Twenty-two years ago…
If his calculations were correct, Lu Sibai and Sun Meixiu were back at the capital by this day with the newest addition to their family. Shen Jinxiu was excited and happy at the same time, for it had been long since he'd met his friends and was excited to see their little bun.
"Aiya, what's the rush, Gege? Are you going to meet someone?" Shen Huang winked at his elder brother.
Shen Jinxiu hummed, regarding him but didn't break his focus over his work.
"I'm meeting the Lus today. Sibai and Meixiu are back with their baby girl." His mood seemed suddenly buoyant about the news.
"Eh? So you won't be able to look after Yi today?" Shen Huang questioned.
"Why do I have to do this 'uncle duties' again?" Shen Jinxiu sighed dejectedly. He liked his nephew, but sometimes, his brother asked a favor of looking after him at the wrong time.
"Yi doesn't want to accompany us tonight for the gala, and you said you didn't want to attend it too," Shen Huang commented, "Look, I'm already doing this so you could avoid the trouble. Go and meet your friends and bring Yi with you. Who knows? Maybe, he'll meet a cute girl there."
"Who'll want to meet a cute girl?" A young boy at the age of eight stepped inside Shen Jinxiu's office and scowled at his father. His little brother Xue was sick and was confined in the hospital, with his mother looking after him. For tonight, he'd have no choice but to stick with his Uncle Jin.
"Yi, there you are!" Shen Huang laughed awkwardly. "I'm telling your Uncle Jin that you'll go with him to visit his friends tonight. Is that okay with you?"
The boy rolled his eyes and sat stiffly on the couch, waiting for his uncle to finish his work.
"I don't have a choice, do I?" he asked.
"Of course, you do. It's either you'll dress up and come with me to the gala or you can stay with your uncle." Shen Huang remarked, pleased at how nonchalant he sounded. It was really hard to argue with his eldest son most of the time.
"I'll choose to go with Uncle," Young Shen Yi said in his usual discontented voice.
"Then, it's settled."
---
"Oh, Sister Mei, she's really beautiful." Shen Jinxiu's smile widened as he gently cradled a young girl in his arms. The girl was sleeping peacefully against his chest while Lu Sibai and Sun Meixiu smiled at his delight.
Sun Meixiu laughed with a satisfied expression in her face while her husband looked over his friend and daughter with pride in his eyes.
"She's adorable, isn't she?" Lu Sibai laughed. "But she could be handful at times."
The hotel room buzzed with activity and conversations, the three adults catching up with the recent events within the capital while the young boy Shen Jinxiu brought with him busied himself with a cartoon show on the television.
"You two should be so proud of her." Shen Jinxiu laughed. "What's her name by the way?" The sleeping girl on his arm moved, a sign that she was about to wake up from her nap.
"Her name is Lu Xinyi. Our little Xin'er." Lu Sibai drew the characters of his daughter's name in a clean napkin and showed it to Shen Jinxiu.
"Xinyi…"—Shen Jinxiu read it aloud—"…means a joyous heart. Not bad." He nodded his head in agreement.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom "Of course, we wanted her to lead a happy life and always be happy. She's our little princess." Sun Meixiu smiled, amused that her cranky daughter accepted their dear friend easily.
"Ah, what an angel, so unlike our family's little prince over there." Shen Jinxiu grumbled.
He snorted and eyed his nephew who acted matured at his young age.
"What are you talking about, Brother Jin? Your nephew looks adorable. I wouldn't mind having a son as handsome as he is." The woman cupped her cheek as she looked at Shen Yi's way. Sun Meixiu's laugh sounded like bells in Shen Jinxiu's ears.
"Don't get fooled with his face, Meixiu." Shen Jinxiu huffed. Ever since they arrived at the hotel room where the Lu family was staying, his nephew chose to ignore him, shaking his head whenever the adults gestured or asked him to come and eat with them.
"Oh…" Sun Meixiu said but didn't say more. Instead, she shifted the topic to something else. "Actually, we came back because I heard Father had open-heart surgery last weekend…" she spoke with light bitterness. "How's my sister, Mingai?"
"We're doing well." Shen Jinxiu assured her. He knew it must be hard for Meixiu not to be able to visit her father after she ended her engagement in favor of Lu Sibai. "Initially, she didn't want me to come here and meet you, but I told her you must be lonely right now. I would've brought her with me today, but Mingai is also busy as she presides over the meeting with the Sun Corps' business partners."
Sun Meixiu's mood deteriorated which was noticed by her husband and Shen Jinxiu. Lu Sibai reached her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.
"It's alright, dear. Someday, your father will understand your decision. I'm sure once he sees our Xin'er, our daughter will be able to win his heart." His voice broke into her reverie.
"I do hope so…" Sun Meixiu said softly.
"Yi! Come here and meet Xin'er! Stop watching cartoons. You haven't eaten anything since we left the company." Shen Jinxiu remembered and called his stubborn nephew in the living area.
"What if I don't want to?" was the boy's response.
"Why you little…" Shen Jinxiu grumbled to himself. He could feel a vein swelling on his head because of this boy. "Yi, if you don't come here, I swear I'll never let you see your video games back at home," he threatened.
The boy shivered on his seat before following his uncle's order. He sauntered from the living area towards the dining room and saw his uncle holding a small girl in his arms. His small face scrunched up, not liking how his uncle holding the girl casually.
"Come here and greet Xin'er." His uncle gestured him to come forward. Shen Jinxiu glanced up at him, not giving him a chance to decline.
"Fine," Shen Yi answered. He took the remaining steps and saw the girl yawn sleepily. He regarded her with impassive coldness, not sure what to say or how to react upon seeing the girl. He studied her thoughtfully for a moment.
The girl forced Shen Jinxiu to put her down on the floor. She moved like her knees were just hinges, wobbling as if anytime, she could fall on her padded bottom. Then, she brushed the invisible lint on her dress and patted her stomach.
"Daddy, I'm hungry," she told her father. Her father stood at once and ran towards the kitchen to prepare her food while she was left standing beside Shen Jinxiu and eyed the boy who was shamelessly staring back at her.
Young Shen Yi thought she looked so small and cute as hell. She was dressed in a baby-pink dress and those soft shoes kids wore, the ones they could still feel the ground through. Suddenly, she smiled at him; and he thought it was as sweet as a summer strawberry and filled him with a ray of sunshine he never knew existed in the world.
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