03

When Zhong Wan woke up, Chu Qinghuai was already in the kitchen making breakfast with dark circles under his eyes. Both of them were used to waking up early and sat facing each other at the table drinking plain water, leaving Mumu, the child, to sleep.

"How did you sleep last night?" Zhong Wan asked with a smile.

Chu Qinghuai pointed to his eyes and asked in return, "Do you think I'm good?"

She coaxed him, saying, "Let's go see a bed today."

"The little brat looks tiny, but who would have thought he takes up so much space? If I hadn't been quick, I don't know how many times I would have fallen down last night."

His complaining made Zhong Wan burst into laughter.

She changed the subject: "Do you eat noodles for breakfast?"

"Yes, something light, like vegetable and egg noodles, but I don't know if the little rascal will eat vegetables."

Zhong Wan is quite open-minded. "If she doesn't eat green vegetables, she can eat other vegetables. There must be some vegetables in the world that she likes to eat."

"That's not necessarily true."

Chu Qinghuai drank plain water like it was liquor, downing it in one gulp. He then tapped the table with his empty glass. "We didn't have time to discuss how to raise this child yesterday. Do you have any ideas?"

Even when raising kittens or fish, you have to carefully choose the right food, let alone taking care of a baby who is like a blank sheet of paper.

Since they've decided to take on this responsibility, they should bear the corresponding consequences. Their real goal isn't how to raise a good baby, but how to be good parents.

Zhong Wan pondered for a moment, then half-closed her eyes and replied, "Let's decide on the general direction first. Will you be the scholar or I be the scholar, or will you be the warrior or I be the warrior?"

Chu Qinghuai understood the meaning behind her words and laughed out loud, "If I said I didn't want to play the villain, would you be willing?"

Zhong Wan raised an eyebrow. "Fine, then I'll be the one in charge of the martial arts and you can be the one in the literary arts. Anyway, I'm the one who calls the shots in our family."

"Then you can set the rules for her from now on."

"So far, our baby is very well-behaved, and I believe we can enjoy this time together."

Although they had only spent less than half a day together, the two of them had already developed an indescribable protective feeling towards Mumu. They dared not think about the scene of their separation in the future, as it would surely be a sad sight.

"Let's take it one step at a time, hmm? Is she awake? Did you hear her?"

Chu Qinghuai winked at Zhong Wan, signaling her to go in and take a look.

"He should be awake. Go ahead and serve the noodles, cut them into smaller pieces, and feed them to the baby later."

"OK."

"..."

The bedroom was dimly lit, and the little one on the bed was wrapped in a small blanket, moving around and humming softly from time to time.

"Is the baby awake?"

Zhong Wan went over and patted her little bottom.

"Mom." The first thing Mu Mu saw when she woke up was her mother, and she felt especially happy.

"Eh~"

"Hungry."

"Are you hungry? Let's brush our teeth and go out for breakfast, okay? Then Mom will braid your hair into a pretty little braid. Dad is taking us out to play today."

Upon hearing the word "play," Mumu leaped up like a little fish, hugged Zhong Wan's neck, and happily called out, "Mommy!"

"Did Mumu sleep comfortably?"

"Um!"

"That's good."

Hearing this, Zhong Wan felt relieved. She then took her daughter into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.

...

"dad!"

As soon as the two came out of the bedroom, Mu Mu shouted "Dad Chu Qinghuai!" startling him so much that he almost dropped the bowl in his hand. Clearly, the man hadn't adapted to his new identity yet, and his response was somewhat stiff.

"Good morning."

"Dad, didn't you sleep well?"

Chu Qinghuai glanced at Zhong Wan subconsciously, then asked, "Who told you that?"

"Mother."

"No, Mom was just kidding. I slept very well."

"All right."

Mu Mu smoothed her messy hair back, staring intently at the bowl in Chu Qinghuai's hand, her eyes clearly saying "I want to eat."

He had already eaten, while Zhong Wan was still eating, so the task of feeding him breakfast was gloriously handed over to him.

"Vegetable and egg noodles, want some?"

Mumu, who isn't picky about food, nodded vigorously, "I want to eat!"

Chu Qinghuai stirred the food a couple of times with a spoon to make sure it wasn't too hot before feeding her a bite. After seeing his daughter swallow it all with relish, he smiled and said to Zhong Wan, "She's really easy to take care of; she even eats vegetables with great relish."

"I've already said that Xiao Mumu is a good baby."

Zhong Wan, who was engrossed in eating her noodles, suddenly paused, as if only then realizing that her daughter had a nickname. She asked, "Baby, who gave you the name Mumu?"

"Mom and Dad."

Mumu, who was eating, looked at her strangely: "Mom, have you forgotten?"

Zhong Wan chuckled twice, "Haha, I haven't forgotten."

She was certain that she hadn't chosen the name, but it was indeed quite nice-sounding.

"Do you have a formal name?"

The person registering the household registration is coming in a couple of days, and Mumu needs a formal name.

Mumu shook her head; Mumu didn't know.

It's really strange that he doesn't have a famous name.

Zhong Wan looked at Chu Qinghuai and gestured, "Then we'll have to get it for her."

"Okay, I'll look through the dictionary in the next couple of days."

"Whose surname should we take?"

"You."

Chu Qinghuai didn't have any very traditional ideas. It didn't matter whose surname the child took, since she was still his daughter anyway.

"Good! That's exactly what I was thinking."

-

After breakfast, Chu Qinghuai took two people to the mall to buy some daily necessities for Mumu.

In the morning, they went to a children's clothing store and bought two sets of clothes and two pairs of shoes. In the afternoon, they went to buy toiletries, as well as small bath towels and slippers.

No wonder everyone says that having children can boost economic development. Such a small thing is so expensive. The couple, who are raising a child for the first time, dared not buy cheap things. They still felt a little pain when paying. Chu Qinghuai said to Zhong Wan, "How come such a small amount of fabric costs more than two hundred?"

One of Mumu's clothes could buy four or five of his. It wasn't that he was stingy, but it made Chu Qinghuai feel a strong sense of crisis. He had to earn more money to support his daughter.

That's how it is; children are more precious, you know.

Zhong Wan wanted to buy everything she saw. If she had the means, she would have booked the entire store like a domineering CEO in a TV drama.

"It's almost time, let's go have dinner, otherwise the supermarket will get crowded later."

Zhong Wan held the drowsy Mu Mu in her arms, while Chu Qinghuai followed beside her, carrying many bags and packages in his hands.

"How about I put the food in the car first, and you can see what you want to eat, then you can sit in the shop and wait for me."

She changed her position while holding the child, and indeed felt a little tired. She nodded in agreement, "Okay, go and come back quickly."

Zhong Wan looked at her daughter's sleeping face and couldn't help but hug her tighter. She was truly an angel baby.

Mumu walked obediently all morning without being carried, but since she hadn't taken a nap, she was running out of energy. Just now, she was about to cry and say she wanted her mother to carry her. At first, Zhong Wan didn't quite understand that this meant she was sleepy, but as soon as she was held in her arms, Mumu fell asleep like a chick pecking at rice, shaking her head.

Afterwards, the couple let their daughter sleep for forty minutes, then woke her up for dinner. After resting for a while, they went to the supermarket together. Chu Qinghuai held Mumu in his arms, and although he didn't say anything, Zhong Wan knew that he was reluctant to let his daughter walk.

"Baby can take whatever snacks they want."

Zhong Wan pushed the shopping cart, which was already filled with many things for the children, all of which were bought for Mu Mu.

She and Chu Qinghuai usually don't think about eating snacks at home, so they didn't know what was good to eat as they walked among the rows of shelves.

"Want some potato chips? These little cookies are so cute, and there are also gummy bears..."

Mumu was seeing all these things for the first time, and she was dazzled by them. If she could, she would like to take them all home.

Finally, Chu Qinghuai said, "Take some of everything that looks delicious, let's all try it."

"OK."

Zhong really went on a shopping spree tonight, and I feel so happy. It's a completely different experience.

"Alright, let's go home!"

After paying the bill, Mumu stood on the ground, hugging the bag of snacks to her chest, and looked at Zhong Wan with longing eyes, saying, "Mom, I want to eat."

She hadn't eaten much for dinner and was indeed hungry, but Zhong Wan knew that you couldn't just feed a child snacks, so she said, "Are you hungry? Let Daddy cook you some noodles when we get home. Right now, you can only have a small snack to tide you over."

She was genuinely worried that her daughter would develop a habit of only eating snacks and not regular meals. Fortunately, Mumu was a reasonable child. After understanding what the adults meant, she nodded, pointed her little finger at the pink-packaged gummy candies, swallowed, and said, "I want this!"

Zhong Wan took out a wet wipe from her bag to wipe her hands. Chu Qinghuai tore open the packaging of the gummy candy, looked it over, and frowned: "It tastes so cloying. Isn't this a bit too much? Can you finish it all at once?"

"I don't know either, just give them three."

Zhong Wan was worried that Mu Mu would choke while walking and eating, so she picked her up and let her eat in her hand.

"Is it delicious, baby?"

Mumu nodded, drooling as she ate, her eyes curving like crescent moons. With two gummy candies left in her palm, she didn't hesitate to offer one to Zhong Wan's lips as well.

"Oh, thank you, my sweet baby." Zhong Wan's heart melted; the sweetness she felt at that moment was incomparable to any candy or cake.

Chu Qinghuai stood aside, watching with a jealous expression.

-

When I got home, it was still dark, and there was a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.

The community is mostly inhabited by elderly people. After dinner, they come downstairs to sit and chat, or walk their dogs or children.

Zhong Wan and Chu Qinghuai also brought their daughter to the park for a walk, and let her sit on the slide and play for a while.

"Does the baby want to play? It's like sliding down from over there."

Mumu shook her head, her expression full of resistance, like a little adult, "I don't want to, it's dirty."

"Hahaha, you've taken after me in that respect. Mom thinks it's dirty too, but it's okay if you want to play. We'll go home and take a shower after you're done playing."

She still refused, so Zhong Wan didn't force her.

After a while, Chu Qinghuai noticed that his daughter, who was beside him, was not running around like other children. Her gaze was always focused in one direction, so he asked her what she was looking at.

She sniffed and suddenly pulled her parents toward the bushes ahead.

"Baby, where do you want to go?"

Zhong Wan dared not let go of her hand for even a moment.

Suddenly, all three of them heard a soft sobbing sound. It wasn't loud, but it sounded quite distressing, as if something bad had happened. Zhong Wan was immediately drawn to it.

"Qinghuai, go and check if any cats or dogs are injured."

Mumu stared intently at the movement on the lawn without blinking.

"Waaah—"

As the three approached, the crying became more distinct. Chu Qinghuai said suspiciously, "It doesn't sound like an animal."

The next second, a jet-black cat ran away from them, moving so fast that they couldn't even see its movements.

However, the crying continued.

"ah!"

Mumu called out, her eyes sparkling, "It's Little Green Cabbage!"