An Bao was roused by Mu Yunshang. Still half-asleep, she nonetheless climbed out of bed without complaint, shuffled along in her pink Peppa Pig slippers, wobbled her way through washing up, and was then led over to take her seat at the dining table.
"An Bao, did you sleep well?"
"Mmm, Third Uncle's bed is so comfy~ An Bao slept really well!"
An Bao tilted her little head back and beamed at Mu Yunshang, her smile soft and utterly endearing.
Ever since learning that An Bao was Mu Yunyao's daughter, Mu Yunshang had grown even fonder of the little one!
"That's wonderful! Our An Bao can fall asleep all by herself — how impressive."
Mu Yunyi happened to be wearing an apron, carrying a plate out of the kitchen, when he caught Mu Yunshang's words—the corner of his mouth gave a twitch.
Is simply being able to fall asleep on one's own already something worth praising?
But…
Watching An Bao's face flush with smug, beaming delight after being praised, Mu Yunyi gave a soft cough and concluded that yes, the compliment had indeed been warranted — quite adorable, really.
"Eat breakfast."
Mu Yunyi set a glass of milk, an egg, and a croissant in front of An Bao, then spoke in a somewhat stiff tone.
He too wished to express his feelings for An Bao the way Mu Yunshang did — yet in the end, he was not Mu Yunshang.
Furthermore, because of what had happened before, Mu Yunyi feared that An Bao would be afraid of him — that she would be just like that bird, and reject him.
Only after hearing Mu Yunyi's voice did An Bao come to her senses. Somewhat surprised, she turned to look at him and called out instinctively: "First Uncle?"
"Mm."
Before, whenever Mu Yunyi heard An Bao call him "Uncle," his heart had been filled with resistance. But now, hearing it again, Mu Yunyi's heart had completely softened.
At that moment, even though not a trace of emotion showed on Mu Yunyi's face, anyone who knew him well could still detect the shift in his eyes.
Was this really still that ruthlessly decisive business titan, the iron-faced emperor Mu Yunyi?
After hearing Mu Yunyi respond to her, An Bao rubbed her eyes as though she were dreaming, then stared at Mu Yunyi with wide, longing eyes.
"Eat breakfast first — it won't keep if you wait too long."
Mu Yunyi had no idea how to talk to a child, but with An Bao staring up at him with those wide, expectant eyes, he found himself at a loss for words too — all he could do was keep a stiff expression and speak in a rigid, halting manner.
"Oh…" An Bao gave an obedient little hum, then buried her head and set to eating in earnest.
Seeing that An Bao had not rejected or disliked him the way he had imagined, Mu Yunyi quietly let out a small breath of relief.
Mu Yunshang, meanwhile, sat off to one side, eating his breakfast while struggling to suppress a smile.
You have to understand, this older brother of his had OCD.
And this obsessive-compulsive tendency manifested itself in an extremely acute sense of time.
For instance, breakfast at seven-thirty sharp, fifteen minutes of news at eight, and out the door for work at eight-thirty on the dot…
If anyone dared to disrupt his daily routine or throw off his schedule, it would be a wonder if he didn't blow his top!
And at this very moment……
Mu Yunshang glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and gave a quiet, inward shake of his head. It was already nine o'clock — Mu Yunyi's every plan had long since been thrown into disarray……
Moreover, her own big brother had actually gone into the kitchen himself to make breakfast for the little pudding — tsk, tsk, tsk…
Others have their "chase the wife through the crematorium" arcs — but it looks like my big brother is about to go through a "chase the niece through the crematorium" arc of his own.
Still, serves them right!
Just as Mu Yunshang was gleefully speculating from the sidelines about how long it would take An Bao to forgive Mu Yunyi, Mu Yunyi looked at An Bao, who had already finished eating, and spoke: "An Bao, I'm sorry. It was your uncle who misunderstood you before—your uncle who refused to believe you were Yunyao's daughter, who refused to believe you were trying to save someone, and who drove you away… Your uncle hasn't been a good uncle. You…"
After saying all this, Mu Yunyi looked at An Bao's young, childlike face with unease in his eyes, afraid that the gaze An Bao turned on him would be one of disgust.
But...
The clenched fist on the back of his hand was caught by a soft little hand. Mu Yunyi looked up to find the little dumpling tugging at his hand, face tilted up in a beaming smile: "It's okay! It's enough that eldest uncle now knows An Bao wasn't lying! An Bao told you — An Bao doesn't lie. An Bao is a good baby, okay!"
"Hmm…"
"Big Uncle wasn't familiar with An Bao before, that's why he had doubts about An Bao. If Big Uncle plays with An Bao more from now on, he'll come to believe in An Bao. Also, Big Uncle is a good uncle — Mama said so. All the uncles are very, very good, they're all good people."
"An Bao…" Hearing An Bao's words, Mu Yunyi's throat went a little hoarse as he called out softly.
"So, An Bao won't be angry with Big Uncle, okay? Big Uncle, we're still good friends!"
"Good."
When An Bao heard Mu Yunyi's reply, she broke into a happy smile, her big eyes curving like little crescent moons, and the two deep dimples on her chubby cheeks made anyone who looked at her feel that she was both sweet and soft.
The next second, An Bao threw herself into Mu Yunyi's arms. Seeing that Mu Yunyi hadn't pushed her away, she gave a contented little nuzzle.
How wonderful!
Big Uncle isn't pushing her away anymore!
So, Big Uncle no longer dislikes her, does he?
"Big Uncle, An Bao likes you very much — so does Big Uncle like An Bao too?"
The little milk dumpling carefully lifted their small head to look at Mu Yunyi, eyes brimming with anticipation.
She makes one want nothing more than to pluck every last star from the sky and lay them all at her feet.
"Mm, I do—I really like An Bao."
Mu Yunyi's voice was soft yet steady, and hearing it, An Bao felt her heart lift once more.
Mu Yunyi gazed at the innocent, pure, and kind little one, his heart brimming with relief.
Thank goodness An Bao wasn't angry. Thank goodness An Bao didn't come to dislike him. Thank goodness, thank goodness…
After he had done something so outrageous to her, not a trace of resentment stirred in her heart — instead, she forgave him, just like that.
Mu Yunshang stood to the side, watching An Bao get all cozy with Mu Yunyi in the span of just a moment, and felt a sudden pang of jealousy.
"An Bao! Do you really only like First Uncle and not your Third Uncle? Yesterday, it was Third Uncle who stood firmly by your side and believed in you, you know."
Upon hearing Mu Yunshang's voice, An Bao swayed as she pulled back from Mu Yunyi's embrace, then turned and wrapped her arms around Mu Yunshang's leg, saying in a soft, adorable voice: "An Bao likes Third Uncle too! Third Uncle is the best."
"That's more like it."
The moment Mu Yunshang heard An Bao's words, his face broke into a delighted grin as he scooped An Bao up into his arms, while simultaneously shooting a provocative glance at Mu Yunyi.
Mu Yunyi let out a scoffing laugh. "Naive."
But then, Mu Yunyi reached into his chest and produced a black-and-gold card, holding it out to An Bao. "An Bao, this is a meeting gift from your eldest uncle. Keep it safe — buy whatever you want."
"Big Brother!!!"
Does it really have to be this over the top? That black gold card has an unlimited credit limit and no PIN!
In other words, An Bao could spend as much as she wanted! No matter how much she spent, Mu Yunyi could pay it all back for her!
Mu Yunshang glared at Mu Yunyi, truly wanting to beat this utterly wicked capitalist to death!!
Just then, Mu Yunshang's phone suddenly rang. The moment he answered, his agent's voice came bursting through: "Oh my god! Mr. Mu! Was that little baby who did the livestream with you the other day actually yours?!"
"Hm? My wife — what is it?"
"There's good news — do you want to hear it?"
"Release!"
“……”