In the middle of the night, Wan Wan whimpered again like a tiny kitten. Su Su, always attentive to her, woke up and turned on the light, preparing to feed her. The light disturbed Gu Shao, who rubbed his eyes and said he would do it.
Back when he and the original host took care of Zai Zai at night, he had always handled these things. It had been over a year, yet he was still very skilled at it.
“No need, I can do it,” Su Su said, hearing the rain still falling outside.
She had not wanted him to sleep here precisely because she was worried about disturbing him at night while taking care of Wan Wan. Unlike her, she could nap during the day, but he had work. If he was tired during the day and could not sleep well at night, it would take a toll on his body.
Gu Shao acted as if he had not heard her. Stretching, he lifted the blanket and got out of bed.
Su Su frowned, displeased. “Gu Shao, I’m telling you and you’re not listening. Don’t blame me if you’re exhausted tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Gu Shao smiled slightly. “It’s fine. Don’t you know how energetic I am?”
Su Su snorted at him. At that moment, she realized that sometimes wanting to hit Gu Shao was not without reason.
…
Energetic Gu Shao woke up on time in the morning. He glanced at the mother and daughter sleeping soundly, slipped his hand into Wan Wan’s sleep sack to check if her hands and feet were cold, and finding them warm, quietly got up and left the room without disturbing them.
It was still raining outside. That playful little one, Gu Zai, had already woken up early and was tugging at his grandmother, asking her to take him out to play in the rain.
Qu Qingwei held him back. “Be good, Zai Zai. You’ll get sick if you get rained on. If you get sick, Grandma and your parents will worry.”
But if Zai Zai could be obedient, he would not be himself. He stubbornly pulled at Qu Qingwei’s clothes, trying to drag her outside, whining as if he was about to cry.
When he was obedient, he was lovable. When he threw a tantrum, there was nothing anyone could do. Qu Qingwei sighed.
Gentle coaxing did not work, so she tried being strict. She let go of him and said with a stern face, “Grandma’s not going. You go by yourself.”
Zai Zai did not dare to go alone, which was why he had been insisting she go with him. “Po po, po po,” he called. He could not say “grandma,” so he always called her that.
Qu Qingwei stayed firm, and Zai Zai burst into loud tears, crying “Go, go,” as he struggled.
She pulled him into her arms to comfort him, but he kept twisting his body, trying to head outside.
After washing up, Gu Shao came out and heard the commotion. He walked over and greeted Qu Qingwei first, “Mom.”
Qu Qingwei turned to him and said helplessly, “Zai Zai insists on going out into the rain.”
Seeing his father, Zai Zai ran over, wrapping his small arms around his father’s leg, crying with a face full of tears and snot.
A bit messy… Gu Shao instinctively wanted to step back.
But he was the child’s father. He could not bear to hurt his feelings, so he let him cling on. “Daddy, daddy, go, go,” Zai Zai said between sobs.
Gu Shao pulled a tissue from the table, crouched down, and wiped his face. “Go where?”
“Rain, rain.”
“But Grandma won’t let you go in the rain, and Daddy can’t go either.” He patted his back and picked him up. “Stop crying. Let’s eat something first, then Daddy will take you out later.”
With someone backing him up, Gu Zai was no longer so insistent on going out immediately. He clung to his father’s neck, still sniffling.
“Why are you so fond of crying, Gu Zai?” Gu Shao teased.
Luckily, Gu Zai could not understand yet, or he would have made an even bigger fuss.
After eating something simple to fill his stomach, Gu Shao did not forget his usual exercise routine despite the rain. He planned to go back home, where he and Su Su had a small gym set up.
When Gu Hao was around, he would often work out there while chatting with him.
Squeezing Gu Zai’s soft little arm, Gu Shao said, “Let’s go, Daddy will take you somewhere fun.”
Holding an umbrella in one hand and carrying Zai Zai in the other, he walked home.
Zai Zai reached out to grab the umbrella handle. Gu Shao teased him by not letting him catch it, making him laugh out loud.
…
Zai Zai usually stayed at Qu Qingwei’s place, so he did not come here often. The house felt a bit unfamiliar to him, and as soon as he was set down, he ran around curiously.
Gu Shao kept an eye on him to make sure he would not bump into anything.
Now, when Gu Zai fell, he did not cry much, but if things did not go his way, he would throw quite a tantrum.
Qu Qingwei doted on him. Most of the time, as soon as he cried, she would give in, which had made the little guy quite crafty.
When they reached Gu Shao’s gym, Zai Zai’s curiosity peaked. Gu Shao did not dare let him touch anything on his own, so he ended up doing nothing and just accompanying him.
Watching how lively he was, Gu Shao thought that once Zai Zai grew a bit stronger, he could start taking him out for runs.
Playing alone was not enough. Other aspects needed to be developed as well, just like how his own parents had raised him.
Thinking back to the other day when he saw Su Su reading to Wan Wan, he could not help but find it amusing.
Without caring whether Zai Zai understood, he said, “You really can’t tell your mom cares so much about your education. If you fell into her hands,” Gu Shao shook his head, thinking of how mischievous his son was, “you’d definitely have a hard time.”
Glancing at the time, he saw it was about right. He pulled Gu Zai up, picked him up, and headed out.
Before exercising, it was good to eat a little to line the stomach, but that was not breakfast. Going back now to eat would be the proper breakfast.
Qu Qingwei had already set the table. She took Gu Zai and began feeding him.
Gu Shao looked around. “Has Su Su gotten up?”
“Wait for her to get up? That would be halfway through the morning. Look how lazy she is.”
It was fortunate she had her mother taking care of things behind her. Otherwise, with just those two children, she would have worn herself out.
Gu Shao said, “It’s fine, there’s nothing much going on anyway. Let her sleep more.”
As long as she was happy at home, that was enough. With him around, she did not need to do anything. Of course, if she had something she liked, as long as it was not as excessive as before, he would support her.
For Gu Shao, after a tiring day, coming home to a family that was happy and by his side was all he wanted.
This kind of life was good. There was no need for Su Su to be particularly hardworking. As long as she relied on him…
If she loved him, then he truly wanted nothing more.
Though Qu Qingwei called Su Su lazy, she did not actually blame her. Her daughter had a good life, what was there to blame? Did she really want Su Su to be busy all day to feel satisfied?
Seeing Gu Shao speak up for Su Su, she felt a bit sorry for him. In the end, it was their marriage. As long as they were happy, she would not interfere.
She only hoped Su Su had truly come to her senses and would not let down someone’s sincere feelings again. Having lived through it herself, she knew what it felt like when someone’s heart turned cold.
After Gu Shao left, Qu Qingwei played with Zai Zai for a while. When he wanted to see his mother and sister, she took him over.
This time, she did not let him knock on the door. She did not know if Wan Wan was awake, and was afraid the knocking might wake her.
She gently pushed the door open and saw Su Su holding Gu Wan.
One arm held the baby, the other was on her phone…
Qu Qingwei was speechless.
“Can’t you put your phone down and look after the child properly for a while?”
Hearing her, Su Su looked toward the door and quickly put her phone away. “I can, I can.”
“Is she awake?” Qu Qingwei asked, referring to Gu Wan.
Su Su shook her head. “She woke up earlier, but I held her until she fell asleep again.”
Gu Zai broke free from his grandmother and walked over, calling, “Mama.”
Su Su smiled at him. “Mama is here.” She patted the spot beside her, asking him to come sit.
Qu Qingwei took off his shoes and let him climb onto the bed.
The bed was as high as his little chest. He could try climbing up himself, though he could not quite manage it without help, unless someone lifted him from below or pulled him from above.
Su Su could not free her hands, so Qu Qingwei bent down and pretended to push him up, not really using much force. Gu Zai struggled and climbed for quite a while before finally getting up.
Seeing his clumsy effort, Su Su laughed so hard she could not stop.
He was too chubby, everything took effort.
“You really need to lose some weight, Zai Zai,” she said.
Unsteady on the bed, Zai Zai held onto the headboard and walked toward his mother, wanting to throw himself into her arms.
Su Su leaned her face forward. “Give me a kiss.”
In a good mood, Gu Zai gave her a kiss.
She turned her face. “Another one.”
He gave her another.
Growing greedy, Su Su pointed to her lips.
Zai Zai got annoyed and refused.
“Meimei,” he said, flopping down by his sister’s feet, kicking his legs playfully.
“Zai Zai, haven’t you seen Yue Yue in a while?”
Earlier, while she was on her phone with nothing much to do, Ning Ke had messaged her, complaining that she was bored because of the rain and could not go out, asking what Su Su was doing, and also scolding her for interrupting her last time.
Su Su had bantered with her for a while.
Now Ning Ke called for a video chat, saying the two little ones could “talk.”
At the mention of Yue Yue, Zai Zai quickly scrambled up.
Su Su answered the call and saw Ning Ke holding Ning Yue on screen. She handed the phone to Gu Zai.
“Ah ah ah ah.”
“Ya ah ah ah.”
Gu Zai and Bai Ning Yue began “talking” in a language no one could understand.
Two tiny little sprouts.
…
It rained for two days straight, so she could not take the children out. Wan Wan was still too young to react much, but Zai Zai was getting restless.
Su Su felt fine. She liked both rainy days and staying at home.
During that time, Cheng Cheng called twice, asking whether Su Su would go to the gathering and even tried to invite her out.
Su Su truly did not know how to face those familiar strangers, especially since their personalities seemed difficult to deal with. She really did not want to provoke them, so she refused.
After the rain stopped, her father came again.
That day, Gu Shao, who could at least act as a mediator, was not there, and the atmosphere became extremely awkward.