Chapter 9: Chapter 9 At Brother Xiao Chen’s House.

Chapter 9: At Brother Chen's House.

Hearing the commotion, Chi Chen opened the door to greet them.

Lu Zhiyu, his face flushed red, dragged his chubby little brother along, struggling. Spotting Chi Chen, he quickly called out, "Come help!"

Chi Chen glanced at Lu Zhiyu, then walked over expressionlessly. He took Lu Zhishi, who was constantly slipping from Lu Zhiyu's arms, pulled down the shirt that had ridden up to expose his little belly, and picked up a white sock from nearby.

Lu Zhishi let out a silent sigh of relief, wrapped his short arms around Chi Chen's neck, and rested his chin on his shoulder, breathing softly.

Chi Chen gently patted his plump little back to soothe him. Without turning his head, he said to Lu Zhiyu, who was wiping sweat beside him, "You could have put him in the stroller and pulled him over."

"I forgot in the rush," Lu Zhiyu replied, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe Lu Zhishi's drool. "I'll definitely remember next time."

Once inside, Lu Zhiyu habitually pumped some hand sanitizer from the dispenser by the entrance, then expertly retrieved a stroller from the first-floor nursery. Chi Chen bent down and settled the little one into it.

Lu Zhishi leaned back against the stroller seat and exhaled. After Chi Chen put on the sock that had fallen off earlier, he immediately pedaled his chubby feet, rolling the stroller with a clatter toward the kitchen.

"Ah..."

"Uncle hears you," Bai Yansheng turned around.

"Ah!"

Bai Yansheng chuckled briefly, "Yes, but we're having dumplings for lunch. You're having rice cereal."

Lu Zhishi circled Bai Yansheng’s legs twice in his stroller, grabbed his pants, and looked up at him with a pitiful expression.

They stared at each other for a moment. Bai Yansheng opened his mouth, about to say something.

Chi Chen walked in, with Lu Zhiyu, who was drinking milk, beside him.

Chi Chen calmly reached out and placed a hand on the little round head, stating flatly, "You can have it when you're older."

Lu Zhishi thought he was being tricked, as Chi Chen had said the same thing last time, and the time before that.

The little curly-haired toddler puffed out his cheeks, pulled Bai Yansheng’s pants closer, and rubbed his face against them, still whimpering softly.

Who could resist a toddler's charm—

"No, you can't have it."

Lu Zhishi turned his head, looking up at the expressionless Chi Chen, who then pulled his stroller and wheeled him away.

Lu Zhishi: "..."

Sitting in the stroller, he opened his mouth, his little chest heaving slightly as if he were on the verge of tears.

Chi Chen sat calmly in front of him and placed a small spoonful of milk pudding into his open mouth.

"Munch, munch..." Lu Zhishi instinctively closed his mouth and chewed. His eyes brightened as he opened them, wrapped his hands around Chi Chen’s wrist, and looked up, opening his mouth again: "Ah..."

Chi Chen glanced down at the short, chubby little hands wrapped around his wrist—pale and tender, with tiny dimples on the back.

Looking away, Chi Chen scooped another spoonful and fed him, occasionally taking out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

There wasn't much milk pudding—just a small, palm-sized container. It was specially brought back from abroad by Bai Yansheng and was safe for a six-month-old to eat.

After feeding him about half the container, Chi Chen put the rest away, reached out to feel Lu Zhishi’s round belly, and wiped his hands with a damp towel.

Letting out a small burp, Lu Zhishi saw Chi Chen turn his back to him, pull something from his pocket, and write on it.

Lu Zhishi tilted his head and saw what looked like a small notebook.

After preparing the filling, Bai Yansheng began wrapping dumplings in the kitchen, with Chi Chen and Lu Zhiyu helping. A little stroller followed closely behind, rolling along like a small tail.

Lu Zhishi pedaled his stroller to Bai Yansheng’s side, staying there quietly without crying or fussing, his round eyes wide open as he watched them wrap dumplings.

To accommodate the two children, the dumpling-wrapping basin was placed on a low table, with Bai Yansheng and the others sitting on small stools around it.

This made it convenient for Lu Zhishi to scoot around in his stroller and observe everything.

One moment, he circled behind Lu Zhiyu, grabbing his clothes and leaning his round head forward to peek at the table. The next, he slid over to Chi Chen, watching intently as he wrapped dumplings. Then, he happily rolled over to Bai Yansheng, resting his little hands on his arm, his dark, bright eyes fixed on the large white dumpling in Bai Yansheng’s hands.

The chubby little one couldn't walk yet, but he was quite agile in his stroller.

Seeing him scooting around, his face flushed as he stopped beside Bai Yansheng, slightly out of breath, Bai Yansheng washed his hands and picked him up, carrying him to the living room for a drink.

Lu Zhishi leaned on Bai Yansheng’s shoulder, his face red but his eyes bright, sniffing the faint scent of disinfectant and shower gel on Bai Yansheng.

The chubby little toddler blinked, buried his face in Bai Yansheng’s shoulder, and sniffed again, nodding unconsciously.

This scent was very similar to the one on Brother Chen.

Bai Yansheng didn't know what he was doing but held him with one arm while skillfully preparing milk with the other.

Clutching the bottle with both hands, Lu Zhishi drank eagerly. The redness on his face gradually faded, leaving only a soft pink hue on his fair, chubby cheeks, making him look even more like a peach.

Bai Yansheng found him increasingly endearing and couldn't resist pinching his cheek.

Lu Zhishi, still biting the bottle's nipple, looked up: "…?"

Before Bai Yansheng could withdraw his hand, he met the child’s clear, dark eyes and felt a little awkward.

But the next moment, before he could pull back, the little one had already pressed his face into Bai Yansheng’s palm and rubbed against it.

A smile touched Bai Yansheng’s eyes as he held him and gently ruffled his curly hair.

After drinking, they returned to the kitchen. Bai Yansheng paused at the doorway, his gaze falling on the plate of dumplings.

The plate, which had been only half full earlier, was now nearly overflowing. The two children seemed to be competing, placing dumplings one after another.

One looked serious, the other calm. When they saw Bai Yansheng enter, they both glanced over but didn't stop their rapid wrapping, even scrambling for the last dumpling wrapper.

Bai Yansheng: "...You've worked hard."

They had wrapped them so quickly that Bai Yansheng checked the clock and saw it was still early, so he wasn't in a hurry to cook the dumplings.

Chi Chen sat on the sofa watching TV, his face expressionless, but Lu Zhishi could tell he was in a good mood.

In contrast, Lu Zhiyu, sitting beside Chi Chen, also had a blank expression but didn't share Chi Chen’s cheerfulness.

Lu Zhishi sucked on his pacifier, secretly smiling with curved eyes.

Bai Yansheng had gone upstairs for something. Lu Zhishi glanced at Chi Chen, then at his brother, quietly sucking his pacifier as he waited.

Sure enough, not long after they started watching TV, Lu Zhiyu began to speak.

"When you were three years old and chased by a dog, who stayed by your side and ran with you without leaving?"

Lu Zhishi almost laughed out loud.

Chi Chen continued staring at the TV without even blinking: "Are you talking about that Husky you accidentally let loose?"

Lu Zhiyu acted as if he hadn't heard: "During the autumn outing when you were four, who went to great lengths to find you a pair of pants after you wet yourself?"

Chi Chen pressed his lips together. Lu Zhishi could see his molars clenching: "Who was it that woke up in the middle of the night to drink water and spilled it all over me?"

Lu Zhiyu, as if deaf to Chi Chen’s words, said indignantly, "Last month during the picnic, you stepped in bird poop—who worked so hard to find a faucet to help you wash your shoes?"

"..." Chi Chen kept his eyes on the TV and didn't retort.

Lu Zhishi couldn't hold back any longer, collapsing against Lu Zhiyu, laughing: "Haha..."

Lu Zhiyu caught him, pulled him onto his lap, and continued chiding Chi Chen: "Who was it—"

Chi Chen cut him off: "I’ll do your clay assignment for next week."

"Who was it—"

"Plus one paper-cutting assignment."

"Deal!"

Chi Chen’s tense back relaxed slightly as he leaned against the sofa.

"Haha—hahaha—"

He turned his head expressionlessly to look at the little one, who was doubled over laughing.

Chi Chen: "..."

He turned away, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and suddenly let out a short chuckle.

After eating dumplings at noon, Lu Zhishi finished his milk and, still sucking on his pacifier, snuggled into Bai Yansheng’s arms, drowsy and struggling to keep his heavy eyelids open.

Lu Zhiyu paced around Bai Yansheng a couple of times.

Bai Yansheng smiled softly and said, "How about we all go take a nap together?"

Lu Zhiyu nodded, "Okay."

Bai Yansheng carried the little one in his arms upstairs, while Chi Chen went home with Lu Zhiyu to fetch Lu Zhishi’s naptime essentials.

Lu Zhiyu told Song Qinian and then carried Lu Zhishi’s small blanket to the Chi household, with Chi Chen following behind, holding a chubby stuffed bunny.

A soft, tiny figure lay curled up in the middle of the bed, his little belly rising and falling as he slept soundly, though not entirely peacefully—his eyes were slightly open.

Lu Zhiyu tiptoed into the room and laid the small blanket over his belly. Chi Chen followed, tucking the chubby bunny into his arms.

Lu Zhishi instinctively hugged his plush rabbit, nuzzling it drowsily, one hand grabbing a corner of the blanket as his eyes closed tightly, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Lu Zhishi was still too young and could only sleep in Bai Yansheng’s bedroom, under his supervision.

Chi Chen and Lu Zhiyu returned to their own room and took a short nap.

Worried about Lu Zhishi, Lu Zhiyu woke up after a short while and lingered outside Bai Yansheng’s bedroom door.

He often brought Lu Zhishi to the Chi house to play, but this was the first time Lu Zhishi had slept over. Lu Zhiyu wasn't sure if he would feel uncomfortable or scared.

Chi Chen came out to check on him and silently crouched beside him next to the bedroom door.

When Bai Yansheng woke from his nap and saw them like this, he found it amusing and said in a hushed voice, "He’s still asleep."

The chubby baby slept until four in the afternoon.

Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen watched as the little one, eyes still closed, began to whimper and stretch his plump little body, wriggling around on the bed.

Chi Chen looked at him.

He thought, he really looks like a little caterpillar.

Lu Zhiyu skillfully picked up his younger brother, held him in his arms, patted him gently, and softly rubbed the back of Lu Zhishi’s neck.

Lu Zhishi lay against Lu Zhiyu’s shoulder, tilting his head and blinking slowly and drowsily, clearly not fully awake yet.

Chi Chen went to the nursery next door to fix a bottle of milk, tested the temperature on the back of his hand, and brought it to Lu Zhishi’s lips.

Tubby instinctively opened his mouth to suck on the bottle, one chubby hand reaching out to hold the bottle, his round cheeks puffing out with effort.

Halfway through drinking, he finally woke up. Lu Zhishi let go of the nipple, whimpering shyly, and looked around for Uncle Bai.

Chi Chen watched him for a moment, then turned to go find an adult.

After taking care of his needs, Lu Zhishi lounged lazily on Lu Zhiyu’s lap and finished the rest of his milk.

Chi Yuehang returned home from work carrying bags of stuff and, as soon as he entered, heard the sound of little wheels rolling rapidly toward him.