In preparation for Easter, do let me know if you’d prefer extra chapters or for me to pick up a new book
Shen Lin felt his brain explode, his heart shattering into pieces. But he quickly came to his senses. Fortunately, his eldest brother didn’t have Uncle Qin and Uncle Su’s phone numbers, and Shen Minyan was too intimidating to win Youyou’s favor. Otherwise, this bargaining chip to win over the little one would have been snatched away.
“Okay, let’s call them now.”
Su Youli visibly grew excited. Sitting on the carpet, he watched Shen Lin take out his phone with sparkling eyes, his long lashes fluttering. On the first day away from his two fathers, thanks to technology, the little one, now separated by distance, could still see his daddies and share his longing for them. On the other end of the line, Su Siwen noticed how spacious and bright the place where the little one now lived was. Even a small corner visible in the frame spoke of luxury.
The two fathers felt they had made the right decision. But when they saw the little one’s adorable face, their longing bubbled up like fizz in a soda. Su Youli held the phone with both hands, nestled in Shen Lin’s arms. His round little face pressed close to the screen as he spoke slowly, enunciating each word clearly. He told his fathers about meeting Brother Xiao Tang and his eldest brother. He said he had played in the garden today, where there were many lovely plants, though he didn’t know their names.
Su Siwen smiled and said mysteriously, “Baby, Daddy hid a little gift in your small backpack. Can you find it?”
A gift!
The little one shot up his hand. “Baby can find it!”
Su Youli climbed down from Shen Lin’s lap and padded off to the walk-in closet in his panda slippers to find the small backpack he had worn that day. Shen Lin greeted Su Siwen briefly, then turned the camera to focus on Su Youli’s retreating figure. Su Siwen and Qin Kun then saw a walk-in closet that looked like something out of a TV drama.
The closet was enormous, bigger than the entire second floor of the Su home. What surprised them was that the cabinets and fixtures were all designed at the little one’s height. When the 1.8-meter-tall Shen Lin walked in, it was like entering a toddler’s kingdom. Meanwhile, Su Youli had found his small backpack. He pulled it out from the cabinet with both hands, sat down right there, and eagerly searched through it for the surprise gift his father had prepared.
Shen Lin held the phone, pointing it at the focused little one, curious. “Uncle Su, what gift did you prepare for Youyou?”
Su Siwen’s voice came through the phone. “Nothing much. Just a handmade item I made for Youyou earlier.”
“Found it!” The little one raised a book wrapped in beautiful wrapping paper, looking up excitedly as if he had just discovered a golden martial arts manual.
“Open it and see.”
The wrapping paper and ribbon were clearly prepared with great care by his father. Afraid of damaging it, Su Youli handed the gift to Shen Lin to open. Shen Lin carefully removed the paper and ribbon without tearing them, sweating a bit as he handed the gift back.
“Thank you, brother!”
It was a book titled Plant Observation Notes. The cover was wrapped in soft fabric, embossed with drawings Su Youli had made of various little grasses, flowers, and even mushrooms. Su Youli kept running his fingers over the raised patterns. He recognized them. These were his own drawings.
“Did Youyou draw these!” The little one pointed to himself, holding up the gift.
Su Siwen smiled. “Yes, baby. Do you like this gift?”
“Yes!” The little one nodded vigorously.
The book contained simple information about various plants, illustrated with Su Siwen’s own drawings. To suit the little one’s tastes, the illustrations balanced realism with a childlike charm, making them both recognizable and engaging. Each page of this handmade book was beautiful, and the three-year-old could easily understand it. As the little one flipped through the pages, he discovered a flap on the third page. He pulled it with his little hand, revealing a picture of himself running in the Su family garden with Marbles.
“Wow!”
Su Youli loved this gift. When he came across the plant he had seen in the garden with Brother Xiao Tang that day, he held the book up high and told his fathers, “This is the plant Youyou saw today!”
The video call lasted over an hour before ending. When bedtime came, the little one brushed his teeth and washed his face on his own. Shen Lin, quick to act, snagged the job of wiping the little one’s face. The little one wasn’t ready to sleep alone yet. This would be his first night sleeping apart from Su Siwen and Qin Kun. As soon as he lay down, wearing his soft little pajamas, he clutched his father’s gift and wouldn’t let go.
Shen Lin turned off the main lights, leaving only a small nightlight. He lifted the covers and sat beside Su Youli. “How about Second Brother sleeps with Youyou tonight?”
Without his two fathers around, it probably didn’t matter who Youyou slept with.
The little one nodded. “Okay.”
Generously, he even shared a bit of his small blanket with his brother. Shen Lin stroked his soft hair, held the marshmallow-like little one, and patted his back, using the soothing technique Tang Dou had taught him. But as he patted, something felt off. Something was poking him. He reached down and found the observation notebook tucked against the little one.
Shen Lin smiled slightly. “Youyou, how about we look at it again tomorrow when we wake up?”
Hearing this, the little one tightened his grip on the notebook. “…Brother, I want to sleep with it.”
It was handmade for him by his father. Sleeping with this book felt like having his father by his side.
Shen Lin blinked, then gently pinched the little one’s cheek. “But if you sleep with it like this, it might get damaged.”
The little one’s eyes widened in disbelief. Damaged? But his father had made it for him with his own hands.
The little one sat up, his lips pouting. “Don’t damage it.”
Shen Lin picked him up and carried him back to the walk-in closet. “Let’s put it in its home. That way, while Youyou is sleeping, the book is also sleeping. You’ll see it again tomorrow!”
Su Youli’s eyes lit up. That made sense. The little one carefully placed the book in his backpack and put the backpack back in the cabinet. Shen Lin’s trick had worked. At this age, children believed even a stone by the roadside had a life. A book needing sleep wasn’t far-fetched. With his brother’s company, the little one’s first night in his new home went fairly well. Early the next morning, feeling his tummy cool, Su Youli wrinkled his little brows in his sleep, his big eyes slowly opening.
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