Regarding getting Mi Dou to sleep alone, Zhan Qingyue had planned it for a long time without success.

Mi Dou was a bit timid; he wouldn’t even dare sleep alone in a small bed beside his parents, let alone in his own room.

Sharing a bed with such a big child, even when Zhan Qingyue and Ning Qiuxiu wanted to engage in some “sibling-making” activities at night, they had to consider this little “ancestor.”

Zhan Qingyue had endured this for so long and harbored deep-seated resentment about it.

Mi Dou was completely unaware of how he affected his parents’ marital harmony and felt wronged by the various restrictions placed on him.

What’s wrong with wanting to sleep with Mommy and Daddy?

What’s wrong with being afraid of the dark?

Understanding the situation, Mi Dou eventually obediently agreed to eat his meals properly, and finally got to enjoy the sweet rice he loved.

After the meal was nap time. Father and son lay on the bed.

Mi Dou didn’t like napping.

He tossed and turned for a while and couldn’t fall asleep.

Finally, he looked at his dad and asked, “Daddy.”

“Hmm?” Zhan Qingyue, also not asleep due to Mi Dou’s restlessness, replied.

“Do you have a daddy?”

“…… Of course I do. How could I have a daddy if I didn’t have a daddy?”

“……” Mi Dou was confused by this explanation.

He bit his finger, thought for a while, and, not understanding, ignored the latter part of the statement and asked, “So, did your daddy teach you like you teach me?”

“Daddy’s daddy is Grandpa,” Zhan Qingyue said, adjusting the blanket Mi Dou had messed up and covering his little stomach. “Grandpa was very busy back then and didn’t have time to take care of Daddy.”

When Zhan Qingyue was Mi Dou’s age, his father, Zhan Fu, was so busy he barely had time to be at home.

Unlike Zhan Qingyue now, Zhan Fu was extremely hardworking and devoted most of his time to his career.

Because of this, the Zhan family developed better than others.

When Zhan Qingyue’s father was in charge, the family surpassed the Ning family, who were once at a similar level.

Later, when Zhan Qingyue became an adult, he founded Zhuosen and quickly became a top player in the industry, further widening the gap between the Zhan and Ning families.

However, due to overwork and a great emotional blow from Zhan’s mother’s infidelity, Zhan Fu’s health deteriorated significantly, and he passed away before reaching 50.

“Wow.” Mi Dou didn’t know these details. His eyes showed admiration. Daddy’s childhood seemed so happy, with no one to bother him.

For Mi Dou, Ning Qiuxiu’s discipline didn’t really count because a bit of charm or cuteness would soften her heart.

Only his dad, Zhan Qingyue, was a different story. He was firm and unyielding, which was Mi Dou’s Achilles’ heel.

Zhan Qingyue could tell from Mi Dou’s expression what he was thinking and laughed as he patted his head, asking, “Are you unhappy with Dad’s rules?”

“Can I tell the truth?” Mi Dou asked, sitting up and tilting his head. He was ready to run if telling the truth meant trouble.

Zhan Qingyue nodded.

Given his dad’s consent, Mi Dou held up his little finger, indicating a tiny bit: “Just a little bit.”

Seeing his dad’s gaze, Mi Dou’s confidence faltered, and he shrank the little bit he’d shown, saying weakly, “Just this much.”

Zhan Qingyue found him amusing and pulled him into bed, saying, “Have you watched that popular drama Mom is in recently? Do you like the villain Qin Jiansong?”

“No, he’s a big bad guy!” Mi Dou was clear about his likes and dislikes and firmly rejected bad guys.

“Then do you want to be like him?”

“No, I don’t want to be a bad guy. I’m a good kid,” Mi Dou said quickly.

Zhan Qingyue continued, “Qin Jiansong became a bad guy because his father didn’t teach him well. He turned bad because of his twisted mind. Just like when you say others are bad at games, if you keep thinking that way, you might start resenting people and end up becoming a bad person yourself.”

Mi Dou was a bit shaken by this idea.

Zhan Qingyue added, “Cheating to make yourself look better is the same. If you get away with it today, you might try it again to achieve your goals, eventually becoming a big liar. That’s why Dad needs to guide you to the right path. Understand?”

“Then how come Dad didn’t turn out bad if he didn’t have anyone to teach him?” Mi Dou asked, catching a flaw in the logic.

“Because when I was young, I didn’t skip meals, lie, or criticize others,” Zhan Qingyue answered.

Mi Dou was left speechless: “……”

“Alright, time for bed,” Zhan Qingyue said, rubbing his little head. “I’ll take you out to play this afternoon.”

Excited about the outing, Mi Dou quickly forgot the morning’s troubles, closed his eyes to sleep, and gave his dad a kiss on the cheek, saying, “Good afternoon, Daddy.”

—He still loved his dad very much.

Zhan Qingyue smiled and kissed him back, “Good afternoon, sweetheart.”

….

Ning Qiuxiu, as a mom, had a little perk: she had a client app on her phone that connected to the cameras installed in their home by the production team, allowing her to watch the father-son duo in real-time.

After finishing her work that morning, she watched them on her phone and saw their interaction.

She couldn’t stop laughing, and San Tiao, who was with her, came over to take a look and said with a smile, “It seems like your little devil can’t outsmart the big devil.”

“He just bullies Mi Dou because he’s still growing up. Who knows who will be better when he’s older?”

Ning Qiuxiu secretly hoped that one day Mi Dou would rise and challenge Zhan Qingyue, the “boss-level” figure, giving him a taste of the sour feeling of being tricked once in a while.

San Tiao said, “I bet on Zhan Qingyue. Isn’t it said that old ginger is the spiciest?”

“I’m betting on Mi Dou. After all, he inherits the excellent genes from both me and Qingyue,” Ning Qiuxiu said proudly.

“……” Are you sure it’s not… lowering the average?

Ahem.

However, seeing how Zhan Qingyue was putting so much effort into tricking Mi Dou, Ning Qiuxiu had a small doubt and left a message for him on WeChat.

[Ning Qiuxiu: If we have a daughter as mischievous as Mi Dou in the future, how would you educate her?]

When Zhan Qingyue woke up from his nap and saw her message, he thought for a moment and replied: [Use Mi Dou as an example?]

Ning Qiuxiu: “???”

What does using Mi Dou as an example mean?

Zhan Qingyue’s idea was to use Mi Dou’s education to achieve the goal of educating their daughter, but…

However, Zhan Qingyue was just joking. After a while, he sent another message: [Haven’t decided how to educate a daughter yet. After all, there’s a big difference between theory and practice. How about we wait until you come back and we figure it out as we go along?]

“……” Trying to trick her into having a daughter again.

[Ning Qiuxiu: What if…]

[Zhan Qingyue: There is no ‘what if’! The next child will definitely be a daughter.]

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

She wanted to laugh.

Zhan Qingyue really wanted a daughter.

In the afternoon, Zhan Qingyue took Mi Dou out to play.

They went to a children’s art museum, a plan they had discussed with the production team beforehand.

The team and the museum had made arrangements for the recording.

Since it was a weekday, there weren’t many people at the museum, making the recording convenient.

Mi Dou wasn’t very fond of drawing, so taking him to the art museum was more about broadening his horizons.

Zhan Qingyue was diligent in educating Mi Dou.

He didn’t force Mi Dou to enroll in specific classes but frequently took him to various places like children’s art museums, music halls, and career experience centers to cultivate his interests and enrich his experiences.

He could choose what he liked and then have a tutor teach him.

However, Mi Dou seemed to be best at… playing games.

Although Mi Dou wasn’t very interested in drawing, he looked at the paintings by both adults and children at the museum with great interest.

Zhan Qingyue accompanied him, explaining the artwork.

He was knowledgeable and could explain a bit about everything.

For things he didn’t understand, he would make something up, and he explained things in a way that even a little kid like Mi Dou could understand.

“Daddy, I want to play with that.” Mi Dou said happily as he walked over to the DIY area, where several children were working on glue paintings.

The glue painting involved coloring a pre-outlined picture using provided templates, which was perfect for Mi Dou’s age.

Zhan Qingyue brought him over and said, “You can choose which one you want.”

“This one, the castle.” Mi Dou chose the most complex one.

Mi Dou received the castle picture, sat down on a small stool, and started coloring it carefully.

Zhan Qingyue watched from the side, only intervening when Mi Dou used the wrong color, reminding him to double-check his choices.

Several families nearby, including a cameraman from the show, watched them curiously.

One little girl, however, was more interested in Mi Dou than the cameraman.

While she colored her own picture, she glanced at Mi Dou and whispered to her mom, “That little boy is so handsome.”

Although her voice wasn’t exactly a whisper, it wasn’t loud either, so Zhan Qingyue heard it.

He glanced at the little girl, who appeared a bit older than Mi Dou.

She wore a pink bow and a pretty dress, and her smiling face had adorable dimples.

She was cute enough to make one want to pinch her cheeks.

Zhan Qingyue felt no envy.

Seeing that her daughter’s comment had been heard by Zhan Qingyue, the little girl’s mom smiled awkwardly at him.

Zhan Qingyue gave a slight nod and continued watching Mi Dou color.

Mi Dou was focused on his work and didn’t notice the commotion around him.

Until… the little girl finished her painting, walked up to Mi Dou, and said, “Hello, little friend.”

Mi Dou, disturbed by her, frowned slightly but responded politely, “Hello.”

“This is my painting. Can I give it to you?” The little girl asked shyly, “Let’s be friends, okay?”

“I have my own,” Mi Dou pointed to his own painting and then looked at the little girl’s painting, pointing out, “Your sun is the wrong color. It shouldn’t be green.”

Mi Dou continued, “The leaves are also the wrong color, not red. And this color is wrong too. Everything’s wrong!”

The little girl: “……”

Three seconds later, the little girl, with red eyes, ran away, hugging her painting.

Zhan Qingyue: “…..”

Ning Qiuxiu, who was observing from work: “……”

Mi Dou, you’re such a straightforward little guy.

You’re just like your dad used to be.