At Qinghe Villa, Shen Yin accompanied Zhengzheng as they read a book together. Recently, she had handed over most of her work to Wang Nannan, who was skilled and eager to learn. Wang Nannan understood things quickly after Shen Yin explained them.
Shen Yin had drawn several designs for furniture and was just waiting to contact a woodworking factory. After registering a trademark, she would be able to sell her designs.
"Mommy, moon," said Zhengzheng, pointing at an illustration in the book depicting a bright, crescent moon in the blue night sky.
"Yes, it's the moon. Zhengzheng, tell me if the moon is round or curved."
Zhengzheng studied the illustration and said, "The moon is curved like a little boat."
Shen Yin was impressed that Zhengzheng could use such vivid descriptions at his age. "And what does a round moon look like?"
Zhengzheng thought for a moment, his eyes darting around, until he spotted a ball under the TV cabinet. "A round moon is like a ball," he exclaimed, scampering over to grab the ball.
"Mommy, I'm giving you the moon," Zhengzheng said, presenting the ball to Shen Yin.
Shen Yin accepted the ball with a smile. "Thank you, Zhengzheng."
Delighted, Zhengzheng raised one foot and swayed like a penguin as he waddled over to Shen Yin and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Since Zhengzheng is being so good, should Mommy give you a little reward?"
Zhengzheng's eyes lit up at the prospect of a reward. "Yes!"
"Then how about learning this poem as your reward?"
Not understanding what "learning a poem" meant, Zhengzheng assumed it was a game and grinned eagerly.
"I'll recite one line, and you repeat after me, okay?"
"Okay."
Shen Yin held Zhengzheng close and opened the book. "The bright moonlight before the bed," she said, pointing to each character.
"The bright moonlight before the bed," Zhengzheng repeated.
"Resembles frost upon the ground."
"One-four frost upon the ground."
"Zhengzheng, it's not 'one-four,' it's 'resembles.' Why don't you say 'resembles' instead of 'one-four'?" Shen Yin gently corrected his pronunciation.
"Mommy, why don't I say 'one-four'? What does 'one-four' mean?" Zhengzheng asked, tilting his head.
"Well, 'resembles frost upon the ground' means that the moonlight looks like frost on the ground. The moonlight by the bed seems like frost. Do you understand?" Shen Yin tried to explain, unsure if Zhengzheng could fully comprehend the metaphor.
Zhengzheng nodded, looking somewhat puzzled. "I understand. Zhengzheng wants to see frost."
Shen Yin was pleased by Zhengzheng's curiosity but pointed out, "Zhengzheng, it's summer now, so there's no frost. We'll have to wait until late autumn. But we can see the moon tonight if you'd like."
"Okay, bright moonlight before the bed."
"It's 'The bright moonlight before the bed, resembles frost upon the ground. Raising my head to gaze at the bright moon, I lower it, thinking of my hometown.'"
Shen Yin recited each line, and Zhengzheng repeated after her. Their peaceful moment was soon interrupted by Shen Yin's ringing phone.
"Hello, Huan Huan, what's up?"
"Boss, there are suddenly a lot of dogs at the entrance."
"Okay, I'll be right down."
Xu Xiuhe really did as he said - he had bought dogs, just like that.
Shen Yin carried Zhengzheng downstairs, and they could hear the barking as they approached the entrance. When she peeked outside, she saw a row of large dogs standing beside Huahua, their imposing presence quite intimidating.
"Mommy, Huahua," Zhengzheng pointed at the group of dogs.
Shen Yin felt a little afraid. Huahua was obedient and gentle because they had raised him for so long, but the other four were unfamiliar. What if they hurt someone?
Shen Yin called Xu Xiuhe.
He answered immediately, "Hello, wife, is something wrong?"
"No, but you really bought four more dogs?"
"Yes, like we agreed. We need more dogs to protect you and Zhengzheng."
"I don't think that's necessary." Shen Yin felt confident in her ability to defend herself.
"Consider them for Zhengzheng then, to keep him company."
"But they haven't been around children before. What if they hurt Zhengzheng?"
"I carefully selected these four. They won't harm Zhengzheng. Just feed them for a few days, and they'll be as gentle as Huahua. Oh, and they don't have names yet. Why don't you name them?"
"Okay, then."
Shen Yin hung up and looked at the dogs, worried about how much food they would need to eat.
Seeing their eager expressions, she carried Zhengzheng upstairs. "Huan Huan, come up and help me bring some things down."
Li Huanhuan remained on the third-floor landing, not entering but taking a peek at the cozy interior decoration of the CEO's home.
Shen Yin put Zhengzheng down and went to the kitchen, gathering some beef and pork before handing it to Li Huanhuan. She also brought bowls and plates from the landing.
"Huan Huan, you go downstairs first. I'll be right there."
Holding the food in one hand and Zhengzheng's hand in the other, Shen Yin asked, "Zhengzheng, can you go down the stairs?"
"Yes."
Although they moved slowly, Zhengzheng managed to navigate the stairs without being carried.
Shen Yin placed the bowls and plates at the entrance and had Li Huanhuan fill some bowls with water while she put the meat on the plates.
Soon, the dogs gathered around, happily devouring the meat.
"Zhengzheng, let's name the four new dogs."
Zhengzheng stood at the entrance, one hand on his mouth as he pondered. "Moon... Ball."
Shen Yin smiled. "You have such a good memory. Can you recite the poem we just learned?"
"The bright moonlight before the bed, resembles frost upon the ground. Raising my head to gaze at the bright moon, I lower it, thinking of my hometown." Zhengzheng flawlessly recited the lines, only stumbling slightly on the pronunciation of "resembles," but Shen Yin was impressed nonetheless.
"Zhengzheng is so smart. Let's name the dog drinking water 'Moon,' and the one yawning can be 'Ball.' How's that?"
"Okay."
"And for the other two, how about 'Zai Zai' and 'Shuang Shuang'?"
"Okay."
Zhengzheng was overjoyed to see so many dogs for the first time. He reached out to pet Moon, but Shen Yin was worried the unfamiliar dog might hurt him.
"Zhengzheng, let's wait a few days before petting them. For now, you can only pet Huahua. Huahua, come here!"
Obediently, Huahua trotted over and sat beside them, roughly at Zhengzheng's eye level. Zhengzheng stroked Huahua's head, then turned and beamed at Shen Yin.
