Chapter 55: Little Lazy Bug—Eat It Yourself
It was hard to tell whether she was just too focused on gnawing at the corn, or whether Qin Mochen had entered too quietly—but the little girl hadn’t noticed him at all.
Qin Mochen paused, then suddenly spoke, his tone a notch louder than usual. “I’m back.”
Su Keke’s small white teeth, which had been crunching away at the corn, abruptly stopped. She looked toward the door, and when she saw him, she exclaimed happily, “Uncle, you’re back!”
She ran over at once and couldn’t wait to spin around in front of him. “Uncle, look—do I look good in this school uniform? Aunt Lin said it looks good, and Grandpa Zhao said so too.”
Grandpa Zhao was the old butler Qin Mochen usually addressed as Uncle Zhao. He spent most of his time tending flowers and plants in the yard and rarely spoke.
Su Keke felt that the elderly man liked peace and quiet, so she usually just greeted him politely when she saw him. Today, she couldn’t help asking one extra question—and to her surprise, the old butler smiled and nodded, saying, “Looks good.”
There still had to be some distinction in terms of seniority between the butler and her uncle. Even though Su Keke herself sometimes got confused and, without thinking, called Grandpa Zhao “Uncle Zhao” just like Qin Mochen did.
When she thought about it—her uncle was also an “uncle,” Uncle Zhao was also an “uncle,” her uncle wasn’t even thirty yet, while Uncle Zhao was already in his sixties—and she’d lumped them together as the same generation with one form of address, Su Keke felt a little guilty.
The “Uncle Zhao” her uncle referred to could still be called Grandpa Zhao by Su Keke, but the “Aunt Lin” her uncle referred to definitely couldn’t be called Grandma Lin—after all, Aunt Lin was only in her early forties.
In the end, Su Keke simply stopped worrying about it. It was just a form of address anyway—calling people younger-sounding names couldn’t really go wrong.
Actually, if she just called her uncle “big brother,” all these naming conflicts would disappear—but…
Old Su wouldn’t let Su Keke casually call men “big brother.” As for why, his explanation back then had been: “Girls who call men ‘big brother’ at the drop of a hat these days aren’t proper. Disciple, don’t learn from those improper girls.”
Su Keke felt her master was being unreasonable and didn’t respond. Calling Qin Mochen “uncle” had nothing to do with her master anyway—it was because when they first met, his serious expression made him look especially stern, like someone from a different generation.
And that young master Qin had said it himself—this was his fourth uncle. She was even younger than that young master, so calling him “uncle” couldn’t possibly be wrong.
Now, Qin Mochen looked at the little girl spinning around in front of him, her face full of anticipation for his verdict, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
He’d already noticed when he came in—she had changed into Yuhua Aristocratic High School’s uniform.
The weather was getting warmer, so she wasn’t wearing the long-sleeved jacket. On top was a short-sleeved white shirt, the collar adorned with a blue plaid bow. On the bottom was a matching blue plaid short skirt. And further down… white socks with plaid lace trim, and white shoes with matching plaid edging.
Seeing that he hadn’t said anything for a while, Su Keke asked again, “Is it nice, Uncle?”
If she hadn’t asked, Qin Mochen probably wouldn’t have paid special attention. Now that she’d pointed it out, he realized that the little girl was actually slimmer than he’d imagined—especially her waist. He could probably wrap both hands around it.
So all her extra flesh had gone to her face?
Qin Mochen steadied himself and replied, “It looks pretty good.”
“Really? Uncle’s an adult—if even you say so, then from now on I’ll think it looks good too!”
Saying such sweet things with that innocent face made it very easy for the listener to… feel sweet as well.
Qin Mochen pressed down lightly at the corner of his mouth, then glanced once more at the hem of her skirt and added, “The skirt is a bit short.”
Su Keke’s eyes lit up slightly. She stomped her foot. “Right, Uncle? The skirt is kind of short! I said it was short, and they said I was old-fashioned and conservative.”
“Oh right, Uncle, let’s not talk about that anymore. Come eat some corn! This corn is super sweet!”
She grabbed Qin Mochen and pulled him inside.
…
After dinner, before Qin Mochen could say much of anything, Su Keke dashed into the study on her own initiative.
Qin Mochen glanced at the study, then sat in the living room and turned on the news.
Half an hour later, he glanced at the study again.
“Fourth Master, have some fruit.” Aunt Lin placed a fruit platter on the coffee table.
Qin Mochen shook his head. “I don’t like fruit. Take it to the girl.”
Aunt Lin laughed. “There’s some for everyone. I already prepared Keke’s.”
Qin Mochen froze for a moment, then hummed in acknowledgment and said nothing more.
Aunt Lin headed back to the kitchen, her smile stretched wide—what she was smiling about, probably only she herself knew.
The man casually flipped through channels. When he landed on an entertainment news channel, he suddenly stopped.
Qin Mochen never watched entertainment news. He paused now only because a familiar face appeared on the screen—not someone he knew well, but someone he remembered because of Su Keke.
The actress embroiled in a plastic surgery scandal was the very same one he and the little girl had run into at the club—the one accompanying Boss Zhao.
The actress was currently extremely popular, and a minor plastic surgery controversy wouldn’t really affect her.
But—
Qin Mochen recalled how the little girl had solemnly declared that the actress had gotten plastic surgery, and he couldn’t help but smile faintly.
“Middle-age setbacks, troubled later years”—he wondered whether those words would end up haunting that actress.
Checking the time, Qin Mochen felt that excessive immersion in studying wasn’t good for the little girl. After only a brief hesitation, he turned off the TV and went into the study.
The fruit platter Aunt Lin had brought in sat on the desk, untouched.
Su Keke looked up at him and smiled, flashing her little white teeth and nearly blinding him before lowering her head again to keep solving problems.
Qin Mochen sat down beside her and picked up a small wedge of watermelon from the platter, holding it to her mouth.
Su Keke promptly opened her mouth and leaned in to nibble.
His gaze shifted slightly, and the hand holding the watermelon slowly moved backward.
Su Keke stretched her neck forward, her little mouth still chasing the watermelon, her eyes never leaving the problem set, the pen in her hand continuing to scribble away.
Only when her neck reached its maximum extension did she realize something was wrong. She turned her head to look at her uncle, puffing out her cheeks as she complained, “Uncle, you did that on purpose!”
The man’s expression was serious, though there was a faint upward curve at the corner of his lips—as if it had been hooked there all along, only hastily suppressed when she suddenly looked over.
Seeing her cheeks puffed out, Qin Mochen couldn’t help letting out a low chuckle. “Little lazy bug. Reach out—take it and eat it yourself.”
Su Keke put down her pen and could only hold the watermelon herself and gnaw on it.
The fruity aroma had already made her crave it, but she’d been right in the middle of a problem and hadn’t wanted to interrupt herself, so she’d been holding back.
“Kid, studying is important, but your health is even more important,” Qin Mochen said, watching her eat watermelon with quick little mouthfuls, finding it oddly engrossing.
After finishing a wedge, Su Keke took a moment to reply, “I know, Uncle. I’m still young, my body’s strong. It’s you, Uncle—you should remember to rest more and exercise more.”
Qin Mochen: …
