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Su Youli was absolutely filthy. The director quickly gave the closing remarks and told everyone to take the children back and wash them up. The little one held his big brother’s hand, leaving muddy footprints with every step. Su Youli had a very round head. From Shen Yan’s perspective, it looked like a round little mud ball.
Ever since Youyou had returned to the Shen family, his image had always been that of a quiet, soft, adorable, well-behaved little one. Shen Yan never imagined he would one day see Youyou this dirty. He secretly took out his phone and snapped picture after picture of the back of the little one’s head.
“Go wash yourself properly when you get back. If you’re not clean, you’re not allowed to go to bed.”
A voice came from behind. Shen Yan turned and saw Du Ze speaking harshly to Niu Niu. The little one, holding his brother’s hand, suddenly stopped walking. He was even dirtier than Niu Niu. Would his big brother yell at him, too?
Shen Yan simply picked him up and smiled. “After our little mud boy, Youyou, gets cleaned up, he’ll turn back into a clean baby.”
Su Youli remembered what Niu Niu’s father had said. He looked down at his dirty little fingers. “But Youyou is very hard to clean.”
Shen Yan wasn’t afraid of dirt at all. He patted his head and pinched his cheek. “Big Brother will help you wash. Don’t be scared.”
“Big Brother wasn’t willing to step in the mud, but Youyou dared to step in it and even rescued Big Brother.”
“Our Youyou is the best!”
…
After reassuring the little one, Shen Yan glanced to the side, his eyes a bit cold. Anyone could see that Du Ze treated Niu Niu very poorly. If Niu Niu didn’t call Du Ze “Papa,” Shen Yan would have doubted whether he was really her biological father.
The production team had already packed up. Mi Huan, holding his little brother’s hand, walked a bit closer to Shen Yan and said in a voice only the two adults could hear, “Shen Yan ge, you didn’t know?”
“Know what?”
“Niu Niu’s full name is Wang Yudie.” Mi Huan raised his eyebrows slightly.
Between adults, not everything needed to be spelled out. Shen Yan understood instantly. Du Ze was Niu Niu’s stepfather. No wonder he had no patience for Niu Niu and spoke to her so harshly. When they reached Grandma Zhang’s doorstep, Mi Huan sent Mi Le inside to let her know they were there.
“Grandma Zhang said it’s okay.” Mi Le quickly ran back, panting, the mud on his face already dry and flaking off.
After getting the host’s permission, Mi Huan invited them, “Grandma Zhang’s place has a water heater. Youyou can bathe here too.”
Shen Yan would have liked that, but the little one’s change of clothes, children’s body wash, and everything else were at Grandpa Tian’s house. Grandpa Tian’s house wasn’t as convenient as Grandma Zhang’s. With a water heater, Youyou probably wouldn’t catch a cold bathing there. Just as he was about to leave Su Youli with Mi Huan for a bit while he went back to get the things, he saw Tang Dou riding over on an electric scooter.
“Grandpa Tian’s house has a wooden bathtub, and I’ve already heated the water. Get on,” Tang Dou said, patting the scooter’s back seat.
The little one dashed over, so excited he was about to cry. “Brother Xiao Tang, Youyou missed you so much!”
He hadn’t played with Brother Xiao Tang for almost two days. If it weren’t for that soft, milky voice, Tang Dou wouldn’t have recognized the little mud monkey standing in front of him as Youyou. The little one had been wearing a clean little denim outfit today, looking like a little model, handsome and adorable. Now, his face was so caked with mud that you couldn’t even see it clearly. Only his big, bright black eyes and the teeth he showed when he smiled distinguished him as a little one.
Tang Dou pressed his lips together hard to keep from laughing. “Hurry up, hurry up. Let’s go back for a bath.”
The little one said “Heave-ho,” lifted his thousand-pound muddy clothes with both hands, and struggled to place one little foot on the footrest. Brother Xiao Tang was very clean, and the scooter was also very clean. Youyou was afraid of getting them dirty and didn’t dare move a muscle. Shen Yan wasn’t afraid of dirt. He scooped up his muddy little brother, hugged him tight, and couldn’t resist giving him a kiss on the face, getting a mouthful of mud.
The electric scooter wound its way through the village and stopped in front of Grandpa Tian’s house a few minutes later. To Shen Yan’s surprise, Grandpa Tian seemed to know they were coming. He was standing at the door with his hands behind his back, waiting for them.
Tang Dou parked the scooter, put down the kickstand, and called out, “Grandpa Tian.”
Grandpa Tian immediately responded with an “Eh,” his aged voice laced with concern. “I’ve taken the water to the room. I scalded the wooden tub with boiling water several times. It’s very clean.”
Hearing the voice, the little one popped his dirty face out from his big brother’s embrace, showing two rows of white teeth to the sun. “Grandpa Tian!”
The old man, who usually didn’t show his emotions, couldn’t help but exclaim, “Aiya!” when he saw that little face. The side room was a bit cramped. Grandpa Tian invited the two adults to move to the main house. Tang Dou and Shen Yan moved the wooden tub to the main house. In the center of the room stood a tub large enough for an adult to bathe in. Inside, a half-washed milky-white baby was crouching.
For the first round, Tang Dou simply poured a few basins of water over the little one to rinse off the big clumps of mud. Shen Yan, holding a large red peony hot water bottle in each hand, pushed open the wooden door with his shoulder. The little one in the tub still had a swim ring around his neck, and several little yellow ducks floated in the water.
As Tang Dou carefully cleaned between his fingers and ears, the little one patted the water with his little hands, grabbed a little yellow duck, and giggled happily. Shen Yan got a stool, sat down beside them, took a towel from the basin, and began to wash Su Youli’s arms, copying Tang Dou’s movements.
“Mm, Big Brother, that hurts.” The little one’s little arm felt hot and prickly. He put down the little duck and looked at his big brother.
His wet, big eyes blinked, as if wondering why his brother was rubbing his arm so hard. Shen Yan immediately loosened his grip and looked closely. The arm he had wiped was red.
“I’m sorry, Youyou. Did I hurt you?”
Shen Yan had tried his best to control his strength, but he had still made the little one uncomfortable.
Su Youli shook his head and held up one hand from the water, gesturing. “Only a little bit of hurt.”
Tang Dou chuckled softly. The Shen men were all tall. Shen Yan was 1.88 meters, with broad shoulders and strong arms. Even when he deliberately tried to be gentle, he wasn’t exactly tender. Seeing Shen Yan hanging his head in reflection, Tang Dou said, “I didn’t have any experience the first time I took care of a child either. I got water in the kid’s eyes when washing his hair and got fired by the employer that same day.”
Shen Yan looked up sharply. In his eyes, Tang Dou, who seemed to know everything about childcare, had such a black mark on his record? The water in the wooden tub sloshed. The little one, being cared for by Tang Dou, closed his eyes in comfort.
“No one is born knowing how to take care of a child. It just depends on whether you put your heart into it,” Tang Dou said with a smile.
Shen Yan felt an inexplicable sense of calm. He said sincerely, “Brother Xiao Tang, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you helping Youyou bathe, we’d probably still be dirty right now.”
Tang Dou had come early to talk to Grandpa Tian, preparing the wooden tub and everything Youyou would need for his bath, and now he was bathing Youyou.
“Don’t thank me. It’s my job.”
With Tang Dou’s guidance, Shen Yan tried a few more times and finally found the right pressure. His tense nerves relaxed.
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