A moment later, the sound of the shower started.
’I’ve been helping her with the baby, which freed up some time for her. Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t even have a moment to shower.’
Jiang Wanyi was a quick showerer. She was out in just over ten minutes, fast enough to give me a run for my money.
When she returned to the bedroom, she had a face mask on and was wearing a slip nightgown. The dress accentuated her full, curvy figure, giving her a very domestic look.
"You’re tired too. Go get some rest. I’ll take over with her."
Chen Yuan put a finger to his lips, signaling that the baby was almost asleep.
Jiang Wanyi didn’t dare make any sudden moves. She sat on the edge of the bed, watching the baby tenderly.
As Chen Yuan hummed a lullaby and gently patted Mili, Jiang Wanyi found his singing very pleasant.
A few minutes later, Mili was asleep. When he looked over at Jiang Wanyi, he saw that she had dozed off too, even letting out soft, steady snores. She’d completely forgotten to take off her face mask.
’She didn’t sleep well last night and didn’t get much rest during the day, either. It’s understandable that she’d be overwhelmed with sleepiness now that she’s finally relaxed.’
’I’m pretty amazing, lulling both mother and daughter to sleep.’
’Too bad I can’t pat the mother to sleep, though.’
The baby was sleeping soundly with no signs of waking, but he still hadn’t received a notification for task completion.
’Could it be that because Jiang Wanyi is here, the system registered it as a failure?’
’That can’t be it, can it?’
’Let’s check the task again...’
’Do I have to look after her overnight?’
’That’s probably the only explanation. Might as well try.’
Chen Yuan quietly slipped out of the bedroom and went to the bathroom.
He discovered that Jiang Wanyi had not only washed his clothes but had also cleaned his shoes, wrapping the white soles with tissue paper to prevent them from yellowing. She was clearly very experienced with household chores.
First, he carried the baby to the spare bedroom. Then he went to the kitchen to get the temperature-controlled kettle, formula, and a bottle. He also grabbed a few diapers. With that, his preparations for the night were complete.
After finishing all his tasks, Chen Yuan lay down on the bed. There was a message from Song Jianye on his phone.
Song Jianye: "I just thought of something."
Chen Yuan: "What is it?"
Song Jianye: "When you took me to the pet cafe, it wasn’t really because you wanted coffee. You wanted to take me to see the little animals."
Chen Yuan: "We spent the money anyway. We got to drink coffee *and* see little animals. It was a total win."
Song Jianye: "Let me take you to see some little animals tomorrow, too."
Chen Yuan: "Where?"
Song Jianye: "It’s in a park, but I can’t tell you what’s there. I want you to have something to look forward to."
Chen Yuan: "Okay, I’ll message you tomorrow."
Song Jianye: "Okay. Good night. [sticker]"
After chatting with Song Jianye, Chen Yuan scrolled through his phone for a while before falling asleep himself.
He was woken from a daze by the sound of Mili crying. He shot awake—it was already past one in the morning.
He picked up the baby, and thanks to his 100% Affinity, Mili’s cries quieted down considerably.
He expertly prepared a bottle with one hand and fed Mili. After she finished drinking, he burped her, and she went right back to sleep.
The second feeding of the night was at five in the morning.
The sky outside was already growing bright with the breaking dawn.
Chen Yuan soothed the baby, looking at her rosy, chubby little face. He felt the urge to nuzzle her again.
Just then, he heard footsteps, and Jiang Wanyi appeared in the doorway.
Her hair was a mess, and she let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Chen Yuan put a finger to his lips. Jiang Wanyi stayed quiet, her heart a mixture of remorse and relief.
’I don’t even know how I fell asleep last night.’
’Thank goodness for Chen Yuan. Is he a gift from heaven, sent to save me?’
Watching Chen Yuan finish feeding the baby and then burp her, Jiang Wanyi was filled with complex emotions. Her gratitude was beyond words; she truly didn’t know how she could ever thank him enough.
Once the baby was burped and back to sleep, Chen Yuan quietly left the room.
"I was dead to the world last night. I didn’t hear a thing," Jiang Wanyi said, pressing a hand to her forehead, her face filled with unconcealable regret.
’If you hadn’t been sleeping so soundly, I wouldn’t have been able to complete my task.’
"You didn’t sleep well the night before, so you must have been exhausted. It’s completely understandable."
’I completed the task and earned a favor in the process. Two birds with one stone.’
"But this isn’t your responsibility. I can’t keep troubling you."
Jiang Wanyi sat on the sofa, her hand on her forehead.
"I feel like I’ve done nothing all day. You’ve done everything for the baby. I’m such a failure as a mother."
"Didn’t you wash my clothes for me? Don’t worry about it."
"Washing clothes is nothing. Compared to everything you’ve done, it’s not even worth mentioning."
Finding a hair tie, Jiang Wanyi twisted her hair up into a bun and said, "You must not have slept well at all. Go get some sleep. I’ll watch the baby."
"I got a few hours in, so I’m not tired. Besides, it’s already light out; I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep now anyway."
"It must be nice to be young. I pulled an all-nighter yesterday, and I was so dizzy when I woke up. What do you want for breakfast? I’ll go buy something."
"Anything’s fine. I’m not picky."
Afterward, they took turns getting ready, and by then, Chen Yuan’s clothes were dry.
At six in the morning, a prompt appeared.
[Task Complete: Reward 1,000 yuan cash, Kidney Function +5%]
Chen Yuan felt his kidneys grow a little warm. ’This time it wasn’t a dog licking them.’
"Look at this."
When Chen Yuan came out of the bathroom, Jiang Wanyi was holding a storage bag in front of him.
"It’s almost 200ml."
"To express this much in one night... it’s still not a lot, but it’s much more than before."
"Do you think this is all I’ll be able to produce?"
Chen Yuan glanced at her chest.
"I think you’ve got a lot of potential. I’m sure you can produce more."
Jiang Wanyi laughed. "Size doesn’t equal quantity. They’re two completely different things."
"Even if you don’t believe in yourself, you have to believe in me. I performed the massage just once yesterday and there was already clear progress."
"That’s true," she admitted. "I do have a lot of faith in your abilities."
A little while later, the breakfast Jiang Wanyi had ordered arrived. Just as they finished eating, the baby woke up.
They looked after the baby together, and the morning flew by without them feeling too tired.
Chen Yuan planned out his day: he would give Jiang Wanyi another massage while the baby was down for her afternoon nap, and then he would go see the little animals with Song Jianye in the afternoon.
[System Task: Make a lactation-promoting soup for Jiang Wanyi. Reward: 1,100 yuan cash, Memory +5%]
’Not a bad reward.’
At noon, Jiang Wanyi breastfed the baby by herself, without supplementing with formula.
The baby must have been extra hungry, because she not only finished the fresh supply but also dipped into the reserves.
Jiang Wanyi had learned how to burp the baby herself, and not wanting to trouble Chen Yuan any further, she didn’t ask him to put the baby down for her nap.
’This was perfect for Chen Yuan. It freed him up to complete his task.’
He went to the fridge, took out a crucian carp, and started preparing a soup, adding a bit of tongcao pith as well.
In addition, he used a special electric kettle to brew a pot of Seven Treasures Water, using seven traditional medicinal ingredients including tongcao, fig, astragalus root, and jujube. Combining the two would double the effectiveness.
After putting the baby to sleep, Jiang Wanyi came out of the room just in time to see Chen Yuan busy in the kitchen.
His posture was upright, his expression focused.
’He knows how to cook, too?’
Jiang Wanyi found herself staring, a little lost in the moment...
’The girl who ends up with him is going to be impossibly happy, isn’t she?’