Chapter 222

Apart from the three Baos of the Su family, the other kids were quite “worldly” cubs. This wasn’t their first time enjoying roast duck in a private room. Grandpa Zhuzi had treated them to it before.

At first, Fantuan was concerned about whether the three brothers would adapt. He positioned himself and Zhuzi like bodyguards on either side of them. However, he soon realized that living with Aunt Su Xiaoxiao had prepared them well—no need to worry about being uncomfortable.

Han Cheng had brought roast duck back to the Su family village before, and Aunt Su Xiaoxiao could cook it herself. The kids were not the ones to snatch food. Xiao Roubao, who especially liked to explain new things, eagerly explained everything to Yao Bao. Aside from nearly overfeeding Yao Bao with his portion, the meal was a feast for the guests and hosts.

Before leaving, Xiao Roubao made sure to pack a greasy, fat roast duck for his mom, second brother, and little sister and went home satisfied.

Of course, most of the meat from that fat roast duck ended up in Xiao Roubao’s belly.

The kids were energized and likely fueled by Boss Gu’s generous treat of roast duck. They stayed up late that night optimizing the comic’s content, making changes upon changes. Even after satisfying themselves, they still sought their mom’s or aunt’s evaluation.

Su Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and decided to change the character design to a Q-version. In fact, she had wanted to do this when Fantuan and the others started serializing in the daily newspaper before, but she was worried that people in this era would not have a high acceptance of the Q-version, so she hesitated. ^[1]Q-version is the English translation of the Chinese term Q版 (pinyin: Kiū bǎn). It refers to the cartoonization or infantilization of real-life or serious figures, animals, characters, or objects, … Continue reading

But Gu Zhanwang was different. Having traveled abroad and experienced most developed countries, he boldly supported the children’s creativity, even suggesting drawing comics on the wall of his mall. He was always willing to lend her a car, showing his goodwill. It was time for her to return the favor with a surprise.

Su Xiaoxiao looked at Fantuan’s character design and drafted another one, changing the character’s eyes to super cute cartoon eyes like those in Japanese anime. Their hair was no longer the same straight black hair but was now curly and of varying lengths. If it weren’t for the characteristics of the times and people’s acceptance, she would have also wanted to change the hair color to different shades.

Innovation was possible, but being too unconventional was still not feasible in this era. After all, even television had not yet made outstanding achievements, so she decided to be more conservative.

But even so, the characters modified by Su Xiaoxiao still left the cubs stunned.

Xiao Doubao couldn’t put it down in his hand and said, “Mom, these… these are too cute!”

Fantuan took it and examined it. He then looked at Xiao Tangyuan and Xiao Roubao for a while. “Mom, are these the transformed versions of Xiao Tangyuan and Xiao Roubao? Xiao Tangyuan has two braids, and Xiao Roubao has curly hair. Aren’t their eyes just like this?”

Su Xiaoxiao was momentarily speechless and didn’t pay attention when drawing, but now that Fantuan mentioned it, they did resemble the two little ones at home a bit. But all the adorable kids looked like Q-version characters because they were equally cute. In this day and age, people who haven’t seen many chibi characters might say Xiao Tangyuan and Xiao Roubao resembled children from traditional New Year posters. Xiao Tangyuan was often compared to their classmates’ beautiful foreign dolls.

Su Xiaoxiao said, “Do you think they look much cuter like this? Actually, most characters in the comics Uncle Gu mentioned are designed like this. I’ll try to find a few comic books for you to read another day. If you don’t like it, we can stick to the original style. But if you do, we can experiment with this kind of character design. There are many ways to draw eyes, too.” She quickly sketched a few different styles of eyes.

In fact, eyes can also have different colors, but due to the limitations of the era, they can only have black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin for now.

In her previous life, Su Xiaoxiao had enjoyed drawing comics as a way to relieve stress. Despite being an amateur who only sketched characters, she liked them for her own entertainment, and her drawing skills were solid, leading to naturally good results. Occasionally, she posted her work on her personal blog, where people would send her private messages requesting commissions, but she never accepted any orders.

Xiao Doubao and his older brothers were all personally tutored by Su Xiaoxiao in writing, drawing, and studying. The younger siblings born after Xiao Doubao were taught more by their older brothers, with Su Xiaoxiao taking a less direct role.

So, the little ones didn’t really know how talented their mom or aunt was until they gathered around her to watch her draw.

Su Xiaoxiao put down her pen after finishing several eye designs. “These eye styles are cute too, but generally, you should stick to one style in one story. Mixing them can make it look inconsistent. I think my first style suits your story best.”

The kids were thrilled, feeling like they had discovered a treasure trove and opened the doors to a new world.

Fantuan hugged Su Xiaoxiao and sincerely said, “Mom, you know so much!” 

Xiao Doubao smiled and bragged about his mother, just like Fantuan, saying, “Mom has always been amazing!”

Xiao Bao chimed in, “Auntie is getting more and more amazing. I’ve never seen her draw like this before.”

Da Bao also nodded along.

The three younger cubs gave Su Xiaoxiao a thumbs-up. “Mom/Auntie, you’re so awesome!”

Zhuzi said: “We are all students taught by Aunt Su; naturally, she’s much better than us. Fantuan, let’s redraw a set of character designs based on Auntie Su’s drawings and let Uncle Gu choose.”

Fantuan nodded and said, “Let’s do it this way. Although Old Gu said we can make our own decisions, the cartoon character drawn by Mom is still a bit uncommon. Let Old Gu take a look first.

The older kids rolled up their sleeves and started working. They liked this Q-version character and leaned on the table to draw with their brothers.

Su Xiaoxiao quietly returned to her room, hiding her talents and achievements.

…….

Han Cheng had worked overtime until very late today. He noticed that the courtyard was tranquil tonight. Usually, voices could be heard even in the alley, but tonight was unusually silent. He raised his hand and looked at his watch. It was almost ten o’clock. ‘Could the children have already gone to bed? Hadn’t they all been staying up until around midnight lately? ’

Han Cheng entered the room with a mind full of questions, only to find that the nine cubs were all lying on the table, writing and drawing very seriously.

Han Cheng quietly approached and was momentarily stunned. Then he thought to himself that it was probably Gu Zhanwang who asked them to draw it this way. This comic style isn’t commonly seen in China but is pretty novel.”

Glancing around and not seeing Su Xiaoxiao, Han Cheng decided to return to his room.

Su Xiaoxiao was reading a book when Han Cheng approached and kissed her on the lips. “Have you seen the kids’ drawings? They’re quite interesting.”

Su Xiaoxiao smiled and returned the kiss. “Yes, they’re fascinating. Why don’t you go take a shower first?”

The kids were so engrossed in their drawings that they didn’t notice Han Cheng coming and going.

After showering, Han Cheng returned to find Su Xiaoxiao’s book still covering her face, but she had fallen asleep.

Han Cheng quietly took the book from her face, kissed her forehead, walked to the door, turned off the lights, and closed the door. When he saw it was almost midnight, he opened the door again and whispered, “It’s late. Go to bed first and draw tomorrow.”

Xiao Roubao took a deep breath and was about to shout ‘Dad’ loudly, but seeing his father raise his index finger to his mouth, he said, “Shhh. Mom is asleep; speak quietly.” 

Xiao Roubao suppressed his urge to shout and was already quite sleepy. Xiao Tangyuan had fallen asleep on the table. Han Cheng gently picked up his daughter and then took Xiao Roubao by the hand. “Let’s go to bed.”

Fantuan didn’t lift his head and whispered, “Dad, we’ll be done soon. We’ll definitely be asleep before midnight.”

Han Cheng didn’t force them, either. They were doing business, not playing. After settling the twins, he reminded them, “No later than midnight,” before heading back to his room to sleep.

Han Cheng fell asleep holding Su Xiaoxiao in his arms and drifted off to a peaceful night’s sleep.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The next morning, Su Xiaoxiao told Han Cheng that she had registered and was about to take the driver’s license exam.

Han Cheng had known about this but didn’t expect her to get her driver’s license as soon as they returned to the capital. He didn’t say much but was secretly worried for her. He gently suggested, “There’s nothing urgent in the lab today. I’ll take a leave and accompany you for driving practice.”

Han Cheng’s words startled Su Xiaoxiao, waking her up instantly. He had worked overtime until 10 o’clock in the evening, and there was nothing urgent going on in the lab. Wait, if he accompanies her, won’t her lie of “my husband taught me how to drive” be exposed? He doesn’t even know how to drive, right? She thought, “I definitely can’t let him come with me.”

.  “No need, no need. I can manage it on my own. If you come along, I’ll feel pressured and won’t be able to practice well. I might get too nervous with more people watching me.”

Han Cheng looked at her suspiciously, feeling that something was off.

Su Xiaoxiao didn’t give him a chance to think, so she used the all-rounder trick, clasping Han Cheng’s neck with both hands and kissing his lips. Her voice was soft and delicate, and she said, “You promised; you can only say yes. You must say yes.” Each word was followed by another kiss.

How could Han Cheng withstand her playful tricks? His gaze deepened as he rolled over and initiated a kiss on her lips. With a husky voice, he murmured, “Using this move every time, let me show you…”

On the warm morning of midsummer, the room filled with intimacy.

………….

By the time Han Cheng finished tidying up, it was nearly eight o’clock. Su Xiaoxiao had already fallen deeply asleep. He wasn’t sure what time she needed to go to the driving school, but he couldn’t bear to wake her up either.

Instead, he went to the next room to wake up Fantuan.

Fantuan had only gone to bed at midnight the previous night and had nothing scheduled for today. He had planned to sleep until ten o’clock, and sometimes, during summer vacation, they would go for a run in the afternoon. Han Cheng instructed them to exercise for at least an hour each day, with the time arranged as they saw fit.

However, before eight o’clock, the old father dragged him out of bed. Fantuan was grumpy about being woken up so early.

Half-asleep, he opened one eye and looked at his father. “Dad, why are you waking me up so early? I’ll take them to swim this afternoon; I won’t miss out on exercise!”

Han Cheng gave his eldest son a pat on the butt. This kid had been growing like a weed lately, almost as tall as his chin, with a still youthful face but already showing signs of adolescence. He couldn’t be physically disciplined anymore, but a bit of intimidation was effective.

“Dad has a task for you. Your mom is going to the driving school today, but I can’t go because of something urgent. You and Zhuzi, or Da Bao and Xiao Bao, at least two of you, must accompany her to protect her, understand?”

Fantuan felt like he was dreaming. He opened his other eye and looked at his father, unsure what to say. “Dad, Mom is going to practice driving, not entering some dangerous place. Why use the word ‘protect’?”

Han Cheng took a deep breath and said, “The instructors and students are all men.” He didn’t want to explain too much to a little kid.

Fantuan became even more confused and said, “If we go, we’re also men. What’s the big deal? Except for Mom and Xiao Tangyuan, everyone at home is male.”

No matter how tall Fantuan was, he was only a little over ten years old, tall for his age but still naive about the complexities of men.

Han Cheng sighed inwardly. “Just make sure you protect Mom. Don’t let the instructor or other students get too close to her. They can talk to her, but their hands must never come in contact with your mother’s hand, not even her skin!”

Fantuan suddenly realized and said, “Oh,” while saluting Han Cheng: “I will obey your orders, Dad. Comrade Fantuan promises to complete the mission. We will protect our mom and not let any males get near her, not even male mosquitoes! “

Han Cheng: “…” 

This son is getting more and more troublesome!