Li Xiaoya didn't say anything, but first slipped a candy into his palm.
Sheng Yuxiao swallowed the rest of his words, then looked down.
"The candy you exchanged for little red flowers at Shitou School? You still have some?" Sheng Yuxiao asked in surprise.
"I exchanged for a lot," Li Xiaoya told him.
"All saved for me?" Sheng Yuxiao snorted with a laugh, but his eyebrows and eyes noticeably lifted.
"Mm-hmm!"
Sheng Yuxiao picked her up in one swift motion: "Then I'll ask you that question again in half an hour."
Li Xiaoya: "..."
Sheng Yuxiao carried her to the car. The driver already recognized her but was still a bit surprised: "So Miss Li is today's honored guest?"
Sheng Yuxiao nodded and turned to Li Xiaoya: "It's perfect timing today. Xu Ruying's parents just finished a phase of their research work and came back. I'll introduce you to them."
Li Xiaoya obediently replied: "Okay."
Sheng Yuxiao tugged at the ears on her hat and asked in a low voice: "Did Ke Muning buy this for you?"
"Mm."
Sheng Yuxiao didn't say anything else.
However, when Young Master Sheng said half an hour, he really asked again right on the dot 30 minutes later: "Did you go to Qin Sui's birthday party?"
Li Xiaoya answered softly: "I did."
Sheng Yuxiao scoffed: "Qin Sui is such a boring person, and his birthday party is equally dull. Their family's birthday parties even have speeches thanking the guests, making it feel like a wedding. Didn't you doze off sitting in the audience? You would've been better off talking to me on the phone."
Li Xiaoya asked: "How do you know what his birthday party is like?"
"I attended one before when the two families were still on good terms. Next time, don't go. It's not fun," Sheng Yuxiao revealed his true intentions.
Li Xiaoya looked a bit troubled: "But he hand-wrote an invitation for me. I should go."
Sheng Yuxiao paused: "Hand-written invitation?"
He couldn't help but pat Li Xiaoya's head and sighed: "How are you so easily pleased?"
But he didn't say anything more about not letting her go.
Li Xiaoya asked back: "What do you mean by 'easily pleased'?"
Sheng Yuxiao thought to himself, it means that just a little bit of sunshine from others makes you want to give them a whole field of sunflowers in return.
"Young Master, we've arrived," the driver's voice sounded.
Sheng Yuxiao forgot to continue asking Li Xiaoya if she had given Qin Sui a birthday gift.
He got out of the car first, then bent down to lift Li Xiaoya out.
After walking a few steps, they saw someone standing in the Sheng family's small garden.
She wasn't very tall.
Not much older than Li Xiaoya.
That person suddenly looked at Li Xiaoya, and for an instant, her eyes revealed hatred.
But it was just for an instant.
Li Xiaoya blinked slowly, almost thinking it was her imagination.
Li Xiaoya asked: "Who is she?"
Sheng Yuxiao was also puzzled and asked the servant who came out to greet them: "Who is this?"
The servant said: "This is Miss Li who came with Mr. Xu and his wife."
Sheng Yuxiao's eyebrows lifted slightly, forming a sharp and fierce arc.
He was about to say there was no other Miss Li...
But Li Xiaoya remembered first and tilted her head to ask: "Li Qingqing?"
"Yes, it's me," that person uttered with difficulty.
"She's Li Qingqing?" Sheng Yuxiao immediately spoke up, "I thought it was a piece of charcoal come to life."
Li Qingqing almost cried out in anger.
Did she want to become so dark?
Ever since Sheng Yuxiao's father, Sheng Jun, had handed her over to Xu Ruying's parents, she had been forced to follow that couple to do field research in the wilderness.
At that time, she saw people on the internet envying her, envying that she could learn from such great professors, and she felt somewhat elated. She thought she still had a chance to turn her life around.
But who knew!
Who knew that the life of biologists and zoologists could be so terrible!
They had good lives they could have lived, but instead insisted on diving into forests! Climbing steep cliffs!
This was how Li Qingqing got so tanned, and her body was left with many scars.
Those were all left by various grass leaves, tree branches, and insects.
When she heard that the couple had finally decided to return home, she was overjoyed.
But she never imagined... that on this very day, she would see Li Xiaoya again!
"Let's go inside first," Sheng Yuxiao didn't give Li Qingqing much attention. He continued walking while carrying Li Xiaoya.
Li Qingqing watched their backs from behind, her breathing becoming labored.
Because Li Xiaoya hadn't participated in any more show recordings afterward, she had no way of knowing how Li Xiaoya was doing after being recognized by her family.
Li Qingqing had imagined countless possibilities in her mind... but none of them should have been like this!
— Coming to Sheng Yuxiao's house as a guest, and even being carried by Sheng Yuxiao as they walked.
Didn't she have legs?
Li Qingqing stood in the garden for a while longer. She didn't wait for Sheng Jun to return, but instead heard the noisy sounds of people first.
She craned her neck to look outside.
Familiar cameras!
Li Qingqing's scalp tingled, and she quickly grabbed someone to ask: "What are they here for?"
"It's the 'Exchange Lives' show crew. Previously, Young Master agreed to record an extra urban special episode for them. They're probably here to do some additional filming today. It's rare to have everyone gathered..."
Li Qingqing's expression twitched, and she quickly turned to run inside.
As soon as she entered, she heard Xu Ruying ask loudly: "Xiaoya, do you want some ice cream? It's so fun to eat ice cream with the heater on! Come over and choose a flavor!"
Sheng Yuxiao said unhappily: "Don't let her eat that. Her stomach will hurt later."
Xu Ruying sheepishly fell silent: "When I was little, I could eat three popsicles in one go without any problem."
"Then you should thank my uncle and aunt for passing on their excellent genes to you," Sheng Yuxiao said, then waved to Li Xiaoya, "Come here, I'll peel some walnuts for you to eat."
Xu Ruying interjected: "Why didn't you buy pre-peeled ones?"
"Pre-peeled ones get moist easily and don't taste good."
"Peel one for your good sister too."
"When Ning Heng comes later, let him peel some for you."
"Forget it then, I don't want any!"
Li Qingqing felt a bit dazed listening to this conversation.
Whether it was glimpsing a bit of doting from news snippets in her previous life, or catching a hint from netizens' discussions in this life.
None of it was as shocking as witnessing this moment firsthand.
The conversation between them was so familiar, so close, like a family... even more exaggerated than in her previous life!
Li Qingqing paused at this realization.
At that moment, the cameraman came in.
Just then, a servant called from outside: "The master has returned."
Sheng Jun was back!
The sound of footsteps could be heard.
Xu Ruying's parents also came down from upstairs, accompanied by a very young man who looked about college age, wearing black-framed glasses and appearing quite handsome.
At this point, Li Xiaoya looked up and exclaimed in surprise: "Secretary Wang?"
Xu Ruying's parents were also very surprised to hear this and were about to say something.
Secretary Wang looked back and mouthed four words: "Scientific research funding."
Then his brother and sister-in-law closed their puzzled mouths.
Secretary Wang strode over in a few steps to Li Xiaoya's side and held out his hand, asking: "Can I have two walnuts?"
Li Xiaoya picked up an unpeeled walnut from the side and placed it in his palm.
Secretary Wang asked disappointedly: "Can't you give me peeled ones?"
Li Xiaoya tightened her own hand and said: "These were peeled for me by Sheng Yuxiao. I can't give them to others."
Unwilling to offer someone else's favor as her own. Alright, she's a good child.
Secretary Wang pouted: "Then you peel some for me."
Sheng Yuxiao reminded him: "You have two hands."
"Ah yes, I have two hands..." Secretary Wang said as he raised them, then let his wrists droop, "Oh no, I seem to have injured them a while back and there are some aftereffects. Too bad, I can't peel them now."
Xu Ruying's mouth twitched violently on the side.
Really! She couldn't stand her young uncle! How could he deceive such a cute and innocent little duck!
It was Sheng Yuxiao who lightly said: "The show is about to start broadcasting."
Secretary Wang put on a helpless expression: "Alright, I won't get to eat walnuts peeled by the little one. This show isn't paying me to appear, I can't let them film me for free. I'm leaving, going back to work for the boss."
He left as soon as he said so.
Li Qingqing, however, couldn't help but look at him a couple more times.
This person's appearance was so abrupt, and his departure equally so. His behavior and manner were also quite strange...
But Li Qingqing soon had no time to ponder these things.
The show really did start broadcasting—
Many viewers flooded into the platform.
The director sat behind the screen, constantly monitoring the camera performance and live streaming data.
As he watched, he couldn't help but complain: "Our show is already in its second season, but the total number of online viewers for the two episodes of the second season combined is still less than the number for this urban special!"
The netizens had indeed been looking forward to the follow-up for a long time.
This could be seen from Mrs. Qin's reaction alone.
[Wow, it's so lively!]
[Finally! It's here again!]
[Wait, who's that child?]
[Is that Li Xiaoya sitting on the sofa? She's changed so much! Her skin is glowing, not pale anymore! She looks healthy!]
[Xiaoya is really pretty. I wish she could become a figurine I could carry in my pocket.]
[Hold on, doesn't anyone care about who that disheveled child next to her is?]
At this moment, Xu Ruying's father called out her name: "Li Qingqing, you sit down too."
[Holy crap, that's Li Qingqing? How did she end up like this?]
[There seem to be some small scars on her body]
[No way, right? Did Young Master Sheng have someone abuse her for Li Xiaoya's sake?]
[Don't those scars look a lot like the ones Li Xiaoya got from crawling through the woods to pick mushrooms?]
[Now that you mention it... it's like their appearances have completely switched!]
It wasn't just the netizens who thought this way.
Li Qingqing also felt that her position with Li Xiaoya had been reversed.
She hunched her back uncomfortably, and at that moment noticed Sheng Yuxiao suddenly answering a phone call and walking towards the garden, away from the camera.
At this time, Xu Ruying was introducing Li Xiaoya to her parents, and most of the attention was focused on Li Xiaoya.
Li Qingqing quickly escaped from the camera's view and also hid in the small garden.
This phone call to Sheng Yuxiao was from Secretary Wang, also known as Xu Ji.
"You asked me earlier to keep an eye out for Li Xiaoya's nominal father, Li Jiang, right?" Secretary Wang may have left, but he still had things to say.
"Yes," Sheng Yuxiao responded on this end.
"The police have searched for him in Peng City, Xiang City, Zhou City... several major labor-importing cities, but haven't found him. Now he's the only related person not in custody... The police have made a deduction, suspecting he might have fled to Jin City."
Sheng Yuxiao's tone sharpened: "Is he coming for Xiaoya? To get forgiveness from a direct relative? Or... does he have an even bigger scheme?"
"Hmm, could be all of the above. But you don't need to worry... after all, Li Xiaoya is being raised by Ke Muning now," Xu Ji's tone was relaxed.
Xu Ji continued: "Maybe he should first make a wish that he never runs into Ke Muning face to face."
"It's always been Ke Muning taking from others, never the other way around."