Chapter 46: Everyone’s Darling
He reached out as if to hug her, but she deftly dodged him.
"Big Brother holds me tighter!"
She declared righteously.
"Second Brother always says I’m too heavy."
After she finished, she stuck out her tongue, making everyone burst out laughing.
Ling Zhiyan walked straight into the house, holding her.
The third brother, Ling Zhiqi, and the fourth, Ling Zhiwei, were hiding behind them, stifling their laughter.
Ling Zhiwei secretly tiptoed and leaned close to his second brother’s ear.
Then he frowned and whispered disdainfully.
"Second Brother, I’m not trying to be rude, but you really should take a shower after your workout before coming back. You reek of sweat and dust; it’s enough to knock someone out. If you keep this up, Shanshan will run away the second she sees you, faster than a rabbit."
"Are you looking for a beating?"
Ling Zhiyu’s brows shot up, his eyes widened, and he raised his fists as he charged over.
The two of them chased each other playfully, weaving back and forth around the pillars under the covered corridor.
Shanshan nestled obediently in her big brother’s arms, her eyes crinkling into crescents as she smiled.
Ling Zhiyan took a handkerchief from his sleeve and gently wiped the mud stains from her face.
"Stop playing on the ground all the time. Look at you, your little face is a complete mess. You look like a sweet potato just dug out of the dirt. Even your ears are black."
"Hehe."
She gave a mischievous little laugh, tilting her small face up, her eyes shining.
"The Huahuas in the garden are so pretty! They’re all colorful, like a rainbow fell from the sky! I wanted to touch them. I wanted to see if they’d dance happily if I touched them."
She casually wiped her face, and as a result, mud smeared from her cheek to her ear, and then got into her hair.
Ling Zhiyan’s brow twitched. He was clearly at his limit.
He was a bit of a neat freak; normally, he would even straighten a misplaced teacup.
But at home, faced with this grubby little girl, he never let it get to him.
"Big Brother."
She blinked, wrapped her hands around his neck, her voice soft and sweet.
"I want to plant flowers! I want to plant lots and lots of flowers—red ones, yellow ones, purple ones, all in rows. They’ll be so pretty when they bloom! It’s okay if I get a little dirty, as long as the Huahuas are happy!"
Ling Zhiyan froze for a moment. He looked down at her innocent little face, a trace of resignation in his eyes.
"Well... what if you had to touch something stinky? Like... fertilizer?"
Shanshan pouted and tilted her head, thinking it over seriously.
Then she shook her head with a very serious expression.
"Fertilizer? I don’t mind! Grandpa said fertilizer is food for the little flowers. Just like babies have to eat to grow up big and tall, the little flowers need to be full so they have the strength to bloom! If the Huahuas don’t eat enough, they’ll cry because they’re hungry!"
The moment she said that, images of farm manure instantly popped into Ling Zhiyan’s mind.
His face immediately turned a little green, his throat tightened, and he nearly choked.
Ling Zhiqi roared with laughter, doubling over, and scooped her up from his big brother’s arms.
"Shanshan, you’re a little genius! The moment Big Brother hears words like ’fertilizer’ or ’eating,’ his stomach starts churning, and he feels like he needs to go rinse his mouth out immediately. Don’t say that word in front of him, or he’ll definitely puke on the spot!"
"Why?"
Shanshan tilted her head, her little brain unable to figure it out.
"Isn’t fertilizer a good thing? It helps the Huahuas grow big and strong, right?"
Ling Zhiqi glanced at his big brother.
Seeing his face was still pale, Ling Zhiqi’s heart started pounding nervously.
He wanted to explain, but he was afraid of making things worse and just making Shanshan more curious.
But if he didn’t say anything, his big brother probably wouldn’t even be able to eat dinner tonight.
He was caught in a dilemma, so all he could do was scratch his head with a dry laugh.
Just then, Ling Anxun slowly approached from the other end of the corridor.
His brows were tightly furrowed and his gaze was cold; he was clearly in a bad mood.
Shanshan knew she had again forgotten the time she had promised her father she would be home.
She lowered her head, her fingers tightly clutching the hem of her clothes, and her shoulders unconsciously hunched.
Her lips trembled slightly, her little face a mask of grievance and self-blame.
The four brothers standing beside her didn’t dare to make a sound.
The air seemed to freeze.
Everyone thought that this time, Shanshan was definitely in for a scolding.
But unexpectedly, Ling Anxun just sighed.
Ling Zhiwei was the first to jump in.
"Uncle! This is so unfair! When we made mistakes, you never hesitated to punish us directly! How come when it’s Shanshan, you don’t even have a harsh word for her?"
His eyebrows shot up, his face a mask of indignation.
"Look at her! Coming back at this hour? Aren’t you just spoiling her rotten?!"
Ling Anxun didn’t even lift an eyelid.
Shanshan tilted her head, blinking her big, bright eyes.
First, she snuck a peek at her father. Seeing his calm expression, she breathed a small sigh of relief.
Then she turned her head to look at her indignant fourth brother.
She then glanced over the other three brothers, each with a strange expression on his face.
"Fourth Brother, how can you talk about Daddy like that?"
She retorted in her small, childish voice.
"Daddy is super gentle! You’re not allowed to say that about him!"
After speaking, she even stood on her tiptoes and gently tugged on Ling Anxun’s sleeve.
"Er..."
Ling Zhiwei was instantly speechless.
He turned to his other three brothers for help, hoping someone would stand up and speak for him.
But they all suddenly became experts at playing deaf and dumb.
The eldest stared at the floor, and the second pretended to take a phone call.
The third was even more dramatic, pulling out his earbuds and sticking them in his ears.
"Fourth Brother, if you’re not busy..."
Ling Anxun suddenly spoke.
"I am, I am! I’m really busy!"
The moment Ling Zhiwei heard this, the hairs on his arms stood on end.
"I just remembered I have a pile of documents I haven’t looked at! I have to deal with them right away! Not a moment to lose!"
He hadn’t even finished speaking before he turned and bolted for the door.
The other three also acted as if their feet were greased, each finding an excuse to slip away.
"Stop."
Ling Anxun said coldly.
The four of them froze instantly, their feet stopping in unison.
"Didn’t you say you brought gifts for Shanshan?"
His tone was calm.
"Right, right, right! The gifts! We almost forgot!"
The four of them spun around abruptly and began frantically rummaging through their backpacks and digging in their pockets.
Before Shanshan could even react, her hands were filled with a pile of gift boxes.
By the time she blinked and looked up again, her four brothers had already vanished without a trace.
"Daddy will help you open your gifts."
Ling Anxun bent down and took Shanshan’s small hand.
Then he wheeled his wheelchair toward the living room.
Before long, Shanshan’s excited squeals suddenly echoed from the living room.
"Wow! This little dress is so pretty! It has a pink bow and a poofy tulle skirt, just like a princess would wear! I want to wear it right now!"
"Daddy, what’s this sparkly thing? Is it a little star? Can I play with it?"
She leaned in curiously toward a small, silver-glinting charm, her eyes full of childish wonder.
She had never experienced anything like this before.
Every single gift from her four brothers was so exquisite it seemed otherworldly.
The wrapping paper was so fine it shone, and the ribbons were tied neatly.
Even the bows on the boxes looked as if they had been carefully selected.
She was holding the last gift box when footsteps suddenly sounded at the door.
Shanshan ran to the door and threw herself into Ling Zhenkang’s arms.
"Grandpa, you walked for so long. Do your feet hurt?"
But in the next second, her attention was completely captured by the woman standing behind her grandfather.
It was a woman dressed to sparkle.
She wore a long, sequined dress and a pearl necklace.
Her earrings were two dazzling crystals, and when she walked, her whole body seemed to glow.