"Wow, so many people…"
It was almost one o'clock in the afternoon. Ouyang Zhixin and his wife, along with their son and daughter Wan Yunting and Ouyang Fanmeng, and Wan Dongming and Wang Chulin with their niece Wan'er, and Duan Yingying following, plus six ordinary-looking professional bodyguards, arrived at the entrance of the Great Wall scenic area in the capital. They found the place bustling with people, a massive crowd, and incredibly lively.
Ouyang Fanmeng, seeing so many people for the first time, was particularly excited. She grabbed Wan'er and ran off with Duan Yingying to the stalls selling old Beijing candied haws and sugar painters.
Duan Yingying was a simple young girl and got along well with Ouyang Fanmeng. She first got two strings of candied haws for Wan'er and then asked the vendor to paint a sugar figurine.
"Luotang, Miaomiao, over here…"
Wan Yunting called Gu Luotang. After searching for a while, he finally spotted Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao. Also with them were Gu Zichen and Fan Shuyuan. They waved at Wan Yunting and, pushing through the crowd, made their way towards them. "Brother Wan, there are so many people today. Why did you decide to visit the Great Wall today? This is asking for trouble."
"Exactly. Wouldn't it be more enjoyable to sit in the Wenchuang Tang, drink tea, chat about calligraphy and painting, and compose poetry?"
Fan Shuyuan was also wearing an ancient-style Hanfu. She had been squeezed in the crowd, causing her long hair to become disheveled and her appearance disheveled. She complained to Wan Yunting and the others with dissatisfaction.
Wan Yunting tidied Gu Luotang's hair and gave her a playful glare. He smiled and said, "I don't know poetry or calligraphy, so why would I come to watch you perform?"
"That's also an option."
Fan Shuyuan knew they were a couple and deliberately teased, "The young ladies at our Wenchuang Tang are all very beautiful, especially their dancing, which is top-notch. How about we change our route and go back now?"
"If you want to go back, you go back. We're here at the Great Wall to join the fun." Wan Yunting waved off Fan Shuyuan. He had never been to the Great Wall before.
As the saying goes, one is not a true hero until one has reached the Great Wall. Wan Yunting had always remembered this opportunity. With his family having a rare chance to go out and have fun on the first day of the Lunar New Year, how could he miss the bustling spring crowd?
"Luotang, Miaomiao, you're here."
Bringing Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao, Gu Zichen and Fan Shuyuan to the entrance of the Great Wall scenic area, Xia Xiangyun immediately took Gu Luotang's hand and asked with gentle concern, "How long did you sit in the car? Did you just arrive?"
"Auntie, we drove for over three hours and just arrived."
Gu Luotang's face was shy, but she was no longer as nervous and flustered as she was when meeting her in-laws for the first time.
"Sister-in-law, Miaomiao, you're here."
At this moment, Ouyang Fanmeng and Duan Yingying, who had gone to buy candied haws, bought back the entire bundle of candied haws from the vendor. This made Ouyang Zhixin laugh. "You two girls buying so many things, the vendor must be overjoyed."
"Hehe, Dad, try it, it's delicious."
Ouyang Fanmeng took a string of candied haws she had been eating and put it directly into Ouyang Zhixin's mouth. The old father had no choice but to take a bite. His eyes lit up, and he smiled, "Not bad, it has a bit of my son's flavor."
"Brother, sister-in-law, second brother, second sister-in-law, you all try too…"
Ouyang Fanmeng gave another string of candied haws to Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang, Qi Miaomiao, Wan Dongming and Wang Chulin, and Gu Zichen and Fan Shuyuan. Everyone held a string of candied haws, and together they entered the Great Wall scenic area. This was truly the spirit of the New Year.
Wan Yunting also casually carried the bundle of candied haws, following behind his sister and Gu Luotang. At the same time, the six bodyguards also held a string of candied haws, but they didn't eat them. Their eyes were vigilantly observing the surrounding complex crowd, afraid that some villain might suddenly appear.
However, it was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and there were too many people strolling through the Great Wall scenic area. Despite the large flow of people, Wan Yunting was still confident in ensuring the safety of his family, not to mention Duan Yingying was there.
"Little Wan, what did Liqun say to you at home just now?"
Ouyang Zhixin, deliberately walking behind his son, asked while eating candied haws.
Wan Yunting, carrying the bundle of candied haws with about ten strings left, was also eating a string. He turned to his father and said, "He said he's going to the police station to surrender and confess to what he did abroad!"
Ouyang Zhixin's footsteps faltered upon hearing this, almost causing the person behind him to bump into him. After a bodyguard, who was following closely, blocked the person who almost hit Ouyang Zhixin's back, he continued to walk alongside Wan Yunting, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Why would he do that? Could it be because of that woman?"
Wan Yunting nodded, put the unfinished string of candied haws back onto the bundle, and freed his left hand to support Ouyang Zhixin as he climbed the steps. He said, "There may be unknown matters regarding Ouyang Liqun's relationship with that woman. Liqun doing this indicates he has to obey that Ji Ruxue!"
Ouyang Zhixin frowned and said, "What kind of ability does that woman have to make the descendants of my Ouyang family obedient to her? I don't think Liqun is the kind of person who would be swayed by beauty!"
Wan Yunting said, "Ouyang Liqun must have been manipulated by Ji Ruxue!"
"Manipulated?"
Ouyang Zhixin was shocked and said, "Is it like you said last time, the first time you saw that Ji Ruxue, you were almost manipulated by her?"
Wan Yunting nodded and said, "However, Ouyang Liqun has a kind of malevolent energy. It's likely that Ji Ruxue manipulated his actions in other ways, leaving him no chance to resist!"
Ouyang Zhixin nodded in understanding and said, "If that's the case, then there must be someone behind that Ji Ruxue!"
Wan Yunting raised an eyebrow and also nodded. "She mentioned something about a divine snake to me last night. There must be a mysterious organization behind her, similar to the Tianyan Main God Cult, that worships a snake god!"
Ouyang Zhixin asked, "Do you think what Liqun said will be true?"
"It's hard to say."
Wan Yunting thought about Ouyang Liqun's appearance at the time and said, "But he didn't seem to be lying. He looked quite dejected at the time."
Ouyang Zhixin waved his hand and said, "Liqun is a person of deep schemes. Perhaps he and that Ji Ruxue are putting on an act and plotting some conspiracy privately, so we can't believe him completely. For now, let's wait and see!"
"Yes, that's what I think too. Let's see what they do next before we decide." Wan Yunting nodded and said.
"Brother, Dad, what are you guys talking about?"
At this moment, Ouyang Fanmeng turned back. She took a string of candied haws from the bundle on Wan Yunting's shoulder, not knowing what her father and brother had been whispering about all the way.
"Don't eat too much, be careful of your teeth," Ouyang Zhixin said.
Ouyang Fanmeng laughed, "Dad, I'm not a three-year-old child."
"It's okay, you can just don't eat too much in the future," Wan Yunting said with a smile.
"Exactly."
Ouyang Fanmeng went up and linked her arm with Wan Yunting's right arm, laughing happily, "Brother, you're the best to me."
"Look at you, girl. You're making me, your father, look bad." Ouyang Zhixin glanced at his daughter and said with a smile.
"Oh, I didn't say Dad was bad."
Ouyang Fanmeng turned and linked her arm with Ouyang Zhixin's, and even fed him candied haws. "Dad, have another one…"
"Alright, alright, I'll have one…"
Ouyang Zhixin smiled, unable to do anything about his daughter, but he was extremely happy. After all, a daughter is a father's little padded jacket.
"Brother, can you sell me a string of candied haws?"
A passing little boy, about five or six years old, looked sturdy and very cute. He had likely been following Wan Yunting and was staring longingly at the candied haws on his shoulder.
"Sure."
Wan Yunting stopped and turned to look at the boy, then gave him a string of candied haws.
Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao in front also stopped and turned to see why Wan Yunting and Ouyang Zhixin had stopped.
"Little friend, where are your parents?"
Wan Yunting then realized that the child was alone and didn't see his parents following him.
The little boy, holding the candied haws, turned his head and immediately discovered that his parents were gone. His little face immediately panicked, and he anxiously called out, "Dad, Mom, sob sob…"
He immediately started crying. Wan Yunting quickly handed the bundle of candied haws to a nearby bodyguard and pulled the little boy to comfort him. "Don't cry, don't cry. Uncle will help you find your parents, okay? Don't cry yet…"
"What's wrong?"
Xia Xiangyun, Gu Luotang, Qi Miaomiao, second brother Wan Dongming, who had been holding Wan'er, Wang Chulin, Gu Zichen, and Fan Shuyuan all returned. Ouyang Fanmeng said, "This child is lost from his parents."
"Oh dear, what should we do?"
Xia Xiangyun, with her kind heart, became anxious upon hearing that the child was lost from his parents. "Quick, call the scenic area staff to help find this child's parents!"
Ouyang Zhixin looked at the passing crowd and said, "We didn't remember the scenic area's emergency number, how can we call?"
"Why don't we call the police?" Ouyang Fanmeng suggested.
Second Brother waved his hand. "We've walked this far. If we call the police now, it will take over an hour for the police to arrive."
"Let's call out."
Wan Yunting looked at the child crying intensely, while Xia Xiangyun was pulling him to comfort him. Wan'er came over and offered her sugar figurine to the boy. "Brother, here's my sugar figurine, don't cry anymore. My third uncle will help you find your parents."
The little boy took the sugar figurine from Wan'er but still managed to say through his tears, "Thank you, but I want my mom and dad."
"It's okay, it's okay."
Wan'er, being sensible, patted the little boy's shoulder and said, "My third uncle is very powerful, he will find your parents."
So, Wan Yunting and his group blocked this section of the road and asked passersby one by one. After asking for more than ten minutes, they finally saw a young couple anxiously looking around. As soon as Wan Yunting saw them, he called out, "Did you lose your child?"
"Yes, yes, yes…"
The child's father quickly shouted in response. Then, the little boy saw his parents and happily shouted, "Dad, Mom…"
"Xiao Cong, why did you run so fast? You scared your mother to death."
The young mother went forward, hugged her son Xie Xiaocong, and was so emotional that tears were almost falling.
"Thank you, thank you so much." The young man, named Xie Wenhua, grabbed Wan Yunting's large hand and expressed his gratitude repeatedly.
"It's nothing, just a small favor."
Wan Yunting smiled and shook his head. After all, it was a small matter.
Of course, for the Xie Wenhua couple, it was not a small matter. The couple thanked Wan Yunting and Ouyang Zhixin's group profusely and even offered to treat them to a meal, but they politely declined.
"Little sister, thank you." Xie Xiaocong specifically came to Wan'er to express his gratitude.
"You're welcome, brother," Wan'er said, like a little adult, waving her hand and smiling.
"Look how happy Wan'er is. Why don't we let her stay with this child for a while?" Wang Chulin suggested, seeing how close Wan'er was to the little boy.
"Okay, why don't we walk together then?"
Although Xie Wenhua didn't immediately recognize Wan Yunting, he was very happy to explore the Great Wall with them.
Wan Yunting also felt that it wasn't much fun for his niece Wan'er, a little girl, to follow the adults, so he agreed. Together with Xie Wenhua and his wife and their son Xie Xiaocong, they continued to explore the beautiful winter scenery of the Great Wall.