Chapter 19: Chapter 19 People Really Shouldn’t Set Flags….

Chapter 19: One really shouldn't jinx things...

Forget about the fish, survival is more important. If the little one got soaked, Grandpa Lu would never hear the end of it.

The rain grew heavier, and by the time they got home, they were both drenched.

Lu Zhishi tugged at his wet, soggy ringlets. He should’ve worn a rain hat instead of trying to look cool with the straw hat.

Grandma Lu scolded them while gathering clothes for their bath. "I told you to bring an umbrella when you go fishing. Where’s your umbrella?"

Grandpa Lu didn't dare utter a word. The tall, burly old man stood there with his head drooping, a sorry sight.

"At your age, do you think you’re still young? If you catch a cold and have to get a shot, don’t come crying to me..." Grandma Lu fussed as she dragged him into the bathroom. "You always forget to bring an umbrella. How many times is this now? All you care about is your fish! If you get a fever this time, I’ll throw that worthless fishing rod of yours in the trash..."

Grandpa Lu murmured apologetically, "I know, I know. I’ll remember next time. Don’t be angry—it’s not good for your health..."

Grandma Lu shot him an impatient look. "Hurry up and take a bath!"

After scolding the unreliable old man, Grandma Lu took clothes to the children’s room to bathe her grandson.

Lu Zhishi soaked in the hot water, squinting his eyes, with a swim ring around his neck, feeling weightless and relaxed.

Grandma Lu rolled up her sleeves and started scrubbing him—washing his hair, scrubbing his body. Lu Zhishi looked like a plump little turnip in her hands.

Once he was all clean, she wrapped him in a towel, dried him off, and dressed him. Worried he might catch a cold, she made him a cup of cold prevention medicine. "Drink this quickly. Don’t catch a cold."

"Thanks, Granny~"

After finishing his medicine, Lu Zhishi noticed another cup nearby, probably for Grandpa.

When Grandpa Lu came out after his bath, he saw that Grandma Lu had calmed down and happily went over to her, whispering something.

Lu Zhishi saw his grandmother suppressed a smile and shoot a fondly exasperated look at Grandpa Lu.

Lu Zhishi thoughtfully stroked his chin, his chubby cheeks moving as he pondered.

So, who did his Papa Tingan inherit his reserved composure from?

Of the several big fish caught that afternoon, only one was kept for Lu Zhiyu to eat after his spring outing. The rest were steamed, braised, boiled, and made into soup by Grandma Lu.

They invited the old couple from the Song family over, and the whole family ate their fill.

When they got home, Lu Zhishi stared at his Papa Tingan, getting lost in his father’s beauty.

So handsome, Papa!!

Song Qinian, having gathered clothes for a bath, turned and saw him like that, laughing heartily. "Why do you look like such a little admirer?"

Lu Zhishi puffed out his cheeks, giving his silly papa a resentful look, and said in a loud, baby voice, "Because... handsome!"

"Fat Cheese, you even know what handsome means..." Song Qinian laughed even harder, leaning against Lu Tingan as he chuckled.

Lu Tingan’s lips curled slightly, a faint smile shimmering in his eyes.

Lu Zhishi pouted, building up his emotions, then slid off the bed and clung to Lu Tingan’s leg, looking up at him with teary eyes. "Papa bad..."

Lu Tingan rubbed his little head and covered Song Qinian’s mouth to stop him from laughing.

Lu Tingan lowered his head and gently comforted the child, "Alright, Big Papa won’t laugh anymore."

Amusement danced in his eyes as Song Qinian took the chance to kiss his lover’s palm, then picked up the pouting Tubby. "Alright, alright, no more crying. Let’s go take a bath."

Lu Zhishi hung suspended in mid-air like a little kitten being carried by the scruff. "But... I already bathed."

Song Qinian said, "Then we’ll bathe again. Papa bought a new rubber ducky for you to play with in the bath."

Lu Zhishi reluctantly agreed and was scrubbed clean all over again.

After his bath and hair dried, the freshly cleaned little one burrowed into the blankets and settled in comfortably.

When Lu Tingan finished his bath, Song Qinian went to the guest room to get a foot bath basin and brought it downstairs. Soon, he returned with a small bucket of herbal soak.

Pulling up a small sofa to sit opposite, Song Qinian soaked and massaged Lu Tingan’s feet, speaking softly, "Why didn’t you tell me your feet were hurting?"

The water was a bit hot, and Lu Tingan unconsciously frowned, his voice quiet and measured. "It’s not too bad."

Lu Zhishi climbed out from under the covers, held onto Lu Tingan’s arm to stand up, and reached out to rub his furrowed brow.

The little one was plump and cuddly. Lu Tingan held his small body, his brow relaxing.

Kissing the child’s cheek, Lu Tingan said, "Papa’s fine, don’t worry."

Lu Zhishi hugged his neck and nuzzled against his hair.

The injury on Lu Tingan’s foot was an old one from filming years ago. Although it had healed, it still acted up occasionally.

Once the water cooled, Song Qinian dried his feet, applied medicated oil, and massaged them, his eyes downcast, his expression unreadable.

Rubbing the little head in front of him, Lu Tingan changed the subject. "I wonder how Xiao Yu is doing, if he’s eating properly."

The little one was on a spring outing—who knew if he was taking good care of himself.

"The teacher sent photos. The little one’s belly was round and content—he must’ve eaten well," Song Qinian said. "Besides, Xiao Chen is with him. He’s always reliable."

Lu Tingan nodded. Realizing Song Qinian couldn’t see with his head down, he added, "Mhm."

The little round head in his arms nodded along.

Lu Tingan looked down at him. "?"

Lu Zhishi blinked, giving a thumbs-up, and said in his baby voice, "Brother's the best!"

Human children are just adorable. Lu Tingan affectionately kissed his forehead and patted his little bottom.

Remembering something, Lu Tingan turned to Song Qinian and asked, "Do we need to take the child for a physical exam and vaccination tomorrow?"

"Let me check." Song Qinian wiped the medicated oil from his hands, picked up his phone, and glanced at the schedule. "We have a physical exam at nine tomorrow, then vaccinations."

The moment Lu Zhishi heard "physical exam," his scalp prickled. He quietly withdrew his hand from Lu Tingan’s grip, turned away, and burrowed back under the covers.

Everything else was fine, but drawing blood and finger prick tests always made Lu Zhishi cry from the pain.

After washing off the medicated oil, Song Qinian applied a medicinal plaster to Lu Tingan’s ankle, then got up to empty the basin.

Lu Tingan lifted the covers and slipped into bed, giving Tubby a gentle poke. "Didn’t you want to hear a story?"

Lu Zhishi slowly rolled over onto his back, blinking up at Lu Tingan.

Lu Tingan ruffled his hair comfortingly. "Don't be scared, the checkup will be over quickly."

Quick, but it's painful.

Lu Zhishi pulled the blanket over himself.

Half a minute later, a stubby little hand reached out from under the blanket, gave a polite tug at Lu Tingan's pajamas. A muffled little voice piped up, "Daddy, storytime～"

Lu Tingan pulled the blanket down just enough to uncover his face, leaned against the headboard with a storybook, and began telling his baby a bedtime story slowly and gently:

"A long, long time ago, there was a little bear living in the forest who loved to eat honey..."

Lu Zhishi fell asleep to the soothing, gentle voice, and drifted into sweet dreams with no white-coated doctors in sight.

No white coats in his dreams, but they were there in reality.

Lu Zhishi put on a stern face, expressionless as he stared at the doctor in front of him.

"Oh my, what a good little boy～ How old are you? What's your name? Where do you live?"

"How come you're so cute?" The white-coated doctor smiled at him, gently coaxing the child while preparing the needle. "You're the cutest baby I've ever seen, so pretty, pale and chubby, like a little angel～"

"You look so much like your daddy, both so handsome..."

Lu Zhishi was bombarded with wave after wave of sweet talk and soon succumbed, breaking into a shy grin.

Before he could finish smiling, the needle for the blood draw had already been inserted without him noticing.

Lu Zhishi's smile slowly vanished: "..."

Time after time he tried to stay on guard, and time after time he failed.

Why did he love listening to the sweet talk of white-coated doctors so much?

Lu Zhishi pouted, his eyes welling up with tears as he turned and buried his head in Lu Tingan's chest, sobbing, "Daddy..."

It hurts so bad!!

Lu Tingan lovingly stroked the back of his head and softly comforted him, "Don't cry, don't cry. It'll be over quickly, just like a tiny ant bite."

After two tubes of blood were drawn, Lu Zhishi sniffled and wiped his tears. Even though the needle was gone, the puncture site still ached faintly.

Lu Tingan pressed a cotton ball against it, leaned down, and kissed his head. "Sweetie, don't cry. Daddy'll get you a treat later, okay?"

Lu Zhishi nodded against his chest, his big eyes wet, his eyelashes drooping and stuck together, looking utterly pitiful.

Lu Tingan cooed soothingly, picked up the little one, and walked down the hallway, gently rocking him as he wiped the tears from his eyes and cheeks.

Lu Zhishi gradually calmed down, raised the hand that hadn't been used for blood draw, dabbed his cheek, and his eyes crinkling into a smile at Lu Tingan.

"Daddy～"

Lu Tingan nuzzled his little face. "Our Zhishi is a brave baby."

They went back to the blood draw room to pick up the checkup forms. As they were about to leave, the doctor who had drawn Lu Zhishi's blood came over asking for an autograph, unable to hide their excitement.

"Mr. Lu, could you give us an autograph? We've liked you for so long, we've watched all your movies."

"Of course." Lu Tingan switched arms to hold the child, took a pen, and signed his name on a stack of notebooks, his cool eyes carrying a hint of warmth. "Thanks for your support."

Blushing, the white-coated doctor took the notebooks and followed them out, smiling and waving to Lu Zhishi. "Goodbye, Fat Cheese～"

Chubby Zhi: "?"

Chubby Zhi politely waved back. "Bye-bye～"

This checkup didn’t require a finger-prick blood test, which made Lu Zhishi incredibly happy. His joyful expression lasted all the way until vaccination time.

There was no hiding or escaping it. Lu Zhishi resigned himself, nestling in Lu Tingan's arms as he looked at the grandfatherly doctor in a white coat in front of him.

The kind-eyed old grandpa smiled at him, and Lu Zhishi responded with a sweet smile of his own.

Aside from blood draws, he, Lu Zhishi, wasn’t afraid of vaccinations or anything else!

Ten minutes later.

"Wah wah..."

"Alright, alright, don't cry. When we get back, let Big Daddy put a warm towel on it for you. A little heat on the spot will make it stop hurting."

Lu Tingan held the sobbing little crybaby, gently patting his back while comforting him and accepting the medicine handed over by the nurse.

Why did the vaccine shot for little ones have to hurt so much? After a vaccine shot in the thigh, the medicine was both painful and numb, making tears stream down Lu Zhishi's face.

Tears fell drop by drop as Lu Zhishi couldn't help but sob. One really shouldn’t tempt fate.