjusted her position by hand.

Qin Yan lay on the swing with her fuzzy head resting on Younger Uncle's thigh, sleeping soundly.

Fu Nanshan messaged the butler on his phone, asking him to bring a light blanket.

Then he draped the pale yellow blanket over the little one's belly.

Her belly button had to be covered while she slept.

For the rest of that time, Fu Nanshan never changed his position.

Lying in the grass, Jinbao shifted positions several times, but whenever Jinbao lifted an eyelid to look at him, he was still sitting there like a stone statue.

Jinbao: How did he do that?!

He didn't change position until Qin Yan woke up!

Still groggy after waking, Qin Yan rubbed against Younger Uncle like a snowy-white kitten, making little purring sounds.

Her eyes were open, but she wasn't fully awake yet.

Qin Yan was the most fun to play with at times like this.

Meimei said, "Baby, smile."

The dazed, pretty baby looked as though she had drunk counterfeit liquor, following each instruction with an action.

She immediately gave a sweet smile.

Meimei said, "Baby, pick me up and give me a kiss."

Meimei said, "Baby, Meimei's your favorite, right?"

Qin Yan nodded dazedly.

Jinbao pricked up those ears. That looked like fun!

Fu Nanshan flexed his fingers, wanting to give her a pinch.

Cute.

Qin Yan gradually became fully awake, but the fluffy little thing was so easygoing that even after realizing Meimei had been teasing her, she merely gave a silly smile and didn't mind at all.

The sight made Meimei climb onto her shoulder, cup her fair little face, and take a great big sniff.

How could she be so adorable!

Qin Yan: ???????

They went home.

Qin Yan didn't forget Younger Uncle when she went home.

The tiny little girl held Younger Uncle's hand as she walked home.

"Younger Uncle, sit down."

After settling Younger Uncle into a seat, she ran off to pour him some water.

She knew she had been leaning against Younger Uncle the whole time she slept.

Thank you for looking after her, Younger Uncle.

"Younger Uncle, would you like some cookies?"

She asked in her soft little voice.

Fu Nanshan said, "Mm."

So Qin Yan went to fetch her snacks.

"This one's for you, Younger Uncle."

She pushed a little cookie over.

The cookies had been made by the auntie at home in all sorts of animal shapes, with each one individually wrapped in a bag.

"And there's the fruit Meimei gave me."

She hadn't finished it yet.

Fu Nanshan looked as though he were above worldly things, but in reality, he ate every piece Qin Yan offered him.

Watching Younger Uncle with her big eyes, Qin Yan grew even more enthusiastic about feeding him.

She had so many snacks.

Other people had given her all of them, but she was only allowed to eat a tiny bit each day.

Fu Nanshan said, "I'm full."

Qin Yan nodded in satisfaction and put everything left over away.

"Then tell me whenever you want some, Younger Uncle."

Carrying her things, she went back upstairs to her room.

She had a little cabinet with plenty of food hidden inside.

Like a hamster, the little one stashed all her food in there.

Only things that would keep, though.

Fruit, freshly made little cakes, and such still went in the refrigerator.

"What's this?"

Qin Yan sat barefoot on the floor.

The floor of her room was covered in a fluffy carpet, all nice and warm.

She was holding a little box from the pile of things Meimei had given her yesterday.

There were still several boxes she hadn't opened.

Meimei climbed onto her shoulder. "I don't know either. The boxes all look pretty similar. Open it and see."

Inside the box was a leaf, green as carved emerald and giving off a lovely, delicate fragrance.

Neat rows of tiny white oval things, about the size of sesame seeds, clung to the leaf.

Meimei said, "These are Kongsang Silkworms."

"Kongsang Silkworms only eat Kongsang Tree leaves. Their silk can be made into fabric that's not only light, soft, and breathable, but impervious to water and fire. You can even put Defensive Talismans on it."

"Raise them, and once they produce silk, we'll make clothes for you, baby."

"I remember bringing some Kongsang Tree seeds."

Qin Yan nodded slowly.

She picked up another box.

When she opened it, she found four earthworms lying inside.

Two big ones and two small ones.

Qin Yan: ???

They were a little ugly.

But she wasn't afraid.

"These are earth dragons. They're excellent at burrowing and can loosen the soil. They eat all sorts of things, but what they excrete fertilizes the ground.

"There are spirit plant growers in the Cultivation Realm who specialize in growing spirit plants, and these earth dragons are their favorites. But these things burrow away so quickly that they're really hard to catch. I happened to come across two with babies, so I gathered them all up and brought them for you."

Qin Yan stroked Meimei's fluffy head in praise.

"Meimei, you're amazing."

The tuft of fur at the tip of Meimei's tail immediately swayed happily.

"Oh, right, there should be a Golden-Winged Bee Queen too. I went to a lot of trouble to steal that one from a Golden-Winged Bee hive. Those Golden-Winged Bees chased me for hundreds of li."

Meimei sounded rather proud of it.

Qin Yan stroked Meimei's little body and asked worriedly in her baby voice.

"Did you get hurt, Meimei?"

Meimei lifted that little head, looking immensely pleased. "Of course not. Just a few little bees. Easy!"

Meimei said nothing about being stung until swollen a whole size larger, with howling screams drawing looks from the other spirit beasts in the secret realm.

It had taken several medicinal pills to recover in the end.

"Found it. It's in this box."

The moment Meimei opened the box, a golden shadow shot out.

"Bzz, bzz, bzz..."

Meimei's whole body went numb at the sound.

"Holy shit, didn't I seal it?!"

"Baby, be careful! Don't-"

The golden shadow, the size of a ping-pong ball, flew straight toward Qin Yan.

It reached her in the blink of an eye.

Qin Yan shut her eyes in fright and hugged her knees, curling into a ball.