Chapter 4: The Poor Little Orphan

Old Master Chi held Tiantian, cooing at her like a precious treasure.

However, the stubble on his face pricked Tiantian, making her whimper and pout until she finally burst into loud tears.

"Waaaah~~"

She was timid by nature, and being held by such a stern-faced grandfather only made her fear take over, leaving her unable to stop crying.

Old Madam Chi felt sorry for her, took her over, and glared at Old Master Chi.

"It’s your own fault. You know your beard is that prickly, why don't you shave? Look at how you've scratched our Tiantian."

Seeing his granddaughter crying so heart-wrenchingly, Old Master Chi felt a bit embarrassed.

He coughed, "It’s been so many years since I held a child; I just forgot for a moment."

Old Madam Chi shot him a look. "You didn't hold Wenting or Jianghe when you were young, so naturally, you wouldn't know how to hold a granddaughter now."

Accused by Old Madam Chi, Old Master Chi’s face turned red. "W-well, the boys didn't let me hold them back then, what was I supposed to do?"

When his sons were little, they weren't the clingy type, and he was a "steel-straight" father who naturally didn't know how to play with children.

It was only now, in his old age, that his grandfatherly love overflowed whenever he saw his granddaughter.

"But why is this child so timid?"

She cried after he held her for just a second?

"Wenting wasn't like this when he was little, was he?"

His two sons—one a proud, prickly character, the other a smiling tiger—neither had ever been afraid of him.

Why was Tiantian so timid?

Old Madam Chi, protective of her own, glared at him. "Tiantian was sent to an orphanage the moment she was born. Without family by her side, of course she’s timid."

Old Master Chi felt like his wife had eaten gunpowder today; he didn't dare talk back and guiltily glanced elsewhere.

With that glance, he saw Chengcheng hiding by the door, eavesdropping.

Her little head was pressed against the doorframe, the little tuft of hair on her head bobbing—it was quite cute.

"Who’s there?"

Hearing this, Old Madam Chi looked over and realized it was Chengcheng.

She hurried over to pick up Chengcheng and said to Old Master Chi, "This is Chengcheng, the little orphan I told you about this morning."

"The poor thing. They say her parents were biased toward sons and threw her away after having four daughters in a row. The orphanage picked her up."

When she went to pick up the children, Old Madam Chi saw Chengcheng and Tiantian hugging each other. Touched by the sight, she had impulsively brought both of them home.

Looking at such a cute child, Old Master Chi’s eyes softened with rare pity. "Since we brought her back, let’s raise her together."

"Perhaps this child is fated to be with our family."

Chengcheng was moved by his words. She sniffled, wanting to cry but feeling too embarrassed to do so.

Old Master Chi looked down and saw her little shoulders heaving. Suddenly feeling a pang of sympathy, he picked her up.

"Alright, don't cry. From now on, treat this place as your home. Grandma and Grandpa will both love you."

Even though she was a strange little orphan, Old Master Chi felt a sense of familiarity with her.

Chengcheng hadn't expected the stern grandfather from her past life to be so loving in this one. She felt a little moved, reached out with her chubby little hands, and kissed Old Master Chi’s cheek.

"Mwah~"

Then, she shyly nestled into his shoulder, giggling with her little pacifier.

Old Master Chi hadn't expected the child to be so affectionate and was instantly delighted.

"This little girl, she’s quite lovable."

Old Madam Chi smiled. "Yes, if her DNA test hadn't come back as not being Wenting’s, I would have thought she and Tiantian were twins."

Previously, fearing they might misidentify the children, they had tested all the babies of similar age from the orphanage.

They confirmed Tiantian was indeed Chi Wenting’s daughter, but none of the others were.

Chengcheng knew her test results had been tampered with by the villainous supporting character, so it was normal for the Chi family not to recognize her.

Still, Grandpa and Grandma were quite good to her, so she decided to enjoy their love for now and worry about the rest later.

Seeing her leaning against his chest, not at all shy, and instead wrapping her chubby little hands around his neck as if she really liked him, Old Master Chi’s mood improved significantly.

He asked Old Madam Chi, "How is that Lan Jiaojiao doing?"

He had heard she was in the ICU, but he didn't know her condition.

Old Madam Chi sighed. "It seems she’s become a vegetable. I don't know if she’ll ever wake up."

"Wenting hasn't said much on the surface, but he sent her to the best treatment facility abroad. I suppose he still cares."

Old Master Chi felt frustrated.

"He’s first in his studies, first in his work, yet he can't even handle one woman?"

If he really liked her, he should have just brought her home; they could have had more children.

But he wouldn't listen to advice, only doing what he wanted.

Now that she’s a vegetable, what’s the point of trying to fix it?

Old Madam Chi defended her son. "You have the nerve to talk about him? You were the one who insisted on sending him away for grueling training back then. You didn't give him a childhood, and you expect him to know how to date?"

Because the Chi family had a massive estate, the heirs required iron-man training from a young age, leaving them almost no childhood of their own.

Fortunately, both Chi Wenting and Chi Jianghe were very smart, and they were always at the top in both studies and practice.

But when it came to romance, they were truly lacking.

Neither brother seemed to know how to date.

Old Master Chi knew his educational methods had some flaws, so he shut his mouth and stopped talking about his son.

Chengcheng, however, listened with a serious expression and even patted his face with her little chubby hand. "Da!" Grandpa, don't be angry.

Old Master Chi was touched. "This child, she’s quite thoughtful."

Unlike the two brats in the family who weren't close to him at all.

Even his own granddaughter, Tiantian, was afraid of him. *Sigh*, being a grandfather is hard.

Chengcheng sighed along with him, wondering how she would get through the days ahead.

*Truly, being a baby is hard...*

Old Madam Chi looked at the old man and the little one, finding it inexplicably funny.

"Alright, Wenting is handling things at the hospital and will be here soon. Speak nicely when he arrives; don't start arguing again."

Old Master Chi was unconvinced. "Am I really that argumentative?"

*Not at all!*

Chengcheng and Old Madam Chi:...

*You call that not argumentative?*

By seven o'clock, Chi Wenting returned right on time.

Upon entering, he saw Old Master Chi sitting on the carpet, playing a game of tossing dolls with the two little ones.

Tiantian was laughing like a little idiot; every time Old Master Chi tossed a doll, she would giggle non-stop.

Even the little orphan beside her was laughing, drool dripping down, her big eyes crinkling until they disappeared.

He looked on with disdain, walked over, and poked Chengcheng’s chubby diaper with the tip of his shoe.

Then he poked Tiantian’s diaper.

"Little brats?"

The two children froze and looked up at him in unison.

Their movements were as synchronized as a copy-paste, and the little tufts of hair on their heads were equally neat.

Old Master Chi watched the children’s movements and glared at Chi Wenting.

"Do you have any compassion? Why are you kicking them for no reason?"

Didn't he see that the strawberry-patterned diaper was poked flat?

Chi Wenting snorted, acting proud. "I was just saying hello to them."

Old Master Chi... *Poking someone’s diaper is saying hello?*

*Something’s wrong with him!*

Chengcheng, however, was very excited to see Chi Wenting.

She crawled over, *da-da-da*, grabbed Chi Wenting’s pant leg, and demanded to be held.

"Baba~~" Hold me~