Chapter 46
When they couldn’t think of what to give, they simply gave a check. It really was exactly his second uncle’s and father’s style.
Si Jingce stared at the envelope in Yanyan’s hand for a moment and asked, “How much is inside?”
Yanyan peeked into the envelope again.
“There’s a 1… and a lot of zeros.”
Si Jingce: …
Si Jingce: “Keep it.”
After thinking for a while, he slowly said, “It’s probably a small meeting gift for the niece-in-law.”
Yanyan froze for a moment, slowly processing the meaning of “niece-in-law”…
Didn’t that mean the family had already accepted him and brother being together?
He tightened his grip on the envelope and couldn’t help but grin foolishly, when suddenly he heard a soft “Brother” from behind.
The voice was sweet and sticky, like freshly melted sugar syrup.
Yanyan turned around and saw a middle-aged man walking toward them, holding a little girl in a fluffy dress.
At first glance, it looked like he was carrying a strawberry cream cake.
The “cream cake” stared at Si Jingce and stretched out her hands. “Brother, hug!”
Si Jingce stood up.
Yanyan followed him in a daze. Only when the middle-aged man came closer did he hear Si Jingce greet him, “Second Uncle.”
So this was Second Uncle!
Yanyan called sweetly, “Hello, Second Uncle.”
Si Jingce quickly introduced, “This is my second uncle. The one he’s holding is his daughter—her nickname is Tangguo.”
Tangguo stubbornly insisted on being held by Si Jingce, and he reached out to take the little girl into his arms.
“Second Uncle,” Si Jingce said, “this is my boyfriend, Si Yanyan.”
“Si?” Second Uncle’s gaze lingered on Yanyan with a hint of scrutiny before he turned to Si Jingce. “The surname Si isn’t common. You brat, what are you up to?”
Si Jingce smiled but said nothing.
Yanyan was the little bird he had raised. When registering his household record, he hadn’t even thought twice before giving him the surname Si.
Once this surname was mentioned to the family, suspicion was inevitable.
The more he explained, the more mistakes he might make. After being questioned so many times, Si Jingce had simply stopped bothering to explain.
Second Uncle didn’t pursue Yanyan’s surname any further. He reached out and teased Tangguo. “Aren’t you going to greet them?”
Tangguo immediately called out crisply to Si Jingce, “Brother!”
When it was Yanyan’s turn, the little girl hesitated for a moment. “Sao sao?”
Yanyan’s face flushed red all at once.
“Just… call me Yanyan brother,” he said, while stuffing chocolate into her hands.
The little girl frowned and stared at him for a long while. “Yanyan… bird bird?”
Yanyan: ?!
Was Tangguo really that smart, seeing through it at a glance?
“She’s talking about the Java sparrow you two keep,” Second Uncle explained. “Tangguo really likes that little bird—she watches Xiao Si’s Moments every day on her phone.”
Yanyan unexpectedly gained a little fan.
He chuckled, liking Tangguo more and more, and couldn’t help poking her soft cheek.
They all sat down. Tangguo moved from Si Jingce’s arms into Yanyan’s. Holding his little cousin, Yanyan waved a piece of chocolate in front of her while still listening attentively to Si Jingce chatting with Second Uncle.
“Quite a grand setup today, right?” Second Uncle said proudly. “Next will be the Annual Star Awards—it’ll be even bigger.”
The streamer annual gala still leaned toward an internal event. On stage, many streamers were invited to play games in an entertainment match. Streamers who usually danced or reviewed food in their streams now clumsily controlled game characters, causing plenty of funny moments.
Si Jingce nodded. “It’s pretty good.”
“I think Yanyan’s momentum is just picking up—he might have a chance at the Newcomer Award.” Second Uncle glanced sideways at him. “Your popularity is also strong, but competition is fierce this year. You might not necessarily win Annual Star.”
With Luo Huoxi’s downfall, many people felt they had a chance. Their previous sluggish attitude was replaced with renewed fighting spirit.
Si Jingce raised an eyebrow. “But my popularity is still leading.”
Not to mention how many trending topics he had hit this past year—Yanyan’s appearance had boosted him even more, breaking people’s fixed impression of lcberg.
“Don’t speak too confidently.”
Second Uncle patted his shoulder. “Your parents have come to B City. Later, let’s have a family dinner together.”
As the big boss, he couldn’t stay long at the gala. “Help me look after Tangguo for now. I’ll go take a walk elsewhere.”
Si Jingce and Yanyan took on the responsibility of babysitting.
Tangguo stared intently at the stage where people were playing games. Yanyan would occasionally squeeze her little hand or poke her cheek, like playing with a well-behaved doll.
Since she was someone else’s child, he felt embarrassed to keep playing too much. So he looked longingly at Si Jingce and handed Tangguo over.
“What did Second Uncle mean just now?” Yanyan shook his slightly sore hands and asked worriedly, “Does it mean you won’t be able to win an award this year?”
Si Jingce smiled and shook his head. “No. He’s just afraid I’ll get too proud—trying to temper me a bit.”
The boy let out a sigh of relief. “Brother will definitely win!”
Si Jingce’s gaze drifted across Yanyan’s face and settled on his lips.
In front of a child, and in public, he held back the urge to kiss him.
“Definitely,” Si Jingce said. “Because there’s a lucky chicken at home.”
He picked up his little cousin and coaxed her gently. Tangguo stayed obediently in his arms, her eyes rolling as she looked at Yanyan.
“Bird bird!”
Yanyan pointed at himself. “You’re calling me bird bird?”
Tangguo giggled. “Bird bird!”
“Kids don’t understand much,” Si Jingce said. “She probably thinks the names sound similar and is just copying.”
Yanyan asked Tangguo, “Then do you want to see bird bird?”
Tangguo’s eyes lit up. “I want to see bird bird!”
Si Jingce reminded him, “…You can’t turn into a bird here.”
Yanyan wasn’t that silly. He showed her a photo of the crocheted Java sparrow Si Jingce made. Tangguo grabbed the phone and let out a soft “wow.”
“Pretty bird bird!”
Since the bird was made based on his appearance, praising the doll meant praising him.
Yanyan immediately became smug, enthusiastically showing her more photos and receiving a stream of compliments.
“Cute!”
“So pretty!”
Until she swiped to the next photo—the ice sculpture bird Si Jingce had commissioned.
Tangguo’s mouth opened even wider—
“Icy chubby bird bird!”
Yanyan: QAQ?
Chubby… chubby bird?!
Si Jingce, sitting beside them, had been pressing his lips together. Now they twitched slightly.
He quickly raised his hand to cover his mouth.
Seeing Yanyan’s deflated expression, he finally couldn’t hold it in—“pfft”—and burst out laughing.
…
Si Jingce dragged him backstage and kissed him for quite a while before coaxing him back into a good mood.
After the gala ended, the two followed Second Uncle’s car to the reserved restaurant, where Gui Yaying and Si De were already waiting.
Si De wore a stern expression and took Tangguo over to play.
Gui Yaying busied herself greeting everyone. “You probably didn’t eat much at the gala, right? Perfect timing—we can have the dishes served.”
Recently, mother and son were in a very delicate state because of Yanyan’s identity.
Gui Yaying didn’t press him for details, and Si Jingce pretended not to notice.
Si De still kept a sour face, finding fault with Si Jingce in every way. “Showing your face everywhere—what kind of behavior is that!”
“You should just shut down his livestream,” Si De said bluntly to his younger brother. “It’ll make him settle down sooner!”
“Yes, yes.” Second Uncle nodded. “I’ll have someone dig up Xiao Si’s dirt later.”
After making this promise to Si De, Second Uncle turned around and reassured Si Jingce, “Don’t worry, your dad and I are just putting on a show. I won’t lose my mind and shut down my own cash cow.”
Si Jingce: .
Today’s family conflict was still very deep.
Yanyan tugged at Si Jingce’s sleeve and whispered, “Brother, how can Dad forgive you?”
They couldn’t stay in this stalemate forever.
“It’s difficult,” Si Jingce said softly. “He’s actually almost forgiven me—it’s just that he can’t get past that mental hurdle.”
In Si De’s view, it would be better if Si Jingce followed his second uncle to run a livestream company rather than stream games every day.
This job, in his eyes, had no meaning—just wasting time.
After listening, Yanyan nodded as if he understood.
He seemed to have figured something out.
Hadn’t Si Jingce just done something meaningful a few days ago?
Yanyan immediately straightened his back and patted his chest. “Brother, leave this matter to me!”
Si Jingce looked over. Yanyan held back from revealing his plan and bossily told him to pick food for him.
Beside them, Second Uncle had already portioned Tangguo’s food into a small bowl and then took out his phone…
“His name is Yanyan, as in ‘speech’.”
“Jiu!”
Both Si Jingce and Yanyan heard their own voices at the same time.
Everyone’s attention shifted to the phone in front of Tangguo.
Second Uncle quickly lowered the volume, embarrassed. “Tangguo likes watching birds recently—if she doesn’t watch, she won’t eat.”
Yanyan suddenly had a very bad premonition.
Surrounded by attention, Tangguo sat among the elders. Si De fed her while staring seriously at the phone screen.
On the screen, a fluffy, ball-like Java sparrow stood on Si Jingce’s shoulder, dozing off.
As it slept, it suddenly slipped uncontrollably from his shoulder.
“Jiuji jiuji jiu jiu jiu!”
The little bird screamed and flapped its wings, only to be caught by Si Jingce.
Si De commented seriously, “Streaming while bringing a bird—no wonder it’s getting sleepy.”
Yanyan felt his whole body go numb.
Then the scene changed.
Yanyan was grooming his feathers. The camera shifted, and Si Jingce took it down, pointing it at the bird.
Sensing something, the Java sparrow turned around, then immediately flew over to block the camera.
Gui Yaying: “Why aren’t you respecting the bird’s privacy?”
Yanyan forced himself to stay composed.
The final clip showed him eating corn fed by Si Jingce.
The blush-faced little bird pecked seriously at the corn in the man’s hand, burying its fluffy head entirely into Si Jingce’s palm, tail raised, revealing a plump little backside like a ball of soft cotton.
In the video, Si Jingce flicked it with his finger—
Second Uncle exclaimed, “Oh my, that’s too naughty, too naughty!”
Yanyan closed his eyes.
Right now, he just wanted—immediately, instantly—to withdraw from the circle of life!!!
