The Sweetest Marriage Ch.325

Chapter 325 – Teether Toy

When Chen Yunlan descended from the hot spring hotel and returned to Wei Chen and Chen Li’s home, the sky had already brightened.

As he stepped out of the car, about to close the door, his hand was grabbed by Xie Chunsheng.

“Mr. Xie?” Chen Yunlan had calmed all his roiling emotions, looking calmly at Xie Chunsheng.

Xie Chunsheng opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words. A myriad of words condensed into a few short ones at the tip of his tongue. “Don’t hide, okay?”

His gaze locked onto Chen Yunlan, emotions imprisoned within. These three words lacked the previous dominance, instead, humbly seeking to hold onto Chen Yunlan.

Chen Yunlan dared not meet Xie Chunsheng’s eyes, for Xie Chunsheng had already guessed his thoughts. This sudden development caught him off guard, leaving him with no time to react. His mind was in chaos, and all he could think of was to escape, to flee from Xie Chunsheng and find a quiet place to figure out what had happened.

Seeing Chen Yunlan’s lack of response, Xie Chunsheng’s grip involuntarily tightened. “Yunlan, I’ll give you time to calm down, but don’t run away from me.”

The day was getting brighter, people were already coming out of the residential area. This standoff was not the solution.

Chen Yunlan glanced at Xie Chunsheng, meeting his gaze, and felt as if his heart had been tightly grasped. That look… it was Qu Ran’s gaze, the gaze Qu Ran used when he needed something from him!

In an instant, all the emotions Chen Yunlan had suppressed surged up in his chest. Unable to face Xie Chunsheng anymore, he wrested his hand away and ran off.

He didn’t give any reply to Xie Chunsheng.

Xie Chunsheng watched Chen Yunlan leave, his eyes as deep as an icy abyss. Only when Chen Yunlan’s figure disappeared at the community gate did Xie Chunsheng cover his face. Warm tears slid down, salty and bitter.

After returning to the community, Chen Yunlan didn’t immediately go upstairs. Instead, he turned into the small park downstairs. His emotions were too tumultuous to return home; it would only add to Chen Li’s worries.

In the park, some elderly people were already exercising. Under the shade of the trees on a large patch of ground, the elder ladies were setting up, getting ready to dance.

Chen Yunlan sat on a bench in the small park, watching the people passing by. His mind was blank; he couldn’t gather his thoughts and just allowed the chaos to occupy his mind.

After sitting in the park within the community for almost half an hour, Chen Yunlan wiped his face and stood up to head home.

At this hour, Wei Chen was already awake. It was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and Wei Chen and Chen Li were planning to take Qiuqiu to the Sheng family’s place to pay New Year respects. Currently, Grandpa Qu was temporarily staying at the Sheng family’s home, and Wei Chen was preparing Qiuqiu’s toys.

Qiuqiu was easy to handle, being a child, but he had his favorite toys. Wherever he went, Qiuqiu wanted to take them along.

The first one, naturally, was the rabbit-shaped teether. The rabbit’s ears already bore several deep and shallow tooth marks from Qiuqiu, which looked somewhat pitiful.

However, there was no way around it, and no one knew how Qiuqiu, being so young, recognized this rabbit-shaped teether. Wei Chen had previously tried replacing it with another one, but Qiuqiu grabbed it and threw it away, then rummaged through his pile of toys for a while without finding it.

Of course, Qiuqiu couldn’t speak or ask. But that day, Qiuqiu seemed particularly off, looking sullen whenever someone talked to him, not even showing off his teeth as usual. If his appetite hadn’t remained the same, the adults might have thought Qiuqiu was sick.

Later, Wei Chen noticed that the teether Qiuqiu was usually holding was untouched today. So, guessing and coaxing, Wei Chen presented the old rabbit-shaped teether back to Qiuqiu.

Qiuqiu immediately hugged the old rabbit teether with both pudgy little hands, afraid someone would take it away from him. He gripped the rabbit’s ears tightly and bit it several times. When Wei Chen tried talking to Qiuqiu again, Qiuqiu giggled.

Wei Chen found it incredible at the time. How did little Qiuqiu recognize the differences between these two rabbit teethers? Curious, Chen Li also approached and took the teether from Qiuqiu’s hand, comparing the two for a long time. Except for the tooth marks on the ears, everything else seemed identical. So, how did Qiuqiu immediately recognize it?

Was it the taste?

Chen Li tried tasting both rabbit ears but couldn’t discern any particular flavor.

Seeing this, Wei Chen ruffled Chen Li’s hair with a helpless smile in his eyes, seemingly confirming the saying that pregnancy causes temporary stupidity.

Qiuqiu noticed too; it was the first time someone bit his little rabbit. But since it was his dad, Qiuqiu didn’t cry. He looked at Chen Li, reaching out for the little rabbit in his hand, making noises as if trying to speak, showing signs of anxiety.

Chen Li couldn’t deduce anything and handed the rabbit back to Qiuqiu, who resumed gnawing on the rabbit’s ears. However, because of this incident, Qiuqiu seemed to think that Chen Li also wanted to nibble on the rabbit’s ears. Whenever Chen Li held him, Qiuqiu liked to offer the rabbit to Chen Li’s mouth, unconcerned about the amount of drool on the rabbit’s ears.

Chen Li felt a bit helpless. His son was too generous, which wasn’t ideal! Others just chuckled and didn’t step forward to help. After all, Chen Li had teased Qiuqiu first.

Qiuqiu’s favorite toy was the rabbit teether, followed by a miniature car model. Whenever he sat alone, the mini car model had to be beside him. Somehow, he learned to place his chubby little hands on the toy car and mimic the sound of a car horn, delighting in playing alone.

Therefore, when they went to the Sheng family’s place, these two items were a must, followed by milk, formula, and various other odds and ends.

Taking children out was like this – the child’s belongings alone took up a whole bag. Chen Yunlan observed Wei Chen’s adeptness and didn’t step forward to help.

Wei Chen didn’t know Chen Yunlan had gone out in the middle of the night. Seeing him return now, Wei Chen assumed Chen Yunlan had gone for an early morning run. “Dad, why up so early today?”

Chen Yunlan didn’t elaborate, “Woke up early, went for a run downstairs. Feeling a bit tired now, I’ll go back up to rest for a while.”

“Alright, I’ll keep breakfast warm for you. Whenever you’re hungry, come down,” Wei Chen reminded him.

“Okay.” Chen Yunlan walked to the staircase but then stopped. Suddenly, he asked, “Achen, do you believe that someone who died could come back to life? Or live in someone else’s body?”

Wei Chen paused momentarily, but he didn’t provide a direct response. “In this world, there’s nothing truly impossible. Perhaps we just haven’t encountered it,” he said.

He didn’t understand why Chen Yunlan had asked such a bizarre question. The first one, Wei Chen was confident in confirming because he had experienced it himself five years ago. As for the latter question…

Wei Chen couldn’t confirm or deny the possibility of someone dying and being reborn in another person’s body. After all, his own rebirth was something seemingly impossible.

“I understand,” Chen Yunlan’s gaze darkened slightly. He didn’t express his thoughts further and continued walking upstairs back to his bedroom.

At the top of the stairs, Chen Yunlan encountered Fang Yun, who sometimes paid more attention to details than men and could spot some less noticeable issues.

“Morning, Sister Fang,” Chen Yunlan greeted Fang Yun proactively.

“Morning,” Fang Yun sensed something amiss with Chen Yunlan but didn’t voice it out. She stepped back, letting Chen Yunlan go first, before heading downstairs.

By now, Wei Chen had arranged the items they needed to take with them for Qiuqiu. Seeing Fang Yun, he greeted, “Mom, good morning.”

Fang Yun knew they were going to visit Old Master Qu today and wanted to ensure they understood, so she reminded Wei Chen softly in his ear. He took note of her instructions.

“By the way, Achen, what’s up with Yunlan?” Fang Yun was still concerned about Chen Yunlan, asking Wei Chen.

Wei Chen shook his head, “I don’t know. What about Dad?”

Fang Yun frowned, “I feel like Yunlan’s eyes are a bit red, like he’s been crying.” She chuckled, “But I’m probably overthinking it. Yunlan wouldn’t cry.”

Wei Chen didn’t reply but recalled the question Chen Yunlan had asked earlier. He had some faint guesses but considered it Chen Yunlan’s private matter and didn’t contemplate getting involved.

Wei Chen headed into the kitchen and brought out a bowl of porridge and several side dishes. “Mom, let’s have breakfast first.”

“Okay.” As she sat down, Fang Yun remembered something and asked Wei Chen, “Achen, did the Wei family call yesterday?”

Wei Chen nodded, “Yes, they did. Grandpa mentioned that Dad… he might visit the capital, said it was to apologize to you. Mom, if you don’t want to meet him, you don’t have to.”

Fang Yun’s expression didn’t change noticeably. She simply replied, “I understand,” and left it at that.

Wei Chen assumed that Fang Yun had her own thoughts about the matter and decided not to inquire further. Checking the time, he brewed a cup of honey water and headed upstairs.

Upon entering the room, Qiuqiu was already awake, gazing at the small toy on the baby cot, lying peacefully. When Qiuqiu spotted Wei Chen, he extended his chubby arms, wanting to be picked up.

Setting the honey water on the bedside table, Wei Chen reached out to lift Qiuqiu and placed him next to Chen Li.

Chen Li had been deeply asleep after getting a bit drunk last night and being bothered by Wei Chen later on. Even when Qiuqiu crawled into his blanket, he remained sound asleep.

Qiuqiu didn’t intend to wake him up. Instead, he wriggled under the blanket and nestled on Chen Li’s arm, giggling while lying beside him.

Glancing at the time and realizing it was still early, Wei Chen chose not to wake Chen Li up yet. He picked up a book and sat by the bed to read.

As Qiuqiu couldn’t crawl yet, he sat up quickly. After lying next to Chen Li for a while, he grew bored and, with a grunt, extended his hand toward Wei Chen, crisply calling out, “Da da.”

Wei Chen put down his book and picked up Qiuqiu. Half an hour had passed, and it was time to wake Chen Lei up and get ready to visit the Sheng family.

“Li Li, time to get up,” Wei Chen said, carrying Qiuqiu. Qiuqiu held onto Wei Chen’s neck tightly, making baby sounds as Wei Chen called out to wake Chen Li.

Chen Li was almost awake by now. Hearing Wei Chen’s voice, he drowsily opened his eyes. Wei Chen turned Qiuqiu around, holding his belly, and brought Qiuqiu’s face close to Chen Li’s.

Chen Li only saw a blur of a face enlarged in his vision, but when it became clear, Qiuqiu’s face was right there.

Qiuqiu rubbed his face against Chen Li’s and gave him a kiss, leaving Chen Li’s face covered in drool.

Chen Li took Qiuqiu from Wei Chen and playfully rolled over, imitating Qiuqiu, rubbing and kissing his face, making Qiuqiu burst into giggles.

In this short time, Wei Chen had already prepared the clothes they needed to wear today, placed them by the bed, and lightly tapped on Chen Li’s bare buttocks, which still bore marks from yesterday’s activities.

“Time to wake up. We’re going to visit Grandpa,” Wei Chen said.

Reluctantly, Chen Li got out of bed, handing Qiuqiu back to Wei Chen, and began to prepare himself.

By the time the family of three left the house, it was already 9 o’clock.

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