Wanwan blinked her eyes, an image of herself lying in an ocean of sparklers floating into her mind.
"Really?"
"Really. I'm your husband, and a husband doesn't lie to his wife."
Chen Zhi made the empty promise without blushing or skipping a beat.
Lin Wanwan was instantly cured.
She nodded vigorously, a bright smile blooming on her face again. She even took the initiative to pat Chen Zhi's pocket, afraid that the "seeds" inside might fall out.
"Then we have to hide them well, we can't let Mom find out!"
"Yeah, hide them well."
Chen Zhi took Lin Wanwan's hand and swaggered toward the bedroom under the loving gazes of the three adults.
The moment the door closed.
Chen Zhi leaned against it and let out a long breath.
The parents and childhood sweethearts of this generation were just too hard to manage.
He took the two thick red envelopes out of his pocket and skillfully rubbed the seals open with his fingers.
The brand-new pink banknotes emitted a charming scent of ink.
Chen Zhi counted them.
Adding what his uncle had given him and what he had previously "hustled" from his grandparents, his total assets had already broken through the five-thousand mark.
In this era, five thousand yuan was absolutely a massive fortune for a three-and-a-half-year-old child.
Just as Chen Zhi was immersed in the joy of counting money.
A chubby little hand reached over and grabbed the corner of one of the bills.
Lin Wanwan squatted in front of him, holding a piece of chocolate she had pulled out from who knows where in her other hand, with black crumbs still stuck to the corners of her mouth.
"Zhizhi, can this red paper really grow sparklers?"
She was still a little unsure; after all, the temptation of sparklers was too great.
Chen Zhi calmly pulled the banknote back and folded it up again.
"It can. But it needs fertilizer."
"What is fertilizer?"
"Fertilizer is..." Chen Zhi pointed at the chocolate in her hand. "If you give me all your delicious food to eat, the money will grow faster."
Lin Wanwan froze.
She looked at the chocolate in her hand, then at Chen Zhi.
This was a difficult choice between appetite and faith.
A few seconds later.
She steeled her heart, closed her eyes, and stuffed the remaining half of the chocolate into Chen Zhi's mouth.
"For you to eat! They all have to grow into sparklers!"
A bitter yet sweet and rich taste spread in his mouth.
Chewing the chocolate, Chen Zhi looked at the silly little girl in front of him, and a sudden, inexplicable sense of guilt rose in his heart.
But this guilt was quickly washed away by the deliciousness of the chocolate.
"Don't worry," Chen Zhi said indistinctly, reaching out to wipe the crumbs from the corners of her mouth.
"From now on, I've got your back."
Outside the bedroom, the sound of adults clinking glasses could be faintly heard.
Inside the bedroom, two tiny figures squatted head-to-head on the floor, guarding a pile of red banknotes like two little squirrels guarding pine cones.
Just then.
An urgent knocking sound suddenly came from the living room.
Following that was the anxious voice of their neighbor, Uncle Lin.
"Lao Chen! Is Lao Chen there? Did my Wanwan run over to your house? I just took my eyes off her for a second and she disappeared!"
Lin Wanwan jerked her head up, a flash of panic crossing her little face.
"Oh no! Daddy is here to catch me!"
She scrambled to stand up, but because her legs had gone numb from squatting too long, she plopped right down onto Chen Zhi's lap.
Chen Zhi let out a muffled groan from the weight.
Before he could push this little dumpling away, the bedroom door was violently pushed open.
Lin Shuxian stood at the door, followed by an anxious-looking Lin Jing.
The gazes of the adults from both families landed squarely on the center of the bedroom.
They saw Chen Zhi sitting on the floor with his back against the door, Lin Wanwan sitting in his lap, and hundred-yuan bills scattered all over the floor around them.
That scene.
It looked exactly like a wealthy local tyrant using money to corrupt a girl from a good family.
Lin Shuxian's mouth twitched violently.
"This..."
Chen Zhi closed his eyes in despair.
Now, even if he jumped into the Yellow River, he wouldn't be able to wash himself clean of this.
The air froze, as if even the dust had stopped floating.
Lin Shuxian stared at the pink banknotes all over the floor, looked at the chocolate stains on his daughter's mouth, and finally fixed his gaze on the calm-looking little boy.
This was clearly a local rich man using money to corrupt an ignorant young girl.
"Daddy!"
Lin Wanwan reacted first.
She hid the crumpled chocolate foil she was clutching in her hand behind her back.
The muscles in Lin Shuxian's cheeks twitched twice.
"Wanwan, get up quickly."
Lin Jing was more open-minded. She walked in with a smile, squatted down, and used a handkerchief to wipe Lin Wanwan's mouth.
"Oh, eating all by yourself? Is this the delicious food you were talking about?"
Lin Wanwan shrank her neck guiltily, but then pointed righteously at Chen Zhi.
"My husband bought it for me!"
Lin Shuxian's face, which had just calmed down, instantly turned dark again.
He turned around and stared at Chen Zhi with a burning gaze.
"Little friend Chen Zhi, can you explain to Uncle what a husband means?"
This question required a serious answer.
If answered too maturely, he would be treated like a monster; if answered too childishly, he would be treated like a hooligan.
Chen Zhi neatly stacked the pile of banknotes, stuffed them into his pocket, and then looked up with a face full of innocent naivety.
"Uncle said that a husband is someone who helps his wife manage her money and then buys her candy to eat."
He didn't hesitate to throw Zhang Jianguo under the bus.
"Uncle also said that as long as you give enough money, you can bring a wife home."
Cough, cough, cough.
In the living room, Zhang Jianguo choked on a sip of water he had just taken, his face turning the color of pig liver.
Zhang Guifang rushed out of the kitchen holding a spatula and slapped her brother on the back of the head.
"Zhang Jianguo! What kind of nonsense are you teaching the child!"
The room was once again filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
Lin Shuxian was amused by these innocent words, and his tense nerves relaxed.
He pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, looking at Chen Zhi's little adult appearance, and actually felt a bit of fondness in his heart.
This kid was smart and not easily intimidated.
He was much better than his own silly daughter who only knew how to eat.
"Alright, alright, don't just stand there," Zhang Guifang called out. "The food is ready. Lao Lin, Xiao Jing, since you're here, don't leave. Let's eat together. Jianguo brought back some good wine."
"How could we..."
Just as Lin Jing was about to politely decline, Lin Wanwan had already taken her short little legs and familiarly climbed onto a chair by the dining table.
"I want to eat ribs!"
Lin Shuxian shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly at Chen Jun.
"A family misfortune, a family misfortune. This girl has been completely bought over by your boy."
The two families sat around the round table.
Steaming braised pork ribs, steamed sea bass, and oil-braised prawns filled the entire table.
Chen Zhi sat next to Lin Wanwan.
He didn't rush to use his chopsticks, but first picked up the biggest piece of rib and placed it into Lin Wanwan's bowl.
"Eat."
This action once again won the clicking praises of the adults at the table.
"Look at this, look at this awareness."
Zhang Jianguo held his wine glass, his face completely red. "From now on, if anyone says Zhizhi isn't sensible, I'll be the first to disagree. What is this called? This is called doting on your wife!"
The dinner ended in a lively atmosphere.
Lin Wanwan's belly was round from eating, and she clung to Chen Zhi, refusing to leave.
"I'm not going home! I want to play with Zhizhi!"
She hugged Chen Zhi's arm, hanging onto him like a koala.
Lin Jing didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she stepped forward to pry the girl's hands away.
"Wanwan, be a good girl. Brother Zhizhi needs to take a shower and go to bed. You can come over and play again tomorrow."
"No! Zhizhi smells so good! He smells like money!"
Lin Wanwan's words were quite astonishing.
Chen Zhi let out a helpless sigh.
This little girl was definitely going to grow up to be a money-grubber.
He leaned in close to Lin Wanwan's ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Go home for now. I promise I will play with you all day tomorrow."
"Really?"
Lin Wanwan looked at him skeptically.
"I'm a puppy if I lie to you."
Having received his promise, Lin Wanwan finally let go of him with great reluctance.
"Well, if you dare to lie to me, I'll..."
She thought for a long time but couldn't come up with any fierce threats. Finally, she blurted out, "I'll eat you up!"
After seeing off the three members of the Lin family and his uncle, the house finally quieted down.
Chen Zhi returned to his bedroom and locked the door behind him.
He emptied all the red envelopes from his pockets. Together with the ones he had hidden under his bed earlier, he had a total of five thousand three hundred and twenty yuan.