SFBF CH35

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The reason Gu Ao asked Shen Qing if his uncle had eaten the carrot cake was mainly because Shen Qing had made a bet with Little Aozai before taking the cake to Gu Huaiyu.

—Upon hearing that the little dessert he loved eating was actually made from his least favorite “callots” (carrots), Aozai refused to accept it, stating that he didn’t want to eat that spicy little dessert anymore.

Shen Qing told him it was all psychological: “You obviously ate it with relish when you didn’t know. Why won’t you eat it just because you know it’s a carrot? Never mind you, even your uncle really likes it!”

Aozai didn’t believe that anyone in this world could truly like eating things made of carrots.

So Shen Qing made a bet with him.

In fact, the reason the two brothers were both studying in the first-floor hall instead of returning to their rooms was to wait and see if their uncle actually ate this little dessert.

—Gu Duo participated in the bet entirely because he remembered his young uncle didn’t seem to like eating sweets.

Leaving Gu Huaiyu’s office, Shen Qing walked downstairs carrying the tray.

Going downstairs wasn’t tiring, so he just took the stairs. Gu Ao had already stretched his short little legs and run onto the stairs to meet him.

Meeting Shen Qing midway between the first and second floors, Gu Ao leaned over the tray in his auntie’s hand and discovered that more than half of the carrot cake was indeed gone.

“Did Little Uncle really eat all of this?”

Aozai asked very cautiously.

“Of course. If you don’t believe me, you can go ask your young uncle in a bit,” Shen Qing said very candidly.

Having lost the bet, Aozai profoundly dragged down his chubby cheeks with his little fingers: “Otay, then Aozai, will taste it one more time!”

Saying that, he ran back downstairs.

Aozai’s motor skills were very developed. Shen Qing was no longer afraid of him falling, although sometimes the child still used all four limbs to go up and down the stairs, or simply scooted along on his little butt…

But whose child didn’t crawl their way through this stage?

They would figure it out as they crawled.

Shen Qing didn’t mind at all.

Anyway, the people responsible for cleaning in the house were very efficient. The floors were wiped very clean, and there were specific people responsible for washing Aozai’s clothes.

Letting Aozai “stumble and crawl” back to the first floor, Shen Qing followed him down.

The adults who had been talking to Aozai earlier all saw Shen Qing clearly. They exchanged glances by prior agreement, and then all froze.

…Hearing the little young master call him Auntie, they had guessed this person’s identity.

But what did this person just say… He forced their President Gu to eat ‘carrot cake’??

Was it the kind of cake they understood in the conventional sense???

Shen Qing arrived downstairs, smiling politely at them, his eyes bright.

“…Hello, if I’m not mistaken, you must be Mr. Shen, right?” The beautiful “auntie” who was first pounced on by Aozai—the CEO of a certain branch company—took the initiative to greet Shen Qing and introduce herself.

Shen Qing set down the tray in his hand and smoothly shook hands with her: “Hello, just calling me Shen Qing is fine.”

“Meeting Mr. Shen for the first time, you are even more handsome than I imagined,” Ms. Lian Jin said.

Shen Qing was used to strangers praising him for being handsome the first time they met, so he didn’t feel much. He just very politely praised her back a few times.

Lian Jin was surprised by his magnanimity and composure.

She looked again at the tray Shen Qing had put down, her eyes revealing even more astonishment: “Did President Gu really eat this?”

“President Gu really ate it?…”

Shen Qing: ?

Was there any difference between these two questions?

He suddenly remembered that Gu Huaiyu’s aloof persona had perhaps been established too firmly over the years. Everyone around him thought he didn’t eat sweets…

That made sense. The image of a domineering CEO eating a small cake every day would easily ruin his persona just thinking about it.

Shen Qing felt that as a qualified favorite beside President Gu, he had to step up when it was time to save his boss’s face.

He smiled and nodded, but quickly said: “Ah, it was all because I wanted to eat it, so President Gu accompanied me to eat…”

He felt the word “accompanied” wasn’t good either, and still couldn’t clear President Gu of the suspicion that he liked eating small desserts—after all, eating a small dessert didn’t require crossing a mountain of swords or a sea of fire. President Gu could have completely just watched him eat, without having to eat it himself.

So Shen Qing bit the bullet again: “Uh, I forced President Gu to eat it.”

Since things had come to this, Shen Qing gritted his teeth and simply took the blame loyally!—

“He actually didn’t like eating it and was very unwilling.”

The last part was said quietly by Shen Qing to Lian Jin while Duoduo and Aozai weren’t paying attention.

…He still had a bet with the cubs!

The cubs indeed didn’t notice the commotion here, but Lian Jin directly couldn’t close her mouth from astonishment.

She looked Shen Qing up and down.

—Was this the legendary little drama queen beside the domineering CEO?!

The young man seemed completely unaware that the fact he could force President Gu to eat sweets was far more impactful and sensational than President Gu eating sweets himself.

…These two events were completely not on the same level!

Lian Jin examined Shen Qing in shock. Although she had been downstairs teasing the little young masters, she had also been keeping an eye on the situation upstairs.

The young man had walked out of President Gu’s office.

Before that, he had been alone in the room with President Gu for a long time.

Although she didn’t know exactly what had happened, Lian Jin also felt that the young man’s status with President Gu was unusual…

If it weren’t almost two o’clock and time for the meeting, Lian Jin would have wanted to stay downstairs a bit longer.

However, unfortunately, President Lian was quickly reminded by her assistant to go upstairs: “Sister Lian, if you don’t go up now, you’ll be late. You know President Gu doesn’t like people being late…”

“Don’t rush me.”

Lian Jin pouted her lipstick-painted lips. She took one last look at Shen Qing, then squatted in front of Little Aozai and said to him: “Then President Ao, Auntie is going up now. Auntie will come play with you again later. Remember to miss Auntie.”

Aozai didn’t understand why these uncles and aunties all called him President Ao, but feeling the pronunciation was similar, he thought maybe the uncles and aunties couldn’t articulate clearly, just like him.

So he didn’t correct them either.

Aozai allowed adults to make mistakes!

President Ao nodded generously, and raised his crisp, milky little voice: “Goodbye, Auntie!”

Third floor.

Zhen Yong still hadn’t entered the room. Instead, he had been standing by the railing, observing the situation below.

When Lian Jin came up, he couldn’t wait to greet her: “Sister Lian, what were you guys talking about just now?”

He vaguely heard Sister Lian asking the young man from the Shen family about President Gu eating the small dessert.

But the Gu family house was too big, and separated by such a distance, he hadn’t heard clearly what Shen Qing said to Lian Jin.

That was why he was curious to ask.

Zhen Yong: “President Gu didn’t actually eat the small cake, right? He definitely doesn’t like it. That Shen Qing ate it himself and then spread a rumor, right!”

“…It’s no longer a question of whether President Gu likes to eat small cakes or not.”

Lian Jin looked at Zhen Yong with eyes full of pity and helplessness: “President Gu doesn’t like eating sweets, but he can eat them for that young man from the Shen family.”

Zhen Yong: “?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“That Mr. Shen admitted it himself. He forced President Gu to eat it.”

Speaking of this, Lian Jin, who was purely eating melons, even smiled: “Thinking about it, it really is a case of one force overcoming ten forms of martial arts. Someone like President Gu needs a beautiful little drama queen to manage him.”

After saying that, Lian Jin went straight through the door for the meeting.

Zhen Yong: “???”

.

The uncles and aunties all went to the third floor for the meeting, and downstairs actually became much quieter.

Shen Qing signaled Aozai to climb back onto his chair, and asked Aunt Zhang to bring the cakes made for the cubs, along with his own coffee for afternoon tea.

Gu Duo finished a page of math problems and neatly organized and stacked all the papers.

When the cake arrived, Shen Qing cut it into four pieces: one for Duoduo, one for Aozai, and one each for himself and Aunt Zhang. As for the half piece President Gu had left, Shen Qing asked Aunt Zhang to refrigerate it, so President Gu could eat it whenever he got hungry.

“I didn’t expect Sir to also like the cake I made.” For someone who liked making delicious food, it was enough that the food they made was liked and recognized by others.

Aunt Zhang had this kind of pure thought.

Over there, Gu Duo sat quietly by the table, lowering his eyes and staring at his small cake, waiting for Shen Qing to distribute all the food.

As for little Gu Ao, after learning that his young uncle had also eaten this flavor of cake, he profoundly crossed his little arms and spaced out for a while. Finally, under the enthusiastic gazes of Grandma Zhang and his young auntie, he scooped up a spoonful of cake and put it into his mouth with an “ah-woo.”

The child’s bun-like face puffed in and out.

Aozai ate sweetly.

…Wow, it really is very delicious!

Why is it that the same callots attack him and taste so awful when cut into shreds or slices, but taste so delicious when made into a cake shape?

Inside Aozai’s little head, there was another big question.

But this didn’t stop him from digging in for a second spoonful!

He thoroughly remembered it now—callots shaped like cakes were delicious and could be eaten. Any others, Aozai wouldn’t eat!

Unlike Aozai’s pickiness with food, Gu Duo ate almost anything.

It had nothing to do with whether he liked it or not; having something to eat was enough for him.

His stomach hadn’t been uncomfortable the past few days, so Gu Duo’s eating speed became very fast, even when eating small desserts.

Sitting on the chair, Young Master Duo scooped up the cake spoonful after spoonful, without drinking a sip of water in between.

As soon as Shen Qing saw him like this, he knew he was rushing to finish so he could go study. He couldn’t help but meddle again: “Little Duoduo, your stomach isn’t good. Why are you eating so fast?”

Holding the delicate small spoon, Gu Duo’s movements paused. Under Shen Qing’s “supervision,” he picked up his cup and took a sip of milk, then continued eating the small dessert, only this time he tried his best to slow down his speed.

By the time Shen Qing’s piece of cake was almost finished, Gu Duo’s portion was completely gone.

Aunt Zhang was the fastest eater. She was someone who couldn’t stay idle. After sitting down for just a short while, she went to the back kitchen again to check the ingredients for dinner.

At the dining table, only Aozai was still struggling with his small dessert.

It wasn’t that Aozai ate slowly, it was really that his little meaty paws were too small… he had to use his entire palm to grip the handle of the spoon!

Digging out food like this was inconvenient. Every time he got to the end, Aozai wished he could bury his head in the cake and just gnaw on it directly.

…If his auntie and brother didn’t forbid him from doing that, Aozai would really gnaw on it directly!

Seeing that Aozai still had half a piece left, Gu Duo didn’t want to waste time. He pulled out a piece of paper that looked like homework and lowered his head to look at it.

Shen Qing: “…”

No, Young Master Duo, is there really a need for you to be this competitive?

Recently, Shen Qing had stopped preventing Gu Duo from studying, and Gu Duo finally dared to take some of his homework out of his room to do.

It originally made no difference to him where he studied, but if Aozai was cooped up in the room alone, he would get bored and sleepy. Gu Duo also wasn’t comfortable letting him wander around the villa as a single cub…

The best solution was to bring his homework to the living room to do, and let Aozai play nearby.

Shen Qing guessed Gu Duo’s little thoughts. He felt that Duo cub was just a cub himself, yet he had to take care of his younger brother and study at the same time. It was really not easy.

So he didn’t want to put pressure on this child either, and never stipulated the time and intensity of his studies—at the very least, Duoduo was willing to leave his room to study, which was a good thing.

Although the way this child looked when studying was truly terrifying.

Shen Qing remembered when he was in President Gu’s office earlier. The big boss could chat with him while reading documents… sigh.

He just sighed.

Why are the kings of competitiveness all born in his family?

It was a good thing, but it wasn’t a good thing.

If Duoduo were taking the high school or college entrance exams this year, Shen Qing would think there was no problem with him studying like this.

But the problem was, Young Master Duo, you’re only seven years old!…

No, you’re not even seven yet!

With his elbows resting on the table and fingers propping up his head, Shen Qing looked at Duoduo’s straight back and sighed.

Despite being extremely busy, Young Master Duo still noticed his reaction and couldn’t help looking up: “What is it?”

—That tone of voice was almost exactly the same as their uncle’s.

“Nothing, just wishing someone would play in the snow with me,” Shen Qing said with immense sadness and resentment.

Gu Duo: “?”

Shen Qing: “As the weather gets warmer, we probably won’t be able to play anymore.”

It had snowed again last night. Now the snow in the villa’s yard had been swept clean by the servants.

But when Shen Qing opened the curtains in Gu Huaiyu’s office just now, he saw that the snow on the side of the villa was still there. Perhaps because no one usually went there, nor did cars pass by, it hadn’t been cleared away yet.

Shen Qing lifted his chin toward Gu Duo: “Do Duoduo and Aozai want to play snowball fights with me? It’s really fun.”

Gu Duo: “…”

Aozai: “Aowu?”

Aozai’s eyes widened. He was naturally very sensitive to the word “play.” Even though he was concentrating on fighting his cake, he still heard Shen Qing’s question.

While struggling to dig the cake, he asked Shen Qing: “Hitting seniors, what is that?”

(TN: “Da xuezhang” (playing snowball fights) sounds like “Da xuezhang” (hitting seniors) to Aozai.)

“You’ll know if you go outside with Auntie,” Shen Qing directly went to take the child’s hand: “It’s super fun!”

Aozai: “Aowu!”

His eyes instantly lit up.

Generally speaking, as long as Gu Ao was persuaded to take action, Gu Duo would follow along.

…Although this stemmed from a sad story, which was that in Duoduo’s subconscious, he still felt he would secretly bully Aozai or sell him off.

But whatever the reason, as long as it could be used by him, it was fine.

Shen Qing’s goal now was very clear… he just wanted to have a snowball fight!

However, although Shen Qing successfully piqued Aozai’s interest this time, Gu Duo was completely unmoved.

He sat at the dining table, crossed his little arms, and looked profound: “If I remember correctly, Young Uncle has many bodyguards under him, all strong and sturdy. Wouldn’t it be better to have them play snowball fights with you?”

Gu Duo felt that, leaving aside why a grown adult like his young auntie was still obsessed with snowball fights.

If he was going to play, he and Aozai were obviously not suitable candidates for him to display his skills.

Shen Qing: …

He wanted to say: My original intention was just to get you guys closer to nature. Who really wants to have a snowball fight?!

And after briefly imagining the scene of himself having a snowball fight with the strong and sturdy bodyguards, Shen Qing coughed forcefully twice, then shook his head and said: “No, having them play with me is another story.”

Gu Duo: “?”

What story?

Gu Duo indicated he didn’t understand.

He asked Shen Qing again: “If we play snowball fights with you, is there any benefit for us?”

Shen Qing: “…”

This question was weird, a bit too alienating.

Shen Qing remembered, it must be because of some past experiences that made everything a transaction for Gu Duo.

…This couldn’t really be blamed on Duoduo. A child’s values are cultivated step by step.

Thinking back to before Shen Qing transmigrated, Gu Duo had even used the jade pendant left by his father to exchange for a moment of peace from the original owner; and he didn’t even know what he had experienced in the Gu family before…

Perhaps in Gu Duo’s eyes, everything was a relationship of give and take.

Although from an adult’s perspective, a child having such heavy thoughts and even negotiating conditions with the adult raising him might feel terrifying and chilling.

But Shen Qing was very capable of understanding this child’s thoughts.

Gu Duo wasn’t wrong, he just suffered too many setbacks—only receiving cold treatment and no love.

So everything could only be a transaction.

But it was different with him here.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Shen Qing felt he already knew how to change his mindset.

And during the time he was sorting out his thoughts, his silence made Gu Duo nervous. He subconsciously started reflecting on himself—Isn’t it just going out to play a snowball fight?…

If this person really wanted to go, he would go.

Even if there’s no benefit, he would go.

Gu Duo’s straight back was a bit stiff. His two small hands twisted together, and he spoke first: “Auntie, I’m not…”

“The benefit I’ll give you is, I’ll sing a song for you when we get back.”

Gu Duo: “?”

Not only was Shen Qing not angry, and didn’t scold him for being an ingrate, he even smiled brightly: “‘Aunties Are The Best In The World’, how about this song title? …Sigh, what’s with that suspicious expression? I sing quite well… before I retired, I was a star anyway!”

At this time, Aozai’s CPU finally finished processing the information—he didn’t know what Auntie and brother were talking about, he was only curious why they still weren’t setting off.

He waited and waited, looked left and right, and no one paid attention to him.

Aozai had no choice but to be self-reliant. With an “ah-woo,” he expressed his viewpoint: “Aozai, wants to play hitting seniors~!”

Shen Qing: “…It’s a snowball fight (da xuezhang).”

He corrected him expressionlessly.

“Aowu,” Gu Ao tried very seriously to correct himself: “Hitting seniors~”

Shen Qing: “…”

Upstairs, in President Gu’s office.

Everyone who entered the office carefully observed President Gu’s complexion.

After all, President Gu had shown them a different side of himself today.

However, entering work mode directly, Gu Huaiyu didn’t let anyone notice anything unusual. Various companies and directors sequentially reported recent matters, achievements, and problems, all following the pre-established conventions.

This way, no one dared to slack off to gossip or think about things outside of work—

Despite President Gu’s pale complexion and sickly appearance, his mind turned surprisingly fast.

Even a slip of the tongue stating a wrong number during a report might be caught by President Gu.

And being caught by President Gu usually meant big trouble.

So no one dared to be distracted.

Until—

About an hour into the meeting, the sound of laughter drifted in from outside the window.

President Gu, who usually liked high-intensity work, suddenly raised his hand, stopping the next person from continuing their report.

President Gu turned his head to look out the window.

The directors also stretched their necks to look outside.

President Gu’s office was very large with an open view, having three windows on the side.

Everyone looked to the side together and saw a young man with a slender figure wearing a light white down jacket in the pristine snow, almost blending into the snowy landscape.

Beside him were two little toddlers, both wearing thick, long small down jackets, one light yellow and one light blue.

The two kids, the taller one not even reaching an adult’s waist, wore hats and were neatly dressed, following closely behind the young man. From a distance, they looked like two glutinous rice balls bouncing around in the snow.

…That President Gu’s Madam was young after all, full of vitality.

—At first, the little young masters were a bit bewildered. They only knew to follow behind Madam, running in the snow, seemingly unsure of what to do.

But they saw Madam suddenly squat down, gathering the loose snow in one place. Not forming a snowball, but scooping all the loose snow into his arms… It didn’t look heavy, but didn’t Madam feel cold?

A moment later, Madam picked up that ball of loose snow, ran behind the older young master, and pfft, dumped all the snow onto the older young master’s back and head.

The thick down jacket blocked all the loose snow. The white snowflakes, like grains of salt, fell rustling down, and the young man’s crisp and hearty laughter echoed.

Was this… playing snowball fights??

Everyone seemed to finally understand.

Upstairs, because of a turn of President Gu’s head, some veterans were all looking out the window together.

A moment later, Gu Huaiyu raised his hand to check his wristwatch and stated: “Rest for ten minutes.”

Everyone: “…”

They quickly got up to stretch and move around.

President Gu wasn’t an ordinary person. No matter how uncomfortable his body was, he could always maintain high-intensity work, but most of them couldn’t.

Honestly, having sat for an hour, it was time to move around.

Some had long been unable to sit still, but suffered because they didn’t dare to complain or bring it up.

And according to the rules, generally speaking, they would have to hold out for at least another half hour before resting.

…So this time they had Madam and the little young masters to thank?

Everyone got up; those who needed to stretch stretched, and those who needed to go to the restroom went.

Only, seeing President Gu leaning against the back of his wheelchair and constantly looking out the window, Zhen Yong couldn’t take it anymore.

He didn’t understand what was so good to look at… Why was even Sister Lian Jin laughing? And those old directors in their fifties and sixties, had they never seen people having a snowball fight before? Was it necessary to crowd around the window like that?

Zhen Yong said: “President Gu, isn’t it too noisy outside? You never like to be exposed to light, how about I help you close the curtains?…”

Saying that, he stood up to pull the curtains.

But before he took two steps, he was stopped by Tian Yi, who had come in to deliver water.

Tian Yi felt this President Zhen was truly named appropriately. (TN: “Zhen Yong” means “truly brave”)

How could he be so brave?

Quickly stuffing a cup of water into President Zhen’s hands, Tian Yi said: “President Zhen, if you think it’s too noisy, go for a walk outside. President Gu definitely won’t find it noisy. Didn’t you notice, President Gu is in a very good mood right now.”

Zhen Yong: “…”

Downstairs, the older young master who was “attacked” by Shen Qing swayed his frail figure and staggered, but he didn’t fall.

And his reaction was fast. He quickly imitated the young man’s actions and started scooping up snow to counterattack.

The older young master’s movements were sharp, and his counterattack was very effective.

The young man named Shen Qing wasn’t annoyed either. After being hit, he instead let out another string of clear and hearty laughter.

On the other side, the little young master also joined the battle. Three people in three factions were actually fighting fiercely, laughter unceasing.

The funniest part was when the little young master fell down midway. The little dumpling, whose height barely passed a person’s knees, seemed to have discovered the wonders of the snow. He didn’t rush to get up, but instead rolled around and around in the snow.

On the pure white and smooth snow, several small human-shaped pits suddenly appeared.

Looking down from upstairs, it looked like different patterned ice creams dropped on the ground.

By the time Shen Qing realized a cub was missing and dug him out of the snow, the little young master’s light yellow down jacket was rolled completely white.

But he wasn’t afraid of the cold either. Under Shen Qing’s direction, he shook his head, wiggled his little butt, and shook himself up and down like a little duckling just out of the water.

Snowflakes fell rustling down, and in no time, the little light yellow duckling… ah no, the little light yellow young master returned.

Seeing this scene, Zhen Yong also couldn’t quite hold it in and wanted to laugh.

…He subconsciously looked at President Gu again.

He found that President Gu, who had been constantly looking out the window, had clear and bright eyes, and his usually tightly drawn, hard lips actually curled up ever so slightly.

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