“Up, up!” Koukou reached out with his little hand and said, “Hug, hug.”

Qiao Wanqing took the opportunity to run over and lift him up, feeling proud of her son for coming to her rescue.

“Nah, nah.” Koukou was in her arms but reached out towards Gu Yanqing, wanting whatever he had in his hand.

Gu Yanqing walked over and gave him the necklace. “Does baby want this?”

“Hey, Koukou doesn’t have much sense of restraint now; he might pull it and break it. Don’t give it to him to play with,” Qiao Wanqing warned.

Gu Yanqing sighed softly. “Since the person I gave it to won’t accept it, I guess it’ll just have to be a toy for my son.”

Qiao Wanqing sighed. “… You’re shameless.”

“Mum, mum!”

Koukou got the necklace and was very happy.

He held it up, intending to put it on Qiao Wanqing just like he did with Gu Yanqing.

Seeing his son’s actions, Gu Yanqing chuckled.

His son was really helping him out.

Qiao Wanqing spent every day with Koukou and quickly understood his intentions.

She couldn’t help but laugh at herself for thinking Koukou was rescuing her—it was clearly a plot by Gu Yanqing’s little spy.

What a cheeky little troublemaker!

Koukou hadn’t thought much about the concept of wearing things before, but the flower crown from earlier had sparked something in him.

Now he was on a mission to make everyone wear whatever he found.

Gu Yanqing seized the moment. “Would you like daddy to help Koukou put it on mum?”

Koukou handed the necklace to Gu Yanqing.

Deal done.

Qiao Wanqing had intended to refuse, but Gu Yanqing whispered softly, “Be good, Koukou is watching.”

“Be good, my foot,” Qiao Wanqing thought, feeling a shiver down her spine.

Finally, Qiao Wanqing let Gu Yanqing put the necklace on her.

His touch, warm and gentle, felt almost burning against her skin.

She fought the urge to pull away. What seemed like seconds felt like centuries.

“So pretty, so pretty!” Koukou cheered when Gu Yanqing finished.

It was getting warm now, and Qiao Wanqing wore a low-cut dress today.

Aside from its original owner, it looked stunning on her, enhancing her elegant beauty.

Her fair neck, adorned with the necklace, added a touch of grace and beauty, exactly as Koukou had said.

Yuan Yuan also smiled and said, “Looks nice.”

“I guess I have good taste,” Gu Yanqing smiled, pleased with how it looked. “Keep it on like this.”

All the compliments made Qiao Wanqing blush.

Did it really look that good?

“My dad also gave my mom a necklace,” Yuan Yuan piped up, coming over.

Gu Yanqing lifted him up, and Yuan Yuan seemed a bit upset as he said, “But one night, when I got up to pee, I saw my mom and dad fighting.”

“Fighting?”

Qiao Wanqing hadn’t realized their relationship was so complicated.

She felt sorry for Yuan Yuan; his parents seemed unreliable.

“Yeah,” Yuan Yuan innocently continued, “Mom was on top of Dad and wouldn’t let him get dressed. I tried to help Dad, but they sent me back to bed.”

Gu Yanqing’s face darkened after hearing Yuan Yuan’s story.

He silently noted down the unreliability of the couple.

Yuan Yuan was old enough to have his own room, but the unreliable parents felt guilty for not fulfilling their parental duties, so they continued sharing a room.

Yuan Yuan had his own small bed in the room.

It must have been awkward for them to be caught by their child doing such things.

“From now on, you’ll sleep in your own room,” Gu Yanqing decisively said. “Or I’ll have them move your bed to another room… Actually, I’ll talk to them about it.”

Even though Yuan Yuan was young, he was old enough to remember, and it wasn’t good for him to witness such things.

Qiao Wanqing was embarrassed and surprised by what Yuan Yuan had said about “fighting.”

She cleared her throat awkwardly and reassured him, “Your mom and dad weren’t fighting, don’t worry.”

“Then what were they doing?” Yuan Yuan asked innocently.

Qiao Wanqing looked at Gu Yanqing for help with this difficult question.

Gu Yanqing glanced at her deeply and said, “They were making a little brother for you.”

“Really?” Yuan Yuan’s eyes lit up. “So, does Aunt Qiao and Uncle also make a little brother for Koukou at night?”

Qiao Wanqing: “…”

Gu Yanqing, why such logic?

This topic couldn’t continue any further.

But Gu Yanqing continued to look at her with a smirk.

Qiao Wanqing held Koukou and started walking out. “I’ll go bathe Koukou.”

“Wanqing,” Gu Yanqing called after her.

“What now?”

“The bathroom is this way.”

“…”

---

Gu Yanqing had come specifically to celebrate Koukou’s first birthday.

Time had flown by, and Koukou was about to turn one year old, marking a year since Qiao Wanqing had been there.

In their village, they still observed the tradition of celebrating a child’s first birthday.

Qiao Wanqing wasn’t entirely convinced about these traditions, but since they existed, they decided to go along with it.

On Koukou’s birthday morning, Qiao Wanqing dressed him in new clothes and symbolically fed him some long-life noodles, followed by milk.

“Full.”

After eating, Koukou patted his round little belly to show he was full.

His appetite had grown well, often leaving his belly pleasantly round, but not chubby.

Qiao Wanqing kissed him and praised, “Koukou, you’re amazing.”

Koukou was generally an easy child to take care of, obediently eating his meals from start to finish as long as he wasn’t upset or faced with vegetables he didn’t like, such as lettuce or carrots.

After feeding Koukou, Qiao Wanqing carried him to the living room where the “Zhuazhou” ceremony was set up.

Qiao Grandma had laid out a round winnowing basket covered with red cloth, adorned with items like brushes, ink, paper, abacus, and books, resembling what Qiao Wanqing had seen in ancient novels for Zhuazhou ceremonies.

Yuan Yuan and Huang Daxian were both intrigued, watching closely.

Huang Daxian seemed particularly interested, sitting on the floor, eyes fixed on the items Qiao Grandma had prepared.

At that moment, Gu Yanqing was probably on a work call.

These days, he was occupied with work calls for much of the day, indicating how busy he was.

“Are we ready?” Qiao Wanqing asked Qiao Grandma.

“Yes, we can start after lighting the incense,” Qiao Grandma replied, lighting three sticks of incense.

Holding Koukou’s tiny hand, she guided him to bow three times towards the incense burner, uttering auspicious words.

Then, she placed Koukou on the red cloth and encouraged him to pick something up.

Gu Yanqing finished his call and entered the living room to see his son, Koukou, in the midst of the Zhuazhou ceremony.

In Zhuazhou, parents placed items they hoped their child would pick up to symbolize their future aspirations for them.

However, Koukou was no ordinary child.

Instead of reaching for any of the items Qiao Grandma had set out for him, Koukou spotted an old coin on the floor, which Qiao Grandma had probably placed there.

His eyes lit up, and he reached out eagerly for it.

Qiao Wanqing sighed inwardly.

Even though she didn’t believe in the ceremony, why did it suit Koukou’s character so well?

Yuan Yuan, being straightforward, commented, “Little brother loves money!”

Clearing his throat, Qiao Wanqing agreed, “Yes, he sure does.”

Gu Yanqing playfully scooped Koukou up, thinking he had found something tasty, only to discover Koukou holding an old coin.

He handed it to Qiao Grandma, saying, “Koukou already knows how to hold onto money. He’s destined to be a big shot in the business world, isn’t he, sweetheart?”

Koukou giggled, drooling happily.

Yuan Yuan praised, “Koukou is so awesome, no, even more awesome than Uncle!”

“That’s impressive! Then there’s someone to carry on dad’s legacy,” Gu Yanqing was very satisfied with his son’s grasp of money.

He kissed his little cheek repeatedly and chuckled, “In the future, we’ll learn business together, dominate the market, and become the wealthiest.”

Qiao Wanqing paused, then wiped his mouth with a tissue, saying, “Let’s see if he can control his drooling before boasting.”

…

Because it was Kou Kou’s birthday, Qiao Wanqing prepared a sumptuous dinner, inviting many familiar people to celebrate. She thanked them for their care of Kou Kou, herself, and Granny Qiao, making it a rather grand birthday celebration for Kou Kou.

As for her relationship with Gu Yanqing, Qiao Wanqing decided to maintain a smile, unsure how to explain it.

Apart from her second uncle, others were reluctant to gossip about Gu Yanqing.

Her second uncle, now fully recovered and free from alcohol restrictions, had a few drinks with the only other man who could drink at the event… white liquor.

Both of them were a bit tipsy.

In the end, her second aunt had to drag him away by the ear, and Chen Feng drove them home.

Since the event ended late, Qiao Wanqing finished cleaning up and came out, but it was already quite late; Kou Kou and Yuan Yuan were already asleep.

Gu Yanqing sat alone on the bench in the yard where she usually worked, propping his head up, lost in thought.

“Hey,” Qiao Wanqing walked over and nudged him, “Are you asleep?”

Gu Yanqing lifted his head.

In the light of the yard, his expression was hazy.

Normally assertive and confident, Gu Yanqing now looked lost and confused.

It was clear that he was… drunk.

“Wanqing,” he took a moment to recognize the person before him, calling her name and then looking up at the sky with a soft laugh, “It’s so late.”

Qiao Wanqing: “…”

Clearly, he was not just a little drunk.

But both he and her second uncle drank the white liquor seriously; it would have been strange if they weren’t drunk.

“Let’s go to the room and rest.” Going back to the hotel was definitely out of the question now.

Gu Yanqing reached out his hand, “Help me up.”

Qiao Wanqing hesitated for a moment before reaching out to assist him.

Gu Yanqing’s steps were a bit unsteady, clearly very drunk.

He was tall and big, so supporting him was a bit challenging, but luckily the room wasn’t far.

Qiao Wanqing helped him to the room where he used to sleep.

She had just prepared new quilts in all the guest rooms today, fearing someone might stay over after getting drunk.

“My second aunt makes potent wine, and my second uncle grew up in wine barrels. Next time he invites you to drink, just go along with him, no need to be polite.” Qiao Wanqing helped him onto the bed, panting.

If her second aunt hadn’t taken her second uncle away, according to his increasing drunkenness, Gu Yanqing could have been overwhelmed.

She remembered reading that Gu Yanqing didn’t handle alcohol well.

But when Gu Yanqing was drunk, he still behaved well.

He didn’t take advantage of the situation or act like a rogue.

He nodded obediently, “Hmm.”

Qiao Wanqing couldn’t help but laugh at his obedient demeanor, saying, “Go to sleep. I’ll bring Yuan Yuan over in a bit.”

Yuan Yuan and Kou Kou were already asleep in their own beds.

“Goodnight kiss.” Gu Yanqing pointed to his cheek, just like when he wanted a kiss from Kou Kou.

“…Get lost!” She thought he had good manners even when drunk. “Just go to sleep and dream of everything you want.”

Gu Yanqing jokingly said, “Dream of spring.”

Qiao Wanqing glared at him. “Keep talking and I’ll kick you out.”

Gu Yanqing immediately lay down.

Qiao Wanqing couldn’t help but think that Gu Yanqing, when drunk, was just a grown-up version of Kou Kou, so similar in their childishness.

She shook her head helplessly and was about to leave when she heard Gu Yanqing call out, “Wanqing.”

“Yeah?” Qiao Wanqing turned back to see him smiling, “Goodnight.”

Qiao Wanqing couldn’t help but smile back, “Goodnight.”