Jin Qiao noticed him trembling, so she gently patted his back to help him relax.
“If you’re really scared, I can have Uncle Driver take you home first.”
The moment he heard his mom mention going home, Yu Siyu quickly shook his head.
Seeing his eyes red again, on the verge of tears, Jin Qiao’s heart melted. Before she knew it, he blurted out the words “Mom.”
“Okay, okay, don’t cry. Mom will take you to eat something delicious. It’s okay, it’s okay. Nothing to be afraid of—Mom’s here.”
After saying it, Jin Qiao herself felt a little dazed.
When she first arrived in this world, she had been a little lost. Asking for a child was just a passing whim. Now that she actually had a son assigned to her, she felt even more unsure.
She didn’t know her role or identity at first, but seeing this little one so dependent on her—and most importantly, so cute—made being his mom feel like a win-win. Just look at his face! With genes like this, the husband she “got for free” must be handsome as well!
And every time Yu Siyu looked at her with red-rimmed eyes, it made her want to do anything for him!
Carrying Yu Siyu, she walked into a hotpot restaurant and got a private room.
“Sweetie, what do you want to eat?” Jin Qiao asked, handing the menu to Yu Siyu sitting beside her.
Yu Siyu shook his head and pushed the menu back toward her.
Jin Qiao understood his meaning. She would order some of her own favorite dishes first, let little Yu Siyu taste them, and see if he liked them.
Meanwhile, back at the villa, the bodyguard reported that Jin Qiao had taken her son to eat hotpot. Yu An didn’t understand, but he was busy with meetings. As long as she wasn’t doing anything reckless with their son, he didn’t care.
The beauty of hotpot was how fast the food came. They hadn’t waited long before they could start eating.
She expertly mixed her dipping sauce—cilantro, lots of chili, sesame oil!
After finishing, she realized she had forgotten something.
“Oh! My son!”
“Can you eat spicy?”
A very serious question—this would determine whether they could come out to eat together often in the future.
Yu Siyu nodded, then shook his head after thinking.
Jin Qiao tried again: “You can eat a little spicy, right?”
Yu Siyu nodded.
She made a little dipping sauce for him and finally relaxed, diving into the meal herself.
The tripe was amazing! With each bite, Jin Qiao’s happiness skyrocketed.
Little Yu Siyu tried to imitate his mom, but he was too short, so he stood on his seat, holding the chopsticks as he boiled and grabbed meat.
When he successfully cooked a piece of meat, he was ecstatic.
His tiny hands trembled as he held the large communal chopsticks, but he tried hard to pick up a piece and put it in Jin Qiao’s bowl.
Jin Qiao watched carefully, lowering the heat slightly to prevent any hot oil from splashing on his delicate, pale arms.
Finally, seeing him hold the big chopsticks and successfully put meat into the pot—and then transfer the cooked piece to her—moved Jin Qiao deeply.
This little thing was really precious.
Unable to resist, she cupped Yu Siyu’s small face in her hands, gently squeezing it.
“You’re amazing!!! You’re the cutest, best little baby ever!!”
Yu Siyu blushed and grabbed his chopsticks, ready to dive back in.
Jin Qiao laughed and stopped him, cooking some meat and vegetables in the plain broth to feed him.
“You just need to eat nicely for now. Mom will take care of this. When you’re bigger, you can help me.”
The little boy looked down at his small hands.
Mom was right—he needed to eat properly and grow fast, maybe even as tall as Dad.
Yu Siyu was curious about hotpot—at home, the chef had never made him anything like this.
One bite of meat! Delicious! Mom really knew what she was doing!
They both ate until full. Jin Qiao noticed it was still early, so they could go shopping to walk off the food.
She was a little worried that Yu Siyu might feel uncomfortable around crowds.
“Do you want to go shopping or head home?”
She wanted to ask his opinion. Even as a child, he had his own thoughts.
Yu Siyu had never gone anywhere alone with his mom before. Just being able to eat alone with her made him happy. He had thought after the meal, mom would take him home, so the idea of going shopping was a bonus.
Seeing this, he nodded eagerly.
“But you just ate, so you need to walk a little to digest,” Jin Qiao reminded him.
He nodded in agreement, and she held his small hand as they left the hotpot restaurant.
Jin Qiao had already spotted a store earlier, so after the meal, she took Yu Siyu straight there.
“Sweetie, does mom look good in this?”
Inside the store, Jin Qiao couldn’t contain her excitement. She held up clothes, twirled in front of the mirror, and asked Yu Siyu’s opinion from time to time.
Yu Siyu, like a tiny little CEO, took a card from his pocket and handed it to the sales clerk. Then he pointed at Jin Qiao and the clothes she had chosen.
The sales clerk was shocked and laughed—it was just too cute! She crouched down teasingly.
“Are you paying for your sister?”
Yu Siyu shook his head. The clerk was puzzled, but as a professional, she quickly guessed:
“Not your sister, but your mom, right?”
Relieved, Yu Siyu nodded and handed the card over.
Luckily, he had remembered the card had money from red envelopes his grandfather, relatives, and dad had given him. Dad told him to keep it safe, and now he could use it to buy clothes for mom.
Coming out of the fitting room, Jin Qiao saw her son hand over the card.
What an extraordinary son! Already thinking of buying clothes for his mom!
“Si Si, are you buying these pretty clothes for mom?”
Yu Siyu blushed and nodded shyly, then quickly handed the card to the clerk.
“Ma’am, then this…”
The clerk looked at Jin Qiao, unsure.
Jin Qiao smiled, watching her son’s head nearly bowing to the floor.
“Go ahead and pay.”
“And the clothes I just picked, plus these others, I want to buy them all! You have enough money, right?”
Yu Siyu thought hard, estimating the money in the card. Grandpa always gave him lots, so it should be enough. Now that mom said it, he couldn’t say no.
He nodded firmly.
Watching the clerk take the clothes to pay, he still felt a little nervous—but once the transaction was successful, he relaxed.
Next time he saw Grandpa, he’d have to thank him properly. Without all this money, he wouldn’t have been able to buy mom’s dresses today.