Chapter 253: Extra - Lu Chenzhou And Cheng Xi: I’m Only Happy When Im With You VIII (1/2)
Chapter 253: Extra - Lu Chenzhou And Cheng Xi: I’m Only Happy When I'm With You (VIII)
A number of years later, when the pudgy little king of jealousy grew up and flipped through this series of cartoons, he pursed his lips as he looked through them, tugging on his sister’s sleeve as he did so. “Sis, why did you make that big king of jealousy so handsome? He’s clearly old and ill-tempered, so this drawing is too fake! You have to change it!”
Cheng Xi overheard this in passing, and she once again confirmed that they were truly father and son.
But at this point, Cheng Xi was too tired to talk to Lu Chenzhou about it, pretending that she hadn’t heard the last few words that he’d said, and only paying attention to his “I agree”.
Chen Jiaman was sensitive and easily thought too much about things. Before anything had happened, she’d already scared herself half to death, so when Cheng Xi talked to her, she tried to be tactful but direct. Seeing her curled up in a corner, she smiled and knelt down. “What’s the matter? Is our little bunny trying to hide from her sudden popularity?”
Chen Jiaman was almost in tears. “Mom, I’ve done something bad.”
Cheng Xi hugged her. “No, you haven’t! I feel like your drawings are marvelous. Clearly the netizens can see the quality of your work, and they know to appreciate it. Don’t be scared, and keep on drawing. Make more people know about this story with the god of jealousy and his son; it’s something we’re all looking forward to see.”
Afraid that Chen Jiaman would feel burdened, she made Lu Chenzhou find some lawyers from Donglai to help discuss the contract regarding the publishing firm. In the end, having received enough support from her family and friends, Chen Jiaman finally had the courage to keep on drawing.
This series of cartoons really did become quite popular that year. It was because of this nascent popularity that the publishing firm initially wanted to host a specialized event with her. Chen Jiaman was quite afraid of doing something like this, but in order to support her, Cheng Xi dropped everything else and specially took leave just to attend it with her.
She wanted to help her walk out of her darkness, and then to see how far the little girl who used to hole up in the darkness and cry could truly walk when she was unfettered.
By this time, the king of jealousy had just turned one. Although he couldn’t yet walk, he could already wander a few steps by clutching something as support. In order to help deepen the relationship between son and father, Cheng Xi left Lu Chenzhou at home to watch after him.
The event with Chen Jiaman would last half a month. When she left, the weather was wild and stormy, but by the time she returned, it was a warm and sunny day. She didn’t notify anyone upon her return, and the first thing she saw when she entered the house was Lu Chenzhou and the king of jealousy sitting on the carpet on the living room balcony. Her son held a toy in his hands, and Lu Chenzhou was observing him from the side. As the sunlight shone in through the window, it seemed as though they were having a peaceful and relaxing time.
It had only been half a month, but the little king of jealousy was already starting to discard his support and take a precious few steps on his own. He wasn’t walking quite stably yet, however, staggering from side to side, falling on the carpet if he stopped paying attention for just a moment. At this time, Lu Chenzhou, who was sitting silently by the side, would quickly catch him and prevent him from hurting himself.
And when his son stood up and began walking again, he would even help clear the obstacles in his path. As he sat down, he would help stabilize him. Although Lu Chenzhou’s actions were clumsy, they couldn’t hide his carefulness.
Cheng Xi watched them from afar quietly, a happy smile flashing across her lips.
In the end, the father and son noticed her at almost the same time. The king of jealousy was so happy that he waved his hands about and teetered and tottered towards her, but his long-legged father slyly stuck his feet out in front of him, and the king of jealousy’s short stubby legs were quickly knocked over.
Only then did Lu Chenzhou pat his clothes and stand up. As his son cried, he got up and hugged Cheng Xi tightly. “You’re back.” And then he kissed her fiercely, even pausing it halfway through to brag to his son, “Look, all you can do is cry, but I can kiss.”
“......”
She clutched her forehead weakly. “You childish man! I just got back, I’m still very dirty.”
He held her face with both hands, smiling happily. “I don’t mind.”
Cheng Xi smiled back at him. “Is that so?”
She let him kiss her until he was satisfied before walking over to help support her son, who was crying so hard he could barely breathe. She hugged him and rubbed his back. “You crybaby, while your mother wasn’t around, you grew even fatter.”
She went to wash up and cleaned her son in passing. Although the king of jealousy was often quite jealous, he was still a very easy child to coax, much more so than his father. Cheng Xi washed the snot from his face, hugged and kissed him a few times, and he was once again a happy little baby.
But Cheng Xi’s sudden two-week-long departure had made her husband and son miss her so terribly that the little king of jealousy stuck to her for the rest of the day, not even willing to let go when he was having a meal.
Lu Chenzhou was a husk of his former self after taking care of him these last few days. He didn’t like having other people around the house, so even though he’d hired a housekeeper, it was just to make food for him and his son. Lu Chenzhou’s grandparents did come over quite frequently, but they were so old that they couldn’t really do very much.
And so, in this last half-month, Lu Chenzhou had to change his diapers whenever he pooped or peed, and he was so tired that he wished he could just foist the burden on someone else. But seeing his son stick so fervently to Cheng Xi, even needing to be fed when eating (though a one-year-old child would have to be fed regardless!), he really couldn’t banish the sight. Angrily, he stood up and moved his son’s little stool over, putting his hands on his hips and pointing at him, “Go sit in it! How can a man need to be fed? How can a man cry so much?!”