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 like pale gold in the lamplight, casting his eyes in a warm amber hue.
Shen Wen came 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 teeth, giving his dad a soft smile.
“Daddy!”
Xing Nuo lunged forward, his small body pressing against Shen Wen’s, 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 Daddy?”
Xing Nuo nodded vigorously. A spoonful of porridge was placed in his mouth, and he instinctively smacked his lips, savoring the sweetness.
He tried to remember what had happened in the past few days, but his mind was blank.
Shen Wen had used the “Total Memory Loss” earplug prop on him, which blurred and weakened 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 distracted by something else after eating half a bowl of porridge.
“Xing Nuo, look, this is a new fairytale book.”
Xing Nuo’s eyes widened in delight at the sight of the colorful picture book, featuring a little knight with a silver sword.
“Wittle knight!”
Xing Nuo touched the little knight on the cover with his small, chubby finger, his eyes sparkling.
Shen Wen, knowing Xing Nuo would be interested, smiled faintly and turned the page with his long, pale fingers.
“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.
Daddy was extra gentle today, reading the story seven or eight times, much to Xing Nuo’s satisfaction.
Xing Nuo exclaimed “Wow!” and cupped his cheeks, asking repeatedly:
“Knight…win?”
Shen Wen, occasionally struggling to understand Zaizai’s words, pinched Xing Nuo’s nose and tucked him in.
“The little knight defeated the monster in the end. Zaizai needs to rest now.”
Having slept for so long, Xing Nuo wasn’t sleepy at all. He shook his head.
“No.”
He wanted to hear more stories.
Unfortunately, Shen Wen had other plans. He brought over a bowl of brownish medicine and stirred it gently with a porcelain spoon.
“Since Zaizai isn’t sleepy, let’s have some medicine.”
Xing Nuo’s face was still pale and sickly from his illness, his golden curls against his forehead the only vibrant color about him.
When Xing Nuo was two, he had also been seriously ill and had soaked in the blood pool for over a month.
Every time he woke up, Daddy would bring him bitter medicine.
At first, Xing Nuo was obedient, swallowing every spoonful, until his little face scrunched up like a steamed bun.
Towards the end, he would always spit it out, unable to stomach any more.
This dark, nasty medicine must have been concocted by the evilest witch in the fairytales!
Remembering the taste, Xing Nuo quickly shook his head and scrambled out of his dad’s arms.
Pulling his sunflower-print blanket over himself, Xing Nuo turned to face the wall, closed his eyes tightly, and mumbled:
“Zaizai sleep.”
He was asleep, so he couldn’t drink the bitter medicine.
Shen Wen frowned slightly, his voice feigning distress:
“What should I do? Since Zaizai is asleep, should I give this medicine to Big Brother?”
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 chuckled.
“Alright, then I’ll go find Big Brother.”
Xing Nuo, his eyes tightly shut, listened intently to his dad’s movements.
After confirming that his dad had left with the bitter medicine, Xing Nuo slowly opened his eyes and carefully pulled the blanket down.
He peeked out, his curly hair a mess, and crawled to the head of the bed.
Opening his picture book, Xing Nuo propped his chin on his hands, his eyes sparkling as he read.
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, Shen Yan is already investigating, but it will take time.”
Shen Wen hummed, his eyelids half-closed, the lamplight highlighting the blue veins on the back of his hand, giving him a deceptively fragile appearance.
But his words were cold and ruthless.
“Once you find out who did it, throw them into my new flowerbed as fertilizer.”
The flowers would slowly drain every drop of blood, even the marrow, leaving nothing but skin that would eventually melt into the roots.
Clean and efficient, leaving no trace behind.
Shen Wen crossed his arms, pushing aside his anger, and changed the subject.
“Why did your teacher make you stand in the corner again yesterday?”
Shen Baizhou’s scalp tightened. Although he, as a monster, didn’t have a heart, he felt a sudden sense of suffocation.
“Because…I threatened a classmate to copy my homework.”
True to his nature as a monster with a less-than-stellar intellect, Shen Baizhou had, within a week of school, 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 incidents involving dyeing his hair, getting others to copy his homework, skipping class to see his brother, and so on, Shen Baizhou had been reprimanded by his teachers countless times.
But Shen Baizhou, maintaining his tough-guy persona, continued to misbehave even after being punished.
He couldn’t just not skip class to see his brother!
His brother was so cute. What if someone took him while he wasn’t looking?
And his hair color wasn’t something he could control. Whenever he reverted to his true form, his hair turned white again.
Having roamed the school with white hair for a few days, Shen Baizhou’s notoriety was second only to the school’s disciplinary head, nicknamed “Old Witch.”
Shen Wen suppressed a sigh and snorted.
“Go to the hair salon and dye your hair back to black. And stop threatening your classmates to copy your homework. I don’t want to receive any more complaint calls from your teachers.”
Shen Baizhou, his head down, his white hair drooping, mumbled in agreement.
He glanced up at Shen Wen, flinched at his cold, indifferent expression, and quickly vanished from sight.
Having dealt with his troublesome monster son, Shen Wen sat on the sofa, trying to calm down, and started browsing the enrollment information for the kindergarten across the street.
It was June, and kindergartens had already begun early enrollment.
This included not only the regular September intake but also short summer courses in July and August for early adaptation.
Shen Wen rested his chin on his hand, his finger tapping on the page for Class 1, Sunflower Group, before finally moving on.
In the bedroom next door.
Xing Nuo, fidgeting, secretly put his picture book back on the nightstand.
Just then, a notification popped up on the phone he rarely saw.
[Happy Family Residence Group 1: Voice message 17 seconds.]
The cub had a natural weakness for colorful, glowing things.
Xing Nuo tilted his head, his clear, watery eyes fixed on the phone. After staring at it for a long time, he poked it with his small finger.
The phone wasn’t password-protected, and after Xing Nuo poked it randomly, he accidentally unlocked it.
A voice message played from the group chat:
[It’s 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, his hair standing on end.
He took a few steps back, his lips pursed as he tried to remember, but due to the prop’s effect, Xiao Ran’s name was completely unfamiliar.
Shen Wen, hearing the noise from the bedroom, 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…say Zaizai…name.”
Xing Nuo’s face was filled with bewilderment, amazed by the phone that could say his name.
His round, grape-like eyes stared at his dad, questioning.
Shen Wen picked up Zaizai and carried him to the living room sofa.
“That’s what phones do. See this group chat? People can talk to each other through their phones.”
Xing Nuo, still confused, shook his head.
Shen Wen’s patience with Zaizai seemed boundless.
He chuckled, hugged 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.”
