After resting for a night in the manor, Jian Junyu was dumbfounded and shocked the next day when he saw the young master of the Qi family at the door of the adjacent guest room.
A young man of noble and reserved demeanor, as warm and gentle as jade, stood straight before his little niece's door, his hands hanging naturally by his sides, his eyes lowered in a posture of humble deference he had willingly adopted.
"Sui Bai, when did you get here? Why are you standing here?" If he remembered correctly, wasn't this young master still in the capital when he called last night?
Hearing his voice, Qi Sui Bai looked up. The momentary imposing aura was like a sharp sword about to be drawn, flashing with piercing coldness. Upon recognizing who it was, he instantly retracted it, reverting to his gentle and noble young master appearance.
He raised his long, slender fingers with distinct joints and placed them on his lips: "Keep your voice down."
Jian Junyu was filled with disbelief, even doubting if he was hallucinating.
Who was this person?
The eldest grandson of the Qi family!
The person with the most noble status among the younger generation in the entire country!
And now he was standing guard like a servant before someone else's room? Just to remind him to keep his voice down so as not to wake the person inside?
Was he going crazy, or was this young master going crazy, or was the world going crazy?
With a chest full of questions, Jian Junyu and Qi Sui Bai stood like two door gods, one on each side of the door, waiting for the little ancestor inside to wake up.
Jian Junyu asked in a low voice, "Sui Bai, give me a straight answer, what is your relationship with our Shengsheng? Your behavior is making me feel uneasy."
Qi Sui Bai raised an eyebrow, "Your Shengsheng?"
The little ancestor of the Qi family, named Jian Sheng, was one of the two characters whose names were deliberately avoided when the direct descendants of their family were named. However, it wasn't until last night that the Qi family members realized how much weight these two characters actually carried.
Their Qi family's little ancestor, how did she become a Jian?
Jian Junyu asked strangely, "Yes, my little niece, Jian Sheng. Didn't you come to find her, Sui Bai?"
Qi Sui Bai flashed a friendly smile, putting his arm around Jian Junyu's shoulder like a brother, "Brother Jun, tell me about your niece."
Jian Junyu, thinking they hadn't seen each other in a long time, unreservedly recounted his younger sister's troublesome affairs with Gu Jiangyan.
Finally, he gritted his teeth, "My sister doesn't have to go through with the arranged marriage, but Gu Jiangyan must die!"
As they were talking, Jian Junruo returned from her morning run, dressed in loose sportswear. A thin layer of sweat glistened on her forehead, and her cheeks were flushed, like a rose just beginning to bloom in the morning, kissed by the coolness of the dew.
After another round of greetings, Jian Junyu introduced the two to each other.
Qi Sui Bai hesitated for a long time, then nodded towards Jian Junruo and said, "Hello, Auntie."
Jian Junruo's expression faltered. Was she that old?
She looked at Jian Junyu, then at Qi Sui Bai, feeling a bit flustered.
Qi Sui Bai explained, "I am Sheng Sheng's friend, and you are Sheng Sheng's... mother. Therefore, you are naturally my elder as well."
Otherwise, he couldn't possibly trace his辈分 (generation ranking) upwards according to the little ancestor's seniority and call Jian Junruo great-grandmother, could he?
Jian Junyu's expression was blank. So, should he now descend a generation with young master Qi, or should he become an elder to Qi Sui Bai along with his own little sister?
Where was the prestige and dignity of being the Qi family's esteemed eldest grandson?
"Creak."
The door opened a crack from the inside.
"Mommy!" Jian Sheng called out softly, uncharacteristically not rushing into Jian Junruo's arms.
She tried to hold her small face sternly, projecting the authority of a little ancestor: "Xiao Bai, you're here. It's been a long time, you've grown so much."
However, her curious blinking eyes and childish voice only made it seem like she was adorably pretending to be an adult.
Qi Sui Bai squatted down in a military half-kneeling posture to meet the gaze of the little dumpling who only reached his thigh, overlapping with a somewhat blurred memory. He said softly, "Little Ancestor, it's been a long time."
The other two present heard this and were merely shocked by Qi Sui Bai's attitude, silently speculating about the true nature of their relationship.
Neither of them would have ever imagined that "little ancestor" was a noun, not an adjective.
"It's been a long time" meant twenty years.
Jian Sheng reached out, wanting to pat his head as she had twenty years ago, but Qi Sui Bai was still too tall even when squatting, and her arms were too short to reach him.
Jian Sheng's mouth turned down, and a hint of grievance appeared in her eyes. She was about to retract her hand.
Qi Sui Bai, however, had already lowered his head in advance and nuzzled against her small palm.
Jian Junruo and Jian Junyu were both stunned. Even with the best of friendships, was it worth the Qi family's young master going to such lengths?
Could their Shengsheng perhaps be a reincarnated deity who had come to collect debts from the Qi family?
Qi Sui Bai and Jian Sheng both tacitly avoided mentioning past events. After a few simple exchanges, Qi Sui Bai stood up and, as if it were natural, picked Jian Sheng up. His self-assured demeanor made the other two's eyes twitch.
Jian Junruo said somewhat apologetically, "Young Master Qi, Sheng Sheng is already this old and not that delicate. Letting her walk on her own can also help her exercise."
Qi Sui Bai smiled gently, "It's alright, Sheng Sheng isn't heavy, I can hold her. You wouldn't want me to constantly squat while talking to her, would you?"
Jian Junruo, Jian Junyu: ???
Is there a necessary connection between you not holding Sheng Sheng and you wanting to squat while talking to her?
The two claimed to not understand but were greatly shocked. Jian Junruo also wanted her daughter to forge a good relationship with the Qi family, so she didn't stand on ceremony any further, allowing Qi Sui Bai to hold Sheng Sheng and be at her beck and call.
Qi Sui Bai, directed by Sheng Sheng, carried her to the restaurant to eat. Not only was he not displeased, but he also seemed to be enjoying himself.
Jian Junyu and Jian Junruo exchanged glances, at one point even doubting if the person who had arrived was indeed Qi Sui Bai himself.
With five days remaining until the Beijing Art Exhibition, Jian Junyu had to go ahead to arrange the relevant matters. Upon seeing Qi Sui Bai arrive, he left immediately.
He had stayed in Jiangcheng solely to look after his sister, worried that his sister, alone and with a child, might encounter danger. Now that Qi Sui Bai was here, with his status, there was no safer place for her than by his side. Jian Junyu naturally left with peace of mind.
Jian Junruo had just received a commission and was designing a print advertisement for a company.
Jian Sheng, pulling Qi Sui Bai along, got into the luxurious, extended, bulletproof Rolls-Royce that the Qi family had sent overnight.
"To the Huanyu Company Building!"
She couldn't forget that in the original novel, one of the vicious female supporting characters, Tang Xiaoxiao, after her maternal uncle left, stole her biological father's company secrets and framed her mother!