"Nonsense! Don't insult your mother!" Zheng Wei’s face darkened as he glared at his son, but he didn't say anything more about skinning him to Zheng Dazhuang.
Zheng Dazhuang glanced at his explosive father, then at his sister. Suddenly, he felt like he understood something.
"Oh!" Zheng Dazhuang exclaimed, his small body annoyedly falling backward.
"Don't bother with this brat anymore. You haven't eaten for so long, and you're still ignoring what I'm saying!" Zheng Wei grabbed Shen Xiaoyan’s head and turned her around, telling her to eat honestly.
"Yes, General Manager Zheng is right." Shen Xiaoyan pouted.
"What did you call me?" Zheng Wei put down his chopsticks and lifted Shen Xiaoyan’s chin.
"Husband." Shen Xiaoyan was speechless.
"En, eat." Zheng Wei immediately and cheerfully agreed.
News of Zheng Dazhuang’s disruption at the company eventually reached relatives and friends. The childlike grandparents, Old General Manager Zheng and Ms. Lu, had originally planned to scold the child. However, upon their return from vacation, they discovered that the child had become much better behaved, no longer harassing dogs or flowers.
"Oh dear, did you hit the child?" Ms. Lu asked Zheng Wei, bewildered. "Why is this child so well-behaved? You didn't actually lay a hand on him, did you?"
"You're overthinking it." Zheng Wei looked at Ms. Lu speechlessly.
"Then what happened to Zheng Dazhuang?" Ms. Lu was utterly perplexed.
"No one hit him. Perhaps he wants to be a good person now." Zheng Wei chuckled. He had to admit, ever since this little rascal stopped causing trouble, the house had become much quieter, no longer chaotic.
The only significant change was that Zheng Dazhuang had become extremely clingy to Baobei. And Duan Yun'an was good friends with Zheng Dazhuang. Therefore, during the summer vacation, the parents of both families often saw Baobei playing with the two little rascals.
When Na Muxuan came to pick up Duan Yun'an that day, she saw her usually taciturn son obediently following Baobei. She brought up the old topic again: "General Manager, shall we become in-laws in the future? Although Yun'an is 4 years younger than Baobei, boys can still protect girls. What do you think?"
"Dream on." Zheng Wei threw three words at her. What a joke! His daughter was only 6 years old, and someone was already eyeing her? How could he possibly agree?
"Let me tell you, my Yun'an is extremely intelligent. I plan to have him skip grades when he starts school so he can be with Baobei and protect her!" Na Muxuan looked at her little one, already planning his future path.
Zheng Wei’s lips twitched slightly. He said with some disdain, "It's unlucky to be your son."
"Skipping grades can be tiring, and the pressure can be high." Shen Xiaoyan walked over with some fruit. Zheng Wei naturally reached out and pulled her onto his lap.
"Boys should endure more hardships." Na Muxuan said this very casually.
Hearing her words, the Zheng family's eyes invariably fell on Zheng Dazhuang, who was playing in the dirt.
At that moment, Zheng Dazhuang felt the gaze of everyone on him. He turned and looked at them foolishly, not understanding why.
Looking at his son’s dazed expression, Shen Xiaoyan was the first to laugh.
Her son was someone she worried about. Skipping grades was out of the question; she just hoped he could simply complete his studies honestly.
...
When Zheng Dazhuang started first grade, Baobei was already going into third grade. The two children would eventually attend school together. Shen Xiaoyan watched the siblings holding hands and felt a surge of emotion.
As for Zheng Wei, he was even more excited. With the two little interferences out of the house, he felt he could spend more intimate time with his wife.
"Zheng Dazhuang, are you ready?" Ms. Lu was stuffing things into the siblings' small schoolbags one by one when she heard Yun'an's sweet voice from the doorway. Duan Yun'an's demeanor was just like his father's; he stood quietly by the door, waiting for Zheng Dazhuang and Baobei.
As soon as Ms. Lu saw Yun'an arrive, she waved him over. Yun'an walked over obediently. Ms. Lu reached out and opened Yun'an's small schoolbag, then proceeded to stuff things into all three children's schoolbags. Seeing that the children's schoolbags were already filled with food, Shen Xiaoyan said with a wry smile, "Mom, that's enough. They'll be back quite early this afternoon."
"Oh dear, elementary school is different from kindergarten. They won't let you eat until dismissal time. I'm just worried the children will go hungry," Ms. Lu explained.
Seeing that she had finally managed to stop Ms. Lu, Shen Xiaoyan sent the three children out the door. Na Muxuan and Lu Taobao were also waiting outside. After all, it was the little ones' first day of school, and they were both very concerned.
...
As they reached the school gate, Zheng Wei gently placed Zheng Dazhuang down. Baobei also held Shen Xiaoyan’s hand.
"When school is dismissed at noon, Sister will come find you. Don't wander off anywhere," Zheng Wei instructed, pinching Zheng Dazhuang’s ear.
"Daddy, it hurts!" Zheng Dazhuang cried out, covering his ear.
"Alright, hurry inside." There were teachers specifically to receive the first-grade students. The two couples escorted the two little ones to the gate. Seeing them led away by the teachers, they prepared to leave.
"I don't know if Yun'an's temperament will allow him to get along with his classmates. I'm afraid he won't say a word all day," Na Muxuan said, her gaze falling on her husband. She said with some annoyance, "Why is Yun'an even more taciturn than you?"
"Baby, it's no use regretting it now that the child is born." Lu Taobao smiled. Six years had passed since they got married, but he still spoke so affectionately to Na Muxuan.
"You two, behave yourselves. This is a school." Zheng Wei said to the two of them with disdain.
"General Manager, don't think I don't know how affectionate you are at the company." Na Muxuan immediately turned her attention to Zheng Wei.
"I'm only affectionate in the company's office." Zheng Wei sneered, then, under Na Muxuan's white gaze, he drove Shen Xiaoyan to her workplace.
Shen Xiaoyan leaned against the car window. An image from Zheng Dazhuang’s homeroom teacher in the class group chat appeared on her phone. She immediately spotted her son and Yun'an standing in the middle.
"What are you looking at? Between me and our son, who do you think is more handsome?" Zheng Wei asked, glancing at Shen Xiaoyan's phone while driving.
Shen Xiaoyan hugged her phone and laughed, "He's a child! He's your son."
"He's our son." Zheng Wei corrected.
"Yes, yes." Shen Xiaoyan felt Zheng Wei was becoming more argumentative.
"Then tell me, who looks better between us? Why would you rather look at that little rascal on your phone than your husband right here?" Zheng Wei was quite displeased with Shen Xiaoyan's attention to Zheng Dazhuang.
Today was Zheng Dazhuang's first day of elementary school, and he felt a sense of relief, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the moon.
Once the child was in school, a significant portion of their focus would gradually shift to academics. This, in turn, would give him more energy to spend with his wife.
"Husband?" Shen Xiaoyan suddenly called out.
"En?" Zheng Wei answered quickly. His eyebrows and eyes still held a smile. Shen Xiaoyan also smiled knowingly.
"What's wrong?" Zheng Wei asked. She rarely called him like this.
"You're already 38. Time really flies." Looking at them, they were all heading towards forty.
"You haven't changed much. As for me, I feel I'm still as handsome as ever." Zheng Wei smiled, hooking his lips.
"In the blink of an eye, the children are already this big." Shen Xiaoyan rested her head, watching the scenery whiz by outside the window, and sighed again.
"We still have a long road ahead, Xiaoyan. I will always be by your side." Zheng Wei drove with one hand and held Shen Xiaoyan's hand with the other.
Shen Xiaoyan nodded, smiling tenderly at him.
The atmosphere between them was very pleasant. After Zheng Wei dropped Shen Xiaoyan off at her office, he gave her a parting kiss before rushing to the company. However, he hadn't been at the company for an hour before the school called.
"Mr. Jiang, Jiang Muchen got into a fight at school."
Good heavens, this little rascal got into a fight on his first day of school...
Because of this news, Zheng Wei had to cut his meeting short. He then went back to pick up Shen Xiaoyan and head to the school. By then, Lu Taobao and Na Muxuan had also just arrived.
The little ones who had been holding hands obediently in the classroom just two hours ago were now standing in the principal's office. On the other side stood a rather sturdy-looking little boy.
"Well done, you two." Lu Taobao looked at the two little rascals. Although they were not injured, their little faces showed the same stubbornness.
"Teacher Zhang, what happened?" Shen Xiaoyan asked Zheng Dazhuang's homeroom teacher.
Teacher Zhang was under immense pressure. She knew that the children in her class likely came from prominent families, with the Zheng and Lu families being particularly "outstanding."
"It's like this, this little boy snatched Duan Yun'an's chair. Then, when he went to get his chair back, he was pushed by the other party. After that, these two started... two against one." Teacher Zhang wondered if these two little ancestors in her class were a good thing or a bad thing.
"I've asked. It's true that my Haoran pushed first, but your children did hit my son." The parents of the other boy said. Although they were in the wrong first, their son was indeed beaten. Who would have thought that these two little ones, who looked so small, could hit so hard?
"Why don't we have a tripartite negotiation about this matter?" Teacher Zhang suggested, considering it the most tactful approach.
...
By the time they came out of the principal's office, it was close to noon. Zheng Wei decided to have Baobei also called out, and the two families went out to eat together.
They were not far from Jiangnan Guest House. During the meal, the adults ordered a fruit salad for each child. The three children sat together. When the salad was served, Yun'an meticulously picked out the peaches from Baobei's salad bowl with a small spoon.
"Didn't you tell them?" On the other side, Zheng Dazhuang was also helping to pick out ingredients. At first, Yun'an's action had surprised the adults, but when they saw the two little rascals doing the same thing, their expressions instantly turned amused.