Chapter 22
The little dirty dog, Tiantian, tilted his little face up and whimpered a few times.
Looking up, he saw Shen Xiuze and the cameraman enter together. Shen Tiantian quickly wiped away his tears. With his nose and eye sockets red, his voice was slightly choked.
“I… I didn’t cry.”
His idol’s burden was very heavy. As soon as he rubbed away his tears, he quickly bared his small, white teeth and gave the camera a smile.
Shen Xiuze stood behind the camera, looking at Shen Tiantian’s little expression of pretending to be fine. He lowered his eyes, suppressing the smile at the corners of his lips.
Perhaps it was just too funny, but a certain female staff member accidentally let out a chuckle.
Then, one after another, the laughter joined together into a wave.
Shen Tiantian was dumbfounded. He stared blankly at the big brothers and sisters who were laughing at him, and his eyes instantly filled with tears again.
The tears coated Shen Tiantian’s bright eyes with a sparkling film, making them shimmer and look pitiful.
It was Auntie Mu who felt sorry for the little one. She walked over from the living room, took a tissue, and gently wiped Tiantian’s tears.
“Alright, alright, no more crying. Auntie Mu-Mu will take Tiantian to change his clothes and be a clean little boy.”
Shen Tiantian sniffled, and his puffed-out little tummy deflated along with it. His voice was still choked.
“No, I didn’t cry.”
He was as stubborn as a mule.
Shen Xiuze pressed his lips together, feeling that as the older brother, he couldn’t just do nothing. He walked over, pinched the ear of Shen Tiantian’s hood, and cleared his throat.
“Let’s go. I’ll take him upstairs to wash his face and change his clothes. Auntie Mu, please entertain our little guest.”
With that, Shen Xiuze glanced at Ye Jiabao, who was standing in front of the camera watching the show, his eyes slightly cold, and then he dragged Shen Tiantian away by the ear of his hood.
Ye Jiabao was enjoying the show, thinking that Shen Tiantian’s embarrassing moment had come at the perfect time!
If Shen Tiantian was embarrassed, wouldn’t it be his turn to shine?!
He was just thinking about how to present himself in front of the camera when he suddenly noticed Shen Xiuze’s icy gaze sweep over him.
In an instant, the miserable memories of being tormented by Shen Xiuze in his previous life flooded his mind.
He froze on the spot, a chill running up his spine.
Auntie Mu called the little guest twice. Seeing that he didn’t respond, she couldn’t help but wonder:
“What’s wrong with this child?”
The people in the live stream chat also found Ye Jiabao strange. One netizen’s comment was particularly cutting.
[You should take the child to see a doctor. It seems like there’s something wrong with both his ears and his brain.]
Third-floor bedroom.
Shen Tiantian stood on the carpet at the bedroom entrance, his shoes thrown outside. His little feet were covered in muddy water, leaving a trail of wet little footprints on the light-colored carpet.
The footprints extended to the bathroom. Shen Tiantian stood in front of the bathtub, standing on his tiptoes and staring expectantly at the water filling the tub.
“Is it ready?”
He looked up at Shen Xiuze, who was filling his small bathtub with water.
Shen Xiuze hadn’t expected Shen Tiantian to get this dirty.
He really couldn’t understand how a child could fall and get dirt even in his hair.
Washing his face probably wouldn’t be enough. Shen Xiuze had no choice but to give him a bath.
It was also the first time the great Young Master Shen had ever served someone a bath.
His movements were clumsy, his expression stiff. He didn’t know where to start.
Fortunately, Shen Tiantian was not shy at all. After the bathtub was filled, he quickly stripped himself naked, stepped on a small stool, and sat down in the tub.
He took the little duck from the shelf next to him and started giving orders:
“Big brother, get the towel, and the fragrant shampoo. I want the orange-scented body wash…”
Listening to the little thing’s chirping, Shen Xiuze, for the first time, wore the same silent expression as Shen Jinfeng.
Sighing, Shen Xiuze rolled up his sleeves and brought over the shampoo, towel, and body wash that the little one had requested.
He clumsily lathered foam into Shen Tiantian’s hair. Before he could rinse it off, Shen Tiantian’s nose tickled, and he sneezed forcefully.
The foam on his head instantly flew up and floated all over the room.
Shen Xiuze was a germaphobe and couldn’t stand having foam from someone else’s head on his clothes. He immediately retreated at high speed.
After sneezing, Shen Tiantian rubbed his nose. When he looked up again, he saw that his brother was already standing at the door.
Several meters away from him.
Shen Tiantian: ??
“Big brother, what are you doing?”
The shampoo foam was dense and floated all over the room, making Shen Xiuze feel a little suffocated.
But seeing Shen Tiantian with his head full of foam, calling him “big brother” so obediently, his heart felt as if it were also wrapped in a layer of foam.
It was light and soft, and would even pop with a crackling sound.
Shen Xiuze took a deep breath, his mental defenses retreating again and again. Finally, he braced himself and went over to wash Shen Tiantian’s hair.
Shen Xiuze held the showerhead and rinsed the foam from Shen Tiantian’s head. Looking at the much cleaner little tyke, he let out an imperceptible sigh of relief.
“All clean.”
By the time he had rinsed off the body wash foam, Shen Xiuze’s forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and he looked as if he had just been fished out of the water.
The front of his shirt was soaked, and the sleeves, which were rolled up to his forearms, were also wet.
His originally crisp and stylish jacket was wrinkled and hung on him, a complete mess.
In that moment, Shen Xiuze was utterly disgusted with himself.
He didn’t even want to smell himself. Just one look at his clothes made him feel like his scalp was about to explode.
He wrapped Shen Tiantian in a bath towel and then disappeared, returning to his own bedroom to shower and change.
Shen Tiantian, wrapped in the large bath towel, looked at the hastily departing Shen Xiuze with confusion and let out a small, puzzled sneeze.
Rubbing his nose, Shen Tiantian thought of something and became happy again. He jumped off the bed and bounced over to the wardrobe to pick out new clothes.
Having changed his clothes three times in one day, Shen Tiantian was very pleased with himself.
He held the clothes up to himself, and finally chose a striped sweatshirt with alternating light pink and light blue.
Two rabbit ears hung down the back of the sweatshirt. Paired with off-white pants, the little cub looked like a soft and sweet little glutinous rice ball.
After changing his clothes, Shen Tiantian happily spun around in front of the mirror several times, then ran out in his little slippers to let others admire his beautiful clothes.
Tiantian trotted all the way to the living room, his little face full of excitement.
For a moment, he even forgot about his scraped chin.
He ran up to the camera, spun around happily, and tugged on his clothes, giggling.
“I’m a clean little boy now.”
Auntie Mu immediately smiled and praised:
“It looks good. This outfit makes Tiantian look fair.”
His already fair little face, set off by the light pink color, looked like a slippery, tender, peeled egg.
The group of looks-supremacists in the comment section were so overwhelmed by the cuteness they practically coughed up blood.
[Wow, I feel like Tiantian, in his new clothes, looks like a little cake with a fluffy shell!]
[He looks so fragrant and sweet. I really want to reach out and squish him.]
[Slurp, slurp, a kid like this, I could eat one in a single bite.]
Shen Tiantian received the praise from Auntie Mu-Mu and the staff member’s older sister. He was so dizzy from the compliments that he was just short of flying up to the sky, flapping his rabbit ears.
Shen Xiuze came down a moment later, his hair still damp and clinging to his brows. His eyes were also tinged with a layer of mist, making them seem especially dark and moist.
He was wearing casual home clothes, and his cold aura had softened considerably, making him seem not so unapproachable.
Shen Xiuze still remembered that Shen Tiantian’s chin was scraped. He held a medicine bottle and walked over at a leisurely pace.
“Tiantian, come and put on some medicine.”
Even his voice was tinged with a damp mist.
Only then did Shen Tiantian belatedly feel the pain again. He covered his chin and trotted over.
“Use the one from last time. It’s cool and makes the wound disappear in a flash.”
The ointment Shen Xiuze had given Shen Tiantian last time was effective and didn’t sting.
Shen Xiuze picked up the clean little one, placed him on the sofa, and sat down beside him. His brows furrowed slightly as he gently applied the medicine.
“The one from last time was a scar removal ointment. You can’t use it on a scrape. We’ll use iodophor first this time.”
Shen Xiuze’s voice was like a river flowing down a snowy mountain, carrying unmelted snow. Just being near it, one could feel the chill, but the further it flowed, the warmer it became, eventually wrapped in the warmth of the sun.
Once Shen Xiuze became gentle, he could melt people’s hearts.
Shen Tiantian tilted his head, watching his big brother apply medicine to him. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling.
But his nose tingled, making him want to sneeze again.
Shen Tiantian rubbed his nose, took two deep breaths, and, thinking of a TV show he had watched, promised:
“Big brother, you’re putting medicine on me. When you’re old, I’ll smash the basin for you.”
Shen Xiuze’s fingertips trembled. His face turned slightly cold as he said indifferently:
“Smashing the basin is something only one’s own child can do.”
Shen Tiantian immediately shouted, “I’ll be your son!”
Shen Yuanchuan, who had just walked into the house, heard Shen Tiantian’s outrageous declaration, clamoring to be Shen Xiuze’s son, and his steps faltered.
His face gradually darkened. Shen Yuanchuan strode over, grabbed the rabbit ears on the back of Shen Tiantian’s clothes, and lifted him up.
When Shen Tiantian saw his own daddy, he instantly became much more obedient. He shrank his little neck and gave him an obedient smile.
“Daddy, you’re back.”
Shen Yuanchuan snorted coldly and gave his bottom a light pat.
“If I hadn’t come back, my seniority would have dropped!”
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Shen Yuanchuan gave Shen Tiantian another tap on the forehead.
“Just anger your old man to death, then you won’t have to go around being someone else’s son all day.”
Shen Tiantian quickly hugged his arm, nimbly climbed into his embrace, wrapped his arms around his daddy’s neck, pressed his face against his, and whispered in a milky little voice:
“I’m not going to be anyone else’s son. I was just coaxing big brother.”
Shen Xiuze, who had heard everything clearly from the side: “…”
Little brat.
Translator’s Notes
-
Smash the basin : In some traditional Chinese funeral rites, the eldest son or grandson smashes an earthenware basin at the start of the funeral procession. This act symbolizes the finality of death and the severing of ties with the deceased.
