02
There were two of them when they went out, but now there are three of them when they come home.
In the not-so-spacious hallway, Chu Qinghuai carried groceries in both hands and went upstairs first, followed by Zhong Wan, who was carrying a child.
"Mother."
"Eh~"
Zhong Wan tried her best to adapt to her new identity, but she was still not used to being called "Mom" by a three-and-a-half-year-old girl. However, every time she responded, she felt a surge of warmth in her chest, filled with something she liked.
"Mommy, it's dark, I'm scared."
Mumu pointed to the floor of the stairwell. The dim light blurred her face. Children are afraid of the dark, and at this moment she was curled up in Zhong Wan's arms with her eyes closed, and it seemed that tears were seeping from the corners of her eyes.
Zhong Wan patted her back, "Don't be afraid, we'll be home soon."
Hearing their conversation, Chu Qinghuai turned around and said, "I'll go upstairs and turn on the door and lights first."
He strode up in a flash.
Living on the fourth floor is a routine the couple has to walk up several times a day, but for Mumu, who is still a baby, this walk is truly agonizing.
"We've arrived."
"Come in."
Both of them were talking to Mumu.
Zhong Wan didn't rush to put the child down. Instead, she held her and washed her hands and face. Mu Mu was like a quiet doll, neither crying nor fussing, letting Zhong Wan do as she pleased.
"Mom, are you done?"
Did I hurt you?
Zhong Wan was inexperienced and inevitably used too much force when wiping the child's face, causing the little girl to feel a bit of pain. However, she still shook her head and said, "No."
There were no slippers for children at home, so Mumu could only sit in a chair. Her parents carried her everywhere they went. Of course, she also enjoyed the time when her legs weren't long.
Chu Qinghuai was cooking in the kitchen, Zhong Wan went to the balcony to collect the laundry, and Mu Mu was eating strawberries slowly with both hands, looking very content.
"Qinghuai, you watch over her, I'm going to take a shower first."
Zhong Wan has severe mysophobia; the first thing she does when she gets home from outside is always to take a shower.
Chu Qinghuai nodded, and while washing the vegetables, he suddenly remembered something, pointed to the small figure at the opposite table, and asked, "What about her? Does she need to take a bath?"
"Of course I want to!"
After thinking for a moment, Zhong Wan said, "Never mind, I'll wash her first."
She knew that children love to rub against each other, and Zhong Wan couldn't stand her daughter crawling on the floor in clothes full of germs brought in from outside.
"Okay, you guys go take a shower first. I'll have dinner ready by the time you're done."
"Come on, baby, Mommy will take you to take a bath."
She held Mumu in her arms, a smile playing on her lips, still fascinated by the fact that she had become a mother.
The baby smells wonderful, and even though she feels a bit heavy to hold, she doesn't feel tired at all.
Mumu remained silent, curiously examining the room's layout with her big, blinking eyes. It was much smaller than where she had lived before, but if asked whether she liked it, she would say it was her favorite place.
Zhong Wan led her to the bedroom, saying, "Stand still and behave properly."
The next second, she quickly removed the sheets and duvet cover, took a new set from the closet and put them on, along with a small blanket that she only used in winter.
There will be one more person sleeping tonight, so she wants to give the baby the best experience by changing the sheets to a fragrant one and covering her with a soft blanket, hoping she can have a good night's sleep.
"Oh no, I forgot to buy you clothes!"
The two, one big and one small, were standing in the bathroom. Zhong Wan took off the child's skirt and realized that there were no extra small clothes at home, and there was no children's bath wash available later.
She's really not a good mother.
"Mother."
Feeling insecure after being stripped naked, Mumu whispered "Mom" in an attempt to evoke maternal love.
"I am here."
"How about Mom buys you new clothes tomorrow? You can wear mine for tonight."
After hurriedly giving her daughter a bath, she picked her up with a large bath towel and placed her on the bed. As she stood up, she rubbed her lower back and exclaimed, "Ouch!" "I never thought taking a bath would be so tiring."
She had no experience, and the baby's body was slippery. Zhong Wan was afraid of hurting the baby, so she almost held the baby in her arms during the entire bath. Anyway, her clothes were also very wet at this point.
Mumu lay on the bed, enveloped in something soft. "Mommy, what are you doing?"
"I'm looking for clothes for you to wear."
Zhong Wan picked and chose, finding the smallest undershirt in a corner of the closet, enough for Mu Mu to wear as a nightgown.
She clumsily helped the other person put on the clothes, wiped the water off their little feet, and continued, "Tomorrow Mom will buy you shampoo, body wash, and lotion. Oh, and a little toothbrush too. I'll have Dad buy them after dinner."
Mumu didn't understand what these things meant, but that didn't stop her from obediently answering, "Okay~"
Not long after, Zhong Wan also finished showering and came out of the bathroom. She asked Mu Mu, who was lying on the bed, "It's time for dinner. Let's go out and see what delicious food Daddy made."
It's still April, and the weather is a bit chilly in the evening. Afraid that her daughter would catch a cold, she draped a clean bath towel over the child and carried her outside together.
Mumu couldn't reach the dining table while sitting in an adult chair, so Chu Qinghuai put a few books under her bottom. "Is it uncomfortable to sit like this?"
She shook her head, put down the strawberry, and exclaimed, "That feels good!"
Chu Qinghuai found it quite strange that such a small person could understand what adults were saying.
"That's good."
He went to the kitchen to get the soup, leaned on the table, and asked his daughter, who was eating strawberries, "What dishes does Mumu like to eat?"
The child looked puzzled for a moment and didn't answer. In his eyes, this behavior was just a sign of being a picky eater.
"You don't like anything? Well, I hope the food tonight will suit your taste."
He took off his apron, took the smallest bowl and spoon in the house, scooped out a little bit of rice, and neatly arranged several dishes on a plate. It was a standard children's meal. "Try it. I'll make you more if you need more."
Mumu rested her chin on one hand, and secretly reached into the bowl with the other to feel for grains of rice. Curiosity led her to lower her head and smell it; it smelled delicious.
It was the little girl's first time eating these foods, and she awkwardly used a spoon to scoop rice into her mouth, but most of it fell to the ground.
Zhong Wan went to the kitchen to wash the fruit and didn't see this scene. Chu Qinghuai noticed that his new daughter didn't seem to be able to eat independently. He frowned, but quickly suppressed his confusion and silently took a tissue to wipe the food off the floor.
When Zhong Wan returned home, she was surprised to find the baby eating on her own and happily praised her, "Great job!"
Holding her rice bowl, she said to Chu Qinghuai, "Our baby is so easy to take care of. I thought I would have to feed her, but she can eat by herself."
I saw that my colleague's child was already in first grade, and the parents were still chasing after him to feed him all day long. Just looking at it gave me a headache. Luckily, Mumu is an easy child to take care of.
Chu Qinghuai laughed after hearing this, and didn't rush to refute it. He put several pieces of ribs on Zhong Wan's plate.
"I have hands, why are you pinching so much inside me?"
The person just smiled and said nothing, "Eat more, you'll be tired later."
As he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that his daughter, who was sitting at the table, had dropped a piece of vegetable leaf on the floor.
"Oh! No wonder you ate so fast, baby! You ate half and spilled the other half!"
Zhong Wan was completely flustered. Seeing the mess on the floor, her heart raced. She immediately bent down to clean up, but Chu Qinghuai stopped her in time, saying, "You eat first, I'll clean it up later."
"No, it's too painful to watch."
She usually has a very good temper, but when it comes to her obsession with cleanliness, she gets goosebumps and becomes involuntarily irritable whenever a scene doesn't meet her expectations.
Upon seeing her expression, Mumu immediately stopped eating, put down her spoon, and whispered, "Mom."
Zhong Wan realized that she was being too serious, so she immediately put on a smile and patted her little chubby hand. "It's okay. Today is the first time we've met. Let Mom feed you."
Chu Qinghuai took a wet wipe and quickly wiped the floor, planning to clean it properly after dinner.
He asked his daughter, "Does someone usually feed you at home?"
"No, I don't eat."
Mumu was enjoying being fed by her mother, swinging her little legs back and forth, while Chu Qinghuai dismissed her words as childish nonsense.
"You eat first, I'll feed her. We'll start teaching her to eat by herself tomorrow."
Chu Qinghuai reached out to take the rice bowl from Zhong Wan's hand, but she moved it away, saying, "I'll do it, it's quite fun."
Zhong Wan was completely immersed in the fun of playing house, especially since Mu Mu was very well-behaved, opening her mouth to eat every bite she was fed, which gave her a great sense of accomplishment.
Chu Qinghuai chuckled, saying nothing, but simply sped up his eating. After finishing, he immediately took over Zhong Wan's feeding duties.
"Is it delicious?"
He was playing with the child.
"It's delicious!"
Chu Qinghuai smiled, his features clear and bright, his peach blossom eyes opening up, and then deliberately asked, "How delicious is it?"
Mumu held her head and thought for a while, then chewed with her little mouth, made an "Mmm" sound, raised her arms, and happily said, "It's the best! Even better than the spirit fruit!"
Chu Qinghuai thought her imagination was really rich.
...
Before going to bed, Zhong Wan watched TV with Mu Mu in the living room for a while. Chu Qinghuai sat at the dining table checking the goods. He was going to take the children to the mall with Zhong Wan tomorrow and had applied for a day off, so some work had to be completed tonight.
Mumu sat on Zhong Wan's lap, and the two of them shared a blanket. She asked her daughter, "Is baby cold?"
"It's not cold, and it's soft."
"Um?"
"Mom's body is so soft."
Mumu spoke earnestly, her little tuft of hair on her head twitching back and forth.
Even though the shower gel at home is just the most common cherry blossom scent, Zhong Wan can always smell a faint fruity fragrance on her daughter. It smells nice and addictive. She sniffs it carefully and feels more and more like she has found a treasure today, so she hugs her even tighter.
"Baby is so soft, how about we watch cartoons for another ten minutes and then go to sleep?"
She wasn't sure exactly how much sleep a baby of this age should get, but she herself was a little sleepy and really wanted to hold her sweet, soft daughter and go to sleep right away.
Mumu was very obedient and nodded, saying okay.
This was her first time watching an animated film, and she was completely captivated by its childlike scenes, watching without blinking. Seeing this, Zhong Wan took a picture of her daughter's focused profile.
Just then, Chu Qinghuai finished his work and came over, asking her what she was doing.
Zhong Wan: "She looks so beautiful in photos."
Zhong Wan is not usually one to document her life, but tonight she took more than a dozen photos of her daughter and documented the moment the family spent their first night together.
...
"Okay, it's time for bed. Mom is going to turn off the TV."
Mumu saw the TV screen suddenly go black and didn't argue. She rubbed her eyes as if she was really sleepy and said, "Okay."
Zhong Wan carried her daughter into the room and told Chu Qinghuai to turn off all the lights.
The bed in the master bedroom isn't particularly big, but luckily Mumu is small, so the three of us can squeeze in and sleep comfortably.
Chu Qinghuai finished brushing his teeth and was about to get into bed when he saw that Zhong Wan and her daughter had only left a corner of the bed for him. He was so angry that he laughed: "Move aside, I'm going to fall off."
"Since we're going to replace the furniture anyway, we'll just buy a big bed. You'll have to bear with it for now."
"So you really have the heart to let me sleep on the floor?"
“Who told you to sleep on the floor, baby? Come over here. Your dad thinks we're fat, and he's going to get angry.”
Chu Qinghuai clicked his tongue, climbed onto the bed, and pinched Zhong Wan's waist. "You're just trying to sow discord. How could I dare to be angry with you if you're not angry?"
"Dad, are you angry?" Children are innocent and really thought their father was angry. She comforted him, "Don't be angry. It's not good to be angry."
Chu Qinghuai was so touched by his daughter's coaxing that he almost went to sleep on the floor, but he remained aloof and arrogant: "No, go to sleep."
"Okay, we can talk about it tomorrow. Goodnight, baby, and goodnight, baby's dad."
Goodnight, baby's mom.
As soon as the lights were turned off, the three of them drifted off to sleep...
In the middle of the night, Chu Qinghuai slowly opened his eyes and found that half of his body was sticking out of the bed, and he had been kicked in the back by a certain little rascal. He vowed that he would buy a big bed tomorrow.
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