Chapter 681: Extra: Mu Nian 1

Extra: Mu Nian 1

C Shi experienced its first snowfall since the start of winter in recent years.

The hallway outside the delivery room was crowded; elders from both the Mu and Song families had nearly all arrived, and even the great-grandmother, who seldom showed her face while recuperating, was helped to come.

The long two hours of agony passed, and the ward door finally opened.

Mu Grandfather was the first to rush over, staring at the baby's rosy little face in the swaddling clothes for a moment, then said, "Why does this child look so much like Yun Shuo?"

The nurse said, "It's a boy."

Song's grandmother and grandfather were a little disappointed, but didn't say anything, and hurried to see their daughter.

The great-grandmother sighed, realizing she would not be able to witness the birth of her great-granddaughter.

The baby's surname was disputed for several days; Song Ningsheng seemed indifferent to which surname the child would take, and finally the matter was decided by a chess match between Song's grandmother and the great-grandmother.

Best two out of three, the eldest son finally took the Mu surname, given the single character 'Nian', with the nickname 'Niannian', which both sides found easy to say.

His father spent most of his time at the company, and his free time was spent accompanying his mother; Mu Nian grew up following his grandfather, listening to the elders' teachings and learning the rules.

At the same time, he was constantly being held in rotation by his uncles—his eldest uncle, his younger uncle, and his maternal uncles—from childhood.

He stays at this family's home for half a month today, and tomorrow he will be taken to the other family's to stay for a while.

When people quarreled over who would get to hold him, Mu Nian himself remained emotionally steady, and would even turn to comfort them, saying, "It's fine, Third Uncle—I'll come see you this afternoon, don't be upset."

The elders praised him, saying he was born to be elder-brother material.

When Mu Xi was born, Mu Nian was already eight years old.

The swaddling bundle the nurse brought out was a bit smaller than Mu Nian had imagined, wrapped in a light-blue blanket, revealing a delicately carved little face.

Mu Yichen furrowed his brow at the little face, asking, "Is this a sister?"

The nurse said, "Congratulations, it's a baby boy."

Mu Nian leaned in to look; the baby's big eyes were wide open, with a very light pupil color, long thick eyelashes, a small nose bridge that was nonetheless perkier than average, and rosy lips—his appearance was extremely handsome.

Mu Yichi lay beside the cradle for a long time, saying, "How did this younger brother end up looking like a girl?"

The other brothers were also quite curious.

Mu Yichi reached out and poked that little face, saying, "This one is much better-looking than Song Lujing."

Mu Nian reached out and pushed his hand aside, saying, "Don't move him."

Mu Yichi, feeling indignant and excited, exclaimed, "Why are you like this?!"

"This is my younger brother."

"Isn't your younger brother also my younger brother?"

"No."

Unable to reason with this person, Mu Yichi reluctantly withdrew his hand.

Mu Grandfather sat nearby, gazing at the excessively handsome baby in the cradle, and sighed, "We Mu family don't know if we've been cursed—generations have passed without a single girl, all boys."

His words left several of the elders present silent.

Counting back five generations in the Mu family, it's been all male descendants, with not even a trace of a girl in the branch lines.

The Song family is similar—several generations have produced only sons, and in this generation, Song Ningsheng is the only daughter.

However, as a child she had been pestering her grandmother for a sister to keep her company, yet her grandmother ended up giving birth to four sons in a row, further strengthening the male line.

Mu Grandmother came to her senses, suppressing her inner disappointment, and warned, "I warn you all—don't put on a sour face for Shengsheng to see!"

"Got it!"

When Song Ningsheng was pregnant with her third child, Mu Nian was already nine years old.

Song Ningsheng's belly grew day by day, and Mu Nian's first thing after coming home from school each day was to go see her, keep her company talking, help her walk, and occasionally lie beside her belly to listen to the movements inside.

"Niannian, do you hope for a younger brother or a sister?" Song Ningsheng asked, stroking her son's hair.

Mu Nian answered without hesitation, "I want a sister! There are already enough brothers."

Any more and I wouldn't want them.

Song Ningsheng laughed, "What if it's a brother?"

"Then I would like that too."

Mu Nian said that aloud, but in his heart he thought, "Best not to have two brothers."

During that time, Mu Nian and Yan Yuejiu grew closer.

Yan Yuejiu was the same age as him, both started school relatively early, and their birthdays were close.

Her family does embroidery; she herself learned it, usually quiet and seemingly gentle, but once you got to know her you discovered she was full of crafty ideas.

Yan Yuejiu's biggest hobby is reading novels; between classes she always pulls a book from her bag, its cover flashy and colorful—sometimes romance, sometimes fantasy.

Once, as Mu Nian walked past her seat, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of something on the page like "The true heiress recognizes her kin, the false heiress sheds tears," and his steps slowed a beat.

"What are you reading?"

Yan Yuejiu shoved the book toward him, saying, "Want to take a look? This book is especially good."

Mu Nian had wanted to refuse, but a teacher came over, and fearing he'd be wrongly accused, he ended up taking it after all.

Only later did he learn that Yan Yuejiu's habit of reading novels had been passed down from her mother.

Mother Yan had been a bookworm since her youth, her home study packed with all kinds of novels; Yan Yuejiu grew up steeped in those stacks, having seen every melodramatic plot.

After Mu Nian read a few books, he gradually developed some interest as well.

On February 10, Shen Ningmu gave birth, and several families went together to see.

A baby was pushed out.

Mu Nian frowned, scrutinizing for a long time, still not knowing how to praise, and managed to blurt out, "This kid is really just a kid."

The originally silently sitting Mu grandmother was instantly amused by that remark, laughing so hard she couldn't close her mouth.

Yan Yuejiu retorted, "If you can't speak, then don't speak."

"Oh." Mu Nian responded, and the newborn was immediately surrounded by the Jiang and Shen families.

Mother was still inside visiting Aunt Shen, couldn't leave early, and out of boredom, Mu Nian asked, "Yuejiu, do you have a younger sister?"

This person was asking knowingly; Yuejiu complained inwardly but kept a composed exterior, "No, lots of people younger than me call me grandaunt."

……

After they were silent for less than a minute, Yuejiu leaned in, mysterious, "By the way, I heard my mom say Aunt Song is pregnant with twins this time; if they're girls, does your family still plan to keep the adopted daughter?"

The matter of Elder Uncle Mu adopting Mu Xianyan wasn't deliberately concealed in the elite circle, it's just that few people bring it up in person.

Mu Nian remained indifferent, "Having one more person dote on the sister is also nice."

On Mother's side, it's twins, still unknown whether they're boys or girls; anyway, he hopes for two sisters, and if they're both boys, then his comment would have been wasted.

If it's a dragon-and-phoenix twin as Mu Xi said, regardless of whether the younger one is an older sister or younger sister, she would treat her as a younger sister.

Yuejiu thought his reply was too perfunctory and couldn't help arguing, "What do you mean 'it's nice to have someone dote on the sister'? If your family suddenly had two girls, she wouldn't cherish her as much."

"You're overthinking it."

Mu Nian and Mu Xianyan aren't very familiar, and they don't want to waste words on this topic, "It would be nice for my family to have a biological younger sister."

Two months later, Song Ningsheng gave birth.

Mu Nian waited a good while before the two children were brought out.

Just as Mu Xi had said, it was one boy and one girl.

The two babies were placed side by side, their appearances indistinguishable at first glance.

The younger brother was asleep, while the younger sister's eyes were open, quietly observing the world.

Several families' people surged forward, beginning to revolve around the little princess, unable to put her down.

As Mu Nian pushed his way in, he also had to look after Mu Xi.