The two of them discussed and set the rules.
Su Su said, “I’m not familiar with this area yet, so I’ll need some time to come up with something.” Drawing itself wasn’t the problem for her, she already had the skill. The real difficulty lay in expressing a story with minimal strokes while making it suitable for its intended audience.
In the end, they agreed on three days. At this same time three days later, they would present their works.
Ning Ke asked, “Then who will be the judge?”
Su Su said, a bit embarrassed, “…my mom.” Don’t call her shameless, but with her mother as the judge, she was already halfway to winning.
“You’re really cunning. Fine then, looks like I’ll have to prepare properly.” As she spoke, Ning Ke opened her laptop and started typing rapidly.
Su Su rested her chin in her hands, watching the two chubby little boys play while searching for inspiration.
It wasn’t that she was narcissistic, but she felt like the original male lead might like her a little.
Su Su tried calling out, “Ningyue?”
Bai Ningyue, who had been enthusiastically playing with Zai Zai by pushing a toy car, immediately turned to look at her. After running around for a while, his nose was slightly sweaty. With his big dark eyes and soft, fair skin, he looked like a lively doll.
Su Su didn’t know why she had called Bai Ningyue over. He just stood there blankly, staring at her without moving.
Even when he was curious, Bai Ningyue looked very serious. Gu Zai, on the other hand, was completely different, a restless little chubby boy. If he got curious, he would keep fidgeting and messing with things nonstop.
They were very different, yet each had their own kind of charm. With their good looks, both left a strong impression.
Su Su waved at Ningyue, signaling him to come over.
Ningyue reacted quickly, dropping the toy car handle and running over.
Gu Zai noticed his friend moving and, seeing that he was running toward his own mother, immediately chased after him with his short little legs.
Ningyue stopped in front of Su Su, but Gu Zai pushed him aside and threw himself into his mother’s arms, domineering as ever. His mom smelled so nice.
“Mom.”
Ningyue, who had been pushed, didn’t get angry. He quietly stepped back to Ning Ke’s side, grabbed the corner of her clothes, and watched Gu Zai and Su Su with wide eyes.
Gu Zai had pushed Ningyue for no reason. If Ningyue had a bad temper, they would have started fighting. But since Ningyue didn’t react, Su Su couldn’t ignore it. She was determined not to spoil Gu Zai. Even small mistakes would not be overlooked, she would rather be a bit stricter with him.
She pulled him out of her arms and looked at him sternly. “Who pushed Ningyue just now?”
At first, Gu Zai didn’t understand and kept trying to burrow back into her arms mischievously. Only when he sensed that his mother was angry did he stop and stand still, saying softly, “Sister.”
Ning Ke burst out laughing. “Alright, it’s not a big deal, don’t scare the child.”
Su Su gestured for her not to interfere and continued with a serious face. “Is your sister even here? Why are you saying sister?”
“Sister.”
Su Su asked again, “Who pushed Ningyue just now?”
Gu Zai lowered his head and didn’t dare to speak. His mother rarely acted like this, and he was a little scared.
Su Su repeated the question. Only then did he mumble softly, “…Yue Yue.”
Gu Zai couldn’t pronounce two-character names properly, so he called Ningyue “Yue Yue.”
Ning Ke laughed again. “Your Zai Zai is too funny, but really, stop scolding him. He looks so pitiful, his little face is all red.”
“If you don’t tell the truth, Mommy will be angry.” Su Su felt he should be able to understand her.
Before Gu Zai could respond again, Ningyue let go of his mother’s clothes, walked over, and stood in front of Gu Zai, shielding him.
After stepping in front of him, he even gave Su Su’s leg a small push. It wasn’t strong, more like a mix of acting spoiled and being a little upset, but still afraid to truly oppose her.
Su Su looked down at him and felt that his gaze was a bit fierce.
She recalled what Ning Ke had said, that Ningyue didn’t like playing with other children and only had Gu Zai as a friend.
He didn’t want his only friend to be bullied. Such a young child already knew how to protect his friend. No wonder in the original story he would later gather such loyal companions.
In the original story, Gu Zai was described as Ningyue’s childhood friend. But the ones who often stayed by Bai Ningyue’s side were three other friends, a true elite group, very different from Gu Zai, who only had a strong background but no real ability.
Gu Zai might have shared Ningyue’s childhood, but as they grew up, their personalities diverged, and that friendship likely drifted apart.
Still, seeing Ningyue step forward to protect Gu Zai at this moment, Su Su felt deeply moved as his mother.
Even though he was still a little afraid of her, he stood up anyway.
Children really were simple and pure.
Su Su spoke to him gently, “Ningyue, don’t shield Zai Zai. He made a mistake. If he isn’t corrected, he won’t know he was wrong.”
Otherwise, it would make her seem like a stepmother bullying a younger child.
Gu Zai’s lips began to tremble, the kind of expression where he was about to cry but trying to hold it in.
Su Su said sharply, “Don’t cry!”
Ning Ke said helplessly, “What’s wrong with you?”
Su Su gave an awkward laugh, stopped being so harsh, and reached out to pick Gu Zai up, holding him in her arms to comfort him.
In truth, she loved her son very much.
Ning Ke said, “Don’t rush it. Raising a child isn’t that easy.”
Su Su felt a bit wronged and said weakly, “Who knew he’d get scared into tears?”
Then she asked, “Is Ningyue like this too?” She couldn’t imagine what Ningyue would look like crying.
Ning Ke shook her head. “I’ve never scolded him like that, so I don’t know.”
In Su Su’s mind, another comparison of genius child and genius mother flashed by.
Better not compare.
…
After calming Gu Zai down, Su Su played with him for a while. He forgot things quickly, and soon he was happily running around again.
Su Su said, “See, Gu Zai is such a carefree little guy.”
At noon, they let Qu Qingwei rest for a bit while Su Su and Ning Ke cooked together. The two little ones clumsily joined in, and the four of them had a great time.
After a while, Ningyue got sleepy, so Ning Ke took him home for a nap and didn’t come back in the afternoon.
Once she left, the house felt much quieter. Su Su also lay down for a nap with Gu Zai.
When the little chubby boy slept, his breathing was soft and steady. Looking at his little face, Su Su thought he really resembled Gu Shao. Photos of Gu Shao as a child looked just like this.
Su Su took out her phone, snapped a selfie of herself with Gu Zai, and sent it to Gu Shao.
“Cute Zai Zai and beautiful mommy.” Then she playfully asked, “Who looks better, mommy or Zai Zai?”
After waiting a while with no reply, Su Su kissed Gu Zai and cuddled close to him as she fell asleep, a slight smile on her lips.
Later, when Gu Shao saw the message, a smile appeared in his eyes as he looked at it for a moment. Wasn’t this what he had always wanted to protect?
He replied, “Zai Zai is ugly, mommy is pretty.”
…
That evening, Gu Shao drove home.
At that time, Su Su’s mother had taken Gu Zai out to play and hadn’t returned yet. Su Su was in Wan Wan’s room. She had lifted Wan Wan out of the crib and placed her in the middle of the big bed, then sat beside her reading, regardless of whether Wan Wan was interested.
According to the book, Gu Wan would enter the entertainment industry when she grew up, but academic knowledge was also important. As a full-time mother with plenty of free time, Su Su felt she should influence her subtly in every possible way.
The book she chose was philosophy.
She planned to start with classical works, then move on to foreign ones. In her view, the more one understood the teachings of sages and philosophers, the less likely one would become narrow-minded or develop mental issues.
In any case, she wanted to prevent Gu Wan from suffering the kind of mental illness described in the original story.
To be able to read and explain at the same time, she had even previewed the material in advance. People said raising a child was a process of self-growth, and it really was true.
Even though she couldn’t understand, Wan Wan didn’t fuss. Her mother’s voice was gentle and calm, and having her nearby felt reassuring. She lay there with wide eyes, occasionally chewing on her soft little fist.
Gu Shao entered the house. It was hot, so he had unbuttoned two buttons of his white shirt. After hanging up his jacket and seeing that the living room was quiet and empty, he went to Wan Wan’s room.
As soon as he opened the door, he heard a soft, pleasant reading voice.
Su Su turned her head and saw him standing by the door. Her first thought was that she should have hidden that book properly.
Gu Shao didn’t come in. From the doorway, he said he would take a shower first.
“Go ahead,” Su Su replied.
While Gu Shao was showering, Gu Zai returned home. Seeing Gu Shao’s clothes hanging outside, Su Su’s mother asked, “Gu Shao is back?”
“Yeah, he’s showering.”
“Zai Zai is sweating all over too. Should we give him a wash as well?”
Su Su said, “Should I take Gu Zai in and let Gu Shao handle it?”
They had built a small pool in the bathroom specifically for children to bathe and swim in. For convenience with the water supply, it was installed in the same bathroom Gu Shao was currently using.
The facilities were very convenient, Gu Shao could look after Zai Zai on his own.
Qu Qingwei said, “That would be too much trouble. Let Gu Shao rest after he comes out, we can wash Zai Zai ourselves.”
Seeing Gu Zai climb onto the bed all dirty, Su Su couldn’t hold back. She got off the bed, grabbed him under the arms, and carried him straight to the bathroom.
Qu Qingwei called out to her, saying she was being inconsiderate, but in the end she didn’t stop her and stayed behind to look after Gu Wan.
Gu Shao was showering when there was a knock on the door.
At this time, there was no need to guess who it was. He chuckled, turned off the water, and went to open the door. Before the smile even faded, a chubby little bundle was stuffed into his arms.
Su Su’s voice came from outside, “Wash your son clean.” Then the door slammed shut.
Gu Shao and the child in his arms stared at each other. He lowered his head, sighed, and held the little one with one arm while going to prepare the water.