Chapter 16 He looked up; it was Mu Shaowu.
Chapter Sixteen:
When Mu Shaowu looked up again, Ye Qingxi had already fallen asleep.
He then stood up, went out the door, and walked downstairs.
Light seeped into Mu Feng's bedroom.
Mu Shaowu raised his hand and knocked on the door, then heard his father's voice, "Come in."
Mu Shaowu pushed open the door.
Mu Feng put down his tablet, leaned against the headboard, and asked him, "Is something wrong?"
"How much time does Xiaoxi's grandfather have left?"
Mu Feng remained silent.
After a long silence, he finally said, "It won't be long."
"Then next time you take Xiaoxi to see him, I'll go with you."
"What are you going to do?" Old Master Mu said disdainfully. "Just take good care of Xiao Xi."
“I am Xiaoxi’s father now. If I go with him to see Uncle Ye, Uncle Ye will feel more at ease and can leave this world in peace.”
When Mu Feng heard what he said, he felt that it made sense.
“Okay,” he replied.
"Then I'll head back now. You should get some rest."
"I know. Is Xiaoxi asleep?"
"He was asleep. I came over after I saw him asleep."
Mu Feng nodded, "That's good, you can go back now."
Mu Shaowu turned around and left Mu Feng's room.
As he was about to close the door, he looked at his father's profile under the lamplight and suddenly noticed that the wrinkles on his face seemed to have increased.
His father is old.
Mu Shaowu was saddened by this fact.
He closed the door very quietly and returned to his room.
Ye Qingxi was still asleep, sleeping soundly.
Mu Shaowu touched his soft cheek, then walked to the sofa again to attend to his own business.
When Ye Qingxi woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
Ye Qingxi turned her head but did not see Mu Shaowu.
Strange, where are the others?
He sat up and looked around, but couldn't find Mu Shaowu anywhere.
"Did they go out?" Ye Qingxi wondered.
He didn't pay much attention, picked up his phone watch and glanced at it, only to see that it was already 10:36.
Goodness, it's so late. No wonder Mu Shaowu isn't in his room; he's probably in the living room downstairs.
Ye Qingxi got out of bed, went to the bathroom to wash up, and left the bedroom.
He came downstairs at a leisurely pace and saw Aunt Zhang cleaning the living room. When she saw him come down, she smiled and said, "Xiao Xi is awake. Your father and the others are in the yard. Go and play with them first. I'll go make you breakfast. How about steamed egg custard for breakfast?"
Ye Qingxi nodded, "Okay."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhang stopped what she was doing and turned to walk towards the kitchen.
Ye Qingxi opened the door and walked into the courtyard.
He had just stepped outside when he heard Mu Shaoting's voice, "You have to pull this one too? This one is very precious!"
"If you're going to move it to the front yard, then move it to the front yard."
"There are some in the front yard too."
"Then why won't you let me pull it out? Pull it out now."
Mu Shaoting: !!!
Mu Shaoting felt her heart was bleeding. She said angrily, "Then you'll have to install a swing here for me."
"Okay," Mu Shaowu agreed, as a swing was originally part of his plan.
He agreed while directing people to continue pulling up the flowers and plants on the ground.
Mu Shaoting shouted again, "Why do we have to pull those over there too? Those are very precious too."
Mu Shaowu was speechless. "Which one of you isn't precious?"
"Of course it's your brother."
Mu Shaowu chuckled: "Well, there's nothing I can do about it. I definitely can't touch my brother."
Mu Shaoting snorted, turned his head, and saw Ye Qingxi not far away.
"Xiao Xi, you're awake?" she said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Mu Shaowu turned his head and beckoned, "Come here, baby~ come here~"
Ye Qingxi: ? ? ?
What treasure? What treasure?
Is he old enough to be called a baby?!
"Oh dear," Ye Qingxi suddenly realized, "it seems that's really true."
Five years old is a perfect age to call someone "baby".
this……
Ye Qingxi felt a mixture of resistance and inexplicable, even embarrassing, joy.
The joy was very subtle, like a newly sprouted blade of grass, fuzzy and only showing a hint of green vitality. At the slightest breeze or rustling, it seemed as if it would hastily shrink back.
“Come here, Xiaoxi, look, this is the empire your father built for you,” Mu Shaowu said proudly, raising his chin.
Looking at the backyard in front of her, where many flowers had been pulled out, Ye Qingxi felt that her father's empire seemed to be in bad shape—it was in ruins.
"It was indeed my father who built this empire, but not your father, but your father's father," Mu Shaoting said slowly.
“But the amusement park was built by my father, not my father’s father,” Mu Shaowu retorted.
"This is still far from being finalized."
"Once we've pulled out all the flowers that need to be pulled, they'll grow back," Mu Shaowu said with a smile.
Ye Qingxi: ? ? ? Amusement park?
"What amusement park?" Ye Qingxi asked, puzzled.
“This is it,” Mu Shaoting turned to look at him, her eyes sparkling. “Your dad is planning to build an amusement park for you in this yard, and he’s just clearing out the flowers to make room for the rides.”
Ye Qingxi: ? ? ? ?
Give it to him?
Build an amusement park?!
Ye Qingxi quickly refused, "No need."
"Why not? Don't you want to play?"
Ye Qingxi nodded, "I don't want to play."
Mu Shaowu didn't believe it. "It's okay, we'll build one for your aunt. Once it's built, you can play it too."
Mu Shaoting: ? ? ?
Mu Shaoting: ...
Mu Shaoting smiled, "Yes, build it for his aunt, build it big, his aunt loves to play with it."
Ye Qingxi: ...
Ye Qingxi felt it was really unnecessary.
He's already eighteen, way past the age of liking amusement parks. Besides, given his physical age, Mu Shaowu probably wouldn't prepare anything too exciting. It'd likely be something as mild as a slide, trampoline, or seesaw, which is too gentle and doesn't match his mental age.
"I think these flowers are quite pretty."
"You think it looks good too?" Mu Shaoting's eyes were full of admiration. "Then Auntie will send you two pots later to put in your room."
Ye Qingxi: ...That's not what he meant.
"So, let's just keep it as a garden."
—That's what he meant!
"No way," Mu Shaoting said with a smile. "Before, we didn't have any kids at home. Now that you're here, Xiaoxi, we really should get some amusement facilities. It's rare for your dad to be so reliable, and it's not easy for him."
Mu Shaowu: ? ? ?
"What do you mean I'm rarely reliable? I've always been reliable, okay?"
Mu Shaoting gave him a disdainful look. "Are you sure it's you, not your older brother?"
Mu Shaowu: ...
Mu Shaowu leaned closer to her and whispered devilishly, "My son is here."
Mu Shaoting immediately changed his expression, "How could it be my eldest brother? He's not as reliable as you! You're the most reliable person in this family!"
Mu Shaowu nodded, "That's more like it."
"Come here, baby, come and see. Do you like Daddy's design?"
Mu Shaowu bent down, took out his phone, and showed him the design drawings saved on his phone.
Ye Qingxi: ?!
Why is he calling him "baby" again?!
Ye Qingxi looked up at him without saying a word.
Mu Shaowu didn't need him to speak. Pointing at the phone, he described to him, "Look, here we can install a slide for you, then a trampoline, a swing here, a basketball court here, a soccer field here, and build a road in the middle for you. We'll also buy you a toy car so you can drive it around. When you grow up, we'll tear down what you don't like and expand the basketball court or soccer field. What do you think?"
Ye Qingxi thought it was great, even too great.
If he were really only five years old, he would have jumped up and cheered by now. But he is already eighteen years old. Does an eighteen-year-old still need slides, swings and trampolines?
No, we don't need to.
"Let my aunt continue growing flowers."
"We've already planted flowers in the front yard, so we don't need to plant them in the backyard. If you ask me, brother, you should also build a path in the front yard so that Xiaoxi can drive all over the yard. Otherwise, it's too restrictive for her to keep wandering around in the backyard. When it comes to driving, it's more fun to have more space."
Mu Shaowu thought it made sense. "Alright, I'll have someone tidy up the front yard in a bit."
Ye Qingxi: ? ? ?
I asked you to plant flowers, not to pull up the flowers in the front yard.
Ye Qingxi couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
This unease wasn't because Mu Shaowu and Mu Shaoting didn't listen to him, but because they genuinely wanted to build an amusement park, a family amusement park for him.
He had never received such a gift before, nor had anyone ever given him such an expensive one.
Even when he was a child and most wanted to play on slides and trampolines, his parents would only advise him, "Go to the audition first, and you can play after you come back from the audition."
But after the audition, he still had to memorize his lines, and after that, he had to go to school. After finishing school, he would have to go to the film set to shoot a movie.
Ye Qingxi once took his parents to the free park he had been looking forward to, and waited in line to ride the park's biggest elephant slide.
The slide was very tall and long, shaped like an elephant. When children slid down the slide, it felt like they were dancing on the elephant's trunk.
Ye Qingxi liked it at first sight and really wanted to play with it, but she never had the time.
Finally, he finished school and filming. He excitedly lined up, and just as it was about to be his turn, his parents took him away.
Because his mother received a call for an audition, and the other party asked them to come over right now, his parents quickly pulled him out of the line.
Ye Qingxi was reluctant to leave, so she tugged at her mother's hand and said, "Let me finish playing before I go over. It's almost my turn. I'll be done in a little while."
But his parents were anxious. His father picked him up and said as they walked away, "We'll play when we get back."
So, it was another round of auditions, memorizing lines, and filming. When filming was finally over, his parents had time, and he was finally able to take them to that park again, only to find that the elephant slide had been demolished.
It took up too much space, so it was the first thing to be demolished during the park's redevelopment.
That afternoon, Ye Qingxi stood on that empty open space, gazing at the vast emptiness before her.
His heart was heavy. Children's emotions are straightforward and they are not good at hiding them. His tears fell on his face without warning.
His mother looked at his tears and laughed, "Why are you crying? It's okay, it's just a slide. Mom will take you to play on other slides."
His father was busy answering the phone, laughing and saying, "Haha, that's right. Director Zhang absolutely adores him. He said he's never seen such a talented and good actor. Even after filming wrapped, he kept praising him and was reluctant to let him go. He immediately said that he would cast Xiao Xi in his next film and that he would give Xiao Xi a raise."
His parents both had smiles on their faces, but he just couldn't manage a smile.
That afternoon, his mother saw a slide on her way home, took him over, and told him to play on it.
The slide was small and ordinary, similar to the ones he played on in kindergarten. They were all red and yellow, and you could slide right to the bottom as soon as you sat on them.
His mother looked at him with the same expression as usual and said, "Look what we've come up with. Go ahead and slide. There are plenty of slides. If you want to play, you can play. Go ahead and play."
But Ye Qingxi didn't want to play.
This isn't the elephant slide he wanted to play on.
He doesn't like it.
He shook his head.
His mother asked him, "Don't you want to play?"
Ye Qingxi said, "I don't like it."
"Huh?" His mother didn't quite understand. "Aren't all slides pretty much the same? What's the difference between liking or disliking them? Doesn't the elephant slide also involve sitting on it and sliding down?"
“It’s different,” Ye Qingxi said. “That one is different. It’s bigger and taller. It’s like an elephant’s trunk.”
"It just looks different. To put it bluntly, it's still a slide, isn't it?"
“It’s just different,” Ye Qingxi said stubbornly, her eyes red.
His mother sighed helplessly, "Fine, fine, it's different. So you're not going to play now?"
"Mm," Ye Qingxi said.
"Then let's go home."
After saying that, she took Ye Qingxi home.
Ye Qingxi went into his room, and a little while later, he heard his mother and uncle talking on the phone, telling him to come and pick up some things.
“At home. The elephant slide was taken down, so he didn’t want to play on it anymore and came back.”
"Right? I also said that all slides are the same, pretty much the same. I don't know what this kid is thinking, insisting that one is better. Isn't it just that one designed to look like an elephant? It's all flashy and impractical. Isn't it still just a slide at its core?"
Ye Qingxi sat on the bed, her eyes stinging.
They simply don't understand; it's different, completely different, utterly different.
That night, Ye Qingxi went to bed early. In his dream, he climbed onto the head of an elephant. The elephant gently bounced him, and he instantly slid down the elephant's trunk. Just as he was about to land, the elephant curled up his trunk and put him back on its head. After bouncing him again, he slid down once more.
Ye Qingxi smiled happily, and the elephant's eyes seemed to be smiling too.
Its eyes were big, with thick, long eyelashes that fluttered gently as it gazed at him.
He touched the elephant's trunk and gave it a light kiss.
After that, Ye Qingxi seemed to lose interest in the slide overnight.
He would play it occasionally, but he wasn't really into it.
His parents didn't think there was anything wrong with it. After all, Ye Qingxi was growing up, and people always lose some hobbies as they grow up.
Ye Qingxi didn't think it was anything special. He had already lost too much, so much that he would feel sad at first, but later he had become numb.
But now, when Mu Shaowu said he would build him an amusement park, Ye Qingxi's long-numbed heart trembled involuntarily.
He doesn't want it.
He dared not accept it.
But……
But……
"What are you all doing here?" Mu Shaoyan's lazy voice came over. "You all got up so early."
"Second brother is planning to build an amusement park for Xiaoxi, so he's currently expanding the area."
"Oh?" Mu Shaoyan became interested. "How will it be built? Let me see."
Mu Shaowu handed him the phone.
Mu Shaoyan took it, looked at it carefully, and said with dissatisfaction, "That's all? It's too simple! Why didn't you make something like a jungle roller coaster?"
Mu Shaoting was speechless. "Look how old Xiaoxi is."
Mu Shaoyan: ...That's true, it's better to keep things simple and safe for a five-year-old.
"Alright then, let's do it this way. But we can make the slide bigger and taller, so it'll be more fun to slide on, and when Xiaoxi sits on it, she can also enjoy the scenery and have a panoramic view."
Mu Shaowu thought the suggestion was good, "Okay, let's do it your way."
"Then don't make it too ugly," Mu Shaoyan reminded him.
"Don't worry." Mu Shaowu had already thought it through. "I'll have someone make it look like an elephant, so the slide will be like the elephant's trunk. Next to it, we'll make a medium-sized one, which will be the little elephant. Then Xiaoxi can play on the big one if she wants, or the small one if she wants."
Ye Qingxi never dreamed that Mu Shaowu would say such a thing.
He looked at the person in front of him, his heart filled with shock.
All those things he hadn't dared to admit or didn't want to admit before, slipped out uncontrollably through the crack opened by Mu Shaowu's words at this moment.
He didn't want it, he dared not have it, but...
But……
But... he wanted it.
He actually wanted it.
Ye Qingxi remained silent.
It was as if he didn't care at all.
That noon, after lunch, Ye Qingxi fell asleep again.
He had a dream.
In his dream, he finally climbed the elephant slide that he had queued for a long time to ride.
He sat on the slide and slid down it.
The slide was very high and very long. He slid through the starry sky, over the mountains, through the jungle, and over the snow, sliding forward without stopping.
He skied for a long time, and the slope gradually became gentler.
As she approached the end, Ye Qingxi vaguely saw someone not far away, but she couldn't make out their face.
Until he landed on the ground.
He looked up and saw the young and radiant Mu Shaowu.
A smile played on his lips, as if he had been waiting for him all along.
He approached him, bent down, picked him up, and asked gently, "Was it fun?"
Ye Qingxi nodded and replied, "It's fun."
"Let's play one more time then," Mu Shaowu said.
He carried him up the slide, put him in his lap, and slid down with him.
As they passed by the starry sky, Mu Shaowu plucked a star and placed it in Ye Qingxi's arms. Ye Qingxi held it, feeling as if the star had entered her heart and was shining brightly.
He laughed happily in his dream.
The happiness that should have belonged to him but had been lost finally returned to him.
He has returned to the age he should have reached.
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