"Daddy, you have them on your face too," Fanfan said, reaching up to scratch himself, his voice wobbly with discomfort. "It's so itchy…"
"Don't scratch. Let me put some medicine on you." Qi Cheng was itchy too. At that moment, he really missed his husband, but since his husband wasn't there, he had to hold back his whining and look for some cooling oil or mosquito repellent lotion to apply on his son.
Luckily, hotel rooms always had these things on hand. While searching, Qi Cheng spotted the electric mosquito repellent liquid and the hotel's thoughtful note: Dear guest, since our hotel is located in the mountains, there are many insects. Please close the screen windows and turn on the repellent at night. Wishing you a lovely evening~
Qi Cheng: …
Not lovely at all. Sob.
He turned his head and saw that he'd been so excited the night before—the mountain night sky was gorgeous, full of twinkling stars—that he'd gotten lost in the view and forgotten to close the screen window.
Now both father and son were covered in red bumps. Fanfan had inherited Qi Cheng's fair, delicate skin—he was just a kid, after all. So now he was covered in mosquito bites. Qi Cheng was the same—bites all over one arm, his face, the back of his neck. As he dabbed on the lotion, he said, "If you were this itchy at night, why didn't you wake up and call for Daddy?"
That way, he would've gotten up in the middle of the night to apply medicine, and it wouldn't have gotten this bad. Classic dad move—passing the blame.
Fanfan puffed out his cheeks and mumbled, "Daddy didn't call me either."
"Hahaha, looks like we're both little piggies then." Qi Cheng finished applying the lotion on his little goose, then did half of himself. For the spots he couldn't reach, he had Fanfan help.
Fanfan poured a palmful of lotion and smeared it all over his dad.
So that morning, both father and son reeked of mosquito repellent. After breakfast, Qi Cheng took his little goose out for a stroll. It was cool in the mountains—long pants, short sleeves, and a light jacket. He'd heard there were some play facilities for kids in the hotel lobby.
The father and son strolled over at a leisurely pace.
Qi Cheng watched his little goose play for a while, then sat off to the side soaking up the sun. At around ten in the morning, the mountain sunlight was soft and gentle—not harsh at all.
So boring.
Qi Cheng zoned out.
At some point, Fanfan came down from the slide and sat next to his dad, propping his chubby chin on his hands. He let out a sigh. "So boring. Daddy, when are we going home?"
"In a few days, I guess? We can't just go home after one night—that's not how running away works…" Qi Cheng muttered.
Fanfan didn't understand what his dad meant by that last part, but he did catch "a few days." He sighed again. "Then when is Big Dad coming to play with us?"
"I told your Big Dad to wait a few days before finding us."
Qi Cheng saw his little goose's eyes go wide in disbelief. And then—Qi Cheng squinted. "Are you thinking Daddy's being silly?"
"No, no, no!" Fanfan shook his head like a rattle drum and waved his little hands.
Qi Cheng: "…Really? Fine, I'll let it slide this once."
Soon it was noon. Since they were already out, they decided to have lunch at the hotel restaurant. There were two options—one was a hotpot place with individual pots. Qi Cheng, covered in bites, was craving something spicy—okay, fine, he just wanted to indulge himself.
He brought his little goose to the restaurant. It was pretty packed at noon, since it was summer break and there were lots of guests. The private rooms were all booked, so Qi Cheng figured that since it was just him and his little goose, sitting in the main hall would be fine.
"One spicy pot, one nourishing broth pot." Qi Cheng had it all planned out—he could eat from his little goose's nourishing pot too!
He ordered some meat and veggies.
Hotpot is all about the lively atmosphere—families chatting and eating together.
Qi Cheng looked at himself and his little goose, sitting all alone. They exchanged a glance. Fanfan's chubby face drooped for a second, but then he perked up and said in a crisp, cheerful voice, "Big Dad will find us soon!"
All Qi Cheng could hear in his head was: Not too soon, not too soon, not too soon.
Wahhhhh.
Husband, I miss you so much.
While they were eating, there was a commotion at the restaurant entrance. Qi Cheng glanced over—a group of young men and women, all dressed very stylishly The young men had makeup, earrings, white socks, sneakers, and shorts. The whole look reminded him of a certain salesclerk named Kevin from way, way back who'd scammed him out of money.
But that had nothing to do with him now.
Qi Cheng looked away and went back to cooking veggies in his little goose's pot.
Spicy pot for the meat—so good. Nourishing pot for the greens—so fresh.
"Eat your veggies so you can grow tall."
Fanfan puffed out his cheeks, his round eyes full of mischief, and said in a grown-up tone, "Dad, don't try to fool me. Big Dad is tall, you're tall too—so I'm definitely going to be tall."
"…Since you said I'm tall, I'll reward you with a little cake later." Qi Cheng was pleased by his little goose's flattery.
"Yay!"
Fanfan played along and gobbled up the greens in his bowl to make his dad happy.
The argument at the entrance continued. Soon, the restaurant manager went over to smooth things out, and after a while, the group of young people came in. Some of them were holding small handheld cameras. Qi Cheng took one look and figured they were recording videos.
That model was lightweight and portable—their studio had one too. It wasn't expensive, but it was good for shooting while moving, like when Lu Yang used it to record POV rollercoaster rides.
Old-timers wouldn't bother with that kind of gear.
But again, none of this had anything to do with him. Qi Cheng didn't recognize these people. He went back to peeling shrimp for his little goose—so much work. If his husband were here, he'd get one, Fanfan would get one, and he'd get another—no peeling required.
He could always cheat a little—give the grown-up more and the kid less.
"I miss your Big Dad." Qi Cheng popped the second peeled shrimp into his own mouth.
Fanfan had already finished his first shrimp, barely tasting it.
Dad is too slow.
"I miss Grandpa and Grandma Zheng."
The father and son exchanged another look, like two little stray dogs with droopy ears. They'd been so happy and carefree on the first day, but less than a day in, they already wanted to go home.
Qi Cheng ruffled his little goose's hair, thinking he'd send his husband a text back in the room—drop a few hints?
The two of them went back and forth between happy and droopy while eating. Over at a big table nearby, a social media influencer was recording a video. "Hey, that kid over there is so cute—let me show you guys."
"Better not film his face straight on. Kids have rights too. His dad's pretty handsome, though."
Even as she said that, the female influencer caught Fanfan in a side shot, showing most of his face. Soon, their food arrived. She introduced the dishes, put down her camera, and started eating.
Later that afternoon, she'd edit the video and post it online.
---
Qi Cheng: Husband, have you checked my treasure chest drawer?
Bai Zongyin received the text at noon. "Treasure chest drawer" was the big drawer in Qi Cheng's dressing room that held all his favorite "sleepwear." It didn't take him long to remember—there were differences between their worlds.
He knew Qi Cheng was at the hotel now, having just finished hotpot and returned to his room. The bodyguards were keeping an eye on him.
And Qi Cheng thought he didn't know the location, so he was kindly leaving him "clues."
Bai Zongyin: Okay, I'll check it carefully when I get home from work.
Qi Cheng: Then could you bring me the white one? It's the lace set, not the pom-pom one.
The clue was clear enough!
Husband should come find him soon, right?
Bai Zongyin: Sure.
Qi Cheng broke into a grin. Hehehe.
-End-
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