So, the person accompanying the little guy to the variety show became his father. The little guy didn’t really feel much about it, because he already knew that no matter who came with him, Brother Xiao Tang would be there too. With Brother Xiao Tang around, the little guy felt completely at ease. On the other side, the teenager with his arm linked through Chu Ying’s was sighing and groaning, full of anxiety. “We got rid of one brat, but what if another one shows up?”
Thinking of how doting his father was toward his little brother, Shen Lin sat up straight and said seriously, “Dad, promise me. No matter what, you absolutely, positively must NOT get into a fight with anyone on camera!”
Shen Minyan: “Do you think I’m as brainless as you?”
Still, if the new little guest turned out to be another brat, Shen Minyan had already decided — no matter what it cost, he would break the contract and not let Youyou go anymore. The family sat in the living room discussing for a long time, with all the conversation revolving around Su Youli. The truth was, they no longer needed to worry. After the first two episodes aired, everyone in the entertainment industry had seen what happened to Cen Zheping and his son.
Agents with married male celebrities who had children were all given stern warnings. If the show really sent them an invitation, under no circumstances were they to let their children bully Su Youli, steal his toys, or take his food. The show’s popularity remained sky-high. Countless people were desperate to get on it.
After the last incident, the production team had become much more cautious. They had interviewed over a dozen families and rejected all of them. Shen Yan had spoken with the production team over the phone. They repeatedly assured him that this time, the guest would definitely be a good child, absolutely not a brat!
Because this time the filming location was in a small village on a tropical island, and since he had never seen the ocean before, little Su Youli was immediately excited when he learned he was going on an island adventure. He dialed his phone watch to share the news with his two fathers, who were far abroad. The call connected after just one ring.
“Youyou.”
The little guy squinted his eyes and said in his milky voice, “Dad—”
“Dad, Youyou is going on an adventure in the sea!”
Just like in the cartoons. Su Siwen put the call on speaker, and he and Qin Kun sat together to listen. Hearing their son’s innocent words, both of them laughed.
“It’s not an adventure *in* the sea. You’re still little. You can’t go into the ocean,” Su Siwen said, his voice filled with laughter.
Qin Kun took the chance to quiz him: “Youyou, have you learned to swim yet?”
Almost all of the little guy’s athletic skills had been taught by Qin Kun — running, jump rope, ball games, and so on. The only thing he could never quite master was swimming. It might have been because when the little guy was two years old, a child had drowned in the downstream river near Yunshui Street.
As luck would have it, Su Siwen had taken him out grocery shopping that day, and on their way back, they ran into the ambulance coming to rescue the victim. The incident had scared the little guy so much that he dared not go near the river for days. When Dad asked him, even though Dad couldn’t see him, the little guy still raised his hand excitedly: “I learned!”
Pride and relief were the first feelings, quickly followed by a pang of bitterness and regret. Qin Kun was visibly disappointed. He had missed the milestone of Youyou learning to swim. Perhaps in the future, there would be many more important moments in Youyou’s life that he and Siwen would no longer be able to witness. Su Siwen gripped his hand tightly, offering silent comfort.
“Baby, when you go to the beach, you have to listen to the adults, okay? You can’t sneak off to play in the water…”
Even though he knew the Shen family and Tang Dou would take meticulous care of the little guy, Su Siwen still gave many careful reminders.
The little guy nodded seriously. “Baby knows!”
Gentle moonlight streamed into the room. On the bed, a little one in Stitch pajamas lay on his side, the faint light from his phone watch illuminating his obedient little face. The little guy held up his phone watch, rubbed his eyes, and repeated the question he asked his fathers every day when he called them.
“Dad, Kun Kun, when are you coming to see Youyou?”
Qin Kun’s tone was as usual: “Soon. Does Youyou miss me and Little Dad?”
The little guy nodded repeatedly: “Dad, Youyou misses you so much. I even cried about it.”
Su Siwen chuckled softly and coaxed him to sleep in a gentle voice: “You’re already three years old and still crying because you miss your dads? How embarrassing.”
The little guy burrowed under the covers, feeling a bit shy.
“I only cried a little bit.”
It was getting late. Su Siwen’s soft voice came through the phone, soothing Su Youyou to sleep. Soon, the little guy’s even, milky breathing could be heard on the other end of the line. Su Siwen looked at the call duration on the phone, reluctant to hang up. He could clearly tell that Youyou had grown a lot. His language and expressive abilities had improved significantly, all thanks to the Shen family and Tang Dou’s close companionship.
In the end, it was Shen Yan who helped hang up the watch. Before ending the call, he asked how they had been doing lately. He and Qin Kun were ordinary people. They had never been abroad before. Because their parents had died young, they had been supporting themselves with their own hands since they were children.
Shared experiences had made them friends who weathered storms together, and eventually, their friendship had blossomed into love. Making money wasn’t easy, and there was a hungry child at home. Su Siwen hadn’t really wanted to spend too much money on treatment at first.
But he also wasn’t willing to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, unable to do even something as simple as picking up his son when he fell. The strangeness of being in a foreign country was expected, but neither of them had anticipated just how complicated the medical process would be abroad.
Even though they had done their preliminary preparation work, they were still fumbling when they arrived in Country D. Just finding suitable housing left them at a loss, let alone finding a reliable helper. They could only stay in a hotel for the time being. On the second day after arriving in Country D, due to acclimatization and jet lag, Su Siwen’s condition, which had been stable, suddenly worsened.
In the cramped hotel room, Su Siwen lay on the bed, sweating from the pain, his knees feeling as if they were being stabbed with needles. The mild, dull ache had turned into unbearable agony. In a panic, Qin Kun carried him on his back and took a taxi to the hospital, communicating with the blond, blue-eyed doctors in broken English.
…
All in all, their journey seeking medical treatment abroad was not going smoothly. The turning point came on the fourth day. Qin Kun returned to the hotel to pack a change of clothes for Su Siwen, who was hospitalized, when he saw Zhang Shun standing at their door, clearly having waited a long time.
After days of emotional highs and lows, communicating with foreigners through translation apps and broken English, Qin Kun felt like he was seeing a family member when he saw Zhang Shun. Yellow skin, black hair — we’re all Chinese!
Family! This is family!
Qin Kun strode over and gave Zhang Shun a fierce bear hug. Even a tough guy could have a soft side. Zhang Shun felt his eyes moisten. He rubbed his tired eyes and patted Qin Kun on the shoulder.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Chairman Shen knew you might not be adapting well, so he specifically sent me over to help.”
Zhang Shun’s abilities were undeniable – after all, he had reached the position of Chairman Shen’s right-hand man in his early thirties.
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