Chapter 53

Gu Chen was wearing a thick down jacket. He took two quick steps forward and crouched down, waiting for An An to throw himself into his arms.

The warmth of having little An An fill his embrace made him feel as if he were soaking in warm water—utterly content and relaxed.

After letting go of his dad, An An happily bounced up and down several times. Gu Chen casually reached into his bag and pulled out a gift he had prepared for him.

Even though he had been eager to return home, he hadn’t forgotten this. If he came back empty-handed, it would seem as if he didn’t care enough.

“My work is almost done. This time, I can stay with you for several days.”

Hearing this, An An clapped his hands excitedly, then leaned in and rubbed his cheek against his father’s in delight.

“Yay!”

It was already the twelfth lunar month, and the snow outside was falling heavily. Large, fluffy flakes drifted down like goose feathers.

In front of the babysitter, An An dug out a few picture books he had hidden among his toys, clutching them in his arms like treasured offerings as he handed them to his father.

“They’re beautiful.”

“Did you save them especially for Daddy because they’re beautiful?”

“Mm-hmm!”

Out of all his picture books, these were the ones An An found most interesting. He had hidden them because he was afraid his babysitter would put them away, and he wouldn’t be able to find them later.

The way An An looked so sneaky and secretive made him resemble a little hamster secretly hoarding food.

“Thank you. I’ll read them carefully tonight.”

Not having seen his dad for a long time, An An was like a chattering little sparrow. Gu Chen held him in his lap, patiently listening and occasionally responding. Just a few words from him were enough to make the little one bubble over with happiness.

The babysitter had planned to leave around this time. After quickly tidying up her things, she said goodbye to An An.

Although An An missed his father terribly, that didn’t mean he had no feelings for his babysitter after spending so much time together. He clung to the doorway, asking her many questions.

Only after confirming that she promised to visit again after the New Year did he finally feel at ease, waving goodbye.

With just Gu Chen and An An left at home, Gu Chen took care of most household chores himself.

However, given his fame, he couldn’t go to a crowded supermarket in the busy twelfth lunar month to buy New Year’s supplies. If someone recognized him, the trouble that followed would be a headache to handle.

So, before heading home, Brother Li had taken An An to the supermarket, with Gu Chen preparing a shopping list in advance.

After having everything delivered, Brother Li helped organize things briefly. Seeing that it was getting late, he said his goodbyes.

“Happy New Year. I’ll head out now.”

“Brother Li, travel safe.”

Brother Li gave a small wave before turning and entering the elevator. He was eager to get home and spend time with his own child.

An An, seeing the large pile of groceries, widened his eyes in surprise. He hadn’t realized they had bought so much.

Gu Chen patiently sorted everything into categories. Seeing An An still in a daze, he called him over to help, assigning him the task of placing lighter items in their proper spots.

Before discovering An An’s existence, Gu Chen had never thought he would ever have a child. He couldn’t have it all, so he had to choose what was most important to him.

For him, his career had always taken priority.

But after having An An, he had researched extensively, trying his best to be a gentle and patient father.

Parents play a crucial role in a child’s development. Children unconsciously mimic how their parents handle situations and their attitudes toward life.

Gu Chen hadn’t always been a gentle person. There were times when he lost his temper and wanted to snap at people. But after bringing An An into his life and learning about child psychology, he had gradually changed.

“Thank you, An An. You’re amazing.”

With just one casual compliment, An An puffed up proudly—if he had a tail, it would have been wagging high in the air.

His father’s approval was the biggest motivation for An An to help. It was like fueling a little train—he immediately zoomed into action.

During his rare holiday break, Gu Chen focused on spending time with An An. Whether it was cooking or doing chores, he included him in everything. And if An An refused, he simply picked him up and carried him along.

At first, An An felt this was embarrassing and resisted. But later, he found it somewhat fun and began pretending to be reluctant while secretly enjoying it.

Gu Chen noticed his little act and tapped his head lightly. An An quickly covered his head, gave a small huff, and turned away, pretending to be angry.

But he didn’t stay mad for long. Seeing his dad start frying meatballs, he immediately trotted over, propped his chin on his hands, and asked,

“Daddy, what are you doing?”

“Frying sweet potato and radish balls.”

Gu Chen wasn’t particularly skilled at this. He had just seen a video in his company’s group chat where someone was frying homemade meatballs for the New Year. That’s what reminded him that he hadn’t prepared anything special himself.

He had some basic cooking skills. After looking up a tutorial and confirming that he had all the necessary ingredients at home, he decided to give it a try.

“Meatballs… Are they tasty?”

An An asked as he secretly swallowed a bit of drool. He loved food—especially anything his dad made.

“I’ve never made them before, so I’m not sure how they’ll taste.”

Gu Chen was honest. Since it was his first time making them, he wanted to manage expectations in case they didn’t turn out well.

“When can we eat them?”

An An completely ignored his dad’s warning and swallowed again. As long as it was made by his dad, it had to be delicious!

“Just wait a little longer.”

As Gu Chen prepared the ingredients and began frying, An An had already dragged over a small stepping stool, eager to watch.

But since deep-frying involved hot oil, Gu Chen was worried about him getting burned. He repeatedly told him to stay back, and in the end, he even closed the kitchen door to keep him out.

An An wasn’t exactly obedient when locked outside. He lay there, trying his best to peek inside. Gu Chen shot him an occasional glare, which turned the once cheerful little one sulky, his lips curling down as he let out a soft whimper of protest.

Gu Chen might indulge him in other matters, but when it came to safety, there was no room for compromise.

Once most of the fritters were done, he turned off the stove. The first batch had cooled down by now, so he placed a few in An An’s small designated bowl.

“Give it a taste and see how it is?”

The radish fritters were savory with a hint of spice, though he’d used only a tiny bit of chili to accommodate An An’s young palate. The sweet potato fritters, on the other hand, were golden and visually more appealing.

After washing his hands, An An waited for them to dry, then grabbed a sweet potato fritter and stuffed it into his mouth. The moment he started chewing, he gave his dad a big thumbs-up.

Seeing that his son had completely forgotten his earlier grumpiness, Gu Chen wisely refrained from bringing it up. A well-behaved little one was far easier to handle than a pouting, bristling hedgehog.

Having finally made homemade fritters, Gu Chen took out his phone and snapped a few photos, including one of An An. He had never hidden the fact that he had a son—in fact, he was more than happy to show off how adorable his little one was.

Gu Chen: “Me, making fritters. This little rascal, trying to stir up trouble.”

In the picture, An An was caught mid-bite, his mouth stuffed full. It looked like he had been successfully silenced with food.

Aside from that one forced reveal on set, this was one of the rare times Gu Chen had posted a photo of his son on Weibo. Compared to his previous picture, the little foodie had clearly gained some weight. His chubby cheeks were especially prominent, and his expression showed an obvious reluctance at being photographed.

Comments:

【Happy New Year, Gege! But why are you sneakily taking pictures of people?】

【Exactly! Just because he’s little doesn’t mean you can snap pics without permission. Too much!】

【Shocking! A top-tier celebrity has switched careers to become a paparazzo!】

【Is this the same baby from before? He’s changed so much! You can tell he’s been well taken care of these past few months.】

【Whoever said Gu Ge wouldn’t make a good dad, step forward and apologize now!】

【You made those fritters yourself? My mom made some too, and she also shoved one into my mouth to stop me from talking.】

That last comment instantly derailed the thread. Soon, the replies were filled with pictures of homemade holiday treats, with fried foods dominating the scene.

Gu Chen took the time to respond to a few, especially those praising how cute and well-behaved An An was. Eventually, when the replies got overwhelming, he settled for simply liking comments.

Whenever he spotted a dish that looked particularly good, he even asked for the recipe, planning to try making it for An An later.

Meanwhile, An An, having polished off his four fritters, trotted over with his now-empty bowl. In a small voice, he asked, “Daddy, can I have another bowl?”

“No, you can’t eat too much. Fried food isn’t good for your stomach, and you’re still too little.”

“Oh…”

Hearing the refusal, An An’s shoulders drooped slightly in disappointment. He obediently carried his bowl to the kitchen.

At that moment, Gu Chen was still focused on responding to comments and didn’t notice anything unusual. An An, seeing his dad was distracted, quickly reached out, grabbed another fritter, and stuffed it into his mouth.

He crouched down and chewed with great effort, trying to swallow it all as fast as possible before his dad noticed.

Gu Chen, finishing up another reply, glanced over out of the corner of his eye. When he saw An An crouched in the kitchen, his heart nearly stopped. He immediately put his phone down and rushed over, worried the little one had eaten too much and was feeling unwell.

He crouched in front of An An, but the boy turned away awkwardly, making Gu Chen even more suspicious.

“What’s wrong? Does your tummy hurt?”

Forcing An An to lift his head and meet his gaze, Gu Chen was about to ask another question when he noticed the telltale chewing motions. His cheek was even bulging from the fritter still inside.

“You snuck another one, didn’t you?”

An An shook his head vigorously, denying it before he had even swallowed. With a mouth still full, he mumbled, “No.”

“Really? Lying kids don’t get candy.”

“Whoa! There’s candy?”

An An was instantly distracted. Gu Chen, who had planned to use candy as leverage to make him confess, instead found himself with a little monkey clinging to his neck, eyes sparkling as he eagerly shook his dad’s head.

“Daddy, Daddy, let me see!”

“Just to look?”

Gu Chen turned to meet his eyes. An An hesitated, furrowing his brows in an internal struggle. He didn’t want to lie to his dad, so he honestly amended, “And… maybe taste?”

“Nope.”

Gu Chen refused him outright. The candy had been bought for New Year’s, and there was no way he’d hand it over now.

“Daddy, Daddy! Best Daddy! The best, best, best daddy in the whole world!”

An An’s persuasion tactics were top-notch—where he learned them was anyone’s guess. Gu Chen had no defense against them. In the end, he could only surrender and place a single piece of candy in An An’s palm.

“Just one.”

“Thank you, Daddy!”

After properly storing the fritters in the fridge to keep them fresh, Gu Chen checked their ingredients and decided to make winter melon and pork rib soup for dinner.

An An had a preference for mild flavors, likely due to Su Ling’s regional cuisine. If there was even a thin layer of oil floating on top of a soup, he would wrinkle his nose in dislike. Gu Chen had struggled with this many times.

Since knives were too dangerous, Gu Chen wouldn’t let An An handle them. Instead, he handed over a few scallions. Sitting on his small stool, An An carefully peeled off the outer layers, bit by bit.

Gu Chen liked giving An An these little tasks. When he was busy cooking and couldn’t keep an eye on him, this ensured the little troublemaker wouldn’t get into mischief elsewhere.

In the evening, Gu Chen once again took photos of the dinner he had made, including a shot of a little human cub holding a pork rib in his hand, opening his mouth wide in preparation to take a bite.

【I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but ever since he had a son, Gu Chen seems really enthusiastic about showing him off!】

【What kind of dad can resist the urge to show off their kid?】

【How can this little baby’s mouth be that big!!!!】

【Judging by the way he looks, that pork rib must be delicious.】

【Is Gu Chen’s cooking really this good?】

【I remember hearing people say Gu Chen was a great cook before, but I thought it was just hype. Turns out, he’s actually good!】

【If I bring my own bowl and chopsticks, can I get a meal too?】

Gu Chen’s cooking skills were indeed excellent, as evident from An’an’s reaction. The soup was so perfectly suited to his taste that even when he was so full he could barely move, he still wanted another bowl.

“You can’t eat too much, or you won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

Hearing this, An’an immediately knew that no matter what he said, there was no way he’d get another bite, so he had no choice but to put down his chopsticks.

“Daddy, tomorrow…”

“How about I make pork rib soup with carrots and corn tomorrow?”

The mention of pork ribs made An’an’s eyes light up, and the corners of his lips began to lift. But as soon as he heard the word “carrot,” his little brows furrowed into a tight knot. Every cell in his body radiated resistance as he firmly responded in a crisp voice:

“No!”