Xiao Bai shook his head and looked at other photos, a family portrait-like photo caught his eye.
"Ah—" he uttered in confusion, frowning and trying hard to discern the faces in the photo.
The photo was an old black-and-white one, featuring four people in total, two middle-aged adults sitting in the front and a young boy and girl standing behind them, looking very much like a family of four.
The man sitting in the front looked familiar, Xiao Bai’s eyes rolled around, but he couldn’t figure it out.
Just then, Bai Zhixi ca back with pickled cucumbers.
Xiao Bai asked, "Aunt, who is the man in this photo?"
Bai Zhixi leaned over to look, paused her breath for a mont, then said lightly, "Oh, that’s my father."
She obviously didn’t want to elaborate.
Xiao Bai was tactful, "Oh," then looked at the bowl in Bai Zhixi’s hands, which contained a fist-sized, dark brown gourd-shaped object, characteristic of pickled vegetables.
"Xiao Bai, I’ve brought the pickled cucumbers, when you eat them, rinse them lightly with clean water and then cut them into strips," Bai Zhixi instructed on how to eat the pickled cucumbers.
Xiao Bai smiled, "Got it, they look great."
They must be delicious, otherwise Wan Chu’er wouldn’t have been so stingy about giving them to him previously, Xiao Bai cheerfully took the pickled cucumbers and then said his goodbyes.
Downstairs, a group of children surrounded Xiao Bai’s bike curiously, scattering when they saw him approaching.
Xiao Bai drove straight to Jinghua Hotel to see his brother.
"Hey, brother, guess who I just saw at Wan Chu’er’s house?" Xiao Bai exclaid loudly, having finally figured out on the way who the man in the photo, Bai Zhixi’s father, resembled.
Dabai, who was looking over the restaurant’s accounts, raised an eyebrow, his eyes still on the accounts, and asked perfunctorily, "Who?"
Xiao Bai didn’t mind his brother’s perfunctoriness and eagerly said:
"On their wall, there’s a big fra filled with many pictures, I even saw a photo of Wan Chu’er as a child, really cute, not at all the thorn she is now, she’s really an arrogant cock now, ti indeed is a slaughtering knife."
Xiao Bai rambled on, supposed to talk about Bai Zhixi’s father, but ended up dragging Wan Chu’er into the conversation.
Dabai casually responded with a "Hmm."
Xiao Bai continued, "But what I wanted to talk about isn’t Wan Chu’er, but Aunt Bai’s dad, Aunt Bai’s family photo from her youth, it turns out she has a brother too, who knows what he does for a living, look how poor Chuchu is living, the house full of pickled vegetables, not even a place to step..., this uncle doesn’t care at all..."
Dabai couldn’t take it anymore and growled, "Get to the point!"
This kid can really ramble, his power to chatter has increased a lot recently, it’s really unbearable for ordinary ears.
Rebuked, Xiao Bai pouted discontentedly, then still enthusiastically said, "What I’m saying is about Aunt Bai’s dad, who is Wan Chu’er’s maternal grandfather, he really resembles our Grandpa, no, he looks more like our dad ten years ago."
Grandpa Bai passed away when he was seven or eight, Xiao Bai’s mory of his grandfather was of an old man with a face full of wrinkles.
Dabai paused for a mont, looked up at Xiao Bai, and asked seriously, "Really?"
"Hmm, I’m not lying to you, the photo is hanging on the wall at Wan Chu’er’s house."
Dabai confird again, "Are you sure it’s Aunt Bai’s dad?"
"Absolutely sure, Aunt Bai herself said it, her father. But I noticed Aunt Bai’s expression, she didn’t seem very keen on talking about it, I wonder if there’s so secret." Xiao Bai had a curious look, all eager to gossip.
Seeing his brother so excited, Dabai gave him a look as if he was looking at a fool and said indifferently, "If I’m not mistaken, Aunt Bai’s dad should be our grandpa."
Shrimp?!
Xiao Bai was startled, his mouth wide open, his finger pointing aimlessly at the doorway, then pointing at himself and Dabai.
"Are you kidding?"
Dabai shrugged his shoulders and said lightly, "Then just take it as a joke."
Xiao Bai was suddenly speechless, his big brother was always so dull.
He quickly moved closer to Dabai, looking eager, "Hurry up and tell , how is this possible? Is Wan Chu’er really our cousin? How am I so psychic?!"
He recalled what he had said earlier at the Glass Factory Family Quarters, claiming to be Wan Chu’er’s cousin.
Dabai hesitated, pondered for a few seconds, and then said, "Bai Zhixi is not our real aunt, but Wan Chu’er’s grandmother actually is our real grandmother."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Bai widened his eyes in amazent and exclaid "Oh my god!" Then his eyes shone as he speculated, "Could it be that Bai Zhixi was picked up by our grandma from outside? Or did our grandma cheat, making our grandpa a cuckold?"
Thinking about it made his blood boil, oh damn, he hadn’t expected that his grandpa’s generation would have such scandalous events. This would feed his gossip for a while.
Dabai frowned and said, "I don’t know exactly what happened, but our grandpa and grandma got divorced when our dad was eighteen. Grandpa took dad, grandma took Aunt Bai. Don’t talk nonsense about any cheating, those are the elder’s matters, and don’t go spreading rumors at Aunt Bai’s ho."
Why was Dabai so sure about this?
Once, he brought ho so pickles made by Bai Zhixi, and after the old man had tasted them, he remained silent for a long ti, finally remarking, "It tastes very much like your grandma’s cooking."
He also knew a bit about his grandparents’ circumstances. Now, with his brother ntioning that photo, Dabai was sure that Bai Zhixi was the one who left with grandma.
Xiao Bai’s eyes sparkled as he said, "I didn’t expect that we truly have a familial relationship with Wan Chu’er. From now on, I should really keep an eye on that little girl, not studying properly and going to nightclubs, and always looking so aloof, not at all like a little girl."
Seeing his brother being unrealistic, Dabai repeatedly cautioned him, "It’s adult’s matters, don’t ddle unnecessarily. Just look out for Aunt Bai and Chuchu, and keep your mouth shut."
"Why can’t I say it?" Xiao Bai asked puzzledly, "If Wan Chu’er knew I was her cousin, that expression would surely be interesting."
Dabai felt sowhat exhausted, when would his brother grow up?
"If dad wanted to acknowledge her, he would have probably done it already. Everyone lives in Wutong County, a place so small, there must be so rift, so don’t trouble the elders."
Under the persistent reiteration from Dabai, Xiao Bai reluctantly agreed, still grumbling discontentedly, "Then I can’t rightfully discipline Wan Chu’er?" Yet, he decided in his heart that he would find an opportunity to secretly tell Wan Chu’er.
Dabai was annoyed looking at his brother, hastily waved his hand to shoo him, "Your nightclub should be opening now, go on, hanging around here every day, by the end of the year you will see grandpa shutting down your Heavenly World."
Dabai finally managed to send Xiao Bai away.
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