31. Chapter 31
During meals, Qiao Anchen couldn't help but steal glances at Chu Yi. Her expression was so normal that it made him feel a little strange.
Yet the atmosphere felt strangely natural. Chu Yi served food to Li Yan, and Qiao Anchen said that it was good for children to eat more vegetables. Chu Yi looked at Li Yan and gently educated him.
"Did you hear that? Uncle is right."
"Mmm." The child nodded vigorously, shoveling the vegetables from the bowl into his mouth, and Chu Yi smiled contentedly.
Qiao Anchen couldn't help but smile.
But after Li Yan fell asleep, Qiao Anchen felt inexplicably uneasy. He thought for a moment, then tentatively pulled her into his arms little by little until his chest pressed against her back.
Chu Yi didn't break free, and Qiao Anchen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, holding her and asking softly.
"Chu Yi, are you angry today?"
"No," came her voice, muffled and indistinct because she was buried under the covers.
Qiao Anchen couldn't quite believe it and couldn't help but check it again.
"Really?"
"Otherwise what?" Chu Yi suddenly faced him, her eyes wide open. Qiao Anchen was stunned for a moment and didn't speak for a while.
Seeing him like this, Chu Yi couldn't help but sigh again.
"I know you're busy with work, there's nothing I can do about it, I don't blame you."
"I'm sorry..." After a long pause, Qiao Anchen stammered, and Chu Yi, with her eyes closed, said, "Go to sleep."
Qiao Anchen hesitated for two seconds, then lowered his head and kissed her on the lips.
"Good night."
After he fell asleep, Chu Yi unconsciously pursed her lips, as if she could still feel the warm touch on his body. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
The Dragon Boat Festival holiday is three days long, including the weekend. Tian Wan called and asked the two of them to come back and eat zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), saying it was a rare treat to have a festival.
Chu Yi agreed. After discussing it with Qiao Anchen, she decided to bring Li Yan along without much consideration.
We can't leave him alone at home, and besides, it's good for him to go out and meet people more often.
As had been mentioned beforehand, when Tian Wan and Qiao's father saw Li Yan, they greeted him warmly. As Chu Yi had taught him, Li Yan greeted them quietly.
"Hello, Grandma. Hello, Grandpa."
"Oh, so good boy." Tian Wan stroked his face affectionately, looking very fond of him.
As soon as Li Yan entered the house and sat down on the sofa, Tian Wan brought over a bunch of children's toys, such as puzzles, building blocks, and Transformers... She had bought them specially knowing that he was coming. Not only Li Yan, but Chu Yi was also a little flattered.
"Thank you, Grandma." Li Yan happily thanked her while hugging the pile of things in her arms, her lips curving into a crescent moon, her long eyelashes trembling.
Tian Wan immediately clutched her chest.
"Oh my, my darling, how can this baby be so adorable?"
At lunchtime, Tian Wan kept piling food into his bowl, making Li Yan's bowl overflowing. Chu Yi quickly stopped her.
"Mom, Xiaoyan can't eat this much, that's enough."
“The child is growing, it’s okay for him to eat more.” Mr. Qiao couldn’t help but interject. Li Yan was eating with his head down, his dark eyes scrutinizing the two of them. Hearing this, he quickened his pace.
His cheeks were bulging out, and Chu Yi patted his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Grandpa and Grandma are doing this for your own good, but you don't have to finish it all, otherwise your stomach will be overcooked."
"It's okay," he said softly. "I can finish it."
The child's ingratiating gaze was undisguised, which not only made Chu Yi feel sorry for him, but Tian Wan also couldn't bear it. She exchanged a glance with Qiao's father and exclaimed softly, "What a tragedy."
After dinner, Chu Yi played with Li Yan in the living room. The two of them took apart the box of building blocks that Tian Wan had bought and studied together how to build a castle.
The afternoon sun was bright. The two, one big and one small, sat on the floor, heads touching, their faces serious and focused, muttering to themselves from time to time. Qiao Anchen felt that they seemed to have encountered a great difficulty, so he couldn't help but walk over.
"Do you need any help?"
"Uncle..." Li Yan called out, but immediately realized what she meant and changed her address to "Brother".
On the way, Chu Yi specifically told him not to call him uncle at his grandparents' house, and Li Yan kept it firmly in mind.
Qiao Anchen was very pleased to be called "brother," and his expression softened as he sat down next to him.
What are you building?
“The castle.” Li Yan laboriously opened the accompanying blueprint with her short fingers to show him the picture of the castle.
Qiao Anchen compared the seller's photos with the buyer's photos in front of them, and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
It has to be said that Chu Yi has absolutely no talent when it comes to hands-on skills, managing to make a complete mess of an incredibly simple castle with the help of other children.
He couldn't help but roll up his sleeves.
"I'll do it."
After Qiao Anchen joined in, he quickly dismantled almost all of their previous foundations, and followed the blueprints step by step to straighten things out, putting each small block back in its place. The castle slowly emerged under his hands.
Li Yan looked at him with extreme admiration.
"Wow! Brother, you're amazing!" He clapped excitedly from the side, and Chu Yi also looked at him with bright eyes. Qiao Anchen felt a rare, inexplicable blush.
"This is quite simple," he said calmly, showing no sign of anything amiss. Chu Yi took the opportunity to educate him.
"Because your brother studied very hard, you know?" She rubbed the child's head seriously.
"So he became a very capable person."
"I want to become a very powerful person when I grow up," the child said solemnly, looking up as if making some kind of vow.
"Like an older brother."
"So what do you need to do now?" Chu Yi gently guided the child, who thought seriously for a few seconds before looking at her and answering.
"Study diligently."
"Oh, right." Chu Yi smiled contentedly. Li Yan looked at her and was also silly and happy. Qiao Anchen looked at the two of them and his eyebrows softened unconsciously.
Not far away, Tian Wan and Qiao's father took in the whole scene. Suddenly, they couldn't help but say to the person next to them, "A Yuan, shouldn't our Qiao Anchen have a child?"
"Hmm?" Mr. Qiao looked sideways in surprise, then turned back to look at the scene that resembled a family of three, and fell into deep thought.
"I'm just worried..." He hesitated, his words trailing off, while Tian Wan's gaze remained fixed on him, her voice very soft.
“I always felt that Qiao Anchen would gradually change after having a child. Look how well he and Xiaoyan get along.”
"What if things turn out like what happened to us back then..."
"No, I won't." Tian Wan turned to look at him, her eyes filled with determination.
“Chu Yi is not me, and Qiao Anchen is not you. They are very suitable and complementary.”
In the evening, the two said goodbye and prepared to go home. Tian Wan called Chu Yi to the kitchen and prepared a lot of food and zongzi for her.
They chatted as they packed, with Li Yan following her around like a little tail. The kitchen wasn't big, and Chu Yi was afraid of bumping into him when she turned around. She was busy making zongzi, so she peeled a small meat zongzi for him and put it in his hand with a spoon.
"Xiaoyan, go outside and eat some zongzi. Grandma made them herself, and they're especially delicious."
"Okay... thank you, Grandma," the child said, looking up. Holding the rice dumpling in his hand, he obediently strode out with his short legs.
As she watched his figure disappear, Tian Wan's smile hadn't faded. She turned back and asked casually, "By the way, Chu Yi, you seem to really like children."
"Yes, the child is very cute." Chu Yi answered casually without thinking. She bent down and tightened the bag to pack all the rice dumplings inside.
"Then your child with Qiao Anchen will definitely be very happy, having such a good mother." Tian Wan joked. Chu Yi stopped what he was doing, looked up at her, and exclaimed.
"mom…"
"I was just saying it offhand," Tian Wan shrugged, her tone relaxed.
"I won't interfere in your affairs."
Chu Yi forced a smile, but ultimately remained silent, focusing instead on fiddling with the things in her hands as if trying to distract herself.
Outside, Qiao's father and Qiao Anchen stood side by side on the balcony, holding onto the railing and gazing at the distant scenery.
The evening breeze was cool, ruffling the hair on my forehead, and the orange-red sunset was both lonely and magnificent.
"When do you and Chu Yi plan to have a child?" Mr. Qiao asked directly and concisely, which surprised Qiao Anchen.
"Dad, why are you suddenly asking about this?"
"Seeing Li Yan today suddenly brought back some memories. You two have been married for almost a year now, haven't you?" Qiao's father looked him up and down, then said with disdain, "You're not getting any younger."
Qiao Anchen had already turned twenty-nine, which did seem to make him quite old. He thought for a moment and nodded.
"It seems so, I'm almost thirty too."
Strangely, he never thought about having children. It was as if, in his mind, this was not something that had to be done. In fact, he had no expectations for Qiao Anchen.
He had never even considered the existence of such a small creature in his life; the thought of it was a bit of a hassle. Right now, it was fine with just him and Chu Yi.
However, after being reminded like this, he suddenly realized that if he followed the proper steps, he should indeed have reached this point at his age.
“Yes, don’t let it end up with people saying you had a child late in life,” Mr. Qiao said sternly, which made Qiao Anchen somewhat curious.
"Dad, where did you learn that word?" He seemed to remember something and said, "It couldn't be from watching TV with Mom every day..."
"Don't change the subject!" Mr. Qiao said, feeling a little embarrassed, and lectured him.
What exactly are you thinking?
“I hadn’t thought about it,” Qiao Anchen answered honestly.
I think things are fine as they are now.
Mr. Qiao choked for a moment, then, still unwilling to give up, he tried to persuade him again.
"Don't you want things to be like today? A family of three, with several children living with you and Chu Yi, watching him grow up from a tiny little thing... calling you and Chu Yi 'Dad' and 'Mom'."
Hearing his last sentence, Qiao Anchen's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but imagine the scene. He replaced Li Yan's appearance when they were building blocks today with his and Chu Yi's child.
For the first time ever, he actually felt a sense of longing and anticipation.
Qiao Anchen frowned, completely baffled.
Could it be that... once you reach a certain age, your previous thoughts and beliefs naturally undergo a qualitative change?