Su Siwen and Qin Kun decided to adopt the child. The child took Su Siwen’s surname, Su, and was named Su Youli. Su Youli was easy to care for from a young age, spending his days mostly eating and sleeping, rarely crying or fussing. A year later, the family of three returned to live in a small town in Nan City.
That was Qin Kun’s hometown and also the place where Su Siwen and Qin Kun fell in love. One-year-old Su Youli was utterly adorable, with large, round eyes and delicate features, resembling a little fairy child beneath the Goddess of Mercy. Just a month after arriving at Yunshui Street, little Su Youli became the most beloved child among the neighbors.
Though the two young men faced many difficulties in raising a child, there was even more happiness and joy. This child, whom they had found in a trash bin, became the most precious treasure in their lives. But now, they had to help Su Youli find his biological parents.
“Youyou might have been abandoned by his birth parents. Do you really think his family will come looking for him?”
But there was also the possibility that the child had been kidnapped. The kidnapper probably thought the child was too weak to survive and, to avoid trouble, discarded him. The thought of Youyou being taken away made Qin Kun, a tall man of 1.85 meters, also get teary-eyed.
Su Siwen wiped his tears, his voice thick with a nasal tone: “Then what do you want me to do? Should I let Youyou see me unable to ever get out of bed again? He’s only three.”
Qin Kun patted his head, crouching in front of his wheelchair, trying to persuade his stubborn lover: “We are a family. A family should stay together!”
Su Siwen shook his head. His baby was only three, an age that should be most protected.
“You’re busy all the time, and my legs are getting worse and worse…” His eyes blurred with tears as he remembered the last time Youyou fell, and he was powerless to even get up and hold him to comfort him.
Su Siwen struck his own knee hard. “It’s all my fault, all my fault!” He cried bitterly. Qin Kun held him, comforting him repeatedly.
“Alright, alright, don’t cry anymore. We’ve posted Youyou’s photo on all the packages we send out, and Youyou’s information is also registered in the ‘Reunion’ system. If Youyou’s biological parents haven’t given up looking for him, they will surely see it.” Qin Kun reassured.
I hope Youyou wasn’t abandoned by his birth parents but was maliciously stolen, Qin Kun thought to himself. Qin Kun had to go to work. Su Youli trotted after him to the roadside.
“Kun Kun, can Youyou have a cream ice cream today?” The little toddler tugged at his dad’s pant leg.
Qin Kun’s large hand scooped the child up high. Su Youli wasn’t scared by the sudden lift; he often played like this with his dad.
“Hahaha, Kun Kun, lift me high!” Su Youli exclaimed.
Su Youli looked like a doll, with long, upturned eyelashes and eyes as bright as stars. His smile at this moment was even sweeter and more lovely. Su Youli noticed Kun Kun wasn’t tossing him up further as usual and gave his dad a puzzled look.
Qin Kun held him close, stroking the back of his head: “Youyou, take good care of Little Daddy at home. Don’t run around, okay? Daddy will bring you a cream ice cream after work.”
“Yay!” Youyou raised both hands high, held his dad’s face, and gave him a big kiss, leaving shiny saliva on Qin Kun’s cheek.
As soon as Qin Kun put Su Youli down, several children came running over on the stone-paved road behind them.
“Youyou, come play ‘Eagle Catches Chicks’!”
Su Youli’s eyes sparkled. He turned back, casually said goodbye to his dad, and his little body wriggled away as he ran off. Qin Kun watched the child run away with his little friends, a shadow passing through his eyes. Such a lovely baby… how could they bear to part with him? In the past year, Su Siwen’s legs had worsened significantly. The time he could stand on his legs was getting shorter and shorter.
They had visited many large hospitals. Doctors said either amputation or going abroad to try their luck. Every time they traveled to hospitals in other cities, gone for ten days to half a month, Su Youli would stand at the door, his large, watery eyes watching them get in the car. A child just over two years old, clearly very sad, yet he didn’t let himself cry out loud.
He just obediently waved to his two daddies, his voice small and feigning strength: “Youyou will wait at home for daddies to come back.”
Next door, Grandma Yang was a very kind old lady. Grandpa Yang was a carpenter, and the whole family adored Su Youli. Every time Qin Kun took Su Siwen out for medical treatment, Su Youli stayed at Grandma Yang’s house.
…
Noon. The aroma of food wafted along the street.
“Youyou, come home for lunch!” Su Siwen stood at the door, a hand braced on the doorframe.
When outside, he wouldn’t use crutches or the wheelchair. Standing straight, he smiled and called for Su Youli to come home for lunch. Su Youli was playing hopscotch with Yang Yang and the others. Hearing his dad call him, he didn’t hesitate at all, immediately turned and ran, ignoring how loudly his little friends behind him tried to keep him.
Su Youli ran to the door, stretching out his hands to Su Siwen: “Daddy, up!”
Su Siwen smiled, crouched down, and lifted Youyou up with a little swing. There was a small step at the door. When Su Siwen lifted his foot, his body swayed slightly.
Su Youli blinked and said, “Daddy, Kun Kun said Youyou is a big kid now.”
Su Siwen reached out to tap his little nose, forcefully suppressing the dull pain in his knees: “Baby is still little!”
Then he saw Su Youli pout his little mouth. “I am a big kid. I want to walk by myself.”
“Daddy, put Youyou down!”
He knew his Little Daddy’s legs hurt. Su Siwen tightened his hold on him for a moment but obediently put the little one down. Once on the ground, Su Youli walked steadily, offering his hand for his Little Daddy to hold.
“Daddy, Kun Kun said he’ll buy me a cream ice cream after work!” Mentioning his favorite treat, the little boy beamed, his eyes already full of anticipation.
Su Siwen hummed in acknowledgment and said, “Then baby must eat lunch well, or else Kun Kun won’t buy you ice cream!”
At the dining table, Su Youli obediently climbed onto his special little stool, held his little wooden bowl with both hands, and started eating heartily. He finished a bowl with gusto, wiped his mouth, climbed down from the stool, and ran off with his little bowl.
“Kun Kun, I finished my meal. You have to buy me ice cream~.”
With a child at home and a patient with mobility issues, Qin Kun had installed surveillance cameras at home early on. Qin Kun was also eating lunch. The childish voice reached his ears through the monitor, and Qin Kun smiled.
“Okay, I’ll buy it for you. Just wait!”
Su Youli giggled twice and took his bowl to the kitchen. He stood on his special little stool and placed his bowl in the sink.
“Little Daddy, Youyou is full. You have to eat well too!”
Su Youli began supervising Su Siwen’s meal. Su Siwen was an artist. Before his legs got bad, he took commissions online for paintings and had gained some reputation on the internet. In the past six months, though, he could barely paint anymore. The pain from his leg condition was immense, not only increasing the family’s financial burden but sometimes even requiring little Su Youli to care for him.
Being ill affected his appetite. The little boy would stare at him while he ate, saying that Little Daddy was a disobedient daddy. Su Siwen blushed at being told off. Yesterday, Su Youli had tried to wash dishes like Qin Kun, but ended up breaking two bowls and giving Su Siwen a big scare. So today, the little boy didn’t wash them. Instead, he collected the bowls and put them in the sink, waiting for Kun Kun to come back and wash them.
Some things little kids shouldn’t do; he learned that after breaking the bowls. After lunch, Su Siwen sat in a chair with a blanket over his legs. He logged into his account to see if anyone was requesting some simple commissions. Su Youli took a nap, woke up on his own, and ran to play in the courtyard. It was midsummer afternoon, just after the rain. A faint mist of moisture still lingered in the courtyard. Su Siwen only needed to look up to see the little figure crouched and playing in the flower bed.
Quick question, should I use the past tense or leave it in the present tense, as in the first chapter?
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