Chapter 13: He’s Clearly Very Smart
Hearing Su Younian’s voice, Ji Suize instinctively moved to open the door. Midway, he suddenly remembered the words he had written in the dining room and halted his steps.
The feeling of shyness confused him, stirring a desire to avoid facing Su Younian. He had never experienced such an emotion before, and this unfamiliar version of himself left him bewildered and panicked.
Lost in thought, the person outside the door stopped knocking and calling. Presumably, having waited in vain, they must have already left.
Ji Suize didn’t feel relieved, instead, he felt deeply uncomfortable.
The little one had taken the initiative to get close to him, yet he had personally pushed him away.
Filled with regret, Ji Suize opened the door only after Su Younian had left, only to find that the person he thought had gone was still there.
Niannian was sitting on the floor by the door. At the sound of the door opening, he immediately looked up, his bright eyes meeting Ji Suize’s gaze. A wide grin spread across his face, deepening his dimples. “Brother.”
Ji Suize’s heart nearly skipped a beat. Bewildered, he asked, “Why are you here?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to play with me?” Niannian tossed the question back to Ji Suize before adding, “Big Brother went to discuss work with Uncle Zhao Shun. I asked Aunt Chen to bring me up.”
Mentioning the embarrassing incident again, Ji Suize’s ears still burned, but unlike before, he didn’t immediately turn and walk away.
“Why didn’t you call for me?”
“I called you several times,” Niannian pouted, sounding a bit aggrieved. “But you didn’t respond. I thought you didn’t want to talk to me.”
His heart didn’t stop beating, instead, it raced even faster.
Ji Suize crouched down and gently ruffled the little one’s messy hair. Softly, he said, “I wasn’t ignoring you.”
“Really?”
For a moment, Ji Suize’s gaze wavered as he told the first lie of his life: “When you knocked just now, I was doing some problems. I get very focused when I’m working on them, so I didn’t hear you calling.”
As mentioned earlier in the text, Niannian didn’t doubt him. He grabbed Ji Suize’s fingers, squeezing them as if to please or coax him. “Brother, do you still need to do your problems?”
Ji Suize replied, “No.”
Right now, he couldn’t even focus on a single problem. Trying would be pointless.
Niannian said happily, “Then can Niannian play with you?”
Ji Suize agreed readily, reaching out to pick up Niannian. Having experienced it once before, Niannian was still a bit scared. He clung to Ji Suize like a koala as Ji Suize carried him into the room and placed him on the large bed.
Ji Suize took a Rubik’s Cube from the drawer and began fulfilling his promise from the day before, teaching Niannian how to solve it.
Niannian was already a highly intelligent child. Though far from Ji Suize’s level, Ji Suize was an excellent teacher, patient and thorough. Whenever Niannian struggled, Ji Suize would tirelessly guide him.
Solving the Rubik’s Cube relied on intelligence and skill, with formulas being the most crucial part. Beyond memorizing the formulas, ample experience was also necessary. Following Ji Suize’s instructions and the formulas, Niannian managed to solve the cube on his own in half an hour.
Niannian held the cube up high, looking at Ji Suize expectantly without saying a word, waiting.
Suddenly, Ji Suize understood what the little one wanted. He didn’t hold back his praise, gently patting Niannian’s soft head. “You’re amazing.”
This praise came from the heart, he genuinely felt Su Younian was remarkable. Back when Ji Shiyu had wanted to learn how to solve the Rubik's Cube from him, he had given him an hour, yet he still couldn’t manage to restore it, complaining to him about how difficult it was.
Even a standard 3x3 cube had stumped Ji Shiyu, let alone higher-order cubes.
Ji Shiyu had always been a bit slow since childhood, so Ji Suize thought this was perfectly normal. It was only with Su Younian as a comparison that Ji Suize realized just how clever his little dumpling was.
Why had he ever thought Su Younian was foolish in the past?
He was clearly so smart!
Thinking of this, Ji Suize rewarded the little dumpling by patting his head again and praised, "You're very clever."
Niannian's cheeks flushed slightly, his round eyes curving into crescent moons.
This was the praise he had long awaited. No matter how sensible, obedient, or clever he had been before, his parents had never spared him a single word of praise. The feeling of being praised truly was wonderful!
***
After the collaboration details were settled, the program crew arrived at the Su family’s old mansion the next day to install cameras.
The first few episodes of the show would be filmed in the guests’ own homes. Once the audience became familiar with each family’s situation, all the families would be gathered for an outdoor live broadcast.
The night before the official recording began, Su Yanheng received a message from his arch-rival, Gu Tingfei.
[Gu Tingfei: Heard you’re also joining Baby Plan?]
Baby Plan was the name of the variety show.
Su Yanheng sneered: [What, do you have a problem with that?]
[Gu Tingfei: I don’t have a problem. If anything, you seem to have a problem with me. Did you know I was joining this show, so you willingly lowered your status just to snag a spot?]
Although the Gu family wasn’t as prominent as the Su family, they were still a force to be reckoned with in S City.
Moving in the same social circles meant they often crossed paths at events. Su Yanheng had known Gu Tingfei since childhood, and their personalities clashed from the start, their first meeting had ended in a quarrel over a piece of cake.
Both understood it wasn’t really about the cake but about defeating the other.
When they became classmates in high school, their rivalry truly began, continuing to this day.
Whether in terms of family background or professional standing, Su Yanheng always had the upper hand over Gu Tingfei. Unwilling to accept this, Gu Tingfei seized every opportunity to provoke Su Yanheng, never tiring of it.
Su Yanheng sneered repeatedly: [Don’t forget how you got this opportunity. You know me well enough, you should know I hate having what’s rightfully mine taken away.]
[Gu Tingfei: What did I take from you? I have no idea. [Orange cat smiling.jpg]]
"Two-faced fox," Su Yanheng gritted his teeth.
Just as Niannian was carried out of the bathroom by the nanny, he saw his big brother’s stormy expression and grew anxious. "Brother, are you feeling unwell?"
Su Yanheng quickly reined in his anger, forcing a smile. "Brother’s fine. It’s just that a very annoying person keeps sending me harassing messages."
As soon as the nanny placed Niannian on the bed, he eagerly snuggled up to Su Yanheng, who instinctively reached out to catch the little one rushing toward him.
Niannian settled into a comfortable position in his big brother’s arms before saying, "If it’s someone you dislike, then just ignore them, big brother. It’s almost bedtime. If you keep thinking about that person, you won’t be able to sleep."
"Alright, I'll listen to you and stop thinking about him." Su Yanheng rubbed his chin against the little one's cheek, eliciting a fit of giggles.
"Brother, will you sleep with Niannian tonight?"
After his experiment failed, Su Yanheng had resigned himself to the fact that his insomnia could only be cured by the little one for now. He didn't understand the reason, but as long as he was surrounded by the little one's scent, he could fall asleep.
To this end, Su Yanheng specifically consulted his doctor, who used a lot of medical jargon that left him confused. In the end, he summarized it into one conclusion,
He could only relax when he was near the little one.
So when Niannian asked to sleep with him again, Su Yanheng didn't refuse.
Ji Suize watched as the nanny carried Su Younian away for a bath. He didn't follow but instead slipped into the bathroom after Su Younian left, thinking that by the time Su Younian returned, he would have just finished bathing, and they could snuggle into bed together.
He deliberately sped up his routine, finishing his bath in just five minutes and changing into a clean set of yellow pajamas that matched Su Younian's little yellow duck ones. He waited patiently for a while, only to eventually receive the news that Su Younian would be sleeping with his big brother.
Aunt Chen, who was responsible for taking care of Ji Suize, had been by his side for many years and could read even the slightest change in his expression. Being a perceptive person, she understood exactly what Ji Suize was thinking.
Holding back a smile, she gently coaxed, "The young master can only sleep peacefully when he's with the eldest master."
Ji Suize remained silent, his lips pressed tightly together, the corners of his mouth slightly downturned.
Big brother suffered from severe insomnia, but he couldn't sleep soundly either.
That little guy only cared about big brother, didn't he care about him at all?
Then it occurred to him that Su Younian didn't know about his situation, and no one in the family knew he often had nightmares.
Ji Suize bit his lower lip, thinking regretfully that he shouldn't have kept it a secret. If he hadn't, maybe the little one would have worried about him a bit more.
***
Su Yanheng slept exceptionally soundly that night, falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Normally, he struggled with insomnia, and even when he managed to fall asleep, he would wake up shortly after, often before dawn. But tonight, not only did he fall asleep quickly, but he also slept dreamlessly until morning.
Niannian had his own fixed biological clock. As soon as the first birdsong sounded outside the window, he opened his eyes.
He had fallen asleep last night resting on his big brother's arm, but when he woke up, he found himself lying on his big brother's chest. Because he had been sleeping on his side with his mouth slightly open, he had left a small puddle of drool on his brother's chest. After a night of drying, the fabric was half-dry, but the mark was still visible.
"Baby Plan" was recorded and broadcast live simultaneously. As soon as the live stream began, Su Yanheng's eagerly waiting fans flooded into the broadcast.
They couldn't wait to admire their idol's stunning appearance, but what caught their attention first wasn't their idol, it was the adorable little bundle curled up in his arms. Only then did they notice the drool-stained shirt.
[Wow, I was instantly melted by this cute face as soon as I entered the stream, this is not good for my heart!]
[If Su Yanheng hadn't explained it clearly, I'd really suspect this is his child! He looks exactly like the actor did when he was little!]
【Su Yanheng has a severe case of mysophobia! This little one drooled so much on his chest, he's doomed!】
【You must not have seen Su Yanheng's Weibo. He'd definitely be disgusted by anyone else's drool, but not this child's!】
【Who doesn't know that Su Yanheng is now a doting brother fanatic?】
【Is Su Yanheng trying to create a new persona again? And this time, he's dragging his three-year-old brother into it?】
【How despicable of Su the Movie Emperor, even using his own family!】
【So many celebrities are joining parenting shows these days. Why don't you criticize others instead of stirring up trouble here?】
Niannian sat up, his messy hair sticking out like a bird's nest, and he remained dazed for a moment, this was his prelude to waking up, requiring a certain amount of "boot-up" time.
He was positioned directly facing the camera at the head of the bed, his eyes slightly squinting, his little head nodding bit by bit. The morning light falling on him swayed along with his movements, casting golden afterimages.
Once the "boot-up" time ended, Niannian opened his sleepy eyes. The golden light fell into his pupils, tinting his dark eyes with a shimmering gold.
The barrage in the live stream surged even more frantically,
【Ahhh! He looked at me! He's looking at me!】
【Su Yanheng only posts photos of him sleeping or side profiles. This is the first time I've seen his full face clearly. Oh my, I take back what I said earlier, he's even cuter than Su the Movie Emperor was as a child!】
【Sweetie, don't look at Auntie like that. If you keep looking, I'll have to punish you by making you give Auntie a kiss!】
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Ji Suize: I won't punish him by making him kiss me. If I want a kiss, I'll take the initiative myself!
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