Little Baby (Part 2)

"What were his last words to us?" Holding Alice, Dad Xiang frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "He said that if we encounter any trouble while he's away, we can go to 'Xia' and 'Tang'."

Then, pausing for a moment, Dad Xiang said thoughtfully, "'Xia' and 'Tang'? Judging from the timeline, Xia should have already been..."

At this point, Dad Xiang looked down at Alice, whom he was holding, and didn't continue, but he knew that Mom Xiang understood what he meant.

Based on the timeline, Xia Libing should have been pregnant by then—of course, Xiang Kun might not have known at the time, but he certainly knew that the two had been intimate.

Since the two had already had a relationship, why did Xiang Kun mention both "Xia" and "Tang" as names at the end?

Furthermore, when pressed by his Mom Xiang for details, he even said that they were partners who were closer than boyfriends and girlfriends, or even husbands and wives, and who would never be separated.

Instead of discussing it with Dad Xiang immediately, Mom Xiang fed Alice first, including the rice cereal from the bag that Lao Xia had brought, as well as mashed shrimp, fish, and carrots.

Mom Xiang's love for Alice was already off the charts, but after feeding her, she adored her even more—this child was just so well-behaved and adorable!

Feeding her is easy; she eats whatever you give her, and she eats quickly without fussing at all. She's so easy to feed, and even the way she eats is adorable. Her chubby little face melts her Mom Xiang's heart, and the smile in her eyes and mouth never stops.

After Alice finished eating, Xiang's mother held her and sat her on the sofa in the living room for a while. Seeing that she was sleepy, she took her to her room to sleep. Only then did Xiang 'Mom Xiang and Dad Xiang eat and chat in the dining room.

"At first, I also suspected that Xiang Kun's business trip to Europe, which lasted for so long, might be due to some emotional dilemma. He might be trying to sort out his thoughts and decide whether to be with Xiao Tang or Xiao Xia." Mom Xiang, holding a bowl, stood in the dining room near the aisle. Through the open bedroom door, she looked at Alice, who was taking a nap on the bed, at her loosely clenched little hand and her little feet sticking out from under the blanket in green socks, and smiled.

"So... Xiang Kun had a hard time making a choice, and ran off to Europe to hide? That's too cowardly..." Dad Xiang said with dissatisfaction. However, like Mom Xiang, he was looking at Alice, who was fast asleep on the bed, through the door of the room, so he still had a smile on his face, his eyes full of wrinkles.

"He probably didn't intend to be gone for so long, but after Alice was born, he probably got the news and didn't dare to come back, so he's been staying until now," Mom Xiang said.

Dad Xiang immediately shook his head. "No, if you said our son ran away abroad to avoid trouble because he was caught in a love triangle, I could barely understand. But he's already pregnant. Knowing our son as I do... he's not that irresponsible. He couldn't possibly know he has a daughter and then deliberately not come back."

"Well, so I only had this idea on my mind for a moment, and I also think the possibility is too low. Besides... if Xiang Kun went to Europe, and he was torn between being with Xiao Tang or Xiao Xia, why would he specifically bring them both home for dinner before leaving, and then specifically tell us that we could contact them if we encountered any difficulties?" Mom Xiang analyzed.

"Oh right." Dad Xiang tapped the edge of his rice bowl lightly with his chopsticks and said, "If this kid really was running away from his relationship problems with Xia and Tang, he wouldn't have brought them both home back then and told us to come to them if we needed anything. This kid... he's definitely not that shameless. If he were that shameless, he wouldn't have run away to hide abroad."

Mom Xiang also said, "And when we met back then, I saw Xia, Tang, and Xiang Kun together, and they seemed quite natural, just like... just like... sigh, I can't think of a good way to describe it right now."

"Like family?"

"No, not really. With family, you're familiar and understand each other, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're on the same page. But with them, it's just... it's like they have a tacit understanding. You remember that time Xiang Kun was cooking, and Xia was helping him out, while Tang, Xiao Yang, Little Apple came over to play cards and chat with us? It was so natural, so clear, without any pretense of going to the kitchen to pretend or being polite. They were very polite to us too, but with each other, and with Xiang Kun, it was like they all knew what they were supposed to do. That feeling... it was just... you know... so harmonious?"

Dad Xiang laughed, "Isn't that what he meant by 'partner' feeling?"

"Listen to his nonsense! What 'partnership'? What a load of rubbish!" Mom Xiang said, then frowned and added, "But Xia and Xiang Kun don't seem to have that feeling of young lovers. They're more like the left and right hand, very in sync. On the other hand, Xiao Tang sometimes gets a little shy and bashful when talking about things related to Xiang Kun." Mom Xiang recalled.

Dad Xiang seemed thoughtful. "Indeed, Xia's personality seems a bit strange. Sometimes she seems quite lively and outgoing, but other times she's so quiet that you wonder if she's in a bad mood or something's happened."

"Xiang Kun told me that Xia is usually a quiet person, but she deliberately acts outgoing and lively in front of us."

"Sigh, they're all good kids."

As they were chatting, Mom Xiang's phone suddenly rang. She was startled, worried that she would wake up her "precious granddaughter" whom she had already decided to have, so she quickly turned off the sound. Then she looked at the caller ID and saw "Xiao Tang".

Mom Xiang was startled, looked up and exchanged a glance with Dad Xiang, who had also seen the caller ID. "Speak of the devil!" she thought. "What could it be that Xiao Tang is calling at this hour?"

"Hey, Xiao Tang, your Uncle Xiang and I just had lunch. Are you still in Chongyun Village? How are Xiao Yang, Little Apple, and Little Bell? Oh, you've already gone to Peng City? Little Bell has to go to school now?"

After exchanging pleasantries on the phone for a while, Tang Baona suddenly sounded conflicted and hesitant. Then, as if she had made a decision, she asked softly, "Auntie, can you get in touch with Xiang Kun?"

"I just called Xiang Kun at noon, but a man who claimed to be his assistant answered the phone. He said he went out to sea with a client and didn't bring his phone... By the way, Xiao Tang... aren't you and Xiang Kun business partners? You can't contact him directly either?" Mom Xiang asked in confusion. Before, when she was worried about Xiang Kun, she would occasionally call Tang Baona and Xia Libing to ask about Xiang Kun's work status, after all, they were business partners and worked for the same company.

"Oh, I understand..." Tang Baona's voice still sounded somewhat hesitant. "I couldn't get through just now, I'll contact them directly now... Auntie, did you see Xiao Bing today?"

"Oh, yes, Xia came over briefly at noon today, but she had to catch a flight and left again..." Mom Xiang suddenly became a little nervous.

"Okay, I understand. Auntie, that's all for now. Please come visit Peng City or Tongshi Town sometime!"

As soon as Mom Xiang and Tang Baona ended their call, Dad Xiang, who had been "eavesdropping" on the other end of the phone, immediately asked, "Does Xiao Tang know about Alice?"

"Possibly," Mom Xiang frowned. "Her tone was off."

"Could it really be because of relationship problems that our son has been hiding in Europe and dares not come back?" Dad Xiang said. "Do you think it's possible that before going abroad, Xiang Kun, and then they broke up? But during his time abroad, he got together with Xiao Tang and wanted to be together, but then he discovered that Xia was pregnant with his child and secretly gave birth to it, so their relationship became complicated again."

"What kind of ridiculous, melodramatic plot is this!" Mom Xiang rolled her eyes at Dad Xiang, took the empty bowl from his hand, and walked towards the sink, saying, "Xiao Tang is also in China, how did they get together? Online dating? And didn't we just analyze that if their relationship were really that complicated, Xiang Kun wouldn't have said those things before leaving? But now... especially with Alice involved, sigh, I really don't understand it anymore. It's more reliable to wait until we contact our son and let him tell us himself. I'm a little worried, is this kid really hiding from us, Xiao Tang, and Xiao Xia?"

Suddenly, Dad Xiang said, "Do you think Xia said she wanted to go abroad because she wanted to find Xiang Kun?"

Mom Xiang was clearing the dishes, stopped what she was doing, looked up, thought for a couple of seconds, and nodded, saying, "It's not impossible after all."

"Forget it, let the children handle their own affairs. By the way, what about that thing Xia mentioned?"

"What's up?"

"About naming Alice," Dad Xiang said, craning his neck to peek into the open bedroom door. Seeing Alice sprawled on the bed, sleeping, his furrowed brow relaxed, and a smile spread across his face. "Anyway, no matter what, Alice is our child."

"Choosing a name requires careful consideration, especially for a girl. We need to think it over carefully. Let's contact Xiang Kun first," Mom Xiang said.

"Well... do you remember when our son first started working, one Spring Festival when he came back, we were talking about how his distant cousin had another baby and they were having trouble naming it?" Dad Xiang said. "Do you remember the names he came up with back then?"

Upon hearing this, Mom Xiang burst out laughing, but worried about disturbing Alice, she quickly covered her mouth to suppress her laughter.

"That's true. Although he was probably joking at the time, this kid really doesn't have much talent for naming things," Mom Xiang said with a smile.

When that topic came up, Xiang Kun told his parents that if he had a son, he would name him "Xiang Qianjin" (meaning "Forward"), "Xiang Houzhen" (meaning "Turn Around"), and "Xiang Qianchong" (meaning "Charge Forward"). If he had a daughter, he would name her "Xiang Xinli" (meaning "Xiang Xinli"). Although he was definitely joking at the time, who knows if this kid might have some unique ideas and come up with some unconventional names, like incorporating Xia's surname into them, such as "Xiang Xia Kan" (meaning "Look at Xia"), "Xiang Xia Gun" (meaning "Roll Away from Xia"), or "Xiang Xia Zou" (meaning "Walk Away from Xia").

Dad Xiang laughed and said, "If she were given a name like 'Invincible Xiang' or 'Unrivaled Xiang,' we wouldn't know how to explain it to Xia. When she grows up, Alice might blame us, her grandparents, for not stopping her back then."

Mom Xiang nodded, "Yes, actually, Xia is the most suitable name for Alice, but since she asked us to choose one, and Alice is already two years old when she comes to choose her formal name, it means she wants Alice to be closer to her grandparents and establish a family relationship. We certainly can't refuse. Hmm, we have to choose a good one!"

Unbeknownst to the elderly couple, although Alice's body was indeed asleep, her consciousness remained within the "Super-Sensing Item System." She heard their conversation clearly and silently muttered to herself:

"Actually, calling him 'Invincible' would be quite good..."

She hesitated for a moment about whether to guide her "grandparents" in choosing this name, but then decided against it—it would be more meaningful to choose a name according to her "grandparents'" true wishes.

So, while Mom Xiang played with "baby Alice" all afternoon, Dad Xiang made various phone calls, seeking advice on naming their granddaughter. It was the first time the elderly couple had held their granddaughter, while many of their relatives and friends already had several grandchildren and were quite experienced in naming their children.

While Mom Xiang was preparing dinner for "baby Alice" in the evening, Dad Xiang had already "done his homework" and prepared several names.

Wearing his reading glasses and holding a small notebook, Dad Xiang asked, "How is Xiang Zhiran?"

Mom Xiang frowned. "What? Cumin? You spent the whole afternoon thinking about it, making so many phone calls, and all you came up with was a name that sounds like a seasoning?"

Dad Xiang quickly explained, "It's the grass radical, with the character for 'stop' below. In Fan Zhongyan's 'Yueyang Tower Inscription,' there's a line, 'The fragrant herbs on the banks are lush and green.' It refers to fragrant herbs. As for 'burn,' it's the character for 'burning.' I specifically asked Lao Liu to check your birth chart based on the birthday you got from Xia. Our Alice is lacking the fire element, so 'burn' is a good choice. And 'Zhi' belongs to the wood element, and wood generates fire—a perfect match!"

Mom Xiang was still dissatisfied. "No, we can't choose names that have homophones. Otherwise, if Alice gives her classmates random nicknames, she'll definitely blame us. And what about Fan Zhongyan's 'Yueyang Tower'? Did you ask your former accountant Xue from your workplace? He just loves to spout off nonsense, all that 'half-baked knowledge'."

Dad Xiang adjusted his reading glasses and continued looking at his notebook, saying, "So... how about Xiang Xinran? 'Cao Mu Tou' (草木木), the 'Xin' in 'hard work' (辛苦), but 'Ran' (燃) is still the same 'Ran' (燃)."

Xiang Ma said angrily, "Why do you like to use the word "burn" so much? The word "fire" in the five elements does not have to be accompanied by "fire". Choose something nicer. Anyway, I definitely don't agree with using the word "burn".

I defended myself to my dad: "This character "burn" is very good. Alice's horoscope matches this character very well. Other characters belonging to the fire attribute are not as good as this character."

"I disagree anyway. Think of something new, something nice, and it can't have the word 'burning' in it!" Mom Xiang said stubbornly.

After feeding Alice, the elderly couple also finished their dinner. They discussed things for a while, and then Mom Xiang went to the balcony to call Xia Libing: "Hey, Xia, are you abroad now? Oh, waiting for a connecting flight? Well, to make a long story short, your Uncle Xiang and I have come up with a name for Alice, 'Xiang Xinran.' 'Xin' is the 'hard-working' radical with the grass radical, and 'Ran' means 'urgent need.' Your Uncle Xiang checked Alice's birth chart and said she lacks the fire element, so the character 'Ran' is the best choice. Moreover, the character 'Xin' belongs to the wood element, and wood generates fire..."

Here's a quick survey: When you read books on the Qidian app, what font size do you use, and how many words are typically in a line?