It should be mentioned that this ice cream shop has been trending lately, naturally, because they offer such delicious flavors!
Feeling very satisfied with her dessert, Qiao Moyu's eyes curved up into crescents. She was thinking of bringing Luo Luo to this shop next time!
Beside her, Ye Peicheng eyes kept wandering to her figure from time to time. He couldn't figure out why she seemed so happy with her snack.
Nevertheless, he found that his mood brightened without reason as he stared at her satisfied expression while she ate.
The pair walked towards the underground parking lot together, but they failed to notice the stranger hiding behind a wall who was taking several pictures of their interaction.
As soon as Qiao Moyu got home, Mrs. Yu hurriedly told her, “Ms. Qiao, Luo Luo must have eaten too much. He's having indigestion, so I'm thinking of heading out to buy him some medicine for stomach relief.”
Qiao Moyu hurried over and found the little toddler half lying on the sofa. His round belly stuck out, just like a frog that was exposed to the sun.
The toddler's small face wrinkled as he complained: “Mom, my belly's all bloated!”
Qiao Moyu stooped down and touched his belly. She comforted him and said: “Mom will go and buy medicine for baby. You'll feel better if you take it, okay?”
She had to coax him well. That's because in the past, Mrs. Yu reported that Luo Luo was reluctant to take his medicine; every time he got sick or came down with a cold, Nanny Yu would always worry about how to convince the boy to take his medicine.
At this time, the small child listened to his mother's words, but his tone wasn't as firm as it was before: “Medicine tastes terrible, Luo Luo doesn't want to swallow it!”
Qiao Moyu gently persuaded him, “Mom will buy something sweet for Baobei, the one that tastes like candy, is that okay?”
The boy was a little doubtful, but he still nodded.
There was a pharmacy close to their neighborhood. Qiao Moyu ran all the way to the store then rushed back home with a layer of sweat on her forehead. She took a piece of the Jianwei Xiaoshi tablet ** and presented it to Luo Luo: “Baobei have taste, it's strawberry, your favorite flavor!”
(T/N: Jianwei Xiaoshi tablet 健胃消食–Chinese stomach medication for children; help w/ indigestion)
Luo Luo blinked his big eyes, then sniffed the tablet and licked it with his tongue. Finding the new item tasty, he took the medicine and placed it in his mouth.
“Baby, is it sweet?” Qiao Moyu asked with a smile.
“Sweet!” The little toddler thought it was delicious so he quickly chewed and swallowed it. The smile on his face was brilliant: “Mom didn't lie to Luo Luo!”
“Mom won't lie to Luo Luo in the future!” Qiao Moyu and her son looked at each other and grinned. Then she turned to Mrs. Yu and asked: “How much did Luo Luo eat?”
Nanny Yu replied, “Luo Luo ate 10 fresh dumplings at noon, which I usually pack for him. I told him to stop eating, but he kept going saying he wasn't full. At that time, I thought he was really hungry, but I didn't expect him to stuff himself so much.”
After some thought, she added: “By the way, Luo Luo seems to have eaten more these past two days compared to before. He isn't picky anymore either!”
Qiao Moyu had some doubts. Even if Luo Luo was a child, it's not normal for him to stuff himself with food all of a sudden.
She squatted down, looked at her son and asked: “Luo Luo, why do you suddenly love eating so much?” The kid used to be picky with his meals in the past.
The boy looked down pitifully at his round little belly and replied shyly: “Because Luo Luo wants to grow up!”
“Little Luo wants to grow up?” Qiao Moyu laughed and said: “Luo Luo can grow up as long as he isn't picky with food. You don't have to stuff yourself while eating.”
The toddler suddenly looked up at her and said with a serious voice: “But Luo Luo is growing too slowly! Luo Luo wants to grow faster and much earlier so he can protect Mother!”
Chapter 44
Qiao Moyu never thought her son would have such a reason. She sighed deeply. Her eyes seemed to moisten a little and her heart was filled with warmth.
What a lovely baby, he wanted to grow up and protect her as soon as he can!
Qiao Moyu picked up the little toddler and enthusiastically planted several kisses on him. She put him back down and earnestly advised him, “Luo Luo, eating too much won't help Baobei grow up. Instead, you'll get sick easily and your growth will slow down. Baobei can just eat as usual, but you can't be picky. If you eat what Nanny feeds you, you'll be able to grow up fast!”
The toddler listened and nodded. But after a moment, he still spoke hesitantly: “But Luo Luo doesn't like to eat onions. Can Luo Luo not eat it?”
“Luo Luo can eat a little of it at a time. Just a little bit, and get used to it slowly. Once you're used to it, the onions will no longer taste bad,” she said.
“Oh, actually Luo Luo eats so much onions every time!” The boy used his small fingers to indicate the size of a grain of rice.
Qiao Moyu had the impulse to laugh, but she held back and nodded at him seriously, “Okay, then we'll eat less of it together tonight!”
After she promised, Luo Luo stretched out his pinky finger and hooked it with hers.
Qiao Moyu looked at her son's soft and tender face. With a gentle light in her eyes, she said: “Luo Luo, Mom loves you!”
The little toddler immediately looked back up at her, his big eyes full of joy. Then he bowed his head and whispered, “Luo Luo loves mother too!” After that, he turned away and ran off.
Qiao Moyu noticed that the boy's cheeks and ears were red. She couldn't help but tease, “Luo Luo, are you feeling hot? Why is your face so red?”
Upon hearing her comment, Luo Luo, who initially struggled with his bigger belly, fled even faster. He ran to his room and plunged into the small couch that Qiao Moyu bought for him. Only his little butt could be seen from outside.
In the afternoon, Qiao Moyu studied the novel at home to prepare for tomorrow's audition. Thanks to her love of books from her previous life, she read through the story very quickly; it only took her a day to read through millions of words to understand the plot and development. Afterwards, she used the rest of her time to study the script.
Luo Luo sat next to her while she studied. After the boy had taken his medicine, his stomach was no longer uncomfortable. He quietly played with his building blocks and didn't make any noise.
While Qiao Moyu pondered about her lines, she suddenly spotted Luo Luo's small head beside her. Apparently, he was trying to keep his eyelids open, but he was too tired and looked as if he was about to drift off to sleep.
She quietly picked up the small toddler and patted him on the back until he completely dozed off. Afterwards, she laid him gently on his bed.
Luo Luo slept for two hours. By the time he opened his eyes, he found his mother sitting in his room, so he laughed happily.
But when Qiao Moyu turned to look at him, the baby quickly closed his eyes and snored, pretending to sleep.
Qiao Moyu had the urge to laugh but she didn't want to give him out. So she continued to read her script. Sure enough, when she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, the boy's eyes were open.
So Qiao Moyu pretended to look at the time and said out loud to herself: “Oh, I should wake Luo Luo up, otherwise, if Baobei sleeps too much during the day, he won't be able to rest at night!”
When she came to the bedside, she saw her son yawn, pretending to have just woken up. He opened his eyes and blearily looked at her.
This was essentially acting! Qiao Moyu played along. She bent over and said, “Ah, is Luo Luo awake? Mother was planning to wake you up!”
Chapter 45
She helped change his clothes and led him downstairs to play for a while. Nanny Yu had already prepared a meal.
During their mealtime, the family turned on the TV to watch since Sheng Shi's episode that was broadcasted yesterday was being replayed.
Once Ye Peicheng appeared on screen, Luo Luo suddenly rushed to Qiao Moyu's side while pointing at the TV with excitement: “Mom, it was this uncle, he told Luo Luo to grow up and protect Mom!”
Qiao Moyu looked up and saw the actor on the screen. She felt something didn't seem right. So it turns out the good-looking uncle Luo Luo mentioned before was Ye Peicheng. Was it really a coincidence?
For today's episode, Qiao Moyu only appeared twice. Her screen time was very short, but Luo Luo would clap his hands in excitement whenever she came up.
At this time, Qiao Moyu was reminded of the comments she read online. Feeling a bit curious, she asked Luo Luo: “Baobei, who looks best on TV, is it mom, your uncle, or is it that aunt in the red skirt?”
Luo Luo replied without thinking: “Mom!”
“Really?” Qiao Moyu pressed: “Luo Luo should be fair. Don't say mom is the best just because you know her.”
Qiao Moyu opened the box and saw the toy that Luo Luo had mentioned. No wonder his original mother hid it and prevented him from playing with it. It turned out to be a toy snake. If one doesn't look carefully, others would think it was actually a real snake.
“It's Baobei's Si Si!” Luo Luo happily picked up the snake.
(T/N: Si Si –onomatopeia for a snake hissing)
Even though Qiao Moyu knew it was a fake snake, she still felt nervous when she saw the boy's little hand reach out for the snake.
Soon enough, Luo Luo picked up Si Si without any hint of fear. He touched the snake's head and said, “Si Si, it's summer. Don't go back to sleep, it's time to get up!”
As she watched the little toddler play pretend with his snake, Qiao Moyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In fact, many people in the world like to play with this kind of toy, just like her own brother from her previous life.
Just as she was about to put the box back in its place, she glanced down and saw several diaries within the container.
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Author's Afterword: Yes, the diary will reveal secrets of her pregnancy and how she ended up giving birth to Luo Luo~
Luo Luo's cheap uncle from MC's previous world: Qiao Moyu, I heard that my little nephew likes to play with snakes just like I do?
Qiao Moyu: Ha ha ha, if Luo Luo wasn't so cute, I would have thought he was actually you crossing over to this world!
Cheap Uncle: So he likes to eat snake soup too?
Qiao Moyu: Get out! Don't teach my son bad things!