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

Duan Xianchen burst into tears, which made Wen Li's little heart clench.

She had never seen her uncle like this before.

Her uncle was the first person in the family who wanted her to stay.

He always called her Little Pear with a smile, lifted her high in the air, and patiently played all the games with her, as if even if the sky were to fall, he wouldn't even flinch.

So it turns out my uncle can also feel sadness and cry.

Pear, don't see your uncle so sad.

She put Xue Long aside, climbed off the sofa, and ran over to him, opening her arms wide: "Li Bao, can I borrow your little uncle for a hug?"

She hugged Duan Xianchen's leg and rubbed against him like a small animal.

Wen Li's sweet, childlike voice said, "Pear Baby is so sweet, Uncle hugs you, Uncle is sweet too..."

This tiny cub can only reach the thigh of an adult.

She wanted to hold him tightly, yet she was also careful, as if afraid he might break.

"Little Uncle, be good, don't cry, don't cry..."

She comforted Duan Xianchen by using the same methods others used to comfort her.

Duan Xianchen remained in the same position, his breathing erratic. He had been abruptly pulled out of his previous grief and indignation, and was now suspended in mid-air, neither up nor down.

He didn't know what to do with the hug.

As Fu Jing watched this scene, he was surprised that the little girl was so sensible and considerate, and at the same time, he sighed heavily in his heart once again.

He gently closed the door, leaving the office and the night to the uncle and nephew.

After a while, Duan Xianchen lowered his head and looked at the soft dumpling in his arms.

too small.

So small that he could pick it up with one hand.

But it is precisely this tiny baby who is now supporting him.

The tears still wouldn't stop, but the feeling of falling stopped.

He sniffed and said in a light, airy voice, "Who taught you to be so charming?"

"I don't know." The little dumpling blinked. "Pear Baby saw it."

"What do you see?"

"I saw that my uncle was unhappy."

She answered so matter-of-factly, as if everything she did was merely an instinctive reaction to please another person.

Duan Xianchen remained quiet for a long time before scooping her up and holding her in his arms, just like she had been holding the snow dragon doll earlier.

"...You're going to spoil people like this, you know?"

He muttered under his breath, with a hint of self-mockery, a touch of ambiguous "complaint," and a hint of joy at not knowing what to do with her.

The little dumpling couldn't understand the adults' subtle nagging. Seeing that Duan Xianchen had stopped crying, she comfortably pressed her little face against his shoulder and rubbed against him.

"No, that won't happen," she said. "Li Bao is very well-behaved, and Uncle is well-behaved too."

Duan Xianchen slowly relaxed and let out a long sigh.

"Let's go home."

-

Wen Li was dozing off in her child seat when she heard the system's voice:

[Chirp! Little Pear, a new quest is here! This one will be a bit more complicated, consisting of a main quest and side quests.]

Wen Li was confused: "Boiling thread? Weaving thread?"

Is it a type of rice noodle?

The system drew a tree in her mind: "Look, this strong trunk is super important, so it's called the 'main quest'; these thin branches are the 'side quests'."

The main quests are ones you absolutely must complete; as for side quests, you can choose to accept them or not.

Wen Li nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

The system continued: [Your new main quest: Reassemble the Duan family. Upon completion, you will be rewarded with 200000 points, and—"Meet Mommy"*1!]

The system was very excited, but unfortunately, Pear Baby hadn't yet realized how good this reward was: in her mind, she often went to the hospital to see her mother.

She was more concerned with the task details: "Should we use glue to assemble it? Or stickers? Can we use modeling clay?"

[That's not what I meant, Little Pear. You need to find a way to make Grandma and Uncle reconcile, and also make Grandma and Grandpa reconcile. That's what it means to "reconcile" the Duan family.]

[Your first side quest: Help Duan Xianchen prove himself. Reward: 20000 points. Accept the quest?]

The milk ball chased away the sleepiness: "Pear, I accept!"

Even if Chuchu didn't say it, that was her original plan to help her uncle!

-

As soon as Duan Hetong came out of the study, he saw Duan Xianchen enter the house, followed by a walking snow dragon.

Oh, no, it's Xiao Wenli who's hugging Xuelong with all her might—she's completely hidden by him.

The snow dragon's fur is snow-white, and its milk dumplings are also white; they are so close that they are indistinguishable from one another.

Duan Xianchen first defended himself: "She insisted on taking it herself."

Duan Hetong walked over: "Newly bought?"

Wen Li's eyes crinkled into a smile: "My uncle gave it to me! I even ate the strawberry cake~"

Duan Hetong: "Daddy will hold this for you first. Go wash your hands with Auntie, okay?"

Wen Li obediently handed it over to him and went to the bathroom with the maid.

Duan Xianchen changed his shoes and sat down on the sofa, his voice still low: "Lü Hong... that financial magazine guy, he contacted me today."

He was halfway through recounting what happened at the dessert shop when his phone rang.

Fu Jing sounded exhausted: "I just finished a meeting with the Bar Association. It's a bit tricky now because this involves cross-border issues, and I expect there will be a hearing... tomorrow."

Duan Xianchen took a breath: "Old Fu, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"What kind of talk is that? We're brothers who fought side by side, in the same boat. We share the same fate, and we share the same fate," Fu Jing said. "The biggest problem now is the timing. It's only because you and your mother don't usually keep in touch that you could have avoided suspicion..."

Seeing silence on the other end of the phone, Fu Jing changed his tone: "Hey, let's not talk about that. We're missing some key materials right now, making it difficult to prove ourselves. Let's not sleep tonight, let's go through everything from the beginning."

Duan Hetong listened without interrupting, and only asked after hanging up, "Your law firm values ​​its reputation a lot, right?"

Duan Xianchen nodded and looked up at him: "Big brother, what should I do?"

Wen Li dried her hands with a small towel, slipped on her fluffy slippers, and walked over with a smacking sound.

Uncle is discussing adult problems with Baba, and he seems a bit more energetic than before.

She thought that if she was bullied outside, she could still come back to a place where she could talk to some people.

The door opened again.

Duan Shimi walked in, her steps much faster than usual, her clothes billowing in the wind.

Upon seeing Wen Li and her new friend, she swallowed back the words that almost escaped her lips and exclaimed with delight, "Oh my, Xue Long! So cute!"

Wen Li proudly presented the dragon's tail, exclaiming, "Goo goo pat! The fur is so soft!"

Duan Shimi smiled and touched it: "It really is! I've always liked this. Next time I'll buy you Sky Dragon and Matcha Dragon, okay?"

The smile that had been playing on her lips vanished as she turned to look at her brother: "Mom's been taken away."

Duan Hetong leaned forward slightly: "What do you mean?"

"We were shopping when someone suddenly approached her, saying it was a procedural inquiry and asking her to come over right now."

"She left with them right away. I called her several times, but she didn't answer. She just replied to a message."

Duan Shimi showed them her phone screen, which displayed only one line of text:

I'm handling it. Tell Chenchen not to worry.

Duan Shimi looked at her younger brother: "Why did I tell you not to worry—do you know what happened?"

Duan Xianchen looked at his nickname, which only his mother would call him, and found it both jarring and absurd.

He clenched his fist: "...It must be the same thing."

Wen Li half-hugs and half-leans against Xue Long, her eyes darting anxiously between the adults.

Grandma...was taken away?

Like when the police take away bad guys?

But, but Grandma isn't a bad person!

Duan Xianchen told his elder sister about it. Duan Shimi's eyes widened, but she quickly calmed down: "I'll go see if there's anything I can do. I remember a friend of mine has a wife who is..."

Duan Hetong patted Wen Li's head and then went to the window to make a phone call.

Duan Xianchen took out his iPad and looked at the project materials again.

Wen Li watched the adults busily going about their business. Although they seemed to be doing different things, they were all working towards the same goal.

Pear Baby wants to help too... Pear Baby, can you open up any useful boxes?

-

Duan Hetong went to check on Wen Li in the children's room as usual, only to find that the little one was still awake.

Not only did I not sleep, I was extremely busy.

The bed, under the bed, on the sofa, in the cabinets... were piled up with blind boxes from who-knows-where, all colorful, and they had all been opened, numbering in the dozens.

A tiny milk ball sits in the middle of a mountain of blind boxes, almost submerged.

Duan Hetong was quite surprised and stopped his leg from stepping in: there might not be a place for him to stand anymore.

He hesitated for a while before asking, "Li Bao, what are you doing?"

Wen Li had her back to him and was lost in thought, so she didn't notice anyone coming.

She tried to turn around, but there were so many boxes around her that they dragged her down like quicksand, making it impossible for her to get up.

Duan Hetong walked over, carefully avoiding stepping on her boxes, and bravely retrieved the milk balls.

Wen Li blinked innocently: "Li Bao, I'm thinking of a way!"

Duan Hetong: "...What are you thinking about?"

Wen Li said earnestly, "Help my uncle!"

In the past, when I opened blind boxes, I would do it one by one, and at most I would grit my teeth and do a ten-pull.

But things are different now. Wenli is now a wealthy little lady with over 200,000 points!

So she opened a whole bunch at once.

The family, including Xie Lin and Pei Ji, buys Wen Li toys all day long, so many that Duan Hetong doesn't actually bother to count each new item.

But he had noticed long ago that the little guy really liked blind boxes, and not just the kind that were commonly available on the market.

The blind boxes she opened were all very special; they weren't just simple decorative items. Some had projection functions, while others had batteries or wind-ups that made them movable.

It's like... magic.

He put the little one down and watched Wen Li pick and choose, muttering, "This one is too ordinary," "This one won't do either," looking extremely conflicted.

Duan Hetong stared at it for a long time, but still couldn't help but ask, "What... what does this have to do with helping my uncle?"

Little Wenli said earnestly, "Chiuchi said there's bound to be one that's useful. Li Bao wants everyone to see that her uncle is an amazing lawyer!"

Duan Hetong thought that if his younger brother heard these words, he would be deeply moved.

Because Duan Xianchen's long-held wish is to be seen by the industry and the world as his true self—not just as a shell bearing the surname "Duan".

The little guy's unconditional trust has certainly been a help.

Even after Baba left, Naituanzi didn't give up. She hugged her little arms and continued searching for the most suitable blind box.

If none of these work...

She turned on the store panel.

—Would an open box be useful?

A transparent box containing a small mirror was prominently displayed at the very top of the list.

Product Name: Memory Funhouse Mirror

[Function: Reveals a time that is not the present (Special voice annotation for young hosts: "not the present" means "not now"!)]

Points required for redemption: 5000

"Eh..."

Wen Li thought about it and realized that her uncle and grandmother had been unhappy because of things that happened in the past.

So, if they could see this "past" in the mirror, would that make them reconcile?

The little dumpling raised her hand high: "Okay! I want this box!"

Tomorrow, Pear will take her uncle to see "the past"!