Chapter 14: Chapter 14 Six Big, One Small, One Mini.

Chapter 14: Six Big, One Small, One Mini.

The weather today was an improvement over the past few days, drawing many neighborhood residents out to the supermarket.

They encountered numerous familiar faces along the way. Song Qinian and Chi Yuehang exchanged polite greetings before pushing their shopping cart forward.

Lu Zhishi, nestled in the baby carrier in front of Song Qinian, enjoyed a high vantage point and a good view. He was busy looking left and right, wanting to try everything. Despite having no teeth, he seemed to crave every single item.

Song Qinian sighed, pulled out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the drool from Lu Zhishi's mouth. "Didn't we just finish eating before coming here?"

"Hmmph~"

After a quick word with the two adults, Lu Zhiyu grabbed Chi Chen's hand and darted off towards the snack aisle.

Though too short to see the items on the shelves, he bounced excitedly, eager to grab some potato chips.

Lu Zhiyu soon ran back, tugging at Song Qinian's shirt. "Daddy, Daddy, I can't reach!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," Song Qinian replied, pushing the shopping cart and following with quick, small steps.

Chi Yuehang chuckled as he walked, lagging a step behind them. He scooped up his own sturdy, little son. "Which one do you want? Daddy will get it for you."

Chi Chen surveyed the options, then shook his head, his voice flat. "I don't want anything."

Chi Yuehang ruffled his son's hair, then, after a brief word with Song Qinian and the others, carried Chi Chen towards another aisle.

"How about we look at Rubik's Cubes then? We can buy two here to play with for now, and later Daddy will have some custom-made for you."

A faint smile touched Chi Chen's face as he wrapped his short arms around Chi Yuehang's neck and nodded. "Mm."

Song Qinian ruffled Lu Zhiyu's hair and scooped him up with one arm. "What do you want? Daddy will buy it for you."

Lu Zhiyu began loading various chip bags into the shopping cart: "Cucumber flavor, tomato flavor, original, barbecue flavor..."

As Song Qinian listened to the little one chattering away while picking chips, a smile played on his lips, and he even helped add a few more bags to the cart.

A small, chubby hand reached out, pinched the corner of a tomato-flavored chip bag, pulled it into his embrace, and held it tightly without moving, quiet and still like a little baby accessory clutching a bag of chips.

Song Qinian: "?"

Song Qinian: "Do you want it too?"

The little accessory hugged the chips even tighter.

Song Qinian helplessly raised a hand to massage his temples. "You can't eat them."

Lu Zhishi feigned ignorance, pretending not to understand, and continued to hold the chips without moving. When Song Qinian reached out to take the chips from his arms, the little one protested with a "Pfft..."

He can't eat them, but can't he at least hold them?

Lu Zhiyu spoke up for his baby brother: "It's okay. If baby brother can't eat them, I'll eat them for him."

"Taking them home is fine, but you can't hold them like that. Be careful the packaging doesn't scratch your face," Song Qinian agreed.

Lu Zhishi frowned, his little head drooping pitifully, looking utterly dejected.

With a face so similar to Lu Tingan's, Song Qinian's heart softened at the sight. He stroked the little one's curly hair and said, "Alright, alright, if you like it, you can hold it. Just be careful not to scratch your face."

He took out a handkerchief to wipe Lu Zhishi's eyes and nose, his tone resigned. "Little crybaby."

Lu Zhishi, who hadn't shed a single tear: "?"

Potato chips weren't enough—Lu Zhiyu also called out to his Daddy to buy jelly and candy. "Buy!"

Song Qinian raised an eyebrow slightly and helped put jelly and candy into the shopping cart, asking, "Weren’t we supposed to be buying New Year's goods this time?"

Lu Zhiyu puffed out his chest. "Jelly and candy are New Year's goods too!"

Song Qinian chuckled. "New Year's goods for kids, you mean?"

Lu Zhiyu smiled sheepishly, his soft, chubby cheeks blushing slightly as he nuzzled against Song Qinian's head shyly. "Daddy, buy."

Song Qinian’s father's heart melted. "Buy, buy, buy. We’ll buy it all. As much as you want."

Hearing this, Lu Zhishi’s eyes lit up too. "Awngh~"

Song Qinian leaned down and pinched his cheek. "You too, you too. You two little charmers."

They had set out to buy New Year's goods, but the shopping cart ended up piled high with snacks.

Chi Yuehang didn’t buy much—a few Rubik's Cubes and various fruits—but even that filled half the cart.

Though they didn’t manage to buy traditional New Year's goods, seeing the happy expressions on the three children’s faces made the outing worthwhile.

They had an authentic traditional hotpot from City A for lunch. As usual, Lu Zhishi watched from the side, drooling, and whenever he felt tempted, he drank some milk.

Poor little thing.

Before they even got home, Lu Zhishi was so tired he dozed off, his head lolling to the side. When he woke up, he was already lying in his own big bed.

Outside the window, it was gray and overcast, with light snow falling.

The bed was warm and cozy, and his Daddy and brother were beside him. Lu Zhishi blinked sleepily, closed his eyes again, and drifted back to sleep.

"Chubby baby, wake up, it's time for a bath."

A soft, gentle voice sounded in his ear. Lu Zhishi didn’t open his eyes but raised his hands, wriggled around on the bed to stretch, and let out a couple of little grunts.

Song Qinian looked at the little one with a smile, his gaze full of warmth.

He really looked like a little peanut, chubby and round.

Gently smoothing Tubby’s sleep-mussed curls, Song Qinian picked up the child and walked around the room with him, patting his back to help wake him up. Once he was fully awake, Song Qinian carried him into the bathroom for a bath.

After rubbing his head and scrubbing his hair, Lu Zhishi sat comfortably in the bathtub, soaking and reluctant to get out.

"Awngh~" For dinner, he ate delicious steamed egg custard, smooth and silky. Lu Zhishi’s appetite was huge—he also ate a big bowl of noodles and drank a bottle of milk.

In the end, he was so full he lay sprawled on the bed, his round little belly bulging, not moving at all, and occasionally letting out a small burp.

Song Qinian rubbed his belly for a long time before he felt relieved. "Little greedy cat, I won’t let you eat so much next time."

"Burp~" Lu Zhishi touched his belly and hung his head, knowing he'd been too greedy.

They had bought a lot of snacks that day, but Song Qinian was strict. Lu Zhiyu only ate one bag of chips and a few jellies.

As for the tomato-flavored chips Lu Zhishi had brought back, Song Qinian set it aside separately, planning to show it to Lu Tingan when he returned.

"We didn’t manage to buy New Year's goods at the supermarket today, so let’s look online for what to get, okay?"

Song Qinian gathered the two little ones, took out a tablet, and helped them browse for New Year's items together.

"Okay!"

"Yay!"

With a light smile on his lips, Song Qinian pulled up the shopping page for them to choose from while he watched from the side.

The city had banned fireworks and firecrackers, so they only bought beautiful Spring Festival couplets, paper cuttings, and lots of little lanterns to hang up later, which would still bring a festive atmosphere.

Although the New Year hadn't arrived yet, Lu Zhishi was already looking forward to it.

As the days passed and New Year's Eve approached, Song Qinian hired a cleaning service to clean the villa from top to bottom. He then took the two children to put up the Spring Festival couplets and window cut-paper art, and hung the lanterns.

"It's crooked, Papa, a little more to the left."

"How about this?"

"Still a bit crooked, just a little more."

Let me see how crooked it is.

Lu Zhishi pressed his chubby face against the floor-to-ceiling window, squishing it flat like a pancake just to watch Song Qinian and Lu Zhiyu putting up the Spring Festival couplets at the entrance.

It wasn't snowing outside, but the temperature was freezing. Song Qinian wouldn't let him go out, so Lu Zhishi had to watch from the window.

After finishing the couplets and window decorations outside, Song Qinian dusted the snow off Lu Zhiyu's clothes and warmed him.

He then picked up Lu Zhishi, who had been eagerly looking on from the window, and took him to hang the lanterns.

Lu Zhishi was bubbling with excitement, his short chubby hands tightly holding the lantern as Song Qinian guided him to hang it up.

He hung half, and Lu Zhiyu hung the other half. With the couplets and lanterns up, the house instantly took on a festive air.

After recording a video to show Lu Tingan, Song Qinian patted the two children's heads: "Papa Tingan will be back the day after tomorrow. Are you happy?"

Lu Zhiyu raised both hands, his big dark eyes filled with anticipation and longing: "Happy! I miss Little Dad."

Lu Zhishi pursed his lips, his eyes shining. He missed his dad too—it had been three months since he last saw Lu Tingan, and they usually only video-called.

Brimming with anticipation, Lu Zhishi fell into a deep and sweet sleep.

Lu Tingan arrived in City A in the early morning, avoiding the paparazzi and heading straight home by car.

All his weariness seemed to melt away the moment he saw the eight snowmen in his yard.

A smile spread across Lu Tingan's lips as he asked his assistant to rest first. He took out his phone and snapped a picture of the snowmen.

There were six large, one small, and one mini snowman, all wearing scarves and hats, making it easy to tell who was who.

At 3:43 a.m., the long-dormant Weibo account of the great actor suddenly posted a photo with the caption:

"Photo": Six large, one small, one mini.

Within just a minute, it shot to the top of the trending list, with likes and reposts quickly soaring past tens of thousands, and comments pouring in one after another.

"Finally updated, bro! When's the next update?"

vLu Tingan replied: "On Lunar New Year's Eve. Wishing everyone an early Happy New Year."

"Wifey wifey wifey wifey wifey wifey wifey wifey wifey wifey wifey"

"Hubby hubby hubby hubby hubby hubby hubby hubby hubby hubby hubby"

"Bro, post more selfies~ Hnnngh"

"Take more pics of your chubby fish and Fat Cheese! I wanna see!!"

"Living the good life, bro. ^V^"

…………

Lu Tingan replied to a few of the top comments, set down his phone, showered and changed in the first-floor guest room, then quietly went upstairs.

The room was softly lit by a small nightlight. His tall, broad lover was lying on his side, still asleep, with two little ones sound asleep beside him.

Lu Tingan's expression softened. He walked over and tucked the blankets in around the two children, gently placing a chubby foot that had kicked out back under the covers.

Lu Zhishi frowned slightly, retracted his chubby foot, wriggled and squirmed, turned onto his side, and with his little belly pooched out, fell back into a deep sleep.

Lu Zhiyu, sleeping beside him, sleepily reached out habitually to hug his brother, patted his back gently, and fell back asleep.

Lu Tingan sat by the bed, his heart melting. He leaned down and planted very soft, gentle kisses on their foreheads.

"Gege?" Song Qinian sat up beside him, just waking up, his voice raspy.

"Mm, did I wake you?"

Lu Tingan stood up and walked over. Song Qinian wrapped his arms around Lu Tingan's waist, resting his forehead against his stomach: "Gege."

"Mm." Lu Tingan rubbed his ear, his other hand gently stroking the back of Song Qinian's head.

Song Qinian looked up, his beautiful peach-blossom eyes fixed on him, and tugged at Lu Tingan's wrist to pull him down.

"Gege, I missed you so much, so very much..."

"I missed you too, Qinian..."

Lu Zhishi sleepily opened his eyes, as if dreaming of his Papa Tingan.

Still half-asleep, the little one closed his eyes and fell back asleep.