"Take a guess," Xu Qingqing said with a smile as she walked around to the sofa. To prevent Lu Chuanbai from seeing what she was hiding, she even turned around to face him.
"Perfume?"
"No," Xu Qingqing shook her head.
"A tie?"
"Nope," Xu Qingqing clicked her tongue. "I'm not giving you a gift. What would I need perfume or a tie for?"
Lu Chuanbai sat down beside Xu Qingqing and honestly shook his head. "I can't guess."
"You can't even figure this out?"
Xu Qingqing had no choice but to take out the photo album from behind her back. Her face beamed with happiness as she said, "I found photos of Xu Yiyi and Xu An'an taken right after they were born. Take a look."
"Right after they were born!" Lu Chuanbai's heart skipped a beat. His voice was filled with anticipation and excitement.
If there was one regret in Lu Chuanbai's life, it was that he hadn't been there to witness his two children's birth, watch them learn to walk, or hear them say their first words.
He never expected that Xu Qingqing would have these photos.
Lu Chuanbai couldn't wait to open the album. The first photo showed the two babies being carried out of the delivery room. The photo was taken by Xu Qingqing's foreign friend, Lilith.
Looking at the tiny babies wrapped in their little blankets, Lu Chuanbai couldn't help but hold his breath, as if the slightest breath would startle them.
"Their hands are so small!"
Lu Chuanbai stretched out his big hand and compared it to the tiny hands in the photo. The babies' hands were even smaller than his thumb.
"Of course they're small. They've just been born," Xu Qingqing said, bursting into laughter at his childish behavior.
Xu An'an crawled over to Lu Chuanbai and stretched out her hand. "Dad, let's compare our hands again to see whose is bigger."
Lu Chuanbai cooperated and stretched out his right hand. His hand was four or five times bigger than Xu An'an's.
"My hand is so small!" Xu An'an said, looking at her hand with a frown.
"I'm going to eat well so that when I grow up, my hand will be bigger than Dad's!"
"I'm going to eat well too," Xu Yiyi said as he came over to arm - wrestle with Lu Chuanbai. Unsurprisingly, he lost.
Xu Yiyi continued to flip through the album. Since this was Xu Qingqing's first time being a mother, she took pictures of the two children almost every day.
Xu Qingqing pointed to the two babies lying side by side in the photo. Their faces were all wrinkled. "Can you tell which one is Yiyi and which one is An'an?"
Lu Chuanbai looked at the two babies in the photo and without hesitation, pointed to the bigger one. "This one is An'an. The smaller one is Yiyi."
"Wow!" Xu Qingqing exclaimed. She thought Lu Chuanbai would guess wrong.
Logically speaking, wouldn't most people think that the bigger one was Xu Yiyi and the smaller one was Xu An'an?
"How did you guess that?" Xu Qingqing asked in surprise.
"By looking at their faces," Lu Chuanbai said as he carefully reached out his hand and touched the face of Xu An'an in the photo. "An'an looks prettier."
"Hehe," Xu An'an giggled as she heard Lu Chuanbai praise her. She wrapped her arms around Lu Chuanbai's neck.
"What about me? Am I not good - looking?" Xu Yiyi frowned. His chubby face drooped.
"I'm just joking. Yiyi is very handsome too," Lu Chuanbai said with a smile as he ruffled Xu Yiyi's hair until it was messy. Only then did he let go, satisfied.
"Yiyi and An'an have a little habit. Yiyi seems to prefer using his left hand for everything, while An'an prefers using her right hand. In this photo, Yiyi's left leg is in front. I've observed before that Yiyi always takes a step with his left foot first, so I guessed that the smaller one is Yiyi."
"So that's how it is," Xu Qingqing said, even more surprised. She was the mother, but she hadn't noticed these details. Lu Chuanbai, however, knew them all.
After hearing his father's words, Xu Yiyi realized that he had a tendency to use the left side first.
"If you don't believe me, take a walk," Lu Chuanbai said with interest, asking Xu Yiyi to get off the sofa and take a few steps.
After Lu Chuanbai's analysis, Xu Yiyi didn't know which foot to step with first. As a result, his left and right legs got in each other's way, and he fell on the carpet.
"Hahaha," Xu Qingqing, Lu Chuanbai, and Xu An'an all burst out laughing at the sight of Xu Yiyi's clumsiness.
"Don't laugh!" Xu Yiyi said shyly as he crawled back onto the sofa.
This time, Xu Qingqing noticed that Xu Yiyi did take a step with his right leg.
The whole family just lay on the sofa looking at the photos until the evening when the program recording ended.
After Xu Qingqing saw off the cameraman, a figure suddenly rushed into the house, scaring her.
It was Xu Yan. He had run so fast that he was out of breath. He stared at Xu Qingqing.
"I'm going too!"
"Going where?" Xu Qingqing was completely confused by Xu Yan's sudden words.
"Isn't Jing Zhen asking you to help her? You're going tomorrow, right? I'm going to help her too!" Xu Yan said firmly.
It must have been Mom who told him.
Xu Qingqing refused. "Sister Jing Zhen came to ask me for help. She definitely doesn't want you to go. So don't go and cause trouble."
"How can that be? What if she's being bullied?" Xu Yan asked anxiously.
"Ugh," Xu Qingqing said, looking at Xu Yan with disdain.
"I don't know who it was who was so sarcastic to her in the car last time. It was a good opportunity to show himself, but he ended up crashing the car! I told you to dress nicely, but you came out in slippers!"
The more Xu Qingqing thought about it, the angrier she got. Finally, she helplessly patted Xu Yan's shoulder.
"Brother, just keep your last bit of dignity in front of Sister Jing Zhen. Don't go."
"You got your marriage certificate with Lu Chuanbai today, right?" Xu Yan stared at Xu Qingqing and threatened her through gritted teeth.
"Dad doesn't know about this yet. I don't think you want me to tell him, do you?"
"Xu Yan, how can you threaten me?"
"Who asked you not to take me with you?" Xu Yan said with a cold face. "This is my last chance to see Jing Zhen. Are you really going to deprive me of it?"
Xu Qingqing: "..."
Come on, if you're going to play the victim, at least shed a few tears!
"Fine! But you have to promise that you won't cause any more trouble," Xu Qingqing said, unable to stand Xu Yan's constant stare. She forced him to swear.
"Okay, I definitely won't cause any trouble. If I do, then may my nephew and niece be single for 15 years!" Xu Yan said solemnly as he swore.
"Um... what?"
At first, Xu Qingqing didn't think there was anything wrong with the oath. But when she heard the part about Xu Yiyi and Xu An'an being single for 15 years, she was shocked.
"What kind of uncle are you? You're swearing using your nephew and niece!"
Seeing that he had been discovered, Xu Yan started to persuade Xu Qingqing. "They're only four years old this year. Even if they're single for 15 years, they'll only be 19. My oath is to prevent them from having puppy love."
"Really?" Xu Qingqing frowned. She still felt that something was off.
"Fine. Remember to dress more formally tomorrow."
"Got it." Hearing that Xu Qingqing had agreed, Xu Yan rushed back home to pick out his clothes without even looking back.
"Sigh. I'm really convinced of my brother," Xu Qingqing sighed and helplessly rubbed her forehead.
If she took Xu Yan with her, she would have to keep an eye on him all the time to make sure he didn't go crazy.