Little Fool
To prepare for the guests, Zhan Aiping changed her daughter’s bedding to a clean, pretty new set. She warned the little troublemaker, “If you mess it up again, I’ll only give you army-green sheets from now on.”
The army-green sheets and bedding from the military were plain, durable, and abundant—pure in colour and completely practical.
Fancy floral bedding was expensive, but the green sheets would save a lot of money.
Little Tangyuan obediently nodded. “I want the pretty floral sheets.”
If she had green bedding, even colouring on it wouldn’t look nice—it would just be dull.
Zhan Aiping said, “If you want the floral sheets, you’d better behave.”
“Mommy, Brother wet his bed,” Little Tangyuan whispered, tattling to shift the blame.
Why was her mom only scolding her about the sheets and not her brother?
Zhan Aiping: “…”
“Yuanyuan, how do you know?” Zhan Aiping crouched down, levelling her gaze with her daughter’s big, beautiful eyes.
Little Tangyuan’s eyes were clear and bright, like black gemstones radiating innocence.
She leaned closer and whispered into her mom’s ear, “I secretly found out.”
Zhan Aiping patted her daughter’s head, thinking to herself, Guobaorou always calls his sister silly, a little fool. But who’s the real fool in this house?
Turns out their Little Tangyuan had great potential to be a scout.
“Secretly found out? Then don’t go announcing it loudly, okay?”
It would hurt her brother’s pride.
After soothing her daughter, Zhan Aiping went to Guobaorou’s room. As soon as she entered, she saw his neatly folded bedding. Staring at the perfectly arranged quilt, she hesitated about how to uncover the truth.
She lifted the quilt, and underneath was a dried stain, its outline clear and obvious.
Zhan Aiping: “…”
What a clever cover-up.
Did he really think no one would notice? He would’ve been better off just taking the sheets down to wash.
Caught red-handed, Guobaorou was utterly embarrassed. “I’m so smart—I couldn’t possibly wet the bed! I just accidentally spilled tea.”
Zhan Aiping replied, “Smell it yourself and see what it is.”
Even his own mom couldn’t hold back anymore.
This isn’t clever—it’s overthinking.
Now all the bedding would have to be washed and dried. Whether the stain would come out was uncertain. If it didn’t, this little “map” would be a permanent feature on the sheet.
Little Tangyuan smirked smugly. “I don’t wet the bed! Brother, shame on you!”
Though she doodled on her bedding, she truly didn’t wet the bed.
Clinging to her mom’s leg, Little Tangyuan stuck her tongue out at Guobaorou and loudly declared, “Mommy, you should cook for him!”
Guobaorou instinctively responded, “I don’t want it!”
Zhan Aiping was exasperated. “You two still want me to cook for you? Dream on! Today, we’re eating cafeteria food!”
These kids have been spoiled! Time to eat cafeteria meals every day!
That evening, when Gu Sheng returned home, he hadn’t even stepped inside before Commander Luo next door called him over, looking smug.
“Do you know what your wife did today?” Commander Luo teased.
Gu Sheng raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“She went to the cafeteria to get food. You’ll have a meal waiting when you get home. Are you two done cooking at home for good?”
Commander Luo thought to himself, It’s only been a few days since Zhan Aiping started acting like the perfect housewife, and now she’s already giving up? Not cooking meals? Probably not doing housework either. Are they going to start fighting soon?
His wife, Zhang Lirong, might have a bad temper, but at least she still cooked at home. She couldn’t stand cafeteria food or her husband’s cooking, so she always cooked herself.
Gu Sheng replied, “My wife went to the cafeteria to get food?”
Commander Luo sighed, “She bought quite a bit too. The day’s not even over, and she doesn’t feel like cooking anymore? Your woman’s getting lazy.”
First time being lazy, and there’ll be a second. Life next door is going to be chaotic forever.
Gu Sheng said, “I’ll go back and take care of her.”
Commander Luo’s heart soared with glee, though he suppressed the smile creeping onto his face. “Yes, yes, women need to be kept in check.”
Nodding, Gu Sheng strode into his home. Commander Luo gleefully hurried back to his courtyard, sneaking into the small room between their houses, ready to eavesdrop on their argument.
Zhang Lirong frowned at him. “What are you doing?”
“Shh!” Commander Luo said. “I’m waiting to hear them fight.”
Zhang Lirong’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
The couple crouched together, ears pressed to the wall. But after waiting a while, there was no noise from next door—just the sound of their own son crying.
When Gu Sheng arrived home, he went to the kitchen and saw two boxes filled with food. Stroking his chin, he grinned and wandered over to Zhan Aiping.
“Turns out my wife really got lazy today.”
Without even looking up, Zhan Aiping replied, “Just set the table and get ready to eat.”
Gu Sheng teased, “Not only did my wife get lazy, but she also spent money. These food containers are brand new.”
Zhan Aiping crossed her arms. “The family’s bigger now, so I bought two large containers for convenience when we go to the cafeteria for food.”
“Let’s eat.”
Gu Sheng said, “Wait, wife, I’ll cook something just for you.”
Curious, Zhan Aiping asked, “Aren’t you going to ask what your son and daughter did this time?”
“What could they do? Obviously, they’ve caused trouble for you again.”
That evening, the Gu family split into two factions for dinner. Gu Sheng sat with the two little troublemakers, eating the cafeteria food Zhan Aiping had brought back. Meanwhile, she ate her own special meal, freshly made by Gu Sheng.
Her private meal, fragrant and inviting, consisted of two dishes he made just for her.
Guobaorou and Little Tangyuan sat by their father, sulking under his stern gaze. They dared not complain but looked utterly dejected as they picked at their food.
Their plates had only greens and radishes. It was miserable—they weren’t rabbits, so why should they eat like this?
The siblings sat with mournful faces, eating their sad little dinner.
Gu Sheng commanded, “Finish your food properly!”
Meanwhile, Zhan Aiping polished off her special meal. Afterward, Gu Sheng took the children to wash the dishes, leaving the couple alone in their room. While brushing her hair, Zhan Aiping remarked, “Why are the kids so well-behaved in front of you?”
In front of her, they were all chatter, tattling on each other non-stop. But in front of their father, they were silent and obedient, hardly saying a word.
Gu Sheng chuckled, “What else? Kids are cunning—they bully the soft and fear the hard.”
Zhan Aiping raised an eyebrow. “So you’re the ‘hard’ one, and I’m the ‘soft’ one? My temper’s not good either, and I don’t spoil them.”
Smiling, Gu Sheng replied, “Not spoil them? You’ve been coddling them left and right.”
“They know you’ll soften up when you’re mad. But if I get angry, they know I won’t go easy on them.”
Unconvinced, Zhan Aiping declared, “I don’t go easy on them either!”
Gu Sheng wrapped his arms around her from behind and said softly, “You carried them for ten months. How could you bear to be harsh?”
While Youyou and Yuanyuan were also his biological children, as their father, he lacked the visceral connection of pregnancy that mothers have with their children.
Zhan Aiping replied, “My mom had no such hesitation. She hit me hard. And she was biased toward you. She never favoured me.”
Gu Sheng laughed. “You’re too caught up to see clearly.”
“My mom—” Zhan Aiping suddenly choked on her words, pausing for a moment before falling silent.
She had wanted to complain about how her mother used to save trouble by giving her old army-green sheets instead of the pretty new ones other girls had.
But looking at her son and daughter’s recent antics, fragmented memories started to resurface.
Blushing, Zhan Aiping muttered, “…I’ve realized my daughter really does take after me.”
When she was a child, she also scribbled everywhere and yelled randomly.
Gu Sheng grinned, “I noticed that a long time ago.”
Turning to him, she said, “I think our son takes after you. Did you wet the bed as a kid and try to hide it from the adults?”
Gu Sheng, with a perfectly calm expression, denied it. “No such thing.”
Staring at him intently, she said, “Come clean. I’ll remember to ask your mom the next time we visit.”
She made a mental note to jot it down later.
Gu Sheng replied, “Even if you ask, she probably won’t remember. Why are you so focused on this?”
“Your son wet the bed and even tried to cover it up.”
“I don’t know whether to call him a headache or a genius.”
Perched on his lap, looking down at him, she teased, “What other bad habits did you have as a kid? Be honest. See that mirror over there? Your son is just like it—a perfect reflection of your past.”
Gu Sheng retorted, “There are no identical leaves in the world. The new generation always surpasses the old.”
Zhan Aiping blinked. “If it exists, it will be exposed.”
Gu Sheng warned, “Don’t blame everything on me. Your son might take after you.”
“As for bed-wetting, that’s definitely not my doing. I’m just like your daughter—I never wet the bed. If I ever did, I’d announce it proudly instead of hiding it.”
After all, bed-wetting wasn’t uncommon among kids. Back when Little Zhan Aiping was a child, she didn’t think it was shameful—in fact, she found it novel. Look! I can wet the bed!
Gu Sheng: “…”
“Your son tried to cover it up by folding the blanket so neatly!” Zhan Aiping marvelled at Guobaorou’s ingenuity.
“And your clever daughter instantly sensed something was off and exposed him.”
Gu Sheng: “…”
“With kids this smart, I don’t dare have a third one.” Stroking her stomach, Zhan Aiping joked that having children was like drawing cards—you never knew what kind you’d get.
Parents were like two card pools, and mixing them produced unpredictable results.
Gu Sheng couldn’t help but laugh. “Then let’s not have more. Let’s just raise these two ‘geniuses.’”
His wife, ever torn and indecisive.
“I want a child who can sing and dance.” Having lacked those talents herself, she hoped her children would excel. As a child, she had been curious about artistic pursuits but was never good at them—her drawings were poor, her singing was off-key, and she was never picked for dance performances.
“Tomorrow, I’ll change your son’s sheets. We can’t leave a map on there.”
If the kids kept ruining sheets, she might have to resort to her mom’s old methods.
Gu Sheng replied, “It’s not like anyone’s coming to see your son and daughter’s rooms.”
He had little interaction with Xie Wan and Qin Lu as they grew older, so he didn’t understand why his wife took their opinions so seriously. With a hint of melancholy, Zhan Aiping said, “At least we shouldn’t embarrass ourselves. Qin Lu’s bringing her daughter over, and I’m afraid I’ll envy her child. If she’s like her mom, she’s probably just as talented as she was back then.”
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