Everyone at the dinner table looked over, and Han Kuang was somewhat puzzled, "Somersault Cloud? 72 Transformations?"
The old man liked to listen to Peking opera, and he would also read the newspaper and listen to the news. Occasionally he’d watch comic skits too. He did know about "Journey to the West," but that was a book he read many years ago before he’d been to war, and he had never watched the popular TV version of "Journey to the West," so he didn’t react immediately.
"Looking at you, you probably don’t know," Little Niangao sighed like a little adult. Indeed, dad would never lie to him.
Shen Chi, who was practically bursting with laughter but trying to appear nonchalant, reached over and gently patted Little Niangao, saying softly, "How could Little Niangao make such jokes with Grandpa Han?"
But his tone sounded like he was taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune.
After thinking for a while with a frown, Han Kuang said, "Could it be Sun Wukong’s Somersault Cloud and 72 Transformations?"
Little Niangao eagerly nodded, looking at him with hopeful eyes.
Han Kuang immediately felt awkward. He thought that not knowing the Somersault Cloud and 72 Transformations was only natural for him, and if it were Nuonuo, Ping’an, and Longlong, he could stand his ground firmly. But facing his newly met grandson, he felt hesitant to answer. Would his grandson not like him if he admitted he couldn’t do those?
He was in a dilemma; instead, Little Niangao sighed and said, "Never mind, dad said only monkeys can do the Somersault Cloud and 72 Transformations, grandpa is probably not a monkey."
Han Kuang was immediately speechless. If it weren’t for the child’s genuinely disappointed face, he might have thought he was being mocked.
"You’ve also watched ’Journey to the West’?" Longlong suddenly seemed to find a conversation he could join, looking excited.
"Of course, I’ve watched up to the part where they fight the White Bone Spirit," Little Niangao said without prejudice, responding to the inquiry.
Nuonuo pulled on Little Niangao, preventing him from getting close to Longlong, and glared at Longlong, "What are you trying to do? Did Little Aunt tell you to bully my brother again?" She used to call Dong Fei Little Aunt, but since they got a new Little Aunt, her mother and aunt told her to start calling Dong Fei Third Aunt.
The adults, who’d been watching the children play, were taken aback. Han Shouyi looked at Longlong and asked sternly, "What happened?"
With tears in his eyes, Longlong said aggrieved, "I only pushed you once, and afterwards, when grandma and mom asked me to bully you, I didn’t listen. Why are you so petty?"
Han Kuang’s expression turned ugly, "You were the one who pushed Nuonuo and caused her to twist her foot that time?"
Longlong nodded fearfully, "I know I was wrong. Afterwards, I even gave her the sugar-coated haws that my mom had bought for me as compensation, but she didn’t want them and threw them on the ground."
"Why didn’t Nuonuo speak up at the beginning?" Han Kuang looked at his granddaughter.
Nuonuo glared at Zheng Cuicui, candidly saying without concern for her embarrassment, "Mom said if we spoke up, grandma and Third Aunt would be like cornered dogs jumping over the wall."
Liu Yuzhi was that kind of person, never knowing how to repent. Exposed, she would admit her mistakes publicly, yet she would only become angry and vengeful in private, lying low and planning for the next opportunity. Since Zheng Cuicui was unwell at the time and couldn’t protect her daughter, she naturally chose to keep the peace.
Han Shouyi’s face became terribly dark. He stared at his son and demanded, "What exactly did your grandma and mom tell you?" Such questions would normally be asked in private, but Han Shouyi wasn’t thinking about that.
Longlong hesitated. His grandma and mom had said not to tell those words to anyone, not even to dad.
Han Shouyi saw right through his son’s hesitation and said sternly, "Do you even regard me as your father?"
Although Han Shouyi was rarely at home, Longlong had always admired his father. Now seeing him angry, his resistance crumbled.
"Grandma said that Nuonuo will be a son-in-law who moves into our house in the future and will compete with me for the family property, so I can’t like her or play with her. She also told me to bully her when grandpa and Uncle’s mother can’t see. Mom told me to behave well in front of grandpa, that I can’t be outdone by Nuonuo, and to bully her whenever I see her," Longlong added after a pause.
"Mom also said, it’s best to scare Nuonuo into being so timid that she can’t hold her head up in front of grandpa, so he will be completely disgusted with her."
The room fell silent. Han Shouyi’s face changed colors like a palette, finally settling on shame and embarrassment. He wiped his face and said to Han Kuang, "Father, it’s my lack of strict discipline that allowed them to behave so disgracefully."
At that moment, he felt both fearful and relieved, fearful that his only son had almost been led astray, and relieved that his son’s innate goodness had not been corrupted.