Xiao Yanbao was stunned by the scene before her as she entered the room. The entire living room was decorated as a pink ocean, with plush toys everywhere and even a large gift box in the center of the room.
"Wow!"
Little Yanbao's delighted screams brought smiles to the faces of everyone in the Li family, especially the older brothers, who were so eager that they asked Li Muxing to hold Little Yanbao and unwrap the gift box wrapped in pink paper.
"Quick! The one on top is what I prepared for Xiao Yanbao!"
Fifth brother Li Mufeng hurriedly grabbed Xiao Yanbao's arm and showed her the gift box on top of the gift box, which contained the gift he had prepared for Xiao Yanbao.
However, before Xiao Yanbao could open Li Mufeng's gift box, her second brother, Li Muchen, pulled out the second flat gift box. Instead of handing it to Xiao Yanbao to open, he opened it himself and held it in front of Xiao Yanbao.
"Yanbao, look at the gift your second brother prepared for you. Do you like it?"
Xiao Yanbao looked down and saw a beautifully packaged photo album inside the box. The cover picture was a cartoon image of Xiao Yanbao holding Bai Ze.
Xiao Yanbao reached out to flip through the contents and suddenly discovered that the album was full of photos of herself at home. Some were of her happily eating, some were of her talking to her grandfather, and some were of her just waking up, still sleepy-eyed...
The entire album is filled with beautiful moments from Xiao Yanbao's life, just as the words on the album's title page say.
'Little sister, home is a warm place. We will definitely live and grow up safely and happily. I hope that every day from now on we will leave home smiling and return safely!'
Xiao Yanbao looked at the photo album in her second brother's hand, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears, but her heart was filled with warmth.
This is the meaning of home, this is the feeling of home. Xiao Yanbao stretched out her hands and hugged the photo album tightly to her chest.
"Thank you, Second Brother!"
Everyone noticed the tears in Xiao Yanbao's eyes, and several of his older brothers went to Li Muxing's side and reached out to touch Xiao Yanbao's head.
"Alright! Now it's time to see my gift. It's all my second brother's fault for not doing what we agreed on!"
It was Li Mufeng who spoke, having already brought the gift box to Xiao Yanbao. This time, he followed his second brother's example and opened the gift box himself. Inside the box lay a large, coffee-colored teddy bear.
"Yanbao, this bear is for you. It will protect you from now on!"
Just as Li Mufeng was handing the gift to Xiao Yanbao, Li Mujun stepped forward and took the photo album from Xiao Yanbao's arms.
"Let your brother keep these for you for now, and we'll put them all in your room later, okay?"
Xiao Yanbao nodded seriously before letting go of the photo album in her arms. The adults sitting on the sofa saw how sensible Li Mujun was and all praised her in front of Zhong Jingyi.
Xiao Yanbao also hugged the big bear that her fifth brother, Li Mufeng, had given her, and only after a moment did she let Li Mujun take it away.
The third gift was from Li Muhan. Li Muhan took out a long tube that was rolled up, and her brothers helped her unroll it. A traditional Chinese ink painting appeared before their eyes.
Li Muhan was very satisfied with the ink painting of the landscape that had taken nearly two days to complete. Seeing that the fifth brother, Li Mufeng, was using a bit of force when handling the edge of the scroll, she immediately signaled Li Mufeng to be gentle. Then she turned around and spoke to Xiao Yanbao.
"I painted it in a bit of a hurry and haven't had time to frame it yet. I'll show it to Yanbao first, and then I'll frame it tomorrow."
Little Yanbao struggled to get down from her older brother Li Muxing's arms, then took a step forward and carefully looked at the ink painting her fourth brother had drawn.
"Is this our home?"
Xiao Yanbao looked at the scene in the painting with great confusion. The painting depicted a manor nestled against several mountains and facing the sea. Inside the manor were several antique-style courtyards, which were exactly the same as the current layout of the Li Family Manor.
Li Muhan nodded gently. Before the children could speak, the adults began to praise her.
"Second brother, Hanhan's ink painting skills are amazing! How about I introduce him to a good teacher to mentor him?"
The one who spoke was Li Qichen, the most unreliable person in the Li family's eyes. Li Qirui, the eldest brother, shook his head and praised Li Muhan when he heard what the fourth brother said.
"Don't listen to the fourth brother. Take Hanhan to my place tomorrow. There have been quite a few requests lately for me to help raise prices. I can definitely let Hanhan choose from any reputable masters."
Li Qirui spoke with great confidence, after all, in the world of collecting, Li Qirui's name is a golden brand. As long as he praises a piece of collectibles as good and worth collecting, it will inevitably lead to a wave of people following suit.
"I can't get in touch with the teacher I mentioned!"
Li Qichen said this with a hint of spite, but Li Qirui didn't take it seriously, and neither did anyone else.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Li Qichen secretly encouraged himself. He was determined to pay a visit to this important person tomorrow, and invite her to his home. He thought, "Let's see if they still think I'm unreliable..."
The group of children, who were unwrapping their gifts, naturally did not notice the adults' actions. Little Yanbao picked up the fourth gift and stared blankly into space.
"Yanbao, don't cry! I just think you should have something like this as a keepsake. If you don't like it, then I'm sorry, don't be angry!"
Li Mujun spoke nervously, but her eyes were fixed on Xiao Yanbao's face, constantly watching his expression.
"Thank you... thank you, brother!"
When Xiao Yanbao spoke, his gaze remained fixed on the hand-drawn photo. The other older brothers also noticed that something was wrong with Xiao Yanbao's mood.
The third brother, Li Muhao, quickly opened his gift and handed it to Xiao Yanbao, trying to distract him with it.
However, Xiao Yanbao simply reached out and took the set of gemstone jewelry made entirely of little pandas that Li Muhao handed over, nodded slightly, and smiled at Li Muhao.
"Thank you, Third Brother, I'm fine."
As she said this, Xiao Yanbao realized that her other older brothers were also worried about her, and immediately forced a smile as she spoke:
"Brothers, don't worry, I'm very happy! Really... I just missed my mother."
As soon as she said that, Xiao Yanbao quickly reached out to wipe her tears, and Li Muxing, who was standing next to her, hurriedly took a tissue and wiped Xiao Yanbao's tears.
Xiao Yanbao seemed worried that the adults would notice what was happening. After wiping away her tears haphazardly, she put the hand-drawn photo aside and turned it upside down.
“Yanbao, you don’t need to do this! I’ve already talked to Dad and Mom about this, and Mom helped make this photo!”
When Li Mujun saw the photo of him being handcuffed, she hugged Xiao Yanbao with a look of heartache.
"Was that Yanbao in the photo just now?"
"Shut up!"
Li Muxing reached out and pushed Li Mufeng, who was full of curiosity, and then gave a warning look to all the younger brothers.
He had already guessed that the hand-drawn photo must be of Xiao Yanbao's biological mother. It seems that Uncle and Aunt really love Xiao Yanbao.
End of this chapter
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