Chapter 1741: Granduncle, This is Not Embarra.s.sing
“You don’t have to do this. I might have been too harsh…”
Mother Ji was at a loss as she looked at Qu Xiujie. With a hint of fear in her voice, she turned to Zhang Manhua and said, “In-law, look at this…”
“Xiujie really wants to apologize to you. He really hasn’t apologized to anyone at his age…”
Zhang Manhua explained as she held Mother Ji’s hand. Her eyes were filled with emotions as she looked at Qu Xiujie, who was standing at the side and listening boringly to the two women talking. They spoke about the incident where he had saved Mao Nana in R City.
Qu Xiujie tilted his head and felt very helpless. It was said that when two women were together, there was nothing for men to do. From the looks of it now, it was indeed the case. Qu Xiujie tiptoed along the corridor on the first floor and pa.s.sed through the small door to the backyard. He saw the three children playing in the courtyard.
An An saw Qu Xiujie walking over from afar and could not help but stand up and run over to him. His voice was sweet and innocent, sounding exceptionally sweet in Qu Xiujie’s ears.
“Aiyo, my little ancestor, you have to run slower. If you fall, how am I going to answer your parents?”
Qu Xiujie’s voice was hurried as he squatted down and hugged An An.
“Granduncle, why are you only here now? Ran Ran has been waiting for you for a long time.”
An An pursed his lips, feeling agitated yet a little regretful.
“Granduncle was going to create some fun for the three of you in the house.”
“What about fun?”
“Tell me where Ran Ran is first. Also, is Uncle Charlie with you guys?”
Qu Xiujie frowned and looked at An An with gentleness in his eyes.
“Over there.”
After saying that, An An pointed to a small pavilion not far away. Ran Ran and Butler Charlie, whom he was concerned about, were there, but because the thick trunk of the Chinese parasol tree was blocking them, he could not see them clearly.
“Let’s go take a look.”
Qu Xiujie stood up and was about to walk over with An An when he realized that An An did not even move.
“Is something wrong?”
Qu Xiujie was confused and squatted down to look at An An. “An An, tell granduncle. Did Uncle Charlie bully you?”
“No, no. Uncle Charlie is very fun. He’s doing magic for us.”
An An waved his hands. It was impossible to say that he was being bullied. The people around Ji Ziming, not to mention children, even the aunties who went out to buy groceries were faced with vendors who fought to give them gifts. How could anyone bully them openly?
“Then why aren’t you walking over there with Granduncle?”
Qu Xiujie was even more confused.
“Granduncle, can you promise me something?”
An An raised his head and said softly, “Granduncle, you can’t tell Ran Ran that I brought you there.”
“Why? Do I have a conflict with Ran Ran? Why don’t I know about it?”
“No, Ran Ran and Uncle Charlie made a bet. She said that the three of us won’t bring you here, so we didn’t call you when we came to the courtyard.”
An An explained apologetically as his beautiful eyes were filled with apology. His small body was so small that Qu Xiujie looked like a giant standing in front of him. If Qu Xiujie stood up, he would be able to see the smooth hair on An An’s head.
“Alright, granduncle knows.”
Although Qu Xiujie did not know why, he knew that he could not let Butler Charlie continue playing with the three children like this. If not, in the future among them, it would not just be making bets.
An An was in front while Qu Xiujie was behind. The two of them walked into the small pavilion awkwardly.
As Butler Charlie had his back facing them, the poker cards in his hands seemed to have a life of their own. They bounced back and forth in his hands but not a single card fell out. It was a dazzling sight. It was a novelty to the three children but to Qu Xiujie, it was just a small trick.
“Charlie, you’re playing with the children here. Aren’t you going to the living room to protect my sister?”
Qu Xiujie stood behind Butler Charlie and looked at the huge shadow cast on him before continuing, “What game are you playing? Guess where your chosen poker card is?”
“Mr. Qu, I’ll answer all these questions after my performance.”
Butler Charlie was very cold and did not care about Qu Xiujie who was standing behind him. He arranged the poker cards in his hand and placed them in front of the three children. “Watch carefully. Each of you choose a card that you like. I’ll show it to you later…”
One had to admit that Qu Xiujie initially thought that Butler Charlie’s performance was just a child’s play. However, when he really looked at it, he realized that it was not a child’s play. He was an expert.
As someone who had seen all sorts of tricks, he was truly captivated by Charlie’s magic.
“Alright, now that my performance is over, let me tell you why I didn’t protect Madam in the living room. It’s because madam said that I shouldn’t be there when she’s talking to Madam Ji. Secondly, I came here to give Ran Ran a surprise. This magic trick is my surprise for Ran Ran.”
Charlie turned to look at Ran Ran. “How is it, Ran Ran? Do you like it?”
“Yes, I like it a lot. Granduncle, do you like it?”
Ran Ran beamed like a flower and looked at Qu Xiujie. “Uncle, do you like it? What do you think of Uncle Charlie’s performance?”
“It’s average, not much better. Of course, it’s not that bad.”
Qu Xiujie glanced at Butler Charlie before s.h.i.+fting his gaze from Ran Ran to little Ji Chi. “Ping An, come over and let granduncle hug you.”
“Granduncle, do you really think Uncle Charlie’s performance isn’t good?”
Ji Chi walked up and looked into Qu Xiujie’s eyes. “You can tell me secretly.”
Ji Chi’s exquisite eyes saw through the awkwardness on Qu Xiujie’s face but did not say anything. He smiled at him and continued, “Granduncle, this is not embarra.s.sing.”
“You’re spouting nonsense. How can I say that this is an embarra.s.sing matter? Ping An, let me tell you; some people just can’t be casually dealt with. Some things can’t be casually told to others.”