Chapter 4: Raising a Family
After 5 years, Chen Xi once again slept on the bed which belonged to them. He slept exceptionally well that night, which might have been due to her residual fragrance.
Maybe
due to the fact that he hadn’t slept for hundreds of years, once he slept, he
started snoring right away.
When
he woke up, the little kiddo was lying on the head of the bed while waving a
thread of silk on his nose.
“Achoo!”
Chen
Xi cooperatively sneezed, making the small kiddo to burst into laughter.
Looking
at the excited expression of his daughter due to the success of her prank, a
warm feeling was surging in his heart and then he hugged her with his arms
around her and gave her a big kiss on her small cheeks.
“Eeee!
Papa is bad!”
He
enjoyed this kind of feeling.
It’s
as if in a night’s time, he had walked from harsh winter to warm summer, and at
the break of dawn, he had finally reached home.
After
swiftly wearing his clothes, he walked out of his room and coincidentally saw
Aunty Zhang walking out of the kitchen carrying a plate.
After
Chen Xi smiled and greeted her, Aunty Zhang laughed and said, “Nian Nian has
already squeezed out the toothpaste for you and hurry up, it’s time for
breakfast.”
“Okay.”
When
Chen Xi walked into the toilet, he saw a yellow mug on the washbasin, a brand
new toothbrush with a tube of toothpaste on it, placed on the mug.
This
toothpaste was squeezed by his daughter…
A
sweet feeling instantly swelled in his heart, that feeling was so sweet such
that the sweetness could be used to make honey.
Comfortable!
So
f*cking comfortable!
While
brushing his teeth, Chen Xi viciously lamented at life.
Their
house was not large; An area of 70 plus meter sq, 3 rooms, one living room and
a toilet. Moreover, the reading room was renovated into a children room.
Nevertheless, Chen Nian slept with Aunty Zhang most of the time.
They
did not have a dining room due to the size of the house. Hence, normally, they
ate their meals in the living room.
When
Chen Xi came into the living room, the small kiddo was already holding a bowl
of porridge and eating from it while making slurping sounds.
When
she was eating her porridge, a bit of saliva would always flow out from the
corner of her mouth, so Aunty Zhang had to stay by her side and slowly feed her
while wiping her mouth with a tissue.
“Look
at this child, already 4 years old yet she has no manners when she eats,
forcing me to watch over her.”
Although
Aunty Zhang was reprimanding the little kiddo, her expression was betraying her
thoughts.
Looking
at Aunty Zhang’s nervous expression, it must have been because she was afraid
that the little kiddo would choke on her food.
Just
like that, the three of them ate their breakfast in a joyous atmosphere. When
Chen Xi was helping Aunty Zhang to clean up the dishes, he incidentally said
out his plans.
“Aunty
Zhang, I will be going out to look for a job later…”
Upon
hearing his words, Aunty was elated. She gazed at Chen Xi and happily said,
“It’s good that you are able to think this way, just go. The kid should be
going to kindergarten soon and in the future, the family’s expenditure will
rise. As a father, you should experience the pressure that Ying Ying initially
faced.”
Slightly
embarrassed by Aunty Zhang words, Chen Xi slightly touched his nose.
He
did not know how much money Ying Ying give Aunty Zhang before she left, but
Chen Xi estimated that it wouldn’t be much.
Afterall,
they bought this house just before he disappeared.
Even
though Ying Ying went out to work after that, a mere one or two years was not
enough to save up a substantial amount of money.
The
cost of raising a child was already quite high, hence, based on Chen Xi’s blind
guess, Aunty Zhang might have used her own pension to supplement the meager
amount of money.
Forget
it, forget it, we owe Aunty Zhang too much, when we have the money, we will
find the chance to pay back slowly.
After
helping Aunty Zhang to tidy up the living room, Chen Xi went over to the shoe
cabinet by the door and picked out a pair of shoes that he used to wear.
However,
at the same time, the little kiddo started to cry with a ‘WA’ sound.
Chen
Xi was frightened when he saw her crying her heart and lungs out.
Chen
Xi instantly ran to her side and carried her up while he gently soothed her,
“Nian Nian, what’s wrong?”
“Papa
don’t go, papa don’t go…”
The
little kiddo sat on Chen Xi’s arm and used her hands to cling onto Chen Xi’s
neck while sobbing. Her current state was just like someone who has been
terribly wronged.
If
children have a grade for crying, then she would definitely get an S grade.
“Papa
won’t go, papa won’t go anywhere. Nian Nian be good, don’t cry…”
Chen
Xi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, the little Kiddo saw him finding his
shoes and thought he would be leave again.
Because
of Nian Nian’s outburst, Aunty Zhang immediately rushed out from the kitchen
and began to comfort Nian Nian while caressing her head, “Nian Nian be good,
Papa is not leaving. Papa has to go out to work to feed the family, if papa
doesn’t go, then you and Grandma won’t have anything to eat.”
While
talking, Aunty Zhang decided to take Nian Nian from Chen Xi’s embrace.
However,
she didn’t know what happened to the little kiddo, but she would not come down
from Chen Xi’s embrace no matter what. Both of her hands gripped firmly onto
Chen Xi’s neck and planted her head into his neck; She raised her voice while
crying, “Papa don’t go!”
“Papa
don’t go, papa don’t go…”
Chen
Xi had no other choice but to carry his daughter onto the sofa and continuously
comfort her softly when he saw that the little kiddo was on the verge of
flipping out.
On
the side, Aunty Zhang was constantly persuading the little kiddo to stop crying
while Chen Xi continuously telling her that he wouldn’t leave ever again. After
a fair bit of persuasion, the little kiddo gradually calmed down.
Upon
seeing that she has stopped crying, Aunty Zhang took out a warm towel from the
bathroom for her to wipe her face and she began coaxing her before dragging
Chen Nian into her arms.
“Nian
Nian be good, papa won’t leave. You see how your friends’ papa and mama all
have to work, how can your papa not go to work? The adults work so that their
children won’t go hungry, do you understand?”
“En.”
Seeming
like the little kiddo has finally make sense of the matter, she nodded her head
and grabbed onto Chen Xi’s head while speaking in a reluctant manner, “Papa go
to work, I will wait at home for papa…”
“Good.”
Aunty
Zhang caressed the little kiddo’s head and next, she used her eyes to hint at
Chen Xi.
Chen
Xi stood up as he pinched Nian Nian’s tiny cheeks. With a laugh, he asked,
“Then papa will go to work now. Nian Nian, what do you want? Papa will buy for
you.”
“I
don’t want, I want papa,”
The
little kiddo shook her small head as if she still had some reservations about
Chen Xi not returning after leaving.
“Then
after work, papa will use his fastest speed to rush home and stay with you, okay?”
“Okay…”
After
using a prodigious amount of effort, Chen Xi finally went out of the house
under the reluctant gaze of the little kiddo.
Chen
Xi used to have a bad habit of not carrying around his credentials.
He
would often carelessly lose his identification documents and reapplying for
them was extremely troublesome. Hence, under normal circumstances, he would
usually leave his identification card, bank card, driving license and so at
home.
To
his surprise, his habit had saved him from quite a bit of trouble.
While
looking at the identification card in his hand, Chen Xi walked out of the
apartment.
However,
after leaving his house, a difficulty arose in his heart.
He
needed to earn money…
But
how could he earn money?