In the palace.
Jian Ning was playing with a small duck in a large bathtub. When he saw Wagner staring at him, he struggled with his expression for a few seconds before handing the duck over.
“Here you go.”
Jian Ning had been stared at for a while and he thought Wagner must really like his toy.
Wagner looked at the small duck handed to him and shrugged. “I stopped playing with such childish toys a long time ago.”
Jian Ning: “?”
Jian Ning silently took back the toy he offered, and in the next second, he twisted the key under the belly of the duck. As the key reached the end of the winding, the duck immediately started swimming as soon as it was put back into the water.
The little duck’s swimming skills were good, and it could change several poses while swimming.
Wagner, who was not much older than Jian Ning, looked disdainful, but couldn’t take his eyes off the little duck.
Huo Lin and Ai Wei each bathed a child, and they both silently watched the two little radishes in the bathtub without participating in the children’s conversation.
After the bath was done, Andrei also brought clean clothes.
Jian Ning was used to being taken care of, and when he saw Huo Lin shaking out his clothes, he immediately cooperated by opening his arms. “Brother, dress me!”
Huo Lin squatted down and started dressing him.
While Jian Ning was being dressed, Ai Wei also brought clothes for Wagner to wear. However, Wagner looked uncomfortable and awkward while being dressed.
“I’ll do it myself.”
Wagner reached out his hand to take the clothes. “I can do it myself.”
Ai Wei saw that he wanted to dress himself and didn’t force him to let her dress him. She handed him the clothes with a gentle smile on her face. “Wagner is really an independent child.”
Wagner, who was praised, didn’t react on the surface, but his ears turned slightly red.
Ningning, who was still being dressed by his brother on the side, couldn’t sit still when he heard Wagner being praised, “Ningning can dress himself too!”
Zhan Xi had already taught him how to dress himself, but although he had been taught, he still didn’t want his own Ningning to dress himself.
So, after learning briefly, adults still dressed Jian Ning carefully.
Now, in order to be praised as well, Jian Ning pushed his brother’s hand away and stubbornly picked up his own clothes, “Brother, Ningning will dress by myself. Next is your turn!”
Huo Lin: “...”
Huo Lin looked down at the clothes on his body. Apart from getting splashed with a little water during the bath just now, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with them.
But Ningning’s attitude was very firm.
Wrapped in a big towel and lying on the bed, Ningning tried hard to put on his clothes. He was in a hurry to put them on, especially when he was trying to put on a light yellow sweatshirt. His head got stuck, and he almost strangled himself.
Fortunately, Huo Lin pulled him out in time.
The Ningning, who was rescued by his brother, looked at his clothes with a pouty face. He raised his head and reminded his brother, “Ningning won’t wear this next time!”
“Okay.”
Huo Lin continued to watch him and saw him finish dressing.
After dressing himself, Ningning was still excited to pick out clothes for his brother. He couldn’t dress his aunt, as his father had said. Boys and girls were different!
He was a boy, and Auntie was a girl.
Unable to dress Auntie, Ningning had to dress his older brother instead. After struggling for a while, he managed to dress his brother as well.
After dressing up, Ningning approached Ai Wei and looked at her eagerly.
Ai Wei knew exactly what he was up to and smiled as she praised him, saying, “Ningning is very independent.”
Wagner snorted, thinking how childish Ningning was.
The two little ones finally got closer to each other to have lunch. As usual, Jian Ning ate his lunch heartily. Since arriving at the palace, he had been enjoying every meal.
At first, Ai Wei was puzzled, “Didn’t Zhan Xi say that Ningning is a picky eater?”
She had never seen him being picky about his food. No matter what was put in his bowl, he could eat everything with a round spoon.
Even the problem of weaning that Zhan Xi had been worried about for a long time was perfectly solved by the head chef.
The head chef loved the new curly-haired little kid, and since he arrived, he had received endless compliments. Ningning was also very appreciative of every dish the head chef brought out.
When the head chef heard that Ningning was still struggling to quit drinking formula milk powder, he thought for a few minutes, then went back to the kitchen to fill his bottle with the sugar water he had just made. In addition to sugar water, there were various other soups.
The head chef poured all these into Ningning’s bottle and hung it around his neck. Ningning held the bottle and drank it happily.
From then on, Ningning’s problem with weaning was completely solved.
At the dining table.
Ningning, who was wearing a bib, hesitated and lowered his head when he saw Wagner not using one. The bib was printed with his favorite cartoon pattern, and he didn’t want to take it off.
Wagner saw his bib, but for some reason, he didn’t make any jokes this time.
Time passed slowly, and it was afternoon. Huo Lin put the two children in the toy room and started a video call with Zhan Xi to report on today’s events.
When Zhan Xi previously made video calls, he always wanted to see his own child first. But this time, he was stunned when he heard that his child had been accepted into the Imperial Military Academy affiliated kindergarten. After a few minutes of shock, he came back to his senses.
“My Ningning... really got accepted into the Imperial Kindergarten?” Zhan Xi murmured, his face full of disbelief. He was usually very confident in his child, but he wasn’t confident enough to think that his child could get into the top kindergarten in the entire empire.
Recently, Zhan Xi had been reading a lot of books about ancient Earth, and he couldn’t help but blurt out: “Is our family’s ancestral grave smoking?” (T/N: An idiom meaning someone in the family has achieved great success, bringing honor and prosperity to the family. The idiom is often used to describe a situation where a family member has achieved great success and brought glory to their ancestors, leading to a sense of pride and fulfillment within the family.)
Huo Lin didn’t understand and urged Zhan Xi, “Uncle Zhan, you need to fill out the application form.”
Reminded by Huo Lin, Zhan Xi patted his forehead and said, “Right, I need to do the formalities properly. Show me the form, and I’ll see how to fill it out.”
Huo Lin replied with an “Okay” and showed him the form.
Soon, Zhan Xi’s expression became serious as he frowned and had difficulty filling in the information in the “parents” section of the application form.
His current identity cannot be directly written in the information column, no matter how you look at it.
Huo Lin saw his concern and said, “Uncle Zhan, you don’t have to worry about filling in the identity column. I will take care of it. But if Ningning comes over here to study, you must accompany him.”
“Uncle Zhan, why don’t you come over here first?”
Huo Lin calculated the time and said, “Your place is far from White Mist Star, so leave early so you can come here earlier. If Ningning can’t find you when he sleeps at night, he will cry every time.”
Before, Zhan Xi was not very positive about coming to White Mist Star. He subconsciously felt that a place like White Mist Star might have nothing to do with him for his whole life.
Now that Ningning was going to school there, his attitude naturally changed.
“Okay, I’ll pack my things and come over today.”
***
After Zhan Xi and Huo Lin studied the form for a while, he got up in a hurry and packed his things.
While packing his things, he did not forget to tell everyone about Ningning’s upcoming enrollment. Upon hearing this news, everyone was also excited.
“Zhan Xi, you go and accompany Ningning first, and we will also come over when we have a chance. By the way, the vegetables I planted are ready. Take some with you when you leave.”
“I heard that the prices on White Mist Star are very high. If you have any difficulties living with Ningning, please let us know immediately.”
Zhan Xi remembered their advice one by one, and then took the packed things and boarded the spaceship. He was in a hurry to see his own Ningning, so he set the spaceship at the highest speed.
***
In order to surprise Ningning, Huo Lin did not tell him in advance that Zhan Xi was coming.
That night, Wagner, who was used to sleeping alone, did not need anyone to coax him and went to bed by himself. He slept soundly in the room next to Huo Lin’s.
Ningning always called out for his dad at night. After not seeing his dad for two days, the little one had become harder to soothe when crying.
Ludwig was working overtime in his study when he heard crying coming from the room as he walked down the hallway. Instead of immediately pushing open the door, he knocked first.
“Come in,” came the response.
After receiving permission from his son, he opened the door and walked in. As soon as he entered, Ludwig saw the crying and sad little kid.
“I want daddy. Waaah! Daddy doesn’t want me anymore, does he?”
No one knew why Ningning was so attached to Zhan Xi, not even Huo Lin, who was closest to him and thought he knew him well.
Huo Lin once asked someone about it, and they told him that in cases like his, it meant that the young child in question lacked a sense of security.
Ningning might not even realize the lack of security himself. However, the brain was an honest part of the body, and it would honestly record your fears and then bury them deep. This type of fear often led to a lack of security.
“Give him to me,” said Ludwig.
He picked up Ningning, who was crying uncontrollably, and swung him like a pendulum a few times. With his favorite game calming him down, the little kid’s emotions finally calmed down a bit.
“Let him sleep in my room tonight. His mood will be much better next to your mother.”
“Okay,” said Huo Lin.
As he watched Ningning being carried away, Huo Lin furrowed his brow slightly, feeling like he hadn’t soothed him well enough.
With Ai Wei’s comforting, Ningning managed to sleep somewhat restlessly that night. But Ai Wei knew she couldn’t replace Zhan Xi and could only hope that he would come here soon. Otherwise, Ningning would cry every night.
Three days quickly passed.
Huo Lin’s vacation ended, and he had to return to school. On the way to school, little Ningning sat firmly on his lap, ready to send him off.
Huo Lin held the little one in one hand and his star device in the other, trying to contact Zhan Xi.
At this time, Zhan Xi should have arrived, but he had not received any messages on his star device.
Huo Lin called him, but after a few seconds, the sound of the other’s star device being turned off sounded in his ear.
Huo Lin held his star device tightly and looked down at Ningning in his arms. He realized that Zhan Xi seemed to be in trouble and there was a 90% chance that he was out of contact.
“Auben, turn the car around,” Huo Lin said.
He gave up on going to school and said in a low voice, “I have something very important to do right now.”
Auben didn’t hesitate and turned the car around.
After returning, Huo Lin explained the situation to his father. Then he called up his team and flew his spaceship along the route Zhan Xi had taken.
Marshal Twain was still in White Mist Star.
Wagner had time to stay here, and seeing Ningning on the spaceship, he also applied to go along.
Before boarding, he promised Huo Lin, “I won’t cause you any trouble.”
“When you’re busy, I can help you watch him,” he said, pointing to Ningning.
Ningning, who had been brought out until now, didn’t actually know what had happened.
He sat in his chair, listening to Wagner’s words with a look on his face that said he wasn’t very happy. “I’m very well-behaved, I don’t need you to watch me,” he said.
Wagner jumped onto the chair opposite him with a look that said he definitely had to keep an eye on him.
The two children looked at each other, their little appearances seeming like they were about to fight at any moment.
The spaceship didn’t know how long it had been flying.
Ningning, who was napping, lay on his small bed. Suddenly, his brow furrowed tightly, and then the quiet little sprout once again emerged.
The little sprout shook and an invisible mental thread, like a net, spread outwards.
Covered with a blanket, Ningning clenched his little fist and closed his eyes, calling out, “Daddy.”
The little sprout heard the voice and spread even faster.
Daddy was outside.
The little sprout had already sensed the completely out-of-control mental power that belonged to Daddy.
***
The author has something to say:
Ningning: Let’s go pick up Daddy and live in the city!
