Tang Dou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He quickly stepped forward to “rescue” Pei Xu’s hand.
“Youyou, how could you eat Qiqi gege’s hand? Qiqi, did the little brother bite you?”
Pei Qiqi’s cheeks were red, and even the tips of his ears seemed to be steaming.
“Brother Xiao Tang, it doesn’t hurt. Youyou didn’t bite me with his teeth.”
Tang Dou checked and, sure enough, there were no teeth marks. He took a child’s wet wipe from his pocket, cleaned Pei Qiqi’s hand, and then gently poked the little one’s nose tip.
“Really, are older brothers’ hands for eating?”
The little one just smiled, still licking his lips as if savoring the taste. “Qiqi gege’s hands are sweet.”
In no time, Pei Xu had completely forgotten that his little brother hadn’t called him. He made up with Youyou. After eating, the little one went to the playroom to play with his Qiqi gege. Pei Yi watched them for a while. The two little ones were sitting close together, looking very affectionate. Pei Xu held Su Youli’s hand and wouldn’t let go, afraid he would disappear if he did.
Tang Dou patted him on the shoulder. “Next time Youyou goes to film the show, I’ll talk to the eldest young master. If possible, he can call Qiqi every day.”
Pei Yi was very grateful to him and to everyone in the Shen family. Meanwhile, the two little ones in the playroom were whispering. The scent of butter cookies still seemed to linger in their mouths. Su Youli was feeling peckish. He leaned close to Pei Xu’s ear and asked, “Qiqi gege, Youyou wants to eat cookies.”
Pei Qiqi asked, “Stitch cookies?”
Su Youli nodded and asked if he had any more.
Pei Qiqi thought for a moment. “I only made one nice-looking one. I saved it for you.”
The little one was so touched. Qiqi gege had saved the best cookie for him. After playing for a while, the two children were led away by their respective guardians. Qiqi was very reluctant to leave. As he went, he promised to bring him cookies again next time.
Su Youli, held in Shen Minyan’s arms, nodded. “Okay~”
The next day, just as Pei Xu had promised, the cookies arrived. But they were not brought by Pei Xu, but by a pretty auntie the little one had never seen before. Shen Yan happened to be home that day. When he opened the door and saw the visitor, he almost couldn’t control his expression. No strange woman had ever come to their door. Shen Yan’s mind raced with countless thoughts, imagining a story about his father finding a new love.
“Who are you? What business do you have?” he asked coldly.
The woman, just over thirty, wore no makeup. She was dressed in a simple white sweatshirt and jeans, tall and elegant.
Shen Yan had already clenched his fists when he heard the woman laugh cheerfully. “Is Su Youli here?”
The little one, watching cartoons, perked up his ears, climbed from the carpet onto the sofa, and placed his hands on the armrest.
This auntie, he hadn’t seen her before.
Sensing Shen Yan’s hostility, the woman held up the paper bag in her hand and explained, “I’m Qiqi’s auntie. I just returned from abroad a couple of days ago. Qiqi came back yesterday and said Youyou really liked the cookies he made…”
Cookies!!
The little one slipped on his slippers and ran outside. Shen Yan scooped him up at the door. Facing a strange auntie, the little one became shy again. He held his brother’s neck and peeked at her with one small eye.
“So you’re Youyou? Hello.”
Hearing her voice, the little one bravely replied, “Hello, Auntie. I am Youyou.”
Hua Zhao was instantly charmed, overcome with maternal feelings, wanting nothing more than to pinch his little cheeks.
“These are the cookies Qiqi made. He went out with his uncle today and asked me to bring them over.”
The paper bag did contain a box of cookies, identical to the one the little one had eaten yesterday.
The little one unashamedly swallowed, poked his head out to look down, and his little hand uncontrollably reached out into the air. Shen Yan just smiled politely, thanked her, took the paper bag, and carried the little one back inside. When the box was opened, the buttery, milky aroma filled the air. Shen Yan grabbed the wriggling little one with one hand and called Pei Yi.
“Uncle Pei, do you know that Qiqi made cookies for Youyou?”
What he really wanted to ask was whether the woman’s identity was true, but since it was Pei Yi’s own business, he didn’t want to pry. He was just being indirect.
Pei Yi’s voice was as clear and bright as ever. “Yes, yes. He and his auntie spent the whole morning and only made a small box.”
Shen Yan pretended to be puzzled. “Uncle Pei, are you married?”
They were neighbors, but Shen Yan had never seen this auntie of Qiqi’s before. Pei Yi and Hua Zhao had been college classmates. When they met again abroad, Hua Zhao had already become a somewhat famous model. Due to work, they started seeing each other more frequently.
Gradually drawn to each other, they naturally got together. Pei Yi had originally planned to tell his brother about marrying Hua Zhao when he returned to the country this time. He just never expected his brother would be gone. To take care of Qiqi, Pei Yi gave up his job abroad and chose to return to China.
Hearing about Qiqi’s experience, Hua Zhao was very sympathetic and wanted to return to China with Pei Yi immediately, but she had many unfinished work commitments. Two days ago, the very day Shen Yan and Youyou left for filming, she finally finished her work and returned. With Pei Yi’s explanation, Shen Yan felt comfortable putting the cookies in front of the little one. The little one grabbed the cookies with both hands and ate, shaking his head, his little feet resting on Su Yuanzi’s back. He was truly enjoying himself.
—
The online public opinion had become increasingly frenzied. The first episode had only aired up to the point where the children completed the ‘walking in the dark’ adventure challenge. Cen Yuankai’s behavior in front of the camera had been poor from the start, and he had only completed the ‘walking in the dark’ challenge by cheating. Netizens’ fists were clenched again and again. They flooded the official account of the production team.
[I’m not watching this show again until the Cen Zeping father and son are off it!!!]
[How much money did they pay you? What great crime did I commit to be shown this? I just want to see cute, well-behaved, adorable little ones, okay!]
[If I liked bratty kids, I’d go watch them on the street. Don’t let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch, director!]
[Boo hoo, our Youyou must have been scared by that bratty kid. Don’t be scared, auntie will blow on it for you~]
What was even more dramatic was that at 10 PM, another bombshell exploded. A video editor had clipped the live footage from the production team’s fixed cameras. Although the images were from a distance and not very clear, the editor analyzed them frame by frame, enlarged the picture, and quickly determined that when the children went up the mountain to do their task, Cen Yuankai had stolen another child’s belongings. That child was wearing a little red bucket hat and was the smallest, clearly Su Youli.
[Aaah, he dared to bully Youyou because he’s the youngest.]
[How much more did my Youyou have to endure? Shen Yan, go save your little brother! He’s being bullied to death by that bratty kid!]
[Oh my god, so Cen Yuankai specifically bullies Youyou when the adults aren’t around. I can’t imagine how scared Youyou must be.]
[Damn, my fist is clenched. I’m going. Even if it’s just me, I’ll boycott Cen Yuankai and Cen Zeping!!!]
[+1]
[Bullying Youyou makes you heartless; making him cry makes your fate uncertain!]
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