The next afternoon, Qin Wen called to say that the adoption procedures had been completed.
Luo Qianqian was lounging on the sofa, reading a book thrown to her by Hu Si, when she heard this news and dropped the book to the floor, "Second Brother Qin, are you speeding on a rocket here? That was fast! Are you overjoyed to be a dad???"
Qin Wen felt somewhat proud at Luo Qianqian’s first half of the sentence, but the second half didn’t sound quite right to him. Why did it seem like there was a green light on his head? Luckily, he didn’t have a girlfriend, or he might have suspected something at this point.
Stirring his coffee, he only responded after hearing another question from across the table, "Officially, the guardians are my parents, so technically, this child should be considered my little brother."
"??? Your uncle and aunt actually agreed???" Luo Qianqian exclaimed, her eyes going wide.
"Did you think it would be difficult? But I must make it clear, my family’s wealth has already been distributed and he won’t receive any of it; this was the condition my parents agreed to," Qin Wen said, unsurprised by Luo Qianqian’s reaction—it was quite a normal response.
"Psh, I can support him by myself, not for your family’s property. Don’t worry, if he ever covets your family’s assets, I’ll beat him up," Luo Qianqian promised emphatically.
Qin Wen hummed in acknowledgment, thinking about the family details he received today, and calmly replied, "Have you ever seen a kitten beat up a big rat?"
"Who’s the kitten?" Luo Qianqian instantly retorted, picking up on the teasing tone in his voice.
"Right, tomorrow I’ll go buy some study and living supplies for him. Do you have time? How about we have lunch together during your break?" Reminded that the guardians had not yet met Lu Simiao, Luo Qianqian quickly suggested.
"Tomorrow? I have something in the morning, but I’m free from noon to afternoon. I’ll call you when I’m done," Qin Wen replied after checking his schedule—for tomorrow morning was the court time for the case he was currently handling.
"Alright, it’s a deal then," Luo Qianqian said, not at all conscious of not disturbing his working hours, "I’m going back to reading now. Call me if you need something."
Qin Wen agreed and then hung up, his face full of confusion. Reading? School is starting soon, what’s there to read about? He recalled how Qin Nuan had gotten rid of everything related to studies right after her college entrance exams ended.
When Yue Tingyu and Old Master Luo returned from their walk, they saw their granddaughter lying there, not at all elegantly, yet they couldn’t make a fuss since she was studying.
"Luo Qianqian, sit up while you read! Do you not care about your eyes?" Old Master Luo scolded sternly, his eyes wide.
Luo Qianqian put down the book and sat up, blinking calmly, "No one saw me slacking off, so I just took a little lazy moment. Grandpa and Grandma, don’t be mad, my eyesight’s fine."
"Hmph," Old Master Luo turned his head away, not wanting to engage in his granddaughter’s humorous change of topics.
"What book are you reading?" Yue Tingyu asked curiously, looking at the kraft paper-covered thread-bound book on the table.
Luo Qianqian rubbed her head, "It’s just boredom, was just browsing around."
After hearing Luo Qianqian’s vague response, Old Master Luo widened his eyes, quickly stepping forward to pick up the book, "Just browsing? What if it’s something... Acupuncture?"
Hearing Luo Qianqian say she was just browsing, Yue Tingyu also frowned slightly, having heard that kids nowadays love to read novels and easily get engrossed in them.
Before she could speak, she heard her husband and was incredulous, her eyes widened.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Luo Qianqian scratched her head—how could she admit she was feeling lonely seeing Qin Liang’s Silver Needle and just studying the acupuncture points that might come in handy?
Yue Tingyu and Luo Guohui exchanged looks, remaining silent.
Old Master Luo: Our child really isn’t like other people’s children.
Yue Tingyu: Qianqian, are you feeling unwell somewhere?
Old Master Luo: That’s my granddaughter.
Yue Tingyu: Qianqian, are you feeling unwell somewhere?
The two were completely off-topic, utterly failing to connect in their thoughts.
Yue Tingyu, deeply concerned for her granddaughter, spoke directly, "Qianqian, are you feeling unwell somewhere? If you are, we should go to the hospital. This isn’t the feudal era anymore; no need to avoid talking about illnesses."
Only then did Old Master Luo consider this possibility, his face filled with concern as he looked at Luo Qianqian.
Luo Qianqian touched her head, a look of embarrassment on her face, "I was just studying for fun, in case one day I might save myself."
"It’s good to love studying, just don’t experiment recklessly on yourself," Old Master Luo said seriously.
Luo Qianqian nodded. She hadn’t planned on harming herself, okay? She was afraid of needles, okay?
"It’s better to study some chess manuals and keep me company while playing chess," Old Master Luo continued, his hopeful little eyes looking at Luo Qianqian.
Luo Qianqian touched her nose and suddenly her eyes lit up, "I’ll tell Grandpa and Grandma a joke. When I first started junior high, we had to introduce ourselves, right? There was a girl in our class who said, ’My name is Xia Qi, and I like swimming.’ Then the boy behind her stood up, looking conflicted, and said, ’My name is You Yong, and I love chess.’"
After finishing, seeing that the elders hadn’t reacted, Luo Qianqian raised an eyebrow. Was she really that bad at telling jokes?
A moment later, Yue Tingyu laughed, "You were talking about hobbies and names, it just dawned on me."
With his wife’s reminder, Old Master Luo finally caught on and laughed as well, "The parents selected good names."
Luo Qianqian blinked. Who could argue with that?
"By the way, Qianqian, come with me to Grandpa Tu’s place to play chess later, so you won’t be bored at home," Old Master Luo said.
Luo Qianqian obediently nodded; she had nothing else planned for the day anyway.
She picked up a few bags of snacks and dutifully followed behind Old Master Luo.
At this moment, Old Master Tu was pacing back and forth in the room: "Aiya, why can’t I have an obedient granddaughter?"
Grandpa Tu’s soon-to-be-thirty grandson, Tu Xingyao, glanced at his grandpa then continued sipping his tea.
Moments later, realizing his grandpa’s intense gaze, he calmly said, "Uncle and Auntie are the youngest. Push harder and maybe you’ll have a granddaughter to report next year."
Old Master Tu was frustrated, realizing that expecting his son to give him a great-granddaughter was less likely than expecting his grandson to.
He huffed, "When Old Man Luo arrives, you’d better behave and make me proud."
Tu Xingyao seemed unfazed.
Old Master Luo’s hearty laughter was already reaching the Tu household: "Old Tu, come on, let’s have a fierce match."
Old Master Tu looked toward the door, and indeed the door opened by the maid already showed the familiar figure, but his gaze was quickly drawn to the small figure behind him: "Qianqian is here too? Aren’t you afraid of losing so badly that you’d be embarrassed in front of your granddaughter?"
"Lose to you?" Old Master Luo glared.
Tu Xingyao’s attention was actually caught by Luo Qianqian, as she often appeared in his grandpa’s conversations, always mentioned as ’someone else’s child’ or ’obedient’ and ’smart’.
"Hello Grandpa Tu, hello Uncle Tu," Luo Qianqian greeted calmly.
Both Old Master Tu and Tu Xingyao’s expressions changed, Old Master Tu somewhat awkwardly shrugged his shoulders, trying not to laugh. Tu Xingyao’s face darkened—did he look that old?
"Qianqian, this is your Grandpa Tu’s grandson, Tu Xingyao, so you should call him Brother," Old Master Luo said, keeping a straight face but with a twinkle in his eyes as he explained.
Luo Qianqian felt awkward; this featured, beard-shaded guy was the "young grandson"...
"Hello, Brother Tu," Luo Qianqian quickly corrected herself, thinking of her own brothers and mentally sighing about the importance of genetics.
"Cough cough, how come you brought your granddaughter out today?" Old Master Tu coughed twice to hide his embarrassment.
Old Master Luo was nonchalant, "My granddaughter is filial. When she’s not busy at home, she’s out walking the dog, or else she’s giving me a shoulder rub. Our home is always bustling, this girl and her dog make sure it’s never quiet."
Luo Qianqian pouted. Her Baozi was well-behaved, okay? Moreover, it had recently been taken by Qin Nuan for styling and hadn’t been returned yet.