Mommy, don't be afraid, I'll bring you blind boxes and scam you out of a wealthy family to

Twilight fell.

A black Maybach drove into the Duan family's old residence, its headlights sweeping over the fountain and neatly trimmed bushes before stopping in front of the main house.

As soon as the driver opened the car door, Duan Hetong sensed something was wrong.

It's too quiet.

At this time of day, the little guy would have already run out in his bunny slippers, calling out in his sweet, childish voice, "Baba's back!"

Not only did I not see her today, but even the servants were unusually reserved.

The silence was almost deliberate—no, it was almost suspicious.

The living room was filled with the aroma of tea. Duan Yuanzhou sat in the main seat, next to a man in his fifties, dressed elegantly and with a refined demeanor.

On the other side of the sofa, a young woman in a long dress, with her long hair flowing down her shoulders, sat gracefully.

Hearing the noise, she turned her head and saw that it was Duan Hetong. Her eyes lit up noticeably.

It's not hard to guess what's going on—a blind date.

Duan Yuanzhou said calmly, "You're back. This is your Uncle Xu, and this is his youngest daughter. She just returned from abroad and is now working at Shenghe Capital."

Miss Xu stood up: "Mr. Duan, it's an honor to meet you."

In Tan City, Duan Hetong doesn't need to give face to anyone.

He didn't reply, but instead scanned the living room, still not seeing that familiar little figure.

Duan Hetong frowned: "Where's Li Bao?"

The atmosphere became subtly awkward, and the servant subconsciously glanced at Old Master Duan.

Duan Hetong's gaze turned cold: "I'm asking you a question."

The maid, sweating profusely, stammered, "Master said... we have guests at home today, and the children are being noisy, so he wants Miss Wenli to rest in her room first."

"Making a scene?" Duan Hetong's expression was cold and stern. "When has she ever made a scene?"

Grandpa Duan put down his teacup: "It's not a suitable occasion for children to run around."

"What's wrong with it?"

The old man said in a deep voice, "There are still guests here. Are you going to argue with me now?"

Chairman Xu quickly tried to smooth things over: "Xiao Tong, your dad was just considering the occasion..."

Duan Hetong smiled slightly at him: "Uncle Xu, my father is probably getting senile. I've said it many times, I will not get married. Please leave."

The Xu family is a prominent family in Tan City, and they were really embarrassed by his words.

Old Master Duan slammed his cane heavily on the ground: "Duan Hetong, you're becoming more and more outrageous; you've even forgotten the most basic manners!"

"So what?" Duan Hetong said coldly, "Just to be polite, you're locking Li Bao in a room?"

"Nobody locked her up."

"She's only three years old. The maid tells her not to run around, and she actually thinks she can't go downstairs," Duan Hetong retorted. "Don't you know her personality?"

"Duan Hetong!"

No one dared to speak in the living room for a moment.

Old Master Duan is very concerned about his reputation, but Duan Hetong's protection of Wen Li shows absolutely no mercy.

The father and son met eyes, one brooding, the other assertive, neither willing to back down.

Finally, Chairman Xu stood up and said, "Old Duan, let's talk another day."

Ms. Xu's smile was also forced: "Mr. Duan must be tired from work, so we won't disturb you any longer."

Duan Yuanzhou sighed and did not try to stop him.

The housekeeper hurried to see the guests off, and Duan Hetong turned around and went upstairs.

"Stop right there." The old man said coldly, "You're becoming more and more disgraceful because of this child. And you still dare to negotiate with me about supporting her?"

"I hope you understand, I'm not negotiating, I'm just informing you. And besides, you've even resorted to such a low-level tactic as forcing me into blind dates—" Duan Hetong curled his lips, "In the end, it's because you've softened towards Li Bao, isn't it?"

boom--!

The old man slammed the door shut.

Duan Hetong's mood actually improved.

The premise of getting angry out of embarrassment is that what was said was true, isn't it?

-

Children's room.

Little Wenli is lying on the carpet drawing.

She was exceptionally well-behaved today. The maid told her not to run around, and she didn't even leave her room. She even left her doll at the door as a guard in case she forgot about it.

The little dumpling, dressed in a pale yellow nightgown, stood with her legs crossed, holding a crayon, her expression serious, drawing little figures stroke by stroke.

The door was pushed open, and Wen Li looked up, her eyes instantly lighting up.

"Beep beep!"

She jumped up and ran to the door, her bunny slippers making a clattering sound like a cheerful welcoming song.

Duan Hetong bent down to catch the little girl, who hugged his neck and buryed her face in his neck, rubbing against him: "Baba, tonight."

Duan Hetong patted her head: "Has Li Bao always been here?"

Wen Li nodded naturally: "Auntie said that Grandpa has guests today, so Li Bao won't be going out."

Duan Hetong felt a tightness in her chest. This little thing hadn't even asked why she wasn't allowed to see anyone.

It seems they have already accepted that they shouldn't have been there in the first place.

The little one blinked and added, "Pear Baby, be good, you didn't run around."

It's like it's proving something.

Duan Hetong sighed softly: "From now on, you can go wherever you want in this house. No one will stop you."

Wen Li's dark eyes widened: "Really?"

When Pear was at her stepfather's house, she was very hungry, but she didn't dare to go to the kitchen.

Does this mean I won't get beaten up here?

"Really?" Duan Hetong was somewhat surprised. How could such a small promise make the little guy so excited?

Little Wenli was immediately delighted, then remembered something: "Let's see!"

She slid off the man's arms, ran back to the carpet, and held up a piece of drawing paper: "Li Bao drew a picture!"

Duan Hetong recognized himself immediately: he was obviously the tallest one, and he was wearing sunglasses.

The one holding the stick must be the old man;

The one wearing a tie is Duan Xianchen;

The one with multicolored hair is Xie Lin.

There was also a woman with long hair on the side.

"It's Mommy," Wen Li introduced softly.

Duan Hetong looked around and realized that one crucial character was missing: "Where are you?"

Wen Li pointed to the little dot in the corner: "Li Bao here."

Duan Hetong frowned: "Why is it so small?"

Milk Dumpling answered matter-of-factly, "Pear Baby came last, so she doesn't take up much space."

At some point, Duan Yuanzhou stood at the door, having overheard the entire conversation between the two.

The old man leaned on his cane and silently looked at the painting.

Wen Li, oblivious to the fact that Ba Ba was so powerful and the biggest, continued to explain her creative intentions: "Ba Ba is super awesome, Ba Ba is the biggest. Grandpa and Uncle are also big. Li Bao is just small."

She didn't sound aggrieved at all; in fact, her tone was quite cheerful.

But it was also tinged with caution.

The child who accidentally wandered into someone else's house tried to minimize his presence, afraid of taking someone else's spot.

Grandpa Duan couldn't say a word; his heart was aching as if he were ill.

He has been involved with a powerful family and a conglomerate empire for decades, and has become accustomed to weighing and calculating in the world of fame and fortune.

But a three-year-old child is so clean that you can see right through them.

She genuinely felt unworthy of being in the center, or even worthy of being drawn larger.

Wen Li sensed the tense atmosphere and looked up to see Grandpa Duan at the door. She immediately tensed up, thinking she had done something wrong to upset the adult. She twisted the hem of her clothes with her little hands and stammered, "Grandpa... Li Bao will redraw it. Grandpa, please don't be angry..."

After a long silence, the old man finally spoke in a low voice: "I'm not angry."

Wenli was still uneasy. She looked at Baba, then at her grandfather, and asked uncertainly, "Then, does Grandpa like it?"

The old man, with his unchanging stern face, said: "Not ugly."

Wen Li's eyes sparkled: "Really!"

Her little face was flushed, which, for the easily satisfied little dumpling, was a sign of approval.

Duan Yuanzhou was filled with mixed feelings. He looked away, his thoughts drifting back to many years ago.

Duan Hetong was like that when he was a child; a single compliment could make him happy for a long time. Unlike Wen Li, who expressed her happiness directly, Duan Hetong would deliberately keep a cold face and pretend not to care.

Over the years, the father and son have had more and more conflicts, and after being at odds for so long, they are like enemies.

We've almost forgotten that there were days when fathers were kind and sons were filial, and we enjoyed the happiness of family life.

Looking into the little boy's bright, round eyes, the old man had a fleeting illusion of seeing a young Duan Hetong.

His heart skipped a beat.

Why do I feel like this little thing... looks a bit like Duan Hetong?

Impossible, you must be seeing things.

He knew his son well; if Duan Hetong were the type to mess around outside, the Duan family wouldn't be without an heir to this day.

I'm really getting old.

The old man shook his head, said nothing, and slowly left, leaning on his cane.

The slow footsteps faded into the distance. Wen Li tugged at Duan Hetong's sleeve, looking worried. "Grandpa, do you not like Li Bao?"

Duan Hetong patted her little hand: "No, I think he likes it very much."

Is that right?

Xiao Wenli heard the system notification that her affection value had increased, and her points had reached 6500.

With two weeks left, she wondered if her grandfather had agreed to let her stay.

-

It was late at night in the study.

The servant knocked on the door: "Master."

"Enter."

The maid hesitated, "Should we... put this away?"

Duan Yuanzhou took a look and saw that it was the family portrait painted by Wen Li.

The brushstrokes were immature, and the paper was a bit wrinkled. In the meticulously crafted Duan family home, the roughness seemed out of place.

Duan Yuanzhou's gaze fell on the little figure in the corner, which was almost drawn outside the lines of the paper.

The old man remained silent.

Just as the servants were about to handle it themselves, his voice rang out again: "Frame it. Use the best rosewood."

The maid thought she had misheard: "Huh?"

The old man said impatiently, "Are you hard of hearing? Take the previous one from the study and hang this one on the wall behind my desk."

The maid was truly stunned. That painting was a masterpiece by a master, worth nine figures! Now they want to replace it with a child's drawing...?

But he dared not question it and went to do it one after another.

Once he was alone in the room, the old man leaned back in his chair, gazing at the night view outside the window. He thought of the milk dumpling that brought him water, his craving for hawthorn cake, and the family portrait that had been drawn.

After a long while, he let out a low hum.

"Little thing, you sure know how to sneak into people's hearts."