Chapter 151 (Updated 151)

151:

Ye Qingxi felt she had appeased Mu Feng, so she decided to let him go to sleep early.

He yawned, looked up at Mu Feng, and said, "Grandpa, I'm sleepy."

"Let's go." Mu Feng put him down. "Go to sleep."

Ye Qingxi nodded, took his hand, and went back to the bedroom with him.

He had already taken a shower, so as soon as he entered the bedroom, he lifted the covers and sat on the bed, urging Mu Feng to take a shower.

Looking at his lively and adorable appearance, Mu Feng's mood did indeed lighten considerably.

He turned around and went into the bathroom.

Ye Qingxi lay on the bed and played with the tablet he had left with Mu Feng.

When Mu Feng came out, he saw Ye Qingxi holding a tablet and watching a video of Mu Shaoting's singing competition.

In the video, Mu Shaoting is wearing a black dress, looking beautiful and elegant.

Mu Feng noticed the name tag on her skirt; it wasn't Mu Shaoting, but Shaoting.

Indeed, it perfectly matches his daughter's temperament.

"Grandpa, you're done washing." Ye Qingxi turned to look at him.

Mu Feng nodded, sat down next to him, and watched Mu Shaoting's entire performance.

It's a good song.

His daughter also sings very well.

Mu Feng knew, of course, that Mu Shaoting had a talent for music since she was a child, so he did not suppress her talent when she was young.

She could learn piano if she wanted, violin if she wanted, and even ballet if Mu Shaoting said she wanted to learn ballet. He and his wife sent her to the best ballet teacher. However, dancing was too hard. After two days, Mu Shaoting tearfully said that she didn't like it and didn't want to learn anymore.

So they stopped letting her go.

Mu Shaoting's life has always been one of smooth sailing and indulgence.

She had never experienced hardship growing up, and he couldn't bear to see her suffer.

Therefore, he didn't want her to suffer after his death.

"When you accompanied your aunt to the competition, did she complain about anything?" Mu Feng asked his grandson.

Ye Qingxi tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Did she feel there was anything wrong with the competition?"

"No." Ye Qingxi shook her head.

"Then, if she says there's anything wrong with the competition, come back and tell me."

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingxi thought to herself that her grandfather was still very soft-hearted. He said he didn't support his aunt singing, but in reality, he couldn't bear to see her suffer injustice in the singing competition.

"Okay," Ye Qingxi replied.

Mu Feng patted his little head, feeling both that he was truly lovable and that he was too lovable.

Whose child is like his, worrying about so much every day?

But he couldn't bear to stop Ye Qingxi and Mu Shaoting from getting close.

The more people love him, the more secure his future will be.

"Never mind," Mu Feng thought. "Everyone has a different personality. Ye Qingxi might be born with a personality that likes to be close to her family. There's no need for her to be like other children who only know how to play."

His grandson was already intelligent and precocious, so there was no need for him to be like other children.

"Alright, you've finished listening to the song, it's time for you to go to sleep," Mu Feng said gently.

Ye Qingxi said "Oh," turned off the tablet, and lay down in bed.

That night, Mu Feng told him a bedtime story as usual.

As always, he spoke in a concise and to-the-point style, and Ye Qingxi slowly fell asleep as he narrated without any emotion.

The next day, Mu Shaoyan finally learned about his sister's participation in the talent show from his brother after lunch.

Mu Shaoyan was shocked. "When did this happen?! Why didn't I know?!"

“That’s normal.” Mu Shaowu looked at him. “Because your sister didn’t tell anyone, I only found out last night.”

"Then how did you know?" Mu Shaoyan asked, puzzled.

"If you open Weibo now, you'll see—her name is still trending!"

Mu Shaoyan: !!!

Mu Shaoyan quickly took out his phone and opened the trending topics.

It's the second semester of senior year, and Mu Shaoyan spends every day either doing practice problems or preparing to do them. When he finally has a rare chance to relax and have some fun, he chooses to use his precious time wisely—playing video games.

So it really has been a long time since he last opened Weibo.

When you open it now, the name 【Shao Ting】is prominently displayed in third place.

Mu Shaoyan: "She's using a fake name!"

Mu Shaowu coughed, "We usually call them by their stage names."

Mu Shaoyan clicked on the trending search terms, and the most popular one was a video of Mu Shaoting singing.

Listening to this, Mu Shaoyan exclaimed, "You know what, she really sings quite well."

"That's right," Mu Shaowu said proudly.

Where's his sister?

"Does Dad know?" Mu Shaoyan looked up cautiously.

Mu Shaowu: "I just found out last night. Xiaoxi was afraid he would be angry, so she went to coax him."

"As expected of my son, he's so thoughtful." Mu Shaoyan nodded.

Mu Shaowu: ? ? ?

"Whose son? Your son!" Mu Shaowu glared at him.

Mu Shaoyan immediately burst into laughter, "Then Dad's not angry anymore?"

"What else could we do? Let her withdraw from the competition, right?"

"That's true." Mu Shaoyan nodded again.

"Hey," Mu Shaoyan asked curiously, "how do we vote on this? Don't we have to cast some votes for Mu Shaoting?"

"Do we even need to do this?" Mu Shaowu felt that he had truly underestimated his sister.

Ever since he learned about this last night, he had his agent find out the details and also logged into the voting page to see his sister's overwhelming number of votes.

Indeed, as someone in the industry, Mu Shaowu has always been well aware of how important looks are in this circle.

With Mu Shaoting's face, she could attract fans just by standing there, not to mention her professional skills are truly outstanding, far surpassing mine.

If he were a viewer, he would also vote for Mu Shaoting.

"So just keep this to yourself, don't worry about it." Mu Shaowu patted his younger brother's shoulder.

"When is her next match? Should we go and cheer her on?"

“No need.” Mu Shaoting replied without hesitation.

"Why?" Mu Shaoyan asked her.

Mu Shaowu also felt that they should go. "I've seen other competitions where the contestants are accompanied by their families. If you don't have that, don't you feel like you're missing something?"

"Who said I don't?" Mu Shaoting thought he was really forgetful. "I have Xiao Xi!"

Mu Shaowu: ? ? ?

"Are you really planning to keep exploiting my son?!"

"What do you mean by exploitation?!" Mu Shaoting said, dissatisfied. "It's clearly Xiaoxi who likes me, wants to be with me, and wants to be with me. How can this be exploitation?!"

"Xiao Xi is only five years old. Even child laborers aren't that young. Isn't this exploitation?!"

Mu Shaowu looked at his younger brother and sister and said, "The two of you, one of you exploits him during the week and the other exploits him on the weekend. You're really just taking advantage of my son!"

Mu Shaoyan: ? ? ?

"How is this exploitation? You can't blame us just because Xiaoxi doesn't like spending time with you!"

"Exactly!" Mu Shaoting chimed in, "If you're so capable, you could get Xiao Xi to go with you to film a movie! Go ahead and do it!"

“Exactly!” Mu Shaoyan agreed. “Don’t try to sow discord between me and Xiao Xi! Xiao Xi is willing to be with me because he cares about me, and I care about him too. It’s a two-way street, a mutual attraction. What business is it of yours, you monster?!”

"That's right, you should stay out of things between your aunt and nephew, and don't be too possessive of other people's nephews!"

Mu Shaowu: ? ? ?

"Me, a demon or monster?!"

"I'm too possessive of other people's nephews?!"

"Please! I'm his father! That's my son! It's only natural for a father to care for his son!"

"Then it's perfectly natural for an aunt and nephew to be together!"

Ye Qingxi, who had just finished Kuang Jie's class and returned home, her hand already on the doorknob, ready to listen to her aunt sing: ...

Ye Qingxi silently withdrew her hand, feeling that now might not be a good time to go in.

If they show their faces, it'll be another chaotic scene!

Then it will be a multiple-choice question again!

Ye Qingxi shook his head, silently retreated, left Mu Shaoting's door, and turned to run into Mu Feng's arms. Only when Mu Shaoting's room was quiet did he finally push open the door and enter Mu Shaoting's room again.

Mu Shaoting had already practiced the song "She". When she saw him arrive, she said happily, "Would you like to hear your aunt sing you the new song for this competition?"

Ye Qingxi nodded quickly.

Mu Shaoting coughed and began to sing softly.

Her voice, when singing jazz songs, has a languid allure, like a heterochromatic lion cat rolling in the sunlight, charming and captivating.

Ye Qingxi felt that she was far more suited to this tune than she was.

He clapped enthusiastically, "That was beautiful! Auntie, you'll definitely advance again tomorrow!"

Mu Shaoting smiled slowly; she felt the same way.

This song really suits her, even too well. Mu Shaoting found this amazing and became even more curious about Murong Qing.

What kind of person is he/she?

How did you manage to write a song that suits you so well?

It felt like they were living right next to me.

"By the way," Mu Shaoting looked at Ye Qingxi in front of him, "how was your grandfather last night...?"

There was obvious concern in her eyes.

Ye Qingxi nodded.

He had originally intended to tell her, "Grandpa was worried you might be wronged in the competition, so he told me to tell him if you have any complaints."

He said, "Auntie, Grandpa cares about you a lot and loves you very much."

Mu Shaoting certainly knew.

She's not stupid. From childhood to adulthood, she's seen plenty of girls who are clearly older sisters but are ridden on by their younger brothers; girls who are clearly younger sisters but don't receive care and love; girls who are just eighteen but are forced by their parents to go on blind dates with thirty-eight-year-old men.

If her father didn't love her, why would he talk to her so much? He could have let her be a singer happily and not let her get involved in the Mu family's affairs at all. Wouldn't that have been much easier?

And you can still earn a reputation for respecting your children.

Her father loved her too much, which is why he would say things to her that she might not like to hear, even though he knew it was a thankless task.

Mu Shaoting understood, and she also felt that what her father said made sense. She had become accustomed to her current life and to taking direct action when she encountered unpleasant things. If one day she lost such a support, she would feel lost and in pain, and live a life that was restrictive.

“I’ve been thinking carefully about what your grandfather said,” Mu Shaoting said, “but I haven’t come to a conclusion yet.”

“I’m still very young, so of course I think dreams are more important. But I don’t know when I’ll feel that dreams are not so important and be willing to do something else.”

Ye Qingxi listened to her words and looked at the confusion on her face.

Girls usually mature earlier than boys, but Mu Shaoting is clearly an exception.

She lived under the loving care of her father and brothers, was well protected, and naturally became much more naive.

There's nothing wrong with that.

Ye Qingxi said softly, "It's okay. Dad said, Auntie, you can take your time. There's no rush."

Mu Shaoting nodded, and couldn't help but pat his head again. "I still want to thank you for comforting your grandpa last night. Thanks to you, your grandpa is much happier at his age. Baby, you are such a good baby, much cuter than your dad and I were when we were little."

Ye Qingxi laughed, "Auntie, weren't you and Dad cute when you were little?"

"Of course. Me, your dad, and your uncle were all not cute when we were young. We annoyed your grandpa every day. Only your eldest uncle was a little more well-behaved."

Thinking about this, Mu Shaoting suddenly realized that even though they had grown up, they seemed to still be the same.

Only her eldest brother is somewhat reliable; none of the three younger ones satisfy the old man.

Thinking about it this way, her dad really had a tough time.

Mu Shaoting sighed, for her hard-working father.

On Sunday morning, Mu Shaoting got up on time to prepare for the next round of competition.

Ye Qingxi naturally went with her.

Mu Shaowu looked at the two of them and asked, "Are you sure you don't want me to go?"

"What are you going to do? Shock the crowd? I was already in first place with this momentum, it was well-deserved. If you go, it'll be because of you, Mu Shaowu, that I'll let you win the championship."

"So," Mu Shaoting said seriously, "until the end of my competition, not only can you not go, but you absolutely cannot like, share, comment on, or have anything to do with me! Got it?!"

Mu Shaowu: ...Is he some kind of shady person?!

Mu Shaowu remained silent.

But that wasn't the only thing that left him speechless. "What's going on at the door?"

"Your family already knows you're participating in the competition, so why did you let him come? Why did you let him continue acting? What, is there something you two don't know about that you're going to keep using this smokescreen?" Mu Shaowu's eyes swept from his sister to his son.

Ye Qingxi: ? ? ? Why are you looking at him?

I already said Uncle Li isn't a smokescreen!

Please respect his dual role as Uncle Li's bodyguard and driver!