Chapter 41: Are you sure Xia Xia isn't yours? He looks just like your father.

Early the next morning, after washing up, Jiang Xiaxia trotted over on her short legs to the door of her grandparents' room. She brought a small stool, sat down obediently, and waited for her grandfather to come out and share some gossip.

Recalling the apocalypse, her grandfather had a special fondness for gossip, yet he was always self-conscious about his "manly image," fearing others might find out about this hobby. Consequently, he could only whisper secrets to her—her system—in private. It is no exaggeration to say that her grandfather played an instrumental role in helping her, a super-system, develop her own emotions.

Thinking of her grandfather, Xiaxia remembered how she had saved his little "warehouse" before her self-detonation. Having just "brushed" her uncle yesterday, she wondered what she might be able to pull out of her pockets. She reached a small hand into her pocket, fumbled around, and pulled out a tiny object. A look of immense confusion crossed her small face as she stared at it in her palm—what was the use of this thing?

Just then, hearing footsteps, she pricked up her ears, tucked the object away, and quickly pulled out the dictionary she had been using, searching for the words she wanted to say.

"Well, look at you, already using it?"

Wang Lianjun had been to the Jiang household before, so he didn't need anyone to lead the way; he arrived carrying a bundle on his back. Seeing the front gate open, he walked straight in. To his surprise, there was no one around except for little Jiang Xiaxia, who was sitting by a doorway, flipping through a dictionary with an earnest expression. He couldn't help but chuckle.

Xiaxia looked up, her eyes brightening the moment she saw him. "Uncle Jun?"

Seeing the little girl's excitement, Wang Lianjun paused, stepping back with a touch of wariness. "What is it?"

"Do you want a wife?" Jiang Xiaxia pointed outside. "There's one available, nobody wants her!"

Wang Lianjun's eyelids twitched. "Your uncle has standards, you know. If nobody else wants her, why would I?"

Seeing that she had failed to solve her second uncle's problem, Xiaxia gave a soft "oh," lost interest, and lowered her head to continue flipping through her dictionary.

Wang Lianjun, seeing her ignore him, gave a playful huff. He squatted down beside her and pulled a meat bun from his bundle. "Your uncle remembered you, you know! I even brought you a meat bun!" As he spoke, the savory aroma hit him, and even he began to salivate.

Jiang Xiaxia had tasted meat buns before, and the scent brought back the memory of that flavor, making her mouth water as well.

Jiang Cheng and Jiang Zhuguo, returning from their morning exercise on the mountain, walked into the courtyard and stopped in their tracks at the sight of the adult and the child both staring at the meat bun and drooling.

"Grandpa!"

Seeing her grandfather, Xiaxia immediately forgot the meat bun. She trotted over to him, spreading out the newspaper and the dictionary. "Something to say!"

Jiang Zhuguo raised an eyebrow at the enthusiastic little girl. He didn't say anything, simply letting her lead him to a corner.

"Grandpa, look!" Xiaxia pointed at the newspaper with her small finger, one word at a time. "Uncle, Auntie!"

Jiang Zhuguo had initially glanced at it with indifference, but as the girl pointed to more and more words, his eyes grew brighter. Eventually, he took the dictionary from her and began flipping through it himself.

Jiang Cheng watched as his father’s expression shifted from curiosity to disdain, eventually ending with a sharp "tsk."

His father snapped the dictionary shut with a look of annoyance and let out a dry laugh. "Ever since the second son came back, he’s never given up! I remember him buying some books from the eldest daughter-in-law to read back then!"

At the mention of the eldest daughter-in-law, Jiang Zhuguo’s eyes dimmed slightly. He turned his gaze, filled with contemplation, toward the little girl who was looking up at him expectantly. She wasn't the eldest's child, yet she understood the temperaments of the two old folks with uncanny precision. His wife had told him something about the third son last night, and he felt she was right—the child seemed to have come to their home specifically to save the third son's life.

"Grandpa, are you happy?"

Xiaxia didn't understand the look in her grandfather's eyes. She only noticed that he wasn't doing his usual lewd cackling after hearing gossip, which she found curious. She tugged on his sleeve and asked.

Jiang Zhuguo chuckled. "Happy! I thought the second son's brain was like a rusted blade that needed grinding to be sharp again. I didn't expect the second son to have been sharp all along!"

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaxia giggled too. Back when she was just a system, she couldn't join in on his laughter and could only flicker her screen to show she "empathized." Now that she was human, she could finally laugh along with him.

The old man watched the young one laugh, feeling he had finally found a kindred spirit and no longer needing to worry about his "dignity," so he laughed even harder. The little one, seeing the old man laugh, felt she had made her grandfather happy and giggled with even greater joy.

Wang Lianjun, who had been planning to discuss business with Jiang Cheng, felt his mouth twitch. He put away the meat bun and whispered to Jiang Cheng, "Shall we investigate further? Is this little girl really not related to your family? Look at the two of them laughing with their heads tucked in—from behind, they look so much alike. Maybe her parents are distant relatives of yours?"

Jiang Cheng shot him a speechless look, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him outside.

Only when they reached the foot of the back mountain did he speak. "Tell me, what news does the Commander have?"

"Two things!"

When it came to business, the playfulness vanished from Wang Lianjun's face, replaced by a stern expression. "First, Qian Neng has been interrogated. Their ultimate goal was for one of them to marry the apprentice at the state-run restaurant and the other to marry the waitress."

Jiang Cheng remembered the kitchen apprentice, Xiaohua, and the waitress, Xiaofang.

"They intended to replace the waitress's job once they were married in. It was a long-term plan. Once domestic technology surpassed theirs, high-level technical personnel would gather at the shipyard. Given Qian Neng's credentials, he would definitely be able to make contact with them. He planned to take those experts to the state-run restaurant to eat and poison the food in the kitchen. Even if caught, only the kitchen staff would take the fall!"

Hearing this, and recalling what Xiaxia had once told his mother and the details of her nightmare, Jiang Cheng’s gaze darkened. "And let me guess—on the surface, they were two separate pairs, but in reality, they were trying to pair Xiaohua and Xiaofang together? If they were caught, with Xiaofang in their hands, the cook Xiaohua wouldn't dare betray them, would he?"

Wang Lianjun glanced at him in surprise. "Not bad, Jiang Jing! Your head is much clearer after your injury; you guessed it right!"

Jiang Cheng didn't respond. His expression sank, and the air around him seemed to turn frigid. Without a word, he moved with sudden, explosive force. He turned, pushed off the ground, and like a streak of black lightning, agilely scaled a nearby tree in just a few bounds. He moved through the branches like a phantom, and with a low shout, he reached out and grabbed the man hiding in the canopy.

"Who's there!"