His Beloved Treasure

“You’ve been away so many days, how could Grandma not miss you?”

Feng Fanghua said softly, her hand already reaching up to gently rub his little head.

Chengcheng curled his lips, lowered his head, hesitation flickering in his eyes. He knew Feng Fanghua doted on him and his sister, but when he thought about her attitude toward his mom, he still wasn’t sure whether he could stay around Feng Fanghua.

“Madam Mu, why don’t you take little Chengcheng to sit in my office for a bit? I’ll have someone bring his lunch over there.”

The school leader saw that Feng Fanghua seemed to have something to say but couldn’t quite open her mouth, so he kindly made the suggestion.

“Mr. Gao, no need, I want to eat in the cafeteria. Grandma, can I go back and have my lunch now?”

Chengcheng lifted his eyes to look at Feng Fanghua, still very polite.

Feng Fanghua felt a bit reluctant. Her hand hadn’t even gone out to pull him back, but she still nodded. “Go on!”

On her way out of the school, Feng Fanghua kept thinking about that look in Chengcheng’s eyes, that expression—that was clearly resentment toward her. She knew that day she and Mu Yichen had been arguing and the siblings had overheard; the two of them were bearing a grudge against her.

She had no idea how to coax them into being happy again, but thinking that Chengcheng hadn’t been rude to her, hadn’t ignored her, Feng Fanghua nodded to herself, thinking, they’re her grandson and granddaughter, she wouldn’t dote on them for nothing. They’re sensible; they’ll be filial.

Meanwhile, Mu Yichen and Qin Mu were already accompanying the old man in a private room at Jixiang Restaurant, fresh and elegant, with a pot of clivia standing proudly by the couch, and all the paintings on the walls carefully chosen.

Qin Mu poured tea for the old man, and he nodded in delight.

Mu Yichen sat to the side, having ordered all the dishes that the old man and Qin Mu liked, and then simply listened to the old man talk.

“Now that you two are back this time, I don’t care how you fight, in any case, neither of you is allowed to leave the city again. Of course, work is an exception!”

The old man hadn’t chatted for long before he got to his main point.

“Okay!”

Qin Mu agreed readily.

The old man lifted his eyes to look at her. Seeing her agree so straightforwardly, he stared at her for quite a while, as if trying to find some flaw in her eyes, then chuckled. “Xiaomu, this isn’t something you can just say casually. You’re not allowed to use work as an excuse to run off to Paris again and not come back, you hear?”

“Got it!”

Qin Mu couldn’t help but laugh.

Only then did the old man truly relax. Although he didn’t know how Mu Yichen had persuaded her to come back, the fact that she was back meant whatever problems there were could slowly be worked out and resolved.

“Ay! I thought you two were going to settle down in Paris. You scared me so much I couldn’t sleep for several nights. Good thing you came back!”

The old man looked at Qin Mu, then at Mu Yichen; the look he shared with his grandson seemed to say: Good boy, impressive!

Mu Yichen just gave a small smile and didn’t explain.

The incident with Chengcheng in Paris was still unknown to anyone in Rongcheng.

“Grandpa, some time ago I went downtown, and at an auction I saw a little item that I thought you would like, so I bid on it. See if you like it!”

After they chatted for a while and the old man had finished saying what was on his mind, Qin Mu turned and took a little trinket out of her bag, gently setting it down in front of him.

It was something from the army back in the day, very exquisite.

The old man only opened the box and glanced at it, then picked it up and held it to his eyes for a careful look.

“They don’t understand why I dote on you more than on those siblings of yours. But I know—it’s because, compared to those two, you understand me better, and you know what it means to be filial.”

The old man was practically unable to put it down. After saying that, he just kept holding it and examining it.

Mu Yichen watched the old man like that, then looked at Qin Mu, thinking, You’re something else—coming back and immediately getting Grandpa on your side.

Qin Mu knew what he was thinking and only gave a slight smile.

After lunch, Qin Mu and Mu Yichen accompanied the old man for a while longer over tea, and then saw him home.

Feng Fanghua wasn’t there, but the two of them didn’t go inside either.

Back in the city, Qin Mu got out of the car halfway and went to JY.

It was a little after three in the afternoon. Because it was Monday, there weren’t many customers. Everyone was reading the latest gossip news, and just then Wang Li came out of the office and asked, “What are you all doing? Nothing better to do? Go fix the displays, double-check the sizes or something, okay?”

The group was just about to scatter—after all, they had to think about their year-end bonuses. That was Wang Li’s ultimate move; every time she said this, it always got them obediently back to work.

But this time, nobody moved. Instead, they all turned to look at the door.