Chapter 47 Stay-at-Home Dad (11)
Bai Ye has gotten into the habit of holding her child in her arms every night before going to bed, then supporting the bottle with her other hand, observing how the child drinks while slowly telling a story.
All the stories came from books, from simple fairy tales at the beginning to slightly more complex short stories later on.
Because he had no knowledge of the subject and also because he wanted to show off, Bai Ye bought a lot of books and then spent his daytime rest time reading and memorizing them like crazy.
It's been over a decade since I graduated from university, and I've never put this much effort into studying before.
These short stories are so intricately written and use such profound language that Bai Ye suddenly felt like crying while memorizing them, experiencing a kind of painful nostalgia for memorizing classical Chinese texts in high school.
Have I really fallen this low?
I can't even memorize a modern novel, even though it's only a little over a thousand words long.
"Dad, read the book."
Bai Jin suddenly appeared, snuggled into Bai Ye's arms, and pointed at the book.
This simple, accidental action finally freed Bai Ye. He lost his desire to show off, honestly admitted his poor memory, and returned to being an ordinary person.
"Little White, which story do you want to hear today?"
Bai Jin can already hold the bottle by herself, so Bai Ye uses her free hand to hold the book, then turns to the table of contents and lets her choose.
Bai Jin turned her head to look at it, pointed to the second to last line on the first page, "This one."
Bai Ye picked up a book and saw the short story he was going to talk about today, "A Liar".
After the story was finished and the milk was gone, Bai Ye gave the child some water to rinse his mouth, then patted his back to prepare him for sleep.
"dad."
In the darkness, Bai Jin suddenly shouted.
Bai Ye hummed in agreement. "What's wrong?"
Will Daddy leave Xiaobai?
"Won't."
"Daddy, will you leave Xiaobai?"
Bai Ye opened his eyes and looked in the darkness toward Bai Jin. He clearly felt his clothes being tugged, and the small hand holding it was very light, but very tight.
Will you leave this child?
The answer is yes, the task is complete, and that's the moment the instance ends. Regardless of whether the client is satisfied, everything should stop there.
But Bai Jin tonight made Bai Ye feel something was off. This child seemed to have grown too fast in the past month, and was changing drastically every day.
Yesterday? Or the day before yesterday?
I can't remember, but it's only been two nights since I last talked to my child. Has her thinking changed so much already?
Hmm, it seems like I've grown up again.
"Xiaobai, what's wrong? Are you afraid it's too dark at night and you can't sleep alone? Haha, Xiaobai, you'll have to learn to sleep alone eventually, just like—"
"Dad, you're lying."
Bai Jin suddenly interrupted.
Bai Ye was confused, and the next second he heard the other person say, "I'm not afraid of the dark. Darkness is my territory. Dad, have you forgotten the first time we met?"
"..."
“Dad forgot, so I’ll help Dad remember: a dark night, red blood, and a crying baby.”
Beneath the calm tone, accompanied by unusual emotional fluctuations, Bai Ye's surroundings quickly began to distort.
The once soft and flat bed suddenly caved in, and I immediately began to fall downwards with no end in sight.
As he fell, dolls kept falling from all around him, crying and laughing in front of him, their bloody tears flowing continuously.
Bai Jin's voice filled the surroundings, seemingly omnipresent, "Dad, is it dark here?"
The feeling of weightlessness made him panic, and unease gradually welled up in his heart. Bai Ye tried his best to calm himself down before speaking: "It's dark, very dark."
"There are even darker places, Daddy, do you want to go there?"
"Need not!"
Bai Ye blurted out, but then realized it was wrong and quickly explained, "Dad likes to take Xiaobai to bright places. When it's light, we can do a lot of things together, like reading, playing games, playing hide-and-seek, and everything is so much fun."
"Will Daddy always play hide-and-seek with me?"
Bai Ye remained silent.
He had realized something, but he couldn't believe it.
How could such a small baby possibly guess what its mission entails?
Yes, it was only a matter of time before they found out he was a player. After all, customers need to evaluate the quality of service, and the two of them eventually had to reveal their identities.
In previous instances, normal "people" would have been aware of each other's relationship from the start. However, the strange plants quickly learned as they grew that the person tending to them was a player, and that they were the supreme customers who could determine their rating.
Bai Ye thought the baby would soon find out, but the child was still confused and had difficulty even understanding the world.
In caring for her, he could only teach her hand by hand, starting with learning pinyin. Like a blank sheet of paper, he held her hand and painted various colors on it.
Over time, even he himself forgot that they were players and customers.
"Xiaobai, you found out?"
Although it is a question, the tone is very certain.
The feeling of falling in the white night immediately disappeared, and in a moment of distraction, she was back on the big bed.
Bai Jin was hit hard in the chest and rushed in, crying, "Daddy, don't go."
"I'm not leaving, at least not now."
It takes at least three months for a child to learn to walk; how far can they walk in that time?
Bai Jin remained silent, clutching Bai Ye's clothes and breathing softly and silently.
Bai Ye waited for a long time before tentatively asking, "Xiao Bai, are you asleep?"
The child's fingers were still moving slightly, a very subtle movement, but Bai Ye could feel it.
But she didn't say anything.
Just two days ago, when Bai Jin was pretending to be asleep, she couldn't help but reply, saying, "Dad is asleep."
"well……"
Bai Ye sighed in the darkness, held the child and continued patting his back. After thinking for a moment, he began to sing a nursery rhyme, just like his mother used to lull him to sleep when he was a child.
"On that high mountain ridge..."
The singing was soft, and Bai Ye lulled herself to sleep.
Bai Jin opened her eyes in the darkness, cautiously raised her head, and looked at the person in front of her.
Why is a dad who suddenly appeared, a dad who grew up with me, just a player?
Can't players be my dad?
...
Over the next month, Bai Ye witnessed firsthand the child's learning ability.
In just one month, Bai Jin's learning speed in all aspects was astonishing. Except for not being able to stand or walk, Bai Jin was no different from a six or seven-year-old child.
No, there is still a significant difference.
For an average six or seven-year-old child, who is just starting first grade, it's already quite good if they know a, o, e or addition and subtraction within ten.
But Bai Jin is not.
She not only learned 5,000 words, but also increased her vocabulary to 20,000 through independent learning. With this knowledge, she can easily understand all books, read newspapers and magazines, and enjoy movies and TV series.
She also has her own interests; she enjoys research and focuses on reading books on psychology.
Sometimes, Bai Jin would casually pose a question that Bai Ye couldn't even answer, not even the question itself.
I recognize each word individually, but when they're put together in a sentence, it's like listening to gibberish.
"Xiaobai, you've learned very well. You're already a genius."
Bai Ye was very happy about this. Apart from being a bit stubborn, liking to be the center of attention, and hating to lie, this child was practically perfect.
However, there is one thing that seems to be holding it back, and that is physical coordination.
They can do anything, even crawling and rolling around, but if you ask them to stand up and take a few steps, they immediately fall to the ground and start crying, saying they can't stand up straight and their legs hurt.
Bai Ye was very worried, thinking this might be a problem, so she made an appointment and decided to take the child to the hospital for a checkup.
Today is the day I'm going to see a doctor.
Bai Ye packed her backpack and turned to look for the child, only to find the child sitting on the sofa, lost in thought.
He walked over and patted the child's head. "Xiaobai, we're leaving now."
Bai Jin looked up, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
But soon, she put on an innocent and pure smile and stretched out her hands, saying, "Daddy, hug me."
"My little one really loves to be pampered."
Bai Ye laughed as she picked up the child and tossed him up in the air, startling the child into screaming. Bai Ye, on the other hand, laughed heartily.
"Daddy's bad." Bai Jin slapped her little hand.
Bai Ye grabbed the two little hands and kissed them without thinking. "Daddy likes Little Bai, and I like to tease you."
The warm touch struck Bai Jin instantly, startling her so much that her face changed color.
He didn't say a word until the last time, then leaned on Bai Ye's shoulder, looking completely listless.
Once you arrive at the hospital, you have to take a number, wait in line, and that takes another bit of time.
By the time I finally saw the doctor, it was almost noon.
Bai Ye had initially worried that bringing such a young child to see a doctor would be seen as mentally ill. However, the doctor seemed to ignore these external factors and gave her serious advice.
“Mr. Bai, your child’s condition is quite rare. I suggest you refer him to the psychology department for a checkup.”
Bai Ye turned her head and looked at the room next to the clinic. Bai Jin was sitting there with the other children. However, while the other children were all playing with building blocks and laughing, Bai Jin was simply sitting.
Seemingly sensing something, she turned around and saw Bai Ye looking at her, and smiled.
Bai Ye nodded, then turned to look at the doctor, a little nervous, "Doctor, she's so young, why does she need to see a psychiatrist? How could she possibly have that kind of illness?"
“Super babies grow much faster than ordinary babies, and their brain development level cannot be judged by common sense. Instead of worrying about why your child can’t walk independently yet, you should worry about whether her rapid expansion of brain volume will cause any sequelae.”
"Doctor, what do you mean by that?"
“Mr. Bai, your daughter Bai Jin only needs to learn 3,000 words and some basic sports at this stage. If you need to speed things up, you can arrange for her to learn a foreign language for interest training.”
After reviewing the test results, the psychiatrist's expression turned grave. "But clearly, she has exceeded expectations, far beyond what was expected."
The previous doctor had said the same thing, but Bai Ye only wanted to hear what she could understand.
"Doctor, just tell me directly, don't beat around the bush."
The doctor paused for a moment before saying, "Mr. Bai, I have a strong reason to believe that your daughter has prematurely developed her brain and entered a contemplative stage due to excessive learning."
"What?"
"Simply put, deep thinking can be healing, but it can also be depressing. Bai Jin's situation is probably the second one. She is deliberately learning to relieve her inner pain."
Bai Ye was shocked.
Does Bai Jin have depressive tendencies?
How could this be! How could this happen!
“Mr. Bai, all her tests show that she values and depends on her family. I think her inner distress stems from those around her, perhaps even from you yourself. Mr. Bai, you can have a good talk with your child. The child's symptoms are mild and medication is not necessary for the time being.”
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