This was An Wuyang’s first reaction. After all, in his impression, his mom took her work very seriously. Even when she had his younger brother, she didn’t breastfeed for long before returning to work.
In short, his mom was a very hardworking and diligent person.
The fact that she suggested taking time off to come see Dundun was indeed quite surprising.
Especially considering that he was the one who rarely caused her any worry, it made it even more remarkable.
However, An Wuyang could only graciously decline for various reasons. He chose one and smiled, saying, “Thanks, Mom, but it’s the end of the year now, and the company must be very busy, right? Suddenly losing someone would be troublesome for Yunchuan, wouldn’t it?”
Ding Wei found herself speechless: “But…”
“Now Yunchuan is taking care of the child more. When I don’t have classes, I go home immediately to help out,” An Wuyang continued. Although it was busy, it wasn’t overwhelmingly so. It was just a bit of a change from his previously carefree life. “I’ll be on winter break soon. I’ll take Dundun to visit you and Dad then.”
Seeing her son’s clear refusal, Ding Wei couldn’t say much and just sighed, “Alright.” The winter break was indeed not far off. “Let’s leave it at that then.”
“Okay,” An Wuyang asked, “Are Dad and little brother doing well?”
“They’re all good,” Ding Wei replied. “Your sister is doing well in the US too, but she probably won’t come back for the New Year.” She mentioned that the plane tickets were expensive and that it was better to save money.
This made Ding Wei quite relieved. Their eldest daughter had finally learned to be frugal.
“Hmm…” An Wuyang wanted to say something, but seeing his classmates heading to class in a large group, he said, “Mom, I have to go to class now. Let’s talk next time.”
Ding Wei: “Alright, go quickly. Class is important.”
Both of them hung up the phone and sighed.
“Uh…” An Wuyang, preparing to go to class, put away his phone and looked up, feeling confused. He had forgotten which direction his next class was in.
Clearly, he knew it before taking the call, but the phone call had messed up his sense of direction.
An Wuyang knocked on his head, wondering if he had lost his mind when Dundun was born.
Then he peered to the right and took a tentative step…
“Hey, classmate, go in, don’t block the doorway.”
At that moment, the bell rang, and a group of students surged in from behind An Wuyang, pushing the unsure An Wuyang inside as well.
Oh well, An Wuyang thought.
Whether it was the right classroom or not, he decided to find a seat first.
Then An Wuyang realized it wasn’t the right classroom, but for various reasons, he couldn’t sneak out.
To use a popular phrase nowadays: “Buddha-like listening,” attending the lecture, then leaving without worrying whether you entered the right classroom or not.
“…” An Wuyang looked quite calm as he exited, turned left, and went downstairs. His fair cheeks instantly flushed red like a monkey’s bottom.
At the company, Huo Yunchuan was alone in his office, reviewing documents.
The phone on his desk buzzed with several incoming messages.
He glanced at it and picked it up to see several voice messages from An Wuyang. The usually stern and cold-faced Huo Yunchuan couldn’t help but show a barely noticeable smile.
After all, in Mr. Huo’s mind, the fact that An Wuyang sent voice messages in broad daylight meant he missed him.
He clicked on the top message, and An Wuyang’s clear voice filled his office: “Let me tell you something, I was so embarrassed just now.”
That soft, gentle voice made the stern man’s heart flutter.
He moved his fingers and unhesitatingly chose to listen to it again.
Only after his ears were satisfied did he continue listening to the next messages: “How could I be so stupid to end up in the wrong classroom?”
The third message conveyed the little angel’s frustration: “Then I wanted to sneak out quietly, but the teacher called on me to answer a question, and I…”
The fourth message: “How could I possibly answer it?” Here, An Wuyang took a deep breath, “The teacher said it was such a simple question, and that I should copy it ten times and he’ll check it tomorrow.”
The fifth message: “Sigh—”
An Wuyang’s tone was full of self-mockery.
If this was the whole story, then he indeed acted like a bit of a fool.
Mr. Huo thought.
But there’s a word in the world called “hypocritical.”
Then he responded with a few deep, mellow voice messages: “There are many and confusing teaching buildings at Shang University, so it’s understandable to not find the right classroom.”
“It’s normal to answer a question wrong in a subject you haven’t studied before.”
“Don’t feel bad. When I get off work and come home, I’ll help you copy it five times.”
An Wuyang’s initial intention of sending messages was just to vent his inner embarrassment and frustration, not expecting the other party to take time out of his busy schedule to reply.
Seeing the reply, he smiled and listened carefully with earphones on the way.
“???” But what was that last message about?
He felt a bit puzzled and slowly asked, “Why five times?” Although he definitely wouldn’t let Huo Yunchuan help with the copying, he couldn’t help but want to know the reason.
Huo Yunchuan replied, “Helping you with five times is my way of caring for you. The remaining five times are for your own good, to make sure you remember this and avoid being careless next time you enter a classroom.”
An Wuyang: “???”
An Wuyang smiled wryly. This wasn’t about being careless; it was simply being stupid.
“My mom called today and wanted to come help with Dundun… I refused.” He rubbed his face and said, “Dundun is still so young; we should handle it ourselves, don’t you think?”
Having already dismissed the idea of hiring a young tutor, Huo Yunchuan agreed smoothly, “As you wish. It’s okay to work a bit harder.”
An Wuyang sincerely said, “Thank you.”
It was just one month; they could grit their teeth and get through it.
By mid-January, Beijing had already experienced its first snowfall, and the entire city was in the grip of severe cold weather.
An Wuyang, who used to walk to school, still walked now.
He was just dressed very warmly, wearing thick gloves and a mask, to the point that even his own mother might not recognize him.
Therefore, he was quite impressed when some classmates occasionally greeted him on campus.
They were amazing.
“Today is the last exam, how do you feel about it, Xiao An?” Yuanhang, who had played around a lot this semester, patted him on the shoulder with a smile.
“Pretty good, how about you?” An Wuyang asked with concern.
“Oh, I didn’t do well,” Xu Yuanhang said.
This made An Wuyang feel sympathetic and he quickly tried to comfort him.
“Don’t listen to his nonsense,” Wen Ling, who couldn’t stand it anymore, turned and said to the deceived classmate, “When he says he didn’t do well, it’s relative. He’ll definitely do better than you.”
Xu Yuanhang’s goal was to be top of the class.
So, Xiao An, with his barely passing grades, had no reason to comfort Xu Yuanhang, the pretentious academic star.
After being enlightened, An Wuyang wasn’t angry; he just smiled and felt happy for the academic star.
As for his own grades, whether he passed or failed, he put that aside for now.
He had more important things to do—
“Wuyang, are you on holiday now?” Aunt Zhang saw him come back bundled up like a ball and quickly asked him to watch Dundun in the baby walker: “Mr. Huo should be home soon too. Watch Dundun while I cook.”
An Wuyang: “Sure.” He quickly took off his bulky clothes—the ones Huo Yunchuan insisted he wear, layers upon layers, to prevent him from freezing outside: “You go ahead, I’ll watch him.”
As soon as little An heard his dad’s voice, he energetically pushed the baby walker over to his dad’s side: “Da…”
Feeling his son tugging at his pants, the young man, having freed his head from his clothes, smiled gently and looked down, saying, “Did you miss Daddy?”
He continued taking off his sweater.
“Da!” Dundun recently liked making this sound.
“It’s ‘Daddy’, not ‘Da’,” the young man corrected, even though he knew Dundun was not yet a year old and far from talking: “Come, let Daddy hold you.”
He finished undressing, revealing his slender figure.
Seeing that his dad was about to hold him, Dundun quickly stretched out his arms, his eagerness clear on his chubby little face.
Only when An Wuyang picked him up did Dundun stop being anxious.
This showed that Dundun loved being held, although he was unaware of his weight.
Since Dundun was still learning to walk, An Wuyang held him for a while before putting him back in the baby walker, letting him roam freely around the room.
Huo Yunchuan turned the key and paused as he pushed the door open…
“Hahaha…” An Wuyang was playing a game with Dundun, using a cute dog mask as a prop.
Dundun was laughing so hard his eyes were squinting, and An Wuyang couldn’t help but laugh too.
Dundun’s smile, showing a few teeth and his double chin, was just too adorable.
“Giggle giggle giggle.” Little Huo An was laughing silly while looking at his dad.
Huo Yunchuan entered, and the warm atmosphere of home instantly enveloped him.
“You’re back?” An Wuyang put down the mask, stood up to help his husband put his things away, and take off his coat: “Was work tiring? Did everything go well today?”
“…” Dundun looked at them dumbfounded, then kicked his feet to slide over and join in the fun.
“Smoothly,” Huo Yunchuan said.
After taking off his coat, he glanced at the big one and the little one, then chose to hug the bigger one.
Little Dundun: “???”
He tilted his head in confusion, looking like he was questioning the world.
“Haha, Dundun is unhappy,” An Wuyang chuckled, his eyes curved with amusement. He slightly turned his body to block Dundun’s view and kissed his husband twice: “You should hug him quickly.”
“No rush.” Mr. Huo’s gaze finally landed on the little guy.
His broad hand continued to wander over his wife, caressing him: “Finished your exams?” He remembered it was today.
Seeing that his dad was finally paying attention to him, Dundun excitedly stretched out his little hands, babbling for a hug: “Da… Da…”
“Yep, finished the exams.”
An Wuyang noticed Dundun’s little foot stomping and found it incredibly endearing, feeling no rush in his heart.
Please grow up slowly, little Huo An.
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”
