Chapter 108
When Pauline and Uncle Chao returned to Hong Kong, Iris took some time to visit them with Tangyuan. The two of them clearly didn't get along with Grandpa Zhan; even in the living room, they sat at opposite ends of the sofa. Iris sensed the strange atmosphere as soon as she entered the living room and inwardly cried out, "Oh no!" She really should have brought her husband along; that way, one of them could appease one of them, preventing her from getting caught in the middle and becoming a source of anxiety.
It's too late to regret it now. All we can do is hope that Tangyuan can step in and take on the responsibility for his dad. The little guy wasn't fully awake yet. The car was swaying slightly as it drove, which had been coaxing him to sleep the whole way. Iris had just woken him up when she took him out of the car, but after exchanging a few words with Pauline, Tangyuan's eyelids were barely open again, and it looked like he was about to fall asleep again.
"Look who this is!" Iris shook the handbell to attract her son's attention, and finally managed to pull his little face out of her chest. Pauline was both happy and soft-hearted, her gaze fixed on her little darling whom she hadn't seen in a long time. She gently stroked Tangyuan's arm, her voice unconsciously lowering and full of tenderness: "It's okay, it's okay, let him sleep. I'll hold him for a while after he's sound asleep."
"It's okay to hold him now." Iris didn't care and shoved her son into Pauline's arms. Pauline was caught off guard and was afraid the child would cry, but sure enough, the deafening cry started.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" she cried, shaking her arms and urging Iris to take the baby back. How could she put the baby in an unfamiliar embrace while he was sleeping?
Iris simply offered a finger, placing it in her son's palm, and then repeatedly rang a bell, saying, "Tangyuan, Tangyuan, see, Mommy's here." After a couple of times, the crying gradually stopped, and Pauline could finally see the child clearly. Babies grow so fast, changing every day. When she left, the child hadn't fully developed yet, but now he was chubby and fair-skinned, with big, bright black eyes—a spitting image of Iris. Especially now, with tears in his eyes and that pitiful look, they were practically identical.
Her tone was slightly reproachful: "Why did you have to make him cry?"
Iris was now vying for attention with her son. She sniffed and complained about the little rascal who always caused trouble at night: "I'm not letting him sleep now, Pauline. You don't know, he never sleeps at night. It always takes me and Yuan to coax him until midnight. And Yuan has been busy lately, so I can't manage on my own."
Mommy's mouth opened and closed, and Tangyuan watched, clasping his hands together and trying to put his fingers in his mouth. "Mommy didn't wash her hands!" Iris knew her son's actions all too well and reacted quickly. She pulled her fingers back, turned around, took out a wet wipe from her bag, and carefully wiped Tangyuan's little hands before letting him gnaw on his chicken leg. Once his little mouth was satisfied, well, it didn't matter who held him anymore.
“Look, that’s just his personality. He’s not shy at all. Every time the housekeeper takes him out for a walk, I tell her to keep an eye on him, otherwise he’ll be taken away without a word.”
"Pah, pah, pah, what are you saying?" Pauline couldn't stand those words. She tightened her arms and teased Tangyuan, secretly admiring him. "Our Tangyuan has inherited his parents' good nature. He's been adored since he was little, hasn't he? Oh, Chao, look, Tangyuan smiled at me!"
The old mother was especially gratified by her son's efforts. Iris turned to Grandpa Zhan, who was also looking at her from the other sofa, and said with a smile, "Grandpa, you look much better!"
Zhan Zongqi straightened his back and waved his hand casually: "A little setback won't affect me. I've seen all kinds of storms over the years."
Pauline, busy entertaining the child, selectively ignored his boasting and carefully filtered his ears, rejecting Old Zhan Sir's old-fashioned "back in the day."
Iris was quite interested in hearing these stories. She was currently collaborating with a director at Elaine's mother's company and preparing to start a new script. She was now able to dig out some details that might have been missed in the materials from Grandpa Zhan. After these few days, Grandpa Zhan's mood had improved somewhat, and now, with such a good listener, his confidence had instantly returned to 99%. So, in the end, he and his son and daughter-in-law, unusually, reached a consensus without needing to discuss it further—to invite him to stay for dinner. Their sincerity was so great that they even brought out their best wine, "Iris, you still have to take care of the child. If you don't drink, call A-Yuan over, I'll drink with him!"
Upon hearing this, Iris's smile stiffened slightly. Actually, she could drink too. Compared to taking care of a child, drinking a little strong liquor didn't seem like a big deal.
"Achoo, achoo!" Zhuang Zhuoyuan sneezed twice. He rubbed his nose, and after seeing his wife's text message, he decisively took back his keys and headed straight for his future brother-in-law's car. Zhan Hantao saw him approaching and understood: "What, Iris's at my house?"
"Hmm, Tangyuan's here too. I'll come over for dinner at your place tonight." Zhuang Zhuoyuan said excitedly, "It's been so long since I've tasted Pauline's cooking."
This wasn't the first time the couple had done this. Whenever there was a last-minute arrangement, Zhuang Zhuoyuan's car would inevitably be left at the base, and Zhan Hantao would dutifully act as his brother's driver. If they weren't so afraid to touch that miniature "hostage," these carefree couple would probably even leave their child with him to look after for an hour or two.
“This is to let you get used to being a stay-at-home dad in advance,” Zhuang Zhuoyuan said, having planned it all out. “My sister is coming back soon, so shouldn’t you two get your wedding and post-wedding arrangements put on the agenda as soon as possible? When Iris was pregnant, didn’t I also spend some time learning while taking care of two babies? To be honest, real babies are much harder to take care of than those two. If you really don’t dare to handle Tangyuan, then we can lend you our two babies and see if you want a son or a daughter.”
Zhan Hantao quickly declined; he was just about to start writing and didn't want to scribble anything off the page. It was better to proceed step by step. Zhuang Zhuoyuan, with a mischievous grin, watched the other man's ears gradually coloring, then swiftly looked away before his future brother-in-law could get angry. Fine, when his sister came back, he'd just pack up the doll and lend it to Iris. They were all family; no one could escape the lesson of raising a child.
The two stayed at the Zhan family's house until 9:15 PM before leaving. They thought that since they had played so late, Tangyuanzi could give his parents a break from putting him to sleep. However, when they carefully took the child out of the car seat, the little baby immediately started playing a staring contest with his mother.
"Baby, be good, it's time for bed..." From downstairs to upstairs, from Mommy to Daddy, Iris came out after her bath, only to find, to her dismay, that Tangyuan was even more energetic than half an hour ago. The lighting was dim, and there was no extra noise. Zhuang Zhuoyuan wanted to express his frustration with childcare through his eyes, but Iris smoothly turned her head away. Fine, it was clear he was left to handle it all alone.
Iris didn't need to use her nine months of pregnancy as an excuse. She simply waved her phone, glanced at the string of unread messages and several emails in her inbox, which spoke volumes about her busy schedule. Zhuang Zhuoyuan gave up and handed over his phone as well: "Okay, busy Tangyuan Mommy, could you please take care of my 'work' too?"
That was so sour. Iris pretended not to notice, took the message, and gave it priority with an overly biased look. The little guy's ears had clearly perked up since they started talking. She poked his chubby cheeks, deliberately lowered her voice, and flipped through the text messages page by page: "Tiger said he's still talking to Tian Xinxi. That guy is very cunning, but it seems like there's still hope... Acheng said they've narrowed down the search area, and they should be able to find Dingding Lele's location in a few hours! Oh my god, he's amazing!" Iris became excited, her voice no longer restrained, and her movements became more exaggerated. She jumped forward and hugged Zhuang Zhuoyuan. As usual, her lips lingered on her husband's lips for a few more seconds, and in that brief moment of celebration, Tangyuan, who was uncomfortable from being squeezed, had already reached for her nightgown. Children are born with the ability to find any gap. Iris felt the straps on her shoulders tighten, and when she looked down, the fabric in front of her chest was being clutched in Tangyuan's hand in an extremely twisted way. Zhuang Zhuoyuan let out a low exclamation: "Oh ho, now I can't untie it."
Speechless and annoyed, Iris punched Zhuang Zhuoyuan hard, then resignedly picked up her son, feeling that the two of them were ganging up on her. She urged the gloating dad next to her, wishing she could banish them both to the guest room: "Go, go, go, hurry up and finish your shower and come out to take over. I really have to write the script tonight, or Director Chen will kill me."
If they were really rushing to meet a deadline, things wouldn't be like this now. Having been together for so long, Zhuang Zhuoyuan knows his wife better than anyone. Judging from her current reaction, the urgency of the matter could only be rated three stars at most. Sure enough, when he returned to the room, he saw the mother and son lounging on the bed. Tangyuan was holding a toy, making unintelligible sounds, and Iris was mimicking him, responding every few seconds and wiping the little guy's drool from his face.
"Is the great writer Zhou currently cultivating his inspiration?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan walked over, bent down, and kissed Iris on the cheek. Iris immediately cupped his face in her hands, her eyes sparkling: "Honey, I just heard some more good news, but I can't tell you right now because it's not entirely certain. But I absolutely have to share my happiness with you!"
Such sharing could only happen with her. He knew nothing of the details, not even the beginning or the end, but as long as Iris was happy, Zhuang Zhuoyuan would rejoice along with her. He kissed his baby, stroking her fingers and promising, "Wife, I'll definitely get the coin ring for you as soon as possible."
Perhaps suffering can promote personal growth, but love can achieve the same goal.
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