Chapter 151
“Can I move near your house?”
Near, how near?
A distance where they could meet once a month, or once a week?
Would Yan Yan’s mom and grandma be willing to move?
If they weren’t willing… Would her dad and mom be willing to move…?
A ten-word question branched into endless possibilities in her little three-year-old mind.
Wei Maomao didn’t even dare to imagine their life if it truly came true, it was a beautiful future she had never dared to dream of.
Ah, her heart was racing, she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight!
Sleepless? Of course not, in the next second, the three-year-old bunny succumbed to her physical limitations, lulled by the steady heartbeat next to her, being petted in someone’s warm embrace, her head tilted, she fell asleep.
The soft bunny became even softer after falling asleep. Cheng Tingyan, sensing it, stopped petting her and gently hooked a bunny paw.
It was so soft, as if it had no bones.
Under the dim glow of the nightlight, Cheng Tingyan chuckled softly, she carefully sat up, reached for the blanket, and covered the bunny’s belly.
Just as Cheng Tingyan lay back down, a muffled, childish voice came from beside her. “Yan Yan…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I just covered you with the blanket, shh…” Cheng Tingyan said, gently petting the bunny, but the sensation in her hand made her stop her comforting whispers.
It felt so soft, like she was asleep.
“Yan Yan… Yan Yan… I’m… useless…”
The sleeping little chubby bunny mumbled, then rolled over, the blanket she had just covered her with was now under her again.
What… Was she sleep-talking…?
Cheng Tingyan, who had used “sleep-talking” to fool Shi Dingshan and the others this afternoon, looked at the little chubby bunny, her eyes still closed, mumbling, she chuckled and tugged at the blanket.
Okay, she couldn’t pull it out at all…
“Useful, useful, Maomao is useful…” Cheng Tingyan said, giving up on the blanket for now, she gently rubbed the little chubby bunny’s belly, her soft whispers drowning out the mumbling.
Magic, once again, defeated magic.
The little chubby bunny, dissatisfied, waved her paw towards the source of the whispers, then, as if she had finally chased away the noise disturbing her sleep, she stretched out her limbs comfortably and continued sleeping peacefully.
In the next second, before a smile could even reach her eyes, Cheng Tingyan noticed something suspicious appearing at the corner of the little chubby bunny’s pink mouth…
Her body reacted faster than her mind, by the time Cheng Tingyan realized it, she had already rolled over, a clean, fragrant handkerchief clutched in her hand.
The handkerchief expertly prevented the “toothpaste” from forming, her slender fingers gently lifting the corner of the little chubby bunny’s mouth.
Be happy, you’re a truly useful little baby.
She was truly useful, Cheng Tingyan wasn’t lying.
Whether she was six or twenty-four, Cheng Tingyan was grateful for everything this little chubby bunny had done for her.
This was already the third location of “Where’s Baby Going” Season 3, Cheng Tingyan could easily imagine that without Wei Maomao, she wouldn’t have such a good start.
It was her who pulled the six-year-old her out of the shadows of the Cheng family. It was her who made the six-year-old her receive so much love.
The good impressions from the program team and the viewers, they were all earned by this little chubby bunny, bit by bit.
Even though Cheng Tingyan couldn’t see the outside world’s opinions now, she could guess that her and the Cheng family’s reputations must be the opposite of what they were in her previous life.
If it weren’t for this little chubby bunny, if she had returned to the third location of her previous life, how could her words be believed so easily? How could she have such a comfortable life now, lying here, waiting for the program team to find her grandma? She would probably be frantically trying to change the public’s perception, searching for help… And first impressions, if they weren’t good, it would be very difficult to change them later.
But these were things Cheng Tingyan couldn’t explain to a three-year-old, she could only keep them in her heart.
Cheng Tingyan could imagine that even if she hadn’t been reborn, with the path paved by this hardworking little chubby bunny, the six-year-old her would definitely have a much better future than in her previous life.
Thank you, Little Maomao, thank you for liking the six-year-old me.
Cheng Tingyan’s eyes softened, she carefully pulled a corner of the blanket out from under the little chubby bunny and covered her again, she sniffed the little bunny, then closed her eyes.
A three-year-old little bunny.
Her Little Cookie was also around this age… She must be doing well, somewhere, sleeping soundly like this…
Cheng Tingyan thought hazily as sleepiness washed over her.
Then a loud bang startled her awake.
Cheng Tingyan, not yet asleep, sat up vigilantly, looking around, her right hand holding the little bunny, who also seemed to be startled, she patted her belly a few times. As far as she could see, the room was normal, was it… a sound from downstairs?
Downstairs, in the Shen family’s room, out of Cheng Tingyan’s sight, Shen Jianghe, who had just turned on the light and dropped his glass in shock, looked at the two… furry little heads on the bed next to him, he almost fainted.
He must have been showering for too long, the lack of oxygen in the bathroom must have caused hallucinations… It must be!
“Dad, are you okay?” That was his son, Shen Zilin’s, concerned voice.
“Uncle Shen, you dropped your glass…” That was, that was… Ah!
If an emoji could describe Shen Jianghe’s current mental state, it would have to be the screaming marmot!
This whole day, nothing good had happened.
These past two days, Shen Zilin had been acting a bit secretive, Shen Jianghe, after observing him, noticed that he seemed to be doing something with those little babies. With so many people from the program team watching, and the children couldn’t run away, Shen Jianghe didn’t interfere.
But early this morning, Shen Zilin went out, and when he came back before breakfast, his face was as dark as if someone owed him five hundred million.
Shen Jianghe initially thought his son had a fight with the other babies, but after a few attempts at comforting him, he realized that the person who owed five hundred million seemed to be himself…
This was… a bit unfair, wasn’t it?
Sadly, the dads’ schedule this morning was a bit tight, he didn’t even have time to ask before he was taken away.
When he returned, it was almost noon. Shen Jianghe, using the excuse of helping his son change out of his wet and dirty clothes from the air-raid shelter, returned to their room, turned off the cameras and microphones, and finally had a chance to ask about the five hundred million he owed.
He shouldn’t have asked, after asking, Shen Jianghe felt truly wronged.
He had lived for so many years, he had seen many people flattering him, he had also seen many people flattering him the wrong way. But someone like Jin Youliang, who was so full of himself that he almost killed the horse with his flattery, Shen Jianghe had never seen before.
Thankfully, Shi Dingshan and the others came back soon, with witnesses and guarantors, Shen Zilin’s suspicion finally turned into embarrassed belief.
But in the afternoon, the program team held a birthday party for Wen Dongyu, Shen Jianghe didn’t know if it was because of the morning’s incident, but he felt a bit burdened, watching the little babies running around and playing, he felt his son was a bit out of place in their simple joy.
Then it was night, after the wishing tree segment, at the lantern street, when the little babies were all attracted to the lantern stalls, a staff member came to the dads and gave him and Wen Qiming a piece of paper each, saying it was their children’s wishes from the wishing tree, asking them to fulfill them as if they were hints from the little fairy.
The other dads asked the staff curiously why they didn’t get any notes.
The staff member smiled and explained that the other babies’ wishes didn’t require the dads’ involvement.
Wen Qiming groaned, he didn’t want to do any more math problems.
The surrounding voices suddenly became noisy.
Shen Jianghe, looking at the note in his hand, fell silent.
[I hope my dad will tell me about my mom.]
It seemed he wasn’t wrong, the topic he had been avoiding for years was now brought to light, the morning’s incident wasn’t over yet…
Jin Youliang, he remembered him!
When they came back at night, while Shen Zilin was showering, Shen Jianghe spent a long time preparing himself mentally.
That was his most precious memory, a past too beautiful to recall.
He was indeed a selfish adult, all these years, he pretended he was the only one hurt, ignoring the other person in this world who needed healing even more.
Shen Jianghe decided to have a good talk with Shen Zilin, not just to fulfill his wish.
But his mistake was, he chose the wrong opening line.
“Dad only has you, one child, in this life…”
Although trapped in the pain of the past, unable to face you, who had the same eyes as her, missing so much time, but I love you, you’re the only continuation of my life…
What was wrong with this opening line?
It wasn’t a business negotiation, it was a heart-to-heart talk between father and son, shouldn’t he start by stating his stance and showing his sincerity? Mmm… It was a bit cheesy, Shen Jianghe had to muster all his courage to say it.
But he truly lacked experience in interacting with children.
“You’re lying!”
“How am I lying?”
“You don’t only have me as your child!”
“??? I truly only have you! Who told you nonsense?”
“It’s not nonsense! So many pretty ladies like you, you don’t come home, you have other children!”
“Shen Zilin! Think carefully, if I had other children, wouldn’t I bring them to meet your grandparents? You’ve been living at home for so long, have you seen any? Have they ever mentioned any?”
“… You don’t have any now, but you will in the future! I’m not your only child in this life. You’ll have many children in the future, and they’ll have many moms!”
“What nonsense! You didn’t accidentally click on some soap opera while watching business documentaries, did you?”
“I didn’t watch any!”
“Then how would you know about this nonsense, about many children, many moms!”
“Everyone knows you have many girlfriends, you’ll have many, many children in the future! And they’ll have many, many moms! Do you dare to say you don’t have a girlfriend!”
“I… Anyway, I won’t have children with anyone else! What’s wrong with you! Did the housekeeper at home tell you this nonsense? Was it Auntie Zhou? Auntie Zhang? Auntie Li? Or…”
“No, no, no!”
“Then tell me who! If you don’t tell me, I’ll fire them all!”
“… It was Grandma Xu next door.”
Okay, the Xu family next door, was it?
Shen Jianghe, finally knowing the source, didn’t feel any sense of accomplishment, looking at his son, who was like a little hedgehog, he felt helpless.
How could he bring this conversation back on track? Didn’t he want to hear about his mom? And now they were at a standoff…
“Don’t listen to Grandma Xu’s nonsense, whether it’s in the past or in the future, I truly only have you as my child.” Shen Jianghe said with a sigh, he reached out, but Shen Zilin turned his head away, his hand landing on nothing.
Shen Jianghe glanced at the half-open window, the night breeze gently blew in, lifting the curtains, summer was almost over, the weather… was turning cooler.
“Think carefully, are the words of outsiders more trustworthy than those of your family?” Shen Jianghe asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. “The Xu family next door is moving soon, she doesn’t have to be responsible for her words.”
Shen Zilin stubbornly turned his head away, his silence his answer.
His usually sensible son, why was he so difficult to communicate with today… Shen Jianghe, helpless, decided to take a shower and calm down before continuing the conversation.
He turned the shower to its maximum, the rushing water washing away his frustration, bringing him back to his senses.
He was just overthinking it, it had been years since he was this angry…
Shen Jianghe chuckled, splashing water on his face.
A six-year-old child, what could he possibly know? He just believed whoever he talked to the most. Compared to him, who rarely came home, speaking carelessly, it was normal for him to trust those outsiders he interacted with more…
And in their family’s situation, without Grandma Xu, there were still Grandma Zhao, Grandma Qian, Grandma Sun…
Then should he tell him…
Amidst the splashing water, Shen Jianghe hesitated.
But Shen Jianghe didn’t know that at this moment, masked by the sound of the shower, the bedroom door opened and closed, things were heading in a completely uncontrollable direction.
Shen Jianghe, finally making up his mind, refreshed after his shower, opened the bathroom door, the bedroom outside… was pitch black.
Courage was fleeting, Shen Jianghe, using the faint light from the bathroom, looked at the lump under the blanket on Shen Zilin’s bed, which was clearly still moving, he raised his voice slightly. “Shen Zilin.”
In the next second, the lump stopped moving.
“Shen Zilin, I saw you move, why are you pretending to be asleep?” Shen Jianghe sighed, he thought for a moment, picked up the water glass from the cabinet next to the bathroom, took a sip, then closed the bathroom door.
With the only source of light gone, the bedroom was plunged into darkness.
Shen Jianghe felt that the darkness was good. The things he was about to say, although serious, it was… a bit difficult to say them while facing his son under the bright light. This was better, the awkwardness and discomfort would be swallowed by the darkness, as long as the important message was heard.
“Shen Zilin, after you were born, I had a surgery. I only wanted you, one child. No matter if I have a girlfriend in the future or not, I can’t have any more children. You’re my only child in this life…”
“What’s a surgery?” A childish, curious voice came from the bed in front of him in the darkness.
“A vasectomy… Mmm?” Shen Jianghe, who had already thought it through in the bathroom and rehearsed it many times, answered casually without hiding anything, then he suddenly felt something was wrong.
It wasn’t “What kind of surgery?”, but “What’s a surgery?”
And that voice…
He slapped the light switch, the bright light illuminating two little heads on the bed. Shen Jianghe, his eyes blinking from the sudden brightness, saw Wang Zhizhi’s small face, full of curiosity and envy.
Shen Jianghe’s hand trembled, the glass in his hand fell to the ground with a loud clang, startling a vigilant bunny protector somewhere unknown to them.
This was a hallucination!
Shen Jianghe, unwilling to accept reality, closed his eyes, then opened them again, the person was still there, even reminding him that he had dropped his glass…
Truly, thank you.
“Zhizhi… Why are you here…” Shen Jianghe asked, trying to sound calm, changing the subject, he hoped the young Zhizhi hadn’t heard or understood, that he would quickly forget his earlier words.
“I had a fight with my dad.” Wang Zhizhi said, dismissing his own troubles, he quickly returned to the main topic. “Uncle Shen, what’s a surgery? Is it like the magical powers Sun Wukong has? After a vasectomy, you can only have one child? Can you perform a vasectomy on my dad? Then will I not have a younger sister anymore!”
Shen Jianghe: “… “
After so many years, the ups and downs in the business world, no matter how big the waves, they couldn’t compare to this late-night critical hit.
“Uncle Shen? Why aren’t you speaking… Could it be…” Wang Zhizhi, who had been speaking excitedly, suddenly paused, his expression darkening. “Did my dad have a vasectomy, so he can only have one child, and that child will be my sister? I… I’ll just…”
“Zhizhi, surgery isn’t magic. It’s done at the hospital!” Shen Zilin said, pulling at Wang Zhizhi.
Shen Jianghe felt a bit relieved, at least his own son…
“Dad! Does a vasectomy randomly choose one child to keep? Then could Zhizhi also disappear? Don’t take Uncle Wang for a vasectomy! There’s no need to gamble on a fifty-fifty chance, it’s not worth it!” Shen Zilin said, pulling Wang Zhizhi behind him.
Shen Jianghe: “… “ Forget it, his own son was also only six years old, he shouldn’t have too many expectations.
“No, I want to gamble. What if I’m the one who stays!” Wang Zhizhi said, breaking free from Shen Zilin’s grasp, he jumped off the bed and grabbed Shen Jianghe’s pajama pants.
“It’s not…” Shen Jianghe said with difficulty, forced to start a medical lecture.
“No! What if you’re the one who disappears!” Shen Zilin also jumped off the bed, grabbing Wang Zhizhi’s arm and shaking him.
“I might also stay! Didn’t you say it’s a fifty-fifty chance?” Wang Zhizhi said, shaking Shen Jianghe’s pants as he was being shaken. “Uncle Shen! Uncle Shen! I’m willing to gamble! I don’t want a sister, I want my old dad and mom! I want the dad and mom who used to love me! If I win, I’ll have my dad and mom, if I lose… It’s okay even if I’m gone! I’m not happy anyway! Not happy at all! It’s fine even if I disappear!”
Someone else’s child, shaking his pajama pants, crying his heart out.
His own child, pulling at the other child, his eyes red.
Shen Jianghe took a deep breath, this life… Ahhhhh!
“Calm down, promise me, our conversation tonight, it’s a secret between the three of us, okay?” Shen Jianghe said, he put the two children on the bed and began the most awkward conversation of his life. “A vasectomy is a surgery done before having children. Even if we take Wang Zhizhi’s dad for this surgery now, it’ll only prevent them from having a third child. Wang Zhizhi won’t disappear, and his sister won’t disappear either…”
Little babies, they didn’t understand so many things.
This conversation about secrets was just the beginning…
Everyone had secrets.
But secrets, they were only called secrets because only a few people knew about them.
Night deepened.
Cheng Tingyan, holding the equally secretive little chubby bunny, slept soundly.
Shen Jianghe, forced to share secrets, was trying his best to make the two little ones understand that he was talking about a very important matter that couldn’t be spread around.
And…
“Forget it, stop calling. It’s been hours, if she was awake, she would have answered, she’s probably just asleep, since she’s old. Wait until tomorrow morning, try calling again around 7 AM, elderly people wake up early.” Zhang Jin said, comforting her, then suggested, “How about this, send her a message. Don’t go into too much detail, it’s too complicated to explain in a message. Just say you have something urgent to discuss with her, ask her to call you back as soon as she sees the message. With so many missed calls, plus your message, no matter how many other people are trying to contact her, if she’s up before 7 AM, she should call you back first.”
Liu Qiongfang, clutching her phone, which she had been calling every half hour, with no answer, couldn’t help but feel that things wouldn’t be as easy as Zhang Jin said.
But… there didn’t seem to be a better solution.
It was so late, she couldn’t just buy a plane ticket and fly back now…
That city… That home…
Just thinking about it made Liu Qiongfang feel resistant. In fact, she was also very resistant to calling her mom.
But… she had no choice.
She had to contact her first, not just because of the reasons Zhang Jin mentioned.
Zhang Jin dictated, Liu Qiongfang typed.
A message was quickly composed, but Zhang Jin stopped talking, while Liu Qiongfang’s fingers kept moving.
“You’re still typing…” Zhang Jin said, frowning, he stood up, wanting to see what she was writing.
But before he could even reach her, Liu Qiongfang turned her phone away, a defensive gesture.
“Just a few private words between mother and daughter.” Liu Qiongfang said softly, covering her phone, looking at Zhang Jin.
Zhang Jin paused, he walked back to his chair, looked at Liu Qiongfang, who had started typing again, and cleared his throat. “Okay, you write. But don’t reveal too much, some things are better said on the phone. You have to trust me, for our future, I have to help you. It’s better to stick with what’s familiar, I know all about your family matters, if it were someone new, it might cause more trouble, right?”
Running away from home for so many years, and still having “private words between mother and daughter,” who would believe that?
But he only cared about the result, the details weren’t important now.
[No matter who asks you, no matter what they ask, don’t mention anything about me and him in the past. Please…]
Liu Qiongfang looked at the last line she typed, she bit her lip, then changed [Please] to [Thank you].
It was time for her to lower her head, but she… still couldn’t bring herself to do it.
