It had been a long time since the Shen family had experienced such a tense silence.
The last time felt like it was just yesterday.
Shen Tanqi had returned home with a daemon, stirring up quite a storm.
And now, it was him again.
Last night, he had actually slept with the daemon in the same place. Not only that, but he had also let slip some vulgar language. This world was truly fantastical and unbelievable. Ever since Shen Tanqi returned, the Shen family seemed to have taken on a surreal quality.
Should they pretend not to know, or continue pretending not to know?
In the end, Consort Shen quickly chuckled twice and gathered the children onto her lap, explaining, “Daddy and Father didn’t fight. Look, do you see any wounds on Daddy?”
Goldfish rubbed his eyes and glanced at Shen Tanqi. Indeed, he couldn’t find any injuries on him. The only difference was a visible half-white neck with a neat row of teeth marks.
When Shen Tanqi noticed him looking, he quickly adjusted his collar. He was now so embarrassed that he didn’t know what to say!
“It seems like there aren’t any wounds…” In the blink of an eye, Goldfish missed seeing those teeth marks.
The child muttered strangely, “But yesterday, both my brother and I heard Daddy crying. We wanted to go see, but some big brothers stopped us.”
Consort Shen paused briefly, then asked, “What big brothers?”
Goldfish struggled to describe them, lifting his little hand clumsily to imagine the scene from last night and said, “Three tall brothers. They said no one was allowed to go into Daddy’s room, so they sent us back.”
Upon hearing this, Consort Shen abruptly stood up, her gaze sweeping across the faces of everyone present before settling on Shen Han, whose eyes seemed slightly evasive.
She furrowed her brow, already calculating in her mind.
Certainly, things were not right.
With Shen Tanqi being away from home for so long, it seemed to have stirred up trouble. Shen Tanqi probably had no idea how to guard against his cousin’s behavior. She needed to find a way to hint at it.
Since Shen Tanqi’s illness, his mind had become more lively than before, and she was sure he would understand her meaning.
However, Shen Tanqi, who had a lively mind, was now numb.
Still feeling goosebumps all over, he dared not meet the eyes of those around him. Slowly squatting down, he embraced Goldfish’s shoulders and gently reassured, “Daddy is really fine. If anything happened, I would definitely tell you. Let’s eat first. Is Goldfish hungry?”
At the mention of eating, Goldfish’s attention was instantly drawn to the table. He rubbed his already shrunken little belly, sniffled softly, and said, “Hungry.”
The head of the family was already extremely embarrassed. He had been eating with his head down, but now hearing his grandson say he was hungry, he quickly picked up Goldfish and placed him on his lap, feeding him bite by bite. “Come on, Goldfish, let’s eat. Let’s not worry about your daddy’s affairs, okay?”
Goldfish was captivated by the delicious food and momentarily forgot what he wanted to say. Seeing the spoon approaching his mouth, he immediately opened it to eat.
Taro Ball knew his brother couldn’t resist his own will. He sighed and tugged at Shen Tanqi’s sleeve, signaling him to lower his head.
Shen Tanqi was momentarily stunned but complied, lowering his head to hear the child whisper earnestly in his ear, “Daddy, if Father hits you, you tell me. I… I’ll make Grandpa hit him.”
The child’s eyes were filled with deep concern. Being young, he didn’t understand much, but he knew when Shen Tanqi cried out in pain or tears. In a child’s world, when adults cried, it was a big deal, a tremendous injustice, more serious than when children cried.
Shen Tanqi looked at him, eyes slightly moist, lowering his head to avoid any misunderstanding from Taro Ball, and chuckled softly, “Taro Ball doesn’t understand yet. You’ll understand when you grow up.”
Taro Ball furrowed his brows tightly. He couldn’t grasp why he needed to grow up to understand certain things.
After thinking it over, the child concluded that it must be because his Father bullied Daddy and threatened him not to speak up. Taro Ball glared angrily at Yu Ce.
Feeling the weight of his son’s scrutinizing gaze, Yu Ce sighed helplessly, lifted Taro Ball onto his lap, filled his small bowl with a generous serving of food, and whispered, “Eat first. Father will talk to you after.”
Though still upset, Taro Ball couldn’t resist the tempting array of dishes before him. The culinary skills of the Hidden Dragon Valley nanny were not exceptional, but they surpassed Yu Ce’s!
Yu Ce loved cooking and was deeply engrossed in it. He somehow acquired a cookbook and cooked at home every day, forcing them to taste his creations. The taste… was really beyond criticism. Only his brother wasn’t picky and enjoyed everything.
Recalling his initial intention when embarking on the path of cultivation, he had only hoped to abstain from food and never have to eat his father’s cooking again.
Seeing Taro Ball swallow and lick his lips, Yu Ce’s expression softened. He placed the chopsticks in the child’s hand and said, “Eat more. After you finish, we’ll take a walk outside to aid digestion.”
Taro Ball responded with a soft “hmm.”
Small in size but big in spirit.
Yu Ce couldn’t help but smile, feeling that Taro Ball had somehow started to resemble Shen Tanqi.
He can be spoiled, yet also throw tantrums now.
That’s a good thing.
More like senior brother, better than him.
After a difficult meal, Shen Tanqi was about to leave with the children when he heard Consort Shen suddenly speak up, “Young Master, after dinner, bring the children to the main hall. I have some snacks for them.”
Shen Tanqi looked at the round bellies of the two little ones, clearly unable to eat more. Just as he was about to refuse on their behalf, he glanced up and noticed Consort Shen discreetly signaling him with her eyes.
A person who could manage such a large family as its matriarch wouldn’t just casually signal him. Shen Tanqi’s gaze darkened slightly, but he smiled and said, “Sure, the kids have been eyeing Aunt’s snacks for a while now.”
With that, he led the children out of the side hall.
Goldfish, who was being led by him, scratched his face and looked at Shen Tanqi with admiration.
How did Daddy know? Did Daddy also dream about him wanting to eat Grandma’s date cakes?
Amazing!
Shen Tanqi was unaware that his children had set up this image of him. His current image had transitioned from a gentle and beautiful mother figure to someone who suffered silently, unable to speak up, extremely wealthy at home but willing to sacrifice everything for Yu Ce, and even a fairy-like daddy who could predict what his babies wanted to eat.
Yu Ce, who had unfairly shouldered all the blame, suddenly found that the two little ones were no longer holding onto him as they left the side hall.
Yu Ce fell silent for a moment, then reached out his hand, intending to take Goldfish’s.
But Goldfish darted behind Shen Tanqi, blinking innocently. “You have to apologize to Daddy first. If you don’t apologize, you won’t be a good kid.”
Children at this age are sensitive to order and rules set by adults. If one says they’ll be a good kid, everyone must be a good kid together.
Thinking of this, Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but bend down, gently rubbing Goldfish’s nose and saying, “Will Goldfish support Daddy?”
Goldfish nodded heavily, adopting the most serious expression he could muster—arms akimbo, lips pursed. “Yes, you can’t bully Daddy anymore, or else, or else I’ll be very, very angry!”
For Goldfish to say such things, it was likely that the child had indeed misunderstood something.
Shen Tanqi glanced at Yu Ce and almost burst out laughing at the look of resignation in his eyes.
“Still laughing,” Yu Ce sighed, his black eyes like deep, mysterious pools, fixing directly on Shen Tanqi’s face. There was a hint of a smile in his voice as he softly pleaded, “Please help, senior brother.”
His voice was low, like a gentle breeze brushing against the heart, dispersing the slight annoyance that had arisen early in the morning, as if carried away effortlessly to the ends of the earth by this breeze.
At that moment of eye contact, for some unknown reason, Shen Tanqi shifted his gaze away and muttered, “Um, I understand.”
He avoided looking at Yu Ce, squatting down instead to ruffle the heads of the two little ones. With a casual excuse, he patiently explained, “I had a bad dream last night and was shouting. Your father didn’t hit me. If he had hit me all night, how could I be standing here fine today?”
As Shen Tanqi’s voice grew quieter, he feared Yu Ce might be listening from behind and burst into laughter. Fortunately, Yu Ce remained cooperative, not only refraining from laughing but also nodding earnestly.
“Oh, so that’s it. Goldfish misunderstood Father,” Goldfish realized, recalling how scary it was to have a bad dream. When he dreamt of Grandpa hitting Daddy, he was terrified and wanted to stop it. He woke up with tears soaking his pillow.
The child hugged Yu Ce and rubbed his face against him, whispering, “Goldfish will ask for clarification next time. Thank you for not hitting Daddy.”
Yu Ce held the child close, squeezing his ear gently and whispering, “No need to thank me. It’s the right thing to do.”
Taro Ball looked at them skeptically, sensing that something wasn’t quite right, though he couldn’t pinpoint it. But judging from Daddy’s expression, Daddy hadn’t been bullied.
In truth, the actual truth of the matter didn’t matter much to Taro Ball. He was simply worried that Daddy might be mistreated while spending time with them, and he couldn’t accept that happening or accept such a father.
Now with the explanation, the child felt somewhat reassured, and his gaze towards Yu Ce softened.
Initially, when he heard that Daddy was being hit by Father, he was truly frightened, sad, and upset.
The imposing image of Father was nearly shattered in his mind. Fortunately, nothing had actually happened, and he could still secretly stick with Father.
Seeing that Taro Ball still seemed uneasy, Yu Ce reached out to pull him into his arms, comforting him, “We’ve known each other for three years. Don’t you know what kind of person Father is by now?”
This time, Taro Ball didn’t struggle. He nestled in Yu Ce’s embrace and whispered softly, “Anyway, you can’t bully Daddy.”
Both of them, Taro Ball liked them equally, but Shen Tanqi seemed gentler and more likely to be bullied.
If Yu Ce knew what he was thinking, he might just spit out a mouthful of blood.
Who looks more like they would be bullied?
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
