Xiong Yibai heard those sincere words, and an even gentler smile bloomed on her face.
She didn’t say anything, simply raising her hand to gently wipe away the lingering tear at the corner of Feng Miwan’s eye with her fingertip.
Their interaction was fully witnessed by everyone else in the VIP box.
Ren Queyue and Zhao Shutong stood to the side, their faces lit up with unmasked auntie smiles as they exchanged knowing glances of delight.
Xiong Daichuan and Shen Yong exchanged a few quiet words, then looked at the pair with pleased smiles, nodding to each other.
Meanwhile, Feng Shouzhuo and Shen Qingyun’s smiles gradually turned to confusion.
They watched as their daughter rushed into the arms of that unfamiliar yet beautiful girl the moment she entered, crying and laughing while saying such things… This… this didn’t look like an ordinary friendship at all!
Moreover, from the moment she walked in, her daughter’s eyes hadn’t left that girl—not even a greeting for them, let alone a word to Ren Queyue, whom they’d assumed was the prospective son-in-law standing nearby!
Shen Qingyun couldn’t hold back and lightly tugged Feng Shouzhuo’s sleeve, frantically signaling with her eyes:
What’s going on here?
Who is that girl?
Did we… get something wrong?
Xiong Yibai keenly noticed everyone’s gazes and whispered a reminder:
“Alright, stop crying. Everyone’s watching.”
Feng Miwan finally snapped back to reality, remembering this wasn’t just her private world with Yibai.
She quickly wiped her face again, turned around, and looked at the others in the box with some embarrassment.
She first turned to her parents:
“Dad, Mom! I won!”
Then, her gaze fell on Xiong Daichuan and Shen Yong, and she greeted them obediently:
“Uncle Xiong, Auntie Shen.”
Her tone was filled with surprise—she clearly hadn’t expected her parents to actually show up here.
Shen Qingyun looked at her daughter’s rare childlike expression, feeling both proud and heartbroken. She stepped forward to smooth out her daughter’s helmet-mussed hair and smiled:
“What kind of talk is that? Your brother said so much; how could we as parents not come?”
Feng Miwan caught the key phrase and blinked curiously: “Huh? What exactly did my brother say?”
Shen Qingyun opened her mouth, then remembered the setting and felt it wasn’t appropriate to say it outright. She swallowed her words and just patted her daughter’s arm:
“Nothing much. Anyway… we came to cheer you on.”
Seeing her mom reluctant to elaborate, Feng Miwan didn’t press and turned to Xiong Daichuan and Shen Yong instead, greeting them sweetly:
“Uncle Xiong, Auntie Shen, you came too! Thanks for watching my race!”
Xiong Daichuan smiled with genuine gratification:
“Yes, Xiaowan, congratulations! You won that one beautifully!”
Shen Yong nodded with a smile, her tone softer than usual:
“Congratulations, Xiaowan.”
Next, Feng Miwan’s gaze landed on Zhao Shutong and Ren Queyue standing nearby, her excitement surging again.
She spread her arms and pounced toward Zhao Shutong:
“Shutong! Did you see? I won! Annual Grand Champion!”
Zhao Shutong laughed and raised a hand to block her “assault,” teasing:
“Hey, hey, mind your manners! You just hugged your Yibai, and now you’re coming for me?”
Even as she said it, she happily grabbed Feng Miwan’s hand:
“But really, congratulations, Miwan! That was amazing!”
The two ended up happily holding hands and spinning in place for two circles.
Finally, Feng Miwan turned to Ren Queyue:
“Sister Queyue! I won!”
Ren Queyue also showed a sincere smile and nodded:
“Mm.”
She was about to add a few more words of congrats, like “Well-deserved” or “So impressive.”
Just then, Feng Shouzhuo spoke up, his voice full of disbelief:
“Queyue… jie?! You’re calling her… jie?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but in the relatively quiet box, it rang out clearly, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.
Ren Queyue was stunned by the question and answered instinctively:
“Yeah, Uncle Feng. I’m a few years older than Miwan; she’s always called me jie.”
She wondered inwardly: What’s the problem with that?
Shen Qingyun’s heart sank with a cry of “Oh no!” She plastered on a smile, hurried forward, grabbed her husband’s arm and pinched it hard, then smoothed things over for everyone:
“Ah, it’s nothing! My husband… he’s just too excited, his throat’s acting up—choked! Yeah, he choked!”
Then, she half-dragged, half-pulled the still-dazed Feng Shouzhuo behind a potted plant in the corner of the box and whispered:
“We got it wrong, all wrong! Old Feng! I see it now—that Ren Queyue is a girl! A young lady! We all misunderstood! What Yuxiao said wasn’t about her at all!”
Feng Shouzhuo was dazed by this sudden revelation and subconsciously asked:
“If not her, then… who?”
The couple both fell into thought, then, as if by telepathy, they simultaneously and discreetly shifted their gazes to Xiong Yibai, who stood not far away with a gentle smile on her lips, watching intently as Feng Miwan and Zhao Shutong goofed around.
They exchanged a glance, both seeing the complexity in each other’s eyes. Feng Shouzhuo whispered:
“Another girl…”
He paused, then furrowed his brows at another possibility:
“Could it be… that kid Yuxiao was lying to us? Trying to trick us into coming back?”
Shen Qingyun thought it possible too and nodded:
“Yeah, we’ll have to grill him properly when we see him!”
Just then, Feng Miwan’s voice sounded behind them:
“Dad? Mom? What are you two whispering about over here?”
The couple jumped in surprise and whipped around, forcing stiff smiles onto their faces.
Shen Qingyun spoke first: “What’s up, Miwan?”
Feng Miwan found their behavior odd, but it wasn’t the time to probe. She said:
“Nothing, just letting you know—I’ve got to go collect my award.”
Feng Shouzhuo quickly chimed in:
“Oh, oh, got it! Go on then! Don’t hold up the important stuff!”
Feng Miwan gave them another strange look but didn’t dwell on it. She turned to Xiong Yibai, reached out, and took her hand:
“Yibai, come with me.”
Xiong Yibai looked into her sparkling eyes and smiled with a nod: “Okay.”
Hand in hand, the two left the box together.
