Chapter 25: 4M+ Little Training

Zhu Jia glanced at the leather sofa beneath her. Could she be sleeping on the sofa tonight?

Her lips tightened. It was hard to move from luxury to simplicity. She had experienced how comfortable that large bed was, and she wasn’t too keen on sleeping on the sofa.

But she certainly couldn’t let Mo Yichen sleep on the sofa; after all, this was his room, his bed.

What if she slept in another room? That wouldn’t work either. With so many eyes watching in the old residence, if they slept separately tonight, the whole Mo family would know their marriage was in trouble.

Zhu Jia looked at the large bed that could fit five people and suddenly had an idea.

When Mo Yichen finished showering and came out of the bathroom, he noticed something odd about his bed.

He walked over and saw that the bed was divided in two by the crooked pillows in the middle. On one side, there was a lump under a white cotton quilt, and a head suddenly popped out.

“Mo Yichen, you sleep on that side, and I’ll sleep on this side,” Zhu Jia pointed to the other side of the bed.

Although a pillow was placed in the middle, there was still enough space for both of them. Considering Mo Yichen’s height, Zhu Jia deliberately left a bit more space on his side.

Mo Yichen raised an eyebrow but didn’t object.

It was already quite late, and Zhu Jia lay in bed, listening to the sound of Mo Yichen walking.

He poured a glass of water, tilted his head to drink it, and his Adam’s apple moved.

Then, he walked over to turn off the light, and with a “click,” the room became pitch black.

Zhu Jia felt the bed sink on the other side. She gazed out the window at the moonlight pouring in, and her breathing gradually evened out.

That night, Zhu Jia dreamed of her favorite monkey-shaped pillow, which the director of the orphanage had bought for her when she was a child.

She had always lacked a sense of security, was afraid of the dark, and couldn’t sleep alone. The director had bought her a long, large, dark brown monkey-shaped pillow, and every night, as long as she hugged it, she could sleep soundly, even alone. The pillow had accompanied her to the university dormitory, and even when it faded in color from being washed, she couldn’t bring herself to throw it away.

She thought she would never see the monkey pillow again. But that night, she saw it in her dream. She wrapped herself around it, holding her old friend tightly.

The monkey pillow in her dream even stiffened for a moment, as if trying to escape. To her surprise, the monkey pillow in the dream could move! Zhu Jia found it amusing and moved closer, trapping it in her arms and holding it tightly.

The next morning, as soon as Zhu Jia opened her eyes, she saw Mo Yichen standing by the bed, staring down at her with a strange expression.

Zhu Jia rubbed her eyes, her voice hoarse, “What’s wrong?”

Mo Yichen straightened up and gave her a look that was hard to decipher, before turning and leaving.

Zhu Jia: …Who upset this young master so early in the morning?

She sat up, still groggy, looking around. Something felt off. Wasn’t she on the left side of the bed last night? Now, she was on the right side!

She glanced at the pillows in the middle, which had been kicked to the end of the bed, with one even on the floor.

Zhu Jia finally realized what Mo Yichen’s look had meant earlier…

Sighing, Zhu Jia lay back down, covering her face with a pillow. How embarrassing! Would Mo Yichen think she was strange?

Luckily, she didn’t see Mo Yichen for the rest of the day. When night came, she sat on the bed, absent-mindedly reading a book.

She perked up her ears, listening for sounds outside the door. As expected, around the same time as last night, the sound of the door opening came.

Zhu Jia quickly stuffed the book under the blanket and lay down, closing her eyes.

Mo Yichen opened the door, and the room was dim, with only a few bedside lamps lit. He stepped lightly into the room.

A person was lying on the bed, the blanket pulled tightly around them, with a small face peeking out timidly from under the covers.

The “boundary” in the middle of the bed was even more noticeable today, with the pillows stacked even higher than yesterday.

Mo Yichen was about to turn and head to the bathroom when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the person on the bed twitching their eyelashes, their expression tense, as though they were afraid to even breathe too deeply.

Mo Yichen’s lips curled slightly as he walked toward the bathroom.

In the following days, nothing unusual happened during their shared nights in the old house. Mo Yichen was up early and home late, and by the time he returned, Zhu Jia was already half-asleep. When she woke up in the morning, Mo Yichen was either gone or preparing to leave.

Zhu Jia never crossed the “boundary” of the bed to sleep in Mo Yichen’s space again. But she couldn’t help feeling a little forlorn, because after the first night, she hadn’t dreamed of her favorite monkey pillow anymore.

In the three days, they barely exchanged more than ten words, like strangers sleeping in the same bed.

During her free time, Zhu Jia sat on the couch, reading Mo Yichen’s vast collection of books, while taking the medicine prescribed by the doctor and the various tonics her mother-in-law had prepared for her.

By the fourth day, Zhu Jia had fully recovered, and even her nose felt clear.

On the fifth day, Zhu Jia and Mo Yichen finally brought Xiao Wen back to their own home.

She was still wearing a mask to avoid passing on her lingering cold to Xiao Wen.

She happily hugged Xiao Wen, lying on her familiar big bed. She tossed and turned a little, enjoying the comfort of her own bed, where she could freely assume any sleeping position she liked.

Xiao Wen seemed excited as well. He hadn’t been with Zhu Jia for several days, and now, in her familiar embrace, he felt completely content, as if his little world was perfect.
…….

Zhu Jia began planning new activities for Xiao Wen, now that he was four months old. Babies between four to six months are very different from younger ones, as they gain more mobility and start to control their bodies.

After mastering rolling over, babies begin to change positions on their own, which helps them develop a new perspective on things and promotes brain development.

System: “Host, you can arrange some small exercises suitable for Xiao Wen’s age now.”

Zhu Jia nodded and opened the system panel to browse through the recommended early education activities. After a while, her eyes lit up. She thought, why not try these two today?

Zhu Jia placed Xiao Wen on the play mat in the children’s room and took out a yellow rubber duck that squeaked when squeezed. She gently waved it in front of him.

Sure enough, Xiao Wen was captivated. He reached out with both hands, trying to grab the duck. Zhu Jia moved it a little farther away, just within his line of sight, but out of his reach.

Xiao Wen’s eyes followed the little yellow duck.

“I really want to grab it,” he seemed to think.

With that thought in mind, Xiao Wen flipped over and reached for the duck again, but still missed.

He didn’t give up. He flipped over once more and finally brought the duck within his reach, grabbing it tightly with his little hand.

“Xiao Wen, you’re so amazing now! I’ll make it a bit more difficult now.”

Zhu Jia patted Xiao Wen’s head as encouragement and then moved the little duck further away.

Xiao Wen rolled several times on the crawling mat.

“Good job! Just one more roll, and you’ll reach it,” Zhu Jia said, making the little yellow duck squeak in her hand to attract Xiao Wen’s attention.

Xiao Wen, almost distracted by something else, refocused his gaze on the source of the sound.

He flipped again toward the little yellow duck and reached out his hand. This time, he was almost there!

Instinctively, Xiao Wen wriggled and squirmed, successfully moving his body and finally achieving his goal! Little did he know, this unconscious movement was actually the beginning of his crawling.

Zhu Jia praised him with affectionate caresses and left him to play on the mat by himself.

After all, a child’s attention span is limited, and just a few minutes of training could already achieve the goal.

After playing for a few minutes, Zhu Jia began the second activity: mirror play.

The children’s room had a full-length mirror, and she picked Xiao Wen up and placed him in front of it.

This was likely Xiao Wen’s first time observing the mirror so closely.

He didn’t quite understand what it was, just finding it a bit strange—why was there a mommy on the other side, and another one behind him?

Xiao Wen’s little brain couldn’t quite figure it out, so he reached out his hand to touch the mommy in the mirror. Unexpectedly, the baby in the mirror reached out its hand as well.

“Xiao Wen, do you know? This is a mirror. The person inside is you, and the other one is me,” Zhu Jia said with a smile.

She reached out and pointed at her reflection, and the person in the mirror mimicked the gesture.

Xiao Wen seemed to begin to understand. He tried blinking, and the little baby in the mirror blinked too.

The mirror play was both intuitive and abstract. While Xiao Wen couldn’t fully grasp the logic, he understood it through instinct and experience.

He might, just like the mommy and the mommy in the mirror, look like the baby in the mirror.

Xiao Wen stared at his face, examining himself for the first time. Though still somewhat confused, he finally saw his appearance clearly.

“Mom always says I’m cute. So this is what cute looks like!”

Mirrors were really fun. Xiao Wen, as if discovering a new world, was excited. He wriggled and moved his body, finally positioning himself in front of the mirror.

He curiously stretched out his hands and feet to touch the smooth, cold mirror. The sensation was unfamiliar. It wasn’t like mommy’s warm, soft hands, nor like his squeaky rubber duck.

Babies at Xiao Wen’s age were full of energy, ready to explore the fascinating world around them.

The big and small ones spent most of the day in the children’s room, and by the time the evening came, Xiao Wen was finally willing to follow Zhu Jia back to the room. He obediently drank his milk and fell into a sweet sleep