Bonus chapter 3/3
Early the next morning, Yang Yang knocked on the Su family’s door and, along with Yuanzi, who was guarding the yard, dashed upstairs to wake Youyou up.
“Youyou, wake up!”
Su Youli opened his eyes and saw one person and one dog lying by his bed.
“Brother Yang Yang, good morning.” The little guy, just waking up, was still a bit groggy, lifting his small hand in greeting.
Yang Yang smiled so wide his teeth showed. He followed Youyou while he washed his face and helped him put on his clothes, then held his little brother’s hand as they carefully went down the stairs.
“I heard you’re going to have a new dad, is that right?” The tone was as if Youyou was just getting a new toy.
Yang Shiqing had always regarded Su Siwen and Qin Kun as younger brothers, and the two families discussed everything together. So the Yang family also knew about Youyou’s biological father coming to claim him.
Su Youli nodded, his head drooping. “He’s my real dad.”
Yang Yang continued, “Were all those cars from the past couple of days your real dad’s?”
The little toddler didn’t quite understand. “I don’t know.”
Reminded by Yang Yang, the little guy’s memory became clearer. Yesterday, his two dads had told him something. He would have to leave here temporarily and go live in Beicheng with Brother Shen Lin and his new dad for a while, until Little Dad went for treatment and got his legs better, then he could come see him.
As soon as this was said, Yang Yang, who had just been grinning foolishly, changed his expression instantly. “What? You’re leaving?”
“No! I won’t let you go!”
Yang Yang suddenly hugged Youyou tightly.
In the yard, Qin Kun had already set out breakfast.
“You two stop playing and come eat breakfast!” Su Siwen called out.
Two minutes later, Su Siwen saw Su Youli, dressed in little overalls, being led out by Yang Yang, who looked like a little tiger cub. A worried furrow appeared between Su Siwen’s brows. He wondered how Youyou had processed what was said last night.
“Youyou, why aren’t you eating?” Qin Kun ladled a bowl of porridge for him, placing his favorite little wooden spoon in the bowl.
Su Youli shook his head, swallowed hard, his throat bobbing. His eyes were clearly fixed on the millet porridge and meat patties on the table. Soon, both fathers realized something was wrong. Su Youli, as usual, sat obediently in his high chair, but he simply refused to eat. Qin Kun picked him up and sat him on his lap, thinking he was still upset about yesterday. He scooped up some porridge with the spoon and tried to feed it to him.
Ever since Youyou learned to eat independently, the two fathers hadn’t fed him anymore. Su Youli kept his mouth tightly shut, his big eyes looking at the porridge steaming with the fragrance of rice in the spoon. His stomach growled loudly. The two fathers exchanged a glance. This was the first time they had seen Youyou so disobedient. Every time they tried to feed him a bite, the little guy would turn his head away, leaving only his chubby profile.
And a little toddler who had just turned three a few months ago wouldn’t initially think of using a hunger strike to protest his dads sending him away. That’s right. It was the brilliant idea of four-year-old Yang Yang. After confirming that the little guy wouldn’t eat breakfast, Su Siwen decisively put away the remaining food. The little guy secretly followed his dad and heard them saying in the kitchen that they had put the leftovers in a place Youyou would never find.
!!!
How could there be a place in this house that Youyou couldn’t find? Su Youli first lay on the sofa, thinking he was hidden, peeking with one eye. After confirming Little Dad was painting and Kunkun had gone upstairs, he tiptoed and jumped off the sofa. With a ‘thump,’ the little toddler landed steadily. Wearing only socks, he first headed to the most likely place food could be hidden — the kitchen.
Su Siwen calmly held his brush, his finger sliding on the software on his tablet. Immediately after, a three-head-tall child in blue overalls and a little white vest appeared on the screen. He was sticking his little bottom in the air, trying to climb into the kitchen cabinet. After struggling to squeeze in a few times, a pair of little chubby hands finally pulled out a bag of snacks and a carton of milk.
Yesterday, after the Cheng family returned home, in less than an hour, everyone in Yunshui Street, young and old, knew about Chengzi fainting from his hunger strike. This rare negative example in daily life was used by all the parents on Yunshui Street that very day to educate their children and was widely circulated.
Su Siwen watched his son, who was lying outside the cabinet and starting to use his teeth because he couldn’t tear open the snack wrapper. He was almost overwhelmed by the cuteness. His son probably didn’t know yet that a hunger strike meant not just skipping breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but also cutting out snacks and milk.
Youyou indeed didn’t understand. He only knew that Brother Chengzi fainted from not eating. No one said he couldn’t eat snacks! For Youyou, not eating meals was acceptable because there were alternatives! In the surveillance footage, the little toddler had already finished a carton of milk in gulps. He licked his lips and started putting seaweed snacks into his mouth.
Su Siwen watched the monitor. The little one in overalls was full now, lying on Yuanzi, playing. He had even forgotten to dispose of the evidence — the snack wrappers beside him. Su Siwen smiled wryly. This little rascal really wouldn’t starve.
After breakfast, Brother Shen Lin came to find him.
“Youyou, brother brought you something delicious!”
The slightly husky voice of the teenager startled the toddler, who had just secretly eaten snacks. He quickly scrambled up from the floor and squeezed his entire body behind the living room curtains. After greeting Su Siwen at the door, Shen Lin entered and immediately spotted the curtain twitching in one corner, and the little toddler’s lower half in little overalls showing below it.
Shen Lin didn’t hesitate to raise his phone. He walked over softly, his voice sounding like he was playing hide-and-seek with Youyou.
“Youyou, where is Youyou? How come brother can’t see Youyou anymore?”
The curtain fabric rustled wildly. Shen Lin pretended to open the kitchen and bathroom doors, finally sitting on the sofa with a sigh.
“Where on earth is Youyou?” Shen Lin’s camera focused on the rustling curtains, ready to capture the little guy’s adorable figure at any moment.
“Youyou is here~” The three-head-tall child lifted the curtain, revealing a little snow-white face, smiling happily.
It had only been one day since he last saw him, but Shen Lin felt the little guy’s cuteness had deepened yet again. He wished he could hug him until he cried. Listening to the laughter of the two brothers coming from the living room, Su Siwen shook his head. Children’s memories were always short. Last night, when he and Qin Kun told Youyou that Shen Lin was his real brother, Youyou had said he didn’t want a real brother, only his dads. Today, that had completely changed.
Yuanzi, lying by the wheelchair, sensed his owner’s mood and rubbed his furry head against his trousers. At lunchtime, Shen Minyan arrived. The man in his suit and leather shoes looked serious, personally carrying several bags of things. Yesterday, Shen Lin had a fight with him. Shen Minyan initially found it hard to accept that his second son dared to talk back to him like that.
His eldest son, Shen Yan, although introverted since childhood and not very close to him, had been respectful towards him for twenty years. Shen Minyan probably never imagined in his life that he would be called by his full name by his own son, who would also point at his nose and yell at him, asking if he thought he was something special just because he had money.
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