Chapter 63

?

End of July. Jian Yan currently found herself in ‘Infernal Rush mode’ to turn in her manuscript. This time, however, He Xiu needed to go to D City for a business trip. There was no one at home to take care of young He Diu Diu during summer vacation.

Without a word, Jian Yan saddled He Diu Diu with He Xiu, forcing him to take their child along with him to D City.

He Xiu & He Diu Diu: “…”

“Actually, we can leave He Diu Diu with his grandmother or Aunt Jiang; they’re definitely very willing to take care of him.” He Xiu was a bit reluctant to take this little bundle with him on his business trip to D City, so he proposed another option.

Jian Yan stated, “That won’t do. Diu Diu sticks to people firmly. If we make him stay at his grandmother’s place, he will definitely show up in front of me every day.”

……

He Xiu and He Diu Diu were both silent. He Xiu’s silence was because Jian Yan’s words made sense. He Diu Diu’s silence was…because he felt that at home, no one loved him. ??

Before they left, Jian Yan went downstairs to send them off. He Diu Diu had a small schoolbag on his back with all his summer homework.

“Mama, I don’t want to go with papa to D City…” He Diu Diu used this last chance to pout at his mother, trying to rouse her maternal instincts.

Jian Yan stroked his soft hair and patiently coaxed him. “Diu Diu, be obedient. Mama is very busy these days and has no time to look after you. You’ll have meat to eat if you go with your father.”

“…Papa’s also busy with work; he won’t have time to look after me either.”

“At least his working hours are relatively regular. I, on the other hand, might forget to eat.”

He Xiu frowned after hearing this. “You shouldn’t always stay up late rushing to finish your drafts. I’ll call you every mealtime to remind you to eat.”

“Oh, according to my previous experiences, I might not even be able to hear my ringtone.”

He Xiu: “…”

He flashed her a smile. “I will punctually remind Lin Zhen to deliver you food.”

Jian Yan sent them off at the doorway. He Diu Diu put on his shoes as he looked unhappily at Jian Yan. Jian Yan pinched his unhappy little face and said to him, “After mama turns in her manuscript, she’ll go to D City to find you and papa, okay?”

“Pinky swear.” He Diu Diu extended his pinky finger. Jian Yan beamed and hooked her finger with his.

“Okay, let’s go.” He Xiu opened the door before turning around to hug Jian Yan and kiss her cheeks. “I’ll call you every night to remind you to go to sleep. I’ll call you until you pick up.”

He Diu Diu saw his father kiss mama and immediately shouted, “Papa, why did you kiss mama? Mama, I need to disinfect you.”

He Xiu: “…”

So his body had some kind of virus? ??

He Diu Diu tugged Jian Yan’s clothes and made her bend down. He then kissed her cheeks as well. “Bye-bye mama.”

“Bye-bye Diu Diu; remember to listen to papa. Be a good child and do your homework. When I arrive, I’m checking it. If you haven’t seriously done your homework, you can’t go out and have fun.”

“Got it.”

After finally seeing off father and son, Jian Yan once again returned to ‘Infernal Rush’ manuscript mode.

In the car, He Xiu glanced at the small child sitting beside him and called him, “He Yan.”

He Yan was Diu Diu’s formal name. At that time, he originally wanted to name the child He Yan,1 but Jian Yan said that this name seemed like one people would want to sing in ‘Gongxi Gongxi Gongxi Ni.’2 The original character for Yan (言) got switched to Yan (研).

“Mn?” Chairman He Yan grumbled enviously.

He Xiu couldn’t help but chuckle and say to him, “When we get there, you’re staying in the hotel to do your homework. At noon and at night, I’ll pick you up to eat together.”

He Yan questioned, “How come you are still leaving me alone in the hotel? Aren’t you afraid I’ll get in trouble at the hotel? Papa acts so irresponsibly; does mama know?”

Faced with a slew of questions, He Xiu did not react visibly and replied, “When I was your age, I already took over all the housework at home. I even cooked food for my mother to eat. At the moment, I’m just making you do homework, yet you still complain so much?”

He Yan countered, “If you are my mother, I would also be willing to cook for you.”

He Xiu: “…”

He turned his head to glance at He Yan for a spell and then smiled, saying, “Okay, since you are so unwilling to stay at the hotel, you can come to my office and do your homework there.”

He Yan: “…”

He Xiu saw that He Yan had no rebuttal and smirked, satisfied. Teasing; back then, he had teased his younger brother and friends, and now he teased his son, which was also nothing difficult.

After arriving at D City, He Xiu actually called Lin Zhen every mealtime to remind her to bring Jian Yan food. Lin Zhen could no longer put up with it and nearly collapsed. “Head He! I know you want me to deliver food to Jian Yan; in this I am more skilled than you! If you call me again, I’m blacklisting you!”

He Xiu blinked and, without any better option, dropped the routine.

He Yan watched from across him and chuckled. “Gegege, so annoying.”

He Xiu asked, “Do you have too little summer homework? How about I give you some more?”

“You aren’t my teacher. Your homework won’t count.”

“Makes sense; then I’ll call Teacher Tang and make her give you homework herself.”

He Yan: “…”

There was a question that stumped him for many years: why did his mother marry his father—apart from his looks, he had no good points whatsoever.

“Go to sleep once you finish eating. Continue doing your work after you wake up.”

“I won’t. In the afternoon, I want to go to the theater to watch a movie. An animated film is showing right now.”

“I have a meeting in the afternoon.”

“I’m not saying you need to go too. The movie theater is just downstairs. I can go by myself!”

He Xiu raised a brow. “You’re buying the ticket?”

“The staff here knows I’m your son. I can have them charge you.”

“…Smart.” He Xiu laughed. “But you have no adult accompanying you. A child cannot go to the theaters by himself.”

“Then I’ll wait at the door for older sister secretary to get off work and have her go with me.”

He Xiu: “…”

?

In the afternoon, He Yan really did go watch the animated film with the secretary lady. He Xiu finished his meeting before the movie finished. He stood outside the theater room, waiting for He Yan at the door. While he waited, he sent a picture to Jian Yan. 「Your son and my secretary went to the movies.」

Jian Yan had just returned from the bathroom, catching this message by chance. Her eyes twitched as she sent a reply to He Xiu. 「Wouldn’t it normally be you and your secretary going to the movies and others sending pictures to me?」

Xiu: 「It seems that your son is maturing early.」

Wifey: 「Is your secretary pretty? Picture?」

Xiu: 「No, pretty or not, I never noticed.」

Wifey: 「… I’m not fooled.『frown』」

Xiu: 「『dark laughter』」

Xiu: 「I’ve known your moves like the back of my hand since a long time ago.『dark laughter』」

Wifey: 「『 frown』 I concede defeat, waiting for the next wave.」

Xiu: 「『smile-cry』」

Wifey: 「No more talking. I’m going to draw. I’m handing in my draft tomorrow morning.」

Xiu: 「Then you can come tomorrow? Want me to send someone to receive you?」

Wifey: 「No, I’m going to rest tomorrow. I’ll come visit the two of you the day after tomorrow.」

Xiu: 「Okay『thumbs-up』」

?

Two days later, Jian Yan went to D City. He Xiu and He Yan both went to pick her up together. Upon seeing He Yan at the rail station, Jian Yan lifted him into the air. “Did Diu Diu miss mama?”

“I missed you, but papa didn’t.”

He Xiu: “…”

He pushed He Diu Diu away from Jian Yan and asked her, “He’s grown so big; isn’t carrying him too heavy?”

He Diu Diu disagreed, “Mama is much heavier than me. You just don’t like carrying her. I see it all.”

Jian Yan: “…”

“Alright, let’s get into the car.” Jian Yan urged the two of them to leave the rail station before even more people came to watch them.

He Xiu drove while Jian Yan and He Diu Diu sat in the back seat, chatting about where to go.

“I heard from papa’s secretary that D City’s newly renovated water park is very fun. Mama, let’s go.”

He Xiu interjected, “I can’t go this afternoon.”

He Diu Diu happily exclaimed, “That’s perfect; we don’t need to bring papa!”

He Xiu: “…”

Jian Yan giggled and patted He Diu Diu’s little head. She stated, “Before you left, I said I would check your homework.”

“I finished all of it!”

“So obedient?”

“Mn! So can I go to the water park this afternoon?”

“Okay, I’ll go with you after we eat lunch.”

He Xiu had to meet a client this afternoon, so he couldn’t go with them to the theme park despite his wishes. He was only able to pick them up in the evening. Jian Yan had a crazy fun time with He Diu Diu.

Upon exiting the pirate ship, there was a long line of dozens of tourists taking souvenir group photos. Jian Yan and He Diu Diu were at the back of the line. A lot of children were in line, but fortunately, their respective guardians raised them relatively well and did not let them cut. Once one child got their photo taken, the next child went up.

After roughly five minutes, it was soon Jian Yan and He Diu Diu’s turn. The little girl ahead of them, dressed in a pretty little dress, continued looking at her mother. Her mother stood across from her and raised her camera, waiting for the right moment. She coaxed, “Come on, darling, smile. Right, really pretty.”

He Yan also had his cell phone out as he stood behind them. He didn’t forget to call out to his mother, “Mama, after they finish taking photos, it’s your turn.”

“Okay!”

Once the little girl left, He Yan, afraid that someone would cut in line, hurriedly said to his mother, “Quickly get up there.”

Jian Yan walked up and posed with a victory sign. He Yan snapped a shot and ordered her, “Tilt your head to the left a little. Right, just like that.”

After he finished taking photos, he let his mother take a look before tugging her by the hand to leave. Behind them, several parents were left dumbstruck.

Jian Yan bought two ice cream cones after they left the pirate ship. She and He Diu Diu each had one. Sitting on a bench beneath a tree to rest, Jian Yan fanned herself while asking He Diu Diu, “Diu Diu, are you tired?”

“A bit.”

“What else do you want to eat?”

“I want to eat barbequed chicken leg!”

“Then let’s sit down for a while before going to buy some.”

“Okay.”

At that moment, He Xiu called, saying that his business was done and that he could come meet them. Jian Yan looked at the time and saw that it was getting late, so she had him directly pick them up.

In the evening, the family went outside to eat at a buffet before returning to He Xiu’s hotel. While Jian Yan was taking a bath, He Xiu had a problem he was mulling over: how to send away this unwanted third wheel He Diu Diu!

As if sensing He Xiu’s glare, He Diu Diu raised his head to look at He Xiu.

He Diu Diu: “…”

Papa’s expression—it really seems like he wants to throw me away.

Ultimately that night, the entire family shared the large bed together.

?

Author’s Note:

Expressing thanks to sponsors

Notes:

1. 贺言, the same 言 (Yan) from Jian Yan’s name 简言 ?

2. Chinese New Year song ?