A group of kids happily went to the supermarket to eat free lollipops, but as soon as they reached the entrance, they were stopped by a few police officers. The shopping guide auntie was also mistaken for a human trafficker and was immediately handcuffed and taken away.
The bewildered children were brought back to the station, where they received a stern lecture. Then, they were made to sit in a row under the TV screen in the lobby and forced to watch an anti-trafficking PSA.
Hu De walked by and pointed at Zhong Yuntong, "You little foodie."
Zhong Yuntong stuck out her tongue and made a face at him, "Nah nah nah."
Hu De walked over to Zhong Jin's office, knocked on the door, and entered.
"Director Zhong, there's something I need to tell you. Earlier in the interrogation room, the kids were admitting their mistakes. Everything else was fine, but one little boy said he lifted a girl's skirt at school. Should we inform the school about this?"
Zhong Jin put down the documents in his hand and looked up.
"Go talk to the kindergarten's head teacher. Actually, forget the head teacher, go directly to the principal and assist them in conducting child behavior education. Also, ask them to modify the girls' skirts. Yuntong's mom added a pair of shorts inside the skirt, which I think is a good idea. Or they could just switch to pants altogether, which would be more convenient for the kids to run and play around."
Hu De nodded and turned to leave, but Zhong Jin called him back. "As for that little boy, have the teacher notify his parents so they can take this seriously."
"Alright, I'll head over now."
Not long after Hu De left, the office door was slammed open as Zhong Yuntong rode in on her scooter.
She glanced at Zhong Jin, went straight to the desk, opened the bottom drawer, and stuffed some snacks into her backpack.
With her backpack full of snacks hanging from the handlebars, the cool kid turned and left.
"Stop," Zhong Jin called out.
Zhong Yuntong stopped, her foot still on the scooter, a piece of yogurt candy in her mouth, and turned her head, "What?"
Zhong Jin beckoned her over, "Come here, I need to ask you something."
Zhong Yuntong rode back and stood in front of Zhong Jin.
Zhong Jin bent down, picked her up, and sat her on his lap. "Where are your classmates? Aren't they watching the PSA? Why did you come here alone?"
Zhong Yuntong chewed on the candy and mumbled, "They went back to school. The teacher asked if I wanted to go with them, but I said no, I'm waiting for Dad."
"Hmm."
Zhong Jin took out a handkerchief and wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth.
"Let me ask you, has any boy at school ever lifted your skirt?"
"No," Zhong Yuntong shook her head firmly.
"Good. If it ever happens, you must tell the teacher, tell your mom, and tell me, okay? If anyone bullies you, you have to let us know."
Zhong Yuntong, sitting on Zhong Jin's lap, bent down to grab her backpack from the handlebars and started rummaging through it for snacks.
Zhong Jin took the backpack and tossed it onto the desk, "Listen to me first. You can have your snacks after I'm done talking."
Zhong Yuntong turned and bumped her head against Zhong Jin's chest, "Then hurry up and say it."
Zhong Jin held her wriggling head in place.
"Also, you almost got kidnapped by human traffickers today, didn't you? You must never take anything from strangers again, understand?"
Zhong Yuntong looked up suddenly and asked seriously, "If I followed the bad people, does that mean I'm not a good kid anymore?"
"No, it's the traffickers who are bad, not you."
Zhong Jin gently tapped her nose with his finger and pulled her closer to his chest.
"And you don't have to be a good kid. You can be naughty, you can have bad grades, and when you grow up, you can do whatever you like. But you must never let yourself be tricked by traffickers, got it?"
Zhong Yuntong pinched the chubby cheeks on her face, "If I get tricked, you'll cry like this."
Zhong Jin made a crying face, "I'd cry myself to death."
The office door was still open when Mao Feixue walked in with some documents, her head down. When she looked up, she saw Zhong Jin with droopy eyes and a pouting, tearful expression staring at her.
Their eyes met, and Mao Feixue was momentarily stunned, "Director Zhong, is something wrong?"
Zhong Jin quickly composed himself and acted as if nothing had happened, "Do you need something?"
Mao Feixue gave him a strange look and walked over with the documents, "The city bureau sent over some files. Can you take a look?"
Zhong Jin lifted Zhong Yuntong off his lap. The child patted his arm and pointed at the backpack on the desk, "That, give it to me."
With her backpack full of snacks, Zhong Yuntong scooted out on her skateboard.
Zhong Jin called after her, "Don't run off. Wait for me to finish work, and we'll go home together."
*
Most of the things at home had already been moved to the new house. Tonight's dinner was eaten in the new home. As soon as they entered, they were greeted by the delicious aroma of tomato and beef stew.
Aunt Liang poked her head out from the kitchen, "Mr. Zhong, you're back? Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes."
"Alright. Where's Qiu Sheng?" Zhong Jin took out Zhong Yuntong's slippers and placed them by her feet.
Aunt Liang replied, "She's still working."
"Hmm."
Zhong Jin changed into his slippers, neatly placed his leather shoes in the shoe cabinet, and picked up the two big leather shoes that were scattered haphazardly and arranged them properly.
Two pairs of black leather shoes, one big and one small, were neatly placed at the bottom of the shoe cabinet.
Aunt Liang smiled at the sight. Among all the families she had worked for, Zhong Jin was the only male head of the household who would tidy up his own shoes.
Zhong Yuntong ran straight to her big dog bed in the living room as soon as she entered.
The dog bed was something Zhong Jin had bought for her a few days ago. It was shaped like a small house, with a door opening, a soft little blanket inside, a small night light hanging above, and a bone-shaped pillow inside.
Zhong Jin had come across a pet video online one day, which mentioned that dogs are den animals and that parents could place a semi-enclosed dog bed at home to simulate a cave-like environment, increasing the dog's sense of security.
He thought about how Zhong Yuntong still retained some dog-like habits and immediately ordered the dog bed online. He set it up overnight, and sure enough, Zhong Yuntong loved it.
However, Zhong Yuntong, who had already stuck her head into the dog bed, was pulled out by Zhong Jin.
"Wash your hands and change your clothes first before playing."
Aunt Liang brought the dinner to the table, said goodbye to Zhong Jin, and prepared to leave.
This was part of their agreement. Aunt Liang was only responsible for cooking and occasionally picking up Zhong Yuntong. On weekends when Zhong Jin and Qiu Sheng were busy with work, Aunt Liang would also help look after the child during the day.
Her working hours were shorter than before, but her salary remained the same.
This way, Aunt Liang could have more time to take care of her mother at home.
Moreover, Zhong Jin didn't like having outsiders at home, so this arrangement worked better for everyone.
Zhong Yuntong stood on the small step in front of the sink while Zhong Jin wiped her face and hands with a towel. He turned to Aunt Liang and said, "Aunt Liang, take some food home with you. Don't bother cooking when you get back."
"No need, my husband has already made dinner at home," Aunt Liang took off the small floral apron Qiu Sheng had made for her and hung it on the hook by the kitchen door.
Zhong Jin insisted, "Then take some beef stew with you. We can't finish it all, and we'll just have leftovers tomorrow."
Zhong Yuntong, standing on the step, also chimed in, "Take some home, be good, listen to us."
Aunt Liang's heart melted at the sight of Zhong Yuntong's earnest expression. She smiled and agreed, "Alright, I'll take some home then."
During dinner, Qiu Sheng and Zhong Jin discussed the room arrangements.
The new house had three bedrooms. The smallest one had been turned into Qiu Sheng's study, leaving one larger secondary bedroom and the biggest master bedroom.
The master bedroom had been converted into a colorful children's room. Before moving in, they had also hired a professional environmental agency to test the room, and it was completely up to standard.
However, given the large area of the renovation, Zhong Jin and Qiu Sheng were still somewhat uneasy about letting the child stay here for an extended period, as children have weaker immune systems.
After discussing it, they decided that since Xiao Tong didn’t need to sleep in her own room just yet, Zhong Jin would stay in the children's room, while Xiao Tong would spend most of her time with Qiu Sheng in the secondary bedroom. Occasionally, she would stay with Zhong Jin for a night to comfort the "empty-nest old father."
Qiu Sheng mixed rice with the tomato and beef brisket sauce and said, "We’ll adjust when Xiao Tong needs her own room."
After saying this, both of them paused.
By the time Xiao Tong needed her own room, it would be at least a year later. A year from now, who knew what the situation would be? Perhaps Xiao Tong wouldn’t even be in Haishan anymore.
Zhong Jin calmly picked up a piece of beef for Xiao Tong and said, "Alright, let’s just live like this for now."
After dinner, Zhong Jin cleaned up the dishes, poured the leftovers into the sink, turned on the faucet to wash the scraps into the garbage disposal, and neatly stacked the dishes into the dishwasher.
Aunt Liang had already cleaned the kitchen before leaving, and the countertops were so spotless they could reflect light, something even Zhong Jin, with his cleanliness obsession, couldn’t fault.
Qiu Sheng was right; with Aunt Liang around, life had indeed become much easier.
The extra time could now be spent resting, reading, or playing with Xiao Tong, and life no longer felt as rushed as before.
After tidying up, Zhong Jin walked out of the kitchen, and Qiu Sheng waved him over, pulling out an exquisitely wrapped box from the drawer under the coffee table.
"Come over and have some chocolate."
Xiao Tong was kneeling by the coffee table, staring eagerly at the chocolate in Qiu Sheng’s hand, drool already dripping down her chin.
Zhong Jin walked over, and Qiu Sheng opened the pure white chocolate box. Inside were four different flavors of chocolate, each wrapped in foil of a different color.
Qiu Sheng read the English on the packaging aloud, "There’s dark chocolate, hazelnut, creamy cocoa, and crème brûlée. Which one do you want?"
"Dark chocolate," Zhong Jin said.
Xiao Tong held up four fingers, "I want all of them."
"No," Qiu Sheng refused, "You can only have one. You can’t eat too much chocolate."
Xiao Tong lay on the coffee table, her chubby feet sliding around on the carpet. After thinking for a while, she carefully chose her favorite pink one.
Zhong Jin wasn’t particularly fond of sweets, but seeing how happy the two of them were, he didn’t want to spoil the mood. He sat down on the carpet next to Xiao Tong and let her rest her feet on his.
Qiu Sheng handed each of them a chocolate and took a crème brûlée one for herself.
Zhong Jin caught the chocolate she tossed to him mid-air and casually asked, "Where did you buy this? If you like it, we can get it more often."
Qiu Sheng replied, "I didn’t buy it. Wen Hechang sent it over from his trip abroad."
Without hesitation, Zhong Jin tossed the chocolate back into the box, "I don’t like sweets."
Xiao Tong immediately picked it up and clutched it in her hand, "If you don’t want it, I’ll take it."
Zhong Jin said, "Chocolate can kill dogs. You shouldn’t eat it either."
The little traitor quickly peeled the chocolate and stuffed the whole piece into her mouth, chewing with her cheeks puffed out.
After finishing the chocolate, the child happily ran around on the carpet, showing off her little black teeth, and sang a silly song she had just made up:
"Chocolate is so yummy, not eating it is dumb, quack quack quack."
