19
Zhong Wan didn't trust anyone in the family to do housework, so she was cleaning the living room by herself at the moment.
She has three children who sit on the floor playing all day. Sometimes, if she doesn't keep an eye on them, they might pick up things from the ground and eat them. If she doesn't clean up every day, she doesn't know how much trash and dust will accumulate. Just like Chu Qinghuai said, what if they get sick from eating something bad?
The three children haven't developed a sense of order yet, and they leave their toys scattered everywhere. Zhong Wan simply can't stand the messy house and only feels comfortable when she cleans it up herself.
Chu Qinghuai sometimes complained that her obsessive-compulsive disorder was terminal, but there was nothing he could do; it was a habit she had developed since childhood, and she could never change it in this lifetime.
Zhong Wan felt that cleaning was a better job than putting the child to sleep. Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Chu Qinghuai was on the verge of a breakdown.
As she mopped the floor up to the bedroom door, she heard an angry voice coming from inside: "I don't love you!"
"..."
"Dad, do you love me?"
"If you don't love me, when will you go to sleep?"
Cai Cai stood on the bed, clinging to Chu Qing Huai's back, pulling at his clothes and messing up his hair. Chu Qing Huai looked like a tool being abused, his expression one of utter despair.
The three children had asked him this question several times. At first, he would be very touched and reply with "I love you." But as the night went on and they wouldn't go to sleep no matter how he coaxed them, Chu Qinghuai's patience ran out. He couldn't act like a gentle and loving father at all. If he weren't so reluctant, he would have given each of them a good spanking and yelled at them to go to sleep.
"Oh, Daddy, you don't love Cai Cai! Then do you love me?"
Xiao He, who had secretly taken a Barbie doll to bed, sat on the quilt and turned to look at Chu Qinghuai expectantly.
“I don’t love it either,” he said “cruelly.”
"Okay, it's okay, Dad, I love you."
The little brat always tries to make him happy by acting cute, but she doesn't seem to want to go to sleep.
Mumu, the most well-behaved of the three children, had folded her blankets neatly and was ready to go to sleep. She was really tired from playing and had a headache from being disturbed by her younger siblings.
From the first day Chu Qinghuai brought her home, he found that this baby was obedient and self-disciplined, so he would listen to her thoughts more often and not let her suffer in silence.
“Zhongqing, Chuhe”.
"Stop making noise, I need to sleep."
This was the first time Chu Qinghuai had called his brother and sister by their full names. His expression was serious, but it had no intimidating effect, because the two little cuties had no idea that their father was calling them.
Xiaohe was playfully fighting with Caicai when she pushed him. Caicai rolled over on the bed, but it didn't hurt at all. He even giggled and said, "That was fun, let's do it again."
Xiao He agreed to his request, but just as she was about to push him away again, Chu Qinghuai hugged her and said, "That's enough, go to sleep now, we can play again tomorrow."
"No, please." she pleaded.
"What do you mean you don't want it? You're not listening to me."
Chu Qinghuai pressed down on the two little ones with both hands, tucked them into the blankets, and said seriously, "If you disturb your sister's sleep again, Daddy will really be angry."
He had originally wanted to say "I don't love you anymore," but then he thought it would be too much. He turned off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness. The three babies, with their bright eyes wide open, fell silent, calming themselves and preparing to sleep.
Chu Qinghuai deliberately let Mumu sleep next to him. The reason was simple: the other two babies and Zhong Wan were all terrible sleepers, and he was afraid they would kick the bump on Mumu's forehead.
Goodnight, Dad.
After saying this, Cai Cai quietly covered her head with the blanket and smiled shyly in bed.
Chu Qinghuai curled the corners of his mouth, patted his little bottom, and then patted Xiaohe and Mumu evenly. About five minutes later, he heard three steady breathing sounds and breathed a sigh of relief. Mission accomplished.
...
"You've worked hard."
Zhong Wan was getting ready to take her second shower of the day when she stood at the bathroom door flirting with Chu Qinghuai.
The bedroom was dark, so the two went into the bathroom. Chu Qinghuai poured out his complaints to her like beans: "Caicai and Xiaohe are so naughty. I've told them to go to sleep a hundred times, but they still won't." It's so infuriating.
I don’t understand why. Even though Chu Qinghuai usually has a stern face and lectures people more, the three children are not afraid of him at all. Instead, they are more afraid of Zhong Wan. Most of the time, a single look from Zhong Wan is enough to quiet them down.
Is this the charm of a mother being more important than a father?
Zhong Wan couldn't help but laugh and wrapped her arms around his waist, "How can you be so cute?"
"Don't do that, I'm angry."
Chu Qinghuai looked away, leaning against the wall. His gloomy expression made it seem as if he was worrying about his future career, but in reality, he was furious with his three children.
"I wasn't this speechless when I was kicked out of my home."
"Oh, that's enough. They're all our babies, so be more understanding."
Zhong Wan, who was originally sitting on the cabinet, stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her eyes traced his eyes and nose, and she could see that he looked somewhat innocent. He didn't look like a father of three at all.
"Hurry up and take a shower. Are you coming to the study later...?"
Noticing his ears were bright red, Zhong Wan chuckled. His meaning was obvious, but she just wanted to tease him: "No, I'm exhausted from making cakes these past two days."
Chu Qinghuai dared not look her in the eye, "The new bed has arrived but no one has slept in it yet."
"Then go to sleep."
Zhong Wan pretended not to know what he was going to do, said this on purpose, and even winked mischievously.
The man was too shy to say anything more, so he let go of her arm, turned around, and left, saying, "If you don't want it, then forget it."
Oh, you're angry.
When Chu Qinghuai left, he closed the door behind him, leaving Zhong Wan alone in the bathroom. She shook her head and laughed, saying, "You childish girl."
Half an hour later, Zhong Wan still went to the study to find him.
-
In the morning, Zhong Wan and Chu Qinghuai took the children to the noodle shop together.
Chu Qinghuai was also carrying two large bags, containing a day's worth of milk powder, water bottles, snacks, and small blankets for the three children. He also brought a lot of fruit for Chen Yu.
This was a very important event for the couple, and they went with a heart full of gratitude.
Before going, Zhong Wan told the children more than once to be obedient and not to cause trouble. "The uncles and aunts are very good people, just as good as your parents. You can trust them. If anything happens, just tell the uncles and aunts. Don't be naughty, okay?"
Compared to their first time at daycare, the children were much more experienced and more accepting. Cai Cai always remembered that the vegetables at the uncles and aunts' house were delicious, so he didn't resist at all. On the contrary, he was looking forward to it and even skipped around when he walked.
The three children held hands and promised Zhong Wan that they would be good and obedient.
"Mom, you must come pick us up this afternoon."
Mumu was afraid of becoming someone else's child, and her tone was full of worry.
"I will definitely come to pick you up. Mom will miss you."
As they approached the noodle shop, she hugged each of the three children and said, "Go in and say hello to your uncles and aunties."
The door happened to be open, so they ran inside together, and Zhong Wan could hear Lin Jiang's hearty laughter from inside.
It seemed she was adapting well, and Zhong Wan finally felt relieved. She turned to look at Chu Qinghuai and saw that his hands were full of things. Only then did she remember to ask, "Is it easy to carry?"
"We're almost there, and you're only asking me now?"
He thought to himself, "He doesn't seem to care about me at all."
Zhong Wan didn't want to guess what he was up to again, so she took his arm and went inside together.
Knowing the children were coming last night, Lin Jiang dragged Chen Yu to the supermarket next door to buy toys, cleaned the upstairs room thoroughly, changed the sheets, and left it for the children to take a nap.
"You've finally arrived! I've been waiting all morning!" Lin Jiang proudly showed the toys to the three children, asking them if they liked them.
She's quite experienced; she bought three identical toys, which prevented an argument.
The children greeted us as soon as they entered, letting the uncles and aunts pat their heads and hug them. They weren't stupid; they could sense the kindness of others and accepted the fact that they would be staying here today in just a second.
Mumu immediately said thank you when she received the toy, and even directed Caicai and Xiaohe to say thank you as well. The three polite children easily won the hearts of the uncles and aunts, and started playing games before they even took off their coats.
As soon as Chu Qinghuai and Zhong Wan entered, they saw the children playing freely, as if they were at home. Chu Qinghuai said "Hey," and reminded the children, "You should be more polite. Why are you all playing?"
He was a little afraid that the three kids would "bully" Chen Yu and Lin Jiang.
Zhong Wan asked, "Did you say hello?"
Chen Yu quickly said, "It's over, it's over. You two shouldn't scold them. They're both very well-behaved. I've never seen such well-behaved children before." As he spoke, he was still assembling toys for Cai Cai.
Zhong Wan walked over to Lin Jiang and said a few words to her alone: "Sister Lin, thank you so much for taking care of our child. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you about the child before because of some reasons."
Her expression was indeed apologetic, as if she felt guilty for lying to such a kind person.
Lin Jiang patted her hand, "Hey, it's no big deal. We're happy about it. Xiao Yi has gone to school, and Chen Yu and I are bored looking at this shabby little shop. Having three kids to keep us company is just right. You and Qing Huai are still young, so you should focus on your work and not worry about me."
"No matter what, I still want to thank you, Sister Lin. If you ever need my help in the future, just let me know."
"Hahaha, yes, yes."
Lin Jiang's hands were a little rough, but very warm. Zhong Wan, being led by her, lowered her eyelids shyly, her heart heavy.
"If those three little devils misbehave, you must call me. It's okay, you still have to yell at them."
Zhong Wan's serious demeanor actually eased Lin Jiang's pressure. "They're so well-behaved, how could I bear to yell at them? Don't worry, the kids will definitely eat and sleep well with me."
Zhong Wan was very touched. Because of time constraints, she was about to be late, so she left with Chu Qinghuai.
As soon as their parents left, the three children, unusually, showed no sadness. Cai Cai lay on Lin Jiang's lap, shaking her head and sweetly asking, "Auntie, can I skip the vegetables for lunch?"
Chen and Na also received a new task. Xiao He moved next to him and whispered, "Uncle, I want to watch cartoons."
Mumu: "..."
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