At six o'clock in the morning, before the alarm clock even went off, Nana turned on by herself. She stood on the charging dock, the blue light flashed once, and she began to announce: "Today's temperature is 18 degrees Celsius, the air quality is good, and it is suitable for outdoor activities."

Carl emerged from the room, his hair disheveled, clutching the notebook he'd written in the night before. "I'm here to organize the shopping list," he said.

Chen Hao had just woken up. He rolled over in bed, the blanket slipping halfway down before he pulled it back up. "Stop making these tables, they're giving me a headache."

“This time I will consider practical use cases.” Carl sat down at the dining table and opened his tablet. “For example, the issue of matching the turning radius of a stroller with the width of the stairwell.”

Susan leaned back on the sofa, her hand on her stomach. "Didn't you say yesterday that the car was stuck at the bottom of the stairs?"

"That was an accident." Chen Hao got up, slipped on his slippers, and walked towards the kitchen. "Who would have thought that the car was as wide as a small truck?"

Nana pulled up the architectural blueprints and projected them onto the wall. "According to the measurements, the narrowest part of the corridor is 82 centimeters, while the original vehicle's width is 85 centimeters, so it's indeed impossible to pass through."

“So we have to get a new one today.” Carl noted it down carefully. “Recommended type: folding, one-handed operation, wheels with shock absorption.”

"You still want your kid to go to work on a shock absorber?" Chen Hao poured himself a glass of water and gulped down a big mouthful.

“Comfort affects emotional development.” Carl looked up. “Databases show that babies cry 34 percent more often in bumpy environments.”

"Fine." Chen Hao wiped his mouth. "Anyway, if I push it, I'll be the one who gets tired."

The four of them finished breakfast and went out. The shopping mall was across from the apartment complex, a ten-minute walk away. The sun was already up; people were walking their dogs, and children were riding scooters.

The stroller section was located on the first floor near the window. Upon seeing them approach, the sales assistant immediately came forward to introduce the new models.

Chen Hao tried out several models, but was not satisfied with any of them. Some were too heavy, some were troublesome to fold, and one even folded up automatically when stepped on, which almost made him jump away in fright.

"This thing is more complicated than Transformers," he muttered.

Susan sat on a lounge chair, watching them work. Carl checked the specifications one by one on the data sheet, while Nana compared them with ratings of similar products worldwide.

Finally, he chose a gray lightweight cart that could be folded with one click, with small but agile wheels. Chen Hao immediately pushed it around several corners and successfully navigated the narrow passage.

“This car works,” he said. “It’s like something a normal person would use.”

After buying the car, Susan stopped by to return some clothes. The packages delivered last night were piled up in a corner of the living room. When Susan opened one, her face changed.

"Why are they all bright yellow and pink?"

Carl peered over and said, "I bought it as recommended. High-contrast colors stimulate visual development."

"My baby isn't even born yet, and I'm already going to be a glow stick?" Chen Hao picked up a bodysuit. "I'm afraid people will mistake me for a lost child if I wear this out."

“I think it’s quite conspicuous,” Carl argued quietly. “It’s easy to find if I get lost.”

Nana added, "Newborns' retinas have low sensitivity to red, green, and blue colors, while yellow and pink belong to the high-frequency band, which helps with early focusing training."

“I understand the logic.” Chen Hao stuffed the clothes back into the suitcase. “But can we be a little more discreet? If we post photos on social media, people will think we have terrible taste.”

Susan picked out a few cotton, solid-colored items to keep. "These off-white ones are fine, return the rest."

"Should I place a new order?" Carl opened the shopping app. "This time, add a color filter: low saturation, Morandi color scheme."

"You don't even know who Morandi is, do you?" Chen Hao laughed.

“I know he was a painter,” Karl retorted. “Nineteenth-century Italian.”

"Okay, you're quite cultured." Chen Hao patted him on the shoulder. "Hurry up and change the order, don't wait for the return fee to go up."

When Chen Hao returned home at noon, he unpacked and tested the new car. He deliberately pushed it from the doorway to the bedroom and then back, making a slight turn at the corner and passing smoothly.

"Operation successful." He raised his hands high. "Code name: Stroller Raid."

Susan shook her head with a smile. "Can't you be serious for once?"

“A decent person can’t do this job.” He squatted down to check the wheels. “But this cart is really light; you can lift it upstairs with one hand.”

Carl began sorting through the newly arrived clothes. He used a labeler to label each item, writing "Level A Protection," "Level B Backup," and "Level C Emergency."

"Are you preparing for war?" Chen Hao leaned closer to look. "And you even have different ranks?"

“What if an emergency occurs?” Carl said seriously, “such as a sudden drop in temperature, or the need for a rapid evacuation.”

"We live on the third floor, what emergency evacuation are we talking about?"

"Preparation is key to success." Carl folded the clothes and put them in the closet. "I've already set up an inventory management system; you can check the quantity by scanning the barcode."

Nana stood beside her, the blue light flashing. "The family supplies database has been updated. The current childcare preparation completion rate is 93%."

"Not bad." Chen Hao lay down on the carpet. "A few more days and we'll be done."

“The changing table hasn’t been installed yet,” Carl reminded him.

"I'll do it tomorrow." Chen Hao closed his eyes. "I'm too tired today."

Susan touched her belly and said softly, "He just moved."

"You responded?" Chen Hao immediately opened his eyes. "Is it because we're too noisy?"

"Maybe," she smiled, "or maybe I just wanted to come out and see the world."

"It's not as comfortable outside as it is inside." Chen Hao reached out and touched her stomach. "The air conditioning isn't on, and we still have to wait for someone to cook dinner."

Carl took out his tablet to record: "Fetal movement time today: 11:23 am, lasting about four seconds. Environment: at home, noise level is moderate, parents are discussing clothing classification criteria."

"You even remember this?" Chen Hao glared.

“Data accumulation helps in analyzing behavioral patterns.” Carl looked up. “Maybe in the future we can predict what kind of music he likes.”

“He kicks people when I play classical music now,” Chen Hao said. “He goes quiet as soon as I hear rock music.”

“That could be due to a strong sense of rhythm,” Susan said. “Or it could be because they were startled.”

Nana accessed the audio library. "It offers thirty styles of prenatal music, including jazz, folk, and electronic beats."

"Don't put it down yet," Chen Hao waved his hand. "Let him have some peace and quiet. Let's finish packing up first."

At 3 p.m., all the new items were put away. The stroller stood against the wall, clothes were neatly stacked in the drawers, and diapers were piled in the special storage box.

Carl finished affixing the last label and let out a long sigh of relief. "Mission accomplished."

"Wait a minute," Chen Hao suddenly remembered, "Did you buy the bottle sterilizer?"

Carl flipped through the record sheet. "No order placed yet."

"Oops." Chen Hao slapped his forehead. "Another one missed."

“I can buy it now.” Carl opened his phone. “Standard model or the smart temperature-controlled model?”

“Let’s get a timer,” Susan said. “It’ll save you trouble.”

"We also need to buy a bottle warmer," Chen Hao added, "otherwise, we'll have to wait half a day to make milk in the middle of the night."

"And bibs, pacifiers, nail clippers..." Karl read on and on.

"Stop!" Chen Hao raised his hand. "If you keep talking, you won't be able to sleep tonight."

“Actually, we still need mosquito nets,” Carl said quietly. “Summer is almost here.”

"Did you secretly look at the to-do list?" Chen Hao looked at him suspiciously.

“No,” Carl shook his head. “I deduced it from the seasonal changes.”

"Deduction my foot." Chen Hao stood up and stretched. "That's enough for today, we'll continue tomorrow."

Susan leaned back on the sofa, not moving. "Have you two had enough?"

"This is just the beginning," Chen Hao said with a smile. "The real show is yet to come."

Carl turned off the projector and casually pushed his chair back to the table. Nana returned to the charging dock, the blue light flashing softly.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on a warm-colored checkered pattern on the carpet. Chen Hao plopped down and looked up at the ceiling.

"Do you think we're being too tense?" he asked.

No one answered.

He turned his head and saw Susan with her eyes closed, as if she were asleep. Carl was looking down at a spreadsheet, while Nana's screen was still lit, scrolling through rows of data.

He moved over gently and pulled the blanket up to cover Susan's legs.

I had just closed the lid when my phone rang.

This is a message from the shopping platform: The smart bottle warmer you selected is about to sell out. Please place your order as soon as possible.

Chen Hao stared at the screen for two seconds, then raised his hand and tapped to pay.