Chapter 18: Chapter 18 “Grandpa, My Fish!”

Chapter 18

"Grandpa, my fish!"

As he was picked up, Lu Zhishi quickly clutched his brother's sleeve, gazing at him pleadingly: "Brother, wait~"

Ruffling his hair, Lu Zhiyu smiled and said, "Okay, brother will wait for you."

Lu Tingan carried him back, sat him on his lap, and dressed him in cotton pants, a small padded jacket, and a down coat, bundling him up nice and warm before letting him out.

"Come back early tonight, don’t stay out too late, and don’t take off your clothes while playing outside."

Song Qinian stood at the door, watching the two little ones leave, calling out a reminder.

Lu Zhiyu turned back and waved at him: "Got it, Dad."

Lu Zhishi also stopped.

All bundled up, he looked round and chubby, struggling to raise his arm and wave: "Bye-bye~"

The neighborhood was well-lit, with ample street lighting. The Song family lived close to the Chi family, just a short walk away.

Watching them enter the Chi family’s gate, Song Qinian finally felt at ease and went back inside.

Lu Zhiyu held Lu Zhishi’s hand as they entered. Both the Chi and Bai grandparents were there, and Chi Chen was also in the living room watching TV.

"Grandpa Chi, Grandma Chi, Grandpa Bai, Grandma Bai," Lu Zhiyu said cheerfully, beaming and outgoing. "Good evening, I brought my brother over for a visit."

Lu Zhishi raised his hand and waved, his little voice sweet and adorable: "Hello, grandpa~ hello, grandma~"

Every New Year, either Lu Zhiyu would visit the Chi family, or Chi Chen would go to the Song or Lu family. The elders loved having them come visit.

This time, Lu Zhiyu brought Lu Zhishi along, and the four elders were absolutely delighted, quickly welcoming them inside, offering candy and milk cookies, calling them "little darlings" with every bite.

"Let Grandpa see whose little treasure this is, so cute, pale, plump, and round, just like a little lucky baby~"

"Sweetie, would you like some candy? Grandma will get some for you."

Surrounded by the doting grandparents, Lu Zhishi held the candies and cookies they gave him in his chubby hands, looked up, and gave them a sweet smile: "Grandpa, grandma~"

The grandparents adored him even more!!

Chi Yuehang and Bai Yansheng weren’t there; they were resting in their rooms upstairs.

Bai Yansheng had been performing surgeries for two days straight and only returned home on New Year’s Eve. After the reunion dinner, he went upstairs to sleep, and Chi Yuehang went up to keep him company.

The front pocket of Lu Zhishi’s clothes was filled with candies and cookies from the grandparents. He sat politely on the sofa, watching the New Year’s show for a while.

Knowing the children weren’t keen on watching it, Chi’s father told them to go upstairs to play on their own and brought a plate of fruit for them to eat.

"Let’s play games!! Let’s watch a movie!!"

As soon as Lu Zhiyu entered the room, he let loose, taking off his coat and shoes, bouncing onto the bed, and letting out a satisfied sigh: "So nice—"

Chi Chen paid him no mind, holding Lu Zhishi’s hand as they entered and closing the door.

He placed the small down coat he was carrying on a nearby hanger, then pulled chubby Lu Zhishi closer to remove his padded jacket.

Earlier downstairs, Chi’s mother, worried the little one might catch a chill, had only taken off his down coat, leaving the padded jacket on.

Now back in the warm room, there was no risk of catching a cold, so Chi Chen helped him take off the jacket.

Once the jacket was off, Lu Zhishi felt much lighter and less restricted.

Squirming and stretching, he found it much more comfortable. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Chi Chen: "Thank you, brother~"

Chi Chen hung up the clothes, smoothed his tousled curly hair, and replied softly, "Mm, tell me if you’re cold."

Lu Zhishi nodded: "Okaay~~"

Carrying him to sit on the carpet, Chi Chen fed him some fruit. Lu Zhiyu slid off the bed and turned on the TV.

He turned to Chi Chen and asked, "How about watching a movie?"

Chi Chen looked down, using a tissue to wipe Lu Zhishi’s mouth, and nodded: "Sure."

If they watched a movie, Lu Zhishi could join in too.

Lu Zhiyu switched to the movie channel, selected a newly released animated film, then pulled Lu Zhishi into his arms, nuzzling his head.

Chi Chen, holding a grape, paused mid-air, expressionless: "..."

That annoying little chubby fish.

Lu Zhishi couldn’t help but giggle a little.

He took Chi Chen’s hand and ate the grape, puffing his cheeks as he chewed, mumbling: "Thank you~"

Chi Chen poked his round, chubby cheek and replied, "Mm."

Leaning against Lu Zhiyu while watching the movie, Lu Zhishi opened his mouth to eat the fruit Chi Chen fed him, happily wiggling his little chubby feet.

Life was so comfortable~

After paying New Year’s visits and receiving red envelopes, Lu Zhishi returned home, brought out his small treasure box, and dragged it along to find Song Qinian and Lu Tingan.

"Dad, put it away~" His New Year’s money for this year was temporarily with his dads.

Lu Tingan, having changed clothes, looked down into a pair of dark, bright, innocent eyes, as Lu Zhishi tugged at the small treasure box, gazing at him pleadingly.

Lu Tingan chuckled: "Sit down first, Dad will get it for you in a moment."

Lu Zhishi obediently plopped down, clutching the treasure box and pressing his face against it.

The box was filled with his treasures.

Lu Tingan took the gift bag nearby, took out all the red envelope money, and placed it into the small treasure box.

Lu Zhishi lowered his head and counted.

Inside the small treasure box were mostly gold coins, gold beads, jade charms, and similar items, mostly given by his grandparents. A few black cards were from his two Dads, Uncle Chi, and Uncle Bai. Next to them were stacks of bulging red envelopes.

After checking, Lu Zhishi closed the box again, got up, and huffed and puffed as he pulled the small treasure box to the wardrobe to store it.

—Just a few more years of saving, and he’d have enough money to buy things for Dad, Brother, Grandpa, Grandma, Uncles…

Dad’s watch, Dad’s cufflinks, Brother’s robot, Xiao Chen’s Rubik’s cube, and for Grandpas, Grandmas, Uncle Chi, Uncle Bai…

He needed to save lots and lots of money.

After the New Year, the adults returned to work, settling into their nine-to-five routines, while the kids were back in school too, with their daily routines of classes and homework.

Only the little human, Lu Zhishi, remained at home, spending his days planting flowers, fishing, and basking in the sun, completely carefree.

Every time Song Qinian saw Tubby cozied up on the sofa watching TV, happily wiggling his chubby feet and giggling, he felt the urge to send him to school.

Lu Zhishi felt a chill on the back of his head and, puzzled, he reached up to feel it. Turning around, he met Song Qinian’s gaze: "Daddy?"

With his round-headed, chubby-cheeked face, and wide, bright black eyes blinking innocently, his body soft and chubby all over, he was just a toddler not even two years old—what use was school for him?

Song Qinian rubbed his temples and chuckled helplessly: "It's nothing, keep watching. Daddy was just thinking."

Lu Zhishi nodded, not fully understanding, and covered the chilly back of his head as he continued watching TV, occasionally letting out childish giggles.

The school organized a spring outing, so Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen were away for the week. With no one to play with, Lu Zhishi ended up going back to his grandparents' house to go fishing.

Wearing a small straw hat, a little raincoat, holding a small fishing rod and a wooden bucket, Lu Zhishi paced back and forth at the door in his little fisherman outfit, occasionally glancing toward the storage room.

Grandma Lu noticed and went into the storage room to scold Grandpa Lu, who was dawdling: "Hurry up, the kid has been waiting for so long. Get moving already..."

Grandpa Lu was chased out carrying a large bag, muttering, "I'm going, I'm going..."

Grandma Lu followed them out and said, "Come back early for dinner this afternoon. If it rains, remember to run home. Don’t let our precious get wet."

Grandpa Lu, carrying the big bag in one hand and a large fishing rod in the other, looked at the little toddler bouncing excitedly in front of him and laughed: "Don’t worry, even if I get wet, I won’t let him get wet."

Lu Zhishi excitedly ran to the small pond, greeted all the grandpas around, and claimed the best spot.

As soon as his grandpa arrived, he set up the small wooden stool, baited the hook, and swung the fishing rod—Little Master Lu was ready to start fishing!

The elderly men watched the little one affectionately. Thinking of their own mischievous grandsons and then looking at this fair, chubby little cutie, they couldn’t help but wish they could take him home to raise.

"If only he were my grandson, I’d take him home to raise alongside our Xiao Chen," Grandpa Chi stroked his beard and sighed.

Grandpa Lu adjusted his little grandson’s hat and replied:

"Old Song trying to steal my grandson isn’t enough—now Old Chi wants in too? How am I supposed to live, Old Lu?"

Grandpa Chi burst into laughter, and the other elderly men joined in, laughing heartily. Lu Zhishi's eyes curved into smiles, and he giggled along.

While the adults chatted, Lu Zhishi held his small fishing rod and focused intently on fishing.

Perhaps luck wasn’t on his side, as Lu Zhishi waited for a long time without any fish biting his big white worm—not even the big green worm.

The little one drooped his head dejectedly and sighed: "Aw, I didn't get any fish."

Grandpa Lu couldn’t bear to see his precious grandson sighing over the lack of fish. With a swing of his fishing rod, he outperformed himself and caught three big fish in just an hour.

He put them all into Lu Zhishi’s small wooden bucket and patted his little head: "These are all for our Zhishi."

Grandpa Lu’s way of comforting the toddler was simple and direct—just give him fish, give him all of it!

Later, he caught several more fish one after another, until the small wooden bucket was completely full.

Grandpa Lu wiped the thin sweat from his forehead with effort. His old back, bent from exertion, slowly straightened when he saw the little one’s admiring gaze.

Lu Zhishi worriedly patted his back: "Grandpa..."

The old man waved his hand proudly: "Grandpa is fine, Grandpa can still fish."

In the end, they didn’t get to fish anymore.

Who would have thought there'd be a sun shower?

Lu Zhishi was sitting peacefully on his small wooden stool when his little straw hat suddenly started pattering with raindrops.

He looked up—the sun was shining brightly, but the rain was falling heavily.

Lu Zhishi: "?"

Grandpa Lu frantically packed up their things, placed his large straw hat on his little grandson’s head, and ran off carrying the child and the bucket.

There were too many fish, and they were in a rush. Lu Zhishi watched helplessly as a big fish flopped out of the small wooden bucket, stubbornly flapped its tail toward the edge of the small pond, and plunged back into the water.

"Grandpa, my fish!"