Chapter 12
Xing Nuo slept soundly for three whole days.
When he finally woke up, his head felt foggy, like it was wrapped in frosted glass. He sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, unable to remember who he was.
His curls fell around his face, shimmering with a faint golden hue in the lamplight, casting his eyes in a light amber color.
Shen Wen walked over with a bowl of warm, sweet pumpkin porridge, its golden color Xing Nuo’s favorite.
“Zaizai’s awake? Have something to eat.”
Seeing his dad, although still disoriented, Xing Nuo instinctively revealed his little rice teeth, giving his dad a soft smile.
“Dad!”
Xing Nuo lunged forward, his small body pressing against Shen Wen’s chest, clinging to him like a sticky rice cake.
Shen Wen supported him with one arm, gently brushing aside the curls from Zaizai’s forehead, and kissed him.
“Did Zaizai miss Dad?”
Xing Nuo nodded vigorously. A spoonful of porridge was fed into his mouth, and he instinctively smacked his lips, savoring the sweet taste.
He racked his little brain, but couldn’t recall what had happened in the past few days.
Shen Wen had used a “Total Memory Loss” earplug prop on Zaizai, which would blur and weaken the user’s memories of events within a few days.
Only fragmented images remained in Xing Nuo’s mind, and before he could piece them together, he was quickly distracted by something else after eating half a bowl of porridge.
“Xing Nuo, look, this is a new fairytale picture book.”
Xing Nuo’s eyes widened in delight at the sight of the brightly colored book, showing a little knight carrying a silver sword.
“Little knight!”
Xing Nuo touched the little knight on the cover with his small, fair finger, his eyes sparkling.
Shen Wen knew Xing Nuo would be interested. His lips curved into a smile, and his long, pale fingers delicately turned the page.
“Shall I read you a story?”
Xing Nuo, who couldn’t read yet, nodded enthusiastically, fluffed his small pillow, leaned against it, and looked up at his dad expectantly.
Dad was incredibly gentle today, reading the story seven or eight times, leaving Xing Nuo completely satisfied.
Xing Nuo exclaimed in awe, cupping his cheeks with his small hands, asking repeatedly:
“Knight…win?”
Shen Wen, occasionally struggling to understand what Zaizai was saying, pinched Xing Nuo’s nose and tucked him in.
“The little knight defeated the monster in the end. Time for Zaizai to rest now.”
Having slept for so long, Xing Nuo wasn’t sleepy at all. He shook his head, indicating he wasn’t tired.
“No.”
He wanted to hear more stories.
Unfortunately, Shen Wen wasn’t planning on reading anymore. Instead, he brought over a bowl of brownish herbal medicine, stirring it gently with a porcelain spoon.
“Since Zaizai isn’t sleepy, how about taking some medicine?”
Xing Nuo’s face was still pale and sickly after his illness, his light golden curls against his forehead the only vibrant color about him.
When Xing Nuo was two, he had also been seriously ill, soaking in the blood pool for over a month.
Every time he woke up, his dad would bring him a bitter herbal concoction.
Xing Nuo was very obedient at first, swallowing every mouthful, until his little face scrunched up in disgust.
Towards the end, he would always spit it out, unable to stomach any more.
This dark, foul-tasting medicine must have been concocted by the most evil witch in the stories!
Remembering the taste, Xing Nuo quickly shook his head and scrambled out of his dad’s arms.
Pulling the light yellow, sunflower-printed blanket over himself, Xing Nuo turned to face the wall, closed his eyes tightly, and mumbled:
“Zaizai…sleeping.”
If he was asleep, he wouldn’t have to drink the bitter medicine.
Shen Wen frowned slightly, his voice feigning distress:
“What should we do? Since Zaizai is asleep, should I go and have your brother drink this medicine instead?”
Zaizai, curled up under the blanket like a caterpillar, betrayed his brother without hesitation:
“Okay~”
Shen Wen patted the little lump under the blanket and couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Alright then, I’ll go find your brother.”
Xing Nuo, his eyes tightly shut, listened intently to his dad’s movements.
After confirming his dad had left with the bowl of bitter medicine, Xing Nuo slowly opened his eyes and carefully pulled the blanket down from his head.
He peeked out, his curly hair a mess, and crawled to the head of the bed.
Opening his picture book, Xing Nuo cupped his cheeks in his hands, his eyes shining as he read, completely absorbed.
In the living room.
Confirming that the little one was secretly reading, Shen Wen turned and glanced at Shen Baizhou.
“Did you talk to Shen Yan?”
Shen Baizhou nodded, lowering his voice so as not to disturb Xing Nuo.
“Yes, I told him. Shen Yan has already started investigating, but it will take time.”
Shen Wen hummed in response, his eyelids half-closed. The lamplight highlighted the blue veins on the back of his hand, adding a touch of fragile beauty to his appearance.
But his words were cold and ruthless.
“Once he’s found, throw him into my new flowerbed as fertilizer.”
The flowers would slowly drain all the blood, even the marrow, leaving nothing but skin that would melt into the roots.
Clean and traceless.
Shen Wen crossed his arms, pushing aside his anger, and changed the subject:
“Why were you punished again in class yesterday?”
Shen Baizhou stiffened. Although he, as a monster, didn’t have a heart, he felt a pang of fear.
“Because…I threatened a classmate to copy my homework for me.”
True to his nature as a monster with patchy knowledge, Shen Baizhou, after just a week of school, had firmly established himself as the school bully.
His classmates held him, with his newly re-dyed silver-white hair, in high regard.
In the past few days, due to a series of foolish acts like dyeing his hair, getting others to copy his homework, skipping class to go home and see his brother, and so on, Shen Baizhou had been lectured countless times by his teachers.
But Shen Baizhou remained unrepentant, continuing his delinquent behavior even after repeated punishments.
He couldn’t just not skip class to see his brother!
His brother was so well-behaved; what if someone took advantage of his absence and stole him?
And his hair color wasn’t something he could control. Whenever he reverted to his true form, his hair would turn white again.
Having roamed the school with white hair for a few days, Shen Baizhou’s notoriety was second only to the disciplinary director, nicknamed “Old Witch.”
Shen Wen snorted coldly.
“Go to the hair salon and dye your hair back. And stop threatening your classmates to do your homework. I don’t want to receive another complaint call from your teacher.”
Shen Baizhou cowered, his white hair drooping, and gave a meek “Mm.”
He glanced up at Shen Wen, flinched at his cold, indifferent expression, and quickly vanished from sight.
After dealing with his troublesome monster son, Shen Wen sat on the sofa, trying to suppress his anger as he browsed the enrollment information for the kindergarten across the street.
In June, kindergartens had already started early admissions.
This included not only the regular September enrollment, but also short summer courses in July and August to help children adjust.
Shen Wen tapped his finger on the page for “Class 1, Sunflower Group,” then finally moved on.
In the bedroom next door.
Xing Nuo, wiggling, stealthily placed his picture book back on the nightstand.
Just then, a notification popped up on his dad’s phone, which Xing Nuo rarely saw.
[Happy Family Residence Group 1: Voice message 17 seconds.]
The cub couldn’t resist such colorful, glowing objects.
Xing Nuo tilted his head, staring at the phone with his bright, watery eyes. After a while, he poked it with his small finger.
The phone wasn’t password-protected. After a few random pokes, Xing Nuo unlocked it.
A voice message from the group chat played:
[It’s me, Xiao Ran. Xing Nuo, why haven’t you come down to play lately?]
Xiao Ran’s voice, amplified by the phone, sounded clear and crisp, echoing in the bedroom.
Xing Nuo jumped, startled.
He stumbled backward, his hair standing on end.
He pursed his lips and thought hard, but, due to the prop’s effect, Xiao Ran’s name was completely unfamiliar to him.
Hearing the noise from the bedroom, Shen Wen opened the door and walked in.
“Who is Zaizai playing with?”
Seeing his dad, Xing Nuo forgot all about pretending to be asleep and pointed at the phone on the nightstand.
“Phone…has Zaizai’s…name.”
Xing Nuo’s face was filled with bewilderment. He was incredibly surprised by the phone that could say his name.
He stared at his dad with his large, round eyes, as if asking why.
Shen Wen picked up Zaizai and carried him to the sofa in the living room.
“That’s what phones do. See this group chat? Everyone in this group can talk to each other using their phones.”
Xing Nuo still looked confused, shaking his head.
Shen Wen’s patience with Zaizai seemed boundless.
He chuckled, hugging Xing Nuo’s soft body, and kissed his cheek.
“It’s okay. Zaizai can try it. Press this and talk, and others will be able to hear you.”
