Chapter 89 Tit for Tat

Chapter 89: Payback in Kind

He hadn't actually let go.

He just gave a gentle rub. Three times.

Shu Yangkuo no longer wanted to ponder whether he was going crazy or not. With one hand holding his meal, he gently wrapped the other around his wife’s waist. His wife didn’t look at him, so Shu Yangkuo lowered his gaze and resigned himself—from now on, he wouldn’t be swayed by his wife’s temptations. He would just obediently play the role of a willing participant.

Wang Wang glanced at his Father, then at his Dad, looking puzzled.

“Dad, what’s wrong with Father?”

“…Him? The waves rushed into his brain and made him act wild too!”

Hearing this, Wang Wang gasped, covered his mouth, and, noticing his Father’s red ears, worriedly said to his Dad:

“The waves are too cold. Will Father get a cold or fever?”

“He won’t get a cold, but a fever… probably a little.”

“Ah? Then hurry and give Father some medicine!”

“Don’t worry, Dad will take good care of Father… Hahahaha!”

Unable to hold back any longer, Shi Zai threw his head back and laughed heartily. Wang Wang, not understanding why, laughed along. Only the other two at the table remained silent—one lowering his gaze pretending not to hear, the other expressionlessly watching his overly energetic Dad and younger brother occasionally acting crazy.

Shu Yangkuo was displeased. His wife’s words were too improper, and Wang Wang foolishly played along, but he didn’t dare say anything.

Seeing the smug look on the cheeky man’s face, Shi Zai laughed again and leaned in to tease him:

“Bro, keep it up. I really like it—I just love teasing you, hahaha!”

“…”

Finally feeling relieved, Shu Yangkuo quickly picked up a peeled shrimp and placed it in his wife’s bowl:

“Wife, I’ll behave from now on.”

“…Hahaha! Don’t! I just said I ‘like it.’ How dare you disobey?”

Before Shu Yangkuo could respond, Wang Wang rapped on the table and said to his Father:

“Father, hurry up and say you’ll obey! You’re the most mischievous in our family, always making Dad yell and carry on!”

“…”

Shi Zai broke into laughter again—his dear Wang Wang was getting better and better at helping him deal with the cheeky man! Wang Wang, seeing how happy his Dad was, laughed even harder, slapping his chair in delight.

Shu Yangkuo tuned out the laughter from his wife and eldest son, focusing instead on peeling a crab and placing it in his wife’s plate. He then picked up the seafood congee that Zhaozhao had barely touched and began feeding him with a spoon. The little one was distracted, so Shu Yangkuo leaned down and gently bumped foreheads with Zhaozhao:

“Zhaozhao, don’t you like the food, or are you feeling unwell?”

“Father, it’s noisy.”

“…”

Unable to hold back a chuckle, Shu Yangkuo quickly collected himself, covered Zhaozhao’s little ears for a moment, then released them:

“How about I tell you a story?”

“…I can’t hear you, Father.”

Pausing for a moment, Shu Yangkuo said, “Zhaozhao, close your eyes first,” then straightened up, covering Wang Wang’s eyes with one hand while pulling his wife’s head closer with the other and planting two firm kisses… Finally, peace was restored.

Just as Shi Zai was about to complain, he noticed Zhaozhao covering his own ears while smiling at him. Understanding, he leaned over, moved Zhaozhao’s hands, and kissed his forehead. “Zhaozhao, Dad won’t laugh anymore. Tomorrow, I’ll take you both to play in the water, okay?” Zhaozhao quickly agreed, adding, “Dad, be careful.” He remembered one time when Dad pushed him on a water bed but laughed so hard he nearly tipped it over. Though Zhaozhao was brave, he’d still be scared if he fell into the water.

Hearing this, Shi Zai stopped laughing entirely and nodded repeatedly. He then carefully explained the earlier comment about “waves rushing into the brain” to the two children, making sure they understood that waves crashing on the shore weren’t just fun—they could be dangerous. Even though they were playing together at the beach, the kids needed to know not to go too close to the water and to always stay safe.

That evening, they didn’t do much else. They took the children to the aquarium, fed some fish whose names they’d forgotten, touched gentle starfish, rode a mini submarine train, and saw all sorts of marine life… They returned to their room late, hungry again, so they had a snack, played around for a while, and then settled down to sleep. Honestly, Shi Zai was exhausted. They could continue their fun tomorrow night.

The next morning, they played in the water park. No matter how many times kids visit a water park, they always get excited by new attractions. The two little ones climbed into an inflatable water roller, and even Zhaozhao laughed loudly as he pushed it alongside his brother.

Although the teacher who had accompanied the children at the indoor playground the previous afternoon was with them again, Shi Zai and Shu Yangkuo didn’t relax in the sun like they had the morning before. They stayed close—this was the shallow sea area, after all, and safety was a top priority.

Still, they felt a bit more at ease since Wang Wang and Zhaozhao were already familiar with the teacher. If there was something Dad and Father couldn’t do, the kids would ask the teacher for help. They tried water rolling beds and mini sea trains. Though there were no “waves rushing into their brains” as Dad had described, the small waves lapping at their feet were still fun. Wang Wang sat next to his brother, cheering excitedly together.

And then there was the super fun water slide!

The moment Zhaozhao came down the slide, he felt a little embarrassed—his shorts had slipped. Dad and Father didn’t notice, but his brother saw and quickly pulled them up, saving him from embarrassment. Wang Wang didn’t tease him like Dad sometimes teased Father; he wanted to save his brother’s dignity.

But two seconds later, Wang Wang’s own shorts fell down and were accidentally stepped on by another child.

Zhaozhao immediately ran to get Dad and Father. Soon, Wang Wang was covered up—Father had wrapped his own large tank top around Wang Wang’s waist to cover him. Seeing Father stride back toward the hotel to fetch new shorts, Zhaozhao felt relieved.

Although the cheeky man had immediately pulled Shi Zai onto his lap, glared, and put a hat on to scare the other person away, Shi Zai was still annoyed.

Hmph, he should’ve made him wear an old man’s shirt.

Two minutes later, he saw from a distance that, though it wasn’t an old man’s shirt, Shu Yangkuo had changed into a short-sleeved top… Fine, since he had such “male virtue,” Shi Zai would forgive him.

Shu Yangkuo returned, helped Wang Wang into his new shorts, and let them go back to playing. Standing up, he adjusted his wife’s slipping tank top strap and sighed softly… He’d considered bringing a short-sleeved shirt for his wife too but decided against it. He’d just keep a closer watch.

Let him have fun happily.

When someone invited them to play beach volleyball, Shu Yangkuo was about to refuse until he saw those bright, sparkling eyes looking up at him… He leaned down and kissed him. “Go play, wife. I’ll watch you.” Shi Zai immediately bounded off excitedly.

How could he refuse? He wanted him to be happy, not stuck by his side feeling envious.

But his wife was really good to him now. Whenever someone said something to Shi Zai, he’d point behind him and shout, “Husband!” Shu Yangkuo would wave, letting him keep playing… There was a twinge of jealousy, but it was overshadowed by the constant feeling of being loved.

His vibrant wife had many people around him, yet he only had eyes for Shu Yangkuo—that feeling was wonderful, diluting any hint of envy.

Shu Yangkuo took out his phone and snapped many photos of the three of them. As he clicked away, he couldn’t help but laugh—Zhaozhao was unusually active today, sliding down the slide backward. The child behind him followed too closely and ended up… well, Zhaozhao’s face brushed against the other kid’s exposed bottom. Zhaozhao immediately spat and wiped his face, glancing around to make sure no one noticed his embarrassment before climbing back up the slide.

Turning the camera, he captured Wang Wang playing like a little sea lion, balancing a ball on his head. Another child joined him, and as they jumped around, they bumped heads, both exclaiming, “Ouch!” The other child’s lips trembled, on the verge of tears, but Wang Wang quickly put his hands on his hips and declared, “Whoever cries is the little brother!”… Zhaozhao glanced at him but continued playing. Once the other child held back his tears, Wang Wang turned away, pouted briefly, wiped his eyes, but quickly shook off the mood.

Next shot—his wife was bursting with youthful energy, looking no different from the college students. He leaped high, spiking the volleyball to cheers from the crowd, a glimpse of his fair, toned lower back appearing… Shu Yangkuo cleared his throat and continued taking photos out of the corner of his eye.

Just as he thought they’d had enough fun and was considering how to call them back… Suddenly, someone cannonballed into his arms—naturally, it was his wife from the corner of his eye. He held him tight, laughing as he kissed his sweaty, wide eyes. His wife stuck out his tongue and tried to pull off his tank top. Shu Yangkuo’s eyelids twitched, and he quickly pulled it back on. Shi Zai whined:

“I’m boiling hot!”

“…”

With his free hand, Shu Yangkuo unscrewed a water bottle and let his wife take a few gulps. When Shi Zai tried to take off his tank top again, Shu Yangkuo couldn’t help but say:

“Even a hot puppy doesn’t strip naked.”

"...You're the real dog!"

After pounding twice on the man's chest, Shi Zai caught his breath, then glared:

"Bark for me twice!"

"...Be good, stop messing with me, bro."

At first, he hadn’t meant anything by it, but after saying "Bark for me twice," Shi Zai suddenly grew interested and pressed on relentlessly.

Left with no choice, Shu Yangkuo called out to Wang Wang, who was walking over for a drink, saying "Wang Wang," then pointed at his dad. This was a game he and Wang Wang used to love playing—he wasn’t sure if the little one still remembered.

Wang Wang paused for a moment but quickly understood:

"Dad, woof woof!"

"..."

That damn man chuckled softly in his ear. Shi Zai hesitated for a second, then couldn’t help but laugh. Just last night during dinner, Wang Wang had taken his side and criticized his dad, yet today he was helping him out. The little guy was just like him—so good at keeping things fair and balanced.

Tired from playing volleyball, Shi Zai curled up in the man’s arms, looking at photos together and listening to funny stories about Wang Wang and Zhaozhao. It was quite entertaining.

Laughing and playing, they played until they were completely worn out by the end of another day. The two little ones no longer felt like strangers, and that night, they passed out the moment their heads hit the pillow. Shi Zai poked their little cheeks a few times, but they didn't even twitch—completely exhausted and sound asleep.

Grinning mischievously, Shi Zai pushed Shu Yangkuo into the small adjacent bedroom and brought out two items he had secretly bought that afternoon—rope and red candles.

Hmph, turnabout's fair play—and he knew how to deliver it! Last night, Shi Zai hadn’t been upset about what happened in the afternoon; in fact, he was genuinely happy that Shu Yangkuo had let loose a bit. What bothered him was being teased for two hours, driven nearly insane, yet still didn't get any.

Later on...

He’d even shaved himself... but in the end, he couldn't quite perform, which left him frustrated.

Tonight, hmph, he’d torment the man first, then get what he wanted.

Even if no pearls were lined up one by one, the wax from the red candles still dripped down, drop by drop.