Chapter 51
Shen Yan’s expression was sincere, showing no sign of guilt.
Shen Wen raised an eyebrow, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“Such a coincidence? The chef has already prepared lunch?”
Shen Yan, his expression calm and composed, wearing a sharp suit, as if he had just come from an important meeting, nodded.
“You weren’t home the past two days, so I had the chef come over to prepare lunch. I forgot to cancel today’s arrangement, and it wouldn’t be polite to send him away after he arrived.”
This explanation was plausible, and Shen Wen sighed softly.
“I see. It seems Xing Nuo won’t be having Dad’s egg custard today.”
Xing Nuo, standing at the entrance, wearing his little green crocodile slippers, looked up and asked anxiously:
“Why? Zaizai…wants…eat…”
He ran to the kitchen and, seeing that the chef really had prepared lunch, frowned.
“Chef uncle…can you…can you…eat all the food…let my dad…cook?”
Xing Nuo puffed out his chest, confident in his dad’s culinary skills.
“My dad’s cooking…super yummy!”
The chef chuckled at the curly-haired little cub, wiped his hands, and placed the dishes on the table, feigning a difficult decision.
“That won’t do, Little Master. I can’t eat this much food. Only Xing Nuo can.”
Xing Nuo’s face fell, and he sighed dejectedly, running back to his dad to report.
“Dad…Chef uncle…said…he can’t…eat it all…”
Shen Wen picked up the little one who had just praised his cooking and pinched his cheek.
“Then there’s nothing we can do. Dad will cook for you next time.”
Xing Nuo sighed, his face a mask of disappointment for a whole minute, then his attention was quickly captured by the delicious-smelling food, his head practically buried in his bowl.
Shen Baizhou tossed his backpack into his bedroom, then, seeing Shen Yan leaning against the doorframe with a knowing smile, coughed slightly.
“Um…thanks…for today.”
Shen Yan shook his head, a flicker of surprise in his lead-gray eyes.
“That’s a first. You actually said ‘thank you’.”
He had expected Shen Baizhou, that brainless fish, to just angrily flail his tentacles.
Shen Baizhou snorted and touched his nose.
“What’s the big deal? I’m a polite student now. The teacher even praised me today.”
Shen Yan’s interest was piqued.
“Praised you?”
Had the teacher gone blind?
Shen Baizhou blushed slightly, remembering the incident.
He had actually scored a double-digit number on his physics test, and the physics teacher, his face beaming, had patted Shen Baizhou’s shoulder, exclaiming:
“Shen Baizhou, I can see you’ve been studying hard! This score is much higher than your chemistry score!”
A whole two digits!
The entire class had burst into laughter, the PE representative banging his desk excitedly.
Shen Baizhou had cursed under his breath, his face burning as he slumped back in his seat, clutching his test paper.
But at least he didn’t have to face Shen Wen’s dark cuisine today.
Xing Nuo, his cheeks bulging as he chewed on a boiled shrimp, saw his brother and placed the shrimp on his plate.
“Brother, yummy!”
Shen Baizhou expertly peeled the shrimp and, as Xing Nuo opened his mouth, popped it in.
“Eat more if you like it.”
Having lived in the sea, having swallowed countless small fish and shrimp, he wasn’t particularly fond of them.
Xing Nuo, his eyes crinkling into a smile, swung his little legs happily, enjoying the shrimp.
After lunch, he removed his bib and was carried by his dad to wash up and take a nap.
Listening to his dad tell a new knight adventure story, Xing Nuo was completely engrossed, not a trace of sleepiness in his eyes.
His cheek nestled against the pillow, he stared at his dad, his eyes filled with adoration, and reached out to touch his long, smooth hair.
“Dad…” he called out softly.
Shen Wen hummed in response, closed the storybook, and kissed Zaizai’s soft cheek.
“What is it, Zaizai?”
Xing Nuo tilted his head, a puzzled look on his face.
“Dad…why…Zaizai…not growing up?”
He felt like he had been living in their new home for a very long time.
Why was he still so small?
He looked at his dad, waiting for an answer.
Shen Wen thought for a moment, then smiled and pinched Xing Nuo’s cheek.
“Perhaps…because Dad likes being with Xing Nuo while you’re still small, so time is passing…more slowly…”
Xing Nuo giggled, then tilted his head again.
“Then…Zaizai grows up…? Dad…still like…Zaizai…very much?”
Shen Wen nodded and patted Xing Nuo’s back, coaxing him to sleep.
“Don’t worry, time will only deepen Dad’s love for you.”
Xing Nuo mumbled, his eyelids growing heavy.
“But…what if…grown up…Dad…don’t recognize…Zaizai…? Zaizai…becomes…ugly…Dad…no like…”
Shen Wen chuckled, patting the little one’s head. He was always coming up with strange ideas.
“That won’t happen. No matter what Xing Nuo looks like, Dad will always recognize you.”
Reassured, Xing Nuo closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.
It felt like he had only been asleep for two minutes when he was woken up.
He opened his eyes, the bright light making him blink.
An angry voice echoed beside him:
“You can’t blink! We’re dolls, dolls can’t blink!”
Xing Nuo tried to speak, but his voice came out hoarse and raspy.
Startled, he quickly closed his mouth, wanting to reach up and touch his throat.
But it took a lot of effort to even lift his small, round hand.
He stared at his arm, his eyes widening in horror.
Where were his little fingers?
He stared at his drastically changed arm, then, in a panic, tried to call out for his dad and brother.
But as he looked up, he saw a glass display case.
Reflected in the clean, bright glass was Xing Nuo’s current form—
A small, ugly doll, barely bigger than an adult’s hand, its hair a tangled mess.
“Yikes!”
He cried out, turning his head, trying to find someone to ask what was going on.
How had he turned into an ugly doll in a display case?
But after searching for a while, he only saw the green-haired doll who had just told him not to blink.
Xing Nuo trembled, wanting to cry, but realized he couldn’t shed tears as a doll.
He could only ask in his hoarse, raspy voice:
“Little Green Doll…do you know…why…I like this…?”
The green-haired doll tilted his head, leaning against the glass, awkwardly trying to cross his legs.
“Are you stupid? Xingyuan, we’ve been dolls for ages!”
Xing Nuo shook his head vigorously, his messy hair even more dishevelled.
“I’m not…Xingyuan…I’m Xing Nuo.”
The green-haired doll, seemingly unconcerned about his name, just shrugged.
“Whatever, names don’t matter.”
He sighed.
“All the other dolls in the display case have been bought. Why are we still here?”
Then, glancing at himself and Xing Nuo, he grimaced.
“So what if we’re ugly?! Ugly when we were human, ugly as dolls!”
All the other, even slightly more appealing dolls, had been bought long ago.
He sighed again, feeling dejected.
“If we’re not bought soon, the shop owner will throw us in the trash.”
Then they would be crushed and incinerated by the garbage disposal machines, or torn apart and turned into something else.
Xing Nuo, listening to the green-haired doll, was completely confused.
He touched his round little belly and his bright orange outfit with his fingerless hand and mumbled.
“Little Green…I…can’t be…doll…I need…go home…find Dad…and Brother…”
The green-haired doll burst out laughing.
“You’re such an idiot! After failing the instance, we can never become human again!”
Xing Nuo, not understanding, asked:
“Why?”
He was human! Becoming a doll was the abnormal part!
The green-haired doll, looking at Xing Nuo’s innocent, clear eyes, despite being just two black dots on a doll’s face, couldn’t help but be taken aback.
He reached out and touched Xing Nuo’s forehead.
“Are you feverish? Oh wait, we’re dolls, we can’t have fevers.”
He withdrew his hand, studying Xing Nuo curiously, thinking he seemed even more dim-witted than before.
“You always used to just stand there with your head down, not talking. When the display case was full, all the other dolls were chatting, but you just stood there with a grumpy face.”
He paused, then added thoughtfully:
“You seem a bit more polite now, but your brain seems to have stopped working.”
Xing Nuo struggled to understand what the green-haired doll was saying.
“Little Green…how…become human…find Dad…and Brother…?”
The green-haired doll, seeing Xing Nuo’s persistence, bored, and also because there were no other dolls to talk to, replied:
“If you want to become human again, there’s only one way…”
thats a lot of instances. wouldnt it be better to just raise him at the castle at this point?