Page 48

"No problem," Uncle Xu said. "I'll include a menu then, with notes on how to heat everything up and how many days it's best eaten within."

Like Auntie Zhong, he was especially thorough, so Wen Cishu naturally had no objections.

After a whole day of bustle, Wen Cishu felt a little sleepy now that he had eaten his fill.

He covered his mouth and yawned.

Auntie Zhong came in with a light blanket draped over her arm. "Go upstairs and rest. It's getting late."

Wen Cishu wondered what the little monkey was saying to his big daddy. Why was it taking so long?

Had Bo Tingyuan meant what he said in the car?

As he stood, Auntie Zhong draped the blanket over him. "Is the rash still itchy?"

After they came home, Doctor Lin had taken Wen Cishu's pulse and examined his rash.

Auntie Zhong had been there too. The sight of that patch of red skin had filled her with worry, and she had carefully memorized the foods Doctor Lin told him to avoid, afraid his allergy would get worse.

"It's much better. I just need to apply the ointment again after my shower tonight."

Wen Cishu stepped into the elevator, looked at the handrail, and remembered something.

"Auntie Zhong, you were at the hotel yesterday. Do you know whether Yiming's big daddy got enough rest?"

Auntie Zhong recalled what she had seen when she brought dessert last night and recounted it truthfully.

Wen Cishu frowned slightly. Pacing back and forth? He muttered to himself, "Why is he still like that?"

Thinking he was asking her, Auntie Zhong answered quite naturally, "Well, he must've missed you so much he couldn't sleep."

"Huh?"

Wen Cishu looked at her in surprise. Caught off guard, he made a rare switch to her hometown dialect and asked softly, "How could you say something like that?"①

He looked as though he might smile as he spoke, instinctively concealing his embarrassment.

The elevator stopped. Auntie Zhong spread her hands and asked with a smile, "Which word was wrong? None of them. Even the punctuation was right."

She had gone a whole day and night without speaking to the second young master and wanted to tease him into a good mood.

Wen Cishu stepped into the hallway, his phoenix eyes narrowing with laughter. Feeling light in body and mind, he said cheerfully, "Yes, yes, yes. The older the ginger, the spicier it gets."

Seeing his beaming face, Auntie Zhong felt better too.

Over the past two weeks, she had watched the second young master brighten, like the sun slowly rising out of the darkness and above the sea's horizon.

All these years, Auntie Zhong had wondered whether the second young master's soul had been spirited away. Why else would he have been so lifeless? Now, though, he chatted and laughed, so full of life.

Wen Cishu had just come out of the shower when he spotted a figure in the sitting room farther away.

Bo Yiming lay stretched out in a long line on the sofa.

"Yiming?"

Wen Cishu slowly approached.

Because of his allergy, Auntie Zhong had specifically brought him an extremely soft, loose-fitting pair of pajamas in a creamy white.

Perhaps the clothes were too white; they made his skin, freshly steamed by the hot water, look a little flushed.

Noticing this, Bo Yiming hurriedly scrambled up and pointed nervously at the other side of his little daddy's neck. "Little Daddy, do you have a rash here too?"

Wen Cishu rubbed the side of his neck with his fingers.

He sat on the sofa. "No, the water was probably too hot. Have you finished talking to Big Daddy? How did it go?"

"We finished ages ago. I've even had my shower."

Grinning, Bo Yiming pulled something out of his back pocket and waved it in front of his little daddy.

It was Wen Cishu's ointment.

"How did you get that? Did Big Daddy give it to you?"

Wen Cishu remembered Bo Tingyuan saying he would apply it for him again before bed. How had it ended up in the little monkey's hands?

Bo Yiming explained, "When I was talking to Big Daddy, Uncle came to see him about something else. I heard Uncle Lin say the ointment has to be applied regularly. So when I saw it, I brought it over."

Hearing this, Wen Cishu figured that Bo Tingyuan probably had some work piled up after being away from the office for two days.

Bo Yiming climbed over the back of the sofa, bent down, and rested his chin on the back of his little daddy's shoulder, fussing affectionately over him. "Little Daddy, I'll put your ointment on."

"All right." Wen Cishu did not ask any more questions about how he had gotten it. He simply lowered his head and swept his hair forward, exposing the back of his neck.

At the sight of that little patch of bright red skin, Bo Yiming's voice grew subdued.

"If you hadn't come on the show with me, you wouldn't have had an allergic reaction, Little Daddy."

Only then did Wen Cishu realize that the little brat really did care about his health.

He turned around, rubbed the child's cheeks, and said gently, "It's all right. Blow on it for Daddy, Yiming, and it won't hurt anymore. That works better than any ointment."

"Mm~" Bo Yiming lowered his head, puffed out his cheeks, and blew on it for his little daddy before unscrewing the cap and applying the ointment.

The study door opened, and Albert left with several documents.

Finished with work, Bo Tingyuan stood and was about to pick up the ointment, only to find that it had vanished from the desk.

He frowned and looked around, but there was no sign of it.

Thinking back briefly, he remembered his younger son, who had kept bouncing around even while they were talking.

He went over and slid the screen aside, only to see his son eagerly tucking his little daddy in.

Bo Yiming was mumbling, "Little Daddy, hurry up and lie down."

Hearing the screen move, he turned toward the newcomer. "Big Daddy, I've already put Little Daddy's ointment on!"

Then he hugged a pillow and rolled around. "Wow, our bed at home is still the comfiest~ Right, Little Daddy?"

Leaning against the soft pillows, Wen Cishu looked at the man approaching.

"Has Albert gone home?"

"Yes." Bo Tingyuan stood beside the bed and glanced at the fairy-tale book on the nightstand.

Just then, a little hand darted out and snatched the book from right under his nose.

Bo Yiming nestled obediently beside his little daddy, his voice full of attachment.

"Little Daddy, I didn't get to tell you a fairy tale yesterday. I'll do a good job today."

Wen Cishu could only put his arm around the little monkey. "All right~"

Bo Yiming tipped his head back and said with a grin, "Big Daddy, hurry up and shower so you can go to bed."

"Mm."

Bo Tingyuan said nothing more and gave his son's hair a firm ruffle.

Wen Cishu kept feeling that he was staring at him. Inexplicably guilty, he did not even dare look into those already unfathomable green eyes. He only asked the little monkey softly, "Yiming, how about letting Big Daddy listen to your story with us after his shower?"

"Sure."

Bo Yiming rarely had a chance to lie between both his daddies. It seemed pretty nice.

Only then did Wen Cishu look up and say softly, "Go shower, then. Yiming and I will wait for you."

Bo Tingyuan gave a slight nod, his gaze passing over the exposed side of his neck.

The snowy skin beneath the strands of black hair was faintly red.

Wen Cishu gazed absently at his figure as he walked back to his room.

His retreating figure was so tall and dependable, and he was in his own home, yet he always seemed as lonely as someone in an endless wilderness at night.

Wen Cishu instinctively tightened his arms around the warm little monkey in his embrace and kissed his temple.

Bo Yiming did not understand and thought his little daddy was giving him a goodnight kiss. Sweetly, he said, "Little Daddy, I'm not going to sleep yet. The goodnight kiss comes later."

Wen Cishu's lips curved into a faint smile. "Daddy suddenly wanted to kiss you. Your goodnight kiss will come later."

So happy that he tossed the book aside, Bo Yiming turned around and burrowed against the front of his little daddy's blanket, wriggling.

"Oh, right, Little Daddy. When are we going to have the hot pot Rongrong's mommy mentioned?"

Wen Cishu pinched the tip of his nose. "How about we go have it ourselves first?"

He was afraid it would be difficult to find a time that suited so many people, especially since those three were busy people in show business themselves.

"Really?" Bo Yiming blinked. "That's amazing! Let's go tomorrow!"

Wen Cishu tucked the blanket around him and said softly, "Yiming, your big daddy stayed away from the office for two whole days to come on the show with us. Let's wait until he gets through these busy couple of days, all right? Daddy will arrange it. I won't forget."

Bo Yiming especially liked it when his little daddy took his time talking to him.

Under his little daddy's gentle gaze, he nodded hard. "Okay, I'll listen to Little Daddy~"

"Such a good boy." Wen Cishu kissed his soft, tousled hair again.

Bo Yiming closed his eyes and thought that even in the whole wide world, he only had one little daddy. Of course he had to be very, very good~

After his shower, Bo Tingyuan returned to the bedside.

Wen Cishu turned and lifted the blanket beside the little monkey. "Come on, let's listen to the story together."

A broad palm pressed down on the back of his hand, holding down the lifted blanket.

Wen Cishu looked into Bo Tingyuan's eyes and distinctly felt a firm press against the back of his hand.

"Hmm?"

Bo Tingyuan quickly let go. "I'll lie on your side."

"Oh." Wen Cishu withdrew his hand beneath the blanket, resting it in front of himself and rubbing it against his pajamas.

Bo Yiming had lost his chance to sleep between both his daddies.

But considering that Big Daddy might correct his French in a moment, he decided it was safer to have Little Daddy between them.

He scooted to one side on his own.

Wen Cishu's bed was actually very large, but three people rarely lay in it at once, especially when the little monkey was not in cub form.

As Bo Tingyuan walked around the foot of the bed toward him, he shifted toward the middle too.

The blanket lifted, and Wen Cishu felt a slight chill, followed by Bo Tingyuan's body drawing close against his.

Bo Tingyuan pulled the blanket up to Wen Cishu's chest and rested his right hand on top. "Yiming, begin."

"Oh." Bo Yiming felt immense pressure, suddenly struck by the illusion that he was handing in homework. He hastily opened the fairy-tale book and began reading the story.

Wen Cishu also felt immense pressure, but unlike the little monkey, it was because Bo Tingyuan had pulled his hand over to rest in front of him.

His slightly curled fingers were eased apart, and their fingers interlaced.

It should be perfectly normal for parents to hold hands in front of their child, right?

That was what Wen Cishu thought, yet he could not help feeling nervous. He even felt as though the blanket had suddenly grown heavier, excessively warm and stifling.