Chapter 22: Chapter 22 “Brother Has, Little, Brother Xiao Chen Doesn’t Have…”

Chapter 22

"Brother has one, but little Brother Chen doesn't..."

The two bickering, overgrown toddlers, who had ignored each other before dinner, made up again after the meal.

Song Qinian personally did the coaxing.

Coaxing his wife and soothing his little one, Song Qinian had a real knack for it.

Lu Zhishi loved sweet talk the most. Initially pouting and silent, he was soon coaxed into grinning and giggling.

"Daddy~"

"Daddy's here, adorable Tubby." Song Qinian lifted him high, settling him on his shoulders, and carried him around the living room.

"Baby ate so many greens today, so awesome!"

Lu Zhishi proudly raised his chin. "Mhm!"

That's right, he was the best—he’d eaten half a plate of greens today, a huge improvement.

Lu Tingan sat on the sofa, looking down at documents, the laughter of his loved ones filling his ears as the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Time passed gently, peaceful and serene.

Lu Zhishi’s evening bath was given by Lu Tingan, because Song Qinian was busy admiring his bouquet of lisianthus and carefully selecting a vase for his flowers.

But Song Qinian didn’t forget to tend to his little one’s injection site.

After Lu Zhishi finished his bath, Song Qinian went into the bathroom, fetched a small basin of cold water, brought it out, and placed it in front of the little one.

"Come here, Daddy will apply a cold compress for you."

On the first day after a blood draw, you need to use a cold, damp towel, wrung out, to apply a cold compress to the injection site; you switch to a warm towel on the second day.

Lu Zhishi was wearing a light brown bear-themed onesie today, fluffy with a round little pom-pom tail on the backside, making him look even more adorable.

Obediently sitting cross-legged on the bed, Lu Zhishi pulled up his sleeve, revealing his soft, plump arm, segmented like lotus root.

The injection site was still as red and noticeable as in the morning, and the bruising around it seemed to have worsened.

The cold towel was a bit chilly. Still warm from his bath, Lu Zhishi couldn’t help but shrink his arm slightly at the sudden cold compress.

Song Qinian softly comforted him, "It’ll feel better in a moment."

It didn’t just feel better in a moment—it took nearly half an hour of applying the compress. But the cool sensation was soothing, and the injection site didn’t hurt as much.

After applying the compress, Song Qinian held his arm for a careful look, then got up to pour out the water in the bathroom. Lu Zhishi flipped over and scooted backward off the bed, little legs pattering.

He landed steadily on the thick, soft carpet, Lu Zhishi waddled over to the play area nearby, tiptoeing to reach the small vase he’d placed on the cabinet.

Coming out of the bathroom, Song Qinian’s heart leaped. He hurried over to support the little one and helped him retrieve the vase.

"Don’t try to reach for things up high like that next time. You could fall backward, and if something drops, it might hit you."

Song Qinian rarely spoke so sternly. Clutching the vase, Lu Zhishi nodded helplessly.

"You can call Daddy or your brother for help, or move a step stool to stand on. Both are safer than tiptoeing to reach things." Lu Zhishi hung his little head, chubby hands wringing together, his fair, plump feet unconsciously shuffling against each other.

"Daddy, I was wrong..." He knew he shouldn't have been lazy and avoided moving the little sofa.

Seeing the little guy knew he was wrong, Song Qinian patted his head. "Your brother used to be just like you, tiptoeing to reach things, and ended up bumping his head. He cried all night, and the swelling took half a month to go down."

Lu Zhishi looked understanding—so that’s what happened before, no wonder Daddy was so scared.

Lu Zhishi took two steps forward, snuggled into Song Qinian's arms, and nuzzled against his chest. "I’m sorry, Daddy~"

Song Qinian hugged him, reached out to tug the little pom-pom on the back of his pajamas, his expression softening as he whispered gently, "Remember to ask Daddy or your brother for help next time."

"Mhm, mhm~"

Patting his little bottom, Song Qinian stood up and handed him the vase.

"Alright, you can go play now."

Lu Zhishi hugged his vase and toddled over to the sofa area, plopped down on the carpet.

Checking to see if his flowers were wilting, Lu Zhishi counted them—there were nine lisianthus flowers in total.

"Daddy, when’s Gege coming back?"

"Brother and Brother Xiao Chen will be back the afternoon of the day after tomorrow. After you take two more big naps and one little nap, you'll get to see both of them."

Song Qinian also walked over and sat down next to the chubby little bear cub, lowering his head to arrange his own bouquet.

Lu Zhishi's eyes lit up, but then his little brows furrowed.

They wouldn't be back until the afternoon of the day after tomorrow—would his flowers still be fresh by then? How could he give them as a gift if they weren't fresh...

Shifting his little bottom to face the other direction, the soft, tubby boy looked directly at Song Qinian, blinking his big eyes.

Song Qinian could feel him staring without even looking up and couldn't help but chuckle. "Do you need Daddy's help with something?"

Struggling to express his needs with his underdeveloped toddler language skills, Lu Zhishi even raised his hands and gestured. "Keep flow... flow-ers f-fresh..."

His little milky voice rose anxiously, soft and sticky.

Song Qinian listened patiently and understood after hearing him out.

"You want to keep the flowers fresh, right?"

Lu Zhishi nodded vigorously. "Mhm, mhm! Daddy’s the best!"

"Okay, Daddy’ll take care of it tomorrow morning after we wake up, alright?"

Lu Zhishi, of course, agreed—it was so late now, time for bed.

Hearing they had finished talking, Lu Tingan called the little one over. "Come over for a story."

Time to sleep after listening.

Lu Zhishi toddled over, grabbed the bedsheet, hooked his chubby feet onto the bed, and Song Qinian, amused, gave him a boost from behind.

Climbing into his spot and cozied up, Lu Zhishi pulled the blanket over himself and quietly listened to the bedtime story.

As drowsiness set in, Lu Zhishi blinked sleepily, his eyes narrowing, and soon drifted off to dreamland.

Hopefully, this time, no white coats in my dream.

Not knowing what miraculous method the all-powerful Daddy Song used, the lisianthus flowers in the three vases remained in full bloom and vibrant.

Two days later, when Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen returned from their spring outing, Lu Zhishi immediately grabbed his small vase and headed to the Chi household.

"Li-little Brother Chen~"

Struggling to carry the small vase up the steps, Lu Zhishi’s eyes lit up when he saw Chi Chen coming out of the house.

Having spotted the chubby little one running over from the window, Chi Chen quickly went to help him up and took the vase from him.

Bending down, Chi Chen straightened Lu Zhishi’s messy clothes and patted his round belly: "Have you eaten?"

Lu Zhishi shook his head obediently: "Not yet~"

It was still a bit early; their family wouldn’t have dinner so soon.

Chi Chen led him inside, washed his hands, and fetched a bowl of egg custard from the kitchen.

It had been a while since Lu Zhishi last saw Chi Chen, and he missed him too. Tailing behind him like a little shadow, his voice tender and milky-sounding: "Brother~"

Chi Chen sighed helplessly, stopped to hold his hand, and led him out. He settled Lu Zhishi into a dining chair and sat beside him, scooping the egg custard to feed him.

Lu Zhishi opened his mouth wide for a big bite, chewing with his chubby cheeks puffing out, the baby fat on his face trembling slightly.

Chi Chen lowered his gaze, watching the little one swinging his plump feet while eating: "Are the flowers for me?"

Lu Zhishi nodded, his words muffled by the egg custard in his mouth: "For brother~"

"Why give me flowers?"

Enjoying the smooth, fragrant custard, Lu Zhishi unconsciously narrowed his eyes, his short legs swinging beneath the table.

"Brother has, li-little Brother Chen doesn’t~"

Chi Chen looked down, scooping another spoonful of custard, a soft smile flickering in his eyes.

So he brought flowers because he noticed Chi Chen didn’t have any?

Truly a little one.

Pinching the baby fat on Lu Zhishi’s cheek, Chi Chen finished feeding him the custard, then took him upstairs to his room.

As soon as he entered the room, Lu Zhishi skillfully kicked off his shoes, toddled over to his little sofa on short legs, and snuggled in comfortably.

Chi Chen went to get his backpack, unzipped it, and took out a small box.

Lu Zhishi curiously peeked out.

The box opened to reveal a plump, round seashell with a faint pink hue, delicate and beautiful.

Chi Chen placed the box into Lu Zhishi’s arms: "For you."

Clutching the box, Lu Zhishi looked up at his Brother Chen with grateful eyes—he’d even brought him a gift from the spring outing: "Brother, wow!"

Chi Chen: "Mhm."

His expression remained neutral, not mentioning how he’d spent a week searching back and forth along the shore for the perfect shell.

Lu Zhishi couldn’t put the beautiful shell down, wishing he could rush home right away and have his all-powerful dad make a protective case for it—he wanted to wear this shell on his belt!

Seeing how much he liked it, Chi Chen relaxed his clenched hand and turned to put his backpack away.

Lu Zhishi held the small box, his big eyes sparkling, and slid down from the sofa with a little kick.

"Brother, go, go home~"

Chi Chen’s hand paused as he was putting the backpack away—leaving so soon?

Keeping his expression calm, Chi Chen held his hand and walked him downstairs, carried him down the steps outside, and stood silently at the door watching the little one run home with the box.

Stepping inside, Lu Zhishi ran to the living room calling out: "Dad, come quick!"

All-powerful big dad, where are you?

Hearing his tiny voice, Song Qinian thought something was wrong and hurried out from the kitchen.

Quickly taking off his apron and setting down the spatula, Song Qinian rushed to the living room to check on the child: "What’s going on?"

Lu Zhishi turned and saw him, scurrying over to show him the small box.

"Dad, wan-want case…"

His toddler language skills still developing, Lu Zhishi could only pick simpler words to express himself.

Song Qinian crouched down, pulled the child into his arms, and looked at the beautiful shell inside the box.

"Did Brother Chen give this to you?"

"Mhm mhm~" Lu Zhishi nodded vigorously: "Pwetty!!"

"Really pretty." Song Qinian nodded, picking him up: "Do you want a protective case to put the little shell in?"

"Ye-yes~" Lu Zhishi covered his mouth, tripping over his words in excitement.

"Alright, Dad will have a case delivered after finishing dinner, okay?"

Lu Zhishi wrapped his arms around his neck, nuzzling his face against him, saying in a milky voice: "Okay, Dad, you're amazing!"

In his and Lu Zhiyu’s hearts, Song Qinian and Lu Ting'an were all-powerful.

After cuddling with Song Qinian for a bit, Lu Zhishi wriggled out of his dad’s arms and scurried out the door again.

"Leaving again? Remember to come back for dinner." Song Qinian stood at the door watching the little one go.

"O-tay~" The chubby little one, not looking back, toddled on short legs toward the Chi household, his small milky voice drifting back from afar.

Song Qinian shook his head helplessly and returned to the kitchen to finish making dinner.

Lu Zhiyu, having packed his luggage, came downstairs and looked around the living room but couldn’t find his adorable little brother.

A fluffy-haired head popped out at the kitchen door: "Dad, where’s little brother?"

"He went to see Brother Chen."

Song Qinian offered him a piece of apple, "Are you going too?"

Chewing the apple, Lu Zhiyu hugged Song Qinian’s leg, then turned to leave, mumbling: "Mhm, be back before dinner."

Alright, Song Qinian watched another little one head off to the Chi household.

Only Chi Chen was at the Chi household. Bai Yansheng wasn't off work until evening, and Chi Yuehang had gone bringing him dinner.

When Lu Zhiyu entered, he thought Chi Chen was playing with his younger brother, but surprisingly, the boy was actually doing homework.

His own younger brother sat quietly on the nearby sofa reading a storybook, not making any noise or fuss, just peacefully absorbed.

Seeing clearly what Chi Chen was working on, Lu Zhiyu’s expression stiffened, and he made to leave right away.

"Have you finished your homework?" Chi Chen suddenly spoke up.

Lu Zhiyu scratched his cheek. "Not yet…"

Chi Chen shifted aside, making room. Lu Zhiyu sat down dejectedly, took out a new notebook, and began writing the seven diary entries required for their spring outing.

As he wrote, Lu Zhiyu wondered—he had come to play with Chi Chen and his brother, so how did he end up doing homework instead?

Lu Zhishi sneaked a peek, holding his storybook and giggling softly.

While writing his diary, Lu Zhiyu made conversation: "Zhao Xiaoyun invited us to play basketball tomorrow. Are you going?"

Chi Chen didn’t look up, his pen moving steadily, his voice as calm and detached as ever: "No."

Lu Zhiyu pouted, burying his head in his writing, but his mouth kept running: "Why not? You don't have anything else to do tomorrow."

Chi Chen: "I'll sweat."

Lu Zhiyu heaved a long sigh. "Alright, alright."

Before the sigh was even over, his sweater was politely tugged by a small, chubby hand.