"Just her?"
The old man sat stiffly on the chair, his face full of disdain, obviously not convinced:
"She's just a little girl barely past three years old—how could she have such ability? Who would believe that?"
"Yes! Lili really has this ability!"
The cute and beautiful Lu Li toddled closer, her little face full of pride and confidence. Her black eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and her pink cheeks glowed as she puffed herself up like a tiny peacock.
"Grandpa, Auntie didn't lie to you. Yuyu really likes me! See? I'm amazing!"
The little girl was so proud, as if she were the most powerful person in the world and everyone else was beneath her.
Lu Junhan: "…"
This little brat is truly shameless.
She must have inherited it from him!
Song Qingwan quickly added: "Dad, I really don't know what's going on either. But every time I turn around, there are more fish on our side—and every one of them swims toward Lili. If you don't believe me, I can't help it. Maybe children are naturally closer to animals…"
"What do you mean?!"
The old man's beard trembled as he blew up, his sharp eyes glaring at her. "You mean I don't like these fish enough?"
Song Qingwan hadn't expected him to take offense so quickly. "Dad, I didn't mean that—"
"I've been fishing every single day! Not a day missed!" the old man snapped angrily, his pride wounded. "If anyone likes fish, it's me! So if liking them made a difference, those fish should like me most of all! Not some little girl who hasn't even grown her hair yet!"
Song Qingwan thought of the way the fish practically fled at the sound of his voice earlier and silently disagreed: Father, those fish clearly don't dare like you at all.
"Grandpa, you're wrong!" Lu Li puffed out her cheeks, taking the words seriously. She tugged on her silky hair and corrected him earnestly, "Look! My hair is already long and soft—it's even longer than yours!"
Song Qingwan: "…"
Lili, are you here to help or to make him mad?
Lu Junhan: "…"
Would fish really like a silly little thing like her? He refused to believe it.
Still, Song Qingwan knew the truth: the fish were undeniably drawn to Lu Li. She had seen it with her own eyes. It wasn't something she could fabricate. Perhaps this was what people meant when they talked about "animal affinity."
But with the old man's stubborn nature, she knew that if she didn't prove it now, he would cling to his disbelief—and worse, he might end up resenting Lu Li even more.
She was about to explain further when—
"Dad…"
She turned and froze. At some point, the old man had pulled out another fishing rod and was already sitting upright, stone-faced, pretending to focus solely on fishing.
Song Qingwan swallowed her words helplessly. So he really is here to compete with Lili for fish…
Not far away, Lu Li's big black eyes sparkled. Seeing her great-grandfather fishing again, she immediately ran to fetch him a bucket.
Earlier, when the old man switched places, he'd only taken his rod and left the fish bucket behind. So the little girl easily found one nearby.
"Huh?"
Lu Li bent over and peered into the bucket. To her surprise, there was already a tiny fish swimming inside.
"Why is there a fish here already?"
Her soft voice was full of confusion. She had no idea that this single little fish was the old man's hard-won prize from earlier in the day.
Before Song Qingwan had ordered all the fish released, one servant had noticed a single survivor in the bucket and put it aside. Since all the buckets looked alike, Lu Li thought Auntie must have overlooked this one.
But that was fine—she'd noticed it now.
The little girl dragged the heavy bucket step by step to the pond's edge, preparing to release the lone fish back into the water.
Just then, the old man's cold, disdainful voice carried over:
"You're far too old to still act like a child, making up such ridiculous lies. Fish don't 'like' people. They're just hungry. With all the plants here, of course they swim over! Hmph! And you expect me to believe otherwise?"
Song Qingwan's lips parted. "Dad, I—"
Plop!
A brilliant red koi suddenly leapt from the pond, its scales glinting like flame as it arced through the air—
—and landed squarely in the bucket Lu Li was holding!
The old man: "…"
Song Qingwan: "…"
Plop! Plop! Plop!
One after another, more fish jumped desperately out of the water, all but fighting to throw themselves into the little girl's bucket.
It was as if they'd been suffering in the pond and had finally found their savior.
That old man talks too loud, they seemed to say. Run for it before we all go deaf!
Fishing had never been so noisy before!
"Don't come!" Lu Li huffed, her little face turning red as she tried to hold the heavy bucket. "I can't carry anymore!"
But the fish ignored her protest, leaping in again and again until the bucket sloshed over with water and was crammed full of wriggling koi.
The proud old man, who had been sneering a moment earlier, fell completely silent.
Song Qingwan coughed lightly, hiding her laughter. She gave him a sympathetic shrug.
"Dad… I did say earlier that the fish liked Lili. You didn't believe me. Now… well, this is proof I couldn't fake even if I wanted to."
The old man: "…"
---
Meanwhile, inside the villa, Lu Junhan finally ended his long, frustrating video conference. The endless revisions from his incompetent subordinates had delayed him far beyond the promised half hour.
With a dark face, he strode out of the study, his long legs carrying him toward the courtyard.
At a glance, he saw the umbrellas, chairs, and fishing rods lined neatly by the lake—but no sign of his little girl.
His brows knit sharply. Where is she? Did she fall into the water?
"Grandpa! Look, another fish got hooked!"
A familiar, crisp little voice rang out, sweet and excited.
"And here too! This fishing rod is moving too!"
The old man's deep, gruff reply followed, startlingly cheerful:
"Alright, alright, I'll handle it! Don't touch, I can do it myself—hah, this one is really big! I haven't caught such a huge fish in years!"
Lu Junhan lifted his gaze toward the sound.
There, under another parasol, were five or six fishing rods lined along the bank.
Every few seconds, a rod would jerk, and the old man and little Lu Li could be seen running back and forth between them.
She held up the bucket while he reeled in the lines. Together they worked like a pair of clumsy but happy partners—catching, laughing, tossing the fish in, then rushing to the next rod.
They were so caught up in the excitement that neither noticed the tall man standing in the distance, watching with narrowed eyes.
Lu Junhan: "…"