Chapter 159 – Caring For Xiao Ke
Jiang Qi and Ke Yan sat down, looking at the giggling Xiao Ke who was dancing as he waved his little hands and feet on the bed.
“He, he looks like he did it.”
“……” Ke Yan’s face was stiff.
Jiang Qi watched the wildly moving Xiao Ke. He was afraid that with all of those big movements, Xiao Ke’s p.o.o.p would fling all over his body. Jiang Qi reached out a hand to pull down Xiao Ke’s pants. Once the outer pants were removed, an inner pair of trousers was exposed. Once that inner pair of trousers were removed, the nasty smell became stronger. Jiang Qi had never changed a diaper before so he didn’t know how to proceed from here.
After removing that pair of trousers, Xiao Ke’s bare two little legs kicked around wildly.
Since the heater was turned on in the room, it wasn’t cold. Jiang Qi undid the diaper but he didn’t know what the next step was. Should he take off the diaper?
Jiang Qi reached out his hand to remove it but was stopped by Ke Yan from advancing. “I’ll call Secretary Wu for help.”
“That’s good too.” Initially, Jiang Qi wanted to reply with, “Would that be bothering her too much?”, but noticing Ke Yan’s worsening expression, he thought that it was pretty amusing so he went along with Ke Yan.
“I’ll go call her now, don’t move.” Ke Yan got off the bed to get her.
Not even a while later did Secretary Wu enter the room. The moment she opened the door, the whiff of smell breezed past her nose and she instantly knew the reason why President called her in. “President, do you have tissues and wet wipes for babies? Oh, and a spare pull-up diaper1 too.”
Ke Yan immediately went to the bag Ke Shao brought over to find these items.
Very quickly, he found the tissues and wet wipes, but not the pull-up diapers.
Pa.s.sing the tissues to Secretary Wu first, she took it and took off the diaper full of poo. After taking off, she wasn’t sure who she should pa.s.s it to.
Jiang Qi was about to take it but Ke Yan was a step faster as he immediately threw it into the rubbish bin.
Secretary Wu cleaned up with the tissues and after Xiao Ke was almost clean, she took out two pieces of wet wipes and cleaned the b.u.t.t.
After that, she asked Ke Yan, “President, where’s the pull-up diapers?”
“Didn’t find it, I only found this instead.” Ke Yan pa.s.sed the tab diaper2 in his hand to Secretary Wu.
Secretary Wu took it and pa.s.sed it over to Jiang Qi. “Come, I’ll teach you.”
Jiang Qi accepted the diaper and put it on Xiao Ke properly, following Secretary Wu’s instructions.
“You’re good to go now. But it’s best to use pull-ups3 at night.” Saying so, she then said to Ke Yan, “President, I’ll be going out first.”
Ke Yan nodded, “Thanks.”
Secretary Wu felt overwhelmed by the favour shown by President. Before leaving the room, she also brought out the trash bin which had the soiled diapers in it.
Jiang Qi helped Xiao Ke to put on his pants then carried up the freshly cleaned Xiao Ke.
“Let’s go. We can buy pull-ups now since you’re clocking off. Sis seems to have forgotten to pack it in.”
“Okay.” Jiang Qi fixed on a well-knitted woolen hat on Xiao Ke.
After emptying himself, Xiao Ke was in great spirits. He looked all around his surroundings as he was held in Jiang Qi’s arms.
Ke Yan packed the bag that Ke Shao brought nicely and left the office with Jiang Qi.
Letting Yang Shao Yu know that they were leaving first, Jiang Qi and Ke Yan then went into the elevator under the gaze of the several secretaries outside.
“Back to the bookstore first, then let’s go to the supermarket. But how should we settle tonight’s dinner? What will Xiao Ke eat?”
“He can eat porridge. The porridge you cook is delicious.”
“How about you? Porridge alone isn’t filling enough.”
“I can cook some other things. Is your arm sore?” Ke Yan looked at Xiao Ke’s round and plump appearance, worried that Jiang Qi’s arms would be sore.
“Not at all. He’s pretty light.” The elevator reached the bas.e.m.e.nt. They entered the car together and Ke Yan put the bag into the boot.
Jiang Qi and Ke Yan made a trip to the bookstore first. Because there were still people in the bookstore, they couldn’t close shop until everyone left. But they first flipped the sign outside to ‘closed’.
The employees were shocked by their boss who had suddenly disappeared for the entire afternoon, only to reappear with a child. But since Ke Yan was standing beside him, they didn’t dare to come forward to enquire about it.
Once all the customers left, Jiang Qi had Ke Yan carry Xiao Ke. He then locked the doors and bid farewell to the employees before going to the supermarket together.
After parking the car, they walked to the supermarket entrance. It was currently the ‘rush of the house-wives’ time as they all fought to get the groceries. There were many people and little s.p.a.ce.
Ke Yan took Xiao Ke over in one move. “Too many people. I’ll carry Xiao Ke.”
“Okay.” Jiang Qi pushed the trolley cart as he walked in front of Ke Yan.
“We’ll get the pull-ups first, then get our groceries. Should we buy some toys? Sis didn’t seem to have brought any toys over.” Jiang Qi pushed the cart as he chatted with Ke Yan.
“Okay. We can go to the toys section in a while. We don’t need to get groceries. There’s still a lot in the fridge.” Ke Yan’s arms were a little stiff as they held Xiao Ke. Xiao Ke felt a little uncomfortable from the carry, but he only wiggled his b.u.t.t and didn’t cry as he curiously turned his eyes to all directions.
At the baby necessity section, Jiang Qi looked at the variety of pull-ups brands. He didn’t know which brand would be better, so he simply chose the most expensive brand. One bag was enough, so he placed it in the cart.
After getting the pull-ups, he carried Xiao Ke as they entered the toys section. Xiao Ke kept staring at one fluffy electronic toy puppy.
Jiang Qi looked at Ke Yan. “Should we buy this?”
“Okay, Xiao Ke seems to really like it.”
“I feel so too.” Jiang Qi took the toy puppy. “Let’s go.”
By the time they left the supermarket, the sky was a little dark. Jiang Qi put the toy puppy in the backseat with him and Xiao Ke. Xiao Ke seemed to be really interested in the toy puppy. He kept staring at it, used his hand to touch it and his mouth kept murmuring, “Doh, doh, doh.”
“Ke Yan, Xiao Ke looks like he’s able to speak.” Jiang Qi found this experience new and refreshing.
“Xiao Ke is a little over a year old and is able to say some words. If you teach him how to say ‘Uncle’ now, he should be able to call you ‘Uncle’ very soon.”
“Really?” Jiang Qi was a little skeptical but he still tried to teach Xiao Ke, “Uncle, say ‘Uncle’.”
Maybe Xiao Ke didn’t hear it, but he continued to ignore Jiang Qi as he clapped his hands facing the toy puppy.
Jiang Qi was a little disappointed but kept saying next to Xiao Ke’s ear, “Uncle, call me ‘Uncle’.”
Once at home, Jiang Qi first placed Xiao Ke and the toy puppy on the bed. He turned on the tv, took off Xiao Ke’s sweater, then played with him on the bed.
He originally planned to cook some porridge, but he remembered Secretary Wu’s instructions: It was best to use pull-ups. He opened the diaper packaging and took one out. Then, he removed Xiao Ke’s pants. He put the used diaper aside and started experimenting on how he should put on the pull-ups. Scanning the packaging, there was indeed a visual instruction. Jiang Qi followed accordingly and slowly put the pull-ups on Xiao Ke properly.
Although it seemed a little slanted, Jiang Qi felt that it was worn properly. It really wasn’t simple.
After putting the pants on Xiao Ke, Jiang Qi then went to cook the porridge. Ke Yan was already downstairs waiting. Xiao Ke would drink the porridge while Jiang Qi and Ke Yan would have noodles.
Putting the rice grains into the pot, Ke Yan and Jiang Qi ate their noodles first, then Jiang Qi had Ke Yan check on what Xiao Ke was up to.
When Ke Yan entered the bedroom, he saw Xiao Ke sitting on the toy puppy, staring at the tv.
Ke Yan glanced at the tv, only to see a wolf chasing some sheep4.
“Xiao Ke.” Ke Yan sat next to Xiao Ke. After getting Xiao Ke’s attention, he said to Xiao Ke, “Uncle.”
“Ah ah.”
“Un-cle.”
“……” Xiao Ke stared at Ke Yan.
Not long after, the porridge was ready. When Jiang Qi came in to get them, he saw Ke Yan and Xiao Ke staring at each other. He asked, “What are you guys doing?”
“Nothing much. Let’s go feed Xiao Ke.”
“Oh.”
The action of Jiang Qi’s feeding was pretty smooth, at least it was less strange and difficult than changing the diaper.
After eating, Jiang Qi poured a basin of warm water. Because he had never bathed a child before, he took another clean towel and washed Xiao Ke’s b.u.t.t. Ke Yan held Xiao Ke while Jiang Qi washed.
After Xiao Ke’s bath, Jiang Qi and Ke Yan took turns to bathe. Jiang Qi followed the instructions Secretary Wu gave in the afternoon and made milk for Xiao Ke.
Xiao Ke rested in Jiang Qi’s arms, feeling satisfied as he drank his milk.
Jiang Qi was continuously teaching Xiao Ke to call him “Uncle” at the side.
Xiao Ke drank and drank, and probably it was due to the sleepiness, his eyes started to wrinkle.
Jiang Qi put the milk bottle that Xiao Ke held onto the table. He placed Xiao Ke in the middle of him and Ke Yan, slowly patting his tummy.
Xiao Ke burped and closed his eyes to sleep.
Jiang Qi heaved a sigh of relief, “He finally slept.”
“Are you tired?” Ke Yan put down his book.
“Tired, but also really happy.”
“Go to sleep. We still have another day of babysitting.”
“Okay.”
Ke Yan turned off the lights.
In the darkness, Jiang Qi opened his eyes, “Ke Yan, I’m a little not used to this. It feels a little cold.”
“I’m not used to it either. I’m too used to hugging you to sleep.”
Jiang Qi hugged Xiao Ke who was beside him, “I can only hug Xiao Ke to sleep tonight. But he smells so fragrant, so soft. Xiao Ke still hasn’t called me ‘Uncle’ today.” As Jiang Qi blabbled, he slowly fell asleep.
Ke Yan sat up and in the pitch dark room, accurately gave Jiang Qi a kiss, and went to sleep too.