Chapter 27 – So Envious

Hao Ritian couldn't see since he was looking down but Ou Yu and Mu Rou had no such scruples. They stared closely at Feng Qi and had a fine view of the odd look on his face when he was called 'Uncle'. That seemingly choked up expression comforted their hearts greatly.

The guy had been so helpful that they couldn't ruthlessly hate him. After all, they didn't have enough grounds to feel so. But now that seniority was thrown out in the open, a line was drawn between Feng Qi and their son. Whatever happened in the future, they would deal with it in the future. At present though, the status of an 'Uncle' still made them more at ease.

One had to admit, despite not having seen each other for more than twenty years, Ou Yu and Mu Rou were still quite in sync during these sort of times. Even though they hadn't discussed this, they managed to seamlessly cooperate together.

Feng Qi looked at the young man, whose hair whorl was visible due to his bowed head. This strange feeling caused by being suddenly called 'Uncle' soon vanished. From another perspective, being called 'Uncle' wasn't a big deal. On the contrary, there was a closer relationship between them, wasn't that good?!

Though Hao Ritian's head was still lowered, Feng Qi's eyes fell on him as he smiled and replied, "Mn, good boy. Uncle was hasty when leaving home and forgot to prepare a meeting gift. I'll make it up to you next time.

His response was bold and confident, as if he didn't notice Ou Yu and Mu Rou's little thoughts at all. The thickness of his face wasn't something that could be rivalled by any ordinary person. Take a look at the smile on his lips and the softening of his sharp temperament. He was playing the role of an uncle accurately.

This time, the ones to choke up were Ou Yu and Mu Rou. When it came to this sort of shamelessness, they were obviously outdone.

Hao Ritian was inwardly saying 'Shameless'. However, he appreciated this sort of shameless style. It had a bit of his own demeanour.

"Waiter, you can serve the dishes." Ou Yu instructed the attendant waiting outside, then followed up on Feng Qi's conversation. He put on a fake smile. "You don't have to spend any money. I'll buy Ziwen whatever he needs."

The curve of Feng Qi's lips flattened bit by bit, restoring his usual cool-headed and restrained expression. Without the smile, the perceptiveness in his eyes couldn't be covered and his bearing appeared oppressive. Fortunately, Ou Yu was used to this appearance of his and didn't feel anything.

However, this was Mu Rou's first time seeing Feng Qi like this and she felt rather concerned. They hadn't truly offended him, had they? What should they do if he was angry? She couldn't help but regret her attitude. If not for Feng Qi, her son's fate would've been several times worse than it was now. The more she thought about it, the more she felt like she should apologise.

The next moment, she realised she had over-thought things.

Feng Qi's expression didn't change as he spoke, "I know you don't lack money. But as an uncle, giving Ziwen a meeting gift is but a token of my regard. What spending or not spending money?"

Ou Yu & Mu Rou, "…"

Had they just been counterattacked?

Hao Ritian slightly looked up. The overly long bangs obstructing his sight gave him the sense of security to peer through the gaps. He looked carefully towards Feng Qi, but got caught in the act.

"What about you, Ziwen? Do you have anything you like?" Feng Qi looked straight into Hao Ritian's eyes.

Hao Ritian hastily looked away, his fingers clutching the tablecloth tighter. His mouth opened and closed several times. Maybe because the strong impression Feng Qi left on him was too deep, despite not being used to it, he still answered his question with a low voice, "…I like chess."

His voice was so small, it was like he wanted to be overlooked. However, the three people at the scene looked evenly at him. Mu Rou was both pleasantly surprised and astonished, shocked by her son's spontaneous behaviour. Meanwhile, Ou Yu and Feng Qi already knew about his autism. This response, however simple when it came to normal people, was a surprise when he said it.

Ou Yu was at once delighted and envious. His son hadn't spoken a word to him since he came in, and even his earlier request to call Feng Qi 'Uncle' was fulfilled only after Mu Rou asked him again. Feng Qi was actually able to converse with his son as well. Envious, envious, so envious!

With Feng Qi's hearing, Hao Ritian simply had to open his mouth and he would be able to hear Hao Ritian's response crystal clear, even if Hao Ritian's volume was small. He felt as though the young man had just been carefully looking at him and when he was discovered, immediately shrank back like a groundhog. Paired with his round eyes, he was unspeakably cute.

The groundhog actually liked chess, a game more well-received amongst the elderly crowd. Feng Qi wasn't expecting that, but he was still in good spirits. He slowed down the pace of his words as he replied, "Alright, Uncle will give you a chess set next time. If you like, Uncle will play chess with you when he's free."

Ou Yu & Mu Rou, "…"

Uncle this, Uncle that. That's quite enough. They never knew the word 'Uncle' could be so harsh on the ears!

Luckily, the waiter started to serve the dishes at that moment and the atmosphere eased considerably, right away. Between Hao Ritian and Ou Yu were Mu Rou and an empty seat. Ou Yu peeked at him and took the initiative to change seats, sitting on Hao Ritian's other side. His face momentarily became more solemn and he used the ladle to scoop out a ladle-full of small shrimp meats for Hao Ritian. "Eat."

His voice was dry and hoarse with nervousness, causing his tone to sound like an order. His expression froze in vexation as soon as he said it. He wanted to say something to make up for his blunder but didn't know how to say it. His frustration practically reached its peak when he discerned that his son had no intention of moving his chopsticks.

Did his son hate him? He truly was useless. Where was his silver tongue? His smoothness? Where did they all go?

Unconsciously, he turned to Mu Rou for help. Ou Yu pitifully called out, "An An…"

Mu Rou was stunned. She hadn't heard that nickname for many years. But soon, she was no longer thinking about it. She knew by Ou Yu's pitiful expression that he wanted to please her son, and the doubt in her heart eased. She didn't make it hard on him either, and came to his rescue. "Ziwen can't eat seafood; he's allergic to them. He also doesn't like to eat meat. Though he can eat a little bit of beef, he prefers vegetarian food."

Following Mu Rou's words, several kinds of vegetable dishes appeared on the plate in front of Hao Ritian, all given by Feng Qi.

Ou Yu wished he could simply throw Feng Qi out. What was the matter with him? This was obviously a wonderful opportunity for him to connect with his son, and it was being entirely ruined by this inconsiderate guy.

Hao Ritian didn't have to do anything at all. He just extended his chopsticks and ate the food on his plate. It was a bit of a pity that Mu Ziwen didn't eat meat, though, since he was a meat-lover. It seemed he would have to bear with it in this world.

As a result, not long after that, Hao Ritian was 'arduously' eating meat, while inwardly hugging Feng Qi and firmly giving him a kiss. This was really awesome.

The reason for that was, after Hao Ritian finished eating the vegetable dishes Feng Qi picked for him, Feng Qi actually gave him a lot of meat. He avoided the seafood, but selected a variety of meats and piled them up on his plate.

After he was done, Feng Qi simply said, "Eat!"

Just like Ou Yu, he only said a single word. However, compared to Ou Yu, who had spoken hoarsely due to nervousness, Feng Qi was an absolute dominant. His tone truly carried a bit of a command.

What made Ou Yu gape, however, was that Hao Ritian merely hesitated for a moment and snuck a look at Feng Qi's direction before obediently starting to eat once Feng Qi gave him a light glance. A mouthful of meat, a mouthful of veggies, and a mouthful of rice. He looked like he couldn't be more well-behaved.

Ou Yu's heart suddenly itched and ached for his son. Look at how bitterly his son is eating; he must really dislike this. He had the urge to tell his son to stop eating, but when he saw his thin arms and legs, he couldn't say it. How could the big fellow not eat meat? It was because he didn't eat meat that he grew up to be so thin. Relative to his son's health, he would rather continue watching his son arduously eat. He couldn't harden his heart, but with Feng Qi there to do it, and it being good for his son, why should he refuse?

Mu Rou's feeling was more complicated, with some sadness at its base. She felt like her son listened to Feng Qi's words more than he did hers. She, as a mother, was feeling jealous.

But like Ou Yu, she didn't speak out, out of consideration for her son.

That was how Hao Ritian came to strenuously eat meat. Hao Ritian was truly both happy and sad. He was clearly very fond of eating this, yet he had to act as though he really disliked it. However, for the sake of eating meat, he endured. Feng Qi's position in his heart elevated once again. Such an attentive man was so attractive.

Feng Qi was very satisfied with Hao Ritian's obedient behaviour and thought that the book he read yesterday was quite useful.

Ou Yu and Mu Rou were jealous of their son's obedience towards Feng Qi. However, what they didn't know was that after Feng Qi left Ou Yu's company yesterday, he had a sudden change of mind and, unexpectedly, specially bought a book on autism and noted down many useful things.

The book said that most people with autism drew a circle around themselves and only felt safe when they stayed in this circle. The majority of them were passive in life, like a spinning top—hit it once, and it moves once. It was difficult to get them to be spontaneous. At this time, they would need external help. If someone could patiently guide or push them, then they might give some reaction.

Feng Qi's keen observation ability led him to discover in their brief interactions yesterday that Mu Ziwen, this groundhog, was the type to yield to force but reject soft approaches. After Feng Qi made his attitude unyielding multiple times yesterday, he was well-behaved and did what he was told. This was why Feng Qi demanded with a tough attitude when he heard that Mu Ziwen didn't like eating meat.

This was also a way to verify whether the methods mentioned in the book could be used or not. At present, it seemed, the results were still quite satisfactory.

Mu Rou harboured guilt for her son, and so her attitude had always been soft and accommodating, more willing to follow him. Ou Yu was even more subdued. His son was already in his early twenties and he was meeting him only now for the first time. His attitude simply couldn't be toughened. In contrast, it was instead Feng Qi, this 'outsider', who was more resourceful.

It was no wonder Hao Ritian was so compliant with Feng Qi. Though, of course, his own fondness for eating meat also accounted for a certain percentage in making him more willing to cooperate with Feng Qi, under the basis of not breaking his character setting. This was how they came to this outcome.

As they were eating the meal, Ou Yu and Mu Rou kept feeling upset in their hearts. Meanwhile, Feng Qi and Hao Ritian were having a good time eating. This private restaurant was very well-known for its ingredients and outstanding flavours. Even picky people liked it.

When Feng Qi wanted to once again pick some meat for him, Hao Ritian finally refused, still with a small voice, "I'm full."

Excellent. He said it very fluently this time.

Feng Qi didn't push. His chopsticks changed direction and he placed the chicken piece into his own bowl. He scoffed, a tad unsatisfied, "Your appetite is smaller than a cat's. Such a big guy eating so little; what a waste of growing so tall."

While Mu Ziwen was thin, he was 1.82 meters tall, which was rather good among boys.

Hao Ritian could tell Feng Qi was talking about him. His cheeks reddened from embarrassment and his lips moved. But still, he didn't speak.

Ou Yu finally found the chance to counterstrike. He refuted, "Ziwen is still young. He can grow strong if he eats a bit more in the future. As an uncle, how can you mock the boy like this?"

Look Son, is Father dignified enough? Devoted enough?

Ou Yu was seemingly talking to Feng Qi, but his eyes kept glancing at Hao Ritian. The desire in his gaze for Hao Ritian to pay attention to him was about to pierce him, it was scorching.

Hao Ritian, who was experiencing such 'paternal love' for the first time, indeed, didn't disappoint. He finally tilted his head to stare watchfully at Ou Yu. He could practically see Ou Yu's eyes brighten with a 'swish' because of his regard.

Was this man really over forty?