Chapter 109
“What should I do…”
Wen Xiang’s plea for help was natural and sincere, as if he was completely ignoring the fact that he was talking to a three-year-old chubby baby.
Who would have thought that Wen Xiang’s earlier running around, buying and selling, wasn’t to get his child back, but to pay for advice! The staff who followed him around were truly surprised, his words shocked them. Being exposed to such a unique thought process up close, they were overwhelmed, their reaction even slower than the viewers in the live broadcast room.
Just as the staff wanted to step forward and explain the true meaning of the photo to the bewildered group, they received an order from the director team to stop.
Then… good luck, Wen Xiang.
Wen Xiang, for the sake of reconciling with his child, humbly asked for advice.
Wei Maomao, worried about the changes she had caused, couldn’t ignore the problem.
One dared to ask, the other dared to answer, what else could the others say…
Wen Qiming, grabbing his unfinished math test paper and his untouched lunchbox, retreated and moved his stool to a spot not too far from the stone table. He could do his homework, but he also wanted to listen to the gossip…
The leftover lunchboxes on the stone table were quickly cleared away by Wei Chengli.
Wen Xiang, very thoughtfully, opened three small boxes of cake and placed them in front of the three little ones, then opened three bottles of walnut milk and even inserted the straws for them. His attitude of treating one person the same as a group was evident.
Wei Maomao hadn’t let go of Cheng Tingyan’s hand, and Cheng Tingyan didn’t try to pull away, she just sat there with her. As for Wen Jiangyue, she had hesitated earlier, but since Wen Xiang had given her cake and milk, clearly wanting her to stay, she sat down firmly.
The three little ones, each sitting more steadily than the last, plus the neatly placed cakes… the milk with straws…
And across from them, Wen Xiang, bowing slightly, carefully placing the things in front of them…
They looked like three bodhisattvas… Wei Chengli couldn’t help but think, his mind conjuring up images.
It was a table without a place for him, so Wei Chengli tactfully dragged a stool from elsewhere and sat next to Wen Qiming, he even took out a book to appear polite.
Wen Xiang didn’t care about those details, in fact, he didn’t even have the mental capacity for them anymore.
“Then let’s… talk about what Dongdong has been like in front of you these past few days, and when he talked about me, what was I like in his words, okay?” Wen Xiang asked eagerly, after placing the things and sitting down properly.
What was he like… From carefree happiness, to visible sadness, then to the renewed confidence after finding a job…
What was he like… The word “borrow” summed it all up.
And for Wei Maomao, it was truly great that Cheng Tingyan and Wen Jiangyue were here together, they took turns speaking, supplementing each other’s answers, it greatly reduced her pressure.
Some people, because of shared responsibility, felt less pressure.
And some people…
Childish words, innocent confusion, righteous statements…
Wen Xiang basically knew about the things the babies mentioned, but there were some details he couldn’t see.
Wen Dongyu’s continuous disappointment and sadness, all the ups and downs seemed to have a clearer context now, they eventually turned into vines, wrapping around him, tightening, making him feel suffocated.
Finally, after the three babies finished talking, Wen Xiang asked weakly, “But I apologized to him, I told him that I didn’t mean it when I said ‘borrow’ that day. I also promised never to say it again… Why doesn’t he seem to be listening? Are apologies and promises useless?”
“My dad said, getting hurt takes a moment, but healing takes a long time.” Wei Maomao said, trying her best to find suitable phrases from her limited vocabulary. “Uncle Wen, you made Dongdong sad, you hurt him, it’s not like he can heal just because you apologize and promise once.”
She never expected things to develop this way, the content of “Tutu Adventures” was mostly created for the third season of “Where’s Baby Going” in her previous life, she couldn’t find perfectly fitting phrases, she could only choose the best ones and adapt them.
Thankfully, she wasn’t alone at this moment.
“Apologies and promises aren’t useless, they’re just not enough. If the injury is severe, one dose of medicine won’t heal it, it takes many, many doses, every day. If it doesn’t work after one time, then doubting, giving up, and stopping the medication, it won’t heal.” Cheng Tingyan said softly, holding the little chubby paw in her hand. She didn’t know why, but she felt that the little chubby bunny was different at this moment, as if… burdened. She couldn’t tell if it was because of Uncle Wen’s question or something else, but she could, she could try to help.
“Then… Should I apologize every day? Promise every day?” Wen Xiang asked, trying to understand the little babies’ thoughts.
It wasn’t about apologizing and promising every day, it was about giving the child more love and security every day… Wei Chengli thought, his eyes on his book, his ears perked up. He started to suspect that Wen Xiang was serious about asking the babies, he truly didn’t seem to understand.
He was truly serious.
Wen Xiang’s eyes were filled with a thirst for knowledge, Wen Jiangyue could see it clearly.
“I think…” Wen Jiangyue said softly.
One adult and two children, three pairs of eyes all looked at Wen Jiangyue, making her suddenly nervous.
But…
Unlike Wei Maomao, who was bound by her excessive conscience and morality, and Cheng Tingyan, who spoke up to share the burden with the little chubby bunny, Wen Jiangyue was the first among the three to be genuinely touched by Wen Xiang’s humble act of seeking advice for his child.
Perhaps Wen Dongyu was unhappy now, but if Wen Xiang could always be like this, Wen Dongyu would eventually be happy again, this was the thought that motivated Wen Jiangyue to speak up.
“I think whether apologies and promises are useful depends on whether Uncle Wen usually keeps his word.” Wen Jiangyue said, summoning her courage. “Like my dad, he often breaks his promises, so I don’t really believe his promises anymore.”
Wen Qiming, who was pretending to do his homework but was actually listening to the gossip, looked up abruptly, shocked. “When did I ever break my promises?”
“You said I could play after reciting one text today. I finished reciting it early, so you said I should read the next one. You said I didn’t have to study during the show, I could relax. You said if I wanted a kiss from Dad, I had to recite five poems.” Wen Jiangyue looked at Wen Qiming and gave a few simple examples, then turned to Wen Xiang, her gaze softening. “If Uncle Wen usually keeps his word, if you make more promises every day, and you keep those promises, like Maomao and Yan Yan said, many, many times, many, many days, Dongdong will gradually believe you.”
Wen Xiang thought about it seriously. “Except for giving away his toy, I usually keep my promises to him. And I won’t give away his things anymore!”
Wen Jiangyue, seeing the determination in Wen Xiang’s eyes, nodded, satisfied.
Wen Qiming, looking at the serious conversation between the adult and the child, opened his mouth several times, but couldn’t utter a sound, only bitterness remained in his mouth.
Yes, he was like that…
No wonder, no wonder last time, when he told Yueyue that he would take her to the amusement park after she finished reciting that book, she just said “okay” casually. It was an amusement park she had been so eager to go to before… And that other time, he told Yueyue that if she could review and memorize everything they had learned in the past two months, he would buy her a complete set of Sudoku board games, she said she didn’t want them anymore. But a few days later, he saw her copying Sudoku puzzles from the newspaper onto her scratch paper, he thought she was lying to him because she didn’t want to review her studies, he even lectured her for a while…
So it wasn’t that she didn’t want to go anymore, it wasn’t that she didn’t want the games anymore… It was because she thought he wouldn’t keep his word?
Wen Qiming’s head buzzed, he couldn’t hear what they were saying at the stone table anymore.
And at the stone table, Wei Maomao, holding Cheng Tingyan’s hand tightly, wasn’t as easily satisfied as Wen Jiangyue.
Apologies and promises were better than nothing, but…
Children were fragile.
Especially a child like Wen Dongyu, innocent and carefree, as if he had been raised in a honey pot. Even if there was a bitter pill hidden in the honey pot, he might occasionally taste a bit of bitterness, but if he didn’t deliberately dig for it, the sweetness of the honey would quickly wash it away.
But now, the bitter pill had exploded, the entire pot of honey was bitter, it wasn’t something that could be fixed by just adding more honey…
“You adults…” Wei Maomao said softly, limited by her three-year-old age, she didn’t know how to express her thoughts.
So…
Sorry, Dad…
Wei Maomao let go of Cheng Tingyan’s hand, got down from the stool, and ran to Wei Chengli.
“Dad!” Wei Maomao shouted loudly.
Wei Chengli had already heard his baby approaching, he could only pretend to have just emerged from the world of his book and looked up innocently. “Mmm?”
In a flash, a chubby paw landed on his face, his entire face was squished to the side.
Wei Chengli: “… “
The chubby paw came quickly and left quickly.
“Dad, I promise never to press your face again.” Wei Maomao shouted loudly.
Before he could even respond, the chubby paw landed on his face again.
Wei Maomao tilted her head slightly, confirming that Wen Xiang was staring at them with wide eyes, she shifted her body, giving him a better view.
Wei Chengli, whose face was squished again before it could even return to its normal shape: “… “
The chubby paw retreated.
Wei Maomao shouted even louder, “Dad, I really won’t press your face again.”
By now, Wei Chengli felt something was wrong, he instinctively leaned back to dodge.
But…
How was this little chubby dumpling so agile!
Wei Chengli, his face squished again, laughed in exasperation. “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t press my face again! Are you even being polite? You little liar!”
The chubby paw retreated again.
“Dad, I… won’t… press… your…” Wei Maomao said slowly this time, her paw extending slowly.
Wei Chengli, whose face was sore from being pressed, finally reacted in time, he reached out and firmly caught the impolite little chubby paw, then lifted it up and chuckled. “Little liar, try pressing it now!”
Wei Maomao ignored Wei Chengli’s smugness and turned to Wen Xiang. “Whether someone keeps their word, only they know. If an adult doesn’t keep their word, there’s nothing a little baby can do. Whether an adult keeps their word, whether they’ll hurt them again, it’s all up to the adult. A little baby has no power, they can only be afraid because they don’t know when they’ll be hurt again. They have no choice but to wait in fear. My dad, I kept pressing his face. Then he gained power, he’s not afraid anymore.”
As she spoke, Wei Maomao showed Wen Xiang her chubby paw, which was being held by Wei Chengli.
“Uncle Wen, you scared Wen Dongyu, he’s afraid. When he has no power, he might always be afraid. My dad promised to give me his appearance fee from this show, if Uncle Wen is willing to give Wen Dongyu his, he might feel a little bit more empowered… But he might still be thinking about repaying the money you gave him before, a little bit more might not be enough.” Wei Maomao paused, then added, “Shen Zilin, he’s his source of power, but he hasn’t received it yet. Uncle Wen, you have to be patient, when Wen Dongyu grows up and gains power, he won’t be afraid anymore.”
Wen Dongyu’s biggest problem was probably the fear of not having money, of not being able to survive. Although it was a bit blunt, Wei Maomao still said it… She hoped Wen Xiang could let go of the “what’s mine is yours, but before that, what’s yours and mine belongs to everyone” kind of family-harmony mindset, so Wen Dongyu could truly have some power.
Although judging from Wen Xiang’s current good attitude, Wen Dongyu probably wouldn’t need it even if he received it. But… Only by having it, could he stop being afraid… Only then could they talk about mending their relationship.
Mending the hurt of a child was very difficult, especially for a child as young as Wen Dongyu, who had been directly hit where it hurt the most.
Wei Maomao could only hope that Wen Xiang would be more patient in facing the fact that Wen Dongyu might not be able to be like his old self for a long time. Don’t hurt him anymore, and don’t create more rifts because of disappointment and impatience.
After all, Wen Dongyu might only be able to truly stand on equal footing with Wen Xiang when he could earn his own money.
However, Wei Maomao completely underestimated Wen Xiang’s impatience.
“A little bit of power is not enough. And I can’t wait that long, life is already difficult enough now, I can’t wait for him to grow up.” Wen Xiang shook his head, but looked at Wei Maomao with sincerity and gratitude. “Thank you, Maomao, thank you all. I know what to do now!”
Wei Maomao: ???
Everyone present: ???
The viewers in the live broadcast room all facepalmed… Wait, what did he think of again!
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