The next morning, early in the day, aunts and grandaunts flocked to Liu Yifeng's home. Upon hearing that Liu Yifeng had a son, they could barely contain their eagerness to see him.
The living room was packed.
Tong Tong, standing among the crowd, immediately became the center of attention. Many people showered him with kisses and hugs, which made Tong Tong quite uncomfortable.
Finally, Liu Yifeng scooped Tong Tong into his arms, rescuing him from the overwhelming affection.
"Yifeng, where is the child's mother?" asked Liu Yifeng's eldest aunt, who was also the eldest in the Liu family. In her sixties, her hair was already entirely white, a testament to a life of hard work. Ever since Liu Yifeng's mother left with his sister, his eldest aunt had frequently visited him, buying him clothes and good food. At that time, her own family was struggling financially, leading to frequent arguments between her and her husband. Seeing her aunt's silvery hair now, Liu Yifeng felt a pang of sympathy. He vowed to repay his aunt generously once he earned money.
With a smile, he replied, "The child's mother is out earning money. She just sent the child here for me to look after." He deliberately omitted that the child's mother had abandoned him. He also believed that no mother would heartlessly abandon her child unless under unavoidable duress. Furthermore, he didn't want Tong Tong to grow up filled with hatred; he deserved to grow up healthy and happy.
Liu Mei sighed, "I heard from your father that the child's mother didn't show up when the child was brought here. It will likely be difficult for you, a man, to raise a child on your own. If you face any difficulties, tell your aunt, alright?"
"Thank you for your concern, Aunt. But I am confident I can raise this child," Liu Yifeng said. He recalled how his father, despite immense hardship and poverty in their childhood, had managed to send him to university. He believed he could do the same for Tong Tong, especially since his son was not an ordinary child but a little genius.
"Yifeng, I've heard that very fair-skinned babies are pampered and difficult to raise. Why don't you ask the child's mother for child support?" chimed in Liu Yifeng's second aunt, Liu Ju. Her family's financial situation had always been quite good, and her two sons were successful, both holding high-ranking positions in private companies. Wealth, however, could make people arrogant and stingy, leading to sharp and sarcastic remarks.
Liu Yifeng felt a flicker of annoyance. What did fair skin have to do with being pampered? His son, he felt, was more sensible than any child. In contrast, her grandson was a wild terror, prone to tantrums and possessing a foul temper. He often verbally abused adults, yet she rarely disciplined him. If not for the fact that she was his elder, Liu Yifeng would have liked her to witness her grandson's true nature before she judged his own son.
Before Liu Yifeng could respond, Liu Mei interjected, "You're still stuck in old ways of thinking. A child's fair skin is inherited from their parents' genes, it has nothing to do with being pampered. Besides, the child is here, so don't say such things; you might upset him."
Liu Ju was dismissive, "He's so young, what could he possibly understand?"
Just then, her grandson spotted the toy car Liu Yifeng had made for Tong Tong and snatched it directly from Tong Tong's hands.
"That was made by my Daddy, give it back!" Tong Tong protested.
"It's just a toy car! Ask your father to make you another one. This one's for your cousin," Liu Ju said, pulling her grandson closer protectively, as if afraid Tong Tong would try to reclaim it.
"No, I want this one. Give it back quickly," Tong Tong squirmed restlessly in Liu Yifeng's arms, struggling to get down. This was the first gift from his Daddy, and he didn't want to give it away.
Liu Yifeng didn't want his son to be upset. He patiently turned to Liu Ju's grandson and said, "Xiao Hao, can you please give the toy car back to your younger brother? Uncle will make you a new one later, okay?"
To his surprise, Xiao Hao retorted fiercely, "No, I want this one." He clutched the toy car tightly.
Tong Tong climbed down from Liu Yifeng's embrace and approached Xiao Hao, reaching out to snatch the car back. However, Liu Ju pushed him away. Tong Tong landed on the ground with a thump and immediately burst into tears. Though Tong Tong possessed an intellect beyond his years, he was, after all, only a three-year-old child, and crying when faced with adversity was natural.
Liu Yifeng quickly picked Tong Tong up, wiped his tears, and asked with concern, "Tong Tong, does it hurt anywhere?"
Liu Ju hadn't expected her casual push to knock Tong Tong down. She felt a pang of guilt but feigned composure. "I didn't do it on purpose. I was just afraid the two children would fight."
"You're really something. No matter what, you shouldn't push a child. The child may not understand, but you, as an adult, should," Liu Mei said, displeased, looking at her sister.
"I already said it wasn't on purpose. Do you want me to kowtow and apologize?" Liu Ju retorted indignantly.
"You..." Liu Ju was so angered she didn't know what to say. Her sister had always been sharp-tongued and unreasonable since childhood, and her grandson's temperament clearly ran in the family. In his childhood, he had been indulged by his family. When he faced the real world later, he would surely suffer greatly.
Liu Yifeng was still comforting Tong Tong. Seeing his son continue to cry, he knew it wasn't from pain, but from the loss of the toy. While he wasn't stingy, he couldn't let his son be sad for Xiao Hao's sake. He turned to Liu Ju, "Second Aunt, Tong Tong really likes this toy car. Could you please ask Xiao Hao to return it to him?"
Others chimed in, "Exactly. Xiao Hao is two years older than Tong Tong. How can an older brother snatch things from his younger brother?"
Liu Ju, realizing she was in the wrong, quickly snatched the car from Xiao Hao's grasp when he wasn't paying attention and impatiently handed it back to Liu Yifeng. "Here, take it. It's just a broken toy car, why all this fuss about it?"
"It's not fuss, but why did your grandson snatch it?" Liu Yifeng's retort left Liu Ju speechless. He then handed the toy to Tong Tong. Upon receiving his toy, Tong Tong immediately stopped crying and even kissed Liu Yifeng's face. "Thank you, Daddy!"
Seeing his toy taken back, Xiao Hao started to protest, lashing out at Liu Ju with fists and kicks, shouting, "You're a bad person, a big bad person! Give me back my toy car."
Instead of getting angry at being hit by her grandson, Liu Ju patiently soothed him, "Xiao Hao, don't be angry. When we get back, Grandma will take you to the store to buy lots and lots of toy cars, okay? His toy car looks old and broken, what's so fun about it?" While comforting him, she also disparaged Tong Tong's toy. The onlookers shook their heads at her parenting style, thinking that if the child continued to be spoiled like this, he would be ruined.
"Then I want Transformers, and Ultraman and a big monster," Xiao Hao immediately declared. Liu Ju nodded repeatedly in agreement, and the dispute finally came to an end. However, a rift had formed between Tong Tong and Xiao Hao, and they disliked each other from then on.
Liu Ju even complained to Liu Chunsheng about Liu Yifeng and his son. To her dismay, Liu Chunsheng reprimanded her severely, leaving Liu Ju furious. If others hadn't intervened, she would have stormed out.
Although it was originally stated that guests were welcome to dine without bringing gifts, many still brought presents. After all, when their own grandchildren had full moon celebrations or first birthdays, even Chun Sheng had sent gifts. It would have felt awkward to dine with them empty-handed.