My Queen, My Rules - Extra Chapter 6

Extra Chapter - The Daily Life of Raising a Baby (3)

In fact, for these past two-plus years, Cen Sen and Ji Mingchu’s marital life had been quite frequent, especially during the two months after Ji Mingchu gave birth and recovered—all the mischief she had gotten away with while using her pregnancy as an excuse was reclaimed by Cen Sen with interest.

At that time, Cen Sen had been abstinent for nearly a year and had no intention of "cherishing the jade," as the saying goes. Every time he made her cry, he wouldn't stop, and he would keep recounting how she had tortured and seduced him during her pregnancy.

Ji Mingchu felt that she had never apologized as much in her entire life as she did during those two months in bed. If it weren't for the fact that Cen Sen’s work became busy later on and he had to travel frequently, she didn't know when she would have ever escaped that sea of misery.

After those two months of "retaliation," their marital life had basically stabilized to three times a week. As for how many times per session or how long it lasted, it was entirely up to Cen Sen’s mood.

Although she had refused on the surface when her baby asked about the small pork ribs, when the dish was actually placed on the table, Ji Mingchu couldn't help but steal several glances at them.

Yan-Bao, sensible and considerate, knew she liked the ribs and clumsily tried to pick one up with his chopsticks to give to her, but after trying for ages, he still couldn't get a grip on one.

He felt a bit frustrated, pursed his lips, and asked Cen Sen for help in a milky voice: "Dada, could you get the ribs for Mama? Mama likes the small ribs, but Yan-Bao can't get them!"

Cen Sen swept a glance at Ji Mingchu, who was sitting opposite him eating greens.

Ji Mingchu deliberately avoided his gaze.

Nobody knew what he was thinking, but he calmly extended his chopsticks and picked up the tenderest pieces of pork ribs, one, two, three... and placed them all into her bowl.

Yan-Bao’s eyes curved into crescents, his three little strands of messy hair standing up on his head. He looked up at Cen Sen and said, "Thank you, Dada!"

Then, imitating the parents he saw in cartoons, he turned to Ji Mingchu and said earnestly: "Mama, now you have the small ribs, you have to eat well!"

"..."

Ji Mingchu speechlessly picked up a piece and put it in his bowl.

He shook his head seriously: "Yan-Bao doesn't have many teeth yet, I can't chew it!"

Ji Mingchu pinched his chubby cheeks and mocked him mercilessly: "So you know you're just a little brat who hasn't even grown all your teeth yet!"

Yan-Bao nodded obediently: "Mm-hmm, I know!"

He stretched out his short little hand and went to pinch Ji Mingchu’s cheeks in return.

Ji Mingchu was struck by how dumb-cute he looked and shook him gently as she pinched: "Little Sloppy, how are you so cute!"

He smiled so wide his tiny baby teeth showed: "Mama is cute too!"

While the mother and son were having a lively time, Cen Sen, who had been left out in the cold, suddenly tapped the edge of his bowl lightly and said in a calm voice: "Eat properly."

Little Cen Yan immediately gave a crisp salute: "Got it!"

He didn't forget to add: "Oh, and by the way, Dada is cute too!"

Ji Mingchu couldn't help but laugh out loud. Cen Sen stared at the boy for two seconds, the corners of his lips also curving upward involuntarily.


Thanks to little Cen Yan’s intervention, Ji Mingchu finally got to eat her pork ribs in a legitimate fashion.

After dinner, the family of three went to the supermarket for a stroll to help digest. Once they got home, the three sat on the floor, playing with Lego bricks and dinosaur puzzles together.

Little Cen Yan had high energy and didn't get sleepy until ten o'clock. Before he fell asleep, Ji Mingchu and Cen Sen gave him a bath, placed him in the middle of the bed, and read him a story.

They read a bilingual version—Ji Mingchu would say a sentence in Chinese, and Cen Sen would follow in English. The hypnotic effect was immediate; in less than ten minutes, little Cen Yan was snoring away while rubbing his little tummy.

"Little Sloppy, Little Sloppy?"

Ji Mingchu whispered twice, but Cen Yan didn't budge.

Cen Sen made a "shush" gesture, got out of bed silently, carried Cen Yan back to his own room, and instructed the nanny to watch over him for the night.

This was still early for adults. Back in the bedroom, Cen Sen pulled Ji Mingchu into his arms to watch a movie in bed.

Of course, neither of them watched the movie seriously. In less than half an hour, they began the exercise that adults do, and they continued until the movie ended and the credits and sponsor list were rolling, and they still weren't finished.

At the very last moment, Cen Sen whispered hoarsely in Ji Mingchu’s ear: "Is it okay inside?"

Ji Mingchu was exhausted, breathing more out than in, her mind completely blank, unable to respond at all.

After waiting for about five seconds, Cen Sen strictly implemented the international customary rule that "your silence means you agree," and contributed physically and substantially to the arrival of the little sister Yan-Bao was looking forward to.

When Yan-Bao turned three, it was time to officially attend kindergarten.

Ji Mingchu meticulously prepared many small outfits, little shoes, and various kinds of miniature school bags, her heart set on making Yan-Bao the stylish kid in kindergarten.

But she never expected that not a single one of the things she prepared would be used. The kindergarten issued uniform school uniforms and book bags, and even provided small watches and water cups.

Ji Mingchu felt a bit discouraged. That night, during their intimate talk, she leaned into Cen Sen’s arms and mumbled about these trivialities, even dissing the school for suppressing the development of a child’s aesthetic personality.

However, Cen Sen thought the school did a good job: "The most important thing for children is learning. Wasting energy on comparing clothes is meaningless."

Ji Mingchu thought it sounded reasonable at first, but after a second, it felt bizarre.

She pulled back from Cen Sen’s arms and questioned: "What do you mean the most important thing for a child is learning? He’s only three; what can he learn? Isn't it better to just be happy and have a childhood? I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time, stop having such high expectations for your son. This is called 'pulling the seedlings to help them grow'—you're forcing his development!"

Cen Sen disagreed: "There’s already a lot a three-year-old can learn."

"Then tell me what you could do when you were three."

Cen Sen pondered slightly and answered: "When I was three, I could recite Tang poetry, carry on simple English conversations, and had already started learning Taekwondo and piano."

His father and mother were both intellectuals who valued child education highly; the kindergarten he attended back then was also the best public one in Star City.

Ji Mingchu fell silent after hearing this, and, quite inappropriately, her thoughts drifted: People with good brains are just different—he even remembers clearly what he could do and what he did at three years old.

Just during this brief silence, Cen Sen had already started talking to her about his various cultivation plans for little Cen Yan, and to her shock, he had actually written a complete, printable version of the plan.

Ji Mingchu was speechless for a long while. She didn't know whether she should bow in silence for Cen Yan’s future tragic life or bow in worship of his father’s powerful execution skills.

Perhaps Cen Yan had a premonition of something in the dark; as he lay on his little bed, dazed in his sleep, he suddenly sneezed. It’s a bit cold! He turned over subconsciously, wrapped his little quilt tight, and shivered, TvT!


The initial maladjustment to kindergarten is probably a trial that every parent and child must experience.

Little Cen Yan had promised he would be fine the first day before going to school. But once he was truly left at the kindergarten, he stamped his feet in anxiety and began an agonizing, theatrical performance: "Wuwuwuwu, Dada and Mama, don't you want Yan-Bao anymore? Yan-Bao will be a good boy, wuwuwuwu!"

When the kindergarten teacher tried to coax him and hold him, he shuffled his little feet to the side and let out a loud "Wah," his posture extremely resistant.

Seeing Cen Yan crying so sadly and desperately, Ji Mingchu’s heart ached. She immediately stepped forward to pick him up, patted his back gently, and coaxed him with rare tenderness: "Yan-Bao is the best boy. How could Dada and Mama not want Yan-Bao? Yan-Bao is the cutest child in the whole world, right? But didn't we agree before we left the house that you would be a good boy and attend school, and Dada and Mama would come to pick you up in the afternoon?"

"No! Wah-wuwuwuwu! I want... I want Dada and Mama to be with me, wuwuwuwu, let’s go to kindergarten together!" Little Cen Yan cried so hard that snot bubbles emerged; he hiccuped, and his speech became intermittent.

Ji Mingchu wanted to coax him more, but Cen Sen coldly called him by his full name: "Cen Yan."

A Siberian cold front arrived, and little Cen Yan was so startled that one of his snot bubbles popped.

Cen Sen stepped forward and ruffled his hair: "You are a man; you cannot go back on your word."

Ji Mingchu looked up and complained: "Don't be fierce to him!"

Cen Sen paused: "I wasn't being fierce."

"..."

If that face which seemed to say "If you don't go in and study today, you're no longer my son" wasn't being fierce, then what was?

Ji Mingchu wanted to say more, but unexpectedly, little Cen Yan, this little disappointment, really fell for Cen Sen’s act. Although he was still sobbing, he stopped showing extreme resistance to the teacher.

After confirming with Ji Mingchu repeatedly that she would come to pick him up, little Cen Yan, holding a bundle of tears, looked back three times with every step he took, walking with his short legs, and went into the school with the teacher.

Ji Mingchu breathed a sigh of relief, but on the way back, she was still feeling rattled by her baby’s crying, and her heart felt a bit congested.

She opened the classroom’s synchronized surveillance monitor, and soon, her panic was cured. Because Cen Yan’s crying wasn't an isolated case; all the children in the entire class were running around aimlessly, wailing without any organization or discipline.

Cen Yan had likely just finished crying outside, so he didn't have the strength to join the wailing army in the classroom. Instead, he handed a piece of candy to the little girl next to him, whose pigtails were standing up from all the crying, as a show of comfort.

Not bad—he was already flirting with girls at three years old.

Ji Mingchu was not only cured but also felt a bit gratified.