She pretended not to notice and closed her eyes to continue sleeping, but her mobile phone suddenly rang. Her eyelids twitched, and she waited a while before answering.
"Hello," she said calmly.
"Xiaozhu, it's me."
It was Lin Ru'an calling. It had been more than half a year since his last call, and I wondered what he was busy with.
"Hmm, what brings you here to call?" Lin Xiazhu asked casually.
The person opposite remained silent for a long time, so long that Lin Xiazhu almost fell asleep. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, Xiao An's clear and magnetic voice came through.
"Xiaozhu, I miss you so much."
Lin Xiazhu responded lazily in her drowsy state, "Okay, I know. At least you have a conscience and haven't forgotten me."
"Xiaozhu, I didn't mean to not contact you. It's just that I've been too busy lately. I started a company with a friend..." Lin Ru'an, no, he should be called Bai Ru'an now, he has changed his surname to Bai.
Bai Ru'an talked a lot on the phone, mostly about his life over the past year, mainly trying to explain why he was too busy to call Lin Xiazhu.
"Well, international calls are too expensive. Let's keep it short. We can talk about this when we get back to Tian. I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight." Lin Xiazhu hung up with her eyes half-closed and then really fell asleep.
On the other side of the world, it was seven in the morning. Bai Ru'an had just gotten up. Calculating the time difference, it was only around seven or eight in the evening in China. Xiao Zhu had gone to bed so early.
He still had a lot to say to her, such as whether she had arrived in Beijing yet, and whether she went alone, since she had just finished her college entrance exams and was about to report to a university in Beijing.
He then called Bai Junbai, who answered without even saying hello and went straight to the point saying, "Uncle, Xiaozhu will be going to university in Beijing. Remember to take good care of her."
"Is it alright to take care of Gu Yan and her cousin like that?" Bai Junbai had just returned from the company and was about to go upstairs when he received a call from his dear nephew, so he turned around and sat down on the sofa.
“No, Xiaozhu is different from them.” Bai Ruan frowned slightly, somewhat displeased.
“Oh? What’s the difference? Aren’t they all your sisters who aren’t related to you by blood? Oh, no, Lin Xiazhu used to be your older sister.” Bai Junbai raised an eyebrow.
"She is very important to me, more important than anyone else, understand?" Xiao An's voice was calm, but his tone could infuriate someone. The uncle and nephew had been talking like this for almost a year.
The reason dates back three years. Not long after Bai Ru'an returned to the Bai family, Bai Zhengping and Bai Junbai both wanted him to change his name. This was because Mingxuan was the name Bai Junsong had given him before his death, so the Bai family wanted him to change his name to 'Bai Mingxuan'.
But Xiao An calmly said, "You can change your surname to Bai, but not your given name."
“Xiao An, ‘Mingxuan’ is the name your father gave you, there’s no mistake about that. We asked Gu Changjun, and it’s true that your father gave you the name ‘Mingxuan’ before he passed away…”
Bai Zhengping kept repeating this sentence. Usually so serious, he looked somewhat cracked at this moment. He strongly disagreed and wanted to make his own way, but he was afraid of scaring or offending his beloved grandson, so he forced himself to look pitiful.
“You have to agree, whether you like it or not. Your elder brother named you before he died, and even your adoptive father didn’t dare to change it without permission. Why should the Lin family change it?” Bai Junbai frowned, his eyes filled with anger.
How did Lin Xiazhu brainwash Xiao An to the point that he resolutely refused to change his name?
"What does this have to do with the Lin family? This is my own decision. I'll give you two choices: either change your name to Bai Ru'an, or keep your name as Lin Ru'an."
He was nine years old when he was in the car accident. He doesn't remember many things from before he was nine. He died once. Xiaozhu gave him this life, and Xiaozhu also gave him his name. He doesn't want to change it.
Bai Zhengping: "..." He was so angry he almost had a stroke.
Bai Junbai: "..." This brat is really disobedient, even more unruly than me.
"If you don't like me, I can leave." Seeing them all glaring at him with eyes full of anger, Xiao An casually said something even more hurtful.
"Pfft!" Bai Zhengping felt like he had vomited blood.
"What are you doing? No one is allowed to bully Junsong's child, my precious darling. How can you make things difficult for him? Get out of here!" At the critical moment, Old Master Bai suddenly came to his senses.
Bai Zhengping: "Dad, you remember everything?"
Bai Junbai: "Grandpa, are you clear-headed?"
"Jun Song, Grandpa is tired. Help Grandpa back to his room to rest." Grandpa Bai stood up shakily and reached out to take Xiao An's hand. He had returned to his usual dazed state.
It was as if he wasn't the one who had just been angry and protective of his own.
Xiao An helped Old Master Bai leave without looking back.
Bai Zhengping and Bai Junbai: "..."
"Dad, how should we change Xiao An's name?" Bai Junbai asked, his head aching.
"Bai Ru'an, that's Bai Ru'an. Can you go against your nephew?" Anyway, he couldn't do anything about him. What could he do with his own grandson? He could only spoil him.
His formal name was changed to Bai Ru'an, but in private, the Bai family still called him Mingxuan. This was the last bit of stubbornness the Bai family maintained.
However, because of the name, Bai Junbo had a lot of opinions about Xiao An. Although he had never met his older brother since birth, he had been brainwashed by Grandpa Bai and Bai Zhengping for many years, so he actually had a deep affection for his older brother.
Bai Junbo wanted Xiao An to use the name Bai Junsong had given him, but Xiao An stubbornly refused to change his name, only his surname, insisting on using the name Lin Xiazhu had given him, which infuriated Bai Junbo.
Since then, Bai Junbai has not been very fond of his nephew. Every time he speaks on the phone, he likes to be sarcastic and barbed, but Xiao An doesn't care. In fact, he is better at being sarcastic than anyone else.
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