Xu Xiuhe walked over, and the two finished a bowl of noodles.
"Later we'll take a shower, and then you can sleep some more. I have to go to work today."
"Okay."
After the shower, the two laid on the bed. It was only 5 a.m., but Shen Yin finally fell asleep in Xu Xiuhe's embrace.
When she woke up again, Xu Xiuhe was no longer by her side. Only Xu Yunzheng was lying next to her, motionless, watching her.
"Mommy, you're awake?" Zhengzheng asked.
"Where's Daddy?" Shen Yin asked.
"Daddy told Zhengzheng not to disturb Mommy."
Shen Yin glanced at her phone. It was already past 8 o'clock.
"Is Zhengzheng hungry?"
The little doll nodded.
Shen Yin got up.
On Sunday, no one came to work at the studio. She had previously notified Shen Meng and her friends that they could come over today, and she had also told Qi Ji and Shu Yi yesterday.
While Shen Yin was preparing breakfast for Zhengzheng, Qi Ji and Shu Yi came upstairs.
"Smells so good. I should've skipped breakfast and just come over to mooch off you," Shu Yi said.
"I ate a lot this morning. Last night I went back to Brother Jing Rui's place, and Mom made me a lot of food. I'm stuffed," Qi Ji said.
"You went back to the old house last night," Shu Yi said with interest.
"Yes, Brother Jing Rui said Dad and Mom missed us. So we went back."
"How did you two stay there?"
Qi Ji looked very embarrassed and bashful. "We stayed in the same room."
"And?" Shen Yin asked. From her experienced perspective, since they stayed in the same room, they were not far from sharing a bed.
"We slept in the same bed," Qi Ji said.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yin couldn't be bothered with anything else, and Shu Yi also looked at Qi Ji in shock. Only Zhengzheng was eating the little pancakes Shen Yin made, oblivious to their conversation.
"Damn, sis, you move that fast?" Shu Yi exclaimed.
"Who suggested it?" Shen Yin asked.
"I did," Qi Ji replied.
"Qi Ji, you're so brave!" Shu Yi said admiringly.
"No, no, it's not like that. Last night he was sleeping on the floor, and when he was holding a cup, he spilled water all over the bedding. It got really wet. I was afraid he'd get sick sleeping like that, so I let him get in the bed," Qi Ji hastily explained.
"How did he react?"
"He didn't say anything. He slept very properly, and we just slept on our sides."
"Not bad, not bad."
"Do you really want to have a baby?"
Qi Ji nodded.
"What do you think about men? Do you care?"
Qi Ji shook her head. But it seemed she understood what she needed to do next. As the saying goes, the one who falls in love first will suffer the most.
So she couldn't fall in love first. She had to stay lucid, but she wanted a child. Brother Jing Rui met all the criteria and would make a good father.
As for her, she was financially independent, her parents loved her, and she had a small fortune saved up, which would be enough for her and the baby's future. So why couldn't she make the first move?
"I want to have a baby," Qi Ji said seriously.
"Have you really thought it through?" Shen Yin asked.
"Mm-hmm."
"Mommy, Zhengzheng's done eating," Zhengzheng said after taking a sip of soup, looking at the three of them.
"Then let's go to the small building across the way. A few more people are coming, and then we'll practice some basic moves."
"Okay! Zhengzheng wants to become a superhero and beat up the bad guys who bully girls," Zhengzheng said, raising his fist.
"My future son-in-law is awesome. I wonder which lucky little girl he'll make his wife someday," Shu Yi mused.
"Mine," Qi Ji said unexpectedly.
"Whose little girl, Auntie?" Zhengzheng asked innocently.
"Auntie is going to have a little girlfriend for you, Zhengzheng. Then you'll be my son-in-law," Qi Ji said lightly, skipping down the stairs.
"She's already decided on her future son-in-law while he's still a child," Shu Yi laughed as she followed Qi Ji down.
"She's probably just joking with a childish mindset. Having a baby is not that easy. She's still too young. She can wait a couple more years," Shen Yin said gently.
"Yin Yin, don't be a hypocrite. How old were you when you had Zhengzheng?" Shu Yi asked pointedly.
Ah, Shen Yin calculated... It seemed she was about the same age as Qi Ji.
"Alright, alright, Qi Ji isn't that young," she conceded.
In the small building across the way, a few girls greeted them as they entered.
While Shen Yin was chatting with Shen Meng, Shen Meng asked about the cost of learning martial arts. Shen Yin never intended to make money from the martial arts studio, so the fees were not high, even lower than ordinary studios. As a result, more than five people showed up today.
Shu Yi took one look and thought, "Well, well, we've got the Seven Fairies gathered here."
Shen Yin was more casual about it. She had them line up inside and stretch their muscles.
"Has anyone practiced martial arts before?" Shen Yin asked sternly.
The girls shook their heads.
Adding Zhengzheng, there were a total of 10 students.
"Does practicing the Eight Brocade Qigong in college count?"
"Does practicing Tai Chi with my grandfather count?"
"Zhengzheng learned the horse stance when acting." The little guy had a good memory and even demonstrated the stance, using all his strength to squat down, successfully making everyone there laugh.
"Since none of you have any foundation, let's start from the beginning. The most important things in martial arts are the flexibility, agility, and strength of the legs. So today we'll start with the legs."
"First, the front leg stretch."
Shen Yin placed her left heel on the railing, toes hooked up, both legs straight, hands supporting her left knee, and leaned her upper body forward, trying to touch her head to her toes. She alternated between legs.
"Keep your legs straight and lean your upper body forward," Shen Yin emphasized.
The girls imitated Shen Yin, raising and straightening their legs.
"Ow, that hurts."
"It looks so easy, but it's so hard to do."
Shen Meng struggled to lift her leg onto the railing.
Shen Yin went around correcting each person's form.
"This is just the beginning. This railing isn't that high. Once you get used to it, we'll move to a higher one," Shen Yin said.
Zhengzheng was pouting nearby, thinking to himself that the railing was already too high for him, while the girls had lifted their legs onto it.
"Mommy, Zhengzheng can't reach," Zhengzheng said, walking back and forth under the railing.
Shen Yin...
Oops, she hadn't considered this little guy's height.
The other girls couldn't help but laugh, even as they tried to hold it in, straining with their legs raised.
"Zhengzheng, be a good boy and do the horse stance over there, okay? Since you're a boy, the training will be different from the girls'. Just squat in the horse stance and count to 60."
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5...40, 41, 44."
Qi Ji couldn't help but interject, "What about 43?"
Shen Yin looked towards Qi Ji and Shu Yi, who were standing at the very edge. The two of them hadn't noticed the celebrity behind them yet.
Qi Ji and Shu Yi were doing the exercises quite properly, holding the positions for a considerable amount of time, suggesting they likely had some dance training.
When they reached sixty, Zhengzheng came running over, and Shen Yin instructed the girls to switch to the other leg.
Zhengzheng looked around, left and right, and some more time passed.
"Alright, let's move on to the next exercise."
