Chapter 8: Chapter 8 Are You Coming Back for Lunch?…

Chapter 8:

"Are you coming back for lunch?"...

Lu Zhishi perked up his ears, listening to Grandpa Lu. Suddenly, a small fishing rod was placed in his chubby hands.

Lu Zhishi: "?"

He gets one too?

Tubby, nestled in Grandpa Lu's arms, instantly brightened. He quickly clutched the rod with both chubby hands, afraid Grandpa Lu might regret it and take it back.

The curly-haired toddler gazed eagerly at the small lake, hoping to catch a big fish to bring home for Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, and Brother to make soup.

Grandpa Lu laughed heartily again, "My good grandson is just like me—he loves fishing!"

Lu Zhishi cooperatively looked up and grinned, revealing his toothless pink gums. He was so adorable, it could melt anyone's heart.

Grandpa Lu wrapped an arm around his chubby waist, holding his own large fishing rod firmly with one hand while supporting Lu Zhishi's small rod with the other.

Grandfather and grandson, wearing large and small straw hats, were so engrossed in fishing that they lost track of time.

With autumn setting in, the sun in City A wasn't too strong, casting a warm, gentle light. A cool breeze drifted by, making everything comfortable and pleasant.

The small fishing rod twitched slightly. Lu Zhishi immediately gripped it tightly, staring nervously at the lake, just making out faint ripples spreading in circles.

"Ah! Ah ah—" the little one called out to Grandpa, "There's a fish, quick!"

"Grandpa knows," Grandpa Lu set down his own rod, patting Lu Zhishi's head to soothe him. "Wait a bit longer, let it get a good bite."

Lu Zhishi had never fished before, but he knew listening to Grandpa Lu was always right.

After watching for a while, Grandpa Lu slowly reeled in the line, chuckling over Lu Zhishi's head, "Seems like a big fish."

It truly was a big fish. With a scoop of the net, Grandpa Lu weighed it on Old Zhao's scale—over five pounds, plump and silvery, clearly well-fed by the community.

Nearby anglers gathered to watch. Grandpa Lu held his little grandson, grinning from ear to ear.

"It wasn't me who caught it—it was our little Shi."

"Hey, kids are amazing. Look, first time fishing and he lands one over five pounds."

"No thanks, not for sale. We're taking it home."

While chatting with others, Grandpa Lu didn't forget to dab Lu Zhishi's face with a cool towel and adjust his little straw hat.

Lu Zhishi held onto Grandpa Lu's arm, sitting on his lap, watching the anglers come and go, his eyes curved in a smile.

"Hehe…" *Going home to make fish soup.*

The sun grew stronger, indicating it was nearing noon. Grandpa Lu hadn't fished all morning, instead spending the time holding Lu Zhishi as they peered into the bucket at the fish.

Being a toddler made him act childish—Lu Zhishi reached into the bucket, touching the fish's head, occasionally trickling water into its gaping mouth.

"Alright, it's getting hot. Time to head home." Grandpa Lu picked him up, dried his hands with a towel, left the fishing gear in the lakeside cabin, and carried Lu Zhishi in one arm while holding the bucket in the other on their way home.

Returning late and noticing sweat on the child's forehead, Grandpa Lu got an earful from Grandma Lu.

The towel scrubbed over his cheeks and head, leaving Lu Zhishi's chubby face flushed, his curly hair tousled, eyes sparkling. After a bath, the little one smelled sweet and milky.

He did seem much happier than before, which put Grandma Lu at ease.

Song Qinian came back at noon for a while. Missing him, Lu Zhishi downed a bottle of milk, then snuggled into Song Qinian's arms and fell fast asleep.

After napping until 3:30 PM, Lu Zhishi woke up to find Song Qinian had already left for work. He lay on his side under the little blanket, drowsily blinking awake.

Once more alert, Tubby rolled over onto his stomach, pushed up with his bottom, and grunted with effort trying to sit up.

After struggling for a long while, the little one finally sat wobbling on the bunched-up blankets.

Clutching the blanket tightly to steady himself, Lu Zhishi sighed in relief—he could finally sit up.

He just didn’t know when he’d be able to crawl; he wanted to get out and explore more.

Before becoming a toddler, time always felt like it flew by. Now, as a little one unable to do much, time seemed to slow down.

The milky little baby sighed like an adult, his small brow furrowed.

But he couldn’t develop too quickly; he had to be like other toddlers, or it’d seem out of character.

Last time, he even heard Song Qinian jokingly ask if he’d skipped the Meng Po Soup.

Sighing again, Lu Zhishi suddenly felt that being an actor wasn’t easy—his Movie Emperor dad was truly impressive.

Shaking his head, Lu Zhishi waited a while, but no one came in. He tilted over into the blankets, grunted as he rolled, pushed up with his bottom to sit, and practiced repeatedly until Grandma Lu opened the door and carried him downstairs.

There wasn’t much to do in the afternoon. Lu Zhishi curled up in Grandma Lu’s arms, listening to TV. He’d laugh at funny scenes and widen his eyes or frown at absurd, dramatic plots, his expressions full of lively emotions.

When Lu Zhiyu returned from school in the evening, Lu Zhishi turned and reached for him, wrapping his plump little arms around Lu Zhiyu’s neck, babbling in his ear to take him to see the fish.

Lu Zhiyu glanced back at his dad, then, while Song Qinian wasn’t looking, leaned down and kissed Lu Zhishi’s little head, whispering, "When big brother is on break, I’ll take you fishing. We’ll catch all kinds of fish."

Lu Zhishi grinned, showing his gums. "Mhmm…"

The two children, one big and one small, gathered to admire the big fat fish. Grandma Lu came out holding a spatula, gesturing at the fish and saying, "Steam half and make soup with the other half. Perfect, since Zhishi can try a bit too. We’ll make a few other dishes—dinner will be plenty."

She told Song Qinian, "Qinian, call your parents and ask them to come over for dinner."

"Okay." Song Qinian responded, finished washing the vegetables, and called Song’s parents to invite them.

When Song’s parents arrived, the family enjoyed a lively dinner together. Lu Zhishi also got a taste of fish and fish soup—Grandma Lu had set aside a small bowl for him, prepared mild enough for him to eat.

They stayed quite late, and as night deepened, Song Qinian carried two drowsy children to the car to head home.

Lu Zhiyu managed to stay awake long enough to bathe and brush his teeth, but Lu Zhishi was already sound asleep.

Song Qinian gently carried the soundly sleeping Tubby, bathed him tenderly, and tucked him into bed.

Lu Zhiyu, already lying down, opened his eyes drowsily and pulled Lu Zhishi into his arms to sleep.

After covering both children with the blanket, Song Qinian dimmed the bedroom light, took his pajamas, and went to wash up.

Lu Tingan was extremely busy. Song Qinian only managed a ten-minute call with him before staff from the film crew came to fetch him again.

"Go ahead and work, ge," Song Qinian understood his schedule. "Let me know when you’re done."

Lu Tingan’s handsome face showed a trace of fatigue. He leaned closer to the camera, blew a kiss to Song Qinian, and said softly, "Not sure when I’ll finish. Don’t wait up—rest early, and don’t work too late."

He added, "Song Xiaonian, you’ve worked hard." After hanging up, Song Qinian’s ears still felt warm, a smile already curling at the corners of his lips.

After learning that Father Lu had taken Lu Zhishi fishing, Father Song also took the two children to a private swim club and water park over the weekend, spending two days playing together.

Father Lu was furious.

He'd originally planned to take the two children fishing over the weekend, but Father Song took them both days, and only returned Lu Zhiyu on Monday to send him to school.

Lu Zhishi didn't know about this; he didn't have a phone and couldn't see the two grandfathers' social media posts.

Through hard work, he'd already learned to sit up and was working on crawling.

At three months, he practiced lifting his head; at four months, he could roll over; at five months, his first little teeth hadn't come in yet; by nearly six months, he could sit up wobblily. As autumn passed, Lu Zhishi grew taller and chubbier.

At six and a half months, the chubby baby could already crawl around, though not very skillfully—sometimes he'd tumble while crawling, face-planting and having trouble getting back up.

He loved crawling all over the villa, so Song Qinian had to carpet most of the villa.

This made it easier for Lu Zhishi. When hungry, the chubby baby would crawl from one end of the carpet to Song Qinian, flop against his leg, and babble to be fed.

"Ah..." Lu Zhishi opened his mouth wide and took a big bite of the meat porridge Song Qinian fed him, chewing with his chubby cheeks puffed out, his big, clear eyes gazing at Song Qinian.

Song Qinian wiped his mouth with a wet wipe, watching him finish one spoonful and open his mouth again, waiting obediently like a hungry baby bird. Song Qinian couldn't help but smile.

"Aah..." Lu Zhishi held onto the railing of his high chair, reached out to touch Song Qinian's wrist, and opened his mouth—asking for another bite.

Song Qinian laughed at him: "You little greedy gut."

Lu Zhishi chewed the meat porridge—yep, that's exactly what he was.

The little one hardly ever got to eat meat, so he was craving it badly.

After four months of formula, two months of rice porridge, and occasional fish porridge, anyone would drool at the sight of meat.

He'd been eating fish porridge for some time, and only last night did Song Qinian give him meat. Tasting meat again after so long made Lu Zhishi overjoyed; he even dreamed about eating meat that night, giggling in his sleep with his mouth open.

After finishing one bowl, Song Qinian didn't let him eat more.

"Feel your belly—it's already so round. Wait a bit for it to digest before eating more." Facing the chubby-faced Tubby, Song Qinian took the bowl away to keep him from craving more.

Lu Zhishi held onto the high chair, watching him walk away. "..."

He lowered his head and pinched his little belly, puzzled—it wasn't round; wasn't it always this plump?

Before Lu Zhishi could finish sulking, Song Qinian handed him a small bottle of milk, picked him up, and prepared to trim his nails.

Lu Zhishi drank from the bottle, nervously watching his chubby little hand held by Song Qinian.

Sensing his nervousness, Song Qinian smiled without looking up, gently trimming his slightly long nails, smoothing them carefully, and finally taking him to wash his chubby hands and feet.

After setting his younger son aside, Song Qinian brought the other little one over, trimmed his nails, washed Lu Zhiyu clean, and let them run around.

Lu Zhiyu lifted Lu Zhishi from the carpet like unstickering him, grunting with effort as he carried him outside.

Song Qinian followed behind, watching them head to the right side of the yard, passing through the small wooden gate between the two villas to go next door. Leaning against the doorframe, he smiled and asked, "Are you coming back for lunch?"

Lu Zhiyu stopped, turning with difficulty to say, "Dad, we're not coming back for lunch. We're eating at Chi Chen's house; Uncle Bai said we're making dumplings."

Lu Zhishi, who was sliding down, also nodded, raising his chubby hand and waving: "Ba-ba..."

I'm not coming back for lunch either, Dad. Bye~