When she was feeling sad, she suddenly heard her daughter's childish voice, which made her forget her sorrow instantly. She squatted down in front of her daughter.
"Shi Qing, did you just call Mommy? Can you say it again, say Mommy one more time?"
Her daughter just opened her small mouth, revealing a few not-yet-fully-grown pearly white teeth and smiled at her, her mouth making "ah ah" sounds as if trying to say something.
She knew that children at this stage would start learning to speak. Even if they couldn't speak, they would make "ah ah" sounds, which was equivalent to communicating with people.
These two children had been making these "ah ah" sounds frequently. She and Zhan Mo Han would always try to teach the children to say "Daddy" and "Mommy," but they were too proud and refused to open their mouths. She hadn't expected her daughter to call her "Mommy" for the first time today.
This surprise was too great for her. When Zhan Mo Han got off work, she immediately rushed to him, holding her daughter.
"Mo Han, do you know, Shi Qing called Mommy today!"
Zhan Mo Han was also surprised and delighted to hear this news. He quickly took the child. "Is that so? My little princess can call Mommy now. Can she call Daddy too? Let Daddy hear it?"
But their daughter just smiled at them and refused to open her mouth again.
However, it didn't matter. As long as the child spoke for the first time, the next time wouldn't be far off.
The couple held their daughter and doted on her, while their son was left in his walker.
Perhaps feeling dissatisfied that his parents were only paying attention to his sister, the little fellow's competitive spirit was also ignited.
Suddenly, he let out an "Ah!" which drew his parents' attention to him. Wei Yu Meng seemed to remember at this moment that she had a son.
She quickly ran to her son and looked at him expectantly. "Baby, are you going to start talking too? Hurry, say Mommy, quickly!"
She tried to guide Jin Zhi to say Mommy. Zhan Mo Han, not to be outdone, also brought his daughter to their son. "Son, say Daddy, and Daddy will buy you a car."
Wei Yu Meng strongly disapproved of his method. "Are you trying to make our son materialistic from a young age? I'm telling you, most children say 'Mommy' first when they start talking. Don't interfere."
There was a sense of competition between husband and wife. Wei Yu Meng's dismissive remark made Zhan Mo Han very unhappy. "Look, that's where you're wrong. Is there any rule about who you call first? Besides, my son is not an ordinary child. Maybe he prefers to call Daddy first. You can't control him."
These two had already argued several times about who their child would call first. Today, their daughter called "Mommy." If their son did the same, Zhan Mo Han would be very embarrassed.
The couple bickered in front of their son, acting quite unlike adults. At this moment, Jin Zhi gave them a big surprise.
He opened his small hands and smiled at his sister, "Sis... Sister!"
This "Sister" made their parents stop arguing and look at him in surprise. He, acting as if nothing had happened, let out a bell-like laugh at his sister, repeatedly calling out "Sister."
This left Zhan Mo Han and Wei Yu Meng stunned. They had been arguing for so long, only to be defeated by the little baby in their arms?
However, since Jin Zhi kept happily calling "Sister," they had to accept this fact. Zhan Mo Han was completely defeated by the two women in his household this time, and could only look at his wife with a hurt expression. "Even in business, I've never felt so disappointed. I never expected to experience failure for the first time in my life at home."
To be fair, he did look quite pitiful. Wei Yu Meng, while not entirely sympathetic, had to put on a comforting demeanor to prevent him from making any more false claims about being bullied at home to sow discord.
The "naive" Mr. Zhan naturally didn't know his wife's intentions. He even felt that his son and daughter were unreliable and that he would have to rely on his wife in the future.
Seeing how easily he was fooled, Wei Yu Meng didn't have the heart to reveal her true intentions and went along with him.
When the couple took the children back to the Zhan family home, they didn't forget to tell Elder Zhan about Jin Zhi's actions.
Upon hearing this, Elder Zhan burst into laughter and kissed Jin Zhi's little face. "You haven't disappointed your great-grandfather. I told you every time to protect your sister, and your first word is 'sister.' When you grow up, you'll definitely be a devoted brother."
Zhan Mo Han immediately defended himself. "So it's your fault, Grandpa."
Now that he had great-grandchildren, Zhan Mo Han, the grandson, was no longer cherished and was directly scorned. "You go find somewhere cool to stay. I have great-grandchildren now, so you're not as popular here."
Zhan Mo Han played along with a pained expression. "It seems my status in this family is precarious."
This time, no one comforted him. After all, he was an adult and should learn to be strong on his own.
Zhan Yi Chen, standing aside, looked at his brother and sister-in-law, who were blessed with both children and a happy marriage. Meanwhile, his relationship with Mu Lin Jing remained a long and arduous journey, with no hope in sight, which made him feel a bit down.
However, his resolve to wait for Mu Lin Jing's heart to change would not waver. Furthermore, he would take good care of Mu Lin Jing's parents for her, hoping that when she returned, she could let go of all her worries and be with him.
In the blink of an eye, it was year-end again. Zhan Yi Chen couldn't help but recall that this time last year, Mu Lin Jing had just recovered from her illness and had taken him back to her hometown. He remembered how honored he had felt then, and how he had even made quite a few blunders.
This year, he finished his work early, bought his train ticket, and went to Mu Lin Jing's hometown again. This time, he didn't forget to bring some things.
It was also a day of heavy snow. Aunt Mu saw him arrive, wrapped in white snow, from the window and hurried out to meet him.
"Yi Chen, why are you here?"
He glanced into the house and, finding that Mu Lin Jing had indeed not returned, could only purse his lips and smile. "It's year-end, and every household is preparing New Year goods, and there's a lot of work to be done. So, I came to see if there was anything you needed, or any work unfinished, Auntie. Just tell me, and I'll get it done for you."
This statement made Aunt Mu's eyes redden with shame. "Yi Chen, what can I say to you? Regarding what happened before, your aunt and uncle have wronged you. For you to still be so magnanimous as to visit us... it truly makes me feel ashamed."
He shook his head, carried the things into the house, and busied himself with cleaning tools, just as he had done last year.