Ke Muning was briefly appeased, but as soon as they returned to the villa, he immediately put on an act and asked, "You've been away from home for a long time too. Don't you want to make a couple of phone calls to your family?"
After saying this, Ke Muning called for someone to bring over the telephone.
"Here, make the call now."
Li Xiaoya actually picked up the telephone receiver: "How do I use this?"
Unable to see Li Xiaoya's panicked and troubled expression, Ke Muning felt a bit disappointed, but also a little pleased.
After all, it was precisely because she was different from other children that he liked her in the first place.
"I'll teach you," Ke Muning said as he instructed her, not forgetting to criticize her family, "Your family didn't even teach you this?"
Li Xiaoya thought for a moment: "Probably because normal people all know how to use it, so they didn't think of it."
"Then why don't you know how to use it?"
"I've never seen one before, so I don't know how to use it."
It was then that Ke Muning suddenly remembered the content of the program his subordinates had provided him earlier.
At that time, he had face blindness and no patience to watch, so he had only skimmed through it... vaguely remembering that the child in it was dirty and thin.
After watching it, apart from suspecting the child's ghost family identity, he had no other impressions.
It was a kind of indifference that came from not caring at all.
But now, with Li Xiaoya's one sentence, the image from that program and her current self were suddenly linked together.
Ke Muning leaned against the sofa backrest, narrowing his eyes, feeling a wave of displeasure in his heart.
By this time, Li Xiaoya had already confidently dialed out.
"Hello," the other end answered.
"Please transfer the call to Grandfather," she said.
The person on the other end paused for a moment and asked, "Who is this?"
Li Xiaoya blinked in confusion and said, "I'm Xiaoya."
Had she dialed the wrong number? That shouldn't be the case. She had memorized the number very well.
"This is Xing Siyun. The old gentleman has gone out on business. Would you like me to call Wei Wenqing for you? Though he can't speak," the female voice on the other end said.
Li Xiaoya asked in confusion, "Why are you there?"
She was the granddaughter of her grandfather's friend. If her grandfather wasn't home, why was she still there?
Xing Siyun on the other end laughed and said, "Of course I'm here. The old gentleman hopes that I'll become friends with Wei Wenqing."
Li Xiaoya was silent for a moment, then asked, "What does 'become friends' mean?"
"It means to become his wife, but I prefer your family's second young master. Unfortunately, he's gone abroad to handle some affairs."
Li Xiaoya's eyes widened immediately.
Did this mean she was going to have an aunt?
"Thank you, no need to call anyone for me. Goodbye." Li Xiaoya had already learned all the information she wanted to know, so she hung up the phone.
Ke Muning had also finished listening to the translated oral report.
He turned to look at Li Xiaoya: "That wasn't your family on the other end?"
Li Xiaoya shook her head and struggled to explain the woman's identity to Ke Muning using her sparse English vocabulary.
Ke Muning immediately tried to intimidate her: "If they get married, they'll soon have children. Once there are new children, you won't be important anymore..."
"You can choose to go abroad with me, teach them a lesson, and they'll understand your importance."
Li Xiaoya looked at him and said very seriously, "Can you make me some food for tomorrow's school activity, so I can first understand your importance?"
Ke Muning was not unfamiliar with this kind of activity.
Because in the West, cooking classes and bringing homemade lunches on outdoor trips were more popular.
"I've only heard of spring outings, what is this? A winter summer camp?" Ke Muning asked.
"They've organized an ice sculpture exhibition and ice ballet activities in the suburbs. Many athletes have been invited," Li Xiaoya said, still very interested in athletes.
"Alright. But you know, in foreign countries, it's usually parents who prepare food for their children. If you need my help, you should at least call me..."
"Dad?"
Ke Muning hadn't even finished speaking when Li Xiaoya so easily opened her mouth.
He swallowed the rest of what he was going to say.
Actually, he only wanted to say.
You should at least call me "godfather."
"Okay, I'll make you some special dishes that will make you the most eye-catching child among them!" Ke Muning rolled up his sleeves.
On Monday morning, Li Xiaoya thus received raw beef mixed with raw eggs, fermented fish, a stew of lamb lungs, liver, and heart, blood pudding, and Russian stew...
A full bucket, but not a single dish was palatable.
A subordinate standing nearby pointed at the Russian stew emitting a strange odor and said with a hint of shyness, "I made that one, miss."
Another subordinate boasted, "He's very good at making this!"
Li Xiaoya quietly sighed in her heart.
It looked even less appetizing than the baked potatoes from Li Family Village.
But she didn't say anything. The subordinates helped her put on the insulated bucket, and then sent her off to the car.
Ke Muning had already gotten over his initial obsession with sending Li Xiaoya to school. He had his own business to attend to, so he didn't go along this time.
Li Xiaoya entered the school gates.
Meanwhile, Li Jiang and Li Qingqing were hiding behind a bus stop on the main road.
"Did you see? That was Xiaoya," Li Jiang sighed.
Li Qingqing didn't even know Li Xiaoya was attending this elite school. She watched the endless stream of luxury cars, feeling that world was so close yet forever out of reach no matter how hard she tried.
"I saw," Li Qingqing said, trying her best not to appear too envious.
She asked, "Uncle Li Jiang, did you bring me here just to show me how well Xiaoya is living now? Or are you planning to go up and reveal yourself to her? Who knows if Xiaoya still remembers you, or if she can even recognize you?"
Li Jiang turned back and smiled, "Trying to stir things up? Qingqing, your methods and insights are entirely inherited from your grandfather and your father. You've seen how useless they are. Do you want to follow in their footsteps?"
Li Qingqing cursed inwardly, "Bullshit! I'm a reincarnated person!"
"Today, the third to fifth grades of the elementary school will have an outdoor activity," Li Jiang paused and said, "When they come out, we'll follow them."
"How do you know about the activity?" Li Qingqing blurted out.
"That's why I say you're not smart. I've seen some of the show, and your fawning face in front of President Sheng was impossible to hide. Those rich tycoons are all shrewd people. You failed to win their favor, didn't you? Approaching these people directly is the stupidest move. The more you try to please them, the less you'll get what you want."
Li Qingqing couldn't stand hearing this.
Li Jiang wasn't doing so well himself now, what right did he have to call her stupid?
Li Jiang pointed towards the elementary school in the distance: "Do you know how many staff work in this school? Among these people, some are greedy, some are simple-minded, some are foolish... They don't have the wariness of rich people, and it's easy to pry open barriers through them."
He paused, then said, "See, even after teaching you, you still don't get it."
Li Qingqing was immediately filled with shame and anger. She gritted her teeth and said, "Uncle Li Jiang, your current situation isn't good either. Don't forget, I can at any time..."
"Report me to the police?" Li Jiang shook his head, "You haven't gotten what you want yet. If you really did that, you'd truly be incredibly stupid."
Li Qingqing was shaking with anger, but she forced it down and said, "We were from the same village originally. I valued that relationship, that's why I haven't reported you..."
But Li Jiang looked her up and down and said, "Your father's genes were already poor, and your mother's genes aren't much better."
"Are Li Xiaoya's so great?" Li Qingqing couldn't hold back her anger and blurted out.
Li Jiang's gaze became distant for a moment: "Yes, they are... You're far behind her. She showed her talent when she was just two years old."
Li Qingqing sneered, "Yes, the genes of a specially kidnapped young lady from a wealthy family must be good. They're good alright, Uncle Li Jiang, but you'll have to go to prison for it."
Li Jiang's brows furrowed, hiding a bit of anger: "What do you know?"
At this moment, a school bus drove out.
"Let's follow it."