The sound of a car engine echoed from the front courtyard of the villa. Nuonuo dropped the cookie in her hand and dashed toward the entrance, wondering if it was her daddy coming home.
As she sprinted into the courtyard on her short legs, she saw the car pulling in and realized it wasn't her father's. A look of confusion flickered across the little girl's face. A moment later, a tall man stepped out of the vehicle. Clad in military boots, he exuded an air of righteousness and natural authority.
Nuonuo froze in her tracks. This uncle looked just like her daddy!
Chuyi had been in the pavilion all along. When the newcomer arrived, she cast a casual glance his way before turning her attention back to Nuonuo.
As Li Hanchen stepped out of the car, he saw a cute, adorable little dumpling standing before his bumper. His stoic face instantly softened with a gentle smile.
"Are you Nuonuo?" Li Hanchen asked in a low, soft voice.
Nuonuo nodded tentatively. She didn't know this uncle, but since he resembled her father, she didn't feel any urge to shy away.
Just as Li Hanchen was about to crouch down to pick her up, a woman's voice came from behind him. "Wow, so you're Nuonuo! Come here, let your aunt hold you."
No sooner had the words left her lips than Li Hanchen felt a gust of wind. The little dumpling in front of him was swept away, and in the next second, she was safely tucked into his wife’s arms.
"Nuonuo, I’m your aunt. Look, I brought you a gift. Do you like it?"
Mo Yun'er pulled a gold bracelet from her bag—one she had prepared long ago—and slipped it onto Nuonuo's wrist. It fit perfectly.
Seeing the shiny object suddenly adorning her small hand, Nuonuo beamed. "Thank you, Auntie! I love it! Auntie, you are so beautiful!"
With just a few words, Nuonuo had Mo Yun'er grinning from ear to ear. "Hahaha, this baby really is a sweetheart."Watching the two of them interact, Li Hanchen's face darkened with frustration. He was clearly the first to spot his little niece. Mo Yun'er had still been inside the car at the time, busy checking out handbags, and he had sneaked out quietly while she wasn't paying attention, eager to scoop up the little niece.
He was just about to get his hands on her when this woman ambushed him halfway!
"Nuonuo, I am your Eldest Uncle. Will you let Eldest Uncle give you a hug?"
Li Hanchen felt he couldn't just stand there like a fool any longer; otherwise, he wouldn't stand a chance of holding his sweet, soft little niece today.
Mo Yun'er glared at Li Hanchen. Catching his wife's warning look, Li Hanchen awkwardly rubbed his nose and pulled his hands back.
Mo Yun'er nodded with satisfaction and carried Nuonuo toward the villa.
*A regular tigress!* Li Hanchen thought.
Just as he lifted his foot to head toward the villa, two more cars drove in from behind. Turning around, he saw his two sons.
"Dad, where is our little sister?"
The driver's door of the lead car slowly opened, and a young man with a tall, straight posture, handsome features, and an air of scholarly elegance walked briskly toward Li Hanchen.
"Your mother carried her inside."
Li Hanchen gave his eldest son a gloomy look as he replied.
Li Jing glanced toward the villa. Had he arrived a step too late after all?
Last night, when they learned their Third Uncle had a daughter, they would have flown right over to see this little sister if it hadn't been so late.
They had planned it out today too: finish their work and rush right over to see their sister, preferably beating their mom to the punch.
Heaven only knew how desperately their mother wanted a daughter. Whenever she saw a little girl around three or four years old out in public, she looked ready to scoop the child up and carry her off on the spot.
Well, now she had her, and none of the rest of them would get a turn holding their little cousin.The door of the pink sports car behind them opened, and the owner stepped out, dressed in a flashy pink suit that matched the car as he walked toward Li Hanchen and his sons.
Gazing at his second son, Li Hanchen felt an itch of sheer annoyance in his teeth. He had loathed this effeminate look for a long time.
"Dad, Big Brother, why aren't you going inside? Where's our little cousin?"
Li Sheng removed his sunglasses.
Li Jing had a strong urge to slap him right across the face. What normal person wore sunglasses in the middle of the night? Who was he trying to impress?
Alone in the pavilion, Chuyi watched the interaction between the three father and sons, accidentally eating all the cookies in front of him before he even realized it.
Only when he noticed the empty tray did he slowly drift toward the villa.
None of the people in the Li Family were ordinary!
It looked like Nuonuo was going to have her hands full in the future!
Drifting into the villa, Chuyi saw Nuonuo in Mo Yun'er's arms, chatting away on the sofa. Floating over to take a closer look at Nuonuo, good grief—Nuonuo was already glowing with golden light.
"Nuonuo, look, this, this, and this were all bought for you by your auntie. Try putting them on and see."
Mo Yun'er pulled several lambskin brocade boxes from her bag, all filled with glittering gems and gold that shone so brightly under the lights it was almost blinding.
Li Hanchen, Li Jing, and Li Sheng walked in and, seeing Mo Yun'er's behavior, didn't think much of it anymore. They had no idea what had gotten into their mother lately, but she had developed a sudden obsession with buying these things.
Looking at the glittering gold before her, Nuonuo had no idea what to do.
Chuyi sighed. Good grief, aside from Nuonuo and Li Lingxiao, everyone else in this family had issues!
Oh, and there was Li Xiran—he hadn't found anything wrong with Li Xiran yet.
Perched on the chandelier, Chuyi fell into deep thought. What on earth was going on here?
Where had this family gone to provoke these unclean things?
Or was someone deliberately trying to harm them?
As Chuyi was deeply analyzing the situation, the villa's front door suddenly swung open. He gave a start and sharply turned his head toward the newcomer.
It was Li Jingcheng and Yun Jinxiu.
Found them!
He had finally found them!
The scent from last night was coming from Nuonuo's grandparents!
Chuyi narrowed his eyes. It seemed these two elders were also being deliberately targeted.
Chuyi's hands quickly formed a hand seal before his chest, but he stopped just as he was about to chant the incantation.
He could certainly resolve this matter easily enough, but if he took care of it, Nuonuo would have no opportunity to prove herself at all.
After a moment's thought, Chuyi dropped his hand seal, pulled several yellow talismans from his sleeve, and tossed them toward the group.
The yellow talismans drifted gently toward the people gathered around Nuonuo.
He would use the talismans to keep them safe first; with the talismans in place, whatever was clinging to them wouldn't be able to harm them.
Over the next two days, he would put Nuonuo through intensive training and let her subdue them one by one.
Meanwhile, Nuonuo, currently basking in the affection of her family, had no idea what kind of special training awaited her.
As Nuonuo was chatting happily with the others, a teenage boy pushed open the villa door. "Seriously, I was right in the middle of a ranking match at the internet cafe, and they had to call me back now."
The boy grumbled the moment he walked in, his expression so sullen it made you want to smack him.