Chapter 7: Chapter 7 Going Fishing with Grandpa.

Chapter 7: A Fishing Trip with Grandpa.

"What brand of mini gas tank is that? Send me the link, please."

"Your little one is so round-faced and chubby, fair-skinned and plump, loves to eat and sleep. I suspect he’s not a normal baby. Send him to my house; I'll check him out for you."

"S City, xxxx—my address. Mail him over for me to play with. I’ll return him if he cries. Thanks."

"Selling? You cover shipping."

"..."

The comments section on Weibo was flooded with @ mentions.

Lu Tingan curved his lips into a smile, scrolled through the comments, and remarked to Song Qinian, "The fans are quite endearing."

Song Qinian carried the sulking little one over, resting his chin on Lu Tingan’s shoulder as he peered at the screen.

The exposed photo of the little one was a back shot—a tiny, plump bundle cradled in his actor father’s arms, with one chubby foot hooked onto Lu Tingan’s shirt.

He was indeed an adorable little tot.

Song Qinian examined him closely and nodded in agreement, "The little one is a bit round..."

Lu Zhishi wasn't the fleshy kind of chubby; he was round, simply round.

Plump and pudgy, short and stout, he looked a little portly.

Lu Zhishi grew even more dejected, lowering his head and mumbling softly, as if trying to defend himself, looking utterly pitiful.

"Well, well," Song Qinian tilted his head to get a better look at the little one’s expression, "the little one feels wronged."

Since the child’s face wasn’t visible, Lu Tingan messaged his agent, saying there was no need to delete the post, but to monitor public opinion.

Putting away his phone, he took the teary-eyed little one from Song Qinian’s arms and gently patted his back.

The little sweetheart rested his chin on Lu Tingan’s shoulder, flailing his small arms near Lu Tingan’s ear, babbling tearfully.

Poor thing, still unable to speak, bullied by his mean daddy.

Lu Tingan carried him away from the mean daddy, soothing him softly, "There, there, Daddy has already stood up for you. Baby isn’t chubby at all, just a bit round, and very cute."

Lu Zhishi silently looked up at Lu Tingan, then at Song Qinian, who was smiling beside him, blinking his eyes.

—So are you really going to deceive such an adorable, three-month-old chubby gas tank, Daddy?

After comforting the poor, wronged little one, Lu Tingan held him in his arms and patted him gently. When Lu Zhiyu, who had just finished bathing, came over with his small pillow, Lu Tingan embraced them both and sat on the bed.

He read a bedtime story to the two children from a storybook, while Song Qinian packed his luggage nearby.

This filming trip was to a remote, underdeveloped southern town. Song Qinian had looked it up—the place had frequent rain, slippery ground, and unpredictable weather.

Worried, Song Qinian stuffed many thick clothes and daily necessities into the suitcase.

Lu Zhiyu was already used to his father frequently leaving for film shoots. Though reluctant, he didn’t make a fuss, quietly resting his head on Lu Tingan’s lap to listen to the story, his small hand clutching Lu Tingan’s pajamas, growing drowsy.

The soul inside Lu Zhishi was that of an adult. Even though he didn't want Lu Tingan to leave, he wouldn’t throw a tantrum like a real baby. Leaning against Lu Tingan’s chest, he listened to his voice while lost in thought.

He didn’t remember when he fell asleep. When he woke up in the morning, Lu Tingan and Ye Xi had already left. Lu Zhishi felt a pang of loss, then listlessly hugged his bottle and gulped down his milk.

After the hundred-day celebration, the guests gradually left and returned home, and life returned to normal.

A baby over three months old couldn’t do much—he had just learned to lift his head and struggled even to roll over. Lu Zhishi suspected it was because he was too chubby that he couldn’t manage it.

He was quite bored—unable to see distant things clearly, unable to speak the words he wanted to say, unable to read the books he wanted, unable to go to the places he desired.

Every day, either Song Qinian carried him around for walks, or Lu Zhiyu held him while listening to the TV to pass the time. If the weather was good, they could go to his grandparents’ house; if not, he could only stay home and chew on his hand.

Song Qinian had been quite busy lately with a lot of work matters. Lu Zhishi often saw him working late into the night.

Lu Tingan was also busy, squeezing in time to call the children at night before heading off to film night scenes. According to Song Qinian, he had lost a lot of weight recently.

Lu Zhiyu had to go to school, so the time he could spend with Lu Zhishi was mostly in the afternoons after school and on weekends.

For all these reasons, Lu Zhishi couldn’t wait to grow up quickly.

By five and a half months, he had learned to roll over. Bored out of his mind, he would roll around on the bed every day, from the headboard to the footboard, and eventually rely on Lu Zhiyu to carry him back to his original spot.

Lu Zhishi had also tried sitting up. Often, as soon as he got into position and Song Qinian let go, he would wobble and tumble headfirst into the blankets, whining and unable to get out.

Song Qinian said, "Drink more milk, and you’ll be able to sit up soon."

Lu Zhishi lay on his shoulder, his face flushed, whining pitifully a couple of times.

Song Qinian glanced back at him, almost laughing, and gently patted his little bottom, "Don’t believe me? Ask your brother, isn’t that right?"

Lu Zhiyu, who was lying on the bed reading a storybook, looked up and nodded, "Dad’s right, you need to drink lots of milk."

Skeptical but half-convinced, Lu Zhishi gulped down two bottles of milk, burped after finishing, and then successfully wet his pants in the middle of the night.

Late at night, with only a dim nightlight in the bedroom, Lu Zhishi’s face turned red with embarrassment. He whimpered for a long time before sheepishly rolling over and tugging at Song Qinian’s pajamas:

"Ah..." Daddy...

Song Qinian, who had worked late into the night and had only been asleep for less than two hours, was abruptly awakened, his mind still foggy.

"Baby wants milk, right? Daddy’s coming..."

Lu Zhishi babbled at him, and Song Qinian, thinking he was extremely hungry, hurried even faster.

"..." Lu Zhishi unconsciously clenched his fists and started chewing on them.

Fortunately, after feeding him, Song Qinian habitually checked his diaper—otherwise, Lu Zhishi wouldn’t have been able to sleep all night.

After being cleaned up and put in a fresh diaper, Lu Zhishi closed his eyes contentedly, making soft, comfortable purring sounds. As soon as he was laid on the bed, he fell fast asleep. Lu Zhiyu woke up briefly, drowsily hugging his brother before falling back asleep.

Having slept poorly the night before, Lu Zhishi couldn’t get up in the morning, sleeping deeply with his eyes closed.

Seeing how tired he was, Song Qinian didn’t take him to the company. Instead, he drove him to the Lu family’s old residence and took Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen to kindergarten.

When Lu Zhishi woke up, he stared at the ceiling above him, momentarily confused about where he was. After a moment, he remembered it was the Lu family home.

Blinking slowly, Lu Zhishi rolled over sluggishly, kicked off the blanket with one plump foot, and squirmed around on the bed, his little curly hair looking somewhat listless.

Clenching his fists and chewing on them, Lu Zhishi lay flat on the big bed, wide-eyed as he stared at the ceiling, wishing he could watch TV or go out to play.

When Grandma Lu tiptoed into the room, Lu Zhishi instinctively looked over, softening into a smile as he grinned at her: "Hiya..."

Grandma Lu’s heart melted into a pool of spring water.

The little one took after Lu Tingan, looking just like he did as a child, though Lu Tingan wasn’t as smiley as he is.

“Awake now?” Grandma bent down and gently picked him up, patting his back and checking his diaper. “Are you hungry? Grandma will take you to eat.”

“Mmm-ah…” Lu Zhishi patted his belly, feeling a little hungry.

“Alright, alright,” Grandma beamed, nuzzling his round little head. “Let’s go right now. Grandpa steamed some fish congee and is waiting for you downstairs.”

Lu Zhishi’s big, bright eyes curved into smiles, and he giggled with his toothless mouth: “Gee-ya…”

After washing up and changing his diaper, Grandma carried him downstairs, where Grandpa was reading the newspaper in the living room.

Seeing them come down, he set the paper aside and stood up to take the little one, giving him a little bounce. “Our little Zhishi is getting bigger again.”

After carefully looking him over, Grandpa ruffled his curly hair. “My, you've gotten so tall!” Then, as if remembering something, he added, “But you haven’t gained weight—still the same as before—just as roly-poly.”

Lu Zhishi’s eyes instantly lit up, and he proudly puffed out his chest, staring intently at Grandpa.

Grandpa understood immediately and showered him with eighteen idioms praising his height, calling him the fastest-growing and most handsome baby he’d ever seen, sure to grow to 1.8 meters someday.

Lu Zhishi tried to hold it in but couldn’t, his face flushing red with excitement as he wriggled happily in Grandpa’s arms: “Gah-gah-gah-gah—”

Grandpa laughed too, the old man with bushy eyebrows and big eyes roaring with laughter.

There's nothing the little one loves more than being praised for growing tall.

Lu Zhishi’s biggest dream right now is to drink plenty of milk, build a strong foundation, and grow to 1.8 meters someday.

In his past life, he was malnourished and only reached 1.735 meters by eighteen. Everyone called him “the short top student,” saying, “The number one in his grade is quite good-looking, just a bit short,” and “Good things come in small packages.”

Back then, Lu Zhishi was heartbroken about his height for a long time, channeling his sorrow into energy as he powered through two stacks of exam papers.

Grandma brought over a bowl of fish congee and couldn’t help but laugh seeing him so happy.

The little guy is just so cute and lively.

After gobbling down a bowl of fish congee, Lu Zhishi was so full he burped, lazily leaning back in Grandpa’s arms and kicking his little feet.

Song Qinian had mentioned when dropping him off that the little one had been feeling a bit bored lately: “If you have time, Dad and Mom, take him out for a walk. He’s been looking a little listless.”

Grandpa rubbed his belly, carried him upstairs, and changed him into a clean, cute little cotton shirt and off-white overalls.

He was a fluffy little Tubby.

“Let’s go fishing with Grandpa,” Grandpa said, packing the fishing gear, putting a little straw hat on Lu Zhishi, and carrying him toward the small lake behind the villa area.

Lu Zhishi had never been here before. After walking for a bit, they arrived to find several other grandpas already fishing.

“Old Lu, you brought your grandson along?” The grandpa with a square jaw greeted them cheerfully. “Bringing him out so young—Old Song would fight you if he found out.”

“Hmph,” Grandpa Lu snorted, settling down with the chubby baby beside him and adjusting the crooked little straw hat. He grumbled, “He’s not just his grandson. That old man snuck into my house before and took both Xiao Yu and Xiao Shi to go swimming. I haven’t even settled that score with him yet.”

Grandpa Zhao burst into laughter again. Everyone in their circle knew that day Grandpa Lu had posted three social media rants cursing Old Song as a sly old fox—how he’d come over smiling, inviting him for a game of chess, only for that cunning old man to sneak in and make off with the kids when no one was looking.