Su Huaiming flicked Fu Xiaoxiao's forehead, which made him laugh out loud.
Fu Xiaoxiao, feeling wronged, covered the spot where Su Huaiming had flicked her wrist and complained, "I didn't do anything wrong! It was my sister... who said she'd treat me to ice cream!"
"Who is he?" Su Huaiming interjected, "Nannan is older than you, you should call him brother."
"I won't call her!" Fu Xiaoxiao remembered the "pretty sister disappeared" incident, crossed her arms and whimpered, glaring at Nannan through gritted teeth, trying to scare him.
Fu Xiaoxiao is fair-skinned and chubby with a round face. When she makes this expression, it's not scary at all; on the contrary, it's quite cute.
Seeing that Nannan wasn't intimidated by him, Fu Xiaoxiao suddenly felt a competitive urge. He rushed up to Nannan, curled his fingers, and let out a fierce howl.
Nannan didn't even blink; she simply raised her hand to wipe away the spittle that Fu Xiaoxiao had sprayed onto her face.
"..."
Fu Xiaoxiao was completely defeated, her face flushed with embarrassment. Unable to vent her emotions, she squatted in the corner, muttering to herself and loudly whining at Su Huaiming, hoping Su Huaiming come over and comfort her.
Su Huaiming wasn't going to tolerate Fu Xiaoxiao. He pretended not to see her and continued chatting with Nannan's mother, agreeing on a time for his visit.
Nannan's mother was a loyal fan of Su Huaiming, wishing she could be with her idol 24/7. With a sliver of reason remaining in her mind, she was afraid of interfering with Su Huaiming's work, so she reluctantly took Nannan's hand and left.
Fu Xiaoxiao still harbored resentment, her eyes wide open as she glared menacingly at Nannan's increasingly smaller figure, striking a cool pose. Only after feeling she had regained her composure did she turn and walk back into the store.
To make matters worse, before Fu Xiaoxiao could recover from her grief, Yu Xuanxuan, oblivious to her tact, approached and asked, "Has that pretty lady you mentioned arrived?"
Fu Xiaoxiao: "..."
His face instantly turned bright red with anger, and he stomped his foot heavily, but when he spoke, his imposing manner completely vanished, and he said in a childish voice, "The pretty older sister hasn't arrived yet."
When will he arrive?
Fu Xiaoxiao pouted, her voice trembling with tears, "The pretty older sister will never come again."
Fearing that Fu Xiaoxiao would burst into tears, Su Huaiming quickly went over and diverted Fu Xiaoxiao and Yu Xuanxuan's attention.
But this isn't a long-term solution. We need to find something that interests Fu Xiaoxiao so he can move on from this.
As if they had heard Su Huaiming's thoughts, the production team announced some good news after the dessert shop closed.
"Everyone's sales have reached 5,000 yuan, earning the first reward. Once everyone's sales reach 10,000 yuan, the second reward can be unlocked!"
Ji Mingzhe, always eager to please, asked, "What's the first reward?"
"The tide will be low at 7 p. m. tonight. After dinner, you can go to the beach to collect seashells and small crabs. If you're lucky, you might even see starfish."
These words struck a chord with the children, and the four little ones' eyes immediately lit up as they jumped up and cheered.
It was still light outside, but they couldn't wait to rush to the beach.
After being stopped by the adults, the four children didn't stay idle; they huddled together and chatted excitedly.
"I want to collect pink seashells to give to my mom!"
"I want a starfish."
"I want to collect huge crabs and really, really big fish!"
"I want to collect whales!" Jameel had barely finished speaking when the adults couldn't help but burst out laughing.
In a joyful atmosphere, everyone quickly finished dinner, packed their tools, and eagerly headed out.
The location for beachcombing was rather remote, with no one on the beach. Only the bright moonlight shone on the sea, and visibility was poor. When looking into the distance, one could only vaguely make out the reflecting water; everything else was pitch black.
The production team distributed flashlights to everyone and reminded all parents to take good care of their children.
The four children weren't scared at all; they were led inside by their parents.
In the past, the place where they stood would have been submerged by the sea, but this time, after the tide receded, they could walk far in.
Su Huaiming led Fu Xiaoxiao on a stroll along the beach, digging up many seashells and crabs.
Fu Xiaoxiao was overjoyed to see a crab the size of a fingernail for the first time. She held the crab in her hand and kept checking on it every few steps, afraid that it would run away.
The families gradually dispersed, heading in different directions, swallowed up by darkness behind and in front of them, until they could no longer find each other.
Fu Xiaoxiao found another beautiful seashell and turned around to share it with Su Huaiming, only to find that there was no one behind her.
It was pitch black all around, and the only sound was the crashing of the waves. It felt as if he were the only person left in the entire world.
Fu Xiaoxiao's joy was instantly extinguished, her voice trembling as she called for her father, her voice carrying a sob.
He had barely uttered a sound when he received a response.
Su Huaiming's shoelace came undone, so he squatted down to tie it. When he stood up, he was surprised to find that Fu Xiaoxiao was acting strangely.
Fu Xiaoxiao looked at Su Huaiming had suddenly appeared, and hurriedly hugged his leg, muttering softly, "Where did you go? I thought you didn't want me anymore. I'll never find you again in this lifetime, sob sob sob."
Su Huaiming: "..."
He stood by Fu Xiaoxiao's side the entire time, never leaving her side for even a moment!
Su Huaiming felt both helpless and amused, and whispered a few words of comfort to Fu Xiaoxiao, who then calmed down.
Fu Xiaoxiao looked around with her big eyes, then tugged at Su Huaiming's sleeve fearfully and said, "I don't want to go any further. Let's go back."
Su Huaiming nodded, intending to lead Fu Xiaoxiao back, but found there was no flashlight nearby.
Where did everyone go?!
He tried hard to recall the direction he had come from, but after squatting on the ground digging for seashells for a long time, he forgot which way he was facing when he stood up.
The beach was completely dark on both sides, with no landmarks whatsoever. Su Huaiming had no sense of direction, his mind was a complete blank, and he was utterly bewildered.
Fu Xiaoxiao regarded Su Huaiming as her pillar of support, took his hand, and said in her childish voice, "We want to go find Daddy."
Su Huaiming: "..."I want to go look for him too, but I don't know where Fu Jingfan is!
Afraid of scaring Fu Xiaoxiao, Su Huaiming didn't dare to speak his mind and pretended to be very reliable, "Okay, I'll take you to find your father."
He took a step, then suddenly stopped.
If you go in the wrong direction, you'll definitely drift further and further away from the main group. The safest thing to do is to stay put.
Su Huaiming reached out and touched Fu Xiaoxiao's hair. Instead of saying that he was also lost, he said tactfully, "This place is fine. Why don't we just stand here and wait for your father to come find us?"
Chapter 73
Fu Xiaoxiao blinked, her little voice full of confusion, "Why do we have to wait here for Daddy to come find us?"
Dealing with a small child was a piece of cake, and Su Huaiming wasn't at all apprehensive. He said confidently, "Because Dad is also looking for us. If our location changes, it won't be easy for your dad to find us."
Fu Xiaoxiao suddenly became clever and wasn't fooled. She stretched out two chubby fingers, the tips moving closer together, "We're looking for Daddy, and Daddy's looking for us too, so we should meet sooner!" Su Huaiming: "..."
He smiled and patted Fu Xiaoxiao's head, unhesitatingly pinning the blame on Fu Jingfan. "That's usually how it is, but what if your father gets it wrong? We'll just drift further and further away. It's better to wait until he discovers the problem himself and then come to us."
Su Huaiming's words were utter nonsense and could only fool children; the viewers in the live stream were all laughing.
[Who got lost? I won't say, hahaha]
This is the first time I've ever seen a dad and his child get lost together!!
[Mr. Fu, please come to the broadcasting station immediately. Your wife and children are waiting. (doge emoji)]
[Fu Jingfan: This family will fall apart without me]
Fu Xiaoxiao thought Su Huaiming's words made a lot of sense, nodded, and obediently let Su Huaiming hold his hand, standing there enjoying the sea breeze, waiting for his father to come find him.
"How much longer?" The child had limited patience and asked Su Huaiming five times in just ten minutes.
Su Huaiming looked at the dense darkness in the distance, feeling a little uneasy.
"Your dad walks slowly, let's wait a little longer."
Fu Jingfan seemed to hear their thoughts, and just a few minutes later, light appeared in the darkness.
Fu Jingfan held a flashlight, casting a warm halo that revealed the figures of Su Huaiming and Fu Xiaoxiao within the light and shadow.
For some reason, the way this big and small creature huddled together gave off a pitiful, lonely vibe.
When Fu Xiaoxiao saw Fu Jingfan, she sniffed and ran over with open arms.
He hugged Fu Jingfan's leg, tilted his fair and tender little face up, and said in a childish voice, "Why did it take you so long to come find us, Daddy!"
Fu Jingfan bent down, touched Fu Xiaoxiao's little nose, and asked, "Were you waiting for me?"
"Yes, Dad and I are waiting for you." Fu Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered something, her eyes clear and innocent as she asked, "Dad, are you lost? Did you go the wrong way, that's why it took so long?"
Su Huaiming: "..."
He hadn't expected Fu Xiaoxiao to expose all his secrets in just a few words. He coughed awkwardly, not daring to meet Fu Jingfan's gaze.
Although Fu Xiaoxiao didn't say it explicitly, with Fu Jingfan's shrewdness, how could he not guess the truth of the matter?
Sure enough, Su Huaiming felt a strong gaze fall on him, and his exposed skin felt a burning sensation.
Su Huaiming couldn't stand being stared at anymore. He pinched his red ear tips, glared at Fu Jingfan, and said irritably, "What are you looking at!"
[Haha, Su Huaiming is furious!]
[Wife, come glare at me! Come scold me! Haha, you're so cute!!]
[It's all Fu Jingfan's fault, how could he run around like that! Su Su has lost her way because of you, and can only stand there waiting, completely out of her mind. jpg]
[Oh my god, Fu Jingfan actually smiled! Don't spoil him too much!]
Fu Jingfan didn't reply, pretending not to know anything about it. He took Fu Xiaoxiao's hand and walked naturally to Su Huaiming's side. "Let's walk back slowly."
Fu Jingfan pointed out the direction, Su Huaiming immediately turned his back on him, taking Fu Xiaoxiao's hand and walking forward, trying to prove that he could go back on his own.
Fu Jingfan didn't mind and walked behind the two children, silently protecting them.
Su Huaiming quickly forgot what had just happened and shone his flashlight on the beach.
In this respect, Su Huaiming and Fu Xiaoxiao are perfectly compatible.
The two men squatted on the beach, shoveling sand with iron shovels, picking out the seashells hidden inside, leaving a series of strange marks on the sand, like scribbled characters.
Soon, the small red plastic buckets the two were carrying were filled. Fu Jingfan took on the heavy lifting, carrying the bucket full of seashells, and gave his empty bucket to Su Huaiming.
Su Huaiming and Fu Xiaoxiao worked very hard, squatting on the beach almost the entire time. Fu Jingfan looked around listlessly, catching a glimpse of a strangely shaped object out of the corner of his eye.
The bright moonlight shone on the beach, like a layer of light frost, while strangely shaped objects on the sand were further in.
Fu Jingfan walked over with a flashlight and discovered that it was actually a starfish.
He bent down, calmly picked up the starfish, and walked back.