Yukinoshita's Correction Method

"Stage-one formula... here." Dong Yunshan checked the notebook's contents against the cans and found the matching one. "This is definitely the one I fed her last night."

"Don't feed her the moment she wakes up. If you don't figure out why she's waking at night, it'll only backfire." Seeing Baby Xi grab a lock of her hair and happily lift her little face, Yukino Yukinoshita's voice lost its earlier sternness. "How did she cry last night?"

"Uh..." Dong Yunshan thought back for a moment. "She just cried."

"Was it whimpering and fussing, or was it full-on waah-waah crying?" Yukino Yukinoshita pressed unhappily. "Did her skin color change? Was she sweating?"

"Waah-waah." Dong Yunshan answered honestly. "She was fine after I fed her a bit of milk."

Yukino Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes slightly. "So you didn't notice any change in her skin color, right?"

"If there had been an obvious change, I definitely would've noticed."

"...Hold her." Yukino Yukinoshita handed Dong Yunxi to Dong Yunshan.

Dong Yunshan took her with practiced ease, and Yukino Yukinoshita gently pulled her hair free from Baby Xi's hand.

Yukino Yukinoshita sat down on the sofa and let out a long breath.

She was a little tired.

Holding a child was physical work, and Yukino Yukinoshita was physically weak. She also hadn't eaten much that morning.

Dong Yunshan noticed her weakness. "You're hungry, right? I'll make you something..."

Yukino Yukinoshita shot him a sideways glance. "A fitness meal?"

"Uh... I'll just give you..."

Yukino Yukinoshita's tone turned unfriendly. "Are you about to mention formula again?"

Dong Yunshan avoided her gaze. "I meant I'll go out and buy some food."

"...Have you eaten?"

"Not yet. I spent the morning dealing with her." Dong Yunshan gently rubbed the tip of his nose against his little sister's cheek. "Right, Xixi?"

"Mm!" Dong Yunxi probably had no idea what Dong Yunshan was saying, but she still cooperated and responded.

"...I'll use the kitchen." Yukino Yukinoshita lifted her arms and began tying up her hair. "Oh, right, do you have a high chair?"

"A high chair?"

"For Xixi. If you don't, go buy one." Yukino Yukinoshita finished tying her hair. "Since she can already sit by herself, she can start using a high chair."

"Is that really necessary? Does she have to sit at the table just to drink milk?"

Yukino Yukinoshita smoothly recited the information she had looked up. "Sitting in a high chair can help her sit steadily. It can also make sure she doesn't move around while we eat, and help her develop good eating habits."

"Then I'll go buy one now."

"Mm. Remember, it needs at least a three-point safety buckle to keep her from falling, as well as anti-slip posts and a wheel-locking mechanism." Yukino Yukinoshita reminded him, "The tray needs to be sturdy, the base needs to be solid, and make sure there aren't any small parts that can come loose easily. Anything that could pinch her won't do either."

Dong Yunshan put Baby Xi on the sofa. "I'll go right now."

"Mm, I'll watch her." Yukino Yukinoshita called Xixi's name to draw the baby's attention. "Buy some groceries while you're at it. There aren't enough vegetables in the fridge."

"Huh? I remember there were still quite a lot."

"So you've forgotten how much you ate yesterday?"

"That's because what you made was too delicious."

"Less talking," Yukino Yukinoshita urged him. "Go."

Dong Yunshan waved. "I'll be right back."

Hearing the door close, Dong Yunxi turned her head to look over. When she couldn't find Dong Yunshan, the little baby was visibly dazed. She lay on the sofa, swaying left and right, but still couldn't see Dong Yunshan, and her mouth immediately puckered. "Wuu..."

"Xixi~" Yukino Yukinoshita lightly touched Baby Xi's palm with her finger and called to her softly. "Big sister is right here. Big sister is staying with you~ Don't cry, don't cry..."

Her finger was grabbed by Baby Xi, and the warm touch left Yukino Yukinoshita momentarily dazed.

Looking at Dong Yunxi's adorable little face, Yukino Yukinoshita bent down and gently kissed her on the forehead.

Baby Xi showed a happy little face, her short legs kicking wildly.

Right, she could already start training her hand abilities now.

Yukino Yukinoshita gently held Baby Xi's shoulders with both hands and applied a little force.

Dong Yunxi followed her force and lifted her head.

Yukino Yukinoshita moved her hands from her shoulders to her arms, then finally gently held her hands and pulled until Baby Xi was fully sitting up. Then she picked up a throw pillow beside them and placed it behind Baby Xi.

After making sure Dong Yunxi was sitting steadily, Yukino Yukinoshita found a tissue box and placed it in front of her, then slowly pulled out a tissue. "Baby, look. I pulled the tissue out."

Dong Yunxi blinked her big eyes and looked at her blankly.

Yukino Yukinoshita applied a little force with both hands and crumpled the tissue into a ball. "Look, it turned into a paper ball."

Dong Yunxi tentatively reached out, grabbed one corner of the tissue, and pulled the tissue out.

"That's right." Yukino Yukinoshita nodded in satisfaction. "Just like that, and then crumple it into a ball."

Dong Yunxi looked at the tissue in her hand, tilted her head, raised her other hand, and under Yukino Yukinoshita's expectant gaze, tore the tissue apart.

"...That works too." Yukino Yukinoshita also pulled out a tissue and tore it open. "Tear it just like this."

Dong Yunxi pulled out a tissue, grabbed at it wildly with her two little hands, and crumpled it into a ball.

Yukino Yukinoshita said, "...Do whatever you want."

Dong Yunxi snatched up a piece of paper and stuffed it toward her mouth.

"You are not allowed to do that!" Yukino Yukinoshita hurriedly stopped her.

When Dong Yunshan saw the tissues scattered all over the sofa, he said, "Did a cat get into the house?"

"It's a game to train hand-eye coordination." Yukino Yukinoshita checked the dining chair Dong Yunshan had bought, nodded in satisfaction, and carried the groceries into the kitchen. "Go wash your hands, then play with Xixi for a while. Be careful not to let her eat the paper."

"Got it." Dong Yunshan agreed, and after washing his hands, he sat down on the sofa and played the tissue-tossing game with baby Xi.

He tossed a tissue into the air and let it drift down naturally.

Dong Yunshan moved incredibly fast, able to keep several tissues in the air at the same time.

Dong Yunxi looked left and right, reaching out curiously to grab them.

She caught one, and another went flying up.

Baby Xi held one in her hand, her eyes fixed on another, and reached out with her other hand to grab it.

Then, at even greater speed, she stuffed the one in her hand toward her mouth.

Luckily, Dong Yunshan had sharp eyes and quick hands, and he yanked that piece of paper away in time.

Her little hand went into her mouth, and Dong Yunxi was a little dazed. She lowered her head to look, then went to grab the second one.

After catching it, she used both hands to stuff it into her mouth.

Dong Yunshan had been on guard for that long ago, and directly snatched the tissue away.

Baby Xi eats her little hands.jpg

She looked at her little hands wet with drool, then at the tissues flying through the air, and finally at the tissue in Dong Yunshan's hand.

Dong Yunxi seemed to understand something.

And so...

"Waaaaaaah!"

"You can't handle losing..." Dong Yunshan tossed the tissue aside and hugged his little sister. "Don't cry, don't cry~"

"Waaaaaaah!"

"We're not playing, we're not playing. Let's play something else." Dong Yunshan looked around. "Let's read a story—"

A chill crawled up his spine, and Dong Yunshan's body stiffened.

Her smooth long hair was tied into a ponytail, an apron was fastened around her, and Yukino Yukinoshita held a spatula in her hand as she stared expressionlessly at Dong Yunshan.

"Um... uh..." Dong Yunshan looked innocent, feeling that if he didn't hurry up and explain, the spatula in Yukino Yukinoshita's hand was about to fly into his face. "I did exactly what you said. I played with her, then didn't let her eat paper, and then... this happened."

"Waa..." Baby Xi struggled in Dong Yunshan's arms and looked pitifully toward Yukino Yukinoshita. "Aaah..."

Yukino Yukinoshita put the spatula aside, skillfully picked up baby Xi, and supported the little baby's bottom so Dong Yunxi could lie against her shoulder.

She raised a hand and gently stroked Dong Yunxi's back. While baby Xi couldn't see her expression, Yukino Yukinoshita glared fiercely at Dong Yunshan. "I played with her for so long, and she didn't cry once."

"Wuwu~" Dong Yunxi cooperated perfectly with two little sobs, as if agreeing, and also as if accusing him.

"I didn't expect it either," Dong Yunshan said, feeling very wronged too. "She was playing just fine, then suddenly she stopped playing properly."

"Clean up the tissues and switch to another game." Yukino Yukinoshita gently stroked baby Xi's back, feeling the little baby gradually stop sobbing, and a sense of accomplishment welled up inside her.

Sure enough... she could do it.

And she had done it very well.

Glancing at Dong Yunshan, who was cleaning up, Yukino Yukinoshita silently added one more sentence in her heart.

Better than him.

She had won.

"Hm?" Dong Yunshan's nostrils flared. "What's that smell?"

"This smell?" Yukino Yukinoshita smelled it too and immediately realized the source of the strange odor. "My food!"

The instant she finished speaking, Dong Yunshan had already picked up the spatula and gone into the kitchen, turning off the heat. "No big problem. I'll eat this plate."

Yukino Yukinoshita pressed her cherry lips together lightly.

It still wasn't enough... she could do even better.

"Mm." Dong Yunshan took big mouthfuls of the burnt dish. "Sure enough, it's more fragrant when it's a little charred."

Yukino Yukinoshita reached out with her chopsticks to take some, but Dong Yunshan stopped her.

"Don't fight me for it." Dong Yunshan finished it in two or three bites. "I like this."

"If it doesn't taste good, then it doesn't taste good." Yukino Yukinoshita saw through Dong Yunshan's lie. "If you dare talk nonsense again, I'll make it for you every day and see how many days you can keep eating it."

"Out of a whole table of dishes, only this one's a little burnt." Dong Yunshan raised his eyes. "If it's always at this level, I could eat your cooking for the rest of my life."

"...In your dreams." Yukino Yukinoshita shot him a sideways look, then turned to Dong Yunxi in the dining chair.

Baby Xi wriggled curiously. Thankfully, the safety straps held her in place, or she would have slipped right out of the chair.

After fussing around for a little while, the baby's attention shifted to the two people eating, and crystal-clear drool trickled from her slightly open mouth.

Yukino Yukinoshita wiped the corner of her mouth, then picked up the baby food she had prepared early.

Following the notes in the Baby Xi Manual, she had mixed iron-fortified rice cereal into a paste, then added a spoonful of meat purée, half an egg yolk, a spoonful of vegetable purée, and a spoonful of fruit purée.

When she brought the soft spoon to the baby's mouth, Baby Xi eagerly bit down on it.

After making sure she had swallowed, Yukino Yukinoshita fed her another two or three spoonfuls. By the fourth spoonful, Baby Xi began clumsily spitting it back out.

Yukino Yukinoshita picked up a tissue and wiped Dong Yunxi's mouth, then casually handed the remaining baby food to Dong Yunshan.

Dong Yunshan took it naturally, finished it in a couple of bites, and carried the bowl, chopsticks, and plates to the kitchen to wash. By the time he had finished clearing the table, Yukino Yukinoshita had already coaxed Dong Yunxi to sleep.

"This is the plan I made yesterday." Yukino Yukinoshita opened her laptop and showed Dong Yunshan the results of her previous efforts. "The details still need further refinement, but the overall framework is already complete. Basically, if we follow this plan, we'll be able to take good care of Xixi."

"Hmm?" Dong Yunshan browsed through the plan and made a puzzled sound.

"Do you have any questions about my plan?"

"I don't have any questions about the plan." Dong Yunshan looked at Yukino Yukinoshita in confusion. "But... haven't you always believed that teaching a man to fish is better than giving him a fish?"

"That's right, which is why I made a plan for you, not for Xixi." Yukino Yukinoshita's voice was calm. "This plan will ensure Xixi's healthy growth and help her do the things she's capable of doing."

"Even if you believe character shows by age three, isn't this a little too early?" Dong Yunshan sighed. "She's only six months old."

"Which means she can begin learning to crawl and sit independently. At this stage, she should have the ability to turn toward sounds and voices, show preliminary intent to imitate sounds, and roll from prone to supine, or from supine to prone." Yukino Yukinoshita slid her finger over the touchpad, scrolling through the plan. "Putting things in her mouth... she can already do that, so sitting without support still needs further practice, as does passing objects from one hand to the other. All of these need to be learned through play..."

Dong Yunshan suddenly felt like he should stick a sheet of paper on the wall with the number of days left until the college entrance exam written on it.

"Relax. There's no need." Dong Yunshan spoke earnestly. "I feel like you're getting a little anxious."