"Daa!" Little Peanut exclaimed, giggling happily as he swam around the tub. He had a donut neck float, keeping him up as he swam around.
Yong Liwei sighed. "You are seriously going to be the death of me," he muttered under his breath as he watched his son play with the water.
He had tried to clean him up but because Little Peanut kept on moving around and even further drenching his clothes, Yong Liwei didn't have a choice but to retort into this.
Lu Mengjie was outside the bathroom, cleaning the mess Little Peanut made when he peed as well as changing the bedsheet and blanket of his crib.
"Awuu! Wuta!" Little Peanut began swimming happily towards his father, his head slowly approaching him.
Yong Liwei had joined him in the bathtub after he had washed off the stink of pee on his body. He breathed out a sigh once again and instead, he turned his son the other way. "Go swim over there."
The little guy tried his best to turn back and face his father, obviously wanting to go to him instead. "Da!"
"What do you want?" He eyed him helplessly.
"Daaa! Puuda!"
Little Peanut was rather lively that night. He seemed to be enjoying his moment with his father in the bathroom. His smile was so blinding and adorable but such a smile didn't have any effect on Yong Liwei.
He lightly tapped his son's nose. "You should go to sleep after this, okay? I would rather spend time with your mother than you."
"Amaa ma?" The boy tilted his head on the side as if wondering what his father was saying.
He ran his fingers through his hair out of frustration. Why was he even talking to a baby? It was not as if he could understand baby language.
It was then he felt small hands on his body. Yong Liwei's eyes landed on his son. Little Peanut was hugging him from underwater using both his arms and legs. He was like a little koala, clinging to his father.
"Gugugaga," said Yong Liwei with a deadpan look on his face.
In an instant, Little Peanut's eyes become glassy. It was just a matter of seconds before his eyes filled with tears.
"WAAAAA!!!" His ear-piercing cries filled the bathroom.
Lu Mengjie barged in the bathroom, wide-eyed. "What happened?" She gasped when she saw Little Peanut's head with the baby neck floater. "Liwei! I told you to wash his bum, not to give him a bath!"
The mother hurriedly went and picked up her son from the tub. She gently removed the neck float. "There, there, Huasheng. Did daddy bully you? Don't worry, mommy is here now."
Yong Liwei frowned. "I didn't bully him."
"Then why is he crying if you didn't bully him, huh?" She huffed. She began wiping her son dry with the towel before she wrapped it around him and carefully carried him in her arms as she tried to calm him down. "There, there. Let's get you out here."
Little Peanut finally stopped crying, his head resting on his mother's shoulder so when she turned, the boy looked at his father. He wrapped his tiny arms around his mother's neck and continued to stare at his father until Lu Mengjie went out with him.
On the other hand, Yong Liwei's face only went darker. He didn't see an innocent face staring at him earlier and instead, he saw a smug look especially when Little Peanut hugged his mother by his neck. It was as if he was saying with his look, 'Mommy is mine!'
He never thought that his son could be so sneaky! At least that was how he saw him.
After finishing his bath, Yong Liwei went out of the bathroom in his robe while drying his hair with a towel.
"Come on now, Huasheng, you should go to sleep." Lu Mengjie's gentle voice was heard.
He turned to his wife and saw that she was breastfeeding their son.
Little Peanut was staring at her, wide-eyed while he drank his milk.
"We should have dropped him off at your parent's place," Yong Liwei suggested as he walked towards them.
"Nonsense. As his parents, we should be the ones spending more time with him," she retorted.
Little Peanut turned to his father while drinking and while doing so, he held his mother's breast. He blinked innocently at his father, his eyes staring adorably at him.
But… this was not what Yong Liwei saw in the boy's eyes. Instead, what he saw was his son showing off to him. 'See, daddy? I have mommy's attention all to myself!'
His brow twitched in annoyance. Yong Liwei went and hugged his wife from behind. "You can just let him play by himself, love." He even placed a soft kiss on her shoulder in hope to steal back his wife's attention.
"I'm trying to put him to sleep, Liwei." She sighed. Seeing how the toddler was still wide awake, Lu Mengjie knew that it would surely take time. "You can sleep ahead of me. You still have to wake up early for work."
"And how about you?"
She paused and eyed the wall clock. "I'll take the day off. I'll just stay at home with our son."
Yong Liwei raised a brow. "We can just leave him with your parents."
She shook her head. "I'll stay."
He released her from his hug as he narrowed his eyes on her. He could sense something was off from her. It was as if she wanted to hide instead of going out of their place.
"Do you want me to read you a book?" Lu Mengjie went and took a picture book from the shelf before she sat on the sofa. She got tired of carrying her son so she settled him on her lap while he was having his fill.
As Lu Mengjie began reading the picture book, Little Peanut turned to his father who was glaring at him. The child finally stopped drinking and instead, he exclaimed happily, "Gulu!"
"Hm? You like Mr. Grasshopper?" When his mother turned to him, Little Peanut faced her and flashed her a wide smile.
In the end, Yong Liwei couldn't do anything but wait on the bed while his wife tended to their son. At the same time, he decided to message his assistant to clear his schedule the next day.. Whatever it was that was troubling his wife, it was a major issue.