Chapter 9

What was going on now? Would it have any effect on their fates?

The last thing Wen Cishu wanted was for his son to repeat the same mistakes.

But he could not rashly "intervene," either, so he decided to observe first.

Once the potatoes filled a little under half the basket, Wen Cishu and Rongrong carried them inside together.

Rongrong noticed a little mud on the back hem of his clothes and hurriedly reached out to brush it off before taking hold of it again.

She could not help looking up at him with a beaming smile.

Wen Cishu was busy making sure he did not step on the vegetables beside him and did not notice the little girl's movements.

[Rongrong is such a sweet little girl~]

[I can't imagine how stunning the gorgeous man's daughter would be if he had one.]

[One-quarter French, like Mingzai? Hurry up and have one. I'm ready to reincarnate.]

From another direction, Zhou Xu also approached the kitchen with Xiao Qi in his arms.

The basket in his hand held some leafy greens.

When Xiao Qi saw Wen Cishu, he raised a large green pepper in his two soft, fair little hands and called in his babyish voice, "Little Uncle~~"

Wen Cishu stopped to wait for them and said delightedly, "Wow, did you pick that, Xiao Qi?"

Looking at the uncle's gentle features and smiling face, Xiao Qi nodded contentedly and waved his little hands.

The four of them went inside together.

Zhu Wei had already kneaded the dough and set it aside to rest.

Seeing her daughter's delighted face, she asked, "Rongrong, was the vegetable patch fun?"

"Yes!" Rongrong trotted over to her mother. "Mommy, Xingxing's mommy said she went to pick chives."

Hearing this, Zhou Xu turned around. "This farm really has plenty of everything. We won't have to worry about food."

Wen Cishu set the potatoes beside the sink and took Zhou Xu's vegetable basket.

"I don't know how to cook, either, so I'll handle washing things."

He reached out and unhurriedly rolled his already rolled-up sleeves a little higher, exposing his long, snow-white forearms. When his fingers touched his bracelet, he slid it a little farther up.

[Huh? The gorgeous man is wearing a beaded bracelet? How did I only just notice?]

[Same, I can't tear my eyes away from his face. Damn it, I'm really not a lecher!]

[So this is what books mean by fair wrists like frozen snow. He really makes me feel like even when he sweats, it would be fragrant perspiration.]

"Once Yiming's dad finishes washing, I'll chop the vegetables," Zhou Xu said. "Sister Wei, are you cooking, or am I?"

"I don't think you can hide your identity as a master chef much longer," Zhu Wei teased. "You do the cooking. I'll just make some dumpling filling, and once the dough has rested, we can wrap the dumplings."

Rongrong quietly lifted the cover off the bowl holding the dough to inspect it. "Mommy, I want to wrap dumplings, too."

"All right."

As Wen Cishu washed the potatoes, he quietly turned to glance at everyone.

It seemed he had not felt such a strong sense of everyday life in a very long time.

At the Bo family mansion, the housekeepers bustled about taking care of everything. He had never even been to the kitchen...

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, Bo Yiming and Xingxing walked one behind the other through the vegetable beds, talking about something.

One held green beans, and the other carried a pumpkin.

Wen Cishu could not help thinking of Bo Tingyuan.

In his memory, the three of them seemed never to have shared this sort of especially

warm

moment.

But Bo Tingyuan...

He seemed to find it difficult to associate that man with "domestic warmth" or "everyday life."

Wen Cishu glanced at his bamboo-segment bracelet.

Inside the car.

Bo Tingyuan held a freshly compiled file.

It contained some basic information about Chu Han and Chu Heng.

Wen Cishu's expression as he paid attention to Xingxing earlier had struck Bo Tingyuan as somewhat unusual, so he had sent Albert to make some preliminary inquiries.

According to the file, Chu Han and her husband were not divorced, and Xingxing was registered at school under the name Lin Heng.

It was not yet clear why his name had been changed to "Chu Heng" on the show.

Recalling Wen Cishu's reaction then, Bo Tingyuan felt it was as though he had some particular conditioned response to the name "Chu Heng."

At that moment.

Bo Tingyuan had just looked up from the file when he noticed Wen Cishu's little movement as he gazed absently at his bracelet.

-What are you thinking about?

Behind his glasses, his green eyes resembled a deep, secluded lake, concealing emotions even he had not noticed.

Even his hands wanted to reach through the screen and gather the person in the picture tightly into his arms.

Albert had been about to approach him for instructions on work when he noticed the somewhat oppressive atmosphere surrounding President Bo.

It was like a dark cloud that had drifted in from somewhere, heavily blotting out all the sunlight.

He silently took a step back, thinking in confusion:

Wasn't Mr. Wen doing perfectly well on the show?

Why was President Bo suddenly acting so unlike himself?

On the show.

All the guests had gathered in the kitchen, cooking dishes and wrapping dumplings in a flurry of activity.

Since Zhou Xu had to cook, Wen Cishu helped look after Xiao Qi.

He picked up a cut strip of melon and fed it to the little one, smiling as he said, "Xiao Qi, you're a clingy little baby, aren't you?"

"No."

Xiao Qi held the melon in his little hands and nibbled it, sneaking a glance at his father wielding the spatula.

He looked up and whispered, "Little Uncle~ Xiao Qi has a secret to tell you."

"Really?"

Seeing that the little one was actually willing to share a secret, Wen Cishu naturally leaned closer to listen. "Go ahead, Xiao Qi."

"Mommy says Daddy is the clingy one," Xiao Qi said in his babyish voice.

"Hmm?" Wen Cishu laughed. "So that's how it is."

He had thought Zhou Xu kept holding Xiao Qi because Xiao Qi did not want to walk.

Who knew it was actually the father who could not bear to be apart from his child?

Looking at the uncle who had leaned closer, Xiao Qi thought he could see long hair peeking out.

Curious, he pinched the brim of the hat and pulled it up.

A cascade of long black hair slipped down over Wen Cishu's shoulders, startling Xiao Qi so much that his already enormous eyes went round as bells, his little mouth hanging open.

[What? There was long hair under that hat? Am I hallucinating?]

[Holy shit! A gorgeous man with long hair actually exists? My nose is bleeding...]

[Those phoenix eyes are so exquisite! Good heavens, a true classical beauty, just like a painting.]

[Please join the entertainment industry! Play a beautiful man who throws the imperial court into chaos in a costume romance. I'll absolutely stay glued to the TV and boost the ratings!]

[Tsk, tsk, that face would be spectacular on a man or a woman.]

"Mommy, look! Uncle's hair is so long, even longer than yours."

Rongrong spotted it immediately and tugged at her mother's clothes.

Zhu Wei and Chu Han looked over almost simultaneously.

Wen Cishu had already straightened up and was combing his hair a little with his fingers, preparing to tuck it back into his hat.

His waist-length hair was sleek and ink-black. As he moved, he looked just like a scene from a shampoo commercial.

"How is your hair in such good condition?" Zhu Wei asked.

Because of her work, she had no choice but to put her hair through all sorts of treatments whenever she went onstage. Besides frequent dyeing, perming, and curling, she had to use hairspray and other chemicals, which inevitably left her hair coarse.

Chu Han's eyes were full of envy. "I haven't seen hair this black in ages. How do you usually take care of it?"

Bo Yiming had seen it too and explained, "The housekeepers wash my Little Daddy's hair regularly."

"I see." Chu Han smiled. "Yiming's dad, why don't you leave the hat off? You look good like this."

She had seen plenty of handsome young men in the entertainment industry, but none with an air as outstanding and distinctive as Yiming's dad.

"Yes, exactly," Zhu Wei said. "If it gets in the way, find a hair tie and tie it back."

She looked down at her daughter. "Rongrong, shall we take out one of your hair ties for Uncle?"

"Yes, yes!" Her mother had tied Rongrong's hair into several little braids, so taking one out would be perfectly fine.

Just then, as though remembering something, Bo Yiming looked down and dug into his trouser pocket. "No need, little sister. I have one!"

He handed it to his Little Daddy.

Wen Cishu took it and tied back his hair, only then wondering, "Yiming, why do you have a hair tie?"

"Big Daddy suddenly gave it to me when we got out of the car."

Bo Yiming wore a knowing smile. "I didn't know why then, either. Now I do~"

"Oh." Wen Cishu could not help glancing at one of the cameras currently filming.

[What? Is that the kind of Big Daddy I'm thinking of?!]

[If there's a Little Daddy, there's a Big Daddy. Makes perfect sense, girls.]

[So can I call him my wife now? I've really been holding back for so long, sob.]

[Wifey seems to be looking at a certain someone beyond the camera... (Blind guess: Mingzai's Big Daddy.)]

[I always thought Mingzai had a half-Chinese, half-French mom! How did this happen? I'm stunned.]

[A half-Chinese, half-French Big Daddy? Tsk, is he good enough for our gorgeous man? Seriously.]

[Exactly, we have to judge his looks ourselves. (Sob, can someone dig up information on Mingzai's family? I'm dying to see a photo of all three of them.)]

Chapter 9

Zhou Xu lived up to Zhu Wei's teasing description of him as a "master chef." Even a basket of eggs became five dishes with different flavors: stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, steamed eggs with soy sauce, scallion egg pancakes, spicy fried eggs, and stir-fried green peppers and eggs.

Besides those dishes, there were also northeastern-style potatoes, eggplant, and peppers in a rich, savory sauce, cold cucumber strips, steamed pumpkin chunks, stir-fried greens, and more.

Although the dishes were all meatless, everything had been freshly picked. Arranged together on the table, they looked like restaurant fare, appealing in color, aroma, and taste.

"Teacher Zhou, you're really a wonderful cook," Wen Cishu marveled.

It truly took some skill to turn the simplest ingredients into so many different dishes.

Zhou Xu raised his eyebrows and smiled. "I'm a professional."

[This really is such a feast. Such lovely home cooking.]

[I want to grab some chopsticks and join them. Why isn't my takeout here yet?]