The little guy, who hadn’t eaten for half a day, was seriously committed to his hunger strike. But when the growling of his stomach became louder than his crying, Shen Lin immediately scooped him up and carried him home. The atmosphere among the three adults was clearly not as awkward as before. Qin Kun had even personally poured tea for Shen Minyan.
“Are you sure you won’t consider accepting my help?”
Shen Lin was carrying Youyou through the door just as he heard his father say this. Unlike yesterday, Qin Kun and Su Siwen’s emotions were much calmer. Instead, they smiled and said there was no need. If they really accepted help from the Shen family, no matter what agreement they reached with Shen Minyan, people would think they had given away their son for money.
Qin Kun and Su Siwen had seen plenty online about wealthy people using money to buy off relationships. As Shen Minyan was leaving, he intentionally had Shen Lin stay behind to build a better relationship with Su Youli, hoping that at least he wouldn’t be so resistant when it was time to leave in two days.
Su Youli’s half-day hunger strike ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation of milk. When Little Dad put a straw in a carton and brought it to his lips, he habitually pouted, took the straw in his mouth, and finished the milk in two minutes, gulping it down. That evening, after dinner, Su Siwen and Qin Kun held the little guy, and the family of three snuggled together on the soft sofa.
“Youyou, think of it as just going to Beicheng for a visit, okay? Kunkun and I will come to find you in Beicheng very soon.”
“Beicheng has big castles, lots of delicious food, and fun things to do, and the kindergarten is huge too…”
Su Youli covered his ears with both hands, not wanting to listen.
“Dad, I don’t want to go. I want to be with you.” No one could resist the little guy when he acted cute.
But Su Siwen thought of that five percent share allocation and hardened his heart.
“You have to go, understand?”
“Dad…” The little guy wriggled his soft little body against Qin Kun like a kitten, his eyes glistening.
Ah, forget it. There were still two days left anyway. They could take it slow. Qin Kun carried the little guy upstairs to wash up, telling him stories as he coaxed him to sleep. Once the little guy’s steady breathing could be heard from the bed, Su Siwen wheeled himself to the storage room and found a Stitch children’s suitcase. He began packing Su Youli’s things.
Going to the Shen family, he naturally wouldn’t lack for anything. But these were things the little guy had been used to since he was tiny. Su Siwen silently opened the wardrobe and packed a few sets of Su Youli’s favorite little clothes. People in Yunshui City often used fabric to make tie-dye clothes.
Children wearing clothes their parents made themselves was a sign of love, and also a beautiful wish for the child. The clothes were very small. A few sets of spring and summer outfits only took up a quarter of the suitcase.
“Tomorrow I need to pack Youyou’s comfort blanket, and his favorite Stitch plushie. If he has trouble adjusting over there, he can still hug it to sleep…”
At ten in the evening, the sound of a cane tapping on the wooden floor came from upstairs. Seeing his lover, despite his difficulty moving, stubbornly packing their son’s things, Qin Kun quickly went over and coaxed, “I’ll be home these next few days. I’ll pack tomorrow. Don’t push yourself.”
Su Siwen paused for a moment, then crouched down and pulled a small box from the drawer. Inside the box were a pair of small gold bracelets and a longevity lock. They had saved up to buy the bracelets when Youyou turned one. Qin Kun had bought the longevity lock for Youyou’s birthday this past January.
Su Siwen pressed his lips together, thinking silently. What he could give Youyou was so pitifully little, utterly insignificant compared to the shares Shen Minyan had offered. Su Siwen crouched in front of the drawer and stuffed all the cash they had at home into the very bottom of the suitcase.
His thoughts were silently crumbling, almost uncontrollably spilling over. Every corner of the house held Youyou’s presence. Packing up Youyou’s things felt like slowly, bit by bit, stripping away Youyou’s memories from this home. Both fathers were sleepless that night. After having Yuanzi stay upstairs to guard the little guy, they moved chairs and sat silently in the yard.
“Do you remember what Youyou grabbed at his first birthday grab ceremony?”
That was their first year adopting Youyou, after they had returned to Yunshui Town. Ever since they got their son, Su Siwen’s phone feed was filled with parenting content. So Su Siwen arranged a belated first birthday grab ceremony for their son, just the three of them.
Little white Youyou was surrounded by various objects, and both fathers used bells to guide him to crawl over. In the end, Su Youli grabbed a children’s model camera. Su Siwen was slightly surprised, then quickly used his phone to record that precious moment. The past three years flashed through his mind like a slideshow, the child changing every day. Youyou was already three years old.
Qin Kun held him close, his voice slightly hoarse: “Do you think Youyou will still remember us when he grows up?”
Su Siwen didn’t know. But just thinking about standing in front of Youyou one day and having him ask, “Who are you?” made his heart ache uncontrollably.
Yunshui Street was very quiet at night, so quiet they could hear the sound of the river flowing by the street. Held in Qin Kun’s arms, Su Siwen scrolled through the photo album on their phones labeled “Youyou” over and over again.
“Youyou is very good. Even when he cries, he doesn’t cry for long,” Su Siwen suddenly said, not sure who he was trying to comfort.
Qin Kun hummed in agreement, thinking maybe this was for the best. Their little one was indeed easy to soothe. Children, when first separated from familiar people, would have uncontrollable emotions. It would get better with time. The next two days were the countdown to Youyou’s departure.
During those two days, the two fathers didn’t bring up the topic of him going back to Beicheng with his biological father again. Youyou sat on the doorstep, whispering secrets with Brother Yang Yang.
“Brother Yang Yang, my dad made me a cake! And hamburgers and pizza too!”
These were all foods Qin Kun usually strictly limited, but now he could eat them every day. The three-year-old, with tasty food in front of him, immediately forgot about unhappy things. Until early morning on the third day, a rumble of thunder woke him. He was roused by Kunkun.
Just like always, the little guy climbed onto his little stool himself, brushed his teeth and washed his face himself, then hugged Kunkun and played with him. While changing clothes, the little toddler noticed he was wearing new clothes.
“Dad! Youyou is wearing new clothes!”
His short little finger pointed at the three-dimensional little tree on his clothes, smiling so wide his teeth showed.
Qin Kun smiled back, but there was a bitter emotion in his eyes: “Does Youyou like them?”
“I like them!” He loved the little green tree the most.
Qin Kun’s voice choked up a little as he touched the little guy’s soft hair. The hair at the little toddler’s temples curled slightly. Shen Minyan had said Youyou’s mother had naturally curly hair, and Youyou had inherited it from her.
Youyou not only had new clothes, but also new shoes and new socks. Holding his father’s hand, he bounced down the stairs and ate his breakfast with great relish. The rain outside was getting heavier. It was terrible weather today.
The little guy sat on his Stitch suitcase and asked his dad with a smile: “Dad, are we going on a trip?”
“But it’s raining today! Let’s just travel in the yard!”
The sound of pouring rain was mixed with a few loud honks. Qin Kun bent down to put a little raincoat on his son and helped him change his shoes into rain boots.
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