Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Workaholic Dad 25

Under the supervision of security personnel and robots, some children ran wildly on the beach and played with sand, while others played in the shallow water with swimming rings.

Zhuozhuo had been heading out for a splash, too, but when she spotted tiny footprints on the beach, she squatted down to draw. Over the past three years, Zhuozhuo's painting skills had improved considerably, and with just a few strokes, she could create a vivid scene. Just as she was about to call Qin Jin over to take a look, the sea surged in and then receded, smoothing the beach.

Zhuozhuo was stunned and quickly drew again, but before he could finish, the sea came up again and smoothed the beach. Zhuozhuo glared at the nearby water and said angrily, "How can you be so mean? Don't bully me anymore."

She stood up and took two steps forward, then squatted with her back to the sea, trying to block the water with herself and continue painting on the small piece of beach. While painting, she nervously looked back to see if the water was coming up.

However, when she turned around one time, she was hit in the face by the waves and knocked down.

Zhuozhuo was stunned for a moment. Without waiting for the security guard to come and help her, she immediately got up and chased after the receding sea water, jumping and stomping on it, muttering, "Pah, pah, pah, you bad guy, bad guy, bad guy, I'm stepping on you!"

Seeing Zhuozhuo treading water, the other children thought he was having fun and rushed over to join them, starting a water fight. Zhuozhuo, still thinking about his drawing, trotted back to his old spot.

9972 couldn't bear to watch any longer and warned, "Zhuozhuo, the waves are hitting right here. If you move up a step, the seawater won't reach you."

It also took the opportunity to teach Zhuozhuo some basic knowledge about the moon and tides. It felt that it was the best child-rearing system in the department's history. It combined education with entertainment, allowing Zhuozhuo to learn knowledge in every aspect of life.

After listening to this, Zhuozhuo climbed onto a rock, put his hands on his hips, and looked at the beach. Finally, he said worriedly, "There's so much water in the sea. When the tide comes in, the beach will be flooded."

[No, if you walk another hundred steps forward, the sea water won’t reach that level.]

But Zhuozhuo was still worried. She felt that the sea water had a bad temper. Even if it had not risen to that level before, what if it reached that level today?

Finally, Zhuozhuo chose a spot higher up where 9972 said the sea wouldn't rise for an hour or two. But instead of painting on the sand, she planned to dig a hole, paint inside it, and then bury it. That way, it wouldn't be washed away by the sea.

9972 looked at Zhuozhuo in confusion and thought she was so adorable that he didn't even think of reminding her. He just stood there with a silly smile watching her digging the hole.

Zhuozhuo is very popular. When they saw her digging a hole, several children came over and asked her what she was doing. Zhuozhuo then told them what she was thinking.

Perhaps because Zhuozhuo's tone was too matter-of-fact, her friends didn't notice anything was wrong and were ready to help her dig the hole. Zhuozhuo quickly stopped them, "Don't help me, this is a gift for my dad, I want to do it myself. You guys should dig a hole for Mom and Dad too, right?"

Everyone thought Zhuozhuo was right and started looking for places to dig holes around her. Only one boy named Shi Yangyang looked at Zhuozhu eagerly, "My parents don't appreciate art. Zhuozhuo, I'll stay here with you."

"I know, your father likes to eat it, and your mother likes to eat it too." Zhuozhuo said as she dug out a small crab. She handed it to Shi Yangyang, "Go dig some crabs for your parents. Crabs are delicious."

Shi Yangyang carefully took the crab and asked shyly, "Do you like crabs?"

"like."

"Then I'll dig some crabs for you to eat." Shi Yangyang said softly, grabbed the little crab and ran away.

Zhuozhuo looked over in confusion and just then heard Shi Yangyang yell twice. She dropped her shovel and was about to run over to see what was happening. 9972 called out to her, "Don't go, Zhuozhuo! That silly boy got pinched by a crab."

"Then I have to go and see it. I gave the crab to Shi Yangyang."

[If you go over there, he will definitely run away.]

Zhuozhuo didn't understand. Looking at Shi Yangyang jumping and waving his arms wildly, he still ran over and said, "Shi Yangyang, you——"

Before he could finish his sentence, Shi Yangyang looked at Zhuozhuo as if he had seen a ghost, and then rushed out like the wind. The classmates who gathered around and the medical staff who rushed over to treat Shi Yangyang's injuries had no time to stop him.

Zhuozhuo wanted to chase after him, but was stopped by 9972. "Don't go! Shi Yangyang is just avoiding you."

"Why?"

[He didn’t want you to see his stupid look with his hand pinched by a crab, haha.] Brat, it’s only Qin Jin who didn’t see this, otherwise he would have scared you to tears with his eyes.

Zhuozhuo suddenly understood. "I understand. Shi Yangyang is embarrassed." She looked at the medical staff next to her and said like a little adult, "Sister, can you please go and check on Shi Yangyang? He has a strong sense of self-esteem, so we won't go."

"Of course, this is my job." The medical staff said with a smile, feeling that the guests at this banquet were very polite and respectful, unlike some upper-class people who looked down on others.

After confirming that Shi Yangyang's hand was just swollen and not serious, Zhuozhuo continued digging the hole. As she was digging, Fang Zihang came over and looked at her quietly.

Zhuozhuo liked this smart and introverted little classmate the most. She immediately hugged Nianhu and gave her the sand she had dug out, asking her to help throw it farther away, so that the two of them could play together.

After finishing the digging, Zhuozhuo was about to draw when Shi Yangyang ran over with a small plastic bucket, "Zhuozhuo, look at the crabs I dug!"

Zhuozhuo stood up and saw that there were more than a dozen small crabs in the plastic bucket. Her eyes sparkled and she said, "Wow, Shi Yangyang, you are amazing."

Shi Yangyang scratched his head and chuckled, squatting down to watch Zhuozhuo draw. Noticing the family of four in Zhuozhuo's painting, he said expectantly, "Zhuozhuo, please draw me in too."

Qin Jin, who came over to remind Zhuozhuo to proceed to the next step, suddenly had a dark face. He swept his cold eyes across the back of Shi Yangyang's head and waited silently for Zhuozhuo's answer.

Zhuozhuo refused and said crisply, "No, this painting is of our family. My father, grandmother, aunt, and me. You are not a family with us, so you can't be painted here. But I can draw a picture for your family later."

Qin Jin's expression was gentle. Zhuo Zhuo was right. This was how we should reject these brats directly. However, Zhuo Zhuo was still too gentle. He even drew a family portrait for the brats. Humph.

Shi Yangyang said logically, "Your family needs to eat. I'm bringing you crabs to eat, so I must draw them."

Qin Jin glanced critically at Shi Yangyang, snorting inwardly. At such a young age, he was already so full of sweet talk and shameless. He was just like his father, a playboy and a wanton youngster. He'd tell Mrs. Shi soon and teach these two a lesson.

Zhuozhuo was stunned for a moment, as if the door to a new world had opened. He said in surprise, "Shi Yangyang, you are amazing. I never thought that the people in the painting needed to eat. They must have been hungry for a long time."

By the end, Zhuozhuo was filled with guilt. She recalled that the earliest paintings she had drawn had been made while she was hungry for three years! Three years of hunger must have been so painful. She wanted to go home immediately and add delicious food to those paintings.

But, "Shi Yangyang, your crabs are for your parents. I don't want them."

In order to make his stance clear, Zhuozhuo added small fishes, shrimps and crabs to the painting, but he also wrote in small letters next to them that these things were all wild and not caught or sent by anyone.

Shi Yangyang looked frustrated and lost. She silently emptied the plastic bucket of crabs, watched them crawl away and burrow into the sand, and said, "Now they're wild too."

Qin Jin: “…”

Are the kids these days so resourceful? He's going to dig out these stinky crabs and boil them so they can never be wild crabs again!

Xue Xiaoting watched the children's conversation and Qin Jin's changing expressions, almost going crazy trying to hold back her laughter. Just as she was thinking about whether to remind Zhuozhuo to comfort his sensitive and fragile father, she heard Zhuozhuo say, "They are wild. The people in the painting can't eat them. They can only eat the things in the painting."

Shi Yangyang felt that Zhuozhuo was right, but she was inexplicably feeling down, so she said, "Then I'll catch these crabs and give them to you. Do your father, grandmother, and aunt like crabs?"

"They won't eat such small crabs." Zhuozhuo checked the painting and clapped his hands happily. "It's done. I'll go find my dad—"

She looked up and saw Qin Jin standing next to her. She immediately rushed over and said, "Dad!"

Qin Jin took the opportunity to pick up Zhuo Zhuo and raised him up, "Zhuo Zhuo, what do you want to talk to your father about?"

"Look at the painting I drew on the beach!" Zhuozhuo pointed downwards and proudly recounted the tortuous history of the painting's creation. Finally, he said, "Once Dad has finished looking at it, I'll cover it and hide it. Then I won't be afraid of the sea water anymore."

Qin Jin's eyes flashed with a smile. He didn't want to say that this method was stupid, so he was ready to carry Zhuo Zhuo away directly. But Zhuo Zhuo was particularly eager to show off her ingenuity, kicking her legs to let Qin Jin put her down. Qin Jin had no choice but to compromise, watching Zhuo Zhuo flatten a pile of sand, ready to use it as a lid, and then -

Silently, the sand cover fell apart.

Zhuozhuo thought she hadn't pressed it firmly enough, so she tried again, but it still fell apart. She finally realized that sand wasn't like dirt, plasticine, or building blocks. Sand wasn't sticky, so why was it so loose?

Zhuozhuo didn't immediately ask Qin Jin for help, but instead discussed it with Fang Zihang and Shi Yangyang, and finally came up with a solution. Zhuozhuo looked at Qin Jin and asked, "Dad, do you have any glue?"

"Yes." Qin Jin asked someone to bring environmentally friendly glue.

Zhuozhuo dripped glue onto the compacted sand, but the resulting cover was uneven and thick. The three tried again and discovered that the glue didn't just stay on the surface; it seeped down. They needed something to separate the sand cover they wanted from the beach, preventing the glue from seeping down.

Zhuozhuo looked around, but was clueless for a moment. Then his eyes lit up when he saw the large leaves of an unknown plant on the shore.

However, before Zhuozhuo ran over to pick the leaves, a fair and gentle little boy ran over with the leaves, "Zhuozhuo, here you go."

"Thank you, Squad Leader Lian Xingchen!"

Zhuozhuo put sand on the leaves, smoothed them out, and then dripped glue on them. After they hardened and took shape, he placed them directly on the painting pit with the leaves, and then continued to sprinkle sand on them until the leaves and the lid were covered with a thin layer of loose sand.

"That's good! This way the seawater won't cause any damage."