Read Novel Full Chapter 149 Part 2 – Would You Mind Swapping Nieces? (II)
Chapter 149 Part 2 – Would You Mind Swapping Nieces? (II)
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Even though Feng Yun wasn’t fully recovered, the fact that there was hope clearly lifted Old Master Feng’s spirits. The doctors even believed she was ready to be discharged.
After leaving the hospital, Feng Yun didn’t return to the Feng family house. Instead, she sold her villa in the western suburbs, bought a property on the outskirts, and legally registered an orphanage to take in homeless children.
As the orphanage’s director, Feng Yun still avoided interactions with people, but the children there grew fond of her. Kids are naturally simple; they can instinctively sense who truly cares for them.
The children who first arrived at the orphanage were timid and withdrawn, but thanks to the kindness of the staff, they gradually opened up and became lively.
Feng Yun liked spending time alone in the attic, playing the piano. Whenever she did, the children would gather beneath the attic to listen. To them, even if Director Feng never spoke, her music was the most beautiful sound in the world.
The kids expressed their affection the way children do—by picking wild fruits from the countryside and giving them as gifts. Every time they found particularly pretty fruits, they would wash them carefully and deliver a share to Director Feng before skipping away happily.
One day, a little girl with braided pigtails brought a plate of bright red berries and said softly, “Director Feng, I picked these behind the mountain. They’re all for you.”
Feng Yun frowned slightly and spoke in a hoarse voice, “These… are mockberry. You can’t eat them.”
The little girl’s eyes went wide in disbelief. “Director Feng, you… you can talk?”
Feng Yun sighed and gently patted the girl’s head. “Mockberries are a kind of medicinal herb. They can be used to treat illness, but they’re not edible. Don’t pick them again, okay?”
As she said this, Feng Yun suddenly thought of her younger brother, Feng Qi.
Back then, A’Qi was only five or six years old, but he acted like a little adult—always calm and quietly doing his own thing.
During a family camping trip, Feng Yun had seen some mockberries by the roadside and picked a bunch, thinking they’d make nice decorations for a flower arrangement. But A’Qi thought she was going to eat them and immediately scolded her.
He’d had a chubby, round face as a kid, looking especially cute when he was silent—but when he spoke, his words could be infuriating.
“That’s an herb, not a fruit. You can’t eat it. You’re really dumb.”
Feng Yun had asked, shocked, “How do you know that?”
A’Qi had frowned. “I looked through Dad’s books in the study. Obviously. You’re dumb and you don’t like to learn.”
Feng Yun: “…”
He wasn’t wrong, but being scolded by her little brother still made her lose face. She childishly went to complain to their dad, saying A’Qi had been snooping through the books in his study.
But their father had just laughed. “He wasn’t reading picture books—those were medical texts I bought when I was younger. He loves them. Maybe he’ll be a doctor someday.”
Feng Yun had made a face. “He’s not going to be a doctor. He just likes those flashy pictures.”
As she said that, A’Qi walked in. Looking up at her, he’d arrogantly said, “Tattletale idiot.”
Feng Yun had pinched his face. “If I’m a tattletale idiot, then you’re a little eavesdropping gremlin.”
A’Qi smacked her hand away. “I don’t talk to idiots.”
Their father hadn’t stopped them from bickering—instead, he’d taken out the camera and snapped a picture of them together, which he later added to the family photo album.
Even though those moments were from so many years ago, the memories still felt fresh. Looking at the plate of mockberry, Feng Yun felt as if she were seeing her younger self all over again.
The little girl with pigtails noticed the faint smile on Director Feng’s lips and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Director Feng, you look so pretty when you smile!”
Then she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, but her gaze never left Feng Yun’s face.
Feng Yun’s smile deepened slightly. She said softly, “These berries can’t be eaten. And what happened today—let’s keep it a secret, okay?”
The girl nodded eagerly, like a pecking chick. “I won’t tell anyone. It’s our little secret.”
Looking at the little girl in front of her, Feng Yun couldn’t help but wonder—‘Was Xiao Li also this adorable when she was her age?’
Probably even more so. Her daughter must’ve been especially lovable.
Even someone as cold and eccentric as A’Qi liked her so much. How could she not be likable?
It was just a pity that she had missed out on everything related to Xiao Li—and now, there was no way to earn her forgiveness.
But Xiao Li was right. She could try to make up for things. Like being better to her father.
Like opening this orphanage, and watching the innocent, bright smiles on the children’s faces.
The little girl turned to leave, but after walking a few steps, she looked back and softly asked, “Director Feng, why is our orphanage called ‘Lili Orphanage’?”
Feng Yun was silent for a few seconds, then replied softly, “Maybe because the word ‘Li’ sounds good.”
The girl nodded seriously. “I thought so too! But Brother Xiao Hu said it’s from that poem: ‘Lili grass covers the plains, withers and thrives year by year.’ He even argued that the ‘grass’ radical looks like a little thatched hut, so it means we all have a home now. But they’re not even the same character!”
Feng Yun smiled. “This is your home.”
‘And mine too.’
Feng Yun understood very clearly that if she wanted to return to the Feng family, her father would absolutely take her back.
But to Xiao Li and A’Qi, she wasn’t a welcome person.
It was better to stay at the orphanage, living alongside these children with no home.
In time, this place would become her home too.
…
As Feng Yun’s condition gradually improved, Old Master Feng’s life slowly returned to normal. He resumed his leisure routine with his close circle of old friends, as if nothing had ever happened.
Those friends, being close, never brought up painful topics in front of him. No one mentioned Feng Yun or Jiang Huai when he was around. They fished together, played chess, bickered, argued—living a peaceful and comfortable life.
Old Master Feng remained deeply curious about what his granddaughter had said to Feng Yun during their talk at the hospital. He had called to ask her a few times, but she never gave him an answer.
After being asked repeatedly, Jiang Li finally said, “You all kept it from me before, now I’m just returning the favor. Seems fair, doesn’t it?”
Old Master Feng: “…”
It sounded right. But… somehow didn’t feel right.
This granddaughter of his was carved from the same mold as her third uncle!
A’Qi had always been stubborn—if he didn’t want to say something, no matter how much people pried, it was useless.
Yet, they were not exactly the same.
A’Qi would stonewall you with a cold face, leaving no room to ask further.
Xiao Jiang Li, on the other hand, was gentler. She’d dodge with soft words and playful charm—making people completely unable to push her.
After thinking for a long time, Old Master Feng decided to send A’Qi to ask her.
Niece and uncle were so alike—maybe something would come of it?
Feng Qi was indeed curious about what Jiang Li had said to Feng Yun, so he gave her a call.
Before Jiang Li could even make up an excuse, Feng Qi chuckled and said, “Xiao Lizi, if you don’t tell me the truth, your uncle will be heartbroken.”
Jiang Li: “…”
Her usually omnipotent uncle pulling the “sad and pitiful” card—who could resist that?
“…I just told her a story,” Jiang Li finally spoke.
Feng Qi asked in surprise, “What kind of story?”
Jiang Li didn’t go into detail, only said vaguely, “I told her it was a dream, but it wasn’t really. Strictly speaking, it was something that happened in a parallel world. In that world, “Jiang Li” was an ordinary girl. After being found by the Jiang family, she craved love but never received it. She struggled to survive in the cracks—and didn’t end well.”
Feng Qi frowned slightly. “Why tell her that?”
Jiang Li said softly, “Because I feel too lucky. But if I’d just been a regular girl, I probably would’ve yearned for love too. I’d be insecure, maybe even jealous of Jiang Ruo, and I’d probably have had a very hard life.”
Before Feng Qi could respond further, Jiang Li quickly asked, “If I were just a totally ordinary girl, would you still treat me the same?”
Feng Qi smiled and asked in return, “Do you think you’re not ordinary?”
Jiang Li: “…”
Right. Compared to him, she was as ordinary as they come—just plain Xiao Jiang Li!
“Okay, let me rephrase,” she said. “What if your real niece was just a regular girl—sensitive, insecure, made some mistakes out of jealousy. And I was just a stranger, no blood relation at all. Would you want to swap nieces?”
As she asked, Jiang Li felt a little nervous. She was asking on behalf of the original “Jiang Li.”
But she regretted asking immediately—because she knew what answer the original would have wanted.
And that answer…
Before she could think more, Feng Qi responded with a smile: “I would mind.”
Before she could ask what he meant, he added, “I wouldn’t want to swap nieces. But I wouldn’t mind having one more.”
Jiang Li: “…”
“Xiao Lizi, if you really had a dream like that, wondering which niece I’d choose… then let me tell you—I’d take both.”
Jiang Li snapped out of it and smiled. “That’s pretty greedy of you.”
Feng Qi asked with a chuckle, “Be honest—did you really have a bad dream?”
Jiang Li denied immediately, “Nope. I was just asking randomly. Don’t overthink it.”
Feng Qi laughed softly. “Then why are you randomly asking if I’d want to swap nieces? Don’t tell me you want to swap uncles?”
Jiang Li was stunned. “Uncle, you’re the idol of the medical world! How could you be this insecure?”
Feng Qi mimicked her tone just now: “Mm, because I had a bad dream. I dreamt that I became an ordinary middle-aged man, one who felt inferior for not winning awards… and even got jealous of others.”
Jiang Li immediately said, “Then I don’t mind having one more Third Uncle. That way, I’d have two uncles—you lead me, and I’ll lead the other one, and the three of us will charge into the scientific world together. Just thinking about it sounds wonderful.”
Feng Qi ruthlessly shattered her fantasy: “Sounds more like you just want the other Third Uncle to prop you up, huh?”
Jiang Li replied with great confidence: “How could that be? Do I look like someone who needs to be propped up? If I really needed someone to prop me up, I wouldn’t even have to leave campus—I could find a whole bunch right at school.”
Feng Qi said helplessly, “Alright then, go take your time finding your ‘props.’ I have work to do.”
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