Chapter 70.1

After a long wait, the weekend finally arrived. Xu Yuan originally planned to take Baby Panda to see a dolphin show with Meng Zhengrong, as the little guy had recently developed a strong liking for dolphins. He firmly believed that he was a dolphin too, and no matter how Xu Yuan corrected him, he stubbornly insisted that the ocean was his home.

However, plans changed unexpectedly. Xu Yuan suddenly caught a cold and started coughing. Baby Panda was still very young and had a weak immune system, so they had to keep their distance. It was a pity that she couldn’t go to the dolphin show with them. It was just right for Meng Zhengrong to take him out for a day of bonding, while she could rest and recuperate from her illness, making sure not to pass the cold on to Baby Panda.

The Meng family had also prepared a room for Baby Panda at the old family home. He will be staying there for the next week. Meng’s father and mother were overjoyed but still remembered Xu Yuan and sent her plenty of supplements.

Meng Pingting had returned to the country. Fortunately, the years spent abroad had made her mature significantly, and she began to understand her parents’ initial struggles. Wang Lin was also doing well; with the Meng family’s help behind the scenes, he had been working hard and was now a manager in his department. Although his annual salary was nothing impressive to the Meng family, it showed his determination and capability—someone they could trust.

However, Meng Pingting was still young, so marriage could wait for later.

Despite the long distance over the years, the relationship between Wang Lin and Meng Pingting had not diminished; in fact, it had deepened. They worked hard together, and with some family support, Wang Lin managed to put down a deposit on a three-bedroom apartment in City A, which was quite an achievement.

It was known that City A had skyrocketing property prices, and many people worked their entire lives without being able to afford their own place there.

For the Meng family, a three-bedroom apartment was still not much, but the size didn’t matter. What mattered was that this man had the ability, potential, and determination.

With Xu Yuan down with a cold, the family outing was canceled. Meng’s mother called to say she would take care of Xu Yuan for the day and asked Meng Pingting to accompany Meng Zhengrong to look after Baby Panda.

This arrangement worked out well. Baby Panda really liked Meng Pingting, and Xu Yuan wasn’t entirely comfortable with Meng Zhengrong taking him alone to the show. After all, a child as young as Baby Panda needed careful attention when out and about.

Before Meng’s mother and Meng Pingting arrived, Meng Zhengrong was sitting in the living room with Baby Panda watching TV.

There wasn’t much worth watching, and after patiently keeping Baby Panda company for a while, he started worrying about Xu Yuan and eventually left Baby Panda alone on the sofa while he went upstairs to check on her.

Xu Yuan’s cold wasn’t severe, but her throat was sore, and she occasionally coughed. Having a small child in the house made even minor ailments something to be cautious about, and she needed to keep her distance from the baby.

She was quite pleased to have a quiet day to herself. Raising a child was exhausting, and even with the help of a nanny and a caretaker, Xu Yuan sometimes felt overwhelmed.

Now that she was sick, it was a perfect opportunity for Meng Zhengrong to take Baby Panda out while she lay in bed watching dramas and browsing on Taobao. It was practically a vacation for her.

When Meng Zhengrong came in, she casually locked her phone screen and asked, “Is Mommy here?”

Meng Zhengrong shook his head. “Not yet; she said there’s still some stuff to handle at home. She’ll probably be here by noon. The dolphin show is in the afternoon, so there’s no rush.”

“Okay.” After nodding, Xu Yuan continued, “Then you should go spend time with Baby Panda. If someone is with him, he won’t be looking for me.”

“There’s a nanny at home.” Meng Zhengrong reached out and touched Xu Yuan’s forehead. “If you have a fever, be sure to call me back. I don’t want to go out today at all.”

His son was his biological son, but his wife was also dear to him.

Now that his wife was sick, he had no interest in going out, unlike Baby Panda, who was showing no loyalty to his father or mother. This incident made it clear: no matter how close he was to his son, his wife was still his priority, and Xu Yuan should treat him a bit better in the future.

“You must go out. Even if you don’t want to, you have to go. You have to keep your promise to the child.”

Xu Yuan genuinely hoped that Meng Zhengrong would take Baby Panda out for fun. Their father-son bond was actually very good, but for some reason, they always seemed to clash. Meng Zhengrong said it was due to the conflicting personalities.

“Fine.” With reluctance, Meng Zhengrong agreed. “If only you weren’t sick.”

“Stop saying that; go down and keep him company, or else he’ll come looking for me, and that’ll be a hassle.”

Children at this age don’t have a lot of understanding; he probably didn’t even realize his mommy was sick. He might think she was just sleeping in her room.

With that, Meng Zhengrong reluctantly got up and left the room. When he came downstairs to the living room, he found Baby Panda staring blankly at the TV screen, his big eyes not blinking at all. Following Baby Panda’s gaze, Meng Zhengrong looked at the screen and felt an overwhelming sense of defeat.

The little guy had changed the channel by himself, randomly flipping to a show that was airing a romantic drama where the male and female leads were happily kissing after resolving their misunderstandings.

Standing in front of the sofa, Baby Panda couldn’t even see him as he continued to gaze intently at the screen.

It hurts, man.

Meng Zhengrong picked up Baby Panda and gently patted his chubby backside several times. “Still watching this? You really are something!”

He truly was a chip off the old block.

Meng Zhengrong suddenly recalled that he had liked watching kissing and hugging scenes since he was a child. He never thought much of it back then, but now that his son was doing the same, he felt a bit perverted about it.

Baby Panda then started crying loudly. Initially, the nanny and caretaker would get worried and even bravely come to rescue him, but now they all knew Baby Panda’s temperament. When they heard his loud wailing, they could all carry on with their tasks without batting an eye.

Thankfully, they were father and son. Thankfully, Baby Panda was still young and didn’t hold grudges. Before long, he was happily playing with his dad again.

Forget past grievances, Baby Panda truly was innocent.

At this age, toddlers love to imitate adults’ speech and often ask strange questions that stump the grown-ups.

For instance, right now, Meng Zhengrong turned off the TV and was sitting on the sofa browsing emails on his laptop. Baby Panda was sitting next to him, playing with his toys. After a while, he lost interest and pointed at the laptop, asking in a babyish voice, “Daddy, what’s this?”

Without lifting his head, Meng Zhengrong kept typing on the keyboard with his long fingers. “Computer.”

“What’s a computer?”

Meng Zhengrong actually had a lot of patience for Baby Panda. Knowing that kids this age were curious about everything, he set aside his work and explained, “It’s a tool. When you grow up, I’ll get you one.”

Baby Panda nodded, half-understanding, and then pointed to a cup on the coffee table, asking, “What’s this?”

“A cup for drinking water.”

“Why is this called a cup and not a computer?”

Meng Zhengrong pinched the bridge of his nose, realizing he didn’t have an answer to this question either! Who could he ask?

Not wanting to brush Baby Panda off, he put down his laptop and picked him up, letting him sit on his lap.

He scratched Baby Panda’s chin and coaxed, “Daddy doesn’t know either. When you grow up and figure it out, you can tell Daddy, okay?”

Baby Panda seemed to understand his words and nodded earnestly. “Okay!”

He felt a sense of responsibility.

After a brief silence, Baby Panda was back at it again. He tugged on Meng Zhengrong’s shirt and said pitifully, “Daddy, I want to eat that stinky little hedgehog.”

“What is that?” Meng Zhengrong was momentarily confused.

Baby Panda repeated himself, and Meng Zhengrong finally understood. He took Baby Panda to the kitchen, opened the fridge, held his breath, and took out a box of durians. “This one?”

“Uh-huh!”

Meng Zhengrong first checked his phone to see if a child of Baby Panda’s age could eat it. Confirming that it was safe but should be eaten in moderation, he remembered that if Baby Panda knew what a durian was, he must have been given some before. Not feeling entirely assured, he called the doctor and, after getting a definitive answer, finally gave Baby Panda a small bite.

As he smelled the durian, Meng Zhengrong’s expression was one of pure agony.

Regardless of how much Baby Panda could eat, he felt that enduring even a minute was his limit. He quickly closed the box and looked down at Baby Panda, who was staring at him longingly. “You can’t eat any more; if you do, you’ll have to get a shot.”

Baby Panda understood the term “shot.” Though he still wanted to eat it, he held back.

Meng Zhengrong couldn’t help but wonder if Baby Panda couldn’t smell the durian’s stench.

Or was it that children didn’t have such keen noses?

To prevent Baby Panda from asking for the stinky little hedgehog again, Meng Zhengrong quickly took him to do his favorite thing.

When they entered a room, Baby Panda immediately forgot about the durian, recognizing that this was the place for singing.

From this, it was evident that this little fatty was truly the biological child of Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan.

Both Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan loved to sing, the only difference being that one was good at it while the other was not.

At this point, it was hard to tell whether Baby Panda had inherited his father’s talent for music or his mother’s.

Baby Panda was so excited that he nearly jumped up. He stomped his little legs, ran into the room, grabbed the microphone from the table, and looked at Meng Zhengrong with eager anticipation.

This meant that he wanted Meng Zhengrong to hurry and turn on the sound system; he was ready to sing at full throttle! No one could stop him!!

Meng Zhengrong had no choice but to go and turn on the sound system, selecting a few children’s songs for Baby Panda.

He started playing the original tracks, but Baby Panda heard the singing and immediately protested, “I don’t want him to sing! Baby wants to sing! Baby wants to sing alone!”

In Baby Panda’s world, he disliked any singing alongside his own, and it had to be said that this was quite stubborn.

Meng Zhengrong had no choice but to turn off the original vocals, leaving only the music.

Baby Panda quickly got into the groove, sitting on the thick carpet, holding the microphone, closing his eyes, and starting to sing passionately.

At this moment, Baby Panda’s singing was even worse than his mother’s. No matter how off-key Xu Yuan was, at least she was singing. This little guy, on the other hand, didn’t know any lyrics and just kept making random sounds.

Fortunately, children’s voices are usually sweet and innocent, so even his “ahh” sounds were not unpleasant.