Let's Eat Hot Pot Together

The two children couldn't carry all six gift boxes, so they asked the driver for help.

The parents had received word ahead of time and were waiting at the Shen house.

"We're back!" Shen Xinde came wobbling through the door, carrying a small gift box in each hand.

"Haoh Hao's back! Come show Auntie what little surprise you prepared!" Zhou Jingyi's voice came from the living room, and a moment later she appeared in front of the two children.

"Aunt Zhou! A Peace Apple!" Shen Xinde's eyes curved with a smile as he held out the apple gift box. "Happy Christmas Eve!"

Zhou Jingyi looked a little overwhelmed by the unexpected gift. She hurriedly accepted the box and examined it carefully. "Oh, Haoh Hao! Thank you! Auntie loves this surprise!"

Shen Xinde smiled, then scampered into the living room with the remaining gift box in his hands. Gu Ruize was sitting on the couch, and he had just opened his mouth to greet Shen Xinde when a bright red, sparkling box appeared in front of him.

"Uncle Gu! A Peace Apple! Happy Christmas Eve!"

Holding up his little gift box, Shen Xinde had zipped right over to Gu Ruize.

Gu Ruize froze for two seconds. Once he recovered, he quickly accepted the gift box, a rare hint of a smile appearing on his face. "Thank you, Haoh Hao."

The Gu parents had never celebrated Christmas Eve or Christmas, so this was the first time anyone had given them apples. They both held their boxes and looked at them with curiosity.

Shen Qiming was sitting nearby and had just been about to ask about his own Peace Apple when Gu Zhuoling came in.

"Aunt Xia, Uncle Shen, happy Christmas Eve."

Gu Zhuoling held out two gift boxes.

"Thank you, A-Ling. So this is the little surprise you two prepared?" Xia Wanqing smiled gently and opened the gift box she had received, finding a big, red Peace Apple inside.

"No wonder Haoh Hao called especially this morning to ask us all out for hot pot. So he wanted to celebrate Christmas Eve." Shen Qiming smiled as he accepted his gift box.

"Hot pot keeps you warm in winter." Shen Xinde grinned goofily, then picked up one of the two boxes of Peace Apples the driver had just put down and held it out to Gu Zhuoling. He whispered in Gu Zhuoling's ear, "Dolly, I remembered. This one's the biggest."

"Thank you, Haoh Hao." Gu Zhuoling smiled at his words and accepted the box from Shen Xinde. When he opened it, it was indeed the biggest of the six apples they had picked out earlier.

"What are you two little tots whispering about?" Seeing Shen Xinde's mysterious smile, Shen Qiming immediately caught him in the act.

Shen Xinde clasped his hands behind his back and strolled away with an air of composure. "Nothing. Dad, make sure you try it and see if it tastes good."

Shen Qiming naturally doted on Shen Xinde, so his son's words immediately diverted his attention, and he focused on opening the gift box.

In the end, the adults took photos of their Peace Apples for keepsakes, then washed them, cut them into pieces, and shared them. The two children couldn't bear to eat the Peace Apples they had given each other yet and decided to keep them for another two days.

"Let's go. I booked a private room this morning. Let's go eat hot pot." Shen Qiming checked the time and, seeing it was about right, stood up.

Everyone got up and started putting on their coats to head out.

"Haoh Hao, your scarf." Ever since Shen Xinde had caught a cold, Gu Zhuoling had started paying close attention to whether he was dressed warmly enough. Now he was waiting for him with a scarf.

Shen Xinde obediently stretched out his neck so Gu Zhuoling could wrap the scarf around him, then grabbed his hand and ran outside. "Dolly! Let's go eat hot pot!"

The two families took two cars. Since it was a holiday, they had sent their respective drivers home early to rest, so the two CEO fathers had the honor of taking their places behind the wheel.

At the hot pot restaurant, they had already settled on the menu at home, and by the time everyone arrived, the food had been laid out on the table.

The sauce station was off to the side. Today, out of respect for the children's preferences, everyone mixed their own dipping sauce.

The private room was on the second floor, and the hot pot restaurant was in an especially good location. Looking out from upstairs, they could see the central square directly across from them. The shops outside were full of Christmas atmosphere, and a beautifully decorated Christmas tree stood in the middle of the square.

Once it got dark and the lights came on, it would surely be even prettier.

"Have some meat, Haoh Hao." Xia Wanqing picked up some meat from the tomato broth with her chopsticks and placed it in the empty bowl in front of Shen Xinde.

"This is the first time Old Gu and I have come out for hot pot together," Zhou Jingyi remarked, putting some meat in her son's bowl and glancing at the view outside.

"Old Gu always picked Western restaurants for our dates. It was so boring," Zhou Jingyi added.

Gu Ruize had never been one to say much, but he was in a good mood now, and they were reminiscing about old times. He spoke up in a quiet rebuttal. "There was one time I asked if you wanted hot pot, and you said it was too hot."

Zhou Jingyi found it funny when he brought that up. She elbowed Gu Ruize and fired back, "Speaking of which, that was ridiculous. The ground temperature outside was forty degrees that day, and Old Gu asked me out for hot pot. Wasn't I hot enough already?"

"Besides, I turned you down once and you never asked again? What was that supposed to mean?"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Gu Ruize spread his hands in surrender.

"Then, Aunt Zhou, Uncle Gu, you can come to hot pot restaurants more often on your dates from now on." Shen Xinde had a mouthful of fried dough at the moment. It was so hot he was making little noises, but he still wanted to reply.

"Eat slowly." Gu Zhuoling couldn't help laughing at how impatient Shen Xinde looked and quickly handed him a glass of water.

"And when you're not on a date, you can bring Dolly along to eat too," Shen Xinde added after swallowing the fried dough.

His words made everyone at the table pause.

Gu Zhuoling was the first to recover. He held up the glass so Shen Xinde could take a sip of cool water to help it go down. He said nothing, but the smile never left his lips.

Shen Xinde wasn't finished yet. He hurriedly drank the water and continued, "And you have to bring Haoh Hao too, because Haoh Hao likes hot pot."

"What about Mommy?" Xia Wanqing smiled and stroked her well-behaved son.

"What about Daddy?" Shen Qiming chimed in.

Shen Xinde seemed a little troubled. Then he gazed pitifully at Zhou Jingyi. "Aunt Zhou, can you invite my mommy and daddy too?"

At first, Shen Xinde's words struck Zhou Jingyi right in the heart.

During this time, Shen Xinde had always been trying through his actions to bring them closer to their son. A child's actions weren't so sophisticated; naturally, it was easy to see what he was doing.

He would say things like Aunt Zhou should praise Dolly more, or tell Uncle Gu how amazing Dolly was and all the things he could do.

Because of Shen Xinde, Gu Zhuoling had begun to learn to express what he wanted. For example, after that fight, Gu Zhuoling had gone home and shown them the drawing Shen Xinde had given him from every angle.

Everyone said Shen Xinde was a little lucky star who had brought good fortune to the Gu family.

Now, looking at Shen Xinde's pitiful expression, Zhou Jingyi burst out laughing. "Of course! Whenever you want hot pot, just come to Aunt Zhou. I know a restaurant that's even better."

Once Shen Xinde started talking about food, there was no stopping him. He said that when they had lived abroad, Mommy and Daddy wouldn't let him eat hot pot. They ate it while leaving Haoh Hao to watch all by himself.

"That was because you were so little you could only drink milk. How do you still remember something so minor?" Xia Wanqing picked up some food with her chopsticks, intending to plug Shen Xinde's mouth.

And there was more: that turkey had tasted awful!

"And yet you ate so much your belly was practically bursting," Shen Qiming interjected.

"Come on, eat."

Gu Zhuoling loved hearing stories about Shen Xinde when he was even younger, from before Gu Zhuoling had appeared in his life. Listening to them always softened his heart, but he hadn't forgotten that Shen Xinde had barely eaten.