45

Mo Yichen nodded. “Go ahead, I’ll watch him here.”

Zhu Jia walked out of the living room contentedly. Xiao Wen had made such great progress today, and she was in a good mood. She hummed a song as she entered the kitchen, where Aunt Liu was washing vegetables.

“Madam, what are you making? How about I do it?”

Zhu Jia shook her head. “No need, Aunt Liu. If you have time, could you please bone and dice the chicken legs for me?”

Aunt Liu responded with a “Okay,” took a chicken leg she had just chopped, skillfully made an incision, removed the bone, and then diced the chicken into small pieces Xiao Wen could chew.

Meanwhile, Zhu Jia was cutting the pumpkin into small pieces.

The chicken and pumpkin were marinated with baby soy sauce, baby oil, and a little starch. Zhu Jia stirred it with chopsticks, feeling like she was forgetting something.

She tried to recall the video from Liang Sisi, but couldn’t remember. She put down the chopsticks and patted her empty pockets. Her phone wasn’t with her. It must be in the living room.

Zhu Jia washed her hands and went to the living room. From far away, she heard a series of rhythmic knocking sounds coming from there. She pursed her lips. It seemed Xiao Wen was knocking on toys again. Lately, he loved using toys to knock things around.

As she approached, she noticed that Mo Yichen wasn’t sitting on the couch and had left Xiao Wen alone on the floor playing.

“Xiao Wen, don’t knock the toys. The sound is unpleasant, do you understand?”

Zhu Jia walked over, a little displeased, and then realized Xiao Wen was holding a thin, purple rectangular object…

Wait!! Zhu Jia’s eyes flickered. Isn’t that her phone?

“Xiao Wen, stop! You can’t knock the phone!” Zhu Jia quickly stepped forward and grabbed the phone from Xiao Wen’s hands. She looked at it and—oh no! The screen was completely blacked out.

“What happened?” Mo Yichen’s anxious voice came from behind.

Zhu Jia felt a little angry. She had specifically asked him to keep an eye on Xiao Wen, so how did he get distracted? She turned around, ready to ask Mo Yichen what had happened.

Zhu Jia felt a little angry. She had specifically asked him to keep an eye on Xiao Wen, so how did he get distracted? She turned around, ready to ask Mo Yichen what had happened.

But when she turned, she saw Mo Yichen’s pale face, his features exhausted, his face and forehead slightly damp, his eyes red and moist.

Zhu Jia swallowed all the words she had intended to say, only muttering, “Xiao Wen broke my phone…”

Mo Yichen furrowed his brows, picked Xiao Wen up from the floor, and sat him on the couch. He looked him sternly in the eyes and said, “Xiao Wen, you did something wrong. You can’t knock your mom’s phone. You can’t knock anything on the ground either. Not only does it make unpleasant noise, but it can also break things. Do you understand?

Xiao Wen stared with wide eyes, looking confused. But when he saw Mo Yichen’s stern face, he felt very wronged and started crying loudly.

Xiao Wen cried so hard it seemed like he was the most innocent baby in the world. Zhu Jia frowned, watching the father and son.

Mo Yichen, feeling a little guilty, said, “Don’t cry, next time Dad will buy you a little drum to knock on.”

After comforting him for a while, Xiao Wen finally stopped crying, sniffling and calming down.

Mo Yichen placed Xiao Wen on the sofa and stepped forward to wrap his arm around Zhu Jia’s shoulder. “It’s my fault, I wasn’t watching him closely enough.”

He paused, then explained sincerely, “I just got off the plane this afternoon and was exhausted. I went to wash my face to wake up, and I didn’t expect this to happen.”

Zhu Jia looked into his eyes, which were bloodshot, and pursed her lips. “It’s okay, you can’t blame yourself. Xiao Wen has been knocking things every day lately.”

Mo Yichen took both of her hands in his. “I’m sorry. I won’t leave him alone next time. I’ll go upstairs now and get a new phone for you.”

Zhu Jia nodded. “Thankfully, you recorded the walking video earlier, or it would have been a shame.”

A flicker of darkness crossed Mo Yichen’s eyes, but he spoke casually, “You’re right, fortunately, I recorded it.”

“Then wait here. I’ll go upstairs to get it.”

Mo Yichen turned around, and in a place out of Zhu Jia’s sight, he wore a relaxed expression, his mood light, and with an almost imperceptible smile at the corner of his lips.

Tonight’s “Pumpkin Cheese Chicken Leg Braised Rice” turned out to be delicious, and Xiao Wen seemed to enjoy it.

Zhu Jia took a few pictures, planning to send them to Liang Sisi. She logged into WeChat on her new phone and saw a message from Chen Tingyan from earlier in the afternoon, saying he was going to give her a phone case.

Zhu Jia felt a little guilty. She didn’t know how to tell Chen Tingyan that her new phone had only lasted a few days before breaking.

She thought for a moment and then replied carefully, “No need, I already have a phone case.”

In the following week, Zhu Jia was busy running between school and home. Since she had missed a lot of lessons, she spent her time studying when she got home, unable to put down her books.

She had already bought all the required reading books recommended by her teachers and tried to read them in her spare time.

This week, however, there was another very important thing to prepare for—Xiao Wen’s first birthday!

Since learning to walk, Xiao Wen’s independent steps had gradually increased in length. From just four or five steps at first, he could now walk ten or more steps. However, he still walked unsteadily, and falling had become a daily occurrence. Zhu Jia often felt her heart tighten when she watched him.

Falling wasn’t the worst part—what scared her most was when he could bump into hard objects or furniture.

Zhu Jia realized that once a child learns to walk, they become harder to care for. As soon as Xiao Wen woke up, she had to follow him everywhere, just in case he bumped into something.

Xiao Wen’s language skills also improved quickly. Not only could he say “mama” and “dada,” but he also started saying simple reduplication words like “饭饭” (food), “鸭鸭” (duck), “抱抱” (hug), and so on.

Every time Xiao Wen saw a new object, Zhu Jia would teach him the name and pronunciation.

As for Xiao Wen’s birthday party, Zhu Jia had booked a private room at a parent-child restaurant called MIMO, inviting Mo Qingqing and her siblings, Lin Lin’s family, and Liang Sisi’s family to celebrate with them.