Chapter 107

Chapter 107

"Granny Zhong, where's my little dad?"

In the hallway, Bao Yiming came scampering over.

Granny Zhong pressed a finger to her lips, made a "shh" gesture, then pointed toward the sunroom.

Bao Yiming understood and quietly tiptoed along the wall to the sliding door of the sunroom, peeking inside.

Inside the sunroom, the rocking chair rocked gently in a steady rhythm.

Wen Cishu was reclining in it, already asleep with his body slightly tilted to one side. The book he had been holding rested on his chest, his slender fingers still lightly holding the page.

The afternoon sun warmed him, making time itself seem to slow.

Bao Yiming tiptoed in, unaware that his little dad had already woken up the moment he approached.

Wen Cishu blinked drowsily at him and reached out.

Like a puppy, Bao Yiming bent down and nestled into his little dad's arms, hugging him.

"Little dad?"

Hearing that tone, Wen Cishu knew he wanted something and teased him deliberately, "Little son."

Bao Yiming: "?"

"Little daaad... I have something to tell you."

Wen Cishu yawned and drew the blanket over his face. "How about... asking your big dad instead?"

Bao Yiming quickly took the book and bookmark and set them aside. "I want to tell you first!"

He circled around to the other side of the rocking chair, pulled the blanket down, and met his little dad's dark eyes. "Little dad~ I want to build a tennis court on the farm. What do you think?"

Before he could even finish, his little dad's fingers were already pinching his cheek.

Wen Cishu: "You'd better really be asking for my opinion, not just seeking my mandatory approval."

"No! I really mean it!"

Granny Zhong happened to walk in with tea, nudging a footstool over for the young master with her foot.

Bao Yiming perched on the footstool. "Little dad, with a tennis court, Xingxing and I could play every week, exercise, and grow taller! Xingxing said I've gotten taller recently."

Granny Zhong chuckled. "Still growing? At this rate, we'll have to tear down and raise all the doorframes in the house."

"Granny Zhong!" Bao Yiming jumped up and down. "Look, I'm nowhere near the ceiling!"

Wen Cishu sat up, only to be pushed back into the rocking chair as the little imp grabbed the armrests and set it rocking again.

He resigned himself to it. "You want a tennis court? Where exactly? Have you figured it all out?"

Bao Yiming nodded vigorously. "Of course!"

He pulled out a plan that had been stuck in his waistband.

This genuinely surprised the two adults, who both leaned in closer.

It was a meticulously drawn farm blueprint.

No way a kid just doodled this—it must have been taken from official project files.

Wen Cishu was surprised, "Where did you get this?"

"From one of the documents when Big Daddy had me sign the contract," Bao Yiming said, chin lifted proudly. "This isn't the original, just a copy. I was afraid I'd lose the original."

He pointed to a ruler-drawn rectangle on the paper. "The farm is here. Little Daddy, when it's done, you can visit too!"

Wen Cishu chuckled, "What about Big Daddy?"

"Big Daddy can come play too, of course."

Wen Cishu teased, "Nope, Big Daddy's banned. Only I can go."

"Wait, what?" Bao Yiming didn't understand why Little Daddy suddenly didn't want to play with Big Daddy. Well, that was fine—he could just play with him instead.

"Mhm! I'll tell Brother Xingxing (nickname for Xingxing) that only Little Daddy can come!"

Wen Cishu muttered to himself: What's with this kid's Xingxing fixation?

In the original story's setting, these two kids had no connection at all. Who knew they'd click like this?

Curious, he asked, "Yi Ming, do you have any close friends at school?"

"Uh-huh," Bao Yiming nodded.

Wen Cishu focused on him. "Who? What's their name? Why haven't you told me before?"

"Because there are too many!"

Bao Yiming bragged, "Everybody's all over me wanting to be BFFs. They blow up my phone, asking me to go swimming, play ball, or ride horses—but I pass."

Wen Cishu had thought it might be someone related to the original plot, but it turned out to be nothing like that.

"Why not? Don’t you want to have lots of friends?"

Bao Yiming shook his head. "They're too clingy for me. I like Brother Xingxing."

Wen Cishu blinked: "…What?"

Unable to hold back, he glanced up in surprise and traded glances with Aunt Zhong, who was present.

Aunt Zhong gave a slight shrug, as if to say: Kids—go figure.

Bao Yiming carefully placed the layout on the blanket in front of Little Daddy, then plopped down into a squat, feet splayed, continuing, "When I'm all hyped with Xingxing, it makes his day. And when I'm not, he’s still nice to me. Not like my classmates..."

"Hm?"

Bao Yiming blinked up at Little Daddy. "My classmates turn into drama queens around report cards—super nice one second, ghosting you the next."

Ah, got it.

Wen Cishu gave his hair a tousle.

Bao Yiming tilted his head and nuzzled into Little Daddy's chest for a moment before suddenly lifting his head again. "So you're saying yes to the tennis court, right Little Daddy? You're the best, Little Daddy!"

With that, he zoomed away.

Wen Cishu: "?"

He leisurely asked Aunt Zhong, "I agreed to that?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to go out?"

Aunt Zhong steadied the rocking chair, helping him up. "Go for a stroll in the garden. If you lie around too long, your joints will stiffen up again."

"Oh." Wen Cishu stood up, brushing off the dust in the air, then headed out to check on "Papa’s love potatoes" Bao Tingyuan had planted.

They were growing well, with no signs of being replaced.

They might actually sprout new potatoes.

"Second Master, you have a call." Aunt Zhong approached with a phone.

It was Bao Tingyuan.

Wen Cishu took it and made his way to the sunroom, lying back down. "Was Yi Ming looking for you?"

"No." Bao Tingyuan asked with concern, "Did you nap?"

"Just woke up." Wen Cishu was curious. "Then why did you call?"

Bao Tingyuan: "Nothing important."

Wen Cishu pulled the blanket over himself, noticing Aunt Zhong had left, then lowered his voice and asked softly, "You miss me?"

Bao Tingyuan: "Want to come over?"

Wen Cishu scoffed lightly. "What’s so special about your office? I don’t want to go."

Bao Tingyuan replied unhurriedly, "Then I’ll get a new sofa and replace the bed in the lounge."

"Hey! That’s not what I meant."

Wen Cishu cut him off. "Everyone at the office will think we’re doing something shady. Right out in the open—how indecent!"

He didn’t doubt for a second that Bao, the man of his word, was fully capable of doing something as absurd as "replacing the bed and sofa."

Bao Tingyuan chuckled.

After the call ended.

Wen Cishu sat in the rocking chair, lost in thought. When Aunt Zhong returned, he asked, "Aunt Zhong, how did we used to celebrate our anniversary?"

This was the first time Aunt Zhong had heard him bring this up. She looked calm, but there was a hint of surprise.

"Didn’t you say you didn’t do anything for it?"

Wen Cishu faltered, then quickly covered. "Well, it’s almost ten years now. We ought to mark the occasion."

As he spoke, he lifted his left hand, slowly twirling the ring on his finger, an idea taking shape in his head.

Aunt Zhong asked, "Should we get things ready at home?"

Wen Cishu smiled. "No need. If we start preparing, he’ll catch on."

Who "he" was didn’t need explaining.

-

At the office.

In between his busy tasks, Bao Tingyuan spared a few minutes to listen to Wen Cishu speak, and he felt much more relaxed.

He had just set down his phone when a new email alert flashed on his computer screen.

The email was from a designer at a French jewelry brand—the exact same antique jewelry shop he had visited when he first met Wen Cishu.

It included several clear photos of a pair of rings, along with a request for Bao Tingyuan’s final approval. If confirmed, they would be delivered as scheduled.

After checking, Bao Tingyuan confirmed.

His green eyes wandered to a photo on his desk, a recent replacement—a candid shot of the three laughing together from a variety show.

That evening.

Bao Yiming was dragged into the study by his two fathers to go over his tennis court idea again.

-

Having already heard it once, Wen Cishu didn’t pay close attention, his eyes kept darting to Bao Tingyuan’s left hand resting on the armrest.

After the dozenth time, Bao Tingyuan naturally noticed and secretly watched him.

Wen Cishu thought to himself: *Why just look? Why not just ask for it?*

When Bao Yiming stopped to drink, he took the chance to reach under the table and try to pull off Bao Tingyuan’s ring.

However, Bao Tingyuan lifted his fingers and caught Wen Cishu’s hand instead.

Wen Cishu pushed back, determined to remove the ring.

The two engaged in a playful tug-of-war with their hands.

Bao Yiming, holding his water glass to his lips, scowled at the papers on the desk and grumbled, "Your adorable little son is discussing something very important here. Pay attention to your kid!"

Wen Cishu smacked Bao Tingyuan’s hand off and shot him a look: *You deal with the kid!*

Bao Tingyuan tightened his grip, pressing Wen Cishu’s hand against his palm and knee, rubbing it lightly.

To his younger son, he said, "Mm, we’ll make it happen."

Then, noticing his son still hadn’t budged from his seat, he asked, "Anything else?"

Bao Yiming lowered his head, squirming nervously.

Wen Cishu braced himself.

The demands never ended.

"Another swimming pool?"

"Nope." Bao Yiming lifted his eyes to him. "Daddy~ I just think wouldn’t it be great if Xingxing and I went to school together!"

Wen Cishu massaged his temples.

What did this kid take his two fathers for?

The wishing well?

Bao Tingyuan asked, "Have you talked to Xingxing about this?"

"Not yet." Bao Yiming lowered his head. "Brother Xingxing mentioned he wanted to visit my school. So I thought..."

Wen Cishu spoke earnestly, "Yiming, don’t mention it to Xingxing yet. This is quite important—it’s not just about you two going to school together."

"Okay." Bao Yiming replied obediently.

Not wanting him to feel upset, Wen Cishu ruffled his messy hair, only to notice the texture was off. He reminded him, "You should get a haircut before school starts."

Bao Tingyuan remained silent, quietly watching Wen Cishu speak, deep in thought.

"Oh." Bao Yiming puffed his cheeks. "Then, little Dad, big Dad, will you at least consider it?"

Bao Tingyuan said, "We’ll talk it over first."

Wen Cishu nodded in agreement.

As Bao Yiming left the room, he peeked back through the door crack and called out, "Please really think about my idea, Dad! Seriously!"

Bao Tingyuan raised a hand, motioning for him to go rest.

Only after the kid closed the door did Wen Cishu ask softly, "What do you think?"

Bao Tingyuan twirled the ring on his finger. "I thought you’d agree right away."

"Wait...?"

Meeting his green eyes, Wen Cishu suddenly calmed down and couldn’t help but murmur in return, "From your perspective, do I come off as really pushing for Xingxing and Yiming to be friends?"

"Yeah."

Bao Tingyuan didn’t deny it. "You talk about him a lot."

Wen Cishu: ...Was I the reason?

"Then, are you planning to agree?"

Bao Tingyuan watched him quietly, his face unreadable.

A few seconds later, Wen Cishu raised a brow. "So?"

Bao Tingyuan: "Is that what you want?"

Wen Cishu lowered his gaze in thought. Truthfully, the fact that the two kids got along so well now was already a change from the original plot.

Just based on their current relationship, he was all for it.

He nodded slowly, then countered, "What good is my opinion? Do you think Xingxing’s parents don’t have their own considerations? They could ship him off overseas any day."

Back on that reality show, Wen Cishu had heard some guests mention that many celebrity children were sent overseas early to avoid paparazzi.

Bao Tingyuan stood up, leaned down, and kissed his cheek. "We could just send them both to school in France. Then you won’t have to worry."

"Oh—"

Wen Cishu got it now and shoved him halfheartedly as he went in for a hug—not that it stopped him.

"You just selfishly plan to send Yi Ming abroad and are even looking for a study partner for him, right?!"

Bao Tingyuan swept the pliant figure into his arms and headed toward the bedroom: "I'm still looking for something else."

"What?"

"It's a secret for now."

Wen Cishu thought to himself, "Perfect, I’ve got one too."

He usually couldn’t keep things to himself and would grill him about everything.

But today, he didn’t push for details.

Bao Tingyuan, instead, looked at him and asked, "Not curious?"

Under his gaze, Wen Cishu pouted his lips, then leaned back just as Bao Tingyuan moved in for a kiss, chuckling, "Bao Tingyuan, how can you crumble at the slightest test? Zero restraint!"

Black hair cascaded over Bao Tingyuan’s shoulders, swaying like willow tendrils in a warm breeze.