Read Novel Full Chapter 160 Part 1 – Uncle, You Scared Me (I)
Chapter 160 Part 1 – Uncle, You Scared Me (I)
After finishing the call with Tong Yi, Jiang Li left the attic and headed to the courtyard where her grandfather lived.
At this time, Tong Yi was no longer playing chess with Old Master Feng but was sitting and chatting with the rest of the family. Feng Bai would occasionally throw a sarcastic remark at him, but Tong Yi kept smiling the entire time, appearing very good-tempered.
Jiang Li noticed Feng Qi’s absence and asked curiously, “Where’s Third Uncle? Don’t tell me he’s already gone back to the institute?”
Old Master Feng chuckled and said, “You rarely come back. How could he go to the institute now? After he walked you back to your room earlier, he didn’t come back. He’s probably still sleeping.”
Jiang Li immediately said, “Then I’ll call him.”
She stepped out and dialed Feng Qi’s number, but no one answered, and the call was eventually disconnected automatically.
Jiang Li went back inside to tell her grandfather she was going to wake up Feng Qi, then headed straight for the attic in the north wing and knocked on the door to his bedroom.
But despite knocking several times, there was no response from inside, as if no one was there at all.
Jiang Li was about to leave when she accidentally pushed the door open. Her eyes fell on the scene inside and saw Feng Qi lying in bed in his pajamas, seemingly fast asleep.
Jiang Li looked surprised. She stepped into the room and noticed his phone was sitting right by the bed, which made her even more puzzled.
She had just called him, but he didn’t answer. Was the phone out of battery?
But the knocks earlier had been quite loud; there was no reason he wouldn’t have heard.
A wave of unease rose in Jiang Li’s chest. She walked over to the bed and tugged at his sleeve, softly calling, “Third Uncle, don’t sleep anymore, it’s time to wake up.”
But Feng Qi didn’t respond at all, as if he hadn’t heard her.
Jiang Li grew more anxious. “Third Uncle, it’s time to get up and have dinner. Don’t pretend to be asleep, okay?”
Yet Feng Qi continued lying there quietly. His breathing was steady, and his complexion looked completely normal.
Jiang Li opened one of his eyelids to check his pupils, then took his wrist to feel for a pulse. Everything was normal, but he remained unresponsive to all external stimuli.
“Third Uncle, wake up, please. Don’t joke around like this. It’s really not funny.” Jiang Li shook his arm, only to find it limp and weak, as if it had no strength at all.
Panic set in completely. With trembling hands, she pulled out her phone to call for help. Her voice choked as she spoke, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
Her tears fell onto the back of Feng Qi’s hand. His fingers twitched slightly in response, and his eyelashes trembled. When he slowly opened his eyes in a daze, he saw his niece sitting by his bedside, crying like a little tear-streaked mess.
Feng Qi stared at her face for a few seconds before softly calling, “Xiao Jiang Li?”
Hearing his voice stunned Jiang Li. Her phone slipped from her hand and hit the floor with a thud, but she didn’t react. She only looked at Feng Qi with joy written all over her face. “Third Uncle, you’re awake… You really scared me just now.”
Seeing her both crying and smiling, Feng Qi paused for a few seconds before asking, “Are you Xiao Lizi?”
Jiang Li sniffled and mumbled, “I’m not Xiao Lizi, I’m Little Apple, Little Banana, Little Walnut—you can call me whichever one you like best.”
Feng Qi let out a long sigh, sat up, and pulled her into his arms. “Mm, you’re Xiao Lizi, not Xiao Jiang Li.”
Jiang Li felt Feng Qi was acting especially strange today, but before she could give it much thought, loud noises came from outside.
Because the door was open, she could clearly hear a flurry of footsteps approaching quickly. The footsteps were disorganized, clearly from people in a panic.
Feng Qi also heard them. Feeling weak all over, he was just about to ask Jiang Li what was going on when he saw the entire family burst into his room, all looking worried, as if he were on the brink of death.
Feng Qi let go of Jiang Li and glanced at his eldest brother, Feng Yuan, who was at the front of the group. He asked with confusion, “What happened?”
Before Feng Yuan could answer, Old Master Feng arrived, panting heavily. He pushed through the crowd to the front and finally let out a breath when he saw his youngest son looked alright.
After a while, he looked at Jiang Li and asked, “What happened?”
Jiang Li hastily wiped her tears from her face. “Third Uncle was sleeping really deeply just now. I couldn’t wake him up… I got scared.”
Old Master Feng frowned. “A’Qi’s always been a light sleeper. How could he possibly not wake up?”
Jiang Li froze. That little bit of calm she’d just regained evaporated instantly. She made up her mind to take Feng Qi for a full medical checkup. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to feel at ease.
Feng Qi grabbed a wet tissue from the bedside table, gently wiped Jiang Li’s tears, and softly explained, “I was just playing a joke on Xiao Lizi. I didn’t expect her to be so easily scared—and to drag you all into it too.”
Old Master Feng looked shocked. “A joke?”
Feng Qi smiled. “Yeah. What, did you think something was really wrong with me, Dad?”
Old Master Feng’s cane struck the floor hard. He frowned at Feng Qi and said, “You’re not a child anymore. Do you think that kind of joke is appropriate?”
“I…”
Old Master Feng didn’t listen to his explanation at all. “You don’t want to date or get married—that’s your own choice, and I’m too tired to care anymore. But you have no right to interfere with Xiao Jiang Li’s love life. She brought Xiao Yi home today, and you kept a cold face the whole time, like someone owed you money. And now you’re pulling a stunt like this. Seeing her cry like that, do you actually feel proud of yourself?”
Feng Qi: “…”
Jiang Li turned her head to look at her grandfather and said softly, “Third Uncle was just…”
Old Master Feng waved her off before she could finish. “Don’t defend him. He’s just being dramatic. If you ignore him, he’ll settle down on his own.”
Jiang Li and Feng Qi exchanged a glance and both decided to keep quiet. Otherwise, their grandfather (father) would definitely scold him more.
Old Master Feng sighed, turned around, and saw Tong Yi standing behind him. He then said, “Let’s all go eat dinner. Xiao Jiang Li, wash your face and come eat. No need to bother with your dramatic Third Uncle.”
With that, Old Master Feng walked out of Feng Qi’s room without looking back, and the rest of the Feng family followed him out one after another.
Tong Yi looked at Feng Qi with concern. “Are you… really okay?”
Feng Qi frowned at him. “I’m fine. Are you disappointed?”
Tong Yi: “…”
Yep, still the same old Third Master Feng.
He turned his gaze to Jiang Li. “I’ll head back to your grandfather’s courtyard first. You clean up and come over soon.”
Jiang Li nodded and replied softly, “Got it. You go ahead.”
After Tong Yi left, Jiang Li turned to Feng Qi. “Let’s go get a full checkup tomorrow.”
Feng Qi replied helplessly, “There’s nothing wrong with me.”
Jiang Li followed along with his words, “Yeah, I know there’s nothing wrong with you, but I suspect I might have a problem. You coming with me counts as going through hardship together.”
Feng Qi: “…”
That was the exact same line he’d used earlier to convince Xiao Lizi to drink the hangover soup. This kid actually learned it and used it back on him.
Feng Qi was certain there was nothing wrong with his body, but seeing the worried look in Xiao Lizi’s eyes, he still nodded and said, “Alright, we’ll go through it together.”
Jiang Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Third Uncle, you really scared me just now. I think you’d better stop drinking from now on. I won’t drink either. They say alcohol is bad for you, and it’s really true.”
She blacked out after drinking, and Feng Qi’s reaction to alcohol was even scarier. Just thinking about the way he looked lying unconscious made her feel traumatized.
Feng Qi chuckled, “It wasn’t the alcohol. I was just dreaming.”
“Dreaming?” Jiang Li looked puzzled.
Feng Qi nodded. “Mm, I dreamed I went to another world. There was a Jiang Li there too, but the two of you had completely different personalities and temperaments.”
Jiang Li’s pupils contracted sharply. She stared blankly at Feng Qi and, after a long pause, asked, “Then… was she doing okay?”
Did Third Uncle dream about the world inside the novel?
If the original Jiang Li met Third Uncle, she must’ve had a very happy life!
Feng Qi said softly, “She had a tough life at first, but after I brought her back to the Feng family, your grandfather and the brothers doted on her. She’s doing very well now.”
Jiang Li let out a breath of relief. “That… that’s good.”
Watching her reaction, Feng Qi finally understood: those things Xiao Lizi had murmured while drunk the other night weren’t rooted in trauma from being pressured by the Jiang family to donate her kidney.
What truly lingered in her mind wasn’t something that had happened to her, but something that had happened to another girl.
He didn’t know what kind of connection Xiao Lizi had to that other Jiang Li, and he didn’t want to pry into it either.
A long time ago, Xiao Lizi had asked him if he would mind having a different niece. At the time, his answer had been: yes, he would mind. But he wouldn’t mind having another niece.
To this day, his answer hadn’t changed.
The niece in his dream was that another one. The Xiao Lizi in front of him wasn’t just his niece—she was the daughter he cherished in the palm of his hand.
The Jiang Li in the dream had slowly come out of her psychological shadows. She would go on to live a happy and joyful life. And he, like someone who had completed a mission, had returned to reality, to Xiao Lizi’s side.
Very nice.
Jiang Li spaced out for a while, and when she looked up, she met Feng Qi’s smiling eyes. She hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Third Uncle, after having that dream… did you find it strange? Did it make you wonder which one of us is the real one…”
“Both of you are,” Feng Qi interrupted gently. “But you’re not just my niece—you’re my daughter.”
Jiang Li pressed her lips together. “Yeah, we’re going to grow old together.”
Feng Qi laughed softly. “At least you didn’t say you’d take care of me in my old age. I’d say that’s progress.”
Jiang Li: “…”
Feng Qi reached out and ruffled her hair. “If we don’t go eat now, your grandpa’s going to start scolding me again.”
Jiang Li immediately said, “Then let’s hurry. We can’t make Grandpa angry again.”
She knew Feng Qi hadn’t been joking, but her grandfather didn’t know that. He was convinced Feng Qi disapproved of her dating and had acted out of childish spite, so of course he was angry.
Jiang Li returned to her room first to wash her face. When she came back out, Feng Qi had also changed clothes. The two of them headed to Old Master Feng’s courtyard. The old man merely shot Feng Qi a glare but didn’t say anything harsh.
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Translator’s Note:
Extra chapter on Sunday~
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