Chapter 366: You Will Definitely Look Better Than Him When You Grow Up
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Manager Zou thought silently in his heart, ‘Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen were really mushy, even when naming each other.’
Not noticing that Manager Zou took a peek on the caller, Ruan Danchen picked up her phone and had just managed to utter a ‘Hello’ when she heard Qi Chenglin’s deep voice, which sounded more mesmerizing over the phone. “Are you not out yet?”
Qi Chenglin’s voice was especially hypnotizing. Without even seeing him in person, one could be captivated just by listening to his voice.
His voice was nothing limpid. Instead, it was low and mellow that exuded a sense of allure.
“I’m just packing up.” Ruan Danchen glanced apologetically at Manager Zou.
Manager Zou ears were pricked up at the exchange.
“I’ll be waiting by the road across the office.” Qi Chenglin hung up soon after, killing Ruan Danchen’s intention to work overtime.
Looking at her helpless expression after hanging up the call, Manager Zou deliberately ignored Yao Jingfei and turn towards Ruan Danchen with a kind smile. “Xiao Ruan, quickly get off work. Don’t let Gen… ahem… him wait too anxiously.”
Manager Zou had wanted to say General Manager Qi but thankfully stopped himself in time before blurting it out.
Ruan Danchen could only smile apologetically before packing up and left the office.
…
…
Qilin’s employees got off work at six in the evening, whereas Qi Youxuan’s classes were over at five. Thus, Xiaoyang first picked up Qi Youxuan before driving him to Qilin.
When Ruan Danchen saw that familiar black Mercedes-Benz stopping across the road, her lips unconsciously curled up into a smile. She looked to her left and right to find herself unnoticed by most people around her. On that account, she swiftly crossed the road as the traffic light turned green and got into the car.
Inside the car, Qi Youxuan was sitting in the child safety seat, holding onto a box of yogurt drink in his hands. He took the opportunity to remove the seat belt and move his muscles while waiting for Ruan Danchen in the static car. It was rather uncomfortable to be strapped down by the seat belt.
The child safety seat was placed on top of the car seat, lifting it slightly higher. His short legs could not reach the ground and were left to swing in the air.
Qi Youxuan took a sip of the yogurt drink and glimpsed at Qi Chenglin who was sitting in the driver seat before letting out a sigh.
Turning his head to the side, he caught sight of Ruan Danchen jogging towards them from across the road.
It was winter and she was dressed in thicker clothes. The plain black hooded down coat with furs around the hood enveloped her thickly, making her look adorable.
The wind in B City was not too strong but piercing cold during winter. Therefore, Ruan Danchen had to wrap another scarf around her neck. The way she swaddled herself tightly did not make her seem like a bear perhaps, it was nonetheless a rather interesting sight.
Even though her long hair was bound under her scarf, it still stuck up messily from being caught in the wind.
When Ruan Danchen reached the car, Qi Chenglin noted through the window that her face was flushed from being blown by the wind. Her nose was also reddish. She lifted her arms to simply wipe off the tears in her large eyes.
She was not afraid of messing up because she did not put on any eye makeup.
Then, Ruan Danchen got into the back seat of the car and settled herself next to Qi Youxuan.
Qi Chenglin’s lips twitched. He took a glance at his son through the rearview mirror and did some mental calculations. Ruan Danchen seldom sat in the passenger seat in his car. When they usually went out together, Qi Youxuan would definitely tail along her side.
As long as Qi Youxuan was present, Ruan Danchen would choose to sit with him.
Qi Chenglin gazed at the empty passenger seat dejectedly. When pursuing Ruan Danchen, his son was a tag-on as well as a hinder.
After getting together, Qi Youxuan had practically become the third wheel in their relationship.
Qi Chenglin humph gloomily and threw his documents onto the passenger seat carelessly. After all, there was no one in the passenger seat.
As if unaware of his father’s dampened mood, Qi Youxuan let out a deep sigh.
However, it went unnoticed by Ruan Danchen who was called by Qi Chenglin. “What’s wrong?”
Qi Chenglin turned around to stare at her reddish face caused by the cold wind and said, “Come here.”
Not understanding his intention, she inched closer to him, stopping in between the driver and passenger seats.
Looking at the face that pressed near him, he covered her flushed face with his palms.
Although the car heater was turned on, Ruan Danchen had not warmed up enough as she had just entered the car. Her face was still cool to touch. His palms that were suddenly pressing against her cheeks felt burning hot in contrast.
The stimulation from the temperature difference made her face blushed brighter.
She watched him warming up her face in silence. He only let go of her after the coldness on her face had subsided, but not without a grumble. “Won’t it be more convenient to sit in the passenger seat?”
Noting that Qi Youxuan’s attention was not on them, Ruan Danchen took the chance to swiftly catch hold of Qi Chenglin’s hand and placed a kiss on his palm before returning to the back seat.
The feeling on his palm was soft, moist and slightly ticklish, yet very comfortable.
As she was settling down in the back seat, Ruan Danchen’s hand was grabbed by Qi Chenglin who pulled her towards himself. If not for the two front seats blocking her shoulders, she would have fallen into his embrace.
He gave her a light peck on her lips, letting her off after just a few seconds.
Ruan Danchen blushed deeply when she sat back in the back seat, her face reddened even more than it was when she entered the car.
Qi Chenglin then started the car sedately and drove off.
Catching the little act between those two adults, Qi Youxuan did not give it much thought because it was nothing more than just kissing each other. They did not even argue at any other time.
His dejection had gone unnoticed for the couple was whispering to each other in front of him earlier.
Securing himself with the seat belt, he took in a large sip of the yogurt drink gloomily while waiting for Ruan Danchen to settle down. Only then did he let out another sigh, which had successfully captured her attention.
“What’s the matter?” Ruan Danchen asked concerned.
The little one’s body was warm after staying for a long time in the car but he was wearing a scowl on his face.
Ruan Danchen felt her heartbeat in her throat instantly. Could he possibly run into any unhappy circumstances in school?
The environment in the elementary school differed greatly from the preschool. There were only a few children attending the preschool and everyone was equally naive at that time. Jixia Elementary School, on the other hand, had a large number of students after adding up the few students in each class of each year.
Ruan Danchen could not help but worry over Qi Youxuan like most parents. Was the little one mistreated by his teachers? Did he have a conflict with his classmates? Was he bullied by his seniors in school?
Parents often took the school lightly, considering it an ivory tower. However, the school is actually a condensed small community, which Ruan Danchen would never underestimate.
Qi Youxuan took another sip of his yogurt drink that only had a little left. He sucked on the almost-empty boxed habitually, producing a suckling sound until it was finished. Then, he sighed, “Say, Aunt Ruan, look at how tall dad is. Why am I still stuck in this height?”
That day, Qi Youxuan’s class was going to learn the radio gymnastics during their gym lesson but an incident that happened then had hit him hard.
Their gym teacher had instructed them to queue according to their heights and Qi Youxuan was positioned rather front in the queue. He was among the shortest students in his class where many of his female classmates were even taller than him. He had been queueing in similar positions during gym classes in the past that he did not feel differently.
Unfortunately for Qi Youxuan, Dai Zhiyao’s gym class schedule was swapped with their English class that day. Thus, Dai Zhiyao’s class was also present in the gym and was going to have the gym lesson together with Qi Youxuan’s class.
When Dai Zhiyao’s class entered the gym, the girls in Qi Youxuan’s class began to boil in excitement. They could not stop complimenting Dai Zhiyao’s good look. His tall stature had positioned him at the last row in the queue.
Qi Youxuan who was positioned second in the second row was displeased about it. He was about the same height as Dai Zhiyao when they were in preschool. Why did Dai Zhiyao’s height leap not long after becoming a first-year elementary school student?
If he remembered correctly, Dai Zhiyao and Wei Muran’s families were living in the same neighborhood. Perhaps, they would often bump into each other and Qi Youxuan could do nothing about it.
“You were worried about your height?” asked Ruan Danchen dumbfoundedly.
Seeing Qi Youxuan nodding so earnestly, Ruan Danchen let out a breath of relief and caressed his little head. “It’s perfectly normal for the boys to grow slightly slower than the girls. I had a deskmate in my junior high school that was half a head shorter than me until our second year. However, he suddenly went through a growth spurt in our third year and had become a head taller than me. You’re still not at the age for a growth spurt yet. Just wait until your junior high. Your height will leap and cannot be stopped. Look at your dad’s stature, you can’t be any worse than that.”
It seemed that all the men in the Qi family had tall statures due to the dominant traits of their height genes. Grandmother Qi, Xia Wenna and even Guan Liya were only moderately tall but their sons’ height was not held back in any way. From Qi Zhongliang and Qi Zhongxun to Qi Chengzhi, Qi Chenglin and Qi Chengji, each one of them had grown so tall, even taller than their predecessors.
The only exception was Qi Chengyue. With only a 1.65 meters stature, she was deemed to possess an appropriate height for a woman, neither too tall nor too short. Perhaps the dominance in height had all been inherited by the men in the Qi family.
That was why Ruan Danchen was not in the least worried about Qi Youxuan’s height even though he was currently one of the shortest boys among his peers.
“Really?” Qi Youxuan asked in uncertainty.
In order to appear more convincing, Ruan Danchen nodded firmly and said, “You can ask your dad if he was also pretty short in elementary school.”
Qi Chenglin gazed into his son’s hopeful eyes through the reflection of the rearview mirror.
He curled his lips and said with his deep voice, “Who said so? I have always been tall even since elementary school and usually stood at the back in the line.”
Ruan Danchen, “…”
That man, even if it was the truth, could he not tell some white lies to motivate his son?
Ruan Danchen did not know that Qi Chenglin was actually vexing his annoyance at his son. A petty act of revenge on Qi Youxuan for always standing in Qi Chenglin’s way, that he could hardly enjoy more time with Ruan Danchen alone as a couple.
Qi Youxuan felt immensely disappointed when he heard Qi Chenglin’s response. He passed the empty box in his hands to Ruan Danchen and started to fish out another box of yogurt drink from his school bag. As he was removing the straw from the packaging, he said, “I heard that you can grow taller by drinking more milk.”
Qi Chenglin glanced at the rearview mirror while maneuvering the steering wheel. “What they meant is fresh milk, not those processed drinks you have.”
Qi Youxuan halted his movement upon hearing that. “This is also made from milk. Fresh milk tastes terrible by the way!”
‘He’s similar to me on this matter,” thought Qi Chenglin. Yet, he said, ” Don’t you know that the better a drink tastes, the less effective it is? Medicine is definitely effective but does it taste any good? Moreover, drinks with additives do not have much nutritional value. No matter how much you drink, it’ll be all for nothing.”
Qi Youxuan’s little hands held onto the yogurt drink as a war waged in his mind. Finally, he bit his teeth and stuffed the box of unopened yogurt drink into Ruan Danchen’s hands. Putting on a generous facade, he said, “Aunt Ruan, please put this away for me. You can also finish those few boxes of yogurt drink left in the fridge at home. Can we drop by the supermarket on the way? I want to buy a carton of milk and start drinking it tomorrow.”
Ruan Danchen looked back and forth between the little one and the yogurt drink in surprise. Usually, the little one would not have any milk when asked to drink as if the milk was some kind of poison. Even Qi Chenglin, of all people, hated milk. Hence, she had no choice but to drink those milk left at home with Aunt Zheng.
It had just been a few days since they finished the milk and Qi Youxuan was now requesting to get some milk for himself.
Ruan Danchen did not have any problem with his request and Qi Chenglin immediately steered into the direction heading towards the supermarket.
“Why’re you so concerned about your height all of the sudden?” Ruan Danchen asked curiously.
Thus, Qi Youxuan recounted the incident during their gym class that day and shared his worry about Dai Zhiyao and Little Muran living in the same neighborhood.
Ruan Danchen remembered Dai Zhiyao. He was a polite and good-looking boy. She had also heard that the Dai family was a notable family.
Qi Chenglin stopped his car at the indoor carpark of the supermarket. Turning off the engine, he said, “Don’t worry. The younger a child is during his growth spurt, the shorter he will be in the future. His height may leap now but when the time comes for him to grow, it will slow down. If I’m not mistaken, Dai Zhiyao’s mother had a short stature with slightly over 1.5 meters height and his father did not even reach 1.8 meters. He was genetically inferior in terms of height and so will not grow as tall as you.”
Ruan Danchen took the seat belt off the little one and carried him out of the car. Qi Chenglin glanced at him calmly and added, “Of course, if you don’t drink enough milk, you may not be able to grow as tall as me.”
With a clear determination showing on his face, Qi Youxuan proclaimed that he would drink milk every day.
Qi Chenglin nodded in satisfaction and decided to give him a little more encouragement. “Besides, even if you are good-looking when you’re young, it may not be so when you’ve grown up. Although Dai Zhiyao looks charming at the moment, we’re not sure how he’ll turn out when he grows up. One thing for sure, he doesn’t have as much potential as you. His mom’s appearance is plain when compared with your Aunt Ruan. His dad is also not as attractive as me. Since you were born, those who have seen you remarked that you inherit my good look. From this point alone, you’ll definitely look better than him when you grow up.”
Sure enough, little Qi Youxuan was brimming with confidence. With the dissipation of the haze clouding his mind, he bounced right into the supermarket.
Walking a few steps behind Qi Youxuan, Qi Chenglin held Ruan Danchen back from shadowing the little one.
Ruan Danchen uttered softly, “There are so many people in the supermarket that I’m afraid we’ll lose Youxuan in the crowd.”
“We won’t. He is a very smart boy. We needn’t worry about losing him because he is afraid of getting lost himself.” While Qi Chenglin was speaking, Ruan Danchen noticed Qi Youxuan turning around frequently to check if they came along with him like a little puppy.
Ruan Danchen was slightly relieved. Although her attention was still on Qi Youxuan, she gave him some space by falling two steps behind with Qi Chenglin.
Qi Chenglin stared at Qi Youxuan’s back before inching closer to Ruan Danchen’s ear, saying out of the blue, “It seems that you remember your junior high deskmate very well.”
“…” Ruan Danchen rolled her eyes and said, “Don’t be so petty. When I was still in elementary school, my deskmate hadn’t hit his puberty. My deskmate in senior high was a girl. Of course, I could only choose my deskmate in junior high as an example. Do you really have to get jealous over something like this?”
“…” Qi Chenglin was at a loss for words. Instead, he clasped her hands tightly.
Since Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen got together, they would frequent that supermarket, sometimes in three and other times with only both of them because it was nearest to Prestige Residences.
Therefore, Qi Youxuan was quite familiar with the layout of the supermarket and had gone directly to get a shopping trolley.
The supermarket had a batch of new shopping trolleys, specially prepared for customers who brought their children along. There was a child-sized toy car attached under each new shopping trolley that could move along when the shopping trolley was pushed. A child could easily fit into the toy car, thus rousing their excitement over the new shopping trolleys.
Qi Youxuan found the new shopping trolley interesting and went right away to take it.
Fortunately, he was a step faster because the shopping trolley he spotted was the last one available. There was a child, sitting in his mother’s arms, who was pointing eagerly at that last shopping trolley. Noticing a competitor present, Qi Youxuan rushed forward to get hold of the shopping trolley before it was taken by the child’s mother.
As the mother’s arm stretched towards the shopping trolley, just seconds away from the handle, Qi Youxuan managed to grab ahold of the shopping trolley and darted back towards Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen with it.
That incident had taught little Qi Youxuan to get the things that he wanted on his own. Otherwise, he might lose out if merely relied on the others.
Qi Youxuan stopped the shopping trolley in front of Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen. He subsequently slipped into the toy car underneath the shopping trolley and put his hands on the steering wheel. Just then, his eyes caught sight of the mother walking towards them while trying exasperatedly to stop the child in her arms from crying.
The child did stop as he stared longingly at the toy car that Qi Youxuan was sitting in.
Qi Youxuan puffed up his little chest with pride.
The mother, who was already vexed by her child’s tantrum, grew angrier as she laid her eyes on the smugged culprit and his indifferent parents.
She let out a humph, rolled her eyes at Qi Youxuan, and spat, “What an ill-mannered child!”
Ruan Danchen frowned upon hearing that. How could the woman say such things?
Qi Chenglin raised his brow as he witnessed the child throwing a fit in that woman’s arm. “Mom, I wanna sit in that car! I wanna sit in that car! I want it! I want it!”
The child bounced up and down continuously, his bottom thumping against his mother’s arm causing her to almost drop him. She chided, “Stay still or I’ll not carry you anymore!”
“I want that car! I want that car! That car’s mine! He snatched it from me!” The little boy bawled, pointing at Qi Youxuan.
Qi Chenglin questioned Qi Youxuan, “Did you snatch their shopping trolley?”
“What a mean thing to say. I merely acted faster to get the trolley over here before they could take it away. Even if I throw a fit in front of you, you’ll not help me get the shopping trolley anyway,” said Qi Youxuan solemnly, lifting his face upwards through the hollow window of the toy car.
“I did not snatch the shopping trolley from their hands. This auntie was just a step slower than me. Well, she couldn’t help it as she has to carry such a heavy child in her arms. The boy should get what he wants on his own, rather than bawling out when it is taken away from him. Who can he blame for that?” sighed Qi Youxuan, shaking his head in disappointment when he took a glimpse at the little boy in the woman’s arm. Served him right for not getting to sit in the toy car.
The woman was shocked speechless while the child cried even louder, not understanding what Qi Youxuan had just said.
Qi Chenglin nodded his head in agreement and ruffled Qi Youxuan’s head, commending, “You were right and you did well too. At the very least, you did not embarrass me by bawling out when you failed to get the toy car. You’re a big boy now. Keep it up.”
He then took another glimpse at the crying boy and said to Ruan Danchen, “When we have a second child, we need to teach him proper manners so he does not embarrass us like this.”
As his speech ended, he pushed the shopping trolley and went on his way with his family.
Ruan Danchen could hear the mother’s enraged voice behind them, “What’s with the family? That’s enough! Stop crying now! It’s embarrassing!”
She was at a loss for words. Should she reprimand Qi Youxuan? However, Qi Chenglin seemed to not intend to do so from his response.
While she was still pondering on that matter, they had already arrived at the drinks section in the supermarket. In the middle of the rows of shelves, stacked imported fresh milk recommended by the retailer.
Qi Chenglin walked towards the shelves to check out the milk. The milk seemed decent and so, he took a carton and placed them in the shopping trolley. “It’s not enough to drink only milk if you want to grow taller. You need to eat more vegetables too. Eating only meat will make you grow fatter.”
Resolved to surpass Dai Zhiyao, Qi Youxuan agreed to it despite his adorable face was slightly scrunched.
Qi Chenglin took the opportunity to quickly call back home and requested Aunt Zheng to cook up more vegetable dishes before Qi Youxuan could regret it.
Since they were already at the supermarket, they simply strolled around the aisles to see if there was anything that they would like to buy.
During their stroll, they stumbled upon Wei Ziqi’s family who came from the opposite direction.
It was obvious that they came to the supermarket slightly later. As Qi Youxuan took the last shopping trolley with the attached toy car, Wei Ziqi’s family only used the normal shopping trolley left. Little Muran was sitting inside the shopping trolley with her legs stretched out.
Little Muran was still very short. Even after stretching out her legs, there was still sufficient space in the shopping trolley to place their groceries. Wei Ran smiled at the sight of Qi Chenglin’s family and the two families approached one another with their shopping trolleys.
When the shopping trolley finally stopped, Qi Youxuan slid out from the toy car and posed in a show-off manner. One of his hands was supporting the front of the car, his back leaned against the car body, and his legs crossed.
“…” Qi Chenglin could not bear to look at the silly boy who acted as if the toy car was a luxury car.
“Mumu, do you wanna sit in this car?” Little Qi Youxuan invited happily.
Little Muran appeared to be excited about it and Wei Ziqi could only let her down for her to get into the toy car.
As a result, the two families had to do their shopping together.
Qi Youxuan walked alongside the toy car, trying multiple times to hold Little Muran’s hand. However, he would be caught by Wei Ziqi every time he tried. Qi Youxuan dared not make a move whenever he was stared by those cold almond-shaped eyes.
That had caused Wei Ziqi to make up his mind. He should purchase a similar toy car for Wei Muran and bring it along whenever they went to the supermarket to prevent someone else from making use of the situation.
Wei Ziqi’s family still had some things to pick up when Qi Chenglin’s family had done their shopping. Hence, under Qi Youxuan’s reluctance, the two families parted ways.
…
…
Back at Prestige Residences, Qi Youxuan surprisingly ate a lot of vegetables during dinner. Then he jogged a few rounds on the treadmill and gulped down a glass of warm milk before going to bed.
Qi Chenglin had just come out from the shower. He leaned against the head of the bed, crossed his legs cozily, and was changing the TV channel with the remote control. He finally stopped at a parent-child variety show that starred fathers taking care of their children at home.
Watching the fathers preparing meals for their children clumsily, Qi Chenglin let out a snort of disdain.
Ruan Danchen, who was getting ready to shower, turned around to look at the television. Then she glanced at Qi Chenglin and simply blurted out, “Say, I have never seen you cooking up a meal before.”
“…” Qi Chenglin gazed at her silently and switched the TV channel.
“…” Ruan Danchen had a feeling that that man was trying to cover something up. Thus, she walked towards Qi Chenglin to study his expressionless face. Her eyes narrowed as she asked, “Why did you change the channel? Can it possibly be that you can’t cook?”
Qi Chenglin caught the underlying meaning behind Ruan Danchen’s questions. He had laughed at the fathers in the variety show but was not any better than them.
Although both Qi Chenglin and Chengzhi went to study abroad, Qi Chengzhi had always had Song Yu in his heart. He practiced his culinary skills not only because he was not used to eating western meals in the long run, but also to better care for Song Yu after their marriage.
Unlike Qi Chengzhi, Qi Chenglin still had not met Ruan Danchen neither was he in any romantic relationship at that time. He was a single man who was fine with eating burgers, pizzas or steaks daily to fill his stomach. He would be able to eat more Chinese meals when he returned home during the school break.
That was why he had never touched any cooking utensils even when he was abroad.
Currently, his culinary skills were limited to making instant noodles. It would be a great challenge for him to even turn on the stove.
Qi Chenglin’s brows furrowed before relaxing. He pulled Ruan Danchen into his embrace and kissed her deeply until her mind became fuzzy and she could not utter a single word. It was only then that Qi Chenglin laughed, “It’s alright to not know how to cook as long as I get to eat.”
“…” Ruan Danchen caught on his sexual implication immediately before realizing that she had also been influenced by Qi Chenglin significantly.
“Aren’t you going to shower?” Qi Chenglin asked Ruan Danchen who was lying limply in his arms. His mood elated and his eyes curved into a smile.
Ruan Danchen came back to herself and stood up swiftly. Her face was flushed red and she had already forgotten to question Qi Chenglin’s culinary skills.
…
…
Ruan Danchen quickly washed her hair, took a shower, and put on her pajamas. As she was blowing her hair dry, the washroom door was opened from the outside.
Chapter 366: You Will Definitely Look Better Than Him When You Grow Up
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Manager Zou thought silently in his heart, ‘Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen were really mushy, even when naming each other.’
Not noticing that Manager Zou took a peek on the caller, Ruan Danchen picked up her phone and had just managed to utter a ‘Hello’ when she heard Qi Chenglin’s deep voice, which sounded more mesmerizing over the phone. “Are you not out yet?”
Qi Chenglin’s voice was especially hypnotizing. Without even seeing him in person, one could be captivated just by listening to his voice.
His voice was nothing limpid. Instead, it was low and mellow that exuded a sense of allure.
“I’m just packing up.” Ruan Danchen glanced apologetically at Manager Zou.
Manager Zou ears were pricked up at the exchange.
“I’ll be waiting by the road across the office.” Qi Chenglin hung up soon after, killing Ruan Danchen’s intention to work overtime.
Looking at her helpless expression after hanging up the call, Manager Zou deliberately ignored Yao Jingfei and turn towards Ruan Danchen with a kind smile. “Xiao Ruan, quickly get off work. Don’t let Gen… ahem… him wait too anxiously.”
Manager Zou had wanted to say General Manager Qi but thankfully stopped himself in time before blurting it out.
Ruan Danchen could only smile apologetically before packing up and left the office.
…
…
Qilin’s employees got off work at six in the evening, whereas Qi Youxuan’s classes were over at five. Thus, Xiaoyang first picked up Qi Youxuan before driving him to Qilin.
When Ruan Danchen saw that familiar black Mercedes-Benz stopping across the road, her lips unconsciously curled up into a smile. She looked to her left and right to find herself unnoticed by most people around her. On that account, she swiftly crossed the road as the traffic light turned green and got into the car.
Inside the car, Qi Youxuan was sitting in the child safety seat, holding onto a box of yogurt drink in his hands. He took the opportunity to remove the seat belt and move his muscles while waiting for Ruan Danchen in the static car. It was rather uncomfortable to be strapped down by the seat belt.
The child safety seat was placed on top of the car seat, lifting it slightly higher. His short legs could not reach the ground and were left to swing in the air.
Qi Youxuan took a sip of the yogurt drink and glimpsed at Qi Chenglin who was sitting in the driver seat before letting out a sigh.
Turning his head to the side, he caught sight of Ruan Danchen jogging towards them from across the road.
It was winter and she was dressed in thicker clothes. The plain black hooded down coat with furs around the hood enveloped her thickly, making her look adorable.
The wind in B City was not too strong but piercing cold during winter. Therefore, Ruan Danchen had to wrap another scarf around her neck. The way she swaddled herself tightly did not make her seem like a bear perhaps, it was nonetheless a rather interesting sight.
Even though her long hair was bound under her scarf, it still stuck up messily from being caught in the wind.
When Ruan Danchen reached the car, Qi Chenglin noted through the window that her face was flushed from being blown by the wind. Her nose was also reddish. She lifted her arms to simply wipe off the tears in her large eyes.
She was not afraid of messing up because she did not put on any eye makeup.
Then, Ruan Danchen got into the back seat of the car and settled herself next to Qi Youxuan.
Qi Chenglin’s lips twitched. He took a glance at his son through the rearview mirror and did some mental calculations. Ruan Danchen seldom sat in the passenger seat in his car. When they usually went out together, Qi Youxuan would definitely tail along her side.
As long as Qi Youxuan was present, Ruan Danchen would choose to sit with him.
Qi Chenglin gazed at the empty passenger seat dejectedly. When pursuing Ruan Danchen, his son was a tag-on as well as a hinder.
After getting together, Qi Youxuan had practically become the third wheel in their relationship.
Qi Chenglin humph gloomily and threw his documents onto the passenger seat carelessly. After all, there was no one in the passenger seat.
As if unaware of his father’s dampened mood, Qi Youxuan let out a deep sigh.
However, it went unnoticed by Ruan Danchen who was called by Qi Chenglin. “What’s wrong?”
Qi Chenglin turned around to stare at her reddish face caused by the cold wind and said, “Come here.”
Not understanding his intention, she inched closer to him, stopping in between the driver and passenger seats.
Looking at the face that pressed near him, he covered her flushed face with his palms.
Although the car heater was turned on, Ruan Danchen had not warmed up enough as she had just entered the car. Her face was still cool to touch. His palms that were suddenly pressing against her cheeks felt burning hot in contrast.
The stimulation from the temperature difference made her face blushed brighter.
She watched him warming up her face in silence. He only let go of her after the coldness on her face had subsided, but not without a grumble. “Won’t it be more convenient to sit in the passenger seat?”
Noting that Qi Youxuan’s attention was not on them, Ruan Danchen took the chance to swiftly catch hold of Qi Chenglin’s hand and placed a kiss on his palm before returning to the back seat.
The feeling on his palm was soft, moist and slightly ticklish, yet very comfortable.
As she was settling down in the back seat, Ruan Danchen’s hand was grabbed by Qi Chenglin who pulled her towards himself. If not for the two front seats blocking her shoulders, she would have fallen into his embrace.
He gave her a light peck on her lips, letting her off after just a few seconds.
Ruan Danchen blushed deeply when she sat back in the back seat, her face reddened even more than it was when she entered the car.
Qi Chenglin then started the car sedately and drove off.
Catching the little act between those two adults, Qi Youxuan did not give it much thought because it was nothing more than just kissing each other. They did not even argue at any other time.
His dejection had gone unnoticed for the couple was whispering to each other in front of him earlier.
Securing himself with the seat belt, he took in a large sip of the yogurt drink gloomily while waiting for Ruan Danchen to settle down. Only then did he let out another sigh, which had successfully captured her attention.
“What’s the matter?” Ruan Danchen asked concerned.
The little one’s body was warm after staying for a long time in the car but he was wearing a scowl on his face.
Ruan Danchen felt her heartbeat in her throat instantly. Could he possibly run into any unhappy circumstances in school?
The environment in the elementary school differed greatly from the preschool. There were only a few children attending the preschool and everyone was equally naive at that time. Jixia Elementary School, on the other hand, had a large number of students after adding up the few students in each class of each year.
Ruan Danchen could not help but worry over Qi Youxuan like most parents. Was the little one mistreated by his teachers? Did he have a conflict with his classmates? Was he bullied by his seniors in school?
Parents often took the school lightly, considering it an ivory tower. However, the school is actually a condensed small community, which Ruan Danchen would never underestimate.
Qi Youxuan took another sip of his yogurt drink that only had a little left. He sucked on the almost-empty boxed habitually, producing a suckling sound until it was finished. Then, he sighed, “Say, Aunt Ruan, look at how tall dad is. Why am I still stuck in this height?”
That day, Qi Youxuan’s class was going to learn the radio gymnastics during their gym lesson but an incident that happened then had hit him hard.
Their gym teacher had instructed them to queue according to their heights and Qi Youxuan was positioned rather front in the queue. He was among the shortest students in his class where many of his female classmates were even taller than him. He had been queueing in similar positions during gym classes in the past that he did not feel differently.
Unfortunately for Qi Youxuan, Dai Zhiyao’s gym class schedule was swapped with their English class that day. Thus, Dai Zhiyao’s class was also present in the gym and was going to have the gym lesson together with Qi Youxuan’s class.
When Dai Zhiyao’s class entered the gym, the girls in Qi Youxuan’s class began to boil in excitement. They could not stop complimenting Dai Zhiyao’s good look. His tall stature had positioned him at the last row in the queue.
Qi Youxuan who was positioned second in the second row was displeased about it. He was about the same height as Dai Zhiyao when they were in preschool. Why did Dai Zhiyao’s height leap not long after becoming a first-year elementary school student?
If he remembered correctly, Dai Zhiyao and Wei Muran’s families were living in the same neighborhood. Perhaps, they would often bump into each other and Qi Youxuan could do nothing about it.
“You were worried about your height?” asked Ruan Danchen dumbfoundedly.
Seeing Qi Youxuan nodding so earnestly, Ruan Danchen let out a breath of relief and caressed his little head. “It’s perfectly normal for the boys to grow slightly slower than the girls. I had a deskmate in my junior high school that was half a head shorter than me until our second year. However, he suddenly went through a growth spurt in our third year and had become a head taller than me. You’re still not at the age for a growth spurt yet. Just wait until your junior high. Your height will leap and cannot be stopped. Look at your dad’s stature, you can’t be any worse than that.”
It seemed that all the men in the Qi family had tall statures due to the dominant traits of their height genes. Grandmother Qi, Xia Wenna and even Guan Liya were only moderately tall but their sons’ height was not held back in any way. From Qi Zhongliang and Qi Zhongxun to Qi Chengzhi, Qi Chenglin and Qi Chengji, each one of them had grown so tall, even taller than their predecessors.
The only exception was Qi Chengyue. With only a 1.65 meters stature, she was deemed to possess an appropriate height for a woman, neither too tall nor too short. Perhaps the dominance in height had all been inherited by the men in the Qi family.
That was why Ruan Danchen was not in the least worried about Qi Youxuan’s height even though he was currently one of the shortest boys among his peers.
“Really?” Qi Youxuan asked in uncertainty.
In order to appear more convincing, Ruan Danchen nodded firmly and said, “You can ask your dad if he was also pretty short in elementary school.”
Qi Chenglin gazed into his son’s hopeful eyes through the reflection of the rearview mirror.
He curled his lips and said with his deep voice, “Who said so? I have always been tall even since elementary school and usually stood at the back in the line.”
Ruan Danchen, “…”
That man, even if it was the truth, could he not tell some white lies to motivate his son?
Ruan Danchen did not know that Qi Chenglin was actually vexing his annoyance at his son. A petty act of revenge on Qi Youxuan for always standing in Qi Chenglin’s way, that he could hardly enjoy more time with Ruan Danchen alone as a couple.
Qi Youxuan felt immensely disappointed when he heard Qi Chenglin’s response. He passed the empty box in his hands to Ruan Danchen and started to fish out another box of yogurt drink from his school bag. As he was removing the straw from the packaging, he said, “I heard that you can grow taller by drinking more milk.”
Qi Chenglin glanced at the rearview mirror while maneuvering the steering wheel. “What they meant is fresh milk, not those processed drinks you have.”
Qi Youxuan halted his movement upon hearing that. “This is also made from milk. Fresh milk tastes terrible by the way!”
‘He’s similar to me on this matter,” thought Qi Chenglin. Yet, he said, ” Don’t you know that the better a drink tastes, the less effective it is? Medicine is definitely effective but does it taste any good? Moreover, drinks with additives do not have much nutritional value. No matter how much you drink, it’ll be all for nothing.”
Qi Youxuan’s little hands held onto the yogurt drink as a war waged in his mind. Finally, he bit his teeth and stuffed the box of unopened yogurt drink into Ruan Danchen’s hands. Putting on a generous facade, he said, “Aunt Ruan, please put this away for me. You can also finish those few boxes of yogurt drink left in the fridge at home. Can we drop by the supermarket on the way? I want to buy a carton of milk and start drinking it tomorrow.”
Ruan Danchen looked back and forth between the little one and the yogurt drink in surprise. Usually, the little one would not have any milk when asked to drink as if the milk was some kind of poison. Even Qi Chenglin, of all people, hated milk. Hence, she had no choice but to drink those milk left at home with Aunt Zheng.
It had just been a few days since they finished the milk and Qi Youxuan was now requesting to get some milk for himself.
Ruan Danchen did not have any problem with his request and Qi Chenglin immediately steered into the direction heading towards the supermarket.
“Why’re you so concerned about your height all of the sudden?” Ruan Danchen asked curiously.
Thus, Qi Youxuan recounted the incident during their gym class that day and shared his worry about Dai Zhiyao and Little Muran living in the same neighborhood.
Ruan Danchen remembered Dai Zhiyao. He was a polite and good-looking boy. She had also heard that the Dai family was a notable family.
Qi Chenglin stopped his car at the indoor carpark of the supermarket. Turning off the engine, he said, “Don’t worry. The younger a child is during his growth spurt, the shorter he will be in the future. His height may leap now but when the time comes for him to grow, it will slow down. If I’m not mistaken, Dai Zhiyao’s mother had a short stature with slightly over 1.5 meters height and his father did not even reach 1.8 meters. He was genetically inferior in terms of height and so will not grow as tall as you.”
Ruan Danchen took the seat belt off the little one and carried him out of the car. Qi Chenglin glanced at him calmly and added, “Of course, if you don’t drink enough milk, you may not be able to grow as tall as me.”
With a clear determination showing on his face, Qi Youxuan proclaimed that he would drink milk every day.
Qi Chenglin nodded in satisfaction and decided to give him a little more encouragement. “Besides, even if you are good-looking when you’re young, it may not be so when you’ve grown up. Although Dai Zhiyao looks charming at the moment, we’re not sure how he’ll turn out when he grows up. One thing for sure, he doesn’t have as much potential as you. His mom’s appearance is plain when compared with your Aunt Ruan. His dad is also not as attractive as me. Since you were born, those who have seen you remarked that you inherit my good look. From this point alone, you’ll definitely look better than him when you grow up.”
Sure enough, little Qi Youxuan was brimming with confidence. With the dissipation of the haze clouding his mind, he bounced right into the supermarket.
Walking a few steps behind Qi Youxuan, Qi Chenglin held Ruan Danchen back from shadowing the little one.
Ruan Danchen uttered softly, “There are so many people in the supermarket that I’m afraid we’ll lose Youxuan in the crowd.”
“We won’t. He is a very smart boy. We needn’t worry about losing him because he is afraid of getting lost himself.” While Qi Chenglin was speaking, Ruan Danchen noticed Qi Youxuan turning around frequently to check if they came along with him like a little puppy.
Ruan Danchen was slightly relieved. Although her attention was still on Qi Youxuan, she gave him some space by falling two steps behind with Qi Chenglin.
Qi Chenglin stared at Qi Youxuan’s back before inching closer to Ruan Danchen’s ear, saying out of the blue, “It seems that you remember your junior high deskmate very well.”
“…” Ruan Danchen rolled her eyes and said, “Don’t be so petty. When I was still in elementary school, my deskmate hadn’t hit his puberty. My deskmate in senior high was a girl. Of course, I could only choose my deskmate in junior high as an example. Do you really have to get jealous over something like this?”
“…” Qi Chenglin was at a loss for words. Instead, he clasped her hands tightly.
Since Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen got together, they would frequent that supermarket, sometimes in three and other times with only both of them because it was nearest to Prestige Residences.
Therefore, Qi Youxuan was quite familiar with the layout of the supermarket and had gone directly to get a shopping trolley.
The supermarket had a batch of new shopping trolleys, specially prepared for customers who brought their children along. There was a child-sized toy car attached under each new shopping trolley that could move along when the shopping trolley was pushed. A child could easily fit into the toy car, thus rousing their excitement over the new shopping trolleys.
Qi Youxuan found the new shopping trolley interesting and went right away to take it.
Fortunately, he was a step faster because the shopping trolley he spotted was the last one available. There was a child, sitting in his mother’s arms, who was pointing eagerly at that last shopping trolley. Noticing a competitor present, Qi Youxuan rushed forward to get hold of the shopping trolley before it was taken by the child’s mother.
As the mother’s arm stretched towards the shopping trolley, just seconds away from the handle, Qi Youxuan managed to grab ahold of the shopping trolley and darted back towards Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen with it.
That incident had taught little Qi Youxuan to get the things that he wanted on his own. Otherwise, he might lose out if merely relied on the others.
Qi Youxuan stopped the shopping trolley in front of Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen. He subsequently slipped into the toy car underneath the shopping trolley and put his hands on the steering wheel. Just then, his eyes caught sight of the mother walking towards them while trying exasperatedly to stop the child in her arms from crying.
The child did stop as he stared longingly at the toy car that Qi Youxuan was sitting in.
Qi Youxuan puffed up his little chest with pride.
The mother, who was already vexed by her child’s tantrum, grew angrier as she laid her eyes on the smugged culprit and his indifferent parents.
She let out a humph, rolled her eyes at Qi Youxuan, and spat, “What an ill-mannered child!”
Ruan Danchen frowned upon hearing that. How could the woman say such things?
Qi Chenglin raised his brow as he witnessed the child throwing a fit in that woman’s arm. “Mom, I wanna sit in that car! I wanna sit in that car! I want it! I want it!”
The child bounced up and down continuously, his bottom thumping against his mother’s arm causing her to almost drop him. She chided, “Stay still or I’ll not carry you anymore!”
“I want that car! I want that car! That car’s mine! He snatched it from me!” The little boy bawled, pointing at Qi Youxuan.
Qi Chenglin questioned Qi Youxuan, “Did you snatch their shopping trolley?”
“What a mean thing to say. I merely acted faster to get the trolley over here before they could take it away. Even if I throw a fit in front of you, you’ll not help me get the shopping trolley anyway,” said Qi Youxuan solemnly, lifting his face upwards through the hollow window of the toy car.
“I did not snatch the shopping trolley from their hands. This auntie was just a step slower than me. Well, she couldn’t help it as she has to carry such a heavy child in her arms. The boy should get what he wants on his own, rather than bawling out when it is taken away from him. Who can he blame for that?” sighed Qi Youxuan, shaking his head in disappointment when he took a glimpse at the little boy in the woman’s arm. Served him right for not getting to sit in the toy car.
The woman was shocked speechless while the child cried even louder, not understanding what Qi Youxuan had just said.
Qi Chenglin nodded his head in agreement and ruffled Qi Youxuan’s head, commending, “You were right and you did well too. At the very least, you did not embarrass me by bawling out when you failed to get the toy car. You’re a big boy now. Keep it up.”
He then took another glimpse at the crying boy and said to Ruan Danchen, “When we have a second child, we need to teach him proper manners so he does not embarrass us like this.”
As his speech ended, he pushed the shopping trolley and went on his way with his family.
Ruan Danchen could hear the mother’s enraged voice behind them, “What’s with the family? That’s enough! Stop crying now! It’s embarrassing!”
She was at a loss for words. Should she reprimand Qi Youxuan? However, Qi Chenglin seemed to not intend to do so from his response.
While she was still pondering on that matter, they had already arrived at the drinks section in the supermarket. In the middle of the rows of shelves, stacked imported fresh milk recommended by the retailer.
Qi Chenglin walked towards the shelves to check out the milk. The milk seemed decent and so, he took a carton and placed them in the shopping trolley. “It’s not enough to drink only milk if you want to grow taller. You need to eat more vegetables too. Eating only meat will make you grow fatter.”
Resolved to surpass Dai Zhiyao, Qi Youxuan agreed to it despite his adorable face was slightly scrunched.
Qi Chenglin took the opportunity to quickly call back home and requested Aunt Zheng to cook up more vegetable dishes before Qi Youxuan could regret it.
Since they were already at the supermarket, they simply strolled around the aisles to see if there was anything that they would like to buy.
During their stroll, they stumbled upon Wei Ziqi’s family who came from the opposite direction.
It was obvious that they came to the supermarket slightly later. As Qi Youxuan took the last shopping trolley with the attached toy car, Wei Ziqi’s family only used the normal shopping trolley left. Little Muran was sitting inside the shopping trolley with her legs stretched out.
Little Muran was still very short. Even after stretching out her legs, there was still sufficient space in the shopping trolley to place their groceries. Wei Ran smiled at the sight of Qi Chenglin’s family and the two families approached one another with their shopping trolleys.
When the shopping trolley finally stopped, Qi Youxuan slid out from the toy car and posed in a show-off manner. One of his hands was supporting the front of the car, his back leaned against the car body, and his legs crossed.
“…” Qi Chenglin could not bear to look at the silly boy who acted as if the toy car was a luxury car.
“Mumu, do you wanna sit in this car?” Little Qi Youxuan invited happily.
Little Muran appeared to be excited about it and Wei Ziqi could only let her down for her to get into the toy car.
As a result, the two families had to do their shopping together.
Qi Youxuan walked alongside the toy car, trying multiple times to hold Little Muran’s hand. However, he would be caught by Wei Ziqi every time he tried. Qi Youxuan dared not make a move whenever he was stared by those cold almond-shaped eyes.
That had caused Wei Ziqi to make up his mind. He should purchase a similar toy car for Wei Muran and bring it along whenever they went to the supermarket to prevent someone else from making use of the situation.
Wei Ziqi’s family still had some things to pick up when Qi Chenglin’s family had done their shopping. Hence, under Qi Youxuan’s reluctance, the two families parted ways.
…
…
Back at Prestige Residences, Qi Youxuan surprisingly ate a lot of vegetables during dinner. Then he jogged a few rounds on the treadmill and gulped down a glass of warm milk before going to bed.
Qi Chenglin had just come out from the shower. He leaned against the head of the bed, crossed his legs cozily, and was changing the TV channel with the remote control. He finally stopped at a parent-child variety show that starred fathers taking care of their children at home.
Watching the fathers preparing meals for their children clumsily, Qi Chenglin let out a snort of disdain.
Ruan Danchen, who was getting ready to shower, turned around to look at the television. Then she glanced at Qi Chenglin and simply blurted out, “Say, I have never seen you cooking up a meal before.”
“…” Qi Chenglin gazed at her silently and switched the TV channel.
“…” Ruan Danchen had a feeling that that man was trying to cover something up. Thus, she walked towards Qi Chenglin to study his expressionless face. Her eyes narrowed as she asked, “Why did you change the channel? Can it possibly be that you can’t cook?”
Qi Chenglin caught the underlying meaning behind Ruan Danchen’s questions. He had laughed at the fathers in the variety show but was not any better than them.
Although both Qi Chenglin and Chengzhi went to study abroad, Qi Chengzhi had always had Song Yu in his heart. He practiced his culinary skills not only because he was not used to eating western meals in the long run, but also to better care for Song Yu after their marriage.
Unlike Qi Chengzhi, Qi Chenglin still had not met Ruan Danchen neither was he in any romantic relationship at that time. He was a single man who was fine with eating burgers, pizzas or steaks daily to fill his stomach. He would be able to eat more Chinese meals when he returned home during the school break.
That was why he had never touched any cooking utensils even when he was abroad.
Currently, his culinary skills were limited to making instant noodles. It would be a great challenge for him to even turn on the stove.
Qi Chenglin’s brows furrowed before relaxing. He pulled Ruan Danchen into his embrace and kissed her deeply until her mind became fuzzy and she could not utter a single word. It was only then that Qi Chenglin laughed, “It’s alright to not know how to cook as long as I get to eat.”
“…” Ruan Danchen caught on his sexual implication immediately before realizing that she had also been influenced by Qi Chenglin significantly.
“Aren’t you going to shower?” Qi Chenglin asked Ruan Danchen who was lying limply in his arms. His mood elated and his eyes curved into a smile.
Ruan Danchen came back to herself and stood up swiftly. Her face was flushed red and she had already forgotten to question Qi Chenglin’s culinary skills.
…
…
Ruan Danchen quickly washed her hair, took a shower, and put on her pajamas. As she was blowing her hair dry, the washroom door was opened from the outside.
