Upon seeing them come in, Yingying was the first to rush over and stood in front of Beichen, calling shyly, "Brother Beichen, long time no see!"
She lowered her head bashfully, and Beichen merely responded with a "Hmm," which made her very happy.
Meijiao quickly called out, "Beichen, come sit over here!"
Yingying also hurried over and made a space, eagerly watching Beichen sit next to her.
Beichen greeted everyone one by one with Ji Niandong and then asked, "Where’s dad?"
Zhang Huiqin smiled, "He’s in the backyard playing chess with Beiyao!"
"Big Brother is home too?!" Beichen seemed a little surprised.
"I heard you were coming back, so everyone came back!" Zhang Huiqin replied with smiling eyes, her manner calm.
Beichen quickly understood what she meant. Ji Niandong felt a bit awkward and asked, "Aunt Hui, where’s Nian Nian?"
"Also in the backyard, being held by his grandfather who won’t let go! Shall I take you there?" Zhang Huiqin covered her mouth, laughing.
"No need!" Ji Niandong noticed Zhang Huiqin had books in her hands, "Siri can accompany me, right? Plus, Big Brother is in the backyard!"
Siri, who was sitting on the side, suddenly being mentioned, raised her head to glance at her, her obedient face gleaming with bright, round eyes.
Even though she didn’t talk much for some reason, Ji Niandong always found Siri approachable and easy to get along with. Yes, she looked very sweet!
Siri glanced at Meijiao, then stood up and walked over, and Ji Niandong hooked her arm as they headed to the backyard.
"So good at pulling people in, even sees her as worthy!" Yingying whispered, and Meijiao nudged her with an elbow, signaling her to behave in front of Beichen.
She then put on a smile again and looked at Beichen.
Beichen said lightly, "I’ll go have a look too!"
"I’ll come too! Brother Beichen, wait for me!" Yingying stood up and quickly followed beside him.
"Grandpa, it’s really so boring!" Lu Sinian cried out in distress, "Can’t you let me go free?!"
Lu Qingyuan held him close, slightly leaning against his little cushion-like body, ignoring his protests, and focused intently on the chess pieces.
"You can’t move there; it’s a dead end!" Beiyao’s black piece was about to fall when Ji Niandong suddenly interjected.
Lu Qingyuan looked up happily when he saw the newcomers and cheerfully said, "You’re here?"
"Hi, Dad!" Ji Niandong greeted sweetly.
Upon hearing her voice, Little Bun quickly pleaded for help: "Sister Tongtong, why did you come so late? Grandpa, can you let me go now?"
"Isn’t grandpa taking care of you? My dear grandson!" Lu Qingyuan said as he hugged him tighter.
Lu Sinian looked like he might burst into tears!
"If not there, then where?" Beiyao looked at Ji Niandong, filled with curiosity, his demeanor very gentle.
Siri pursed her lips and frowned at his expression.
Ji Niandong then pointed to the side, "Place it there!"
"Hey, hey, Tongtong, don’t mess things up! I was about to win, how could you help him!" Lu Qingyuan was extremely anxious.
Beiyao laughed and placed the black piece where Ji Niandong pointed, "A revelation!"
His eyebrows were filled with joy, and Siri stared blankly at him, nearly losing herself for a moment.
It wasn’t until Lu Sinian shouted, "Dad, come save me!"
"Huh!" Lu Qingyuan looked at the newcomers, "My grandson finally learned to call for dad?"
Disregarding the chess game, he raised Little Bun high, laughing loudly.