We need to eat lunch later, so this meal is just a filler for hunger.
Of course, feasting on skewers as a meal is a luxury, as most kids can only afford a skewer or two to satisfy their cravings.
Back home, Li Zhiyuan saw Liu Yumei sitting there with a heavy heart.
What had happened again?
When Li Zhiyuan approached, Alii stood up and took the initiative to greet him.
Liu Yumei, upon seeing this, finally relaxed. She was really afraid it would be like last time when her granddaughter ignored the boy, and her condition would regress.
Now it seems that her worries were unnecessary.
She felt it was difficult, actually being concerned that her granddaughter did not help the boys move stuff outside.
"Alii, this is the gift I bought for you on your behalf." Li Zhiyuan handed over a glass accessory to Alii, "This is the scarf I bought for you."
The scarf was inexpensive, a traditional style currently popular in mainland films and television. Li Zhiyuan felt it suited Alii’s temperament well; as to how to match it, he didn’t need to worry.
After Aunt Liu applied the medicine to Tan Wenbin, everyone set out for Cui Cui’s house, with Li Zhiyuan holding Alii’s hand walking behind; Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin walked upfront.
From afar, they saw Cui Cui standing on the embankment looking forward.
"Brother Yuanhou, you guys are here."
"Cui Cui, this is my gift, this is Alii’s."
"Thank you, thank you all."
The lunch was just a replica of the meal at Li Sanjiang’s house, with Li Zhiyuan and Alii sitting at one table, Run Sheng sitting alone at another, with the only one able to sit at the main table being Tan Wenbin.
Li Juxiang happily distributed the dishes here and there.
Liu Jinxia picked up a glass of wine and drank, she was actually happy that her granddaughter’s birthday was bustling, but she had a habit of saying some harsh words, murmured:
"It’s really like a radish meeting."
After the meal, they decided to stay a while, everyone was on the embankment, and Cui Cui brought out some elastic bands propped up by two long benches.
The idea was to invite Alii to jump, but Alii shook her head and refused.
In the end, it was Tan Wenbin and Cui Cui who jumped together, and he was quite good at it. During this period, there were fewer entertainment options, and jumping rubber bands was not exclusive to girls; boys also played.
During the fun, a man leading a small boy walked up to the embankment, here for business.
Liu Jinxia and Li Juxiang invited them inside.
After a while, the boy came out, standing on the side watching Tan Wenbin and Cui Cui.
"Do you want to play too?"
The boy shyly nodded.
Originally, Li Zhiyuan had no particular feeling, and Alii didn’t particularly notice the boy, indicating the boy was very clean.
But as soon as the boy’s shy expression appeared, Li Zhiyuan’s eyes hardened.
He himself was skilled at observing and acting, so he noticed that the boy’s change in expression was heavily acted.
Sure enough, after jumping the rubber bands, the boy began to actively chat with Cui Cui, and during the conversation, he extracted a lot of information about Liu Jinxia’s home.
Li Zhiyuan felt that he was pretending to be a child.
However, Li Zhiyuan didn’t think the boy was like himself, a fellow patient; his and Li Lan’s condition was very rare, even psychological doctors in Beijing hadn’t seen it, the only other possibility now might be Wei Zhengdao.
Li Zhiyuan began to seriously observe the boy’s face, his mind’s "Yin Yang Face Reading" database, even if not used for fortune-telling, could still make a comparative match.
Indeed, there was a problem, although the boy looked about ten years old, details like his eyebrows, skin, cochlea, teeth, etc., all showed traces of "growth rings."
He was not a boy at all, he was a dwarf!
A person with an adult’s mind, posing as a child, chatting up another little girl, this was uncomfortable and inappropriate no matter how you looked at it.
"I’m here, Brother Yuanhou."
Cui Cui immediately came over.
"Don’t play with him."
"Okay, Brother Yuanhou." Cui Cui didn’t ask why, just nodded.
"Ptui... hehehe." Nearby, Tan Wenbin laughed out loud, it was the first time he saw Li Zhiyuan say something so fitting for a child of this age.
Li Zhiyuan ignored him and looked at the boy, who at this moment was also looking at him.
The boy was displaying a sense of being isolated and ostracized, intentionally making Cui Cui see it, so this soft-hearted girl would return to him.
Cui Cui did see it, and she was indeed soft-hearted, but she had no intention of interacting with him again.
She lacked friends, but she valued friendship more; if Brother Yuanhou didn’t want her to play with someone, then she would definitely not play with them.
Li Zhiyuan caught a trace of resentment in the boy’s eyes.
Heh, this person, really disgusting.
At the same time, Li Zhiyuan also began to wonder, was he also this disgusting?
But he was different from him; his physiological age was of this age, acting to not lose himself, and no matter what, he was just maintaining what a person of his age should look like.
But the other person’s actual age, Li Zhiyuan guessed, might be over fifty.
A fifty-year-old man, disguising himself as a child, actively approaching a little girl, what motive could he possibly have?
"Wuwuwu... wuwuwu..."
The boy squatted on the ground and started crying.
But as he cried, no one paid any attention to him, mainly because everyone on the embankment listened to Li Zhiyuan.
The boy stopped crying, stood up, and actively walked towards Li Zhiyuan.
Run Sheng promptly came over, picked up the boy, moved him away, then pointed his finger at him, giving him a silent warning.