Communal sponsored chapters (1/2) by CoolBlue on ko-fi. Thank you for your support!
Seeing Jiang Li’s dumbfounded expression, Feng Qi looked at her with an amused smile, “What, not daring to say it now?”
Jiang Li covered her face with her hands, “Uncle, if you’re this nitpicky, you’ll end up without friends.”
Feng Qi laughed, “It’s okay, I don’t need friends. I have a Xiao Lizi at home to tease, isn’t that enough?”
Jiang Li’s eyes darted around, deciding to change the subject, “Third Uncle, what did Zhao Qiang tell you after he returned to the research institute yesterday?”
Feng Qi raised an eyebrow, “He said a lot of nonsense to me. Which part are you asking about?”
“Didn’t he… say anything special to you?” Jiang Li didn’t really believe it. As she asked this, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and saw a call from Zhao Qiang.
Confused, she swiped to answer and before she could speak, heard her senior brother’s anxious voice, “Junior sister, is your school on holiday today?”
“Yes, why?” Jiang Li was puzzled.
“Are you… going home today?” Zhao Qiang hesitated.
“Of course, I’m already on my way home,” Jiang Li replied truthfully.
Zhao Qiang sighed, “I just found out that Professor Feng left the research institute not long ago, he might be going home too.”
Jiang Li’s expression grew more puzzled, “Senior Brother, what exactly are you trying to say?”
“Well… I haven’t had the chance to tell Professor Feng about you dislocating your classmate’s arms yesterday. If you don’t want him to know, be careful not to let it slip!”
Jiang Li: …
Too late—she had already let it slip. If her third uncle was like her third brother, the kind of carefree and oblivious person, she might have been able to make up an excuse. Now, it seemed unlikely.
After hanging up, Jiang Li glanced at Feng Qi with a resigned expression.
Feng Qi’s eyes twinkled with amusement, “Your relationship with Zhao Qiang seems quite good.”
Jiang Li smiled awkwardly, “Not particularly close.”
“Do you two have any little secrets that I don’t know about?” Feng Qi asked.
“…” Now that things had come to this point, she might as well confess. It’s the same consequence whether she speaks up or not anyway, and maybe being honest would be slightly better.
Jiang Li looked at Feng Qi and blinked, “Uncle, what should I do if someone wants to hit me?”
Feng Qi’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. After a couple of seconds, he spoke calmly, “If you can handle them, fight back. If not, run away and tell me immediately.”
Jiang Li nodded right away, “That’s what I thought too.”
Seeing her hesitant demeanor, Feng Qi immediately thought of the two missed calls on his phone and the brief twenty-second call from Xiao Lizi. The missed calls were from a landline; he had called back, but there was no answer, so he didn’t pursue it further.
As for the call with Xiao Lizi, it didn’t surprise him. Everyone at the research institute knew her. If she called, it was normal for either Fang Tong or Zhao Qiang to answer, telling her he was busy and couldn’t answer her call.
The reason he had decided to leave work early and pick her up from school was precisely because of that missed call; he hadn’t seen Xiao Lizi for quite a while and seemed to miss her.
But now he had time to think about it, that call yesterday was clearly suspicious!
Feng Qi looked at his niece and asked directly, “Who did you hit?”
“…” Jiang Li was stunned for a moment. Third Uncle’s questions are always so to the point!
Realizing she couldn’t hide it, she confessed truthfully, “Bai Guolin, Jiang Huai’s assistant’s son, who is also my classmate. He tried to hit me, but I dislocated his arm.”
Feng Qi nodded slightly, “So you called me yesterday because the teachers called for your guardian?”
Jiang Li nodded, “Yes, I wouldn’t have called you during work hours otherwise. I know you’re busy.” Seeing Feng Qi remain silent, she began to coax, “Uncle, please don’t be mad at me, okay? It’s not like I was looking for trouble.”
While waiting at a red light, Feng Qi turned to look at her, “Who said I was angry?”
“But you weren’t speaking just now. I was scared,” Jiang Li said with a pitiful look.
Feng Qi reached out to ruffle her hair, explaining, “I’m not angry. I was just thinking about how to stand up for our Xiao Lizi.”
Jiang Li paused for a moment before asking, “Don’t you want to know what exactly happened?”
The green light came on, and as Feng Qi drove, he answered her question, “I don’t feel the need to ask, but if you want to tell me, I’m willing to listen!”
Jiang Li: …
Third Uncle’s so arrogant!
Nevertheless, she decided to explain everything, starting from the anonymous report and recounted the entire incident.
Throughout her narration, Feng Qi maintained a neutral expression. After she finished, he commented, “This Zhao Qiang kid is actually quite useful.”
The technique of dislocating an opponent’s joint during a physical confrontation was something Feng Qi had also used before. However, he hadn’t thought of teaching Xiao Lizi this tactic, as dislocating joints requires both skill and strength and can easily backfire. He was worried that his niece might be at a disadvantage, so he only taught her some techniques to use the opponent’s force against them.
But it seemed Zhao Qiang had taught her well. Xiao Lizi had been practicing with the model Zhao Qiang gave her, mastering some techniques. Given Bai Guolin’s brute strength, it seemed natural that she managed to dislocate his arm.
Perhaps, Feng Qi thought, he should reward Zhao Qiang.
Hearing Feng Qi praise Zhao Qiang, Jiang Li felt relieved but couldn’t help asking, “Uncle, even if Senior Brother Zhao Qiang hadn’t told you about it, you wouldn’t have been angry, right?”
Feng Qi teased her, “You’ve already said all the nice things, how could I dare to be angry?”
Jiang Li quickly flashed a flattering smile and then changed the subject, “I signed up for the school’s mathematics competition class yesterday. But there’s a test before the class starts, and I’m not sure if I’ll be kicked out.”
“You’re not confident?” Feng Qi was surprised.
Jiang Li explained, “It’s not that I lack confidence, but I’ve never taken part in competitions before. I have no experience, and I heard that first-year students usually just make up numbers for the seniors in the second and third years.”
Feng Qi chuckled, “That’s not always the case.”
Hearing this, Jiang Li knew her uncle was about to brag, but she enjoyed listening to this kind of casual bragging!
“When I was in the first year of high school, I signed up for both physics and mathematics competitions and won special prizes in both,” Feng Qi said nonchalantly.
Jiang Li’s eyes sparkled with countless little stars, “Third Uncle, you’re amazing!”
Feng Qi smiled, “That sounds like you’re praising a little kid.”
“But you do love hearing such praises, uncle,” Jiang Li blurted out.
Feng Qi: …
Alright, let’s just say he loves hearing it.
…
Back at home, Jiang Li found her grandfather had ordered a table full of dishes from the kitchen, all her favorites. After a week of eating in the school cafeteria, her eyes lit up at the feast. She went over and clung to her grandfather’s arm, cooing, “Grandpa really understands me. You are the best grandpa in the whole world!”
Well, she only had one grandpa, so no matter how exaggerated her praise was, there was no need to worry about him recording it to brag to other grandpas.
Old Master Feng beamed, “Just a few dishes and I’m the best grandpa in the world?”
Jiang Li immediately responded, “Even without these dishes, you are still the best grandpa in the world.”
Feng Bai stood next to Feng Song and asked in a low voice, “Have you noticed that Xiao Jiang Li is becoming more lively? The first time we met her, she hardly ever smiled.”
Feng Song smiled warmly, “Do you think that’s a bad thing?”
Feng Bai quickly responded, “Not at all. In fact, I’m glad she’s become more lively.”
< Previous | TOC | Advanced TOC | Next >
Wants more chapters?
Click this page for the status of sponsored chapters.
Click this page for advanced chapters TOC.
