Chapter 3: Could He Be a Genius?

“What is this?” Su Taotao asked, picking up the paper airplane made from old newspaper, her tone more rhetorical than anything.

Chenchen didn’t answer.

He pressed his lips together, his large eyes fixated on the yellowed newspaper. With nimble fingers, he folded it into several squares, then into a rectangle, and rolled a “stick” the size of a pencil. After some adjustments, he fitted the squares together, forming the “body of the plane.” Finally, with a few more tweaks using the pencil, he created a perfect paper gun.

Su Taotao was astounded. Had she not witnessed it herself, she wouldn’t have believed that a child under two could create something like that. As someone who often struggled with such tasks, she couldn’t even figure out how he managed it before he was already finished.

Without looking up, Chenchen placed the paper gun aside and continued folding the remaining newspaper into boats of varying sizes. Noticing a scrap of paper left over, he casually folded a few tiny stars, wasting not a single piece.

Su Taotao was utterly amazed. How was this possible?! Could Chenchen be a genius?

A touch of envy stirred within her, particularly when she thought of her nominal husband’s profession. She speculated that it must be his strong genes. Propping herself up on her elbows, she looked into Chenchen’s eyes and, holding the paper plane, gently made a flying motion. “Chenchen, how are you so amazing? Who taught you?”

Chenchen tilted his small head, his large eyes filled with curiosity. Perhaps the previous “mother” had never spoken to him like that, and he sensed something was different about “Mom.” His gaze was serious, inquisitive. Though silent, his eyes showed he was paying close attention, exploring the situation.

This realization eased Su Taotao’s mind. If Chenchen didn’t respond at all to external emotions, she would have been worried about autism. But his ability to fold paper and his response to her voice confirmed that his intelligence, comprehension, and hearing were just fine. Even if he was a bit shy, it didn’t seem severe, and it was something that could be corrected in his early years.

Su Taotao was about to speak again when Zhou Linglan entered, carrying a bowl and followed by a boy about half her height.

“Taotao, are you awake?” Zhou Linglan asked, setting the bowl on the bedside table and inspecting her. “Huang Liu examined you. You’re fine, just need a few days of rest and warmth.”

Su Taotao wasn’t sure how to respond, afraid her words might sound too polite and make things awkward. So, she simply nodded while sitting up.

Zhou Linglan sighed in relief and pointed to the bowl. “Fu Yuanhang caught some small fish. I made you some fish paste porridge. I removed the bones and added ginger and pepper to get rid of the fishy taste. It’s not fishy at all. You should eat it while it’s hot.”

In these hard times, her careful effort to remove the bones and add ginger and pepper showed just how particular the original Su Taotao must have been, likely making life difficult for the family.

How did she end up in this difficult body? Su Taotao felt a strong urge to slap someone.

Looking at the smooth, white porridge in the bowl, Su Taotao couldn’t help but ask, “Have you guys eaten?”

Zhou Linglan and Fu Yuanhang were visibly surprised, their eyes wide.

Zhou Linglan hesitated and nodded. “Yes, we’ve eaten.”

They had eaten, but their meals had been quite different. The fish were small, only a few, and there wasn’t much meat. The finer grains had been reserved for Su Taotao and Chenchen. Zhou Linglan had made soup from the leftover fish heads, tails, and bones. Half of it went into the porridge for Su Taotao, and the rest was mixed with coarse grains for her and Fu Yuanhang, along with pickles. For them, it was already a rare treat.

Su Taotao sighed inwardly, understanding the situation. If they had a competent housewife, with the money and ration tickets Fu Zhengtu left behind, the family could have been well-fed and well-dressed. Unfortunately, they were stuck with the original Su Taotao, who wasn’t ideal.

They would manage, step by step.

Su Taotao got out of bed, sat on a small stool, and cradled Chenchen in her arms. She scooped a spoonful of porridge, blew on it gently, and brought it to his lips. “Chenchen eats first.”

Chenchen’s wide, round eyes were still filled with questions, and he even furrowed his little brows, turning to look at Zhou Linglan.

Zhou Linglan wrung her hands nervously. “I—I saved a small bowl for Chenchen. Why don’t you let me give it to him, and you eat first?”

Su Taotao ignored her and gently touched the spoon to Chenchen’s lips. “Eat, it’s delicious.”

Chenchen instinctively opened his mouth, took a spoonful of porridge, and swallowed before he even realized what he was doing.

Satisfied, Su Taotao smiled and took another scoop.

Perhaps because the porridge tasted so good, Chenchen relaxed and ate half a bowl of fish paste porridge before shaking his head, signaling he was full.

Su Taotao wiped his mouth with a clean handkerchief, growing fonder of this well-behaved child. She placed him back on the bed and said, “Now that Chenchen is full, it’s Mom’s turn to eat. You can play for a bit.”

Having cared for her cousin’s son before, Su Taotao was quite skilled with children. Her only goal now was to raise this little one into a healthy, chubby boy, just like her nephew.

But both her mother-in-law and brother-in-law were staring at her in stunned silence, mouths agape.

If they hadn’t just had the village doctor check on her, Zhou Linglan might have called for another examination. After all, how could someone who had just fallen into the water change so dramatically? It was as though she had become a completely different person.

Su Taotao didn’t know how to react. Feeding her own child was simply what any mother would do, yet their expressions made it seem like she’d performed a miracle.

Anyway, she had accepted the role that others saw her in. “I can’t go back to being the old Su Taotao.” All she could do now was let them adjust to her “new” persona.

She finished the rest of the porridge, wiped her mouth, and then spoke with a serious expression. “Mom, Yuanhang, Fu Zhengtu’s departure was a huge blow to me. He’s been out of contact for so long. I’ve been through everything alone, from pregnancy to childbirth. Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot, and I’ve made some mistakes. But after everything that’s happened, I’ve had time to reflect. I’ll be good to Chenchen and won’t think about going back to the city. We’ll focus on being a family and putting Chenchen first. When Fu Zhengtu returns, things will get better for us.”

Su Taotao realized that Fu Zhengtu had been the one holding the family together. The older ones were too old, and the younger ones too young to have much influence. With him gone, the family fell into chaos, which was why the original Su Taotao had been able to control everything so easily. From now on, though, this family would have to rely on her.

She needed to provide a reasonable excuse for her transformation; otherwise, their bewildered expressions would be unbearable. After all, she couldn’t explain why the original Su Taotao had vanished.

But no matter what, she was still Su Taotao, and that wouldn’t change. They just needed time to adjust to the new her.

Zhou Linglan’s eyes filled with tears as she listened and nodded. “Good, good, good. I understand your hardships, my daughter-in-law. You haven’t let us down. It’s our family, Zhengtu, who has wronged you. In the future, we will all live well together.”

Fu Yuanhang, however, was skeptical, wondering if his sister-in-law was up to something again. What was she planning now?