Raising Kids C06

Chapter 6

Since the dumplings were personally wrapped by little Xie Ze, he stuck to Xie Hui like a little tail, wanting to see how dumplings were cooked.

As Xie Hui carried him into the kitchen with one arm, Xie Ze suddenly remembered the apron he had asked his dad to buy just the day before.

“Dad, that one. Put it on.”

“Clothes are expensive. If they get dirty, Baby won’t have any pocket money to buy new ones.”

Xie Ze’s chubby fingers pointed at the apron hanging on the wall.

That line was something Xie Hui had teased him with before. Back then, Xie Ze had been obsessed with cartoons and insisted on jumping in mud puddles. Xie Hui, unable to dissuade him, casually said that if he got his dad’s clothes dirty, he’d have to use his pocket money to buy new ones.

“Alright, I’ll put it on.”

Xie Hui took down two aprons of the same design, one big and one small. After putting on his own, he picked up the much smaller one and tied it around little Xie Ze.

Cooking dumplings didn’t require constant stirring. Seeing Xie Ze’s big, watery eyes staring eagerly, Xie Hui simply lifted him up, letting him watch the entire process up close.

The filming crew could already predict how the show would go viral once it aired.

Even though he was a rugged man through and through, the cameraman could tell—this was the kind of man most girls would consider their ideal type.

Handsome, successful, willing to share household chores and take care of kids, with a gentle and patient personality.

Especially the scene where he held the little boy in one arm while using the other to stir with a spatula—even the rough-around-the-edges cameraman felt a sense of warmth from it.

—

In the afternoon, as usual, Baby needed a nap. While he slept, Xie Hui went to tidy up the toy room, which had been left in a mess.

When a crew member asked why he didn’t let the child clean up himself, Xie Hui placed a book back on the shelf and smiled.

“Because… before, he was being very well-behaved, so I told him that good children who make a mess in the toy room will have a kind immortal come and clean it up for them.”

It was Xie Hui’s first time raising a child, and he had many of his own ideas.

In his view, childhood should be magical and beautiful.

Having faced life-and-death situations countless times, even Xie Hui, when playing certain roles, often recalled the carefree days of childhood.

An old immortal descending just to clean up toys for a well-behaved child—when Ze Ze grows up and remembers this, it will surely be a fond and cherished memory.

“Mr. Xie, don’t you think it’s important to cultivate a child’s independence?”

The crew member’s question unexpectedly reminded Xie Hui of the original purpose of this reality show.

The director’s goal was to encourage busy modern parents to pay more attention to their children’s growth and spend more time with them.

After placing the toy cart in the corner and tidying up Xie Ze’s stuffed animals, Xie Hui finally responded.

“I was just thinking about how to phrase my answer to best express what I mean.”

“You’ve seen it yourselves—Ze Ze is well-behaved, not clingy, and can handle most things on his own.”

“I have no intention of spoiling him into someone who can’t live without me. In fact, even though he’s only three, he’s very independent in most situations. Sometimes, when I try to help, he even tells me, ‘No, Daddy, I’ll do it myself.’”

Speaking of Xie Ze, even Xie Hui’s sharp features seemed to soften.

“I don’t believe in doing everything for a child, but I do want to leave him with beautiful fantasies.”

“After all… children grow up so fast. If you’re not careful, you’ll miss so much.”

“If I can spend more time with him, I will. Baby won’t stay this little forever.”

After Xie Hui finished speaking, even the most argumentative crew member in the production team had nothing to say. Instead, he started thinking about his own parents.

Most memories of childhood and his parents had already blurred, but he was sure of one thing—his parents had never been like Xie Hui.

—

When filming paused for the midday break, the crew went to rest, and Xie Hui also planned to take a nap.

The crew member who had spoken with him earlier lay in the guest room, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

He came from an average family, the most ordinary type among the vast population. In his childhood memories, his father was always busy with work and rarely around.

Whenever he tried to use homework as an excuse to get his father’s attention, his father would patiently teach him if he was in a good mood. But if he was in a bad mood, he’d scold him—“Why can’t you solve such a simple problem?”—and complain about how exhausting work was.

His memories of his mother were more numerous, but they weren’t particularly pleasant.

She was always busy with housework, keeping everything in order, but she rarely said, “Baby, Mommy loves you.”

Afraid he would become arrogant, she would even downplay his achievements when he did well.

Xiao Wang, the crew member, didn’t resent his parents for these memories. Maybe because after entering the workforce as an adult, he understood how hard life had been for them.

But still, deep inside, he made a quiet decision.

He would never let his future wife become as exhausted as his mother. And even more so, he wouldn’t let his future child grow up in a home without love.

—

Since little Xie Ze went to bed early, he also woke up early. Wearing fuzzy slippers, he pitter-pattered with his chubby little legs straight to his dad’s room.

In most of the worlds he had lived in before, Xie Hui was very particular about his privacy. He would lock his bedroom door from the inside for a greater sense of security.

But in this world—considering how clingy the little guy was—Xie Hui wouldn’t have had the chance even if he wanted to.

The cameraman assigned to follow them was already awake. When he saw Xie Ze’s bedroom door open, he quickly shouldered his camera and started filming.

He watched as the little boy tiptoed, pressed down the door handle, and then—like a tiny cannonball—launched himself onto the big bed, landing right beside Xie Hui.

“Daddy, wake up! The Sun Grandpa is about to get off work!”

Xie Hui was woken up by the commotion. When he opened his eyes and saw the little cub rubbing his head against him, his thin lips curved into a smile.

“Hmm? Could it be that Sun Grandpa wants to clock out early because Ze Ze was being too noisy?”

Xie Ze’s little face scrunched up immediately at his dad’s teasing. He puffed up his cheeks and glared at him indignantly.

“No way! It’s because Moon Sister respects the elderly and wants Sun Grandpa to go rest early.”

Back when Xie Hui was fully focused on his work, the nanny who took care of Xie Ze often whispered to the child that his daddy was too busy and had no time to rest.

“Come on, we’re running low on groceries at home. How about I take you to the supermarket?”

This was a scene arranged by the production team. The supermarket was one of the show’s sponsors, and since the chain store had paid for exposure, every guest had a segment where they took their child shopping.

“Yay! Daddy’s the best!”

Although Xie Hui had never taken Xie Ze to a supermarket before, the little one could still guess that his dad was taking him out to play.

After changing his clothes, Xie Ze climbed up a small ladder, grabbed a baseball cap from the shelf, and plopped it onto his head backward.

While Xie Hui was changing, Xie Ze walked over to the mirror to check himself out. Then he glanced at the cameraman still filming him and focused on the sunglasses perched on his face.

“Big Brother, can I try on your sunglasses?”

The cameraman nodded, took off his sunglasses, and handed them to the little boy.

Xie Ze examined them carefully before clumsily putting them on. Naturally, the adult-sized sunglasses didn’t fit his small face properly, covering nearly half of it, making him look extra adorable.

He wiggled in front of the mirror, admiring his unbeatable coolness for a moment before taking off the sunglasses and handing them back to the cameraman. In his soft little voice, he politely said, “Thank you, Uncle, for letting me try them. I’ll give them back now. I didn’t break them!”

Even though he returned the sunglasses, he was clearly reluctant to part with them.

When Xie Hui emerged in casual wear, Xie Ze immediately ran over on his short little legs and hugged his dad’s leg, tilting his head up to look at him.

Xie Hui, already used to having a small leg-hugging accessory, instinctively picked him up. Seeing his expression, he could tell the little one wanted something.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

“Daddy, I want to buy sunglasses like the ones Uncle was wearing. The kind you wore on TV before!”

Xie Hui, amused by his rare request for a gift, gently pinched his nose.

Xie Ze was very ticklish. Even though his dad hadn’t meant to tease him, he still covered his face with his chubby little hands and nuzzled his fluffy head against his dad’s neck.

“Please~? Daddy’s the best! Buy me one, okay?”

“If we see one at the supermarket, we’ll get it, alright?”

“Okay! I love Daddy the most! You’re the best in the whole world!”

Xie Hui carried Xie Ze out of the house. Even after getting into the car, the clingy little cub refused to leave his lap, instead pointing outside as they drove.

“Daddy, what’s that? Why was it you last time, but now it’s someone else?”

“That’s a billboard. When the contract expires, they change it to someone else.”

“Then when will Daddy be up there again?”

“Not anytime soon. But why would you want to look at a billboard when Daddy is right here with you?”

Xie Hui’s remark successfully short-circuited Xie Ze’s little brain. He sat in his dad’s lap, seriously pondering the question all the way to the supermarket, yet still couldn’t figure it out.

At the supermarket, Xie Hui mainly planned to buy groceries, so he first took Xie Ze to the fresh food section.

Xie Ze leaned over the fish tank, watching the big grass carp swim inside. His dark, shiny eyes were full of curiosity as he bent closer to get a better look.

But no one expected that the grass carp would suddenly flick its tail with a powerful splash.