Reborn in the 80s: My Whole Family Secretly Hears My Thoughts and Goes Wild with Success! - Chapter 89

[Ah! The little demon knows everything I’m thinking—does that mean I have no secrets left?!]

[No, no, this is too scary! I have to stay far away from him from now on!]

Hearing Ya Ya’s inner thoughts, Huo Jiusi tightened his grip on her tiny fist as she tried to pull away. His violet-blue eyes darkened into a deep purple, making his already fair skin appear even paler under the light, almost as if it shimmered faintly.

Ya Ya panicked instantly, so frightened that she let out a string of meows: [Oh no, oh no! The little demon’s true form is showing! Meow-meow-meow-meow, what do I do, what do I do?!]

[Is he going to eat me?! I don’t taste good—doesn’t he know cat meat is sour? Wait, no, I’m human now! Human meat is even worse to eat!]

[Right, right—he can read minds. He can hear everything I’m thinking.]

Forcing herself to calm down, Ya Ya locked eyes with Huo Jiusi: [Little demon, stay calm! Don’t do something you’ll regret forever. I’m warning you, if you keep this up, they’ll drag you off to a lab for experiments!]

[Did you hear me? Give me some kind of reaction, will you?!]

“Ya Ya, I won’t allow it.” Huo Jiusi gently cupped her little face with his other hand. “Have you forgotten what the Taoist priest said? Our fates are bound. You can’t stay away from me.”

[Huh? So that’s what this is about? I was just joking—why are you taking it so seriously? And you said you wouldn’t pick up bad habits from my dad, yet here you are, just as clueless about sarcasm. So boring.]

Ya Ya rolled her eyes at him: [Stupid little demon, let go of me right now! You’re hurting me, you know that? If you don’t let go, I’ll really ignore you!]

Huo Jiusi heard these last two lines clearly and immediately released her, only to see a red mark circling her tiny wrist.

Guilt instantly washed over him. “Ya Ya, I’m sorry,” he apologized in a hurry.

Ya Ya waved her hand dismissively, signaling that she wouldn’t hold it against him.

His eyes returning to their usual violet-blue, Huo Jiusi carefully cradled her little hand and blew softly on the reddened skin. “Ya Ya, does it hurt badly? Wait here, I’ll go get some medicine.”

Ya Ya grabbed his finger, shook her tiny fist, then patted her stomach with her other hand—she was hungry.

“Then I’ll make you some milk first. After you drink it, I’ll apply the medicine, okay?”

Ya Ya shook her fist again in agreement.

After finishing her milk, Huo Jiusi gently spread ointment over the red mark and reminded her, “Ya Ya, no more chewing on your hand, okay? If you really want to, don’t chew this one.”

Ya Ya had a habit of gnawing on her fingers—mostly because, at her age, there wasn’t much else to do besides nibbling on her hands or grabbing her feet.

[Got it, got it. Now read me a book, I’m so bored.]

She tugged on Huo Jiusi’s finger, and suddenly, he realized he could hear her thoughts more clearly than ever before.

Even when they’d been this close before, he hadn’t always been able to hear her inner voice. Sometimes it was fragmented, sometimes muffled.

To test his theory, Huo Jiusi kept one hand holding the book while the other stayed wrapped around Ya Ya’s little hand as he read to her.

Ya Ya let out a big yawn: [These stories really are hypnotic. They always make me sleepy.]

[Little demon, what’s with your obsession for fairy tales? Why do you love reading them to me so much?]

[You were like this before too—always reciting The Frog Prince to me every day. What, did you want me to turn human like the Frog Prince?]

[Besides, fairy tales are just for fooling children. They’re so morally questionable—I don’t like them.]

[What I like is you…]

Ya Ya’s mental grumbling stopped abruptly. Seeing that she’d fallen asleep, Huo Jiusi stood up and tucked the blanket around her.

That last sentence echoed in his mind, making his face grow hotter by the second.

“Jiusi, is Ya Ya asleep?”

Shen Zhiqiu tiptoed over, startling Huo Jiusi, who stammered, “Ah—yes, Auntie Shen.”

“Jiusi, I’m sorry—did I scare you?”

It was rare to see Huo Jiusi flustered, and Shen Zhiqiu couldn’t help but chuckle. She reached out toward his face. “Jiusi, what’s wrong? Your face is so red.”

“Auntie Shen, it’s nothing.” Huo Jiusi hurriedly excused himself. “I’m going back to my room.”

“What’s up with that kid?”

Shen Zhiqiu turned her gaze to Ya Ya, who always looked like a perfect little doll when asleep.

Her heart melted instantly. Leaning down, she kissed Ya Ya’s soft cheek.

Ya Ya giggled in her sleep, as if dreaming of something delightful, and Shen Zhiqiu smiled in response.

After turning off the light, Shen Zhiqiu joined Ye Yunlin and Li Shuying, who were sitting in the courtyard enjoying the cool evening breeze. The two were discussing whether they should buy additional gifts for their upcoming visit to the Yue family on Sunday.

Shen Zhiqiu sat beside Li Shuying. “Uncle, Auntie, there’s no need. You’ve already brought so many local specialties from home—I think those are perfect.”

Li Shuying patted Shen Zhiqiu’s hand. “Zhiqiu, relationships thrive on mutual courtesy. Your in-laws gave us such expensive gifts—we can’t reciprocate with something vastly inferior.”

“What we brought is fresh and genuine, but compared to your in-laws’ presents, it’s practically nothing. If we show up with just these local goods, your in-laws might look down on us.”

“Your uncle and I are your family now. This is our first visit—we can’t let your in-laws think we lack manners.”

“The stronger your family’s standing, the less likely you’ll be mistreated in your marital home.”

Touched by their concern, Shen Zhiqiu still felt it unnecessary. “Uncle, Auntie, my in-laws aren’t the type to nitpick. Even when Shen Daqiang and Wang Fengqin acted so disgracefully before, they never said a word.”

“Just because they don’t say anything doesn’t mean they don’t think anything. Your in-laws are refined people—of course they won’t fuss over trivial matters. But that doesn’t mean others won’t notice or gossip behind your back, especially since you live in that compound. You have to be mindful of everything.”

“Auntie, I understand.”

Shen Zhiqiu looped her arm through Li Shuying’s. “Auntie, how about I take you and Uncle to the department store tomorrow to look around?”

Li Shuying nodded. “Sounds good.”

Shen Zhiqiu then turned to Ye Yunlin. “Uncle, Mingyuan called earlier. He wanted me to ask—have you considered transitioning your farm’s dairy into something else?”

“Transition how? Does Mingyuan have any ideas?”

“He said people are becoming more conscious about scientific child-rearing, which means more parents will feed their babies formula, just like we do with Ya Ya.”

“Infant formula could be a promising direction…”