Chapter 6: The Soft and Cute Little One

◎ Ahhhhhh! Why is my little one so adorable and cute! ◎

Xue Huiyu suspected that the reason Pei Yuqi hadn’t started school was because of his autism. However, the fact that he was willing to accept her, a stranger, reading him a fairy tale suggested that this was a positive development. It meant that his autism might not be very severe, and it was likely influenced by his environment.

At just three and a half years old, early intervention could still offer hope for improvement, and there was even a chance of him being cured.

With a gentle smile, she said, “It’s so boring to stay in your room all the time. You should go outside more, you can make new friends! Going to school will let you learn new things, and once you learn to read, you’ll be able to read fairy tales by yourself!”

“Bang!” The fairy tale book was angrily thrown to the ground. Pei Yuqi furrowed his little brow, gnawed on his lip in frustration, and shot a fierce glare at Xue Huiyu.

So fierce! A tantrum and throwing the book!

Startled by Pei Yuqi’s sudden outburst, Xue Huiyu feared that the little one, who had finally opened his heart, would ignore her again. She immediately raised her hands in surrender and apologized, “It’s my fault, you don’t have to go to school… I can teach you everything you need to know at home!”

“Mommy is…” Seeing that Pei Yuqi was still upset with his small brows furrowed tightly, Xue Huiyu patted her chest with a smile, “A true academic star! I was even admitted early to Harvard University! But I’m even more amazing because I went to the Juilliard School of Dance in the U.S., where the admission rate is even lower than Harvard!”

Pei Yuqi, who was stunned by Xue Huiyu’s bright expression, blinked in confusion and tilted his little head, clearly not understanding what “Harvard” was.

“So my little one, how about you become a little academic star too? Mommy will read books to you and teach you how to read, okay?”

Pei Yuqi, who hadn’t gotten the reaction he expected after his outburst, remained silent.

“Mommy wants to read you another fairy tale, can you help pick up the book from the floor?”

“Don’t want to hear it anymore? The next story is Snow White. She was so unlucky, her stepmother the Queen was jealous of her beauty and chased her out of the castle…”

Pei Yuqi, who had turned his head to pretend he wasn’t listening, couldn’t help but perk up his ears.

“Don’t be mad at Mommy, okay? You’re the only one who can see me, and Mommy is so lonely… sniff sniff…”

After Xue Huiyu’s little whiny sniff sniff, she saw Pei Yuqi frown and, with a grumpy expression, bend down to silently pick up the book he had thrown to the floor.

With a look that seemed to say, I don’t really want to hear the story, but you’re bored, so I’ll open it anyway, he turned to Snow White.

Xue Huiyu couldn’t help but laugh at his conflicted expression, looking like he wanted to hear the story but didn’t want to admit it. She almost reached out to rub his head.

She stifled her laughter and, before reading Snow White, pointed to the corner of the book that had been dented from being thrown and said, “Baby, if you’re upset, don’t throw things. Look, you’ve damaged the book…”

“I know you have a lot of fairy tale books and toys, and breaking one might not seem like a big deal, but each thing is made with care. Once you buy something, you need to take good care of it.”

Just like this fairy tale book, it brings you interesting stories and joy. If you throw it on the ground when you’re upset, that’s not right…

Pei Yuqi seemed to half-understand, as no one had ever explained these things to him before.

“And no matter what, you should never bite your nails…”

During their time together, Xue Huiyu noticed that Pei Yuqi had two particularly bad habits. One was throwing things around when he was upset. Initially, she thought it was his way of trying to get attention, but later realized it might be his way of expressing anger, or possibly due to his autism.

The second habit was biting his nails and picking at the skin around his fingers, especially when he was upset or agitated. His once-beautiful little fingers had become rough and uneven, as though they’d been gnawed on by a dog.

She corrected him with concern: “There are lots of germs on your fingers. Biting them all the time will make you sick. Our baby’s fingers are so beautiful, we need to take good care of them…”

Pei Yuqi, still chewing on his fingers, looked confused, but with Xue Huiyu’s careful and sincere words, he pulled his hand away shyly.

Realizing that he had been obedient, Pei Yuqi froze, his little expression stiffening.

After reading him The Little Mermaid with deep emotion, Zheng Huiwen entered the room holding a tray.

“Wow, shrimp today! It looks so delicious! Mommy can’t eat it, can you taste it for Mommy?”

Pei Yuqi hesitated for a moment. Seeing her expectant gaze, he used his chopsticks to poke a shrimp, put it in his mouth, and before he could chew, Xue Huiyu curiously asked, “How is it? Does it taste good?”

Xue Huiyu thought Pei Yuqi would ignore her, but after chewing carefully, he nodded with feigned dignity. She couldn’t help but smile and encourage him: “Have you ever watched Popeye the Sailor? After Popeye eats spinach, he becomes super strong…”

She demonstrated by flexing her arm, showing how Popeye’s muscles would suddenly bulge after eating spinach, and then how he could punch out a bad guy with his newfound strength.

Pei Yuqi cautiously took another bite.

As he ate the spinach, his ears perked up, listening to her, and when he realized it, he had quietly finished the entire plate of spinach, which he didn’t particularly like but didn’t mind eating either…

It wasn’t… that bad…

He silently squeezed his arm, which hadn’t become any more muscular, and raised his cute little face, looking at Xue Huiyu with watery eyes as if to complain.

Xue Huiyu was completely charmed by his adorable expression and little gestures, her heart softening involuntarily. She smiled and said, “Just eating spinach once won’t make you strong right away… You’ll need to eat more spinach in the future!”

Pei Yuqi took her words to heart.

Zheng Huiwen had expected Pei Yuqi to leave most of his lunch uneaten, as he usually did, but when she went to collect the tray this time, she was surprised to find that Pei Yuqi had finished his entire meal.

It wasn’t just about the meal; Pei Yuqi had been so well-behaved today—he didn’t throw tantrums or throw things around.

Zheng Huiwen, who normally had to clean up after him when she entered the room, was puzzled but didn’t administer any calming medication, since Pei Yuqi had been calm all day, sitting quietly at his little desk, focused on his fairy tale book.

That evening, when he again obediently finished his meal and cooperated with washing his hands and face, Zheng Huiwen hesitated but didn’t add sleeping pills to his milk.

After all, she was afraid there might be side effects from giving him medicine too often…

“No sleeping pills in the milk! It’s safe~ Drink up, grow tall!”

Xue Huiyu, who was keeping an eye on Zheng Huiwen’s every move, floated into Pei Yuqi’s bedroom. Pei Yuqi, under her gaze, obediently took the milk cup and, hearing her continue with her little rant, “You know, your dad is 1.9 meters tall, and I’m 1.7 meters. You have to grow to at least 1.8 meters! Don’t waste our excellent genes! Drink more milk!”

Pei Yuqi looked up at her with his cute little face and gulped down the milk.

His little mouth was covered in white milk foam, and he proudly held up the empty cup to show Xue Huiyu.

He finished it.

Ahhhhhh! Why is my little one so cute?!

His beautiful eyes were clear and bright, like black obsidian, sparkling with her reflection.

Xue Huiyu was once again hit by an adorable overload, clutching her soft heart and wishing she could hug him, kiss him, and lift him up high!

She really wanted to hold her precious son in her arms… qwq…

“Huh? Your dad seems to be back.”

Suddenly, hearing the sound of a door opening downstairs, Xue Huiyu realized that Pei Wenyu had come home so late.

Had he really arranged for her death certificate? Or was something else delaying him…?

“I’ll go check! I’ll read you a story later.”

Frowning at the thought of Xiala Zhi and Xue Hongjun, who were after her inheritance, Xue Huiyu looked down at Pei Yuqi and said, then floated downstairs.

When Pei Yuqi saw her disappear through the floor, he was stunned and immediately jumped up, rushing out of the bedroom.

As he hurried down the stairs, he ran into Pei Wenyu at the entrance, their eyes meeting in shock.

“Burp!” Pei Yuqi let out a surprised burp.