Grandpa Liu coughed. "Okay, let's eat!"
Liu Dalin and the ladies buried themselves in their food, and the remaining one-track man, secretly nudged Qian Wanjin. "Eat, don't whine. Axiu is psychologically traumatized, let's be tolerant."
"…" These people couldn't be relied upon anymore.
Across from him, Axiu looked at the chopsticks that were stuffed into his hand, suspicion once again surfacing in his eyes.
He stayed dazed for a moment, then he threw the chopsticks down, grabbed a clump of rice with his bare hand and stuffed it directly into his mouth. Next, he grabbed a small handful and fed it to Liu Yusheng's mouth.
The people at the table were stunned, especially Qian Wanjin, who almost spewed out the food in his mouth.
The shock was followed by wild laughter. "Hahahaha, it can't be? After coming back from your trip, you don't know how to use chopsticks anymore and now you are eating with your hands? Boy, that's dirty you know? Ouch, what a laugh!"
He soon discovered, however, that apart from him laughing, everyone else had red eyes and bordered shedding tears. Their faces were a mixture of sadness and heartache.
Qian Wanjin felt his ears burning. In contrast, he just laughed like that… like a fool.
He touched his nose and shut his mouth.
He has known for a long time that this family's mindset was different from the norm. Instead, it was he who made a fool of himself.
This brat was lucky to have met the Liu family.
There was no one else but the Liu family who could have no dislike for the current Axiu. If it were others, even if they didn't dislike him, they would probably be terrified. How could they remain so calm as if nothing had happened?
Spare a thought for Qian Wanjin's odd personality. He had to admit that he was jealous of this kid.
Liu Yusheng ate the rice Axiu fed over. She wasn't the least bit disgusted. She smiled, then held Axiu's hand, took out a handkerchief to help him wipe his fingers clean, then picked up a pair of clean chopsticks again and put them in his hand. "Brother Axiu, eating with your hands is more convenient, but it's not clean, ah. We have to learn how to eat with chopsticks, okay? You see, everyone is using chopsticks. Brother Axiu is smart. You can master it once you learn it."
Saying that, she picked up her own chopsticks with her other hand and showed him how to clip food several times, guiding Axiu to follow suit.
The young man's dark eyes flashed with confusion and doubt, as well as a flicker of curiosity.
He attempted to direct his fingers to make an open and close motion to clip the dishes on the table, put them in Liu Yusheng's bowl, and then clip and piled them again. After a few times, he was already proficient.
So a hint of excitement crept up in the young man's eyes. The direct result: a pile of various dishes in Liu Yusheng's bowl.
"Brother Axiu is great. You learned so quickly, so try to clip the vegetables for yourself, okay?" Axiu was now like a newborn baby. The world was like a blank sheet of paper, and he needed to be guided properly in everything.
Hence, for a period, the family dinner table became Liu Yusheng and Axiu's training space. The two had fun, and it was surprisingly cozy with the occasional family members chiming in their own suggestions.
Qian Wanjin snorted. He picked up a fat chicken leg and raised it towards Axiu. "Learning to use chopsticks can take so much time. Boy, look here. I'll show you what it's like to have perfect command of your fingers. Watch!"
Flowers fell, his fingers flew, and his chopsticks dazzlingly danced in a blur.
In a few moments, a clean chicken bone stick was picked out intact and tossed on the table, leaving the rest of the bowl full of chicken leg meat. "See, this is what I call a master with chopsticks. As for your level of skill, even a three-year-old can play more skillfully than you!"
Seeing that kid staring at him intently, Qian Wanjin was soothed. For once, he could finally raise his brows in comparison to him.
The boy on the other side blinked a few times then searched for something on his plate. Soon, he found an equally fat chicken leg, clipped it up, and flipped it with his fingers.
At a faster speed than Qian Wanjin, he picked out the complete chicken leg bone. Under Qian Wanjin's stunned gaze, the chicken bone was gently thrown, and smashed the side of the bone that Qian Wanjin had just tossed.
Gravity pressed the side of the other, and the chicken bone bounced up, hitting Qian Wanjin squarely on the face, then barfed and fell to the ground.
"Hahaha!" The booming laughter from the table dispelled the underlying heaviness in the air.
"Ow! Grandma, look! That brat bullied me! He hit me with a chicken bone. That's outrageous! I don't want to eat at the same table as him!" Qian Wanjin's handsome face flushed with annoyance.
The hell! A chicken bone to the face was more humiliating than a direct punch to the face!
Is this kid even human? How could he learn so fast! Hell! It's unbearable!
"Oww, it hit our Xiao Jinzi. Does it hurt? Quickly wipe the grease stains on your face. Don't be angry. Axiu is playing with you." Grandma Liu laughed to tears. "Come, I'll give you some food. Eat more!"
"…" He was still angry, still unhappy.
"And another drumstick for you." It was actually a drumette, but was commonly called a drumstick in the countryside.
"Make that two!" Nothing should be left for that bastard!
"Fine, fine, I'll give it all to you all ah. Don't be angry."
Looking at his bowl with two more little drumettes, coupled with Grandma Liu's doting, Qian Wanjin was barely able to calm his anger. He shot a glance at Axiu across from him, then buried his head in the food. He would let him off the hook for now. Once he found the opportunity later, he must avenge himself!
Bastard, you're in big trouble!
After dinner, it was already dark. Grandma Liu went to take out clean beddings almost non-stop and spread it on the bed where Liu Zhiqiu usually slept.
"The bedding is all cleaned, and I even took it out during the day to disperse the smell. You'll live here from now on. The brothers Zhixia and Zhiqiu have gone to town to study, and they rarely come back, so just let them squeeze into a blanket when they come back."
Axiu hugged Liu Yusheng and stood behind Grandma Liu, listening to her mouth droning on and on, sometimes frowning and sometimes confused, but showing no impatience.
A very peculiar feeling overflowed in his heart, the same feeling that the child in his arms had brought him.
It was warm and comfortable.
After making the bed, Grandma Liu turned around and wanted to touch Axiu's head, but noticing his guarded eyes, she slowly put her hand down. "Good boy, have a good night's sleep. The house is safe; the family is here; no one can hurt you."
The boy didn't seem to understand the words. His eyes were dark and calm and unresponsive.
Grandma Liu sighed and looked towards Liu Yusheng. "Nannan, your brother Axiu will be in your care for a while."
"I know, Grandma." Liu Yusheng nodded.
It was obvious to everyone in the family that no matter what they said except for her, Axiu wouldn't react, and he unconsciously shielded the rest of the family from the world.
As for the chicken bone episode with Qian Wanjin at the dinner table, Liu Yusheng considered it an accident…