Du Jiaojiao had many mishaps with romance previously, which, coupled with Ni Yang coming to find her son, led to some misunderstandings.
Gazing at Ni Yang, Du Jiaojiao’s eyes sparkled with admiration. "I say, you’ve got quite the taste this time. Such a beautiful young girl, and I doubt we could find another like her in all of Shanghai. She had a son for you, and you’re still not satisfied?"
"That son isn’t mine," Du said with a tone of helplessness.
Du Jiaojiao stared wide-eyed at Du, incredulous. "You’ve been cheated on?"
Du’s breath hitched, "You’re venturing way off topic!"
"Then what do you mean? If you haven’t been cheated on, why deny your own son? That’s not right!" Du Jiaojiao argued.
Twisting the Buddha Beads, Du replied, "Stop guessing! Ni Yang and I are not what you think. She is also the person who saved me earlier."
"Is that truly her?" Du Jiaojiao expressed her skepticism. "Really?"
Du Jiaojiao had always been curious about Du’s mysterious lifesaver and never anticipated it was the young girl before her.
They say no one is perfect, but Du Jiaojiao was still in disbelief. Such a beautiful young girl, and yet so capable!
"Absolutely true," Du affirmed, his expression unreadable.
Knowing Du was not one to jest, and he had no reason to joke about this matter, Du Jiaojiao asked curiously, "Then why is she here looking for her son? Did you hide her son?"
"I don’t even know who her son is," Du replied innocently.
Looking towards Ni Yang, Du Jiaojiao remarked, "Not to mention this young lady is really beautiful; no wonder you compared her with Chang’e last time. She doesn’t look like someone who has had a child."
Glancing at Du Jiaojiao, Du retorted, "You speak as though you’ve had one."
Du Jiaojiao rolled her eyes at Du.
The two casually followed Ni Yang.
Ni Yang kept following the leader’s Sun-Parakeet, walking through the corridor and arriving at the Garden’s back.
Seeing how earnestly Ni Yang was searching, Du Jiaojiao elbowed Du, "You didn’t really hide her son, did you?"
"Why would I hide her son?" Du countered.
Du Jiaojiao eyed Du seriously, "Maybe to become her kid’s stepdad."
Du’s breath hitched again, "Don’t spout nonsense!"
Du Jiaojiao’s face was alight with teasing, "I guessed it, didn’t I?"
"You think you can read minds?" Du said calmly while twirling his Buddha Beads.
Du Jiaojiao continued, "Getting to marry such a pretty girl, even if it means being someone’s stepdad, wouldn’t be a loss."
This time, Du didn’t respond.
He knew Jiaojiao too well. If he kept responding, Jiaojiao would never stop teasing.
"Are you admitting it?" Du Jiaojiao nudged Du again.
Du Jiaojiao scoffed lightly.
Ni Yang had searched around in the Garden and hadn’t found Duoduo.
"Miss, did you find your son?" Du Jiaojiao approached, "Need any help?"
Before Ni Yang could finish, a crisp voice filled the air.
"Duoduo!" Ni Yang’s face lit up.
Hearing Ni Yang’s response, Duoduo called out even more joyously, "Yangyang! Yangyang!"
The Sun-Parakeet spiraling above Ni Yang’s head seemed extremely excited, chirping nonstop.
"Who’s talking?" Du Jiaojiao scratched her head, looking at Ni Yang. "Your son?"
"Yep." Ni Yang nodded, her gaze catching a middle-aged man walking towards them with a birdcage covered by a black cloth.
"Yangyang! Yangyang!"
Ni Yang approached the middle-aged man, "Excuse me, sir. May I take a look at what you’re holding?"
The middle-aged man paused, about to ask who Ni Yang was, but Du interjected, "Open it for Miss Ni to see."
Having lived in this place for so long, Du had never brought any woman other than Du Jiaojiao here. Ni Yang was most likely the first.
The middle-aged man promptly lifted the black cloth over the birdcage, and Duoduo was ecstatic. "Yangyang! Yangyang!"
Seeing Duoduo inside the cage, Ni Yang breathed a sigh of relief. "Duoduo."
Du Jiaojiao was stunned.
She had never imagined, Ni Yang’s "son," would be a bird...
She had genuinely thought Ni Yang had a real son.
"Why was he still locked up?" Ni Yang said as she began to open the birdcage.
Before the middle-aged man could speak, Duoduo flew directly to Ni Yang’s shoulder, rubbing his small head against her chin incessantly. "Yangyang! Yangyang! Yangyang!"