novelz
Chapter 209
Chapter 209
A small, radiant yellow chicken, dazzlingly colorful, strutted proudly through the air, its luminous glow standing out against the darkness of the night.
Ji Nian stood rooted to the spot, her schoolbag slipping unnoticed from her hand and falling to the ground. She tilted her head back, watching wide-eyed as the distant chicken swayed its way toward her.
As it drew closer, Ji Nian realized it wasn’t actually floating in mid-air. Beneath it was a bamboo pole, held and manipulated by someone’s hand.
And the person holding the chicken lantern, slowly approaching her, had the same pair of deep green eyes Ji Nian saw every morning in the mirror.
Even with the whimsical little chicken lantern in hand, the man’s imposing aura remained undiminished.
"Did Dad make this?"
Ji Nian exclaimed in delight, jogging over and looking up at the lantern in Ji Tingzhou’s grasp.
Suddenly, ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????the exhaustion of the day didn’t seem so heavy anymore.
"How does it compare to the old man’s?"
Noticing the child’s eager hands and the awe in her eyes, Ji Tingzhou seemed pleased with her reaction. He raised the lantern slightly higher.
Ji Nian didn’t hesitate. "Of course yours is better! That grandpa’s lantern wasn’t this shiny!"
At her unreserved praise, Ji Tingzhou’s lips curved slightly as he handed the lantern to her.
The bamboo pole was just the right thickness for Ji Nian to grip comfortably.
"Wow!"
Up close, she noticed the chicken’s body and tail were separate pieces, allowing them to sway. And the feathers were adorned with tiny gems, making them sparkle with every movement.
Ji Nian adored handmade things like this—she was always the most diligent in her crafts class.
"You drew the design too, right? It’s so beautiful. I love it! Thank you, Dad!"
After admiring it for a moment, she beamed and threw herself into Ji Tingzhou’s arms, giggling uncontrollably.
She hadn’t expected that when Ji Tingzhou asked if she liked it, he meant he would make one for her himself.
"Hehehe, it’s so pretty!"
Seeing how genuinely thrilled she was, Ji Tingzhou watched as she held the lantern high, mesmerized by the chicken’s wiggling tail, her eyes crinkling into crescents as she lost herself in delight.
He signaled for the corridor’s floor lights to be turned on—just enough to illuminate her path without overshadowing the lantern’s glow.
"Don’t run too fast."
"And don’t hold it with your right hand."
Ji Tingzhou called out a couple of reminders as Ji Nian dashed off, the lantern bobbing in her grasp. Then, his lips quirked faintly.
Though he’d washed his hands nearly twenty times during and after making the lantern, scrubbing his fingers raw, seeing her radiant joy made it all worth it.
Ji Nian was utterly enchanted. Even with her right hand injured, she clutched the lantern tightly in her left, running around and proudly telling everyone Ji Tingzhou had made it for her.
The servants chuckled warmly, crouching down to admire the little chicken lantern and shower her with praise.
Wei Yang happily snapped several photos of her—a rare occurrence, as Ji Nian usually wasn’t one for posing.
"Dad, can I keep it by my bed tonight? I want it to sleep with me!"
Breathless from play, Ji Nian ran back to Ji Tingzhou, clutching her precious lantern.
Wei Yang chimed in, "Won’t leaving it on all night burn the paper?"
In response, Ji Tingzhou deftly reached into the chicken’s rear, fiddled with something, and the light instantly went out.
"There’s a switch inside."
He motioned for Ji Nian to take a look.
Ji Nian: "………What a… clever placement."
Wei Yang nodded with a grimace.
Just then, Zhiliao arrived, smoothing Ji Nian’s wind-tousled hair as she informed Ji Tingzhou, "The Chen elders are about to leave."
Ji Tingzhou suddenly remembered something and explained to Ji Nian that Old Master Chen had contributed to the lantern’s creation. Though his injury prevented him from working on it directly, his verbal guidance had saved Ji Tingzhou countless missteps.
Hearing this, Ji Nian’s eyes lit up. Clutching the lantern, she sprinted off to find Old Master Chen.
The elderly man, seated in a wheelchair pushed by a Chen Family bodyguard, was just about to depart when hurried footsteps approached from behind.
Turning in confusion, he saw Ji Nian racing toward him, the lantern in hand, her hair bouncing behind her.
"Dad said you helped him make the lantern!"
Ji Nian skidded to a stop, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she grinned.
Old Master Chen stiffened slightly, averting his gaze. "…That wasn’t much help. Just a few words. You—"
Before he could finish, Ji Nian suddenly threw her arms around him. "Grandpa! Thank you! I love it so much!!"
The child’s soft, warm hug caught him completely off guard. His eyes widened, his entire body freezing in shock.
By the time he recovered, Ji Nian was already gone.
Only after exiting the Ji Family’s gates did Old Master Chen slowly regain his composure. He turned to Old Lady Chen, who was smiling knowingly beside him. "That child… what did she just call me?"
Old Lady Chen teased, "What else? ‘Old Man Chen,’ of course."
Old Master Chen huffed. "Nonsense! She clearly said ‘Grandpa’!"
At the word, he paused, then puffed out his chest with a smug little hum.
"Just a paper lantern. I can make even prettier ones. Let’s dig out my old tools when we get back."
"Oh? I thought you’d ‘sealed them away forever.’ Lifting the ban now?"
"Sealed nothing… I just hadn’t felt like it before…"
...
This unexpected gift had filled Ji Nian with boundless happiness.
Even Ji Tingzhou found her reaction a bit excessive. Sure, he’d made it himself, and it was certainly eye-catching—but her joy seemed disproportionate.
The system shared his puzzlement. When Ji Nian opted to walk to her lab instead of taking a car, claiming she needed to "walk off her excitement," it finally asked.
After a moment’s thought, Ji Nian admitted she might have been a little too enthusiastic.
[Maybe… because a younger version of me finally got her wish.]
Many, many years ago, in her original world—
When her parents first began their explosive, large-scale arguments, they forgot to pick Ji Nian up from school.
It was winter. A festival was underway in the nearby streets, and little Ji Nian, alone, tried to walk home along the route she remembered. She ended up caught in a parade.
Among the crowd was a child perched on his father’s shoulders, proudly holding up a paper lantern, grinning toothily with two missing front teeth.
It was a goldfish lantern.
Its tail swayed, beautiful and warm.
Tiny Ji Nian stood by the roadside, her thin shoes soaked through with snow, shivering violently—yet unable to tear her envious gaze away.
A passing adult, noticing her disheveled, underdressed state, stopped to ask where her parents were.
Back then, young and fiercely proud, Ji Nian blinked back tears and forced a smile. "They went to buy me a lantern. They’ll be back soon."
Ji Nian offered only a brief explanation, mentioning she’d always wanted one as a child—leaving the deeper story untold.
Thinking about Ji Nian's family situation in her past life, the system fell silent.
Even without saying it outright, it could probably guess those weren’t happy memories.
["Aren’t we going to analyze the substance in that little bottle? Let’s hurry, or it’ll be past your bedtime."]
["Chen Mo is coming tomorrow. You can show him your lamp."]
Stepping on a green leaf blown down by the wind, Ji Nian blinked.
She thought to herself—the system had learned to comfort people now.