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The environment and decor of the restaurant were better than what Tang Tang had expected. The restaurant had shiny marble floors that reflected people’s reflection. Everyone was bright and beautiful. A pretty woman sitting in the center playing the piano. Tang Tang could tell at a glance that this was not an average restaurant.
Tang Tang was shocked. There was no need to ask to know that it would be expensive to eat at this restaurant.
Tang Tang pulled on Ji Yan’s sleeve hurriedly.
“What’s wrong?” Ji Yan looked at her confused.
Afraid that the staff would hear her, Tang Tang moved closer, and under Ji Yan"s suspicious gaze, she whispered in his ear, “This place looks expensive. Let’s not go in. It would be wasteful. I can cook for you and Bao Bao at home. We can save money that way.” Currently, Ji Yan was the only one who worked and earned money. Bao Bao and herself were both relying on him to live, and there were Aunt Li’s wages as well. His salary wasn’t a lot, so they shouldn’t spend money recklessly.
Ji Yan froze. He never expectedthatTang Tang would say something like that. To think that she would actually worry about saving money and wasn"t willing to spend his money.
In the past, Tang Tang would always ask him for money constantly with her hands open. Even the monthly allowance he gave her was never enough, and now she was …
It was hard to describe his current feelings. Ji Yan replied, “It’s not a problem. I can still afford eating here occasionally. Also, Xiao Zhuo really likes the food here.”
Once Ji Xiao Zhuo was mentioned, Tang Tang hesitated before letting it go, “Then … then all right. I don’t want ice cream. You can just get one for Xiao Zhuo.”
For a moment, Ji Yan didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. He could still afford to buy ice cream. He didn’t need her to save that bit of money for him.
When they ordered, Ji Yan ordered two ice creams as well as their main meal. The ice creams were for Tang Tang and Ji Xiao Zhuo.
Tang Tang pulled on Ji Yan’s sleeve again and anxiously said, “Why did you order two ice creams? I said I don’t want to eat it. One ice cream cost a lot. I can make two dishes for that price.”
“… It’s fine. I can afford it. Don’t worry and eat.” He was not used to her calculating the costs, and he couldn’t get used to this unexpected change either. He kept having a feeling that this person wasn’t the Tang Tang he knew.
When Ji Xiao Zhuo saw his mummy behaving like this, he pondered for a moment before pulling on Tang Tang’s clothes, “Mummy, don’t worry. After this meal, I’ll eat less at home to help daddy save money.”
Seeing that both father and son wanted her to eat it, Tang Tang resigned, “All right. But once we get home, mummy will learn to make ice cream, so I can make it for you in the future and save money.” Tang Tang remembered that the food program she watched last time had made a type of ice cream. She could learn from that program.
Ji Xiao Zhuo nodded, “Okay, mummy. I won’t buy ice cream from now on to help daddy save money.”
Ji Yan was speechless. How poor did they think he was that they had to learn to make ice cream themselves to eat?
Afraid that the mother and son would carry on discussing money-saving measures, Ji Yan pushed the ice cream closer to them to end the topic, “All right, let’s eat first. Otherwise, the ice cream will melt.”
When they heard that the ice cream would melt, the mother and son quickly picked up their spoon and started to eat. This was Tang Tang’s first time eating ice cream. Even though she had seen it on TV before, she didn’t know what it tasted like. Tang Tang didn’t expect the taste to be so strong. Her mouth was filled with sweetness. No wonder Xiao Zhuo liked it so much.
Ji Xiao Zhuo scooped a spoonful and moved it close to Tang Tang’s lips, “Mummy, try my strawberry flavored ice cream. It’s very tasty.”
Tang Tang ate it and then scooped a spoonful of her ice cream to feed the little one, and just like this, the pair of mother and son fed each other.
“Ji Yan?” At this moment, a woman’s voice interrupted the comfortable atmosphere. A group of four stopped near Ji Yan. The group consisted of a middle-aged man and woman and a young man and woman. Judging by their clothing and aura, they were not ordinary people.
Ji Yan took a look at the group. The slight happiness in his eyes disappeared immediately. He had an expressionless face again. There was no indication that he was going to respond.
The middle-aged woman, who was dressed elegantly, didn’t seem to mind Ji Yan’s coldness. Instead, she glanced around the table to check the situation and smiled, “You brought Xiao Zhuo to eat here. What a coincidence, how about eating together? It’s rare for us to see each other.”
Ji Yan frowned as he replied coldly, “I think we are not that familiar. Please don’t interrupt our meal.”
The middle-aged woman froze. She felt a bit embarra.s.sed.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man standing next to her got angry. He reprimanded Ji Yan with a bad expression, “Is there anyone else like you who speaks to his elders like that! Where are your manners?”
Ice flashed across Ji Yan’s eyes. The temperature around him dropped, “Elders? You are elders to whom? Please speak cautiously and don’t randomly recognize others as relatives.”
“You!” The middle-aged man widened his eyes with anger. No one had dared to speak to him like that before.
The middle-aged woman quickly went to pat on the man’s back to appease him, “Come on now, Lao Ji, don’t get angry at the children. It’s better to talk it out.”
The young man standing behind the middle-aged couple gave Ji Yan and Tang Tang a complex look before speaking to the middle-aged man, “Dad, let’s eat first. Let’s not interrupt their meal.”
The middle-aged man stroked his chest before letting out a ‘humph’ and walked away. The rest of the group followed the man from behind, but Tang Tang noticed that the young woman walking at the back had always been looking at her with a strange look. It seemed like the young woman knew Tang Tang.
Just when Tang Tang was going to ask Ji Yan if she actually knew that young woman, she discovered that Ji Yan was also looking at her strangely when she lifted her head up. It was like he was investigating something.
“Husband, what’s wrong?” Tang Tang asked with confusion.
Ji Yan looked away, “Nothing.”
Ji Xiao Zhuo sensitively noticed Ji Yan’s mood wasn"t good. He stopped eating his ice cream and asked carefully, “Daddy, are you not happy? The people just now were they bad?”
Ji Yan shook his head, “Daddy doesn’t know those people, and neither am I not happy. Quickly eat your ice cream, we’ll go home after you finish.”
Ji Xiao Zhuo scooped a spoonful of ice cream to Ji Yan’s lips, “Daddy eat some ice cream. Your mood would get better after eating some.”
Ji Yan’s expression relaxed. He didn’t want to brush away Xiao Zhuo’s goodwill, so he opened his mouth and ate the spoonful of ice cream. He endured the sickly sweetness and swallowed before stroking the little one’s head, “Ok, daddy’s mood is better now. Eat the ice cream yourself.”
The little one carried on eating his ice cream happily.
Tang Tang wasn"t easily deceived as Xiao Zhuo. She felt that Ji Yan must know the group from before. Maybe they were his enemies. Otherwise, Ji Yan’s mood wouldn’t become so bad. But the middle-aged man had mentioned something about elders, she really didn’t know what their actual relationship was.
Tang Tang didn’t voice out her questions. Since they were people that her husband didn’t like, then she didn"t need to know about them. Also, Ji Yan said that he didn"t know them, so she wouldn"t ask.
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It was 9 p.m. when the three of them returned home. Ji Yan took Xiao Zhuo directly to the bathroom. After they finished bathing and got ready for bed, the little one suddenly spoke seriously to Ji Yan, “Daddy, I think it’s not good with the way we’re now.”
“Eh? What’s not good?” Ji Yan asked while drying Xiao Zhuo’s hair.
“Just the two of us together. Mummy will get afraid if we leave her alone,” Ji Xiao Zhuo replied.
“Eh?” Ji Yan blanked. He didn’t understand why Xiao Zhuo would say such a thing.
Ji Xiao Zhuo sighed. He rested his little plump legs on Ji Yan’s stomach before saying, “We sleep together while mummy sleeps by herself. Won’t mummy get afraid?”
Ji Yan understood the little one’s meaning, but he didn’t know how to respond.
Ji Xiao Zhuo didn’t wait for his daddy’s reply. He a.s.sumed that his daddy wasn"t aware of it, so he explained, “Daddy, I think mummy is afraid because Zhuo Ran told me that his mummy was afraid to sleep alone at night. She needs his daddy protection, so every night his daddy will sleep with his mummy to protect her. Because there isn’t enough room on the bed, Zhuo Ran can only sleep in another room by himself.” Also, his own mummy was much skinnier than Zhuo Ran’s mummy, so his mummy needed even more protection.
Zhuo Ran was Ji Xiao Zhuo’s desk mate.
Ji Yan was speechless. That child’s parents were good at tricking their child.
“Daddy, mummy is a girl, and we are men. It’s not good if we don’t protect mummy, right?”
Ji Yan didn’t know how to reply. He could only say, “Then you go accompany mummy?”
The little one thought about it seriously for a few seconds before replying, “Daddy, we should both accompany mummy. I’m a child, so I’m not strong enough. You’re an adult. It would be safer if you protected mummy while I help you.
Ji Yan touched his forehead helplessly. He couldn’t tell the truth, so he said, “But daddy can’t leave this room. Otherwise, daddy won"t be able to sleep, so you should go accompany mummy. She won"t be scared if you are with her."
“Ah? Then …” The little scratched his head and suddenly came up with a good idea, “Then let’s call mummy over to sleep. If it’s like this, daddy will be able to sleep, and we can protect mummy together!”
This was the first time that Ji Yan felt vexed over his son’s cleverness, but he could only come up with another excuse, “No. Mummy is not used to sleeping in other rooms either, so you can only go and accompany mummy.”
“Really? Then I’ll go ask mummy.” After that, the little one jumped off the bed and ran to Tang Tang’s room. He forgot to put on his slippers in his rush.
Tang Tang was still awake, so she was shocked when she saw Xiao Zhuo, who was only wearing pants, run into her room, “Bao Bao, what’s the matter?”
Ji Xiao Zhuo climbed onto the bed in a rush and instantly held on Tang Tang’s hand, “Mummy, do you have to sleep in this room?”
“Eh?” Tang Tang blanked when she heard this question, and deflected “Why do you ask?”
“Daddy said that you could only fall asleep in this room, so we can’t all sleep in daddy’s room. Is that true mummy?”
Tang Tang’s face promptly turned red. She could pretty much guess what happened and stammered out, “En . . . Mummy can only sleep … fall asleep in this room.”
“Oh, all right.” So it was the truth. Ji Xiao Zhuo sighed in disappointment. His dream of sleeping with his parents was shattered. He suffered silently as he said, “Then I’ll sleep with mummy. I am a man. I can protect you.”
Tang Tang was still trying to understand the situation when Xiao Zhuo suddenly ran off again, but he soon quickly ran back after a few moments. He was carrying a little pillow with him as he climbed onto the bed.
Tang Tang reached out and helped Xiao Zhuo when she saw him struggling to climb on.
The little one sighed and placed his pillow beside Tang Tang’s pillow. When he was satisfied, he patted on his chest and said, “I’ll accompany you tonight to sleep. You don’t need to be afraid now.”
When was she afraid of sleeping alone?
“You’re not going to sleep with daddy tonight?”
Ji Xiao Zhuo was a little sad when he replied, “Daddy is a man. He won’t be afraid if he sleeps alone, but mummy is a girl. You’ll be afraid, so I need to protect you.”
Tang Tang was filled with sweetness. She hugged the little one and kissed him on the forehead a couple of times, “My precious is truly great. Mummy loves you.” Truthfully, she wanted to sleep with Xiao Zhuo. After all, Xiao Zhuo was just a child who wasn"t even four years old, so she had always been worried about him sleeping alone. She was afraid that he would kick his blanket away at night and catch a cold or roll off the bed, so Tang Tang had to check on him multiple times at night. Because Xiao Zhuo was angry with her before, Tang Tang didn’t dare to ask him to sleep with her, but now he came by himself, so she was really happy. She didn"t even mind that he had misunderstood and thought that she was afraid of sleeping by herself.
The little one kissed Tang Tang back and shyly said, “I love you too.”
“How can you be so cute~” Tang Tang reached out to hold him in her embrace. He was very soft and had a milky scent. Tang Tang couldn’t help but squeeze his meaty body. Xiao Zhuo laughed as he tried to protest, “Mummy, stop it. If you carry on pinching, I’ll become skinny!”
“Ha, it can be treated as dieting. Your daddy has been saying that you were getting fat!” Tang Tang started to knead his meaty body again. She couldn’t stop herself.
“Guh … I don’t need to lose weight. My chubbiness is cute.” He was not fat, he was cute, okay.
“Haha, yes, you’re super cute.” Tang Tang agreed unconditionally.
To return the favor, Xiao Zhuo also praised her, “Mummy, you’re very cute as well.”
Even though she knew that the little one was not speaking the truth, Tang Tang still smiled in response. It couldn’t be helped. After all, women were vain.
Because the little one had rushed into the room before, he forgot to close the bedroom door, so Ji Yan, who came out to get some water, had heard the mother and son praising each other shamelessly. Ji Yan’s lips twitched upwards.
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