Chapter 40 "Dad, the house I built..."

"Dad, the house I built has collapsed again."

Shen Nanfeng raised his eyes and turned his gaze to Dou Dou, who was sitting on the ground not far away, sulking. Next to him lay a pile of broken building blocks.

Shen Nanfeng glanced at it, then turned his gaze back to the book in front of him, and said indifferently, "Rebuild it."

“But I’ve already built it so many times.” Dou Dou pouted, looked at the crooked blocks in front of him, and then at his father sitting on the sofa who didn’t seem to care about comforting him at all. He blinked his big eyes, thought for a moment, and said, “Dad, can you help me build the house? I can’t do it by myself.”

"Believe in yourself, a boy can't say no." Shen Nanfeng didn't even look up, cruelly rejecting Dou Dou's request.

He believes that children should do things for themselves and not rely too much on others. The same applies to family members, especially boys. How can they ask others for help the moment they encounter even the slightest setback? It's fine if others are willing to help, but if they are not, they will feel bad. After all, helping you is a favor, and not helping is their right.

"Dad..." Dou Dou wanted to try a little harder to coax Shen Nanfeng, but then Shen Nanfeng's phone rang, interrupting Dou Dou's next attempt to speak.

He put his index finger to his lips and made a silencing gesture to Dou Dou.

"Hello, your takeout has arrived."

As soon as Shen Nanfeng answered the phone, the other end quickly replied. He responded with an "okay" and got up to open the door.

"Mr. Shen, this is your takeout order."

The deliveryman was a young man; he hadn't even taken off his helmet yet, which was twisted to one side with the buckle loosely fastened around his chin, as if to prevent his head from falling.

Shen Nanfeng took the takeout and said, "Thanks."

He didn't rush inside, but instead tore off the order from the takeout bag; prioritizing privacy is his consistent style.

Taking advantage of the break, the delivery guy quickly straightened his helmet and said with a smile, "Mr. Chen, I see you often order takeout from our store. We're having a promotion right now. If you top up 5,000 yuan, your meal today will be free. We'll also give you some free side dishes with your next order. I see you often order sweet and sour pork ribs, so I guess you really like that dish. Would you like to get a voucher? It's a great deal."

Shen Nanfeng glanced at him. The young man delivering the food was looking at him with a smile. It was just a normal sales pitch, but he felt like he was being watched closely. He didn't like his preferences being known by others, even if it was just a little bit. It was a big taboo at any time. Although it was just a sweet and sour pork rib, nothing more than an ordinary home-cooked dish.

"Your sweet and sour pork ribs are indeed delicious, sweet but not greasy, especially when eaten hot. They are smooth and tender without getting stuck in your teeth, and the juice is plentiful. They are made in a very authentic and flavorful way. However, the ones delivered here are always a bit cold. Although they are tender and sweet, the taste is quite different."

"Five thousand yuan is not much money, but spending it on dishes with vastly different flavors, I don't know if I'm torturing myself or punishing myself."

His words made such a reasonable point that the deliveryman was momentarily at a loss for how to react.

Just as Shen Nanfeng turned to go inside, the delivery guy stammered, "The 5,000 yuan you topped up can be used to offset the cost of dining at the restaurant."

"No, thank you." Shen Nanfeng didn't turn around, only glanced at the delivery guy with half her face before entering the door.

The tightly closed door, and Shen Nanfeng's last glance, left the delivery guy standing there stunned for a while, because that gaze was too sharp, as if nothing could be hidden once he swept over him.

Shen Nanfeng carried the food and walked to Dou Dou's side. "Stop arguing with the building blocks. Look what delicious food Daddy ordered for you."

"I wasn't fighting with the building blocks."

Despite saying that, the child still obediently stood up from the ground. The four-year-old's thinking is very simple, and his attention is easily attracted.

"Dad, you ordered takeout again. Mom will scold you if she finds out."

Shen Nanfeng bent down, bent her index finger, and gently stroked Dou Dou's nose. "Then don't tell Mom, okay?"

It's a tone of discussion.

DouDou thought for a moment, "But Mom said there are no secrets between friends."

Shen Nanfeng stood up. "Your mother is wrong. Even the closest relationships can have secrets, and secrets cannot be shared."

Dou Dou had eyes just like Lu Xiao's, always looking at people with bright, sparkling eyes. This time, it made Shen Nanfeng, who had just spoken, unconsciously look away, as if he had done something wrong and dared not look directly at her.

After the farce, the two, one big and one small, sat at the dining table and ate their food. Dou Dou was still young and not very good at using chopsticks. Her movements when picking up food were like driving a car, stopping and starting.

"Cough cough."

The soft, low cough made Shen Nanfeng immediately turn his head towards Dou Dou's face. "Did you choke?"

He thought DouDou was eating too fast, since a child's organs are not yet fully developed.

DouDou coughed again, "My throat is a little itchy."

"Are you getting a cold?"

He remembered that when Dou Dou had a fever last time, there seemed to be some cough syrup left. Thinking of this, he immediately set off to find some cough syrup. Soon, he appeared in front of Dou Dou with a nearly empty bottle of cough syrup. As soon as Dou Dou saw the medicine in his hand, she frowned and cried out in her heart: Oh no, I'm going to be poisoned again.

"Dad, I'm all better now, I'm not coughing anymore, you can put the medicine back."

Shen Nanfeng poured the cough syrup onto a spoon without a care in the world. "You'll feel better after drinking the medicine, otherwise you'll start coughing again later."

DouDou: "No, Daddy, look, I'm perfectly fine now."

"Is DouDou being good?"

"Good boy/girl, the teacher praises me every day for being a helpful child."

“Then a helpful child should be even more obedient.” Shen Nanfeng smiled and put the cough syrup into Dou Dou’s mouth. “Drink the medicine, and Dou Dou will be a good baby.”

The smell of the medicine hit DouDou's nose directly, and her body activated its defense mechanism, turning her head away. "This is murder! I won't drink it."

Shen Nanfeng: "?"

Where did they learn these words? What kind of nonsense are they spouting?

But he didn't care about any of that; getting DouDou into the medicine was the most important thing right now.

"Dou Dou," Shen Nanfeng said, "You're not taking your medicine properly, that's naughty. A naughty child, Mommy won't like a naughty child."

Adults' favorite tactic is to threaten children, because threatening an unarmed child is something that can be done with just words.

DouDou turned her face to the side, staring at Shen Nanfeng with wide eyes. She opened her mouth to retort, but something cold and cool entered her mouth—a spoon, mixed with the taste of cough syrup. She felt as if her tongue was frozen in place.

Waaaaah, he got tricked by his dad.

After feeding Dou Dou her medicine, Shen Nanfeng went to wash the spoon, ignoring Dou Dou who was pouting and glaring at him.

He now realizes how difficult it is to raise a child. Just feeding him medicine requires a lot of effort, like going through eighty-one tribulations on a journey to the West.

After washing the spoons, Shen Nanfeng immediately saw Lu Xiao squatting down, holding Dou Dou's face and examining him closely. The way Lu Xiao was carefully looking at Dou Dou seemed as if he was afraid that Shen Nanfeng would mistreat him. A slight pang of sadness welled up in Shen Nanfeng's heart. Dou Dou was also his child.

"Did you give DouDou her medicine?" Lu Xiao asked him.

"Um."

Lu Xiao touched Dou Dou's face to comfort her, then stood up and looked at Shen Nanfeng's face. "How many times have I told you, every medicine has some side effects."

Shen Nanfeng: "He's been coughing, he's probably catching a cold. I saw there was a little cough syrup left at home, so I gave it to Dou Dou." She emphasized, "I checked the dosage and method of administration before giving it to Dou Dou, so you can rest assured about that."

Lu Xiaozhen wanted to facepalm: "You can't just give him medicine like that. He only has a slight cough and doesn't need cough syrup."

Shen Nanfeng didn't take it seriously: "Having a cough is a prerequisite for catching a cold."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

This sound was more like a veiled insult: if you don't understand, don't talk nonsense.

Shen Nanfeng looked at her, puzzled, but still said logically, "How am I talking nonsense? This theory has been passed down from ancient times to the present, and you're saying I'm talking nonsense?"

It's not much different from arguing with a child, the only difference is the age.

“There are many types of coughs.” Knowing he was unconvinced, Lu Xiao explained, “Dou Dou’s cough is a low, muffled cough, which is not serious. Just drinking more water will do. A thick, heavy cough is what you need to see a doctor and take medicine. This is what the pediatrician told me when Dou Dou had a persistent fever last time.”

Lu Xiao's words reminded him of the time Dou Dou had a fever. He was busy with work and rarely went home. That time, Dou Dou's fever was quite severe, and it wouldn't go down. It would either go down or come back up again, over and over again. Lu Xiao didn't dare to sleep all night and stayed by Dou Dou's side the whole time. As for him, he should have been by the mother and son's side at that time, but he wasn't there. It was rare for him to not know how to face Lu Xiao now, and he felt a little guilty.

Seeing that neither of them spoke, DouDou understood some things between the adults. It's not that children don't understand; they just don't understand the subtle nuances between adults. Even though they are young, children can still sense different things.

"Mom, can you help me build the house?" He gently tugged at Lu Xiao's sleeve.

"Of course you can." She glanced at Chen Nanfeng, her gaze more like a sweeping glance, then smiled at Dou Dou, "Mommy will help you build the house now."

Then, ignoring Shen Nanfeng behind him, he took Dou Dou's little hand and moved towards the chaotic block area.

She felt the chubby little hand wrapped in hers, and her heart slid like silk, so soft it made her itch. This was her little baby, whom she had endured a lot of hardship and had undergone three artificial inseminations. She cherished him dearly. She didn't ask that DouDou achieve great things, just that he live a peaceful and smooth life, just like his name suggests, "Chen Po Huan" (meaning "sinking away worries").

It symbolizes the elimination of all disasters and diseases.

Although it was all so brief, leaving only tiny wounds on her skin, she knew that the umbilical cord, which is cut only once in a lifetime, would only trap her mother.

"Did you look at those resumes I sent you yesterday?" The two entered the VIP box reserved for the concert, and Li Xingzhou stood next to Huang Shiyu, watching her bring up the matter.

"I saw it, so what?" Huang Shiyu took off his Bluetooth headset and asked.

“It’s time to find the right person,” Li Xingzhou said seriously. “Without a marketing industry chain, the value of the product cannot be fully realized.”

Huang Shiyu looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Finding a suitable marketing manager isn't something that can be decided in a day or two."

"Aren't you satisfied with the people I sent you?"

This was the only possibility Li Xingzhou could think of.

"Thank you, I have no complaints." As if that was too simple and not enough to express her gratitude to Li Xingzhou, she launched into a long explanation: "President Li's selection must be very careful. The resumes you sent me are all excellent. They are graduates of famous media universities abroad, and their project experience is outstanding, even surpassing that of others. No interviewer could find fault with them."

What followed was indeed the truth, not flattery.

"From what you're saying, who is the person you're satisfied with?"

That hit the nail on the head. Huang Shiyu reopened his phone, started typing on it, and then handed the phone to Li Xingzhou.

"she."

The concise, one-word statement piqued Li Xingzhou's interest. He took Huang Shiyu's phone, lowered his head, and looked down at "her."

He knew this person. After leaving her previous company, she went to work at an educational institution for less than two weeks before she received a lawsuit from her former company regarding a non-compete agreement, demanding that she pay five million yuan in compensation. This incident caused quite a stir online.

Huang Shiyu's voice rang out at the right time, "Because of the video of the non-compete agreement dispute with her former company, it caused a huge uproar online. All the videos she posted received over a million likes, reposts, and comments. She became a frequent topic of discussion during this period, second only to the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Exchange. She has a high level of public interest, and she is also very good at using this wave of traffic to create momentum. She is the person I want."

"How can you feel at ease using someone with such controversial credentials?" Li Xingzhou said. "Aren't you afraid of shooting yourself in the foot?"

Huang Shiyu smiled, nonchalantly: "As the saying goes, you can't catch tiger cubs without going into the tiger's den, and the same applies to the entrepreneurial world."

Li Xingzhou remained noncommittal: "But traffic is a double-edged sword; you have to think it through."

The concert hall, which had been dimly lit, suddenly lit up. The red lights were dazzling and blinding. She stood in mid-air and looked down. The red lights seemed to rush towards her eyes like flames, and there were screams that seemed to shatter her ears.

The concert is about to begin.

She lowered her gaze, her emotions hidden beneath the red light, making them impossible to discern or find. "That also depends on who is holding this sword."

Li Xingzhou didn't refute her, such as saying things like, "You have such a big mouth, aren't you afraid of being drowned in online criticism?"

Instead, he watched her silently.

The VIP box's glass was so transparent that it seemed to have no barrier, and waves of red light rolled in, as brilliant as a sky full of red clouds, sweeping towards her in a mighty torrent.

Her gaze lingered on the band on stage for a moment, but it was this look that made Li Xingzhou a little jealous.

What's so interesting about that tail hair?!

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Author's note: Although Mother's Day has passed, I still want to say that every mother is the bravest girl in the world!