Yu Ruicheng emerged with his hair sticking up every which way and his eyes bleary with sleep.
[Ahhhh, my husband is so cute!]
[I actually got to see Yu Ruicheng's sleepy face. What a treat!]
[Hahahahaha, did Yu Ruicheng come running because he smelled the food?]
Su Huaiming and Sun Siyuan froze, looking guiltily at Yu Ruicheng. Yu Ruicheng turned toward them too, his narrowed eyes gradually widening.
The three of them stared at one another in an extremely awkward silence.
After a standoff lasting a good ten seconds or more, Yu Ruicheng's mouth twitched twice. He turned and headed for the bathroom, pretending he hadn't seen a thing.
Only then did Su Huaiming breathe a sigh of relief and pick up another piece of fried chicken.
He didn't notice Yu Ruicheng's door opening wider and wider. Wearing adorable pale yellow duck pajamas, Yu Xuanxuan came out, rubbing his bleary eyes.
Su Huaiming: !!!
The fried chicken lodged in his throat. He could neither swallow it nor spit it out, and he was almost choking to death.
Hearing the commotion, Yu Ruicheng hurried out. The three adults stared helplessly at Yu Xuanxuan.
Yu Xuanxuan caught the aroma of fried chicken, and his little nose twitched. His eyes gradually lit up, and he immediately ran over. Standing on tiptoe, he rested his chin on the table and stared fixedly at the chicken, swallowing hard.
"It smells so good."
Yu Xuanxuan turned to look at Su Huaiming beside him, a little aggrieved. "Why didn't you call me when you were eating fried chicken?"
Su Huaiming: ∑(っ°Д°)っ Listen, let me explain...
Before he could figure out how to deal with Yu Xuanxuan, he saw the boy let out a long sigh and rub his little belly. "So I wanted fried chicken so badly that I'm even dreaming about it," he said to himself.
Su Huaiming: ???
Seeing that Yu Xuanxuan had actually come up with an explanation and convinced himself, Su Huaiming was overjoyed and deeply relieved that he wouldn't be found out.
To make it more convincing, Su Huaiming put on a surprised expression. "Xuanxuan, how did you get into my dream?"
Yu Xuanxuan's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you dreaming too, Brother Su?"
"That's right." Su Huaiming put on a distressed expression and sighed. "I wanted fried chicken so badly, but my tooth hurts and I can't eat it, so I can only eat it in my dreams."
Yu Xuanxuan looked at him sympathetically and comforted him. "Don't be sad. When your tooth stops hurting, I'll treat you to fried chicken!"
"Okay..." Su Huaiming froze mid-sentence, his body and expression going still.
Watching Su Huaiming's strange behavior, Yu Xuanxuan tilted his head in confusion. "What's wong?"
Su Huaiming finally returned to normal and sighed. "I think I'm about to wake up, and the dream is going to disappear."
Hearing that it would disappear, Yu Xuanxuan asked in alarm, "What should we do, then?"
Su Huaiming thought for a moment and said, "Let's each go back to sleep. Once this dream disappears, maybe we'll have another good dream."
Yu Xuanxuan thought Su Huaiming made perfect sense and nodded like a chick pecking at grain. Without needing Su Huaiming to coax him, he headed for the door on his own.
Halfway there, he spotted his brother standing at the bathroom door and held out his little hand. "Why is my dream brother wandering around too? Don't get lost. I'll take you back to sleep with me!"
Yu Ruicheng looked at his thoroughly fooled little brother and sighed helplessly. Taking his little hand, he returned to their room.
Only when he saw the door shut tight did Sun Siyuan let out a long breath and pat his chest, still shaken.
"You're amazing!" Sun Siyuan gave Su Huaiming a thumbs-up and praised him sincerely.
Su Huaiming wasn't happy about it. He hurriedly said, "Let's eat quickly. When we're done, we'll clean everything up. We absolutely can't let anyone find out."
Sun Siyuan agreed wholeheartedly. The two bent their heads again and began stuffing themselves.
[Help! How does Su Huaiming's brain work? How can he come up with so many strange ideas?!]
[Hahahahaha, Su Huaiming really is the sneakiest.]
[How could he bully a child like that? That's too much!]
[I'm reporting him. Su Huaiming is abusing a child! Doge.jpg]
After Su Huaiming and Sun Siyuan cleaned up the scene, they went back to their rooms to sleep.
Su Huaiming had always liked going to bed and getting up early, but because he'd had a late-night snack, he deliberately stayed up late for fear of indigestion.
The next day, he got up rather late.
Su Huaiming had just reached the living room when he heard Yu Xuanxuan chattering away. "Last night, I dreamed about Brother Su!"
"No, no, Brother Su dreamed about me."
Ji Youyou tilted her head in confusion.
Seeing the puzzled look on the little girl's face, Yu Xuanxuan scratched his head, trying hard to explain. "Our dreams were connected."
"Connected?" Ji Youyou's voice rose in surprise, and her eyes went round. She asked eagerly, "Was it like in a cartoon? Did you two meet in a dream?"
"Yes, yes, that's it." Yu Xuanxuan didn't hold back his praise. "You're so smart, Youyou."
Ji Youyou was terribly envious. "I really want to meet Brother Su in a dream too."
Yu Xuanxuan giggled, feeling pleased, and continued, "Brother Su and I both dreamed about fried chicken. He's really pitiful. His tooth hurts, so he can't eat fried chicken except in his dreams."
Hearing the word "pitiful," Su Huaiming was suddenly overcome with guilt.
He coughed, too embarrassed to let Yu Xuanxuan go on. "It's okay. Once my tooth gets better, I can eat fried chicken. It's not a big problem."
Ji Youyou was a thoughtful little angel. She pattered over, stood on tiptoe, and tried to get close to Su Huaiming. "Brother, does your tooth still hurt?" she asked with concern.
Su Huaiming held back his guilt and answered vaguely, "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Ji Youyou beckoned to him and said in her babyish voice, "Youyou will blow on it for you again."
Su Huaiming's heart melted at how adorable she was, and he immediately crouched down. Ji Youyou pursed her little lips and blew on his cheek with a serious expression, stopping only when her face grew sore.
"Does it still hurt, Brother?" Ji Youyou continued, "Youyou can blow on it some more."
Su Huaiming couldn't bear to tire her out any further. "It's okay. It doesn't hurt anymore."
Seeing how strong Su Huaiming was, Ji Youyou felt she had to reward him. "When your tooth stops hurting, Youyou will treat you to fried chicken," she added.
Ji Youyou also ran over and comforted him. "Xuanxuan can treat you too, so you can have it twice, Brother!"
Before Su Huaiming could decide what to say, he met the unmistakably intense gazes of Yu Ruicheng and Sun Siyuan. They seemed to be calling him shameless.
Su Huaiming: "..."
Alas, he had finally received the harshest punishment for sneaking fried chicken behind the children's backs.
He patted Ji Youyou and Yu Xuanxuan on the head, thinking that the next time he came to film the show, he had to bring these two darlings something delicious!
After asking about Su Huaiming's tooth, the two little ones pulled him along to eat, reminding him to eat more soft food or his tooth would hurt again.
Sun Siyuan happened to be sitting nearby. When he saw Su Huaiming come over, he poured him a cup of hot water.
Su Huaiming was so well cared for that anyone who didn't know better might have thought he was the youngest one there.
[I'm so jealous of Su Huaiming. I want the little ones to take care of me too, orz.]
[Su Huaiming's looks really appeal to children. My son was watching the livestream and said he wanted to meet this big brother too.]
[Actually, Su Huaiming's looks really appeal to adults too.]
[I don't know whether he's appealing, but I'm sure he looks just like my wife. Doge.jpg]
[Warning: King, the weather is getting cold!]
[Netizen, aren't you afraid Su Huaiming's husband will see this?]
That netizen immediately dropped to their knees and posted again.
[I was wrong. I was just running my mouth; I don't have any improper intentions at all. Great one, spare my life!]
The viewers in the livestream happily joked around, entertaining themselves. The atmosphere was wonderful.
Today was the last day of the first episode. The production team didn't set any more tasks, letting everyone do as they pleased. That afternoon, they could fly back to their respective cities.
Fu Xiaoxiao took his wages from the director and stared at the money in his hand for a full half minute, as though he'd gone silly.
Su Huaiming walked over and bent down to look at Fu Xiaoxiao's face. "You're not crying, are you?"
Fu Xiaoxiao: "..."
It was the first time he had earned a reward through his own efforts, and he was full of a sense of accomplishment. Even his stepfather Su Huaiming looked much more pleasing to the eye.
Fu Xiaoxiao smiled until his eyes narrowed, eagerly asking for praise. "Wasn't I amazing?"
Smiling, Su Huaiming stroked Fu Xiaoxiao's soft hair and said gently, "Super amazing!"
Fu Xiaoxiao couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from rising. He wore a very silly smile, immersed in an ocean of joy.
Now that he had money, he could fulfill his earlier wishes. Fu Xiaoxiao immediately ran to find Ji Youyou and Yu Xuanxuan, planning to buy them ice cream.
Su Huaiming kept his promise. He also thought Fu Xiaoxiao had been quite well-behaved these past few days and deserved a reward, so he offered to take them to buy ice cream.
Perhaps Fu Jingfan's genes were too powerful. At such a young age, Fu Xiaoxiao already looked like a domineering CEO. Standing in front of the ice cream stall with a very serious expression, he raised his chubby arm and said in his babyish voice, "What do you want? I'll buy it for you!"
It was as though the ice cream stall were a kingdom he had conquered.
Ji Youyou and Yu Xuanxuan were very supportive, praising Fu Xiaoxiao with shining eyes.
"Xiao Xiao, I like you so much!"
"You're amazing, Brother! Youyou likes you!"
Fu Xiaoxiao stood between them with his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out, happily enjoying Ji Youyou and Yu Xuanxuan's praise. The tail behind him was practically pointing at the sky.
After Ji Youyou and Yu Xuanxuan chose their ice cream, Fu Xiaoxiao still had a thick wad of money in his hand. He frowned at the stall, thinking about what flavor to buy.
Afraid Fu Xiaoxiao would spend all his money on ice cream, Su Huaiming was just about to stop him when Fu Xiaoxiao put the money back in his pocket and said nothing more.
Only then did Su Huaiming breathe a sigh of relief.
Hearing Su Huaiming, Fu Xiaoxiao looked up at him for a while, leaving Su Huaiming utterly puzzled.
A few seconds later, Fu Xiaoxiao said to the ice cream vendor, "Give me a chocolate one too."
The vendor smiled and nodded.
He liked the three little ones very much, so he deliberately gave them extra, piling the cone high before handing it to Fu Xiaoxiao.