Lucky Star

"None of them were good enough," Natalia said nonchalantly, but her statement made Liam and Sam choke on their breakfasts as they looked at her in disbelief.

Even James was slightly stunned by her statement and looked at her with a complicated look as her standards baffled him.

"Their reactions say otherwise..." George trailed off as he looked at Sam and Liam with a smirk.

"Nat, I agree you are outstanding and very beautiful, but the boys who dared to propose to you were all top hunks of our school, even Nova idolizes them," Sam said in exasperation.

"She is just seven, right?" Lu Chao asked in uncertainty.

"She is, but she was double promoted twice so she is in the same year as us and many students don't know her actual age so..." Sam explained.

"Double promoted twice..." De Jian mumbled absentmindedly.

"Brother and Sister are awfully similar in everything but physical features." Feng Bao sighed in defeat.

"Even Brother Chao was double promoted twice?" Nova asked in shock and surprise.

"Chao-ge, I thought you were more intelligent than me, Mummy said you were better than me," Natalia said as she smirked towards her mother.

"Did I?" De Xi asked in amusement.

"Mummy, your memory is failing you. Aging surely makes one's memory weak." Natalia said in a serious tone, but the mischievous glint in her eyes said otherwise.

"You are indeed right, beware, who knows I might forget you one day." De Xi said airily as she smirked back towards her daughter.

Natalia scoffed in return but did not continue because she knew this was not a winning argument.

"Little Princess, I had promised you my previous week but something unexpected came up and..." De Xi brought up the matter which was bugging her since yesterday, clearly guilty.

"It is alright Mom, don't be guilty. Let's go on a vacation after Brother James's competition, alright?" Natalia quickly pacified her mother and suggested a better idea.

"Sure, let's do that." De Xi said calmly as she took a bite of broccoli and a sip of her Americano.

"Am I being left out again?" an inflated and disappointed tone came from the entrance of the dining room.

Everyone looked at the entrance to see Mother Mu and Mother De, dressed in formal A-line dresses with a diamond and ruby brooch pinned on their left ċhėsts, respectively.

"Grandma!" Natalia exclaimed as she quickly jumped down from her chair and ran towards Mother Mu.

"Little Princess!! Good Morning Sweetheart." Mother Mu engulfed Natalia, who jumped into her embrace warmly.

"Grandma, how come you have grown even more beautiful than we last met?" Natalia said as she ȧssessed Mother Mu like a hooligan.

"Oh, you sweet talker. Now, quick finish up your breakfast, your other Great-grandparents and Grandparents are waiting for you, eagerly." Mother Mu said with a fond smile, as she lightly nudged Natalia back towards her seat.

The latter nodded her head and took her seat, quickly gulping down her remaining breakfast.

"Don't choke yourself. Eat slowly." De Xi chided helplessly and stood up as she was done with her breakfast.

"We are leaving first, you all come over when you are done." De Xi said calmly as she, Mother Mu, and Mother De walked away first.

"My granddaughter is very lovely." Mother De who was with Mother Mu stayed back and walked beside De Xi, with a fond smile on her face as she thought about Natalia.

"Are you not angry at me?" De Xi asked in a calm yet slightly guilty tone.

"Was I supposed to?" Mother De asked back with a serene look.

"Mom, everyone's silence and acceptance is killing me internally." De Xi said honestly, her eyes full of complicated expression and self-depreciation.

"Sweetheart, none of us have the right to be angry at you. We all somehow wronged you back then, and at that time we also lost our right over you." Mother De said in a regretful and bitter tone.

"Maybe you all did not." De Xi said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Mother De asked with a frown and confusion, as she puzzled by her daughter's words.

"Just consider, there is more to the story than you all know." De Xi said calmly, clearly not intending to elaborate anything else.

"You still haven't changed your habit of spinning riddles, have you?" Mother De sighed helplessly as she glared lightly at De Xi, who shrugged her shoulders casually and increased her pace.

"Well tell me, is this dress making me look fat?" Mother De asked as she looked at herself, she was worried about her first impression in front of her youngest grandchild.

"No, it is the fat that is making you look fat." De Xi replied ruthlessly making Mother Mu burst out in laughter.

Mother De was not really surprised or angry, she was instead glad that the years of pain, suffering, and loneliness did not break her daughter, instead, it just made her stronger than before.

The trio reached the living room and De Xi was greeted by familiar faces, with an array of emotions displayed on them.

"Dad" the first person De Xi greeted as soon as she entered the living room was the person she loved and cherished the most, her father.

"Princess, did you miss me?" Father De asked with a fond smile.

"Let me think about it... Not much." De Xi said, and Father De scoffed in annoyance.

She then hugged him with a delighted chuckle. Father De patted her head affectionately with a warm and helpless smile.

"Where is my Little Princess?" Father De asked as he looked around, searching for his granddaughter.

"You knew about Little Princess?" Mother De asked in shock, anger clear in her voice.

"Uhmmm... Well... you can say so..." Father De was caught between a rock and a hard place.

If he said he knew and intentionally hid it from his cherished wife, then his wife might actually divorce him, which would be the end for him.