Chapter 51
Shen Yan’s expression was sincere, showing no sign of guilt.
Shen Wen raised an eyebrow, stroking his chin, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes.
“What a coincidence. The chef has already prepared lunch?”
Shen Yan, his face calm and composed, dressed in 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, and it wouldn’t be polite to send him away after he arrived.”
The excuse was plausible, and Shen Wen sighed softly.
“I see. Looks like Xing Nuo won’t be having Daddy’s egg custard today.”
Xing Nuo, standing by the door in his little green crocodile slippers, looked up and asked:
“Why? Zaizai wants eat.”
The little one ran to the kitchen, saw the prepared food, and frowned.
“Chef Uncle, can you…can you eat all the food…so my Daddy can cook?”
Xing Nuo puffed out his chest, confident in his dad’s culinary skills.
“My Daddy’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 troubled expression.
“That won’t do, Little Master. Chef Uncle can’t eat this much food. Only Xing Nuo can.”
Xing Nuo’s face fell, and he sighed, then ran back to his dad to report.
“Daddy, Chef Uncle says he can’t eat it all.”
Shen Wen picked up the little one, pinching his cheek.
“Then there’s nothing we can do. Daddy will cook for you next time.”
Xing Nuo sighed again, his face a picture of disappointment for a whole minute, then his attention was quickly captured by the delicious food, his head practically buried in his bowl.
Shen Baizhou tossed his backpack into his bedroom and, turning, saw Shen Yan leaning against the doorframe, a faint smile playing on his lips. He coughed.
“Um, thanks for today.”
Shen Yan shook his head, a flicker of surprise in his gray eyes.
“My, my, what a rare occasion. You’re actually saying ‘thank you’.”
He had expected the brainless fish to just lash out with his tentacles.
Shen Baizhou snorted and touched his nose.
“It’s nothing. I’m a polite student now. My teacher even praised me today.”
Shen Yan’s interest was piqued.
“Praised you?”
Was the teacher blind?
Shen Baizhou blushed slightly, remembering the incident.
He had scored a double-digit mark on his physics test, and the physics teacher, his face beaming, had patted Shen Baizhou’s shoulder, praising him enthusiastically:
“Shen Baizhou, I can see you’ve been studying hard! This score is much better than your chemistry score!”
A double-digit score!
The whole class had erupted in laughter, the PE representative banging his desk in amusement.
Shen Baizhou had cursed under his breath, his face burning with embarrassment, and returned to 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 puffed out as he chewed on a boiled shrimp, saw his brother and offered him the shrimp.
“Big Brother, yummy!”
Shen Baizhou took the shrimp, quickly peeled it, and popped it into Xing Nuo’s open mouth.
“Eat more if you like it.”
Having lived in the sea and swallowed countless small fish and shrimp, he wasn’t particularly fond of them.
Xing Nuo, his eyes crinkling into a happy smile, swung his little legs, enjoying the shrimp.
After lunch, he removed his bib and was carried by his dad to the bathroom to wash up for his nap.
Listening to his dad tell a new story about a knight’s adventure, Xing Nuo was completely engrossed, not a trace of sleepiness in his eyes.
He snuggled into his pillow, staring at his dad’s gentle face, and reached out to touch his smooth, long hair.
“Daddy,” he said softly.
Shen Wen hummed, closed the storybook, and kissed Xing Nuo’s cheek.
“What is it, Zaizai?”
Xing Nuo, his chin resting on his hand, tilted his head, a puzzled look on his face.
“Daddy, why Zaizai…no grow bigger?”
He felt like he had been living in their new home with Daddy 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, pinching Xing Nuo’s cheek.
“Maybe it’s because Daddy likes being with little Xing Nuo, so time passes more slowly.”
Xing Nuo giggled, then tilted his head again.
“When Zaizai big…Daddy still wuv Zaizai?”
Shen Wen nodded, patting Xing Nuo’s back, soothing him to sleep.
“Don’t worry, time will only make Daddy love you more.”
Xing Nuo mumbled, his eyelids growing heavy.
“But…but what if…when Zaizai big…Daddy no wecognize Zaizai? Zaizai become ugly…Daddy no like anymore.”
Shen Wen chuckled, patting the little one’s head.
“That won’t happen. No matter what Xing Nuo looks like, Daddy 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 sounded beside him.
“You can’t blink! We’re dolls! Dolls don’t blink!”
Xing Nuo tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse and scratchy.
He was startled and quickly closed his mouth, trying to raise his arm to 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.
What happened to Zaizai’s arm?!
Where are Zaizai’s fingers?
He stared at his changed arm for a long time, then, panicked, tried to call for his dad and brother.
But as he looked up, he saw a glass display case in front of him.
Reflected in the clean glass was Xing Nuo’s current form—
a small, ugly doll, barely bigger than an adult’s hand, his hair sticking up in all directions.
“Eek!”
Xing Nuo gasped, turning his head, trying to find someone to ask what was going on.
How did Zaizai become an ugly doll in a display case?
But he could only see the green-haired doll that had told him not to blink.
Xing Nuo trembled, wanting to cry, but realized he couldn’t shed tears as a doll.
He asked in his hoarse voice:
“Little Gween Doll, do you know why I like this?”
The green-haired doll tilted its head, leaning against the glass, one leg awkwardly crossed over the other.
“Are you stupid? Xingyuan, we’ve been dolls for ages!”
Xing Nuo shook his head vigorously, his messy hair sticking up even more.
“I not Xingyuan. I Xing Nuo.”
The green-haired doll didn’t seem to care.
“Whatever. Doesn’t matter what your name is.”
He sighed.
“All the other dolls in the display case have been bought. Why are we still here?”
He then looked at himself and Xing Nuo, grimacing.
“So what if we’re ugly?! We were ugly as humans, and now we’re ugly as dolls!”
All the other, slightly more appealing dolls had been bought already.
He sighed again, feeling dejected.
“If we’re not bought soon, the shopkeeper 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 tummy and his bright orange outfit with his fingerless hand and mumbled.
“Little Gween, I can’t be doll. I go home…find Daddy and Big Brother.”
The green-haired doll laughed.
“Are you stupid? We failed the dungeon. We can’t turn back into humans!”
Xing Nuo, not quite understanding, asked:
“Why?”
He was human. Becoming a doll was the strange part!
The green-haired doll, hearing Xing Nuo’s innocent questions, his black button eyes so clear and pure, clicked his tongue.
He reached out and touched Xing Nuo’s forehead.
“Are you feverish? Oh wait, we’re dolls. We can’t get fevers.”
He withdrew his hand, looking at Xing Nuo curiously, thinking he seemed even more dim-witted than before.
“You always used to keep your head down and not talk. When the display case was full, all the other dolls would chat, but you just sulked all day.”
He then added:
“You seem more polite now, but your brain seems to have stopped working.”
Xing Nuo struggled to understand, then asked again:
“Little Gween, how I turn back into person…find Daddy and Big Brother?”
The green-haired doll, bored and having no one else to talk to, replied:
“There’s only one way to turn back into a human.”
thats a lot of instances. wouldnt it be better to just raise him at the castle at this point?