The family hadn't seen each other for a long time, and there were endless things to talk about. Especially Zhao Shuyan's mother, Li Fang. An old woman like her had her eyes turn red instantly. She grabbed Zhao Shuyan's hand and refused to let go.
She couldn't remember how many nights she had dreamed of this moment.
"Mom, Dad, just settle down here with ease."
Although the family was reunited, Shen Yi felt rather bitter inside, with a tinge of self - blame.
He had fallen out with his own family early on. It was his in - laws who had unconditionally supported him. They even held a wedding banquet for the young couple when he had nothing.
In a way, he regarded Zhao Qingyuan and his wife as his own parents.
After a long period of chatting, Zhao Shuyan finally came to her senses. She pulled Shen Nanyi over and introduced her to her parents.
Zhao Qingyuan had been a rural schoolteacher all his life and was used to being serious. But when he saw Shen Nanyi, his heart melted.
With her big watery eyes looking at the people in front of her, Shen Nanyi showed no sign of shyness at all. She stretched out her little hands, asking to be hugged.
She took an immediate liking to her grandparents whom she was meeting for the first time. Having lived many lives, Shen Nanyi was good at judging people.
She made up her mind to spend the money from her mission on the two old people. She wouldn't hesitate, not even if it was a million instead of just a hundred thousand.
"This child is so lovely."
The Zhao couple couldn't take their eyes off Shen Nanyi. They reached out to hug her.
But due to their old age, they were afraid of hurting the little girl. So, after a short while, they put Shen Nanyi down.
"Intimacy increased by five points."
The voice of the system echoed in Shen Nanyi's mind. Her expression froze on her face. Just a simple hug and she got five points of intimacy?
Thinking about her mission and adhering to the principle of never spending money on strangers, Shen Nanyi decided not to let Zhao Qingyuan hug her for the time being.
Even though she thought so, Shen Nanyi felt a bit embarrassed. The old man had come all this way. If she refused to be hugged, would it hurt his feelings?
Looking up at Zhao Qingyuan, Shen Nanyi was struggling inside.
Zhao Qingyuan's eyes were fixed on Shen Nanyi all the time. He couldn't believe that his daughter's child could already walk.
The eyes of the grandfather and granddaughter met. Shen Nanyi gave Zhao Qingyuan a sweet smile.
"Intimacy increased by one point."
She had thought this wouldn't cause any problem, but the system's voice completely shattered her plan. She even felt like swearing.
She had been very careful, not even having any physical contact with Zhao Qingyuan, yet there was still an increase in intimacy?
So now it seemed that she had to spend money on someone she hadn't even talked to?
The more Shen Nanyi thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. If the system had given her the money, she wouldn't have said a word. But the stingy system didn't give her any money at all. Instead, she had to pay out of her own pocket.
At this moment, Shen Nanyi felt like crying.
Zhao Qingyuan and his wife originally planned to stay for just a few days and then go back, not wanting to be a burden to Shen Yi. But when they saw Shen Nanyi, their minds wavered. Such a cute and cuddly granddaughter made them want to stay longer.
To welcome the two old people, Shen Yi specially booked a dinner at a nearby hotel. The whole family went to the hotel together.
As soon as they arrived at the hotel entrance, they saw a large crowd gathered there, dense and packed. It seemed that they were all watching something.
The Shen family wasn't the type to be nosy. They wanted to bypass the crowd and get inside quickly. But the hotel entrance was blocked so tightly that they couldn't get through. After some pushing and shoving, they ended up in a relatively front position.
In the center, a little boy was lying on the ground. He looked about four or five years old. He was dressed very neatly, but his face was pale. No one knew what was wrong with him.
Although there were many onlookers, no one stepped forward to help. Many people took out their phones to take pictures.
They kept forwarding the news on their WeChat Moments, asking someone to claim the child. They thought they were being extremely kind, but not a single person reached out a hand.
"It's so cold. If such a young child lies on the ground like this, he might get sick."
Zhao Fang had lived in the countryside all her life and still retained her original simplicity and kindness. She didn't understand all the complexities. She walked straight to the front.
She moved so fast that Shen Yi didn't have time to stop her. He had no choice but to follow behind her.
When they saw someone approaching, the onlookers immediately took a half - step back, trying to distance themselves.
The little boy on the ground seemed to sense someone approaching. He opened his eyes weakly, full of caution.
The coldness in his eyes surprised even an old person like Zhao Fang. She was in a daze for a few seconds before going over to help him up.
When she got closer, Zhao Fang found that the child was extremely good - looking. He was just as cute as Shen Nanyi. Especially his aura, which didn't seem to belong to an ordinary family's child.
"Come with us."
Taking the little boy's hand, Zhao Fang wanted to take him inside to get warm and then figure out how to find his parents.
Being led by a stranger, Ji Beichuan instinctively wanted to refuse. But in a daze, he seemed to see his own grandma. Without struggling, he followed Zhao Fang inside.
Shen Nanyi's eyes were always on Ji Beichuan, or more precisely, on the bracelet on his wrist. Her emotions were indescribable.
Now that the main character had left, the onlookers found it boring and dispersed one by one. Looking at the videos on their WeChat Moments, they still felt a great sense of accomplishment.
The family walked into the hotel. For some reason, the hotel receptionist had a strange expression when seeing Ji Beichuan.
Shen Yi had booked a table in advance, and the dishes were served quickly. Ji Beichuan was really hungry, but he didn't forget his dining etiquette. He ate very gracefully.
In all her years, Zhao Fang had never seen such a child before. He was like a young master in a TV drama, even more noble than that.
During the meal, Shen Nanyi didn't eat much. Her eyes never left Ji Beichuan's wrist.
The bracelet on Ji Beichuan's hand was the coming - of - age gift from her mother, the queen, in her previous lives. Her mother had hoped that this bracelet would protect her safely.
That woman, as the queen, had gone to a Taoist temple for several days to pray for it. At that time, it had been raining continuously. A pampered queen like her had never been exposed to the rain before. Because of this, the queen's health had gradually deteriorated, and she had passed away at a young age.
On her deathbed, she had told Shen Nanyi never to take off this bracelet, saying that it would protect her until she grew up safely. Unfortunately, it hadn't been of much use to her.
Reborn in this life, seeing the most important thing from her previous life, Shen Nanyi's emotions were rather complicated.
The adults thought that Shen Nanyi was just curious because she hadn't seen a stranger before. They didn't pay much attention to her gaze, nor did they know the storm raging in Shen Nanyi's heart at this moment.
Although hungry, Ji Beichuan still remembered the rule of not overeating. Soon, he put down his chopsticks and stopped eating.
Just as he put down his chopsticks, Ji Beichuan happened to meet Shen Nanyi's gaze. Children were more sensitive to emotions than adults. Ji Beichuan immediately knew that Shen Nanyi was interested in his bracelet. The cold expression on his little face finally showed a hint of a smile.