After Transmigrating into a Cannon Fodder Real Daughter, the Plot Changes

Chapter 128 – No Flaws

After Jiang Li and Feng Qi left the campus ground, they headed straight to the hotel. Since it was a birthday party she had organized, as the main character, she naturally had to arrive early. Once inside the hotel, they were led by staff to the large private room she had reserved beforehand.

Barely five minutes after they sat down, the door to the room was pushed open. Jiang Li saw several of her high school friends—now attending colleges in Beijing—arrive and immediately greeted them with a smile. They offered her birthday wishes and then politely greeted Feng Qi, sitting down quietly afterward and chatting in hushed tones about their latest situation and whatnot, looking every bit like a group of model students.

Jiang Li: “…”

She had already noticed that while her friends clearly admired her uncle and were thrilled to dine with him, the moment they were actually face-to-face, they all turned a bit stiff and nervous. Among them, the most striking contrast was shown by Wang Simin. In the past, she would greet Jiang Li with a bear hug and crack a few jokes. But today she was playing the well-behaved girl. If Jiang Li didn’t know her so well, she might really have mistaken her for someone more reserved than even Wen Wan.

Just as Jiang Li thought of Wen Wan, the girl in question arrived with Lin Zhao. When they came over to greet Feng Qi, Wen Wan still looked sweet and shy—but she couldn’t resist sneaking glances at him.

Noticing her gaze, Feng Qi smiled and asked, “You must be the best friend Xiao Lizi often talks about?”

Wen Wan nodded at once, curious. “Jiang Li mentioned me?”

“Yes. She said you’re a very pure-hearted kid.” Feng Qi nodded. His tone was noticeably gentler when dealing with his niece’s friends.

Wen Wan gave a bashful smile and said softly, “Jiang Li talks about you all the time, too. She says you’re the best uncle in the whole world.”

Although Jiang Li had never said those exact words, that was definitely the meaning she conveyed. As her friend, Wen Wan could clearly pick up on it.

Feng Qi glanced at Jiang Li with a meaningful smile, then looked back at Wen Wan. “Did she also tell you that she’s going to take care of me in my old age?”

Wen Wan blinked, then quickly countered, “Third Uncle, you don’t look old at all! By the time you actually need someone to take care of you, Jiang Li and I will be old too. We can all take care of each other!”

Hearing her call him Third Uncle, Feng Qi didn’t mind at all and even smiled. “You’ve got quite the way with words.”

This girl looked shy on the surface, but her way of thinking was strikingly similar to Xiao Lizi’s—even the way she spoke had the same flavor. It was no surprise that the two were best friends.

Encouraged by how approachable this legendary uncle was, Wen Wan got bolder. She quietly added, “I’m telling the truth—Third Uncle, you really do look so young. You won’t be getting old anytime soon.”

When Tong Yi and Qin Zheng walked through the door, the first thing they saw was Wen Wan talking to Feng Qi. The two of them exchanged a glance, both surprised.

Everyone in their circle knew that Third Master Feng was entirely devoted to academic research and had little patience for socializing. Very few people ever managed to catch his attention. The fact that he was now patiently chatting with Wen Wan felt as surreal as seeing the sun rise in the west.

As soon as they entered the room, they both greeted Feng Qi politely,

Feng Qi lifted his gaze and gave them a scrutinizing look. “Since when are you two so close?”

Tong Yi: “…”

He and Qin Zheng weren’t exactly close, but with Third Master Feng attending Jiang Xiao Li’s birthday dinner, arriving too early would’ve seemed over-eager, and arriving too late would’ve been disrespectful—so tagging along with Qin Zheng had seemed like the most reasonable choice.

Qin Zheng, smiling, responded to the question with ease. “We’re in the same uni and major, so we interact pretty often. We happened to meet today and decided to come together.”

Feng Qi nodded slightly, then asked, “So, why didn’t you bring your girlfriend?”

‘Is this really Third Master Feng?’ Qin Zheng was shocked. The Third Master Feng he knew wasn’t the type to ask a question like that—especially not while being single himself!

Though Qin Zheng mentally grumbled a few complaints, he maintained a neutral expression as he politely replied, “I just started university this year. I want to focus on my studies for now, so I haven’t thought much about dating.”

Feng Qi gave a slight nod. “Prioritizing your studies is the right choice.”

Then he turned to Tong Yi. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re already in your twenties. Logically, you should be dating by now, shouldn’t you?”

Tong Yi: “…”

He had already realized Third Master Feng didn’t come here with goodwill. The man seemed genuinely concerned about him trying to “steal away” Jiang Xiao Li!

‘But why is he so concerned? Did Jiang Xiao Li say something in front of her uncle that made it seem like she liked me?’

When he thought of this possibility, Tong Yi’s heartbeat accelerated involuntarily, but he pretended to be very calm and replied with a smile: “My situation is rather special. For the time being, I just want to make more money.”

The reason his situation was “special” was naturally because Jiang Xiao Li hadn’t caught on to her own feelings yet. Even if he wanted to date her, there was nothing he could do about it. As for wanting to earn more money—it was just so he could feel a little more secure. That way, when he finally got to be with the girl he loved, he’d be able to buy her whatever she wanted.

Of course, he deliberately worded it so that Third Master Feng would assume he was talking about all the messy business with his uncle’s family!

Jiang Li leaned toward Feng Qi and whispered, “Big Nephew is a total money addict. I seriously suspect he’ll date his bank account one day.”

Feng Qi looked at the two of them, both calm and natural—nothing like kids caught secretly dating. He frowned slightly, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind.

Have I been overthinking it all along?

Over the rest of the evening, Feng Qi continued observing unobtrusively. He noticed that Jiang Li and Tong Yi interacted completely normally. On the other hand, the girl named Wen Wan—her gaze toward the boy beside her was not normal at all.

“That best friend of yours—is she dating the guy next to her?” He quietly asked his niece.

Jiang Li glanced at Wen Wan, then replied softly, “They’re in the ambiguous phase, I think. Wen Wan’s not of age yet, so they probably won’t be dating officially for now.”

Hearing that, Feng Qi stopped paying attention to Tong Yi. He might not have dated before, but he wasn’t blind. It was clear that Wen Wan and the boy beside her had something going on. As for Xiao Lizi and Tong Yi—there wasn’t even a hint of anything romantic. Looks like he really had overthought it. Xiao Lizi making a birthday cake for Tong Yi? That probably was just a friendly gesture and nothing more.

Tong Yi, of course, noticed the shift in Feng Qi’s attitude and silently breathed a sigh of relief. His feelings for Jiang Xiao Li were something her family would find out eventually, but definitely not now.

After dinner, everyone sang the birthday song together. Jiang Li made her wish and blew out the candles, then began slicing the cake and handing it out. But after taking the first bite, something felt off—this cake tasted very similar to the one Tong Yi had made before.

She looked over at Tong Yi and saw that he wasn’t even glancing at her, which made her think she was just imagining things. If this cake really had been made by this guy, he’d definitely be bragging about it already. There was no way someone as proud as him would just sit back and keep quiet. Staying humble just wasn’t in his character!

After the cake, the plan was to head to KTV for some karaoke. Jiang Li tugged on Feng Qi’s sleeve and looked at him with hopeful eyes. “Uncle, are you coming with us?”

He was the only one who hadn’t sung during the birthday song earlier, so she was curious to hear him sing. If he sang out of tune, that would be even better!

But Feng Qi shook his head. “I won’t go. I’ve got a flight back to Minjiang at nine tonight. There’s still work waiting for me tomorrow.”

According to his original schedule, he should’ve been back in Minjiang by now. But he had rescheduled the flight just to attend this birthday party. If he went to KTV with them, he’d definitely miss it.

Jiang Li frowned slightly. “You’re leaving so soon? Then I can’t even see you off.” After all, it was her birthday party. If she left to take her uncle to the airport, she’d be abandoning her guests, which wouldn’t be right.

Feng Qi picked up his coat from the chair and put it on, ruffling her hair as he said, “No need to see me off. Have fun with your friends.”

Then he turned to Wen Wan and smiled. “You too—have a good time.”

Wen Wan nodded immediately and said softly, “How about I go with Jiang Li to walk you to the taxi?”

Feng Qi nodded. “Sure.”

Jiang Li and Wen Wan followed him out of the private room. The moment they left, the room noticeably became more lively. One of the girls sighed and said, “Master Feng Qi is so handsome! And he’s not arrogant at all. He kept serving Jiang Li food the whole time—I’m so jealous!”

A guy chuckled. “Forget being jealous of Jiang Li—maybe you should envy Wen Wan. Master Feng Qi was unusually gentle with her. Probably because she’s Jiang Li’s best friend.”

The girl joked, “Not necessarily! What if Master Feng Qi is kind to Wen Wan because he finds her pretty and cute? I mean, he is still single.”

Another girl chimed in, “Now that you mention it, I’m really tempted to ship this pairing. Master Feng Qi’s not even that old. Standing next to Wen Wan, that height difference is just so cute!”

“Wen Wan’s usually really shy, but she actually offered to walk him to the taxi. Hehe…”

Someone finally interrupted, “Let’s stop it here. Master Feng Qi is Jiang Li’s uncle, and Wen Wan is Jiang Li’s friend. Isn’t that kind of awkward?”

“What’s awkward about it? There’s no blood relation. If her friend became her aunt… just imagine the drama. So exciting!”

Being young, they didn’t hold back when joking around. Honestly, none of them really believed anything was going on between Feng Qi and Wen Wan—they were simply excited about gossip.

Except for Lin Zhao, whose brows gradually furrowed into a tight knot as the speculation grew. He put down the cake in his hand and looked like he was about to get up and go find Wen Wan, only to be held back by Tong Yi, “Where do you think you’re going?”

Lin Zhao paused for two seconds before replying, “I’m going to look for Wanwan.”

Tong Yi grinned. “She’s probably chatting with Jiang Xiao Li’s uncle right now. Don’t you think it’d be a bit awkward to interrupt?”

Lin Zhao’s expression immediately shifted. “Why would I feel awkward? Unless you also think she… she…”

Tong Yi clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Those people shipping CPs are just talking nonsense. Back when the college entrance exam results first came out, tons of people were shipping Jiang Li with Qin Zheng. You think that was ever going to happen?”

Lin Zhao turned his gaze to Qin Zheng. “That actually happened?”

Qin Zheng nodded calmly. “Yep, it did. Some people even shipped Tong Yi and Jiang Li. Can you believe it?”

“And why not?” Tong Yi made a face. Once he and Jiang Xiao Li got together, those CP shippers would have been right all along. A perfect outcome!

“Dare say that to Third Master Feng?” Qin Zheng chuckled. At first, he didn’t understand why Feng Qi suddenly started asking about his personal life. But after hearing that conversation between Feng Qi and Tong Yi, he immediately figured it out.

Apparently, fearless Tong Yi only had two people he was afraid of: Jiang Li and Third Master Feng.

Or rather, he might be even more afraid of Third Master Feng—the ‘father’ of his long-time crush.

“If you could talk like a normal person, maybe we could still be friends.” Tong Yi spoke again, deadpan.

Qin Zheng slung an arm around his shoulder. “What do you mean, maybe? Aren’t we already friends?”

Lin Zhao, meanwhile, had no interest in joining their banter. He was still unsettled by the jokes from earlier.

Could Wanwan really be into someone like Jiang Li’s uncle? That couldn’t be… right? She probably just saw him as an elder she admired. After all, she was still a minor, and Feng Qi was already in his thirties.

Yeah—that had to be it. He needed to stop overthinking and getting worked up over nothing.

…

After Jiang Li and Wen Wan saw Feng Qi off, they returned to the private room. Once everyone finished the cake, they all headed to the KTV. On the way there, Wen Wan noticed that Lin Zhao seemed troubled and couldn’t help asking, “What’s wrong? You look down.”

Lin Zhao shook his head in denial, but a few seconds later, he suddenly said, “I think Jiang Li’s uncle is pretty handsome.”

Wen Wan immediately nodded. “I think so too! He’s totally the type who could survive on his looks but chooses to succeed on his brain instead—so impressive.”

Lin Zhao: “…”

Wen Wan, oblivious to his strange reaction, kept going. “And he’s so gentle. His voice is really magnetic too. Honestly, I couldn’t find a single flaw.”

As she talked, she realized Lin Zhao had suddenly picked up the pace. She quickly chased after him, grumbling, “Why are you walking so fast? I wasn’t done talking!”

Lin Zhao turned to her. “You’ve only just met Jiang Li’s uncle today, of course you don’t see any flaws. Maybe he doesn’t shower for three days, snores in his sleep, or secretly balding!”

Wen Wan looked utterly shocked. She stood on tiptoe and reached out to touch Lin Zhao’s forehead. “No fever… Why are you acting like a different person all of a sudden? Did someone take over your body or something?”

Lin Zhao: “…”

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Author’s Note:

Feng Qi: “Wait—I’m the wingman now?”