Chapter 8

[Is the gorgeous guy in poor health? What do I do? He's even more captivating now (jk]

[Waaah, poor beautiful dad. Come here, let me hug you]

[? So scheming!]

[My nine-year-old brother gets smacked by his sister. Why is Mingzai so sensible?]

[He looks after his dad and plays with the younger boys. Excellent. This family might have just formed, but they can do without anyone except Mingzai!]

Wen Cishu told Chu Han softly, "I'm not that fragile. I can help out too."

He looked at the vegetable basket on the ground. "How about I go take a look at the vegetable patch?"

At that, Xiao Qi's big eyes sparkled, and he reached out his little hand, grasping at the air. "Little Uncle~ I wanna go too~"

It was a new form of address. Wen Cishu rather liked it.

"All right, let's go together."

Zhou Xu went to get a basket too. "Come on, let's get some vegetables. I'll show you what I can do at lunch."

Zhu Wei arranged things. "How about this? I'll rinse some rice and get it cooking first. Then I'll knead some dough and try to make some pastries."

Zhou Xu teased, "Looks like you're a dab hand in the kitchen too, Sister Wei."

Zhu Wei rolled up her sleeves. "I am a mother, after all."

Carrying his bamboo basket, Wen Cishu saw Rongrong trailing behind her like a little tail. She seemed to have been watching him too, so he took the initiative to ask, "Rongrong, want to come along?"

Zhu Wei looked down at her shy daughter too.

"Do you want to go? Go over if you do. Mommy will be in the kitchen. I won't go far."

Rongrong clutched the hem of her mother's clothes, pressing her pink little lips together.

There was hesitation between her brows, yet her expression was eager.

Seeing this, Zhu Wei explained to Wen Cishu, "I thought Rongrong was too timid, so I wanted to bring her on the show to help her build some courage. But she might not have adjusted yet."

Wen Cishu understood. "Rongrong's only five. That's perfectly normal."

Seeing that Rongrong seemed to really want to go outside, he lifted the hem of his own shirt and bent down, asking with a smile, "How about you pretend I'm your mommy for now and hold on to this?"

Zhu Wei had thought he would say something about playing together once Rongrong had adjusted. She hadn't expected him to do this.

Suddenly, she found herself looking forward to her daughter's reaction too.

[Baby Rongrong, reach out!]

[Wow, why am I suddenly nervous?]

[I could tell Rongrong wanted to go too. Round that up, and I share a brain with the gorgeous guy, hehe]

As the two adults and the viewers waited, Rongrong timidly lifted her face and saw the gentle smile in her uncle's eyes.

She slowly let go of her mother's clothes and gently took hold of her uncle's shirt hem, saying softly, "Uncle, I want to play in the vegetable patch."

Zhu Wei's mouth fell open silently. Utterly astonished, she gave Wen Cishu an incredulous look.

Her daughter had actually expressed what she wanted so openly.

Lines of [Aaaaaaaaah] flew across the livestream screen.

[Ah! Gorgeous male mommy!! I-I-I-I'm so here for this!]

Naturally, Wen Cishu was especially delighted to have earned the little girl's trust. "Off we go."

"Mm-hmm~" Rongrong went from being her mother's little tail to her uncle's little tail.

Wen Cishu picked up a smaller basket. "Rongrong, would you like to carry this?"

"Okay~" Rongrong happily picked up the little basket. As they headed out, she even turned to glance at her mother.

Zhu Wei smiled and waved, her eyes full of encouragement.

[Nothing much happened, but I'm a little touched]

[What do you mean? Rongrong made that choice after sensing Mingzai's dad's kindness. It's so sweet]

[I want to hold on to the gentle gorgeous guy's clothes and go play too, waaah...]

Walking just behind her uncle to one side, Rongrong glanced up at him from time to time, only to discover what looked like some... hair beneath his hat.

Just like when her mother pinned up her hair and tucked it under a hat.

Had she seen wrong?

Rongrong pursed her lips in confusion.

Chu Han waved. "Yiming's dad, over here. Zhou Xu said we could dig up some potatoes. He went over there to check the chicken coop."

She had barely finished speaking when a ridiculous bout of clucking came from the distant chicken coop.

Wen Cishu and Rongrong turned to look in unison.

Beneath the clear sky, a thin figure darted around inside the chicken coop, while several chickens flapped about as though frightened.

At some point, Bo Yiming had followed him into the coop and was now shouting as he chased the chickens and ducks.

Elsewhere in the coop, Zhou Xu raised the eggs in his hand. "Okay! Yiming, get out of there!"

"Aaah!" Bo Yiming sprinted away with chicken feathers on his head. "Aaaah, don't chase me!"

[Hahaha, why is this so funny?]

[Great job, Mingzai! You helped Zhou Xu get the eggs~ Eat plenty of eggs at lunch]

[It's so frustrating that this stupid show doesn't have close-up camera crews following them]

[That makes the kids' reactions more genuine, right? They'd feel somewhat uncomfortable with a cameraman there]

[The sound is really clear. The atmosphere is surprisingly nice!]

Not far outside the coop, Xingxing watched Bo Yiming running about with an anxious look and muttered, "What a stupid big brother."

He had just been told to hold on to Zhou Xu's little boy, so he couldn't go into the coop.

Now Xiao Qi tilted up his little face and glared at him indignantly. "Don't say mean things about Brother Yiming! He's helping Daddy get little eggs!"

Xingxing looked down at the little dumpling in astonishment. "How can you say so much?"

His face was full of confusion and bewilderment. "Aren't you only... four?"

"Hmph!"

Having been questioned, Xiao Qi grew even angrier. He shook off his hand and ran toward his father as fast as his short little legs could carry him.

[Hahaha, this is so

funny

. Is this what Xingxing's personality is really like?]

[I'm dying. Seven-year-old Xingxing actually doubts four-year-old Xiao Qi's language skills?]

[Xiao Qi whispers: Brother Xingxing is mean!]

[Why was it unexpectedly sweet when Xingxing called Mingzai a stupid big brother? He's an awkward little brother!]

Zhou Xu wanted to pick up his son, so he handed the basket of eggs to Bo Yiming.

The young boy dashed over to his little dad, holding up the little basket as he proudly sought praise. "Little Dad! Aren't I amazing?"

Wen Cishu reached up, plucked the chicken feathers off his head, and pinched his cheek. "Yes. Daddy's proud of you."

"Wow!" Having earned his dad's praise, Bo Yiming bounced on the spot.

[? I don't understand your family's standards for pride, but I'm incredibly envious]

[So... does the gorgeous guy need a daughter? One who's over 250 months old... (pokes fingers together]

Behind Wen Cishu, Rongrong stood on tiptoe to look at the eggs in the basket.

Noticing her, Bo Yiming set it on the ground. "Here, little sister. Have a look."

Rongrong bent over and reached out to poke the freshly laid eggs. A little surprised and delighted, she tugged at her uncle's shirt hem. "Uncle, the eggs are warm."

"Maybe the hens only just laid them."

Looking at the innocent, amusing little girl, Wen Cishu couldn't help feeling delighted too.

He pointed toward the kitchen. "Yiming, take the eggs inside first and give them to Rongrong's mom. Rongrong and I will dig potatoes here."

"Okay!" Bo Yiming picked up the basket with one hand and was about to leave when a little hand reached over and gripped the handle too.

It was Xingxing.

Wen Cishu looked at the somewhat quiet, introverted child in surprise and said with a smile, "Xingxing's helping his big brother. How lovely."

Xingxing seemed a little unsure how to react. He simply nodded and glanced at the older boy, who was taller than him.

"Let's go." Bo Yiming tugged on the basket and asked casually, "Oh, right, little brother Xingxing, what's your full name?"

Wen Cishu smiled to himself, wondering who the little fellow took after with that knack for instantly befriending people.

Just as he was about to figure out how to dig potatoes with Rongrong, he heard Xingxing's voice.

"My full name is Chu Heng."

Wen Cishu froze, slowly turning to look at the little boy who was a bit shorter than his son, his dark eyes filled with shock.

Chu Heng?

The original novel's protagonist gong?

Bo Yiming's future... romantic rival?

Chapter 8

Upon hearing Xingxing give his full name, some longtime fans who knew more about Chu Han were just as shocked as Wen Cishu.

[Xingxing has his mom's surname? That can't be right]

[Holy shit, did our goddess finally divorce that ignorant first love of hers?]

[Wasn't Chu Han really happy marrying her first love? Wasn't that why she went straight home to look after her husband and child after winning Best Actress?]

[Not at all. That guy was afraid that if Chu Han kept going, she'd become so famous she'd be out of his league]

[Seriously? I always thought Chu Han didn't like the entertainment industry. This...]

In the kitchen.

Zhu Wei was kneading dough. Seeing them return with eggs, she smiled and said, "Wonderful, we have eggs. I'll make a few different dishes with them later."

Bo Yiming set the egg basket on the counter. "Auntie, we'll go pick some other vegetables in the garden, then."

"All right, off you go." Zhu Wei indicated where the water was. "Have some water if you're thirsty."

Bo Yiming ran over, opened a bottle, and handed it to Xingxing. Then, noticing that Auntie Zhu Wei had no water beside her, he opened another bottle and set it down for her.

"Auntie, we're going outside now."

"Thank you, Yiming. Off you go." Zhu Wei smiled at the handsome boy. It was hard not to like him.

Bo Yiming took Xingxing's hand and headed outside.

Xingxing carried his water bottle. "I can walk by myself."

Bo Yiming stopped. "Auntie told me to take good care of you. Be good." He reached up and patted Xingxing's hair.

Xingxing leaned back, refusing to have his hair stroked, but he didn't shake off Brother Yiming's warm hand.

[If Xiao Qi saw this, he'd definitely say: Hmph! You're not allowed to dodge Brother Yiming!]

[Hahahaha, you've captured the essence of how Xiao Qi talks]

On the ridge between the plots.

Wen Cishu was still reeling.

In the original novel, Bo Yiming and Chu Heng had only crossed paths as adults.

Chu Heng had also appeared relatively late.