The first month of kindergarten.
If you were to ask who the happiest child in kindergarten was, everyone would surely point to little Cheng Le Duo.
Cheng Le Duo had the most good-looking parents in the world; this was a universally acknowledged fact on the first day of school. Originally, they should have been unfamiliar with each other. However, Cheng Le Duo had the knack of acting cool and aloof in front of strangers, which endeared him to the kindergarten teachers.
However, what nobody knew was that, in order to avoid going to kindergarten, little Cheng Le Duo had cried himself out of breath the night before. He used every trick in the book: he whined, he pitied himself, and he even tried to go on a hunger strike to make his mommy change her mind.
The thought of not seeing Ruan Jiujiu all day made him cry even harder.
Cheng Le Duo was extremely attached to Ruan Jiujiu and often started crying when he saw Cheng Jun holding her, as if his territory had been invaded. Unfortunately, Ruan Jiujiu always stood by the child’s side, making him feel like he had to compete with Cheng Jun for her attention. Cheng Jun had considered calling Gu You several times to have him take this brat and let him play with Gu You’s twins.
Ruan Jiujiu consoled him for a long time and racked her brains to finally calm Cheng Le Duo down. He wiped away his tears, looking pitiful, knowing that playing the victim wasn’t going to soften Ruan Jiujiu’s heart.
In contrast, Cheng Jun, as the father, didn’t say anything on the surface. He simply turned around and sent several super red envelopes to his department’s group chat.
Everyone was overjoyed to receive the red envelopes. Although they didn’t know what it was for, the happiness of rich people was probably beyond their imagination. They could distribute red envelopes and play around with them whether they were in a good mood or not.
No one expected that the next day, many children would come to Cheng Le Duo with their favorite toys, begging him to exchange their beloved toys for a day with their parents.
Compared to the soft bun at home, Cheng Le Duo coolly sat in his chair, seemingly indifferent to everyone’s requests. He didn’t want any of their toys.
Everyone was envious and thought he must have countless toys to be so uninterested in their treasures. In their hearts, Cheng Le Duo had a house as big as a castle, a private amusement park, and piles of toys. Some children even whispered to others that Cheng Le Duo was as rich as a prince.
As a result, Cheng Le Duo truly became the undisputed little prince of the kindergarten.
He was still very young, with chubby cheeks on both sides of his face, making his already slightly raised peach blossom eyes even more innocent and cute. Despite being only three or four years old, he already had a handsome and delicate appearance. Except for his eyes resembling his mother’s, the rest of his facial features were quite similar to Cheng Jun. Ruan Jiujiu had even compared Cheng Jun’s photos from when he was a child, and it seemed like little Cheng Le Duo had taken the photos himself.
Whenever Cheng Jun and the child sat together, it was like a pair of exquisite Russian nesting dolls1also known as Matryoshka dolls or simply Matryoshkas, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another.. They looked cute no matter how you looked at them.
To record some interesting anecdotes, Ruan Jiujiu created a secondary account and turned the daily lives of the father and son into four-panel comics. Unexpectedly, the comics became popular overnight, and everyone affectionately called them the “Silly Father and Son Daily.” Ruan Jiujiu couldn’t help but laugh and cry.
As for the overly unreasonable things Cheng Jun had done—
Ruan Jiujiu could simply smile and pat her chest, saying that there were too many to imagine.
Let’s go back to a certain day two years ago.
Ruan Jiujiu went shopping, leaving Cheng Jun at home with the child.
The child, only a few months old, had just learned to crawl, but he could only crawl backward, like a mouse, and he was surprisingly fast. Cheng Jun wasn’t paying attention, and the child got stuck under the sofa, crying loudly. Cheng Jun picked him up from under the sofa and put him in a small cardboard box. However, in no time, the child crawled under the coffee table and got stuck again.
Cheng Jun expressionlessly put the child back into the cardboard box, and he was teetering on the edge of losing his temper.
“No more crawling,” he warned the child, although he wasn’t sure if the child understood.
After a while, Cheng Jun came over with a lollipop. The child lay contentedly in the cardboard box, his big eyes fixed on the lollipop in Cheng Jun’s hand.
He looked at the lollipop with longing and extended his hand, trying to grab Cheng Jun’s lollipop.
Seeing that he couldn’t have it, the child started crying again.
Cheng Jun fell into deep thought.
After the lollipop was gone, only a small part was left in his mouth, and it was unsanitary to give it to the child. Cheng Jun stood in place for a while and suddenly came up with a perfect solution.
When Ruan Jiujiu came back, carrying bags and bags, Cheng Jun took them from her, and Ruan Jiujiu asked, “By the way, where’s our baby?”
“In the cardboard box.”
Ruan Jiujiu: …
The cardboard box had become the child’s second home, and he couldn’t be stopped from crawling all over the place. Ruan Jiujiu had gradually gotten used to it.
When she finally got rid of the cold air on her body, washed her hands, and went to pick up the child, she saw Cheng Ledou lying in the cardboard box, holding a disposable chopstick and chewing on it nonstop. His drool was smeared everywhere, but he seemed to be enjoying himself.
The scene was quite pitiful.
Ruan Jiujiu glared at him coldly and asked Cheng Jun for an explanation.
Cheng Jun straightened up proudly, “The chopstick is coated with honey, sweet and healthy.”
Ruan Jiujiu: …
The direct consequence of this matter is as follows.
After Cheng Jun had a week of healthy meals, he sincerely expressed his wrongdoing and promised Ruan Jiujiu that he would never do it again.
Let’s go back in time to a year ago one evening.
Ruan Jiujiu was sleeping soundly in bed, completely unaware that someone silently got out of bed, quietly went to the living room, and silently pulled out a few bags of snacks from hidden corners. Sitting on the sofa in silence, he picked up a potato chip and tried to chew it softly, attempting to muffle the crispy sound so that Ruan Jiujiu wouldn’t hear.
Surprisingly, the feeling of secretly snacking was more enjoyable than openly indulging in snacks.
There were still several bags of snacks on the sofa, and he planned to quietly finish them as usual, then brush his teeth quietly, and return to bed to cuddle with Ruan Jiujiu and continue sleeping.
This was shaping up to be a perfect night.
…Just at that moment.
In the pitch-black living room, Cheng Jun keenly noticed that the door to Ruan Jiujiu’s room was slowly opening a crack. The heavy curtains prevented any light from entering, but the door slowly opening felt eerie, as if the breath of a devil was stirring, sending shivers down the spine.
Cheng Jun’s body stiffened.
In his frozen gaze, a twisted figure wriggled, crawling out step by step, with an extremely distorted and eerie posture.
The figure crawled up to Cheng Jun and looked at the snacks in his hand with a face full of longing, saying, “I want some too.”
Cheng Jun firmly refused, “No.”
“Otherwise, I’ll tell Mom.”
Cheng Jun: …
From then on, the late-night snack team went from one person to two, successfully adding a new member.
—All of the above is narrated by Mr. Cheng Jun.
In his account, a two-year-old child was cunning and mischievous, full of tricks. While threatening Cheng Jun to tell Ruan Jiujiu, he also observed various situations, helping Cheng Jun conceal things from each other. Ruan Jiujiu, who caught them in the act, looked at Cheng Jun with a stern face and asked, “Do you think I believe you?”
Cheng Jun: “Let me explain…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the soft and tender Cheng Le Duo hugged his mother’s leg, tears in his eyes, and begged in a babyish voice, “Mom, hug me!”
Ruan Jiujiu’s heart melted.
Originally, the plan was to scold the father and son for not eating snacks in the middle of the night, with one instigating the other. Cheng Le Duo’s plea left Ruan Jiujiu with nothing but affection, and she kissed him several times on the face, scolding Cheng Jun.
Cheng Jun lowered his head remorsefully, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cheng Le Duo smiling secretly in Ruan Jiujiu’s arms.
The father and son initially had their differences, but they found perfect agreement when it came to secretly eating snacks. Facing the pitiful and helpless looks of the two foodies caught in the act, Ruan Jiujiu couldn’t help but feel her anger dissipate.
She changed her clothes angrily and went out, taking the trash with her. Ruan Jiujiu wandered around outside the building for a while, suddenly unsure of where to go. She ended up ordering some cakes from a nearby bakery and angrily devoured two small cakes.
The afternoon passed quickly, and Ruan Jiujiu packed the small cakes, egg tarts, and cream puffs while still angry, then returned home.
She hadn’t expected that Cheng Jun hadn’t called her in several hours!
He truly was an insensitive man!
Ruan Jiujiu walked down to the ground floor and saw two people sitting on the steps, one tall and one small. They looked like abandoned stray dogs, gazing up at her with pitiful eyes, afraid to get closer, as if they were worried that Ruan Jiujiu would get angry. Seeing this, her anger dissipated instantly.
Ruan Jiujiu forced a stern expression and said, “What are you doing downstairs, pretending to be pitiful?”
Cheng Jun said, “I originally planned to find you, but when I went out, I realized I forgot my phone. When I went back to get my phone, I realized I didn’t have my keys.”
Ruan Jiujiu: “…So, these two clowns have been sitting here all this time?”
She couldn’t believe those two.
Cheng Jun held the sleeping little Cheng, and Ruan Jiujiu held Cheng Jun’s hand as the three of them went upstairs. After a moment of silence, Cheng Jun said, “I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”
Ruan Jiujiu chuckled. “How could that be?”
“But as soon as I thought that Cheng Le Duo was still here, I knew you definitely wouldn’t leave.”
Ruan Jiujiu’s steps paused in place. She grabbed Cheng Jun’s hand, and the two of them stood on the stairs, locking eyes. Ruan Jiujiu looked at him very seriously, her dark eyes reflecting Cheng Jun’s face.
Ruan Jiujiu said, “Whether we have little Cheng or not, I can’t bear to leave you.”
Even after many years of marriage, Cheng Jun still occasionally lacked a sense of security. Ruan Jiujiu patiently reassured his emotions every time, without exception.
Upon hearing Ruan Jiujiu’s words, Cheng Jun’s heart stirred, and a peculiar light shimmered in his eyes. He leaned in and kissed her lips.
This kiss was tender and full of emotion, with just the right touch.
…If it weren’t for Cheng Le Duo rubbing his eyes and sleepily asking if he smelled the scent of small cakes, Cheng Jun could have made this affectionate kiss last even longer.
In the evening, the father and son sat on the sofa, enjoying their snacks.
Fresh cream cakes, warm egg tarts, cream puffs, and beef jerky small pastries, they indulged themselves happily.
Cheng Le Duo particularly loved egg tarts, but the habit instilled in him from a young age was not to snatch and to share with everyone in moderation. He kissed Ruan Jiujiu and said in a soft and tender voice, “Mom, thank you!”
Ruan Jiujiu quickly kissed him back and hugged the little doughball in her arms, giving him a gentle squeeze before letting go, satisfied.
Cheng Jun followed suit, saying, “Jiujiu, thank you.” He patiently waited, as if waiting for a prize, and he almost pressed his attractive face against Ruan Jiujiu’s lips.
Ruan Jiujiu: …
She playfully kissed Cheng Jun’s cheek, amused by his somewhat cute antics.
Cheng Jun claimed not to like Cheng Le Duo eating his food, but he waited for Cheng Le Duo to finish all the snacks he liked, and after their stomachs were full, he dealt with the remaining food.
“Oh, by the way,” Ruan Jiujiu said, “I have some work at the studio tomorrow and won’t be able to take Cheng Le Duo to kindergarten. The kindergarten is having a parent-child activity, so you should go.”
Cheng Jun hadn’t participated in a parent-child activity before, and he hesitated, looking at Ruan Jiujiu.
The last time there was a parent-child activity, Cheng Jun was busy with overtime work and got stuck in traffic, so he couldn’t make it. They seemed to have agreed that he would go next time.
Cheng Jun fell into deep thought.
Ruan Jiujiu said, “Don’t even think about finding excuses. Just be prepared.”
Cheng Jun: “Ah, you’ve seen through me.”
After being together with Cheng Jun for so many years, how could Ruan Jiujiu not know what he was thinking?
Ruan Jiujiu said with a sly smile, “And, I advise you to be ready.”
Cheng Jun: “?”
“All the little girls in the kindergarten want to be his girlfriend.”
Cheng Jun: “…”
The author has something to say: The final update will be tomorrow morning, and this story is about to come to an end! Love you all!
Love what you read? A little donation can go a long way!
