Pampered by Short-Lived Bigshot

Chapter 1541: Chapter 890: Jiang Xiaowai, the "Flower Destroyer" Who Picks the Easiest Target

Jiang Chengsi was about to be driven insane by the two little ancestors. He even told Jiang Jinsang:

"Jiang Xiaowu, that kid of yours—if you don’t keep him in line, he’s definitely going to run wild when he grows up."

Someone just laughed. "I don’t think so."

Then one day, when he went over to Jiang Shiyi’s place for dinner, he got to witness that brat’s bootlicker side. The Jiang Jinsang family of three were the last to arrive. Jiang Xiaowai was the first to charge to the door on his short, chubby little legs, tiptoeing to press the doorbell.

Jiang Shiyi opened the door himself.

"Th... th... Unc..." Jiang Xiaowai could only squeeze the words out one by one; talking was still hard work.

"Mm." Jiang Shiyi nodded.

"In—" He looked up at Jiang Shiyi with big innocent eyes.

Jiang Shiyi bent sideways to fetch him a pair of little slippers. Lin Luyou had specially bought them earlier, but they were much bigger than his feet. The little guy shuffled into the house in his "giant" slippers, then stood there quietly and obediently.

He only broke into a little run when he saw Lin Luyou, then dug a few candies out of his pocket and handed them to her.

"Thank you." Lin Luyou rubbed his little head and gestured, "Have you gotten taller again?"

"A little taller." Tang Wan and Jiang Jinsang came in as well.

When Jiang Chengsi saw those candies, he almost lost it.

Those were coconut candies he’d lugged back by hand from a business trip to Nanjiang. Every time this kid came over with his little backpack, he had to take a handful.

Almost no one in the Si Family really ate candy, so the stuff had basically all been carted off by this kid.

And now look at that—using someone else’s flowers as offerings.

And here, he got to see a side of Jiang Xiaowai he’d never seen before.

Obedient, quiet, glued to Lin Luyou’s side, even acting cute and silly to make her laugh.

If not for that identical face, Jiang Chengsi would honestly suspect Jiang Xiaowu had given birth to a pair of twins.

"Jiang Xiaowu, what’s with this kid? How come he’s so well‑behaved over at my brother’s?"

"No idea. He’s very good at Big Brother’s place too."

Jiang Chengsi: "..."

So this kid may be young, but he already knew how to read the room and pick the softest persimmon to squeeze? Decided he was the easiest target, huh? He stuck to Lin Luyou’s side the whole time, even wrapped himself around her thigh.

The reason Jiang Xiaowai loved running over to Jiang Chengsi’s side wasn’t exactly baseless—among these few uncles, he was the only one with a good temper.

One never had any expression on his face and looked pretty scary; the other, whenever he came over to his place, would drag him off to wash his hands and disinfect over and over. Way too much trouble. So to sum it up...

Of course he’d pick the weakest one to mess with—that was Jiang Chengsi.

And strictly speaking, the thighs Jiang Xiaowai hugged were not limited to Lin Luyou’s.

...

The cold wind blew, and winter arrived in the blink of an eye. Before the New Year, Jiang Jinsang specially took leave to go to Pingjiang for a short stay with his wife and child.

Tang Wan used to be the type who could kill a cactus, and it was only after Jiang Jinsang temporarily moved into the East Courtyard that they began keeping some flowers and plants in the yard. After the two of them left, Tang Wan’s father was basically the one taking care of them.

Back when Jiang Xiaowai came over, he’d been too young and remembered nothing. Stepping into the Tang Family home now, he was curious about everything.

"Mutang, do you think these flowers are pretty? Your dad planted all these back in the day," Tang Wan introduced. "I didn’t expect they’d live this many years. They’re actually older than you."

Jiang Xiaowai just stared seriously, watching Tang Wan’s expression, and firmly arrived at one conclusion:

Mom likes them.

Then one day, when Jiang Jinsang bought Tang Wan a bouquet of flowers, this little guy’s wiring somehow got crossed. He went and yanked a bunch of blossoms off the flowers blooming in the yard, then dumped the whole handful into Tang Wan’s arms.

"For, for—"

Tang Wan and Jiang Jinsang stared at each other, suddenly not sure what to say.

They later realized he’d practically plucked the whole yard bald.

The kid was basically a Flower Destroyer!

Jiang Jinsang practically wanted to strip his pants off and smack his butt, but with Grandpa Tang and Tang Yunxian shielding him, he never got the chance.

That night before bed, Jiang Jinsang told him he couldn’t just pick flowers whenever he wanted...

The little guy seemed to find it very hard to understand. You picked flowers to give Mom, and Mom liked it—what right did you have to tell him he couldn’t?

"The flowers in the park, and outside in general, you can’t pick them, you hear me?" Jiang Jinsang felt like educating his son was basically like playing the lute to a cow. His voice rose a little, enough to startle Tang Wan beside him.

Jiang Jinsang had always had a great temper and was not someone who lost it easily, but his own son almost drove him to his limit.

Jiang Xiaowai couldn’t quite understand what he was saying, but he did feel he was being too fierce. His little mouth trembled, and suddenly he burst into tears.

Jiang Jinsang took a deep breath, just about to continue the lecture, when Grandpa Tang arrived at the noise. The little guy immediately rushed toward him, and in his hurry, took a spill—

"Waa—" His crying escalated in an instant.

Jiang Jinsang: "..."

Could your voice get any louder? Did someone install a suona in your throat?

But later, with Jiang Jinsang constantly harping on it, Jiang Xiaowai did grasp deep down that these flowers were painstakingly cultivated and belonged to someone else, so he couldn’t just pick them.

He actually had a small, prematurely mature thought tucked away inside:

If you can’t pick flowers that have an owner, then flowers without an owner... are fair game, right?

Once they got to Pingjiang, with Grandpa Tang backing him up, the kid was like a fish in water. The old man practically used him as a leg accessory, keeping him at his side day and night, which greatly lightened the load for Jiang Jinsang and Tang Wan.

The little guy got up early every day to stroll to the little park with Grandpa Tang. He couldn’t talk very well yet, but he did inherit one thing from Jiang Jinsang—he always looked smiley and cheerful, very likable. Nearly every time they came back, his pockets were stuffed with things.

But on one occasion, when Jiang Jinsang went to the little park to pick the two of them up, he discovered his son mixed into a group of aunties, keeping time to the music of their square dance.

He was still too little to actually learn the moves, and just moved on instinct. Short arms, stubby legs, and he looked surprisingly hyped.

Sometimes his arms swung so big he’d knock himself right over.

Jiang Jinsang’s head started to ache.

He didn’t go over to stop them. Instead, he stood a short distance away and quietly took out his phone, recording a video. That video later became widely circulated within a certain small circle.

Jiang Xiaowai himself definitely had no idea that he had this piece of black history floating around.

When they left Pingjiang, Grandpa Tang gave Jiang Xiaowai a gift. While they were there, he loved to compete in volume with Hua Mei, so Grandpa gave him a bird. A fake one, a toy—the wings lit up and it could sing.

The little guy treated it like a treasure and showed it off to everyone.

For Jiangjiang and Taotao, this kind of toy had lost all appeal. Instead, it was that little "accident" from the Huo Family who found it fascinating. The two of them could spend an entire day playing with that one toy bird.

**

After winter set in, the New Year arrived quickly. This year, New Year at the Jiang Family was especially lively, and with both Lin Luyou and Si Qingxiao pregnant, the festive mood was even stronger.

Adults were busy during the holiday, but Jiang Xiaowai was over the moon.

Jiangjiang was no longer like he used to be; he’d developed a sense of being the older brother and took good care of Jiang Xiaowai. Whenever he took him out to play, Jiang Xiaowai always ended up with little toys and snacks, so he spent all day chasing after Jiangjiang’s backside.

Sometimes he’d even trail behind Jiangjiang all the way over to the Xie Family.

Xie Duo was at his breaking point. Watching everyone in their little circle one by one get married and have kids, all his free time over the holiday had been scheduled out for blind dates.

Grandpa Xie’s goal was simple:

"Even if you don’t fancy them, at least get out there and make more friends."

So Xie Duo started his "making friends" journey. He’d finally slogged his way close to New Year’s, when things could ease up a bit—only for Jiang Xiaowai to show up. The kid was too little to be left alone, so Xie Duo was dragged into a miserable life of babysitting.

Even though he didn’t have a partner and wasn’t married, his experience with kids was oddly extensive.

But compared to "making friends," Xie Duo actually preferred staying with the child, which nearly drove Grandpa Xie up the wall.

"If you’re so capable, go have one of your own! What’s so great about latching onto other people’s kids all day long?"

"Other people’s kids are cute, aren’t they? Isn’t Mutang fun?"

"Can’t you put in a little effort! You’re really not that young anymore. Your little sister’s already started dating, and as her big brother you have absolutely no sense of crisis?"

...

Xie Duo was like a pig scalded in boiling water at this point—no matter how Grandpa Xie hollered, he just sat and listened quietly.

Jiang Xiaowai, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on. The moment he heard someone say he was cute, he happily clapped his hands.

Xie Duo almost choked on his own breath in anger.

His affection for this kid was totally wasted.