Seeing that she wanted to hug him but didn't dare, Daiying simply put Da Mao into her hands and said, "Just hold it like this."
Stephen Chow was still a little nervous, and after hugging Da Mao, he didn't dare to move.
The little dog in her arms also opened its eyes and looked at her. There was nothing wrong with the little dog's eyes, but they always looked watery and seemed to be about to cry. Its little mouth was often pursed slightly, making it look incredibly adorable.
Just watching, Zhou Xingxing felt a tingling, numb feeling in his heart. "Um... don't cry..."
Shen Wuqiu smiled at her: "Don't be nervous, she didn't cry."
As Zhou Xingxing watched, he instinctively picked up the baby and gently bounced him a couple of times, softly coaxing, "Little darling, don't cry..."
Da Mao raised his hand in her arms and shook it, his pursed cherry lips also parted into a smile.
"Mmm, the baby is so cute and adorable..." Zhou Xingxing couldn't quite describe his feelings at that moment. It was as if all the tenderness buried deep in his heart had been awakened at this moment.
Shen Wuqiu's expression softened involuntarily as she touched the baby's little hand. "Children are all like this."
Stephen Chow disagreed, saying, "Although I've never held someone else's baby, not all babies are this cute."
Seeing that she was holding the child in that position, Shen Wuqiu felt tired for her and naturally took Da Mao into her arms.
Zhou Xingxing didn't rush to hug him. Instead, he turned around and took out a red envelope he had prepared in advance from his bag, and tucked it into the buttonhole of Da Mao's little jacket. "Little darling, this is a red envelope that Auntie prepared for you."
Shen Wuqiu glanced at the red envelope, which was quite bulging. She wasn't too polite, but simply said, "Why are you being so polite?"
"Courtesy is courtesy, and affection is affection." Zhou Xingxing pouted, touched Da Mao's little hand. The child's hand was smooth and soft, and she couldn't help but gently squeeze it. "Waaah, it's so cute, how can it be so cute?"
Seeing her adoring expression, Mr. Shen teased her, "You love children so much, you should have one too. Qiuqiu said you two were college classmates, so you must be around the same age as Qiuqiu. You should find someone soon."
Zhou Xingxing shook his head exaggeratedly and said to Shen's father, "I still feel like a baby. Besides, the children I give birth to may not be as cute and beautiful as Shen Qiuqiu's."
Mr. Shen liked her lively and unpretentious nature very much, and was amused by her vivid little expressions. "So tell me, have you found a boyfriend yet?"
"A single aristocrat!" Zhou Xingxing said proudly, then pouted at Shen Wuqiu, "If I had known Shen Wuqiu liked girls, I would have definitely taken advantage of my proximity to her. Sigh!"
As she spoke, she pretended to sigh, and with each sigh, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, like a little worm.
Although she wasn't particularly beautiful, her features were quite defined, especially her eyebrows. They were thick and had large eyes, but the shape was slender and soft, and they could change shape flexibly with her expressions, so no matter what she said, she could give people a natural sense of humor.
Even though Daiying overheard her openly trying to poach someone's boyfriend, she didn't feel disgusted by her. Instead, she found her lively and cute, and teased her with a smile, "So, why don't you try poaching someone from the other side?"
Zhou Xingxing looked at her with curiosity, "Auntie, if you're like this, I'll start to doubt whether Shen Qiuqiu's wife is your real daughter."
Mr. Shen, who was standing nearby, sensed something was wrong and asked her, "Girl, you like little girls too?"
Zhou Xingxing nodded, thought for a moment, and then added, "I don't know if I prefer girls or boys. Anyway, all I've ever grown up, I just find Shen Qiuqiu more pleasing to the eye."
“That won’t do.” Su Yunzhi cooked a pot of sweet rice wine with eggs, poured her a bowl, and then joined their conversation, “When we’re looking for a partner, we can’t be too picky, right? If we see someone suitable, we have to be proactive.”
"It's not that I'm picky." Zhou Xingxing took the sweet wine, and a sweet aroma wafted up. She couldn't help but take a few more sniffs. "Auntie, why does this sweet wine smell so good?"
Su Yunzhi: "The osmanthus flowers have been blooming recently, right? I dried some and put them inside."
The aroma was so enticing that Stephen Chow took a careful sip. "It's so fragrant and sweet. This is the first time I've ever had such delicious sweet rice wine with egg."
Su Yunzhi: "It's hot, drink it slowly."
As she spoke, she looked at Shen Wuqiu and asked, "Lingyu also likes to drink this. Where is she?"
Shen Wuqiu: "I carried Simao upstairs. It's alright, just leave her a bowl."
Listening to their conversation, Zhou Xingxing recalled being interrupted earlier and asked, "By the way, Shen Qiuqiu, why is that kitten named Si Mao?"
Shen Wuqiu hesitated, unsure how to answer.
Su Yunzhi didn't think too much about it at the moment and said enthusiastically, "Because she was born last and was the fourth child."
Stephen Chow's eyes lit up as he listened, "Are there three left?"
Su Yunzhi finally realized what was happening, glanced at Shen Wuqiu, and nodded.
Stephen Chow said excitedly, "Then give me one. My old blue and white one was heartless and ran away with someone. I've always wanted to get another one."
An awkward silence fell over the hall once again.
A few seconds later, Mr. Shen refused, saying, "I'm afraid that won't work."
Zhou Xingxing was slightly disappointed, but she was also sensible enough to save face: "Anyway, Shen Qiuqiu is taking care of it and I will..."
Halfway through her conversation, she heard a baby crying. Thinking it was Da Mao in Shen Wuqiu's arms, she went over to take a look. Da Mao was already asleep. She couldn't help but wonder, "Why do I hear a baby crying?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Gu Lingyu hurriedly came downstairs carrying Sanmao.
Shen Wuqiu asked, "What's wrong?"
"Sanmao has pooped." Gu Lingyu said as she handed the baby to Daiying. She skillfully fetched hot water in a small baby basin, then sat on a stool with her back to everyone and expertly wiped Sanmao's bottom and changed his diaper.
It wasn't until Zhou Xingxing had changed Sanmao's diaper that he finally realized what was happening. He pointed at Da Mao in Shen Wuqiu's hand and then at Sanmao in Gu Lingyu's hand, "You gave birth to twins?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Shen looked at her, then at Shen Wuqiu, and finally back at her: "Didn't Qiuqiu tell you that she gave birth to quadruplets?"
Zhou Xingxing stared blankly for several seconds before shaking his head. "She didn't say."
Good heavens, how embarrassing! She only prepared one red envelope for the child—no, who would prank a child by giving four red envelopes at once? Is there a throne to inherit in the family?
Stephen Chow was internally screaming, but he tried to calm himself down and asked again, "You and she each had two children?"
Shen Wuqiu hesitated for a moment, but still shook her head, "They were all born to me."
Zhou Xingxing felt she couldn't calm down anymore—no, she couldn't understand it. After a long while, she finally managed to squeeze out, "You're really amazing."
Gu Lingyu said proudly, "Don't you even know whose wife you are?"
Stephen Chow glanced at her as if she were an idiot, held back for a moment, but couldn't help it, "If you're so capable, why don't you have children?"
Gu Lingyu truthfully replied, "Originally, I wanted to give birth to Qiuqiu myself..."
Shen Wuqiu, fearing that she might blurt out something unintentional, quickly interjected, "It's me who wants to have the baby."
Zhou Xingxing was a little disappointed in her friend. In her opinion, a woman's childbirth is a life-or-death situation, and she was willing to risk everything for love. Who knew that her best friend would be so infatuated with love?
She wanted to say something, but felt that it was a matter of mutual consent, and she had no right to interfere.
After taking a deep breath, he turned his attention back to Sanmao.
Sanmao looked much stronger than Damao. Now that his diaper had been changed, he was obediently looking around with his big eyes wide open, appearing much more lively than Damao.
Zhou Xingxing stared at her for a while, his maternal instincts surging again, "Is this a boy?"
Shen Wuqiu countered, "Do you look like a boy?"
Stephen Chow shook his head. "I don't know."
“No, the third one is also a girl.” Shen Wuqiu handed the sleeping Da Mao to Dai Ying. Now that there were outsiders present, she didn’t dare to put the child in the rocking crib easily, because these little ones often turned into kittens while they were sleeping.
When Stephen Chow heard that it was a girl, he felt a little softer. Seeing Sanmao waving her little hand, he reached out and held it.
As soon as her little hand was held, Sanmao started babbling, "Eeya... Oh..."
Stephen Chow couldn't help but chuckle, "She looks so lively..."
Gu Lingyu then handed Sanmao to her for a hug, saying, "She likes you."
Zhou Xingxing carefully took it. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and since Sanmao was a bit stronger, she wasn't as careful as when she held Damao. She held her in her arms and started playing with her.
Sanmao was easily amused; she would respond to anyone who teased her.
Stephen Chow didn't tease her for long before she started giggling.
Looking into her smiling eyes, Zhou Xingxing glanced at Gu Lingyu and said reluctantly, "This child is yours, isn't it? He looks quite like you."
This statement is ambiguous. Gu Lingyu muttered, "What do you mean by saying this child is mine? All these children are mine."
Upon hearing this, Stephen Chow became somewhat agitated. "So, all four children that Qiuqiu gave birth to are yours?"
Gu Lingyu: "Shouldn't the child born to my partner be mine?"
Zhou Xingxing stared at her with wide eyes, and after a long while, he looked at Shen Wuqiu.
When Shen Wuqiu saw her, she immediately realized, "The child is mine too."
Zhou Xingxing wanted to ask more, but Shen Wuqiu quickly pulled her upstairs, saying, "You haven't seen Er Mao and Simao yet, let me take you upstairs to see them."
Zhou Xingxing was pulled a couple of steps by her, then realized, "Er Mao? Simao? If I remember correctly, that little orange kitten was also named Simao?"
"..." Shen Wuqiu regretted telling her that Simao's name was Simao, but she couldn't bring herself to tell the truth. After thinking for a long time, she gritted her teeth and reluctantly came up with an explanation, "On the day I gave birth, four kittens were born in the family, so the child's nickname is the same as the kittens' name."
"..." This excuse was too lame, but Zhou Xingxing couldn't find any rebuttal. After all, apart from this reason, she really couldn't think of any parents in the world who would give their child and their cat the same name.
After leading Zhou Xingxing to her room, Shen Wuqiu didn't open the door immediately. Instead, she took a deep breath before carefully opening it, peeking inside, and seeing Er Mao and Simao lying on the bed like obedient little babies. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and tiptoe inside.
The two babies were fast asleep on the bed, their cheeks rosy and pink, looking just like little figures from a New Year's painting. Zhou Xingxing was so charmed that his heart trembled. He looked at one, then carefully touched the other, and whispered, "Which one is the second one, and which one is the fourth one?"
Shen Wuqiu told her everything.
After looking him over, Stephen Chow said, "Si Mao looks a bit like you."
Shen Wuqiu didn't reply, but looked at the child gently for a while before calling to Zhou Xingxing, "I'll take you to rest."
Zhou Xingxing nodded and followed her out.
As Shen Wuqiu introduced the layout of the upstairs room to her, she led her into the room where Gu Lingyu used to live. "The sheets and duvet covers were just changed these past two days, and the toiletries have been arranged on your bedside table."
"No need, I've prepared everything, it's all in my suitcase." Zhou Xingxing glanced around the room, then sprawled out on the bed, taking a satisfied breath.
"Then you should take a nap first, and I'll call you for dinner later."
Afraid she would leave, Stephen Chow quickly grabbed her hand again. "I'm asking you, tell me honestly, out of four children, how many are yours?"
"They're all mine."
“Sanmao looks so much like her, she definitely isn’t yours.”
After all, in her understanding, from a genetic perspective, a child cannot have two mothers.
Shen Wuqiu understood what she meant, but couldn't say it outright, so she could only say, "The child is really mine, you don't need to worry about me."
Stephen Chow pouted, "I only realized today that you're a hopeless romantic."
Shen Wuqiu was too lazy to argue with her. "Alright, you should rest now."
Stephen Chow yawned. "Alright, my dear subject, you may take your leave."
Shen Wuqiu gave a few more instructions before leaving.
Stephen Chow, feeling like his body was about to fall apart, thought he would fall asleep soon. However, after lying in bed with his eyes closed for a long time, his mind became more and more awake, and he couldn't fall asleep at all. But he felt lazy and didn't want to move.
So she took out her phone again.