The next morning, Shi Shuning arrived at the mansion villa as promised.
At this time, Xiao Jinmeng had not yet woken up, and the entire living room was filled with an eerie atmosphere. Shi Shuning felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.
"Shuning, your dad mentioned that you served in the military for two years?" Xiao Yongze took a sip of tea to break the awkwardness.
Shi Shuning nodded, "Yes, I wanted to toughen myself up, so I enlisted. I was discharged last September."
"Hmm, not bad. When Yuanning is old enough, I'll let him go serve in the military for a few years too."
Xiao Yuanning's eyes lit up, "Dad, are you serious? That's great!"
Xiao Yongze gave him a stern look, "What are you so excited about? Even if you want to go, you need to pass their enlistment criteria. If you don't qualify, it's just a pipe dream!"
Xiao Yuanning clenched his fists, "I'll definitely work hard!"
Shi Shuning had a question, "Uncle, what about Yuanning's citizenship?"
Xiao Yongze chuckled, "Actually, we've been secretly returning to the country all along. He's always had Hua Country citizenship. We never joined Country S's citizenship. As for why we're officially returning now, it's because the timing is right on all fronts."
Shi Shuning nodded, understanding now.
"You and our Mengmeng played together since childhood?" Xiao Yongze changed the topic so quickly that Shi Shuning almost didn't catch up.
"Ah? Oh, yes, we grew up together."
Song Jiaxi brought over a plate of sliced fruits and placed it on the coffee table. She sat down next to Xiao Yongze and smiled gently at Shi Shuning, "Shuning, don't be nervous. Your uncle just wants to know a bit about your past."
Shi Shuning nodded, "I understand!"
Suddenly remembering something, he got up and walked to the pile of gift boxes he had brought. He picked out a rectangular box, brought it to the coffee table, and opened it. A thick photo album and a USB drive appeared before everyone.
"Uncle, Auntie, this is a collection of all the photos of Mengmeng from childhood to adulthood. I got the negatives from Uncle Ye and had them reprinted. I thought you'd love them, so I had them bound into an album to give you."
"And this USB drive, it has copies of Mengmeng's videos."
Song Jiaxi was momentarily stunned, her eyes brimming with tears.
She gently picked up the thick album and opened a page. A baby with closed eyes, sucking her little hand while lying in a swaddle, appeared before her eyes.
Xiao Yuanning and Xiao Yongze couldn't help but lean in to look. Seeing that tiny baby, their hearts melted.
The second photo showed little Mengmeng lying in her crib, sleeping soundly but with a bubble of drool on her mouth. Song Jiaxi stroked the face of the little one in the photo, unable to hold back a smile.
Flipping further, Mengmeng had grown a bit, with two tiny buns on her head, her face smeared with lipstick, wailing loudly at the camera.
There was one from a birthday party, her face covered in cream cake, grinning from ear to ear at the camera.
Another from a Children's Day event, dressed in a little hanfu, pretending to be the fairy Zixia, striking poses on stage.
One from her middle school graduation ceremony, tearfully hugging her teacher, reluctant to let go...
This album contained photos from almost all of Xiao Jinmeng's important moments, as well as her various emotions and even embarrassing snapshots.
By the time Song Jiaxi finished, her cheeks were wet with tears. Xiao Yongze patted her shoulder, wiping away her tears.
Xiao Yuanning felt a twinge in his heart, wishing he could have grown up with his sister.
Song Jiaxi composed herself and gratefully said to Shi Shuning, "Thank you, Shuning. It's very thoughtful. Seeing these is so touching. We missed her growing up, but looking at these photos, it's like we were a part of it."
Shi Shuning shook his head, "You're too kind. When you have time, you can look at the USB drive. There are many videos that photos can't capture."
Xiao Jinmeng had just come downstairs when she heard Shi Shuning's last sentence.
"Brother Shuning, what videos? I want to see!"
The group in the living room turned to look at her. Song Jiaxi smiled, "Shuning brought us an album of your childhood photos, and there are videos we haven't seen yet. Want to watch together?"
"Yes, yes!"
Xiao Jinmeng sat down next to Shi Shuning and started munching on an apple.
Xiao Yuanning eagerly connected the USB to the TV. There were dozens of video files. He clicked on the first one with the remote and sat back on the sofa.
In the video, little Mengmeng sat in a stroller. Ye Junli was holding a small toy, teaching her to say "daddy."
"Baby, baby, say daddy!"
Little Mengmeng, engrossed in chewing her hand, paid no attention.
Ye Junli persisted, "Say daddy, repeat after me: 'da~ddy~'."
Little Mengmeng gave him a blank stare and continued chewing her hand.
Ye Junli didn't give up, "Da~ddy!"
Little Mengmeng stared at Ye Junli, seemingly pondering something, and made a sound, "Ai!"
Gu Qi, filming the video, burst into laughter, causing the whole frame to shake. Ye Junli laughed and pinched little Mengmeng's chubby cheeks, "Taking advantage of daddy, aren't you!"
Little Mengmeng didn't understand the meaning but grinned along with her mom and dad.
The group in the living room also laughed. Xiao Jinmeng's face turned red. Xiao Yuanning played the next video.
From the scene, it seemed to be her "zhua zhou" ceremony (a traditional Chinese event where a baby chooses items to predict their future). Little Mengmeng, wearing a red dress, crawled quickly on the floor to a red cloth with many objects on it.
There was a stack of money, an abacus, car keys, books, a calligraphy brush, a seal, a ruler...
Without hesitation, little Mengmeng scurried to the farthest corner and stuffed the only chicken leg into her mouth.
The people in the video laughed, "This child will be blessed with good food in the future!"
They let her choose again. This time, little Mengmeng didn't crawl. She took small steps, hands behind her back, wandering around the red cloth like an old man at a market, seemingly pondering what to pick. Everyone laughed heartily.
Finally, little Mengmeng picked up the soft ruler and played with it in her hands.
The crowd was surprised, "Looks like this child will be a great designer!"
Watching the video, Xiao Jinmeng couldn't help but marvel, "Is 'zhua zhou' really this accurate?" Both her love for food and fashion design were spot on...
Xiao Yuanning played the next video.
In the video, little Mengmeng was running ahead when she tripped over a protruding stone. She fell but didn't cry. She got up on her own and even dusted herself off.
"Great job, baby!" praised Gu Qi, who was recording a video from behind.
Little Meng Meng shyly tucked her tiny neck and smiled.
When Ye Junli saw his little daughter fall, he ran over and crouched down to check if Meng Meng was hurt. The previously composed Meng Meng suddenly burst into tears with a loud "Wah!"
She raised her left hand and said, "It hurts, Daddy. Blow on it."
Ye Junli, feeling heartbroken, gently blew on his daughter's hand, and Meng Meng stopped crying.
A moment later, Gu Qi asked Meng Meng, "Sweetie, which hand was hurting just now?"
Meng Meng raised her right hand.
"Huh? Wasn't it your left hand? Daddy blew on your left hand."
Meng Meng looked at her hands, hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered her right hand and raised her left one.
Ye Junli chuckled and picked her up, "You little rascal, you've got two faces!"
Xiao Yongze watched, feeling a bit jealous. His own daughter was so close to little Ye. This wouldn't do; he'd have to use AI to swap faces later, replacing Ye's face with his own.
...
