They arrived home.
"You go play with the baby for a bit. I’ll put these things away."
"Thanks for taking care of it."
"Don’t mention it."
Jiang Wanyi carried the baby over to the playpen. Chen Yuan brought the shopping into the kitchen, separated the baby and maternal supplies, and set aside the groceries.
"Um..."
Chen Yuan looked at Jiang Wanyi, and she looked back at him.
"What is it?"
"You don’t mind if I open the fridge, do you?"
"Of course not. Make yourself at home."
Chen Yuan’s respect for boundaries earned him quite a few points with Jiang Wanyi. She put the baby down in the playpen and walked into the kitchen.
"Let me do this. You’re tired, go rest for a bit."
Jiang Wanyi stepped between Chen Yuan and the shopping bags. With her back to him, she pulled her bra out of a bag and quickly ducked into the bedroom.
’So that’s what she was really after.’
After dropping it in the bedroom, Jiang Wanyi came right back out.
"I’ll handle this. You go rest for a while."
It wasn’t that Jiang Wanyi was afraid of Chen Yuan seeing inside her fridge. This wasn’t a skilled task; she just genuinely wanted him to get some more rest.
"Will your wrist be okay?"
Chen Yuan’s question made Jiang Wanyi falter. A sudden, inexplicable sorrow welled up inside her.
After giving birth, she hadn’t recovered properly during her postpartum confinement, leaving her with a host of minor ailments.
Her wrist couldn’t handle anything cold for more than five minutes, or else it would start to ache intensely.
She never told her parents about these issues, afraid she’d make them worry. She’d always insisted her postpartum recovery had gone great and that her old aches and pains had vanished. In reality, they hadn’t just lingered—they’d gotten worse.
"How did you know..."
"This afternoon, when you were putting breast milk in the fridge and tidying up, I noticed you were wearing gloves. I just guessed."
That initial deluge of knowledge, while it hadn’t granted him a specific skill, had filled his head with a ton of childcare experience.
Most women’s joints don’t fully recover after childbirth. If they come into contact with cold things, their wrists will ache intensely.
"You’re right, I didn’t recover properly. The medicine I got from the hospital doesn’t really help."
"Medicine isn’t very effective for this sort of thing. It’s all about letting your body heal properly."
"You’re so experienced. Is there really no other effective solution?"
"There is one. Have a second baby and make sure you recover properly that time."
Jiang Wanyi burst out laughing.
"Then it’s a deal. I’ll come find you when I decide to have a second baby."
"Huh? Find me to *have* a second baby? I just started college!"
"You brat, what are you talking about?"
Jiang Wanyi was so amused she could barely contain herself, her chest heaving with laughter as she spoke.
"I mean, if I have another baby, I’ll hire you to look after me during my recovery, no matter the cost. I’m sure you could nurse me back to health."
"You gave me a scare. For a second there, I thought I’d hit the jackpot."
His previous joke hadn’t bothered her, but hearing him say he’d "hit the jackpot" made Jiang Wanyi blush.
"You brat. Come on, help me with this."
Chen Yuan opened the freezer and glanced inside. It was half-empty and a little disorganized.
Item by item, Chen Yuan took everything out and rearranged it, creating much more space in the process.
Jiang Wanyi hadn’t planned on staying, but she found watching Chen Yuan work was strangely addictive.
He worked with a neat and meticulous efficiency that she found captivating. ’Kids his age, boys and girls alike, are usually spoiled growing up,’ she mused. ’They rarely have such strong life skills. Someone like him is a rare find.’
After putting the meat in the freezer, Chen Yuan opened the main refrigerator compartment. It was filled with eggs, milk, fruit, and some vegetables, and looked even more cluttered.
But among all that, he also spotted two pairs of nude-colored pantyhose.
’You can put these in the fridge?’
"Keeping them chilled in the fridge makes them more durable."
Jiang Wanyi explained.
’Boys his age always seem to be interested in women’s pantyhose, especially the black ones.’
"Well, you learn something new every day."
"You finish up here. I’m going to check on the baby."
"Mm."
Jiang Wanyi left, and Chen Yuan finished putting everything into the fridge.
[System Mission: As a qualified Super Dad, it is your duty and obligation to clean a human cub’s poop. Complete one poop-cleanup operation. Reward: 800 yuan cash, Professional-Grade Cooking Techniques.]
’This skill is great. It’ll go perfectly with that cookbook.’
He reread the mission details. There were no special requirements. The only real challenge would be getting over the mental block.
’But it’s just a little kid. Shouldn’t be a big deal.’
He had no idea when he’d get to complete this mission, though. The opportunity would have to present itself.
Subconsciously, Chen Yuan looked at Mili and found her lying motionless on the playmat, staring at him.
The knowledge in his mind told him Mili was probably straining.
Chen Yuan was at least ninety percent sure he knew what she was doing.
Meanwhile, Jiang Wanyi sat contentedly nearby, still clueless about what was happening.
Seeing Chen Yuan come over, Jiang Wanyi shuffled to the side a bit.
"Come, sit down and rest for a bit. Help yourself to any drinks or fruit in the fridge, don’t be a stranger."
"I’m not really tired. I came over to see the baby."
"I’ve noticed Mili seems to really like you. While you were working just now, she just stared at you without moving."
"Want to guess why she was staring at me?"
"Are you trying to say you’re so handsome that my daughter has a crush on you?" Jiang Wanyi teased with a smile.
"You’re failing as a mother," Chen Yuan said, laughing. "Go check her diaper."
"Why?"
Jiang Wanyi didn’t understand, but she did as he said.
She didn’t even have to touch it. The moment she leaned in, Jiang Wanyi knew something was off. She could smell it.
"You were in the kitchen working the whole time. How did you know?"
"When she’s lying completely still like that, it means she’s straining."
Jiang Wanyi was once again shocked by Chen Yuan’s experience.
’I’m such a useless mom.’
Chen Yuan lifted Mili out of the playpen.
Looking a little flustered, Jiang Wanyi followed Chen Yuan into the bathroom.
The bathroom was a bit messy, which was understandable.
"Grab a fresh diaper, a plastic bag, and the wet wipes."
"Oh, oh, I’ll go get them."
Soon, Jiang Wanyi brought over the things Chen Yuan needed.
He tore off the soiled diaper. Jiang Wanyi, quick on the uptake, held open the plastic bag, and Chen Yuan tossed it inside.
Next, he cleaned her bottom with a wet wipe. Holding the baby with one arm, he spread her legs and gave her a quick rinse with warm water and baby wash. After drying her off, he put on a fresh diaper. The entire process was neat, efficient, and took less than five minutes.
The whole time, Jiang Wanyi stood by, taking it all in.
The shock Chen Yuan gave her was comparable to watching an undergraduate get published in a top-tier academic journal.
[Mission Complete: Reward: 800 yuan cash, Professional-Grade Cooking Techniques.]