Chapter 46 Part 2
Gu Sui said dead pollutants tasted like seaweed, but even if it tasted good, Shi Xu wouldn’t eat it.
He wiped Sui Sui’s chin with a handkerchief. “Didn’t I tell you not to eat this?”
Sui Sui could eat human food now, but he couldn’t resist pollutants.
A few days ago, he had diarrhea after eating a pollutant.
Pollutants were inherently unclean. Shi Xu wanted him to stop, and Sui Sui agreed, but he couldn’t resist the temptation.
Sui Sui pouted. “Tastes… good.”
Then, “Sui Sui… wrong. Little dad… don’t be angry… Forgive Sui Sui…”
Gu Sui’s influence was evident, both in his words and his quick apology.
Shi Xu found the trembling Little Black hiding under the sofa. He picked up both the cat and the baby, saying, “It’s okay to eat it, but don’t do it in front of Little Black. He’s scared.”
Sui Sui nuzzled his hand, then hugged the still trembling cat, apologizing profusely. “Sui Sui… wrong… Little Black… don’t be scared… Sui Sui… won’t eat… dirty things… anymore…”
Little Black meowed softly, calming down under their combined efforts, licking Sui Sui’s chin clean.
It was afraid of pollutants, but it still cleaned Sui Sui’s face.
“Wife, dinner… is ready! You must be… hungry! Come eat!” Gu Sui’s voice echoed from the dining room. Shi Xu carried the cat and the baby to the dining room.
After three hours of “exercise,” Gu Sui looked refreshed, his earlier dejection gone. He wanted to wag his non-existent tail. He reached for Sui Sui and Little Black, then paused, surprised.
Shi Xu: “What is it?”
Gu Sui traced Sui Sui’s body with his hand. “Wife, our son… has grown…”
Shi Xu: “…”
His casual tone felt strange.
He placed Sui Sui in his high chair, observing him closely. He had indeed grown slightly.
Gu Sui was right. Consuming their own kind allowed them to evolve. Sui Sui, initially the size of a soccer ball, was now the size of a normal three-year-old, his speech still slightly slurred, but mostly fluent, now able to take a few steps, although he still only had four tiny teeth.
Gu Sui said hopefully, “Will… he be… an adult… soon? Adults… should… move out… right? We have to… let him… be independent…”
Shi Xu: “…”
His intentions were clear.
Shi Xu: “Another pollutant attacked him today. Are you sure you want him to live alone?”
Gu Sui had another idea, pointing at Little Black. “Let Little Black… take care… of him.”
Little Black: Meow?
I’m terrified of pollutants. Who’s taking care of who?
Shi Xu: “Be serious.”
Gu Sui’s expression turned serious. “When… he’s… an adult… no pollutant… below SSS-class… can defeat him.”
Shi Xu was surprised. “He’s that strong?”
Gu Sui, slightly jealous, emphasized, “Not… as strong… as me.”
Shi Xu patted Sui Sui’s head. “Our Sui Sui is so amazing.”
Sui Sui smiled, showing off his four tiny teeth and his heart-shaped mouth.
Gu Sui frowned, repeating, “I’m stronger!”
Shi Xu ignored him, starting to eat his noodles.
Gu Sui: “…”
He cared about Sui Sui, but he was annoyed by his constant attempts to steal Shi Xu’s attention.
They hadn’t even had their wedding yet, hadn’t enjoyed a single day of marital bliss. How could he let this clingy little brat ruin it?
He glared at Sui Sui, nestled in Shi Xu’s arms. He would send this brat away!
Then, he and Shi Xu could finally enjoy their married life.
Children should be independent!
With that thought, he didn’t sleep with Shi Xu that night. Shi Xu found it slightly unusual, but he didn’t ask Gu Sui to join him.
The next morning, seeing the pile of pollutant corpses in the living room, he finally understood what Gu Sui had been doing.
He hadn’t slept in his own room either, spending the entire night hunting pollutants, bringing their corpses back before dawn.
Gu Sui, who had been resting on the floor, sat up as soon as he saw Shi Xu, his tone suggesting he deserved praise. “Wife, I… prepared… a feast… for our son…”
“…” Shi Xu looked at the pile of corpses, then understood.
He found Gu Sui’s childish jealousy amusing, not commenting on it directly. “Can Sui Sui even eat all this?”
Gu Sui, having already thought of this, chuckled. “If… he can’t… we can… store it… in the… refrigerator…”
Shi Xu: “Don’t you dare contaminate my refrigerator!”
“Then… let him… eat it all… Don’t worry… he has… a big appetite…” He looked at Sui Sui encouragingly. “Sui Sui, you… can eat… all of it… right?”
His encouragement was laced with a subtle threat. Sui Sui shuddered, nodding hesitantly. “C-Can… eat…”
“See? He said he can!” Gu Sui, not giving him a chance to escape, shoved a piece of pollutant into Sui Sui’s mouth, like a doting father.
“Good boy, Sui Sui. Daddy specially prepared your favorite flavor. Don’t waste Daddy’s efforts. Eat, eat. Daddy will get you more if you’re still hungry.”
Sui Sui: “…”
Gu Sui wasn’t usually affectionate, but when he was, it was overwhelming, especially for his stomach.
After eating several pollutants, each three times larger than himself, Sui Sui burped repeatedly, finally breaking free from Gu Sui’s grasp, running to Shi Xu, crying, “Wuwuwu, little dad, I… burp… can’t… eat… anymore… burp…”
Shi Xu chuckled, poking his round tummy. “You couldn’t eat that much from the start. Why force yourself?”
He knew it was because of Gu Sui’s threats.
Sui Sui, emboldened by Shi Xu’s presence, pointed at Gu Sui. “Big dad… made… Sui Sui… eat!”
Shi Xu glared at Gu Sui, who immediately shut up.
“Tell me if your big dad threatens you again, okay?”
His words were like music to Sui Sui’s ears. He nodded vigorously, hugging Shi Xu, nuzzling his neck, his voice childish. “Sui Sui… likes… little dad… the most! Sui Sui… will… cling to… little dad… forever!”
Sui Sui was sensitive to human emotions. He knew that despite Shi Xu’s outward coldness towards Gu Sui, he actually liked him, indulging him constantly.
He had assumed Shi Xu would always side with Gu Sui, afraid of challenging him, of being sent away.
But now, with Shi Xu’s reassurance, he was no longer afraid.
Even if Big Dad tried to send him away, Little Dad would protect him!
Gu Sui gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, watching as his wife and his son cuddled.
A full stomach made Sui Sui sleepy. He yawned, falling asleep in Shi Xu’s arms. Shi Xu placed him in Little Black’s bed, telling the cat to watch him, then turned to reprimand Gu Sui.
Gu Sui, as always, offered his three-part apology—
“I was wrong!”
“Don’t be angry!”
“Forgive me!”
Shi Xu hadn’t stopped Sui Sui from eating the pollutants, wanting to see if he would learn his lesson.
Consuming pollutants allowed him to grow quickly, but it also risked contaminating him, turning him into a full pollutant.
Although Gu Sui assured him that Sui Sui wouldn’t be controlled, Shi Xu didn’t want to take any chances.
So he had to intervene.
He wasn’t truly angry with Gu Sui. He was partly to blame for indulging Sui Sui.
He was being cruel, enjoying Gu Sui’s apologies, wanting to push him further, to satisfy his own twisted desires.
Gu Sui seemed to understand, readily apologizing, giving him what he wanted.
He approached Shi Xu, taking his hand, apologizing with each kiss.
He kissed the back of his hand, then each finger, then his palm, his chin resting on Shi Xu’s hand, his voice soft and pleading. “Wife, forgive… me… please?”
How could he forgive him?
“I’ll… make… Wife… happy…” He kissed Shi Xu’s wrist, then his arm, his neck, each kiss accompanied by an apology.
Finally, he captured Shi Xu’s lips, his apology mingled with desire.
Shi Xu took a week of bereavement leave, returning to work at Jinzhu Bay afterwards.
While he rested, Qi Yu worked tirelessly. Finally having a day off, he slept for 18 hours, then immediately went to see Shi Xu.
He had no urgent business, just wanting to check on him, bringing a bag of sunflower seeds, sitting in the security booth, chatting with Shi Xu while they snacked.
“You inherited so much, why are you still working here? If it were me, I’d travel the world.”
Shi Xu: “You enjoy traveling. I enjoy working here. Different people, different preferences.”
Qi Yu spat out a sunflower seed shell, grumbling, “You’re right, but I still don’t understand. You rich people, always looking for hardship when you could be enjoying life!”
“Is being a security guard considered hardship?” Shi Xu chuckled. “I find it quite relaxing.”
Qi Yu paused, realizing Shi Xu was right. He barely did anything, just patrolling occasionally, spending most of his time in the security booth, playing on his phone, leaving on time, no overtime, his salary higher than Qi Yu’s. He was living the dream.
Qi Yu sighed dramatically. “I’m starting to think I should resign and join you.”
Shi Xu: “What, is the bureau that stressful?”
Qi Yu: “Tell me about it. Lin Quan has been making mistakes lately. As captain, his incompetence puts more pressure on us vice-captains. After his promotion, it’s just me and Tan Xiao. We have to handle everything. At least when there were three of us, the workload was lighter. I barely have any time off, and now I have to clean up his messes.”
Shi Xu frowned. “Lin Quan doesn’t seem like the type to be incompetent.”
Qi Yu chuckled dryly. “I thought so too, until I saw him being reprimanded by Director Shen. I was clearly mistaken.”
He sighed. “To be honest, Tan Xiao and I feel sorry for him. Director Shen assigned him all the important tasks, and he hasn’t filled the vacant vice-captain position. With the recent pollutant outbreaks, the three of us can barely handle it. I finally have a day off, but I have to go back tomorrow.”
When Shi Xu was captain, the workload was heavy, but not this much. Director Shen didn’t dump everything on him.
He valued Lin Quan. Why treat him like this after his promotion?
Qi Yu: “Some people are saying Director Shen is doing this deliberately, to make Lin Quan resign, to create an opportunity for you to return, so no one will question your authority again.”
Shi Xu: “What do you think?”
Qi Yu: “I think it’s possible. Director Shen values you the most. He’s the one who least wants you to leave the bureau.”
“Least wants me to leave…” Shi Xu murmured.
Qi Yu: “What? Is there something wrong with what I said?”
Shi Xu smiled. “No, you’re right. Director Shen does value me. But I don’t think he’s doing this to bring me back. He’s probably trying to pressure Lin Quan, to force him to grow.”
Qi Yu grumbled. “He can force Lin Quan to grow all he wants, but it’s me and Tan Xiao who suffer… Whatever. He’s our superior, our captain. We just have to obey.”
After his rant, he suddenly remembered something. “Speaking of which, I was in District B the other day, and there’s a new theme park there. Looks fun. You should go, relax a bit.”
Shi Xu kept his words in mind, thinking about it all afternoon.
He should relax, experience taking his child on an outing.
He texted Gu Sui, asking for his opinion: [Do you want to go to a theme park?]
While he was at work, Gu Sui’s phone was always within reach, his replies instant: [Wife, are… you… asking me… on a date? [shy puppy.jpg]]
Shi Xu: [With Sui Sui and Little Black.]
Gu Sui: [You didn’t deny it! Wife… asked me… out!!! I’m so happy~~~]
Shi Xu: “…”
So romantic!