Chapter 004
"Son, can you sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?"
As soon as she got in the car, Xu Yirou leaned back in the soft seat, crossed her short legs, tilted her head, and stared at him with her big, watery eyes.
Xu Qingyan answered truthfully, "No, you know I'm not good at singing."
“Not being good at something doesn’t mean you can’t do it.” Xu Yirou glanced at him, then opened her mouth and spilled out all the old stories like beans from a bamboo tube.
"Don't think I don't know that you sang 'Two Tigers' to Chengcheng and Ali several times when you were little."
Xu Qingyan was surprised.
He is five years older than his twin brother and sister. They were high-needs babies when they were young, and it was very energy-consuming to take care of them.
He was precocious by nature. At the age of five, he was already much more sensible than his peers. He felt sorry for his mother who couldn't get a good night's sleep every day because of taking care of his younger siblings. So whenever he saw his younger siblings crying, he would push the cradle and sing to his younger siblings on both sides while his mother was still asleep.
Perhaps it's because the siblings have similar energy levels, but every time he starts singing, the two crying little ones immediately quiet down.
Xu Qingyan always thought he had kept it a secret, but he never expected that his mother had seen everything and remembered it for so many years.
"I heard everything."
Xu Yirou pointed her chubby little finger at her ear, her eyes crinkling with pride. "I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd be shy."
A smile flickered in Xu Qingyan's dark eyes.
"So that's how it is."
"Yeah, so shouldn't you sing me a song?"
Xu Yirou wrinkled her little nose and acted like a brat: "I don't care, I want to hear you sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, sing it for me now, or I'll—"
She narrowed her eyes dangerously.
I'll spank you!
"..."
Xu Qingyan could hardly believe that he would ever be scared and spanked by his mother.
Old Fang, the driver in the front seat, had worked for the Xu family for many years, but this was the first time he had ever seen such a daring young girl who dared to make demands of the young master of the family and even dared to say things like threatening to spank him.
Over the years, apart from the madam and the young lady, he had never seen the young master be obedient or soft-hearted to anyone else.
Based on his understanding of the young master, he would definitely refuse him coldly and ruthlessly, and then—
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are."
"Hanging in the sky, shining brightly, like many small eyes."
A deep, magnetic yet gentle voice suddenly filled the car, but Xu Qingyan sang the familiar song with a touch of awkwardness.
Driver Lao Fang nearly choked on his own saliva when a chilling gaze shot over him. Lao Fang immediately sat up straight, pretending he hadn't heard anything.
"It sounds so good! It's so good! Da Bao is amazing!"
The extended Lincoln limousine was filled with the laughter of toddlers and the loud clapping of their hands as it sped along, disappearing into the neon-lit night.
When they got out of the car, Xu Qingyan bent down and picked up Xu Yirou, who was sleeping like a little pig and snoring softly.
After entering the room, he carried her directly into her bedroom and laid her down. He then carefully tucked her in before slowly leaving the room and returning to his study to work.
For the first half of the year, Xu Qingyan was seriously ill. In order to accompany and take care of her, he delegated most of his work to his subordinates and only dealt with important documents in the ward when he had free time.
A lot of work has piled up over the past six months.
The fact that his mother has returned to being a healthy and lively baby is undoubtedly good news, and he will work hard to earn more money to support her.
*
The next day, before Xu Qingyan was fully awake, there was a loud banging on the door, and a child's childish voice shouted: "Dabao! Dabao, are you awake? I'm starving! Your only mother is starving!"
Xu Qingyan opened her eyes, sat up with a jolt, and quickly put on her shoes to open the door.
Outside the door, a little girl wearing strawberry pajamas, with messy black hair, looked up at him with her fair face and big, grape-like eyes, her eyes pleadingly fixed on him.
Xu Qingyan, without any morning grumpiness, calmly bent down with a hint of apology: "I'm sorry, Mom, I woke up late. What would you like to eat?"
"I want to eat big meat buns, fried dough sticks, soy milk, rice noodle rolls, sour soup rice noodles, and shrimp wontons!"
Xu Qingyan pinched the bridge of her nose and said patiently, "Mom, how about we eat two different things a day? You probably can't eat that much at once."
“These aren’t just for me to eat.” Xu Yirou said with a smile, hands on her hips. “We can definitely finish them if we eat together.”
The main point is that she has a huge appetite and wants to eat everything; she wants to eat right now!
Even though Xu Qingyan had no experience raising cubs, she knew that cubs were all little gluttons.
After thinking for a moment, he compromised: "I'll go make breakfast now, you can play for a while."
"Wait a minute." Xu Yirou suddenly remembered something.
Xu Qingyan: "What's wrong, Mom?"
Xu Yirou rubbed her little hands together, her eyes shining brightly, full of anticipation: "Let me play with your tablet a little longer."
"..."
Having been bedridden for more than half a year, Xu Yirou was almost completely cut off from electronic devices and was not very good at using many of the new functions.
Fortunately, she wasn't interested in the other functions; she just used it to watch cartoons and catch up on TV series.
Xu Qingyan returned to the bedroom, took out the tablet, and gave it to her, saying with concern, "Mom, watching the tablet too much is bad for your eyes. Please remember to limit the time you spend on it."
Xu Yirou waved her hand dismissively: "Okay, okay, go ahead and cook."
After saying that, he grabbed his tablet and ran off.
Watching her hurried little figure, Xu Qingyan immediately thought of how, when they were young, they were addicted to playing on their phones, and their mothers would solemnly lecture them to put down their phones and read more books and study more.
Chengcheng and Ali are the most mischievous, often pretending to comply but actually going against him. He has seen his mother close her eyes and take deep breaths several times, her gentle expression on the verge of collapse.
They still don't know that their mother has shrunk. Xu Qingyan smiled. He had a premonition that the family might be in chaos and turmoil.
*
[Damn it, it's Bald Qiang again!]
[My honey, my nuts, my little butterfly!]
In the living room sofa, Xu Yirou was picking at her fair, tender toes with one hand, staring at the tablet and laughing heartily.
Just as she was engrossed in watching, a video call pop-up suddenly appeared in the center of the screen. The loud ringtone startled her, and the next second her brows furrowed unhappily.
Who is so annoying as to disturb her while she's watching cartoons?!
She angrily pressed the answer button, and then a handsome face with a devilish charm yet full of youthful energy was magnified on the entire screen.
"Brother, I... Holy crap! Who are you?" He Nianzhu on the other end looked like she'd seen a ghost, her eyes wide and her head full of question marks. "Where did this little one come from?"
His brother didn't go out; he stayed home with his mother the whole time, didn't he?
Where did this little guy come from? And why is he holding his brother's tablet?
The neighbor's child who came to visit? I've never seen him before, I have absolutely no recollection of him.
"How rude!" Xu Yirou, hands on her hips and pouting, shouted at the screen with all her might, "I'm your mother!"
He Nianzhu: ?
"How dare you swear at me, you little brat?" He Nianzhu was stunned for a moment, then laughed when she realized what was going on. "Do you know who I am? How dare you talk to your brother like that? Believe me, I'll tell your teacher. Maybe your teacher is even a fan of mine."
He Nianzhu became an overnight sensation across the country with his stunning good looks after only three years in the industry. He also won several prestigious awards for his superb acting skills. He is a young top star with both good looks and talent. Even if you don't watch his dramas, you can recognize his handsome face that often appears in various advertisements.
Xu Yirou scoffed, rolling her eyes to the sky: "I gave birth to you, how could I not know who you are? Call me Mom!"
When dealing with her youngest son, who had been mischievous since childhood, Xu Yirou became even more unrestrained, glaring fiercely at her unruly son on the screen and urging him to call her "Mom."
He Nianzhu didn't care at all, didn't believe a single punctuation mark, and remained as nonchalant as ever.
He chuckled twice, thinking that this little girl was not only bold but also had quite a temper; a tiny baby actually wanted to be his mother.
"Good boy, call me 'brother' properly, and I'll buy you candy."
"You big-headed devil, do you know that's utterly rebellious?"
"Oh, you even know the idiom 'rebellious'? How old are you, little girl? You have a good vocabulary."
"You...you unfilial son!" Xu Yirou stomped her feet in anger, raised her little pink fist fiercely, and threatened in a childish voice, "I'm going to spank you!"
He Nianzhu chuckled, his shoulders trembling. The little girl was too interesting; her fist was smaller than his palm. Who knew who would feel the pain if she punched him?
"Ah Li?"
Suddenly, Xu Qingyan appeared on the screen. He was still wearing an apron. He had come out to check on Xu Yirou after hearing her movements in the kitchen.
Upon finally seeing her older brother, He Nianzhu quickly asked with a smile, "Brother, whose child is this? I've never seen him before. He's so cute!"
With her eldest son's arrival, Xu Yirou finally found some help. Her clear eyes welled up with tears, and she pointed her short finger at her youngest son, who was grinning foolishly on the screen, and complained with a pout, "Dabao, he bullies me! He won't even call me Mom!"
Seeing the sadness and grievance in her mother's eyes, Xu Qingyan felt heartbroken. She turned to her clueless little brother and coldly ordered, "Ali, call her mother."
He Nianzhu: ...
"Brother, are you alright?" He Nianzhu stared at her older brother with a question mark on her face. "You want me to call her Mom? Are you crazy or am I crazy? We have our own mothers."
After saying that, he suddenly worried that his older brother might be under too much pressure, which might have caused him to have mental problems. Otherwise, how could his most calm and rational older brother let him call a little baby "Mom"?
Xu Qingyan: "She is our mother, except that she has become smaller and has returned to the appearance of a four-year-old."
Upon hearing this, He Nianzhu was completely stunned.
Huh, what is that?
Xu Qingyan sighed. He could understand that He Nianzhu couldn't accept it for a while: "Why don't you come back for a visit in the next couple of days?"
He Nianzhu, who had originally booked a flight for tomorrow morning, suddenly frowned and felt a sense of foreboding.
"elder brother……"
He Nianzhu glanced at the baby-faced, pouting man with lingering anger, then at his older brother's serious expression, which showed he wasn't joking at all, and swallowed hard.
I hesitated, wondering if I should just drive back overnight.
At this moment, Xu Yirou tossed her head and said angrily, "Hmph, you're finished! I will never forgive you!"
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