Chapter 35

Bo Yiming tilted his head up. "Hm?"

"When your big daddy gets off work, could you ask him if he'd like to join us for an episode of the show?"

Wen Cishu explained the production team's plans.

Bo Yiming looked puzzled. "Didn't Little Daddy tell Big Daddy last night?"

Last night?

Feeling guilty, Wen Cishu couldn't find the right words for a moment.

But a sly gleam suddenly flashed through Bo Yiming's eyes, and he picked up the conversation himself. "Little Daddy, I get it. I'll ask him tonight."

Wen Cishu nodded and stopped him outside the bathroom. "Go wash up."

"Okay!" A little plan quickly formed in Bo Yiming's mind. He turned and ran, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from lifting.

Wonderful! Now he had a bargaining chip for his "negotiations" with Big Daddy!

Watching him skip away, Wen Cishu couldn't help wondering: Why was he suddenly so excited?

He'd thought the little monkey would keep pestering him about last night.

Just as he was about to close the door, Bo Yiming darted back.

Wen Cishu quickly took the initiative. "Anything else you want to tell Daddy?"

Bo Yiming was in a cheerful mood. "Little Daddy, does the back of your neck still itch?"

"Your big daddy already put something on it before he left."

Wen Cishu ruffled his hair. "Thank you for remembering, sweetheart."

"Ohhh!" Bo Yiming bounced away again.

In his heart, he silently gave Big Daddy back the points he'd deducted.

After returning to his room, he wrote about it in his diary.

Wonderful!

Evil Dragon Knight Big Daddy was putting his heart into protecting Little Daddy Princess and the Pea every day~

All the potato pieces the father and son had planted after last week's show had sprouted successfully.

Uncle Xu had also picked out a suitable spot.

After finishing his tai chi, Wen Cishu helped Bo Yiming transplant the potatoes into the ground.

Bo Yiming covered them with soil himself. "Little Daddy, will little potatoes really grow next year?"

"They should, I think."

Wen Cishu didn't know much about growing potatoes either. "You'll have to ask Grandma Zhong."

Bo Yiming turned and blinked at Auntie Zhong.

Auntie Zhong put away the tools. "Don't worry. There definitely will be."

If it didn't work, she'd drag Old Xu along and secretly bury a few clusters when the time came, making sure no one could tell.

Wen Cishu lowered his eyes, pondering the same thing.

If they don't grow, I'll just sneak over and bury a few.

He sent Bo Tingyuan the photo he'd just taken of the potatoes.

[Yiming planted these. He said we can cook them for the family once the potatoes grow.]

Almost at the very instant he tapped send, a new message appeared in the chat.

Bo Tingyuan: [Get some more rest at home today.]

Looking at his phone screen, a soft smile appeared on Wen Cishu's face.

After ten years of marriage, did this count as having at least a tiny bit of rapport?

"Little Daddy, what are you smiling at?" Bo Yiming rose onto his toes and leaned over to look at the phone.

Wen Cishu turned off the screen and put on a stern face. "I just remembered, you have photos of me dancing with your big daddy on your phone. When are you going to send them to me?"

"Hmmm~" Bo Yiming bounced away. "Little Daddy, could you promise me something, then?"

Noticing a reply on his phone, Wen Cishu quickly nodded at his son. "Let's hear it."

Bo Yiming muttered, "No, you have to promise first."

You're even bargaining with me now? Wen Cishu thought. "All right, I promise."

"Yay!!" Bo Yiming spun happily on the spot, then followed Little Daddy toward the mansion, hopping around behind him. "Well, Xingxing's mom said she could take us to visit the filming set. Will Little Daddy come with me too?"

He moved in front of Little Daddy, blocking his way, and blinked. "Little Daddy already promised."

Wen Cishu had thought it would be about sleeping arrangements that night. He hadn't expected this.

He ran a finger down his son's nose. "Got it. When are we going?"

"Any time this week." Bo Yiming immediately fiddled with his watch and forwarded the photos. "Little Daddy, I sent them! I'm going to call little brother Xingxing."

He turned and ran off.

"Wash your hands first," Wen Cishu reminded him.

The little monkey nimbly rounded the corner and ran into the bathroom beside the first-floor living room.

Wen Cishu shook his head with a smile. He washed his hands first as well, then opened his phone.

Bo Tingyuan: [Things are a little busy at the office. I'll be home late today. You and Yiming should get to bed early.]

Wen Cishu knew this was actually his usual busy routine, so he didn't think much of it.

But then he remembered the warmth of his chest when he'd woken up, and felt a little regretful.

[All right, then. I was hoping to look at the photos Yiming took with you.]

Bo Tingyuan: [What photos?]

Wen Cishu smiled as he settled onto the soft sofa. [The photos of us dancing on your dad's birthday.]

Bo Tingyuan: [Mm.]

"Mm"?

Wen Cishu stared at that single character with his phoenix eyes, swiping up on the screen in an attempt to refresh it for a new message.

Was he not interested at all?

Or was he especially busy and had gone into a meeting?

Three minutes later, he tossed the phone aside in a huff.

Auntie Zhong happened to come over and urge him to get his hair washed.

Wen Cishu lounged lazily, not particularly inclined to move.

Auntie Zhong said, "Doctor Lin has told you so many times not to wash your hair after three in the afternoon. Otherwise, the cold will get into your head, and you'll end up with headaches and dark circles again."

"All right, all right, I'll go right now. Stop telling me."

With her nagging him, Wen Cishu went to get his hair washed. He had only just lain down when he sat up again and asked, "Auntie Zhong, where's my phone?"

"Is there something urgent? I'll get it for you," Auntie Zhong said.

Wen Cishu lay back down, dispirited. "Forget it."

He gave me a "mm." How am I supposed to reply to that?

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became, grinding his teeth.

Was this any way for husbands to chat?

Just killing the conversation outright?

Chapter 35

That evening, Wen Cishu and Bo Yiming played with incense burners in the sitting room.

During dinner, Auntie Zhong had casually mentioned a pair of small rose quartz incense burners that had been delivered earlier, piquing Bo Yiming's curiosity and prompting endless questions.

Seeing his interest, Wen Cishu simply asked Auntie Zhong to prepare the tools for making incense seals.

Bo Yiming had never tried it before and had only heard of "bathing and burning incense," so while Auntie Zhong prepared everything, he insisted on returning to his room to bathe first.

Seeing how seriously he took it, Wen Cishu naturally couldn't fall behind either.

After his bath, on a whim, he changed into a side-fastening Chinese-style night robe with a subtle lotus pattern, then sat cross-legged on the daybed, playing with the two pale pink, three-legged rose quartz incense burners.

The palm-sized objects were lustrous rosy pink all over, with delicate, exquisite carvings.

Wen Cishu had liked trying all sorts of things at home before. As long as he didn't go out or run around, his parents supported him.

So besides reading and practicing calligraphy, he had also made incense seals and learned carving.

Apart from the piano his parents had taught him from childhood, he had also taught himself guitar and less commonly studied languages.

But he had only so much patience and learned just the basics of each. Once he'd learned something, it was like clearing a game: he lost all interest and dropped it outright.

Wen Cishu turned the little pink incense burner in his hands, estimating that its auction price probably hadn't been low.

When Auntie Zhong came over carrying the incense powders and tools, Wen Cishu raised the burner in his palm and looked at her. "Auntie Zhong, did Yiming's big daddy buy this at auction, or did Yiming's great-grandfather have it sent over?"

"The eldest young master," Auntie Zhong said. "How long has Old Master Bo been gone now?"

Wen Cishu was speechless.

But the more he looked at it, the softer and pinker it seemed, like the pads of a kitten's paws, and utterly at odds with Bo Tingyuan's bearing.

Never mind anything around Bo Tingyuan himself-even throughout the mansion, inside and out, such fresh, peach-blossom colors were rare, apart from the vibrant flowers in the garden in spring.

Auntie Zhong set out the incense powders. "Old Xu said these were left by Old Master Bo."

The little wooden boxes with nine compartments were all made from excellent wood.

Even through the thin wooden panels, the rich fragrance of the incense powders reached his nose.

Wen Cishu sniffed the fragrances and selected a box of incense powder made primarily from agarwood, spikenard, and sandalwood.

"When Yiming gets here, let him choose one himself."

When Bo Yiming came running back excitedly, he saw that Little Daddy looked like someone out of a painting, so beautiful it left him dazed.

He gathered Little Daddy's black hair onto his shoulder and pleaded, "Little Daddy! Can you dress like this every day?"

Wen Cishu pressed his shoulders down to make him sit properly. "Sweetheart, these are pajamas."

Auntie Zhong had other things to do, so she left them to play and said she would come clean up later.

Bo Yiming smelled every box of incense powder, one by one, and finally chose a plum blossom fragrance.

Following Little Daddy's steps, he carefully leveled the white ash with a copper ash press, then selected a brass incense stencil with a longevity peach design and spread the plum blossom incense powder over it.

Afraid he would ruin the pattern when he lifted it, he asked Little Daddy to help remove it.

Once that was done, Wen Cishu lit the lotus-patterned incense powder and put on the pink rose quartz lid. White smoke threaded through the openwork carvings in the lid and rose in delicate wisps.

A faint scent of woody incense instantly filled the air, fresh, rich, and lingering, with a very calming effect.

Wen Cishu was savoring the faint fragrance when he saw the little monkey lying over the table, almost pressing against the incense burner as he inhaled deeply through his nose.

"What's wrong?"

Bo Yiming moved straight to Little Daddy's side and sniffed the incense burner, asking curiously, "Little Daddy, don't you think this smells a little bit like Big Daddy?"

Feigning nonchalance, Wen Cishu leaned back a little and asked lightly, "Does it? Is that little nose of yours so sharp?"

Bo Yiming tipped his head up proudly. "Every time Big Daddy picks me up, I can smell it really clearly."

Wen Cishu smiled without saying anything.

It seemed "being picked up by Big Daddy" had left quite an impression.

Perhaps he ought to find time to talk to Bo Tingyuan and tell him not to keep carrying the child around like that.