"Everyone, get out! You're not allowed back in!" Fu Xiaoxiao shouted in his little baby voice.
A child this young could never have prevailed over adults, but the butler and the others gave in without question. They immediately lowered their heads and withdrew, acting as if Fu Xiaoxiao's word was law.
Seeing this, Su Huaiming sighed inwardly.
When a child was poorly brought up, the adults were to blame. They all spoiled Fu Xiaoxiao so much; no wonder he had become so unruly.
Once everyone else had left the room, Fu Xiaoxiao looked at Su Huaiming again, his lips pursed and his cheeks as red as a round apple.
He had never been treated this way before. His big eyes misted over as he glared at Su Huaiming, aggrieved and upset, at a complete loss for what to do.
All he could do was resort to his usual tactics, which had never failed him before. "How can you treat me like this? I'm going to throw you out!"
Su Huaiming gave a dry chuckle and said flatly, "Aren't you full of yourself."
Fu Xiaoxiao: o(≧口≦)o
He was nearly mad with rage. Puffing out his cheeks, he flopped onto the floor and threw a tantrum, rolling around. "This is my house! What I say goes! If you don't leave, I won't get up!"
Su Huaiming looked down at Fu Xiaoxiao lying on the floor and raised an eyebrow.
Everyone had been a child once. He had already outgrown these tricks.
It was only because corporal punishment was frowned upon now. Twenty-odd years earlier, a slap might already have landed!
Seeing that Su Huaiming remained unmoved, Fu Xiaoxiao rolled around on the floor, waving his arms and legs like a crab, trying to wipe the floor clean with his clothes. His tantrum grew fiercer and fiercer.
Su Huaiming knew full well that if he tried to soothe Fu Xiaoxiao at a time like this, it would only make him think the trick worked, and he would behave even worse and become more unruly afterward.
The best way was to leave Fu Xiaoxiao alone and see who could outlast the other.
Su Huaiming's legs were getting a little tired from standing. Seeing how comfortably Fu Xiaoxiao was lying there, he couldn't help yawning.
The brat was lying down while he had to stand. How unfair was that?
Su Huaiming decided he shouldn't make himself suffer, so he lay down on the bed too.
As soon as he lay down, Su Huaiming wanted to sigh with pleasure.
Rich people really knew how to enjoy themselves. The mattress was so soft it felt like lying on a cloud.
Following Fu Xiaoxiao's example, Su Huaiming rolled over, stretched out his arms in a comfortable stretch, and hooked the quilt over with his foot.
In the period before he transmigrated into the book, he had been in too much pain to sleep night after night. He had nearly forgotten what a good night's sleep felt like.
This body was utterly exhausted too. Lying on the comfortable bed, Su Huaiming grew sleepy within seconds.
He rolled over, pulled the quilt over himself, and fell asleep.
Fu Xiaoxiao was still lying on the floor, his little face scrunched up.
The floor was so cold and hard. It wasn't comfortable at all orz
Whenever he had rolled around on the floor before, the adults had rushed over to soothe him and always given him his way. Fu Xiaoxiao thought sulkily:
He absolutely wouldn't get up until his stepdad came to soothe him!
Fu Xiaoxiao held out a little longer, but Su Huaiming still made no move.
His butt hurt, his head was uncomfortable too, and he was so bored.
Fu Xiaoxiao couldn't stand it anymore. For the first time, he got up on his own.
He brushed the dust off his hands and marched angrily over to the bed, glaring at Su Huaiming, with a trace of grievance mixed in.
Su Huaiming lay under the silk quilt, sleeping soundly, his breathing even. His originally bloodless cheeks had a faint flush.
The sight made Fu Xiaoxiao so angry he nearly cried.
How could Su Huaiming do this? He had left him lying on the floor and gone to sleep!
What kind of adult was he!!
Children had limited energy. Fu Xiaoxiao had been at it all day and was physically exhausted. Now, seeing Su Huaiming sleeping so soundly, he caught his drowsiness and couldn't help yawning. Within seconds, he was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open.
Fu Xiaoxiao braced his hands on the bed and kicked his little legs in the air several times before finally managing to climb up.
If Su Huaiming was sleeping, he would sleep too! Hmph ╭(╯^╰)╮
Lying on the bed still wasn't enough to vent Fu Xiaoxiao's anger. He sprawled out in the middle, pushing his chubby little feet against Su Huaiming's back in an attempt to shove him into a corner.
Unfortunately, the bed was too big. Even five of him lying on it couldn't have filled it.
Fu Xiaoxiao was tired and panting, his cheeks flushed, but Su Huaiming was still sleeping soundly.
Fu Xiaoxiao shot Su Huaiming another indignant glare and turned his attention to stealing the quilt.
Su Huaiming liked to roll himself up into a little silkworm cocoon when he slept, pinning the quilt beneath him. Fu Xiaoxiao managed with great difficulty to pull out a small corner and gripped it tightly in his little hands, trying to pull the quilt away.
Fu Xiaoxiao's fair, tender little face scrunched up. He leaned in the opposite direction, even his toes gripping the surface with effort... He used all his strength, but the quilt didn't budge.
Fu Xiaoxiao pulled too hard, and his little foot slipped. He landed on his bottom with a thud, fell backward onto the bed, and bounced back up on the soft mattress.
Confusion was written all over his little face. Fu Xiaoxiao blankly rubbed his bottom with his little hand, unable to recover his senses for a long moment.
He—he had fallen over orz
Fu Xiaoxiao's little mouth turned down and he was about to cry again, but looking at Su Huaiming, who was sleeping like a log and definitely wouldn't pay him any attention, he gave a couple of apprehensive sniffles and held his tears back.
Children had limited stamina. Already tired, and after all that effort, he was so sleepy his eyelids were drooping.
Fu Xiaoxiao gave a huge yawn, swayed back and forth as he sat on the bed, and felt around for the quilt with his little hands. Then he curled up and crawled underneath.
He covered himself with the corner of the quilt, feeling aggrieved, and made a fierce threat to himself before falling asleep.
Hmph, he'd use that missing corner of the quilt to freeze this bad stepdad to death!
Chapter 2: 002
When Su Huaiming woke up, he felt a soft, warm bundle nestled in his arms.
He froze for a few seconds and looked down at Fu Xiaoxiao. Only then did he remember that he had transmigrated into a book and gained a three-year-old stepson.
Fu Xiaoxiao slept soundly, his cheeks squished into little rolls of flesh. His eyelashes were thick and long, and his soft wisps of hair stuck up, giving him a fluffy look.
He had been well cared for, with a chubby body and fair, tender skin. Curled up in a ball, he looked especially like a glutinous rice dumpling.
Fu Xiaoxiao's sleeping face was so deceptive, peaceful and lovely like a little angel. Su Huaiming temporarily forgot how he had lain on the floor rolling around in a tantrum and couldn't bear to push him away.
Perhaps Su Huaiming's gaze was too direct. Fu Xiaoxiao's thick eyelashes fluttered twice, and he opened his big, misty eyes and looked at Su Huaiming in confusion, accidentally blowing two little bubbles from his mouth.
Su Huaiming's fingers itched, so he poked Fu Xiaoxiao's cheek to see if he could make him blow more bubbles.
Fu Xiaoxiao kicked his little legs, sat up on the bed by himself, and rubbed his eyes.
Su Huaiming patted his head gently and said, "It's time for dinner."
Only when he heard the voice did Fu Xiaoxiao recognize the person in front of him. His eyes slowly widened, and he instantly grew indignant.
Su Huaiming thought the child was rather amusing and deliberately asked, "Did you eat a milk candy? Why do you smell like milk?"
Fu Xiaoxiao was a clever little boy and understood what Su Huaiming meant.
Su Huaiming, that bad stepdad, was making fun of him!
"Only little babies smell like milk!" Fu Xiaoxiao protested, his cheeks red. "I'm not a little baby anymore!"
Su Huaiming held back a laugh. "All right, all right, you're not."
Fu Xiaoxiao could tell Su Huaiming was humoring him. He folded his arms, almost puffing up like a pufferfish with anger.
Su Huaiming went on, "When did you get up from the floor?"
The question instantly reminded Fu Xiaoxiao of how aggrieved he had felt lying on the floor with no one paying him any attention.
Fu Xiaoxiao had never met an adult like Su Huaiming and didn't want to spend another minute with him. Using both hands and feet, he climbed off the bed and stood barefoot on the floor, planted his hands on his hips, and issued a fierce declaration in the most babyish voice: "I hate you!"
With that, Fu Xiaoxiao ran out of the room in a huff. A tuft of hair on top of his head, sticking up from being slept on, bobbed constantly, as if expressing its owner's protest.
As soon as Fu Xiaoxiao left, Su Huaiming heard people calling his name one after another. Footsteps sounded as they chased after him.
With so many people taking care of Fu Xiaoxiao, he wasn't needed. Su Huaiming got out of bed at his leisure, washed up briefly, and changed his clothes. Then, rubbing his nearly empty stomach, he went downstairs to find something to eat.
As soon as he reached the first-floor hall, Su Huaiming smelled food and followed the aroma to the dining room.
Fu Xiaoxiao was sitting in a custom-made child's chair. Two aunties were feeding him, thoughtfully bringing each spoonful to his mouth.
But Fu Xiaoxiao wasn't paying attention to his meal. He deliberately let food dribble from his mouth, spitting out half of every bite. His two chubby little legs swung back and forth as he looked around, his mind elsewhere.
When he saw Su Huaiming arrive, Fu Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered something. He knitted his little brows and deliberately let out a loud huff at Su Huaiming.
Su Huaiming ignored him.
Fu Xiaoxiao angrily jumped down from his chair and ran out. The nannies looking after him immediately panicked and hurried after him.
Su Huaiming remained unmoved.
If a child refused to eat properly, missing a meal or two would make him behave. There was no need to indulge him.
Su Huaiming couldn't be bothered to correct Fu Xiaoxiao's bad habits either.
He was the stepdad now. If he were too strict, people would suspect him of deliberately mistreating his stepson. Besides, he wouldn't be staying in this house for long. It was best to keep the peace, and once these six-odd months were over, he would immediately take his luggage and leave.
Su Huaiming's thoughts lingered on Fu Xiaoxiao for only a few seconds before his eyes lit up at the dishes on the table.
Although only two people were eating, the family chef had still prepared a full seven or eight dishes.
In his previous life, Su Huaiming had avoided seafood because of his illness. Even meat that was a little too greasy would upset his stomach and make him vomit nonstop, so most of what he ate consisted of nutritional meals and liquid food.
Now that he had a healthy body, he was determined to try every delicious dish!
The family chef had really delivered. There was a Boston lobster bigger than Su Huaiming's forearm; top-grade wagyu cut into neat squares, making Su Huaiming wonder if the chef had used a ruler; golden crab roe noodles with more toppings than noodles; beer duck with white truffles; and even the most ordinary fried rice came with foie gras... They were all combinations Su Huaiming didn't quite understand.
The dishes he had only been able to drool over in pictures before were now right in front of him, and he could eat as much as he wanted. Su Huaiming immediately took the golden crab roe noodles beside him, picked up a mouthful coated in crabmeat and crab paste, and slurped it down heartily.
Su Huaiming had already lived here for several days. Everyone knew he was dieting and ate less than a kitten, putting down his chopsticks after only a bite or two.
Everyone thought Su Huaiming would do the same today, but they watched with their own eyes as he polished off two bowls of noodles in one go, then finished an entire large lobster and swept the dishes in front of him clean, leaving only a spoonful of rice.
The chef cared about presentation, so the portions weren't large, but there were a full seven or eight dishes, more than enough for two adults. Yet Su Huaiming had finished them all by himself!
Su Huaiming rubbed his round belly and looked at the last spoonful of rice. On the principle that food shouldn't be wasted, he ate it in one bite, stopping just short of licking the spoon clean.
With his belly full, Su Huaiming was in a great mood. His eyes curved into an involuntary smile, making him look just like a lazy, contented cat.