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Chapter 5: Baby Bottle

Little Bai Luochuan was dressed in new clothes today, with a woolen hat on his head topped with a fluffy pom-pom. When he turned his head, the pom-pom swayed along with him. He was sitting there by himself, holding a large red tangerine and giggling, his eyes curving into little crescents, making him look exceptionally endearing.

Mi Yang, lying there, moved his little hand and was immediately picked up by Cheng Qing and placed next to Bai Luochuan. She smiled and said, “Yangyang is awake too. Come, play with your big brother. Brother is here to see you again. Aren’t you happy?”

Mi Yang blinked and reached out his hands to the adults, wanting to be held. But instead of being picked up as he wished, a large tangerine was placed in his outstretched hand.

Mrs. Bai chuckled. “Let’s give one to our Yangyang too, the same as his brother’s, okay?”

Mi Yang looked down at the tangerine, his nose filling with the fruity fragrance. He twitched his little nose and thought, Alright, I guess.

Mi Yang couldn’t eat the tangerine, but holding it and sniffing it was quite satisfying. The tangerine had a fresh scent, and it felt cool to the touch. Mi Yang recalled the sweet and sour taste of the pulp and smacked his lips.

Mrs. Bai looked at the two children, her gaze lingering more on Mi Yang. She praised, “Yangyang’s eyes are like black grapes, and his eyelashes are so long. At first, I thought he was a little girl. No wonder they say sons resemble their mothers; he’s as pretty as you.”

Cheng Qing felt a little embarrassed and quickly returned the compliment. “Not at all. Luochuan is the handsome one. His skin is so fair, just like Sister Luo.”

Mi Yang also turned to look at the little young master Bai. Indeed, this person had been fair-skinned from childhood to adulthood. No matter how much sun he got, his skin would at most turn a little red but always remained fair. He remembered one time when they went camping, Bai Luochuan, impatient with the heat in the mountains, insisted on dragging him to the river for a swim. When he took off his T-shirt, his skin was so white it practically glowed, covered by a layer of thin, firm muscle that made Mi Yang quite envious.

Perhaps sensing Mi Yang’s gaze, little Bai Luochuan also turned to look at him. But he lost his balance, and with a twist of his body, he tilted and nearly fell on top of Mi Yang. Mi Yang only knew one emergency maneuver: tilt his head back and desperately dodge—from yesterday’s experience, the little young master Bai was about to suck on his face again!

Mi Yang’s guess was correct, but awareness didn’t mean his actions could escape. Soon, the little young master Bai was giggling as he latched onto one of his cheeks, leaving a slobbery mark.

Mi Yang was pinned down, his little hands and feet flailing, letting out “ya ya” sounds to call for the adults!

But the two mothers just stood by the bed, watching them with smiles. Cheng Qing’s eyes curved with laughter, and Mrs. Bai even wanted to send the orderly back to get a camera to capture the moment.

Mi Yang stopped flailing and lay there with a look of utter despair, letting little Bai Luochuan suck on his face.

The little young master Bai played with him for a long time. A toddler’s ways of showing affection were probably limited to these two: a forceful hug and a loving suck on the face. After showing his affection, he started rolling the tangerine for fun and even let out a “ya” at Mi Yang.

Mi Yang: “…”

Mi Yang turned his head to look at Cheng Qing, stubbornly reaching out his hand. He needed to wash his face first! It was covered in Bai Luochuan’s drool, okay!

Fortunately, Cheng Qing had been taking care of him for a few months and knew some of his little habits. She took a handkerchief and wiped his little face clean. Once he was a fragrant baby again, she placed the two children together once more. This time, Mi Yang was much more cooperative. As soon as he was put down, he eagerly joined in the game of rolling tangerines, even pushing his own over for the little young master Bai to play with, trying his best to maintain his safety.

Seeing the two of them playing happily, Cheng Qing smiled. “I was worried before that Yangyang had never seen other children and wondered how long it would take for them to play together. It’s only been a few minutes, and they’re already so close!”

Mrs. Bai was also very happy. She was accompanying her husband and would be staying for a few months. It was one thing for the adults to endure hardship here, but she was raising a child alone, and it was a rare treat to find a little playmate for her son. This was much better than she had expected. When she looked at Mi Yang, her eyes held a shared affection.

Mrs. Bai had something to do at noon and had originally planned to take her child back with her. Cheng Qing, being a sincere person, persuaded her, “Sister Luo, we’re the only two military wives in the camp. If you take him back, Little Zhao will just be watching him for you. If you trust me, you can leave Luochuan here with me, and have Little Zhao stay to help out. I’m already taking care of Yangyang; one more won’t be much trouble!”

Little Zhao was Bai Jingrong’s orderly. Although he usually helped, one couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy about a grown man taking care of a child. Mrs. Bai was delighted to hear Cheng Qing’s offer and asked, “Won’t it interfere with your work?”

Cheng Qing chuckled. “What work do I have? I just need to cook for Yangyang’s dad. It’s no trouble at all!”

Mrs. Bai smiled. “Then I’ll have to trouble you.”

Mrs. Bai left the orderly with Cheng Qing to help look after the children and left, promising to be back in the afternoon.

Cheng Qing stayed and laid out a small blanket for the two little ones, then surrounded it with pillows to prevent them from falling out. She sat to one side and started knitting a sweater, looking relaxed and occasionally teasing the children. In contrast, the orderly, Little Zhao, who was carrying a satchel, seemed a bit nervous. He checked the time and asked, “Sister-in-law, shouldn’t they be having some fruit purée?”

Mi Yang was also getting a little hungry and looked up at his mom expectantly.

Cheng Qing nodded. “Alright, I’ll go prepare it for them.”

The orderly said, “I have some with me. We always bring snacks when we go out. Today it’s apple.”

Cheng Qing said, “That’s good. You watch them for a bit, I’ll go make Yangyang’s formula.”

The orderly agreed and took out a pale yellow bib from his satchel, tying it on little Bai Luochuan. The little young master probably knew that wearing it meant food was coming, so he sat there obediently, placing his chubby, dimpled hands on his little belly. His bright, watery eyes turned to the orderly. When he saw the orderly take out his little cartoon lunchbox, his eyes lit up even more. He stretched out his hands and patted his belly. “Yiya!”

Inside the lunchbox was an apple and a small spoon. After cutting it in half, the orderly wanted to give some to Mi Yang, but Cheng Qing smiled and declined, shaking the baby bottle in her hand. “No need. Yangyang can’t eat too much. He’ll have this.”

The orderly began to feed the little young master Bai the fruit purée. As soon as a spoonful was offered, the little young master, who was waiting with his mouth open, gobbled it down with a smack. The little fellow ate with such relish that his eyes narrowed. After eating some purée, he took a slice of apple and held it in front of his bib, gnawing on it with great enjoyment.

On the other side, Mi Yang was also waiting for his snack.

He usually drank formula. Now, he waited for Cheng Qing to prepare it and test the temperature on the back of her hand before he slowly started drinking. After a few sips, Mi Yang was no longer very hungry and drank absentmindedly while looking out the window. The snow had stopped last night, but the outside was a world of silver. The only green was probably a few pine trees, their branches weighed down by heavy snow. Just looking at it made one feel cold.

Babies get sleepy easily, and it was common for them to fall asleep while eating.

Mi Yang sucked on the bottle, and soon after closing his eyes, he fell asleep. At one point, his mom picked him up and fed him the bottle again. Even while asleep, Mi Yang reached out a small arm to wrap around the bottle and drank with big gulps, his eyes still closed, until he let out a burp.

Bai Luochuan saw this and reached out to touch his bottle. “Ya?”

Mi Yang was furious. What kind of rotten habit is this! In his past life, Bai Luochuan would snatch anything he liked. It had been like that since their school days. He would snatch things Mi Yang looked at for too long, he would snatch the school beauty who wrote him a love letter, and now he was even snatching a baby bottle!

Mi Yang spat out the nipple, his little eyebrows raised, and blew a mouthful of milk at little Bai Luochuan—That’s what you get for snatching!

The little young master Bai was persistent, his robber-like spirit quite stubborn. He grabbed Mi Yang’s bottle and forcefully put it in his own mouth, taking two big gulps with a smacking sound.

By the time Mi Yang got his bottle back, a good amount was gone. He looked down, and my goodness, the nipple had a small tear in it. No wonder he drank so fast!

Cheng Qing said in surprise, “Oh my, Luochuan is teething!”

Mi Yang, who had been hiding in his mom’s arms with his bottle, also turned to look. Little Bai Luochuan was grinning, revealing two tiny, rice-grain-sized baby teeth. A wave of envy washed over him again. Although their birthdays were only two months apart, it felt like there was a huge difference in their development.

Mi Yang remembered that Bai Luochuan would grow to be over 1.8 meters tall. At that time, he was a good half-head shorter than Bai Luochuan, at 1.76 meters, which was considered on the shorter side in the north. But it wasn’t too late now. If he ate more, drank more milk, bone broth, and so on, he should be able to add another two centimeters, right? He wasn’t asking for much, 1.78 meters would be enough.

Little Bai Luochuan still wanted to snatch the bottle. This time, Mi Yang didn’t let him. He opened his mouth and latched onto it himself, drinking with big gulps.

Cheng Qing poked his forehead and teased him, “You little miser, what’s wrong with letting your big brother have a little?”

Little Bai Luochuan sat to the side, waiting expectantly, probably thinking he would get a share after Mi Yang finished. He gnawed on the apple in his hand and blinked his big eyes, looking at Mi Yang’s bottle.

Mi Yang turned his head away to drink, letting out a little huff.

Cheng Qing was thoroughly amused by them. She found another bottle and made some formula for little Bai Luochuan. The two little ones, each holding a bottle, drank with big gulps as if in a competition. Even eating was a delight.

The orderly sighed from the side. “It’s still easier to raise two together.”

Children get sleepy after eating their fill. Bai Luochuan was a bit stronger than Mi Yang, but he was still a baby. After drinking more than half a bottle of milk, he soon started rubbing his eyes. Cheng Qing brought a small blanket, made of new cotton and especially light and soft. She carried the two little ones over for their afternoon nap. Mi Yang yawned, rubbed his face with his little hand, and quickly closed his eyes and fell asleep. The little young master Bai next to him didn’t sleep in such a standard position. He rolled over and slept on his stomach, rubbing his fair, tender cheek against the soft little blanket as if to confirm its scent. His eyes opened and closed a few times before he slowly drifted off to sleep.