Chapter 65
Two years after He Xiu and Jian Yan married, He Chen also got married. His significant other was someone he got to know while he was in charge of Starlight Park, Su Yun. Su Yun was also from a wealthy background, but she was not as arrogant or willful as Xu Ying. Although she occasionally had a small temper, in He Chen’s eyes, she was still very cute.
The two of them had not been married for very long when she gave birth to a son—named He Xuan and nicknamed Bao Bao.
He Yan and He Xuan were playing together when the former asked, “Bao Bao, why are you called Bao Bao?”
He Bao Bao replied, “Papa said mama really likes buying purses,1 so he christened me Bao Bao.” Once he explained this, he returned the favor and asked He Diu Diu, “Gege, why are you called Diu Diu?”
He Yan: “…”
He had no answer to this question. He thought it might be because his father really wanted to throw him away.2
He Xuan commented, “Papa also said that I am mama’s gift for buying purses. Then you are your mama’s gift for buying clothes?”
He Yan: “…”
Possibly.
He Xuan had recently entered primary school. The two families planned to share a meal together at Tian Xia Restaurant. He Xiu’s family arrived first and sat in the private room to wait for the others. Soon after, He Chen arrived with little He Bao Bao. Jian Yan saw that he came alone with He Bao Bao and asked, “Where’s Su Yun?”
He Chen’s complexion was a bit odd. He simply stated, “She feels a bit unwell and might be delayed.”
“Oh…” Jian Yan nodded, skeptical.
“Have you ordered?” He Chen led He Bao Bao to a seat. He Bao Bao sat down beside He Diu Diu, and the private room thus became noisy.
He Xiu said, “We were waiting for you. It’s better for the one who’s treating to order.”
He Chen: “…”
When did he say this was his treat?
He looked at He Xiu and smiled. “Head He really has aged a lot for your skin to thicken so.”
He Xiu countered, “So you aged a lot for your shamelessness to know no bounds?”
He Chen: “…”
Who was the shameless one when all was said and done!
However, he was of generous and magnanimous character; if this meal was on him, then he would do as he wished.
Some other time, he would have He Xiu treat him in return.
When He Chen grabbed the menu to order, He Xiu stealthily pulled little He Bao Bao close and amiably asked him, “Bao Bao, why didn’t mama come? Is papa and mama fighting?”
He Bao Bao, completely unguarded, answered, “Mama dreamt last night that she was fighting with papa and that papa slapped her. After she woke up this morning, she thought that papa really had slapped her and is ignoring him.”
“Hahahahaha.” He Xiu couldn’t help bursting into laughter. He Chen nearly threw the menu!
“He Bao Bao, what nonsense are you talking about?”
Seeing his own father glare at him, little He Bao Bao deflated and remained silent. He Yan kindly ran over to He Chen’s side to comfort him. “Little uncle, don’t cry. I previously dreamt of father hitting me too. I then told mama this.”
He Xiu: “…”
He Chen gleefully asked him, “Oh? Then did your mama help hit him back?”
Jian Yan: “…”
Why were these two brothers, who were both fathers now, still acting so childish?
Once He Chen ordered, Su Yun called. She finally believed that it was simply a dream of hers and that he didn’t hit her.
After everyone arrived, the waiter began to deliver their orders. Because He Bao Bao was entering primary school this year, He Xiu asked He Chen and his wife, “Which primary school is He Bao Bao going to attend?”
He Chen replied, “Does this still need to be considered? You assuredly selected Diu Diu’s school very carefully. It’s enough for me to register him there like you.” After saying this, he glanced at He Xiu with pure glee in his eyes. “It’s nice to have a son later than you. If anything, I can just copy you; there’s nothing for us to worry about.”
He Xiu countered, “Diu Diu studies at a prestigious primary school. He’ll need to take an exam to enter.”
He Bao Bao heard that he needed to take an exam, and his small face wrinkled. He Yan saw his aggrieved expression and criticized his father. “Bao Bao is very smart. I passed the exam, so he’ll definitely be able to as well!”
He Xiu smiled and patted He Bao Bao’s head, responding heartfeltly, “I am worried he inherited his father’s IQ.”
He Chen: “…”
He tugged He Bao Bao over and asked, “Bao Bao, do you want to go to the same primary school as gege?”
He Bao Bao nodded. “I want to.”
He Chen said, “Then you need to work hard; don’t make your papa’s IQ lose face.”
“Oh!”
Jian Yan had not expected these two brothers to roast each other. She looked at little He Bao Bao and smiled, saying to him, “When Bao Bao passes the primary school exam, I’ll gift you a toy in celebration.”
He Xiu conveniently interjected, “What toy does Bao Bao like? Transformers? Or something else?”
He Bao Bao declined, saying, “I like Iron Man. Transformers is not fun.”
He Chen: “…”
You simply do not understand the charm of Transformers!
He Xiu lowered his head and choked back his laughter. He Diu Diu tugged at Jian Yan’s sleeve and pouted. “Mama, I want a toy~”
Jian Yan said, “Okay, okay, okay, do you want Iron Man too?”
“I want Spider-Man and Ant-Man. My collection is just missing these two superheroes!”
He Bao Bao exclaimed, “Then I want Spider-Man and Ant-Man too! I also want Thor’s hammer!”
He Xiu said, “Mn, this is doable. If you have nothing to do, you can use it to hit your father.”
He Chen: “…”
September.
He Xuan smoothly entered He Yan’s prestigious primary school, achieving his dream of attending the same school together. When he first entered primary school, He Xuan had yet to adapt, so He Yan would come downstairs between every class and visit his classroom, preventing him from being very scared.
In the blink of an eye, half a term passed. Little He Bao Bao gradually became used to primary school life, even growing to like a girl in his class.
He and He Yan had overlapping physical education classes each week. He would take advantage of the free time to point out to his older brother, “That girl jumping rope right now, she’s called Wang Yu Xin.”
He Yan looked in the direction he was indicating and asked him, “That girl with twintails?”
“Mn, the ones tied with a bow.”
He Yan carefully observed her. She was quite cute. “Bao Bao, does she know you like her?”
“She doesn’t know.”
“Then you should go confess to her.”
“I wouldn’t dare…”
He Diu Diu, hating iron for not becoming steel, exclaimed, “How can you be so unpromising?!”
“…She is our discipline committee representative. Our class monitor also likes her.”
He Diu Diu furrowed his small brows and asked, “Which one is your class monitor?”
He Bao Bao once again pointed out to someone on the playground. “That basketball player is our class’ class monitor. He joined the school basketball team and seems to be very awesome.”
He Diu Diu once again made careful observations. This youngster looked to be taller than Bao Bao, and his body was also stronger than Bao Bao. If they got into a fight, Bao Bao would definitely come off worse.
“Bao Bao, don’t worry. You’re better looking than him. Girls like good-looking boys!”
“…Not high-achieving boys?”
“That’s last century.”
“Oh…” He Bao Bao listened, not really understanding much.
He Diu Diu once again offered advice, “Girls all like appearing beautiful, like how my mama likes buying clothes or your mama likes buying purses. You can gift her some pretty things. She’ll definitely like that.”
He Bao Bao pondered for a moment. “Oh, mama’s purses are all beautiful.”
“That child would have no use for one. Do you have any hair clips or anything at home?”
“Mama does.”
“Then you can ask your mama for one.”
“Oh…”
He Bao Bao returned home and ran to his papa and mama’s bedroom. He wanted to look for his mother’s hair clips. He believed his parents would be coming home later, not expecting that He Chen would return early today. He Bao Bao was frightened and froze on the spot.
He Chen saw He Bao Bao standing on a stool in front of the dressing table and was stunned. He asked, “Bao Bao, what are you looking for?”
“Eh…I wanted one of mama’s hair clips.”
He Chen: “…”
He stalled for a moment before asking, “Why do you want mama’s hair clip? Boys have no use for that.”
He Bao Bao buried his head and didn’t answer. He Chen carried him down from the stool with the desire to pry further. He Bao Bao remained still, biting his teeth lightly in agitation. He refused to say anything. He Chen, with no other choice, let him go, deep worry and uneasiness inevitably festering in his heart.
Why did Bao Bao want a hair clip? Didn’t he previously like Iron Man?!
He stood there contemplating the situation before giving He Xiu a call.
“What’s the matter?” He Xiu asked.
He Chen mentally fortified himself and asked, “Did Diu Diu have a stage where he wanted his mother’s hair clip?”
He Xiu’s brows raised. “Why? Does Bao Bao want his mother’s hair clip?”
“No, I am simply asking hypothetically.”
He Xiu commented, “You shouldn’t ask me this question. He is your son. You should ask yourself. When you were a child, did you want your mother’s hair clip?”
He Chen: “…”
Absolutely not.
“He might simply like shiny gold things.” He Chen thus consoled himself.
He Bao Bao, unable to get a hair clip from his mother’s things, went to school the next day in a foul mood. He Yan ran downstairs to look for him between classes as usual, giving him some chocolate. “This is what my mama brought back from France last time. Isn’t it very pretty? You can take this and give it to Wang Yu Xin.”
He Bao Bao looked at the delicate chocolate in He Yan’s hands, his eyes shining with an enchanting luster. “Thanks, gege!”
“Why are you being formal with your gege? This is for you; don’t eat it.”
“Okay.”
He Bao Bao held onto the chocolate, not daring to gift it to Wang Yu Xin. Just as Wang Yu Xin came out of the classroom, He Yan called out to her to stop. “Are you He Xuan’s classmate?”
Wang Yu Xin paused to glance at him. She recognized this boy, as he frequently came looking for He Xuan. She heard He Xuan call him gege. Because he looked cute, quite a few girls in class liked him.
Wang Yu Xin replied, “I am. Do you need something?”
He Yan explained, “I and my younger brother here are sharing some chocolate. He says he also wants to gift you one.”
Little He Bao Bao summoned his courage and handed over the chocolate he had. “This is for you.”
“Wow! Such beautiful chocolate.” Sure enough, Wang Yu Xin ate it and promptly became enchanted with the chocolate. “Thanks.”
“You’re—you’re welcome.”
He Yan, striking while the iron was hot, interjected, “We ate chocolate together, so we are friends. After school is over, do you want to play with us?”
Wang Yu Xin replied, “After school is over, I go to instrumental practice.”
“What instrument?”
“Violin.”
He Yan blinked. “How fortunate. He Xuan also just happens to be learning the violin. Can he go practice with you?”
He Bao Bao sent a bewildered look at his older brother. Wang Yu Xin said, “He can. Teacher also has several students. I can help you ask.”
“That’s great. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. We’re best friends.”
After Wang Yu Xin left, He Bao Bao asked He Diu Diu, “Gege, I don’t want to learn the violin.”
He Diu Diu, proud of his age and experience, sighed. “Ai, Bao Bao, how are you so foolish. Without me, what will you do.”
He Bao Bao: “…”
When he returned home that day, He Bao Bao went to talk to his father. He wanted to learn the violin. He Chen felt that playing the violin was very good. Since the child wanted to, he sent him off to go learn.
“After papa finds a teacher for you, I’ll send you off to learn, okay?”
He Bao Bao shook his head. “No need. A classmate of mine is also learning. I can go with her.”
“So it’s like this…” He Chen contemplated. “Then tomorrow, papa and mama will go to school to pick you up, and we’ll ask your classmate, okay?”
“Okay.”
Once He Bao Bao left to go do homework, He Chen relied upon his many years of experience of smoothly navigating the business world and thought this matter over, finding something queer about it. He thus called his older brother. “Bao Bao suddenly says he wants to learn the violin.”
He Xiu remarked, “As it happens, Diu Diu also says he wants to learn the violin.”
He Chen’s eyes flashed. “There really is an inside story. I’ll go ask Bao Bao again.”
After He Bao Bao’s mother finished inspecting his homework, He Chen quietly pulled He Bao Bao to the side. “Bao Bao, what is the name of the classmate you mentioned?”
“Wang Yu Xin.”
He Chen felt realization dawn upon him. “Is she a very cute girl?”
“Mhmm…”
“Oh, then does Bao Bao like her?”
“….” He Bao Bao buried his head, silent.
He Chen was tempted to roar with laughter as he said, “Don’t worry, papa won’t tell mama. This is a secret between us men.”
He Bao Bao considered for a moment and nodded at his father. “Mn.”
“Previously when you wanted your mama’s hair clip, was it because you wanted to gift it to her?”
“Mhmm…”
He Chen contemplated this and asked, “I heard your uncle say that Diu Diu also wants to learn the violin. Does he like Wang Yu Xin too?”
“No, gege is afraid I’ll be scared by myself, so he’s going with me.”
“So it’s like this. Gege is good to you?”
He Bao Bao nodded furiously. “Mn! Gege is the best! He always comes down to see me between every class and even gave me chocolate. He also helped me ask Wang Yu Xin about learning the violin too.”
He Chen smiled and patted his head. He asked, “Then does Bao Bao like gege?”
“Like. I like gege the best.”
He Chen looked at him, as if he was seeing himself as a child alongside He Xiu. It seemed that what they had lost had returned to them.
He smiled and kissed He Xuan’s forehead. “Papa agrees with you.”
Author’s Note:
Because a lot of little fairies said they wanted to see a side story where the two brothers reconcile yesterday, I uploaded this chapter first 『smile-cry』
Tomorrow it is Lin Zhen and Tang Zheng’s turn. I plan to write two chapters, which will also be the final two side stories~
Expressing thanks to sponsors
Notes:
1. 包包 baobao = bag/purse ?
2. 丢丢 diudiu = throw/toss/lose ?