Тhe arrivаl of a bаbу аt hоmе hаd Luke quite аnxious. After Shang Zhi Tао discоverеd shе wаs рregnаnt, Lukе suddеnlу stоpрed jumping up tо grеet hеr. He beсame vеry gentlе. Shаng Zhi Тао wоuld аsk him, "Why arеn't уou jumрing аnуmorе?"
Luke wоuld lеt out a lоng, drаwn-out whinе: "Can't jump! Мight hurt Mommy!"
Оn thе dаy Littlе Nian Taо first саme hоmе, аs sооn аs the infаnt сarriеr was sеt down, Luke rаn ovеr аnd sniffеd it inside аnd оut. Не was a bit puzzlеd, wondering why such a tinу thing had comе into the hоuse. In his mind, Littlе Niаn Tаo was also a puppy, just one that looked different from him. He even regarded Nian Tao as his own child.
Because Nian Tao was so small and Luke shed a lot of fur, everyone temporarily banned Luke from entering Shang Zhi Tao's bedroom. Luke behaved very well, staying guard at the door, watching over his baby. Every time Nian Tao opened his eyes, moved his little hands, or made cooing sounds, Luke would immediately stand up anxiously and pace around in circles on the floor. At first, no one understood what Luke was doing, but later they realized—it was because his little treasure had woken up!
Luan Nian, worried that Luke might feel neglected, would go to the kitchen at night after Little Nian Tao had fallen asleep and Shang Zhi Tao was resting, to make food for him. Luke would sit there waiting for him, just like before, with his tongue hanging out.
While preparing the food, Luan Nian would sometimes glance back at him: "You're an old dog now."
"Are your teeth still holding up?"
Luke would let out a soft bark: "Yes!"
Luan Nian would pat his head: "Such a tough guy."
Luke would then jump up, place his paws on Luan Nian's hand, and play with him for a while. If he heard any noise from the room, he would run to the doorway and poke his head in to see what was happening. His eyes would be full of vigilance, as if saying: You won't hurt my baby, will you?
During her postpartum confinement, Shang Zhi Tao received a stream of friends.
Sun Yu came on the day she was discharged from the hospital. She had taken five days of annual leave and refused to leave no matter how much Shang Zhi Tao urged her to go.
Not only did she stay, but she also competed with Luan Nian to take care of Shang Zhi Tao.
Luan Nian, of course, wasn't happy about it. The two of them argued in the kitchen: "You can't even take care of yourself," Luan Nian mocked her.
"I was the one taking care of Tao Tao when she was in Beijing. You weren't much use back then," Sun Yu retorted defiantly.
"...Is your company going bankrupt? Hanging around here and refusing to leave."
"No, business is so good that it runs fine even without me."
Unable to settle their argument, Sun Yu simply said, "Little Nian Tao seems to be waking up. You cook."
Luan Nian didn't reply. He turned and left the kitchen to her, going to check on Nian Tao himself.
Little Nian Tao hadn't woken up.
He seemed to be having a sweet dream, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, looking exactly like Luan Nian when he smiled. Shang Zhi Tao glanced at him and pouted.
Luan Nian's pride was impossible to hide. At first, out of consideration for Shang Zhi Tao's feelings, he would say things like, "His ears look like yours." But later, he stopped hiding it altogether. If anyone said the child didn't resemble him in some way, he would even ask them to take another look.
"Look again? I don't think you're right."
Once, when Dr. Liang saw him like this, she winked at Shang Zhi Tao and whispered to her, "Exactly like his father. As if it's such a great thing for the child to look like him. I hope Little Nian Tao's temper isn't like his—stubborn, difficult, and bad with words, getting into fights by the age of three or four. Nian Tao's temperament and personality should definitely be like yours."
"Can you tell his temperament yet?""I knew Luan Nian had a bad temper even before he was a month old." After telling the story of how Luan Nian nearly cried himself breathless because he was fed too slowly, Shang Zhi Tao thought carefully—it seemed Little Nian Tao had never been like that. Little Nian Tao was very well-behaved; she ate, slept, and when she woke up, she would open her eyes quietly. If you talked to her, she would listen calmly.
Sometimes she would cry a little when hungry or wet, but as soon as someone came, she would stop crying immediately.
Every time Sun Yu saw how obedient Nian Tao was, she would say to Luan Nian, "How did you deserve such a daughter?"
"Jealous? Have one yourself." Luan Nian retorted, picking up Nian Tao to play.
Little Nian Tao was not afraid of strangers at all. On the day her many uncles and aunts came, they filled the house to the brim. Everyone admired Little Nian Tao as if she were some rare treasure, saying while looking at her, "Her expression really looks like her mother." They completely avoided mentioning how much she resembled Luan Nian.
Of course, Luan Nian was not satisfied and said to Chen Kuan Nian, "Take another look, or maybe change your glasses?"
"Looking again... her eyes also look like her mother."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Lin Chun'er and Xiao Mei sat by Shang Zhi Tao's bedside to chat with her. Finding the men in the way, they shooed them out and closed the door.
Luan Nian shrugged and led them to sit on the balcony.
The sunset outside was beautiful.
The men stood by the window quietly for a moment. Tan Mian took out his phone to check the calendar and said, "It's been two years since we last went out together. By the time we go out again, we'll probably be old and gray."
"That won't happen." Song Qiu Han said, "When Little Nian Tao is a bit older, we can all go out together as families. That will be a different kind of fun."
"And me alone?"
Tan Mian glared at Song Qiu Han.
Everyone laughed.
In their twenties, when they hung out together, the world was vast, free and unburdened; in their early thirties, their life paths diverged, each busy with their own lives, occasionally gathering; nearing forty, being together became difficult.
Life is full of unpredictable changes.
Fortunately, these friends haven't drifted apart. When your life changes, they arrive as promised.
"Shall we have a drink tonight?" Song Qiu Han suggested.
"Sure." Luan Nian hadn't drunk in a long time, and today he felt it would be hard to pass up drinking with friends.
"What do you want to eat?"
"Let's eat at home. It's livelier. Anything is fine—hot pot? That's convenient."
"Okay."
Luan Nian had privately collected over a dozen bottles of Maotai-flavored baijiu. When Shang Zhi Tao asked why he hoarded so many, he said he would give them to Little Nian Tao as a dowry in the future. Today, in celebration, a few bottles from Little Nian Tao's dowry were brought out.
"What else does your family collect?" Chen Kuan Nian asked curiously, starting up again, ready to dig through and sell off other people's belongings.
"Does rice paper count?"
"?"
"Shang Zhi Tao bought twenty reams of rice paper many years ago."
"Such good foresight?"
"Mhm."
Hearing the commotion outside, Lin Chun'er came out to stop them: "Little Nian Tao is sleeping, no loud noises allowed!" Seeing Song Qiu Han setting out the drinks, she asked, "Are we drinking today?"
"Yes. Want some?" Song Qiu Han asked her.
"Sure!"
She was one who enjoyed liveliness too.
Shang Zhi Tao couldn't drink, but she also loved the lively atmosphere. When it was time to eat, she gritted her teeth and got out of bed.
The group sat together, especially happy.
Shang Zhi Tao had a round, smiling face that looked particularly adorable. Worried she might be uncomfortable sitting, Luan Nian placed a soft cushion under her and poured her warm water when toasting.The elders reminded Luan Nian not to let Shang Zhi Tao eat raw, cold, or hard foods, so he watched her eat.
Everyone looked at Luan Nian and felt as if he had become a different person.
They never imagined in this lifetime they would have such an opportunity to see Luan Nian transform into someone like this. Except his mouth was still as sharp as ever.
Gathering together was rare, so they were all very happy.
They didn’t drink much, but they drank for a long time. It wasn’t until late at night that they finally stopped.
As the noise faded, only three people and a dog remained in the house.
After tidying up, Luan Nian returned to bed and saw Shang Zhi Tao still awake. He asked her, “Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I’m not sleepy.”
“Then come here.” Luan Nian pulled her into his arms and played with her hair. During her pregnancy, Shang Zhi Tao’s hair had grown thicker, and now when he ran his fingers through it, it felt full and bouncy. It even bounced a little when he let go, which looked quite charming. Luan Nian amused himself by playing with her hair.
“Are you feeling better today?” Luan Nian was asking about the side incision wound. The first time he saw Shang Zhi Tao get out of bed and walk, his heart ached terribly.
“A little better.” Shang Zhi Tao held his hand. “Aren’t you going back for a meeting in a few days?”
“I’ll go and return on the same day.”
“Don’t. You should go, but don’t rush back on the same day. It’s too tiring.”
“It’s not tiring. I just can’t rest easy leaving the three of you. The company doesn’t mind where I am—I can work from anywhere. Tracy has already talked to me. From now on, I just need to be in the office one or two days a week.”
“So fussy.” Shang Zhi Tao teased him, mimicking his tone.
Luan Nian pretended not to hear.
He had become a master at playing deaf and dumb lately, mostly because he was afraid he might say something hurtful and make Shang Zhi Tao cry. The elders had repeatedly warned him that crying during the postpartum period could lead to health issues. Luan Nian didn’t really believe that, but he held back his words simply because he couldn’t bear to see Shang Zhi Tao suffer any more after what she had been through.
After a while, Luan Nian said to her, “I want to buy a bigger house in Ice City.”
“Huh? How big?”
“Maybe around three hundred square meters, with a garden?”
“?” Shang Zhi Tao sat up. “Are we that rich?”
Luan Nian raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer. In fact, he had withdrawn some money from the stock market and didn’t know what to do with it. The idea of buying a big house in Ice City had suddenly occurred to him during the gathering with friends. He wanted to build a princess room for Little Nian Tao.
“You can’t spoil a child like that,” Shang Zhi Tao disagreed. “She’ll develop bad habits. Is our current house too small?”
“If I don’t spoil my own daughter, who should I spoil?”
“No one should be spoiled.”
Luan Nian wanted to scold her but held back at the last moment. After a pause, he said, “Don’t listen to those absurd ideas.”
“What absurd ideas?”
“The idea that you shouldn’t let your child know your family is well-off.”
“…”
“If the family is well-off, then it’s well-off. If it’s not, then it’s not. If you hide it from your child when they’re young, aren’t you teaching them to lie?”
“Besides, you keep saying Luke is your dog. Don’t you know your own dog? That dog of yours is a snob!”
“So, I’m going to buy a house.”
Luan Nian pinched Shang Zhi Tao’s cheek. “You have no right to stop me.”
Luan Nian spoke one sentence after another, leaving Shang Zhi Tao unable to respond. The next day, she slept in. When she opened her eyes, she found Luan Nian was gone. She asked Da Zhai, “Where’s your precious son-in-law?”
“He went out.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”It wasn't until the afternoon that Luan Nian returned, holding a deposit slip: "I've put a deposit on the house. You don't have the option to not buy now—only whether to buy this one or choose another. Otherwise, the deposit is gone."
Shang Zhi Tao was so angry she swung her fist at his chest, but he caught her wrist: "Stop it." He pressed his lips to her forehead: "I want you both to live comfortably. Besides, the new place is closer to the airport, so it'll save me a lot of time traveling back and forth."
"You can't keep spoiling her like this, I mean it."
Luan Nian snorted, refusing to engage, his mind already made up. He thought, My daughter, my rules. In this house, you can only manage yourself.
By the time Little Nian Tao was a month old, she had already grown into a very, very beautiful baby girl.
Shang Zhi Tao bought many adorable little outfits, sterilized them, and carefully dressed Little Nian Tao on her full-month day. Luan Nian held a camera, personally taking her full-month photos. He never imagined his exceptional photography skills would one day be used for baby photos.
That day, Nian Tao was incredibly sleepy. No matter how they fussed with her, she kept her eyes closed and slept soundly, as if declaring, No matter how chaotic the world outside, I have my own universe to settle. After two hours of trying, the baby still hadn't woken up, and both of them were exhausted. They slumped onto the living room sofa, glanced at each other, and smiled.
Shang Zhi Tao narrowed her eyes like a cat. Having not gone out for over a month, her skin had grown even fairer, and the sunlight cast a translucent glow on her face. With her smile lingering, she looked even more enchanting.
Luan Nian felt a surge of emotion. He leaned forward, hovering above her, his hands braced on either side of the sofa. A flicker of light danced in Shang Zhi Tao's eyes as she slightly lifted her chin, brushing her lips against his, once, then again.
Luan Nian lowered himself slightly, chasing her lips, pressing her into the sofa.
How long had it been since they kissed like this? He couldn't remember. During her pregnancy, she had teased him once, pushing him so far that he stormed out, slamming the door. After that, she never dared again.
Luan Nian kissed her fiercely and roughly, just as he always had.
Shang Zhi Tao gasped softly, offering her tongue to him, letting him take control. Luan Nian was nearly driven mad. Just before his reason completely vanished, he pulled away, leaning against the other side of the sofa to catch his breath. He wiped his lips with his palm, his deep eyes lingering on Shang Zhi Tao's chest, his expression carrying a hint of ferocity.
"Luan Nian."
"Hmm?"
"In a few days, will you take me for postpartum recovery?"
"Let's see what the doctor says after the postpartum checkup."
"Okay."
Shang Zhi Tao slowly wiggled her toes against his leg. Luan Nian grasped her ankle: "Don't push it."
"Oh."
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