Parenting
When the door of the baby room was pushed open, Gu Zian was holding his daughter and stuffing a bottle into her mouth.
The nanny was guiding Gu Zian in adjusting his movements, while Xia Zhitang was leaning on the sofa holding a teacup and cheering for Gu Zian.
"You're here. Come and sit here." Xia Zhitang greeted them happily.
The three of them sat in a row on the sofa and watched Gu Zian take care of Xiao Qingmiao.
"Where is Qingluan?" Lin Jingming has been looking for Xia Zhitang's silly dog since he entered the door.
"The child is too young and we're busy here. After the confinement period, if Xiao Qingmiao is no longer allergic to dog hair, we'll take him back." Xia Zhitang kept his eyes on his daughter. "He's in the villa area now."
Lin Jingming nodded. "I'm on vacation next week. I'm going to hike in the suburbs, so I'd love to have someone to accompany me."
Xia Zhitang finally pulled his gaze away from his daughter and turned to look at Lin Jingming: "It will definitely like it."
"Why don't you stay in a confinement center?" Cheng Shubai suddenly interrupted.
"It's good to be home. I don't have to adapt to the environment all over again." Xia Zhitang used to complain about the Gu family having too many people, but now he thinks it's okay. The elders each have their own preferences, and the advantage of having more people is that they can arrange things as they please, so there are fewer conflicts when everyone is busy.
"Zi'an has learned it quite well." Cheng Shubai felt complicated as he looked at the little Qingmiao who started to yawn in Gu Zi'an's arms.
"Yes, he takes care of me much better than I do." Xia Zhitang praised Gu Zian without hesitation.
Lin Jingming felt a little sour in his heart when he saw Gu Zian's uncontrollable show-off.
"If I take a photo like this and post it, I'm sure to attract fans." Cheng Shubai thought of Tongtong's appearance when she was just born, and his thoughts drifted far away.
Xia Zhitang smiled but said nothing. After having a child, isn't it natural for a father to take care of the child? This shouldn't be a virtue that needs to be exaggerated. This is also the reason why she doesn't want to go back and live with Gu's father.
Gu Zi'an didn't notice the conversation between the three of them at all. He was completely immersed in feeding, burping and coaxing the baby to sleep.
Xia Zhitang saw Xiao Qingmiao yawning and knew that she was beginning to feel sleepy, so he stood up and took Lin Jingming and Cheng Shubai to the tea room.
After the three of them finished a round of tea, Gu Zian hurried over, his body still stained with the milky fragrance of Xiao Qingmiao.
Cheng Shubai took out a set of pure gold longevity locks and gold bracelets and handed them to them. He said with a look of nostalgia, "My daughter was this tiny when she was born. In the blink of an eye, she has grown so big."
Xia Zhitang poured tea for Gu Zian, who was wiping his sweat, and sighed, "I hope she grows up quickly. When she was born, she looked like a wrinkled old man. It took all these days to raise her and she finally looks good."
"No, Xiaobao is the most handsome!" Gu Zian retorted. He had long forgotten that he had had this idea in the beginning.
Lin Jingming lowered his eyes and took out a pure gold bean sprout ornament: "Have you chosen a name?"
"Gu Qingwu, the phoenix will only roost on the Wutong tree." Gu Zian rushed to answer with a proud smile on his face.
"Good meaning." Lin Jingming said with a faint expression.
He then took out a cloth bag from the bag and shook out a small quilt made of red cloth of different patterns.
"Principal Wang sent me this patchwork quilt, collected by parents, the boss's wife, and graduated students." Lin Jingming looked at the quilt in his hands, a little dazed. The scene of the two of them chatting under the starry sky of Yun Province that summer often came to his mind, but there was so much between them.
Xia Zhitang didn't notice the loneliness in Lin Jingming's eyes. He took the quilt solemnly and folded it carefully.
"Are all the children okay?" Xia Zhitang thought of the children whose flowers bloomed in the cracks of the rocks, recalled the brilliant night sky there, and recalled the collapse and growth there.
Life is a journey like this; you never know what you might encounter at any given moment. She thought she was strong enough, but in the end, she discovered that life is about growing up through experiences, whether painful or joyful.
"That's great! Now that the school isn't short of funds anymore, Principal Wang has closed the donation channel." Lin Jingming admired the white-haired woman immensely. "She said she wants to redistribute the resources to children in need elsewhere."
"He has a great vision." Cheng Shubai marveled. "It's not easy to stay true to yourself in the face of resources. It's not easy."
A few of them chatted for a while about the current situation of the girls' high school, and Xia Zhitang was called away for postpartum care.
The three men were left drinking tea in the tea room, and Lin Jingming became silent.
"Is the baby drinking formula or not?" Cheng Shubai recalled Gu Zian's initial feeding, and couldn't help but recall the long-forgotten parenting knowledge. He still remembered Guan Mingyue's insistence on breastfeeding for the sake of her child's health, getting up early and late every day to use a pump, just to leave enough food for Tongtong.
"Yes, drink milk powder." Gu Zian couldn't help but feel a little nervous when he recalled the collapse of both adults and children during the days of trying breastfeeding.
"Powdered milk is convenient, and babies don't wake up easily when they're full." Cheng Shubai followed Gu Zian's words and praised the advantages of powdered milk. "If Tongtong hadn't been so picky, I would have wanted to feed her powdered milk."
As he recalled it, he couldn't help but regret not stopping Guan Mingyue from devoting herself to raising her offspring.
Although it was a happy thing that his daughter grew up healthy and strong, it was after they had a child that he and Guan Mingyue began to drift further and further apart.
If he had fulfilled his responsibilities as a father as seriously as Gu Zian; if he had asked Guan Mingyue to be herself instead of trapping her in the family as a mother... would the ending be different?
"Yeah, it turns out that babies need to be fed every two hours, and need to be burped every time their diapers are changed." A hint of vicissitudes of life was cast on Gu Zian's young and handsome face.
After personally experiencing a two-hour cycle of more than half an hour, with breaks between starts and stops, Gu Zian sincerely lamented to Cheng Shubai, "I can't even imagine how I'd get by without my nanny, Aunt Wang, and Aunt Chen. It's too tiring, truly too tiring."
"Only when you have a child do you realize the kindness of your parents." Cheng Shubai patted Gu Zian's shoulder in understanding and comforted him, "When she grows up and calls you daddy in a soft and sweet voice, you'll feel that everything is worth it."
Gu Zian and Cheng Shubai were chattering about parenting. Lin Jingming, who was unable to join in, quietly walked aside and looked at the new photo album hanging on the wall of the tea room.
There were dozens of long photos on it, including Xiao Qingmiao drinking milk, Xiao Qingmiao sleeping, Xia Zhitang holding Xiao Qingmiao, their family of three, Gu's father holding Xiao Qingmiao, etc. Lin Jingming looked at the photos with nostalgia, imagining how Xia Zhitang looked at Xiao Qingmiao happily and proudly at that time.
As Cheng Shubai was chatting, he suddenly caught sight of Lin Jingming standing in the corner, staring at the photo dejectedly, and his heart skipped a beat.
"How long will Xia Zhitang continue to provide nursing care?" He deliberately raised his watch to check the time. "We have something else to do, so we'll take our leave now."
Gu Zian finally found a senior with whom he could communicate, and he tried to persuade him to stay: "If you are not in a hurry, you can leave after dinner."
Cheng Shubai looked at Lin Jingming who finally looked over and gave him the decision-making power.
"See you at the full moon party." Lin Jingming didn't want to listen to them share how painful and sweet it was to be a father.
"Okay, then I'll keep you here. I'll pick up some souvenirs later. It's our custom here." Gu Zian turned to look at Cheng Shubai, "Remember to bring Tongtong with you when the time comes."
Cheng Shubai's expression was a little bitter: "Let your wife invite Tongtong's mother."
After leaving Xia Zhitang and Gu Zian's house, Lin Jingming felt full of melancholy.
He looked up at the sky which had not yet darkened, and said to Cheng Shubai, who was also preoccupied with his thoughts, "Japanese food?"
"Okay, I have a bottle of wine stored somewhere." Cheng Shubai felt that tonight would be a night where he would need alcohol to help him fall asleep.
The two of them ordered their dishes on the electronic screen with ease. A waiter in a kimono walked in with wine in his hand and skillfully warmed it up for them.
The two of them clinked their glasses silently until the waiter came in a second time, placed the dishes on the table one by one, closed the door and left, and then they began to talk.
"The film starts shooting next month?" Cheng Shubai curled his lips as he looked at Lin Jingming's face. "It just so happens that Gu Qingwu is one month old. Can Xia Zhitang take the child out?"
"It would be great if she could come, but I don't think she would be free." Lin Jingming knew that Xia Zhitang's priority now was her child first, and then her small company.
"Oh, have you finally given up?" Cheng Shubai held the bottle of wine close to Lin Jingming's face.
Lin Jingming pushed the person away and said, "If I don't work hard to make money and build my business, how can I support my young children in the future?"
"No, you still don't give up even after all this?" Cheng Shubai was shocked by Lin Jingming's answer. He drank two glasses of wine before he could calm down.
"Cheng Shubai, they signed a two-year contract." Lin Jingming laughed a little crazily, "I still have a chance. Don't just say two years, I'll wait ten or twenty years!"
Cheng Shubai shook his head as he picked up the fatty salmon on the table and took a few bites. He then said blankly, "Why do you all look so lovestruck?"
"Why don't you tell me about yourself? Guan Mingyue's new boyfriend is younger and more handsome than you." Lin Jingming couldn't help but expose Cheng Shubai's shortcomings.
"He's richer than me." Cheng Shubai picked up the wine jug and took another sip, choking and coughing.
"The blood relationship cannot be severed." Lin Jingming raised his wine glass and suddenly laughed, "Unlike me, even though I'm your godfather, no one acknowledges me. They never mention my nickname, Xiao Qingmiao."
Cheng Shubai snatched Lin Jingming's glass and started drinking: "Don't imitate me."
"This is my glass!" Lin Jingming rang the bell with a look of disgust and asked the waiter to bring in a new wine glass.
Cheng Shubai couldn't help but laugh so hard he fell over: "Which pervert secretly took Xia Zhitang's coffee cup?"
"No." He always kissed directly. "Okay, I'll ask your secretary to come and take you home."
"I'm not drunk." Cheng Shubai staggered and grabbed Lin Jingming's phone, "Come on, let's get drunk!"
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