Chapter 10

So he had come to invite him fishing.

Wen Cishu nodded and quickly finished his honeydew melon.

Just then, Xingxing ran up to the kitchen doorway, panting, his two thin arms braced on his knees. His dark eyes turned toward Bo Yiming. "Uncle Zhou said-"

"Oh! I forgot." Bo Yiming stuck out the tip of his tongue guiltily and bounced forward. "Little Dad, I'm going to catch ducks with the uncles, then. You go have fun fishing."

Then he hopped sideways back again, bent down, and told Rongrong earnestly, "Little sister, I'm leaving my little dad in your care."

Wen Cishu gave the tip of his ear a squeeze and said softly, "Don't treat your dad like a child."

Rongrong, who had been a little timid earlier, now looked utterly serious. She nodded hard. "Got it, big brother."

Even her little fingers tightened their grip on Uncle's clothes with extra force.

[Wifey is seriously so gentle, I can't take it.]

[If I had a wife like this, I'd worry about him drinking too much water and feeling uncomfortable too! I mean it.]

[Mingzai's big dad: as long as I'm alive, you never will!]

Only then did Bo Yiming rush over, grab Xingxing's hand from where it rested on his knee, and race outside.

"Charge! Let's catch little duckies!"

Ever since meeting Bo Yiming on the show, Xingxing had lost count of how many times he had been "grabbed by the hand and taken running."

He had just heard Bo Yiming call her "little sister" so naturally and was still puzzled. How could this big brother address everyone so affectionately?

Uncle, auntie, little sister, little brother-the words just came straight out.

Xingxing felt like using those names too, but it was terribly awkward.

Without realizing it, he looked up at the big brother running beside him. Just then, Bo Yiming turned his head, his smile more dazzling and brilliant than the sunlight.

[Am I imagining things? Xingxing seems to keep sneaking looks at Mingzai?]

[A sunny, handsome big brother and an introverted, melancholy little brother! If their combined ages weren't smaller than my shoe size, I'd already be shipping them.]

[Sis, hold back. I've been holding back for half the day already.]

[Since the older sisters are already secretly shipping them, this little sister will join the army too.]

Once they arrived, while Zhou Xu was talking to Xiao Qi, Xingxing couldn't help asking, "Why did you come on this show?"

As far as he knew, the show featured celebrity parents bringing their children.

Only Yiming and his dad weren't in the entertainment industry.

Bo Yiming leaned closer and teased him with a grin. "Xingxing, call me big brother first, and I'll tell you."

Xingxing's lips moved. Stupid big brother!

But he really was curious, so he muttered it.

"What?" Bo Yiming tilted his ear toward him. "I didn't hear you. Say it again, hurry!"

Xingxing could only mumble again reluctantly, "Big Brother Yiming."

Bo Yiming bounced and hopped with delight. "Oh! This is great! Xingxing's willing to call me big brother now~"

Xingxing grabbed the bouncing boy. "You still haven't told me."

Bo Yiming explained frankly, "Because I want to be a big star. I was going to enter a talent show, but both my dads said no. Later, Little Dad signed us up for this show together. He said if I got picked, we'd come on together, and if I didn't..."

He shrugged. "They'd probably hire a tutor to help me with English."

[Your little dad signed you up? What an angel of a dad.]

[Watching this show, one minute I feel like I need a wife, and the next I feel like I need a dad. Honestly.]

[Oh my god, Mingzai, you don't actually think you're the one they picked, do you?]

[If only Mingzai could give me a little of that confidence.]

[Mingzai, forget the talent show. Send your little dad instead. One glimpse of his face would wipe out the competition.]

After listening, Xingxing frowned and looked at him incredulously.

Bo Yiming tugged at him and asked with a grin, "What? Do you think I should've gone on the talent show? I'd definitely become famous, right?!"

Xingxing shook his head and asked just one completely unrelated question.

"But aren't you mixed-race? You need English tutoring too?"

Bo Yiming stamped his feet. "You have to write words in English class! It's really hard!"

Xingxing: "..."

Chapter 10

With Bo Yiming and Xingxing's help, Zhou Xu easily caught a big, plump duck.

The other chickens, ducks, and geese scattered in fright at the sight.

Zhou Xu needed to hurry and prepare the duck, so he left Xiao Qi to play with the two older boys for now.

Bo Yiming had never seen a duck being slaughtered. Curious, he wanted to follow along, so he told Xingxing, "Xingxing, how about you play with Little Brother Xiao Qi for a bit?"

Seven-year-old Xingxing lowered his eyes, and four-year-old Xiao Qi looked up.

A spark seemed to flash between their eyes.

The next second, Xiao Qi spread his arms and hugged Big Brother Yiming around the waist, stopping him in his sweet little voice. "Big brother, don't watch the duck. Play with Xiao Qi~"

Bo Yiming bent down and picked Xiao Qi up. It was his first time holding a child this big, and he couldn't help saying, "Xiao Qi looks so round and chubby, but he's actually really light."

"Mhm~ Xiao Qi's light."

Although Big Brother Yiming's hold was a little uncomfortable, Xiao Qi rested his chin on his shoulder and looked happily at Xingxing, his big eyes full of smug delight~

Xingxing glanced at Bo Yiming's hands, then turned away to grab a handful of foxtail grass outside the chicken coop fence.

[What's going on? Are Xiao Qi and Xingxing fighting over their big brother?]

[The atmosphere feels a little off. Don't fight, kids.]

[Surely not. Xingxing's seven, after all, and he seems pretty sensible.]

[Xiao Qi: oh, so I'm the unreasonable one?]

[Xingxing: I only wish I were three and a half. Then Big Brother Yiming would definitely hold me!]

By the lake.

The little wooden cabin had a fairly complete selection of fishing equipment and bait.

Zhu Wei thought that if they caught a couple of crucian carp, they could add them to dinner.

But she had no fishing experience and didn't really know how to handle the equipment.

Though Chu Han had fished before, she had used a ready-made rod, so she didn't know how to assemble one either.

When Wen Cishu and Rongrong arrived, they found the two women gathered around a pile of fishing tackle parts, leafing through the instructions.

"Let me try?"

Chu Han handed him the instructions.

Wen Cishu smiled. "No, I meant, let me try assembling the fishing rods?"

"Yiming's dad, you know how to do this too?"

Zhu Wei moved aside a little, looking no less astonished than if she had learned that this delicate, refined man could smash a boulder on his chest.

"I went fishing about ten years ago. Though the equipment might be more advanced now."

As Wen Cishu spoke, he examined the components. He guessed the production team had considered that the guests might all be beginners and had therefore prepared standard fishing rod sets.

Chu Han smiled. "That's still better than the two of us. Come on, we'll help carry everything outside."

Outside the cabin, Wen Cishu assembled the rods with a focused expression. His long, pale fingers were especially nimble, as though he was particularly familiar with the task.

[Wifey, you're actually... a fishing fanatic?]

[For the first time, I feel like fishing fanatics aren't such strange creatures after all. (No offense to fishing fanatics.)]

Inside the van outside the farm.

Uncle Xu was just as surprised as the viewers. "Sir knows how to fish too?"

He had never known that.

"Aside from cooking with a spatula, our second young master is proficient at everything-chess, fishing, playing instruments, calligraphy, painting."

After speaking with some pride, Auntie Zhong watched the person casting his rod on-screen and sighed softly. "There's just one thing. His health is poor."

Though putting "fishing" alongside "music, chess, calligraphy, and painting" was a little odd.

Uncle Xu was still deeply impressed.

"He'll surely get better with proper care. The eldest young master has been putting his heart into it all these years."

A thought flashed through Auntie Zhong's mind.

If the Bo family's eldest young master truly cared, he shouldn't have let the second young master have a child.

Ten years ago, he had stood at death's door, barely escaping with his life.

Had the second young master not been fortunate enough to survive, he might never have lived to see today.

But she buried those words in her heart and wouldn't mention them to just anyone.

Though she had worked with Uncle Xu for ten years and knew his character inside out, he was, at the end of the day, still one of the Bo family's people.

By the lake.

Amid the gentle breezes, Wen Cishu and Rongrong were watching over a fishing rod together.

Humming a nursery rhyme softly, he looked at the adorable little girl and couldn't resist teasing her. "Rongrong, children usually get a special catch on their first fishing trip."

"Really, Uncle?" Rongrong stretched out her little pale neck to look.

She had never touched a fishing rod before and gripped it nervously, not daring to let it wobble.

[Wifey, don't say that too soon. Won't Rongrong be disappointed if she doesn't catch anything?]

[Let me be the fish! I want to take Wifey's bait!]

[Today's comments are so bizarre. (I just want to braid Wifey's hair... I'm a kindergarten teacher!)]

A little while later.

Rongrong felt the rod seem to move forward a little. "Uncle!"

She clearly saw the thin, transparent fishing line instantly pull taut.

"Shh." A gentle smile spread over Wen Cishu's face. "Let's not disturb the little fish."

Rongrong quickly pressed her little lips together, unable to hide the excitement in her eyes as she looked at him.

Wow, Uncle hadn't lied to her. She really had caught something!

Guiding Rongrong's little hands, Wen Cishu slowly reeled in the line with her, then pulled up a palm-sized little white fish.

Even after the hook was removed, the little white fish kept thrashing its tail wildly, spots of light flashing across its silvery scales.

Wen Cishu put it in the bright yellow bucket, sending up a sizable splash.

"Uncle, the little fish is still alive!" Rongrong carried the little bucket closer.

[Wait, Wifey, you were serious?]

[So composed! I love gorgeous beauties like this.]

[Seriously, I feel more and more that Yiming's dad has this air of calm assurance, like that effortless serenity has been nurtured into his very being.]

[Nurtured? How? Someone grant me a beautiful male wife, and I'll nurture one too!]