Gu Wancheng gazed into the distance and made out a few coconut trees. He walked a little farther; they were not far away.
After a moment's thought, he decided to go over later and looked around some more. He could not identify wild vegetables, so he would miss them even if he saw them. He had found no fresh water here, either. It seemed he could only try looking beneath the coconut trees.
Remembering the coconut trees he had just seen, Gu Wancheng took a different route instead of going back the way he had come.
"Daddy, where are we going?" They had found nothing along the way, and Chaochao was no longer as lively as when they had first set out. Clearly, finding no food had dealt him quite a blow.
Seeing the little fellow looking so listless, Gu Wancheng comforted him. "To find coconuts."
"Coconuts?"
"Yes, Daddy saw some."
"Wow! I didn't even see them." Chaochao's dejection vanished in an instant, and he returned to his lively, cheerful self.
[We didn't see them either?]
[There were wild vegetables where they just passed.]
[But Chengcheng doesn't recognize them. What a shame.]
It was embarrassing, really. Gu Wancheng had actually come prepared and memorized what some wild vegetables looked like, but... he had forgotten.
Chaochao looked this way and that, then suddenly stopped and pointed at a tree thick with leaves. "Daddy, there's something over there."
Gu Wancheng looked up. A green box sat hidden behind the leaves, its color so similar to theirs that it would be easy to overlook.
Looking at the height of the tree, Gu Wancheng's mouth twitched.
Chaochao was looking up, waiting for praise. Gu Wancheng pinched his cheek and smiled gently. "Chaochao, you're amazing. You're the most amazing little boy Daddy has ever met."
Chaochao's face flushed at the praise, and he gazed at him with sparkling eyes. A moment later, he shyly buried himself in his daddy's arms.
[Ooh, look, Chaochao's shy.]
[Even his ears are red. cute.jpg]
[Wifey Chengcheng is such a househusband. hiding my smile.jpg]
The barrage began teasing Chaochao. The way he got shy after asking for praise really was adorable.
[I wonder what's in the box.]
[I hope it's vegetables.]
[Probably not.]
Gu Wancheng looked at the box, wondering whether he could knock it down with a stone.
He picked up a stone and tossed it experimentally in his hand, deciding its weight would do.
"Chaochao, step back." Gu Wancheng stood up and mentally prepared himself.
The livestream viewers grew tense, not daring to breathe for fear of affecting his performance. Even through their screens, they held their breath and watched Gu Wancheng's movements intently.
A burst of fast-paced music seemed to reach their ears.
The viewers: ??? What was going on? Were they hearing things?
Suddenly, Gu Wancheng hurled the stone hard at the box. It visibly swayed, but under everyone's expectant gazes, it remained firmly up there.
It had only shifted slightly, but that little movement gave Gu Wancheng hope. He picked up another stone and threw it.
The box swayed even more violently, then dropped to the ground with a thud as though throwing down its weapons in surrender.
"Wow! Daddy's glowing!" Chaochao gazed at his daddy's figure in admiration. At that moment, in his eyes, Gu Wancheng's slender-waisted, long-legged figure looked incomparably towering.
[Yay! Chengcheng is the best!]
[Why did this suddenly get so hot-blooded?]
[Where's the BGM coming from?]
[What? So I wasn't hearing things?]
The cameraman, who had quietly turned on the BGM, quietly switched it off again. The viewers discovered that the BGM had magically disappeared, leaving them bewildered, but they simply decided not to bother with it.
Because Gu Wancheng was about to open the box.
Gu Wancheng walked over and picked up the box, then returned to Chaochao, whose eyes were still full of stars, tilting his head with a smile in his eyes.
His gentle voice rang out. "Chaochao, would you like to open it and take a look?"
Chaochao suddenly grew nervous. "I... I get to open it?"
"Of course. Chaochao found it, so of course Chaochao gets to open it."
[Chengcheng really is so gentle, isn't he?]
[I'm so jealous of that mysterious big shot.]
Chaochao closed his eyes and opened the box expectantly, not daring to look inside. The cameraman zoomed in so the viewers could clearly see its contents.
There were only some seasonings inside, and nothing else.
Looking at Chaochao, whose eyes were still shut, he said, "Chaochao, aren't you going to open your eyes?"
Chaochao cautiously opened one eye. So many things! He looked at them with delighted eyes. Although he did not know what they were, that did not stop him from being happy.
"What are these?"
"Seasonings."
"Seasonings?"
"Things that make food taste good."
"Wow! I like them."
"I like them too."
Gu Wancheng put the packets of seasonings into his bag one by one, then looked at the box on the ground with some difficulty. It would be awkward to carry, and they still had to find coconuts.
In the end, he chose to take the box along. Luckily, it was not heavy, or he would not even have considered it.
"Let's go."
After finding the seasonings, even Gu Wancheng's voice sounded much lighter. Meanwhile, Chaochao kept watching their surroundings along the way, hoping to spot another box.
"Chaochao, look!"
Gu Wancheng stopped and called to Chaochao in delight.
Chaochao tilted his head in confusion, not understanding.
"They're wild blueberries."
Looking at the wild blueberries growing all over the ground, Gu Wancheng instantly felt that his luck was through the roof.
Wild blueberries were tiny, smaller than the blueberries sold in stores, and tasted good too-sweet.
He picked one and put it in his mouth. It was the familiar taste. Turning his head, he saw Chaochao staring longingly at his... mouth.
He chuckled and picked one for him.
Chaochao, who liked things clean, gently blew on it before putting it into his mouth. "It's yummy."
"If they're yummy, pick some more to take back and eat."
"Mm-hmm."
The two began blueberry-picking mode. Of course, only Gu Wancheng was picking them diligently, completely unaware that Chaochao was picking and eating them on the other side.
[Chengcheng, look behind you!]
[If you don't turn around soon, Chaochao will have eaten his fill.]
Absorbed in eating blueberries, Chaochao had already forgotten what he was doing and could think only of eating.
Feeling that he had picked enough, Gu Wancheng turned around to tell Chaochao they were leaving, only to see his puffed-out cheeks.
Chaochao jumped in fright. His hand froze as he was stuffing blueberries into his mouth, then a second later, he shoved them in, attempting to destroy the evidence, unaware that his cheeks had already given him away.
[Hahahaha, surprised? Didn't see that coming, did you?]
[Wifey Chengcheng is already too shocked to speak.]
Looking at Chaochao's little basket with its scant few blueberries, then at Chaochao, whose face was tense as he dared not chew, he helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Finish the blueberries in your mouth."
Chaochao immediately chewed and swallowed them, promptly admitting his mistake. "I'm sorry. I know I was wrong."
Gu Wancheng had not intended to scold him, but seeing Chaochao turn himself in, he said, "Oh? What did you do wrong?"
"I shouldn't have secretly eaten blueberries while picking them."
"It's all right. Daddy forgives you."
"Really?"
"Really."
"But I didn't pick any blueberries." At that, Chaochao lowered his head in disappointment.
"You can pick some now."
Hearing that, Chaochao nodded hard and took his little basket to pick blueberries. This time, he did not sneak any more bites.