Chapter 68 Daddy Says Eat Up

Chapter 68: Daddy Says Eat Up

"Congratulations, baby, you're one step closer to becoming a real person!"

"Giggling..."

"..."

Sitting nearby, Shu Yangkuo paused. He gently guided Wang Wang’s little fist away from the bowl and softly told the child, "If it tastes good, say 'baba'." Wang Wang immediately clenched his tiny fist and earnestly uttered, "Baba," even before taking a bite.

The little one even let out a rough growl.

Shu Yangkuo chuckled, lightly patting the still-excited Shi Zai, urging him to feed Wang Wang quickly, as the child was growing impatient.

Wang Wang’s first solid meal was a mush Shu Yangkuo prepared from formula, rice cereal, and spinach puree mixed with water. By late May, Wang Wang had already tried formula with rice cereal and tolerated it well, so spinach puree was introduced, gradually expanding his palate to various foods. Wang Wang seemed to enjoy it; he opened his mouth eagerly whenever the spoon approached and finished the small bowl of mush in no time. He opened his little mouth again, but there was no more food in the spoon or the bowl. Just as he was about to pout, Daddy gently pressed his finger against Wang Wang’s little belly. Wang Wang looked down, giggled, and understood he was full.

From that day on, Wang Wang’s complementary foods featured new varieties every other day—partly to keep things fresh and prevent boredom, and partly to identify any food allergies early on. Sure enough, one was discovered—just like his daddy.

That day, it was apple puree. Shi Zai fed Wang Wang the first spoonful, which Wang Wang swallowed with a smack of his lips. But with the second spoonful, the little one sensed something amiss. He swirled the apple puree around in his mouth and then spat it out with a "wah," right onto Shi Zai’s hand. Thinking he might have choked, Shi Zai waited, but Wang Wang didn’t continue spitting. After wiping the child’s mouth clean, Shi Zai tried feeding him again. This time, Wang Wang tightly shut his mouth, grunting "en en" insistently and pulling his head back. Shi Zai coaxed him, "Wang Wang, this is yummy, try it again." But Wang Wang dodged left and right with his little head. When the disliked apple puree touched his lips again, he burst into tears with a loud "wah." A bit of the puree stuck to his lips because Shi Zai hadn’t moved the spoon away in time, making Wang Wang feel wronged and angry. He kicked wildly, flailing his little fists uncontrollably, and accidentally knocked the bowl to the floor.

After handing Wang Wang over, Shi Zai cleaned up the floor, reflecting that the little one was developing a stronger sense of self. His crying wasn’t mere fussiness—it was a form of expression. The correct approach was to comfort him properly and meet his needs appropriately.

Regarding "Wang Wang hitting Daddy," last month, after Shi Zai made Wang Wang cry by tapping his forehead, Shu Yangkuo had comforted him by letting Wang Wang hit him. That evening, he took Shi Zai’s hand and made him hit himself. Shi Zai laughed, confused, until Shu Yangkuo slowly explained that he felt it was wrong to use hitting as a way to stop Wang Wang from crying. Shi Zai didn’t think much of it—as Shu Yangkuo said, babies under six months should be indulged and accommodated, and allowed to vent their frustrations, since they can’t yet process or redirect their emotions. But after that, whenever Wang Wang cried because of him, no matter how intense the crying was, Shu Yangkuo would find other ways to comfort him without letting Wang Wang swing his fists.

Now, standing in front of the mirror with Wang Wang, Shu Yangkuo held the little one’s hand and gently tapped the mirror. "Wang Wang, look, who’s crying?" he asked. Wang Wang, with a pout, his cries softened, opened his eyes, and stared at the reflection. He paused in surprise, stopped crying, and just as Shu Yangkuo thought he’d succeeded, Wang Wang turned and buried his face in his shoulder, resuming crying loudly.

Shi Zai, watching from the side, was dying of laughter. What a little character.

Wang Wang was now crying at the top of his lungs. Shu Yangkuo knew he was both irritated and hungry. Holding Wang Wang close to his chest, he gently stroked his back and whispered softly in his ear:

"Wang Wang, be good. Daddy will make you a new meal, okay?"

"Wah wah..."

"No apples. Wang Wang will have veggie mush instead, okay?"

"Wah wah... en en..."

So it was the apples after all.

As Shu Yangkuo turned around, his wife looked up and burst into laughter. Shu Yangkuo’s eyelid twitched—he knew exactly what Shi Zai was laughing at. Struggling to keep a straight face, he said, "Honey, ask Yan Wei what to do if someone’s allergic to apples." But Shi Zai ignored him, still laughing hysterically.

"Foodie! Veggie!"

How could he be as adorable as Wang Wang!

Back when Shu Yangkuo first said "drink milk" using baby talk, Shi Zai had laughed at him, and Shu Yangkuo stopped. Of course, who knew if he still used those cutesy words when he was alone with Wang Wang during the day? But whenever Shi Zai was around, Shu Yangkuo avoided them, leaving the baby talk to Shi Zai.

Seeing this tall, stern-faced man become so gentle was already astonishing enough, but now he was saying "foodie" too—ha ha ha!

As Shi Zai straightened up, he noticed Shu Yangkuo had been watching him for a while, holding Wang Wang. Wang Wang blinked his big eyes, and when he saw Daddy looking over, he hummed twice before burying his face back into Shu Yangkuo’s shoulder. Since Shu Yangkuo needed to remake the meal, he handed Wang Wang to Shi Zai. "Wang Wang, go play ball with Daddy. Foodie will be ready soon." Shi Zai couldn’t help but laugh again. Taking Wang Wang, he headed off to play "ball" under Shu Yangkuo’s suddenly expressionless gaze. Ha ha ha ha!

After consulting Yan Wei, Shu Yangkuo was told to check Wang Wang for any red spots, but none appeared even by the next day. That evening, Shi Zai secretly let Wang Wang lick an apple again. The little one scrunched up his face, ready to cry, and Shi Zai finally realized—Wang Wang, like his daddy, just didn’t like sour tastes.

A false alarm, but a happy one.

Shu Yangkuo didn’t mind anymore—what was pride compared to being with his wife and son? After putting Wang Wang to sleep that night, he pulled his wife close and said:

"Honey, stop laughing. I’m just guiding Wang Wang to talk."

"Got it, got it. Ha ha ha ha..."

Shu Yangkuo sighed. Repetitive, cutesy words helped with the little one’s memory. Wang Wang could already understand many things around the house. If it weren’t for Shu Yangkuo patiently naming objects during the day, how would Wang Wang know what to look at when Shi Zai mentioned something at night?

His wife, like a deflating balloon, kept muffling giggles with his hand.

What was that sound? Wang Wang kicked his little legs. He hadn’t been sleeping deeply—was it the "bad mouse" from the story? Annoying sound. Wang Wang closed his eyes again but couldn’t fall asleep. The "pfft" sounds continued. His little teeth were coming in, itchy and a bit painful. Where was his teether? He grunted "en en." Why wasn’t anyone giving him his teether or patting him? Where were Daddy and Papa? He couldn’t sleep, his teeth hurt... so annoying, so annoying!

"Wah—"

The cry cut through the quiet night and room, startling Shi Zai.

Shu Yangkuo immediately got up. He’d known this would happen—he’d thought of checking earlier, but Shi Zai had pressed his lips against his chest, making him reluctant to push him away. Picking up Wang Wang, who was crying and flailing, Shu Yangkuo turned on a small light, slipped on a finger cot dampened with warm water, and gently massaged the little one’s first emerging tooth. Wang Wang soon stopped crying.

After comforting him on the big bed for a while, Wang Wang looked at Daddy, then at Papa, and laughed so hard his little chest trembled.

Shi Zai gently nuzzled Wang Wang’s chest. Their baby really loved to laugh. Crying was natural for babies under one—it was their way of communicating needs. So they never found Wang Wang’s cries annoying; even his crying was adorable. Heh. Once, when Wang Wang was crying, Shi Zai mimicked his "wah wah," and the little one paused in surprise, stopped crying, and giggled at him. But it only worked that one time.

Wang Wang closed his eyes comfortably, but he couldn’t fall asleep, even though he was tired. What was going on?

Hearing a soft "wah wah," Shu Yangkuo opened his eyes again. Getting up, he saw Wang Wang pouting, rubbing his sleepy eyes with little fists, on the verge of tears, looking utterly pitiful. This time, he couldn’t guess the reason—the little one was actually experiencing insomnia. Shu Yangkuo didn’t know why, but as Wang Wang grew, such occasional nights were inevitable. All he could do was comfort him.

But tonight, Wang Wang was particularly restless. He’d fall asleep in their arms but whimper as soon as he was put down, never settling deeply. Shu Yangkuo had no choice but to bring him to the big bed. Shi Zai woke up too and joined in comforting him, but with both of them awake and moving around, the little one grew even more upset. His eyes red, he seemed ready to cry loudly, squirming in Shu Yangkuo’s arms like a little eel, hard to hold and clearly frustrated.

Even the little one could feel frustrated.

Seeing Shu Yangkuo at a loss, having exhausted all his tricks, Shi Zai had a sudden idea:

"Hey, what if he suckles? Would that calm him down?"

"..."

"Heh, let me try. I’ve been wanting to test it..."

Without waiting for a response, Shi Zai took Wang Wang, undid his shirt, but didn’t know how to proceed.

"Hey, how do I get him to latch?"

"..."

Sighing, Shu Yangkuo guided Wang Wang’s head, helping him latch on, and warned, "Wang Wang has teeth now, be careful he doesn’t bite." Then he turned away, subtly adjusting his breathing. The little one was fussy, and the big one was...

Soon, Shi Zai hissed softly. Shu Yangkuo turned back quickly to find the older one grimacing and the little one giggling.

...

Taking Wang Wang back, Shu Yangkuo got up and said, "Honey, sleep first." He carried the wide-awake little one to the small living room outside the bedroom. After exploring there, Wang Wang grunted "en en," wanting to go further out, so Shu Yangkuo took him to the main living room.

For nearly an hour, following Wang Wang’s "en en" directions, Shu Yangkuo carried him through all three floors of the house. Only then did Wang Wang slowly drift off, his eyes narrowing. To prevent him from waking upon being put down, Shu Yangkuo stood by the crib for another half-hour, holding him until Wang Wang began smacking his lips in deep sleep. Finally, he placed him back in the crib—this time, truly asleep for the night.

As soon as he returned to bed, someone leaped into his arms. Without a second thought, Shu Yangkuo knew his wife was still awake.

"Should I comfort you too?"

"Heh heh, no need for that. Just holding me... is enough."

Shi Zai said the two repeated words in a whisper. In the moonlight, he saw the man’s ears turn crimson, and Shi Zai knew he had heard.

Ten minutes later, Shu Yangkuo carried his husband to the small living room.

The floor heating wasn't as warm at night, so Shu Yangkuo draped a coat over him, but it was left open. One of his nipples was slightly red, though not swollen. After staring for two seconds, Shu Yangkuo couldn't hold back any longer and lowered his head to kiss it... This was his, and even the little one couldn't take it away.

Shi Zai tilted his head back, tightly holding the man's head, feeling like laughing but soon gasping for breath. Only then did he understand why the man always stopped him whenever he wanted to try—whether it was "Wang Wang will cry if he can't eat" or "Honey, don't feed him carelessly." So that was why... Hahaha!

Sure enough, Wang Wang slept soundly until morning.

After Shu Yangkuo finished bathing his husband and put him back to bed, he quickly dressed himself, just as the baby woke up.