Young children don’t adapt to new environments very quickly. Su Youli dreamed of his two fathers. They put him on the ground, waved goodbye with smiles, and grew further and further away. Su Youli was startled awake. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a very unfamiliar place. The little one rubbed his face and sat up in bed, scanning the room. He didn’t see his two fathers. Not fully awake from his drowsy state, Su Youli pouted and began to sob softly.
“…Daddy.”
“Youyou misses Daddy.”
After crying for a bit, the little one, feeling uneasy, fumbled around and finally found his Stitch doll on the pillow, along with a small pillow that Su Siwen had made for him. Perhaps touching something familiar helped him gradually stop crying. He rubbed his cheek against the small pillow. Su Siwen was very good at crafts and often made things for Su Youli. The small cushions came in a set of six – four large and two small. The two small ones accompanied Su Youli to Beicheng.
Shen Minyan pushed open the door and saw his youngest son, who had woken up at some point, lying on his back on the bed. He was leaning against a navy blue cushion, playing with his own feet, his socks tossed aside. He looked like he was having a great time playing by himself. Shen Minyan felt a bit dazed. Was this how children this age acted? He remembered Shen Lin waking up as a child and crying loudly, not stopping until he saw Chu Ying.
“Youyou,” Shen Minyan called softly.
Hearing the voice, the little one, who had been concentrating on playing, turned his round eyes. Seeing it was Shen Daddy, he quickly grabbed the blanket and covered his face. Shen Minyan sat on the edge of the bed. Seeing his son like this, he was afraid he might smother himself under the blanket. He was keenly aware that the child didn’t like him, and he didn’t dare lift the blanket for fear of making Su Youli cry.
Finally, he had no choice but to call Shen Lin.
Shen Lin, hearing his brother was awake, muttered as he got dressed, “Youyou only slept for half an hour, how come he’s awake already?”
When he pushed the door open, he saw a small lump curled up on the children’s bed.
“Youyou, gege is here! Let me see what Youyou is up to!”
To be honest, Shen Lin was going through puberty, and his voice was changing. Deliberately trying to sound soft made it sound a bit harsh.
Su Youli, hiding under the blanket, heard the familiar voice and immediately threw the covers aside to look, then scrambled up from the bed. “Gege!”
Back in Yunshui City, his two fathers were the people he was closest to. Here, without his fathers, Shen Lin gege was now his closest person. Children could clearly sense kindness. He crawled to the edge of the bed and reached out his hand, and Shen Lin held him. The newly awakened little one looked like a delicate jade carving, his large, clear eyes like grapes. Shen Lin kissed his face, thinking his little brother was just too endearing.
After Shen Lin carried his brother to the bathroom to wash up and came back, Shen Minyan was still sitting by the bed, staring thoughtfully at the luggage that had come with Su Youli from Yunshui City. After they went downstairs, Shen Lin led him by the hand, introducing the layout of the house as they walked.
“This is the kitchen. Both the front and back doors lead to the garden. The second floor has rooms for Youyou and your brothers. The third floor is Mother’s room…”
Su Youli nodded, understanding only vaguely. This house was just too big. He had taken in so much information today; he couldn’t remember it all. Su Youli held his forehead, feeling a bit dizzy.
“Good afternoon, Second Young Master, Third Young Master.” Zhang Shun was waiting early in the living room.
Su Youli knew him well. Holding his brother’s hand, the little one smiled and called out, “Uncle Zhang.”
Zhang Shun squatted down. “Youyou, this is Uncle Xiao Tang. How about he takes care of you from now on?”
Su Youli followed his gesture and saw a young man in white with short hair looking at him with a smile.
The little guy was a bit confused because Uncle Xiao Tang looked really young, nothing like an uncle: “Uncle Xiao Tang?”
Uncle Xiao Tang smiled, his eyes curving like crescent moons. He squatted in front of the little one, straightening his crooked collar. “Hello, Youyou.”
Su Youli really liked Uncle Xiao Tang, whose smile was so nice. When Uncle Xiao Tang asked if he could hold his hand, the little one immediately reached out. Some people are just naturally more approachable than others. Xiao Tang was such a person. Seeing that the little young master accepted Xiao Tang, Zhang Shun finally felt relieved. Xiao Tang led the little one to the front door to play. When Zhang Shun turned back, he was met with a furious face.
“Who is he?”
With the little one gone, Shen Lin immediately showed his little tyrant nature. Watching Youyou being led away by a man who looked only a few years older than him, he was so angry he could grind his molars.
“Second Young Master, Xiao Tang is a child specialist personally hired by Chairman Shen, an outstanding talent who just returned from abroad.”
Shen Lin clenched his fists, snorted, and plopped down on the sofa. Hearing Xiao Tang making the little one laugh outside, he got so angry he threw a cushion across the room.
“Youyou only needs me! Fire him!” Shen Lin commanded.
Zhang Shun held his forehead. “Second Young Master, you haven’t been to school for a week. You can’t just stay home babysitting forever, can you?”
“What’s wrong with babysitting? Youyou is so little. I don’t trust anyone else!”
Zhang Shun had good reason to suspect he simply didn’t want to go to class and was using the little young master as an excuse. After all, this little rascal was known for being unruly, skipping class, and fighting as if it were routine. Shen Lin sat on the sofa with his arms crossed, occasionally hearing the little one’s cheerful laughter coming from the garden.
Was he that happy? He could have so much fun with a stranger he just met. Shen Lin pursed his lips, silently calling his little brother an ingrate.
In the Garden.
Xiao Tang held Su Youli’s hand. He had been hired by Shen Minyan at a high salary. In the country, those working as nannies or childcare workers were mostly women. Shen Minyan’s requirements for hiring a male nanny for Su Youli were very strict. A high degree was the minimum requirement, relevant certifications were needed, the candidate had to be proficient in at least three languages…
The requirements were so detailed that they filled an entire page. The “male” criterion alone eliminated the majority of applicants. The Shen family was generous. The monthly salary was more than ten times the highest in the industry. As it happened, Tang Dou, who had just returned from abroad and was looking for a job, came across the recruitment notice.
He went through three rounds of interviews, with the final round conducted by Shen Minyan himself. Tang Dou looked at the little one squatting in front of him, looking at blades of grass, remembering the overwhelming pressure of a powerful figure that had come through the screen during Chairman Shen’s interview the day before yesterday.
Worried the little one’s legs might fall asleep from squatting too long, Tang Dou crouched down and said with a smile, “Shall we go take a look ahead?”
Su Youli seemed naturally inclined to observe plants. The villa’s garden had many plants he had never seen before. Moving and stopping like this, they had only covered about ten meters in half an hour.
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