The Child Raised by a Golden Retriever Boy-Mom - Chapter 16

The following evening, Lu Yubai tugged at Feng You and knocked on Qin Youjiang’s door. He held a bowl of apple puree dessert that his mommy had just made, happily bringing three spoons along to find Qin Youjiang.

Grandfather had shared a bite with him the previous night, and Lu Yubai had been thinking about it ever since. He was determined to return the favor today. He also remembered to bring a spoon for his mommy; he could let anyone suffer, but never his mommy.

The three of them huddled together and finished the bowl of apple puree, chatting as they ate. Qin Youjiang’s son and grandson were both soldiers, and the old man’s face beamed with pride as he spoke of his past military achievements. He pulled several medals of honor from his cabinet to show Lu Yubai; some were his own, and some belonged to his children.

“This is for you, kid,” Qin Youjiang said.

He placed a small, empty shell casing into Lu Yubai’s hand. The metal casing was worn, but it had been polished until it was bright and shiny. Lu Yubai could not put the little trinket down, rolling it around in his palm until the metal grew warm against his skin.

The story of the Golden Retriever Mommy and his little cub successfully winning over the most difficult character in the nursing home quickly spread among the seniors. The director clamored to give Feng You a raise and even specifically contacted Little President Mu to apply for a bonus. The retired veteran, who had been a headache for every caregiver in the facility, had finally started to smile, even if his sharp, cold eyes made the smile look a bit eerie.

The director asked Feng You to spend more time with Qin Youjiang, which significantly lightened his other duties. However, Feng You could not stay idle. Even in Qin Youjiang’s room, he was always busy with a rag, wiping down surfaces here and there.

“Hey kid, stop working. Come over and check your little cub’s progress,” Qin Youjiang called out. He called Feng You “kid” and Lu Yubai “little cub,” treating them both as close younger kin.

He was teaching Lu Yubai how to play xiangqi, and the little cub had picked it up quickly. Feng You also knew a bit about the game, having played with elderly workers back at the factory when things were slow.

“I have forgotten some of the rules. Let us try a game first,” Feng You said.

Lu Yubai sat opposite Feng You, thinking very seriously about his moves. He had to stand on his stool just to reach the oversized chessboard, and sometimes he had to run over to Feng You’s side of the table just to move a piece. After one round, he was breathless from all the activity.

Qin Youjiang watched from the side, occasionally locking eyes with Lu Yubai. Whenever the boy was about to move the wrong piece, the old man would give a soft cough. The clever child immediately understood his teacher’s signal and would choose a different move instead.

Feng You, of course, saw right through the secret collaboration between the little cub and the old man. He pursed his lips and smiled, a mischievous idea taking root in his mind. Unsurprisingly, he could not win against their combined efforts. After the old man and the child shared a happy high five, Feng You let out a soft huff.

“Lu Yubai, how can you join Grandfather in bullying me?”

The smile immediately vanished from the little cub’s face. He stared wide eyed at Feng You’s frowning, angry expression, his gaze darting around in panic.

“You little rascal, I am angry. Do you not love Mommy anymore?”

Lu Yubai scrambled down from the high stool and ran around the table to stand before Feng You. He waved his hands frantically, his lips parting as he struggled to make a sound. But Feng You did not fall for it. He covered his face with his hands and began to fake cry. Though he tried hard to make “boo-hoo” sobbing sounds, the main purpose of covering his face was to hide his laughter.

“I am so sad. Yubai actually did not side with Mommy.”

Lu Yubai tugged at Feng You’s sleeve, trying to pull his hands away from his face. He paced in place, looking utterly distressed. The child had never seen such a scene before and deeply regretted not paying attention to his mommy’s feelings while he was busy winning the game with Grandfather.

Lu Yubai worked hard to pull Feng You’s hands down. He poked his fingers into his mommy’s cheeks and gently pushed upward to create a manual smile. But the moment he let go, the artificial smile vanished, replaced once again by a sad pout.

「Mommy, I was wrong. Do not be sad.」

The little cub repeated the words silently in his heart, shaking Feng You’s arm. Seeing no other way, he imitated the children in the cartoons he watched; he leaned in and gave Feng You a big “mwah” kiss on the cheek.

Before Feng You could react, Lu Yubai pursed his lips and began to blow air against his mommy’s face. Lu Yubai remembered that whenever he was hurt or sad in the past, his mommy would blow gently on his treated wounds and say, “Pain, pain, fly away,” and he would feel much better. The child followed this example, blowing repeatedly on Feng You’s face while repeating “Pain, pain, fly away” in his mind.

Feng You finally could not hold back his laughter anymore. He could no longer keep up the act and reached out to rub the child’s head.

“Alright, I will not blame you this time. Mommy has been coaxed by the little cub.”

Lu Yubai let out a sigh of relief. He had blown so hard that he was a bit short of breath, and his face, flushed from the effort, felt very hot. Dizzily, he swayed back and forth before falling forward into Feng You’s embrace, burying his face against his mommy’s chest. Then, he felt even shorter of breath.

Feng You lifted the child and asked, “Do you still want to play?”

Lu Yubai nodded vigorously and turned to sit familiarly on Feng You’s lap. He set up the pieces one by one and beckoned to Qin Youjiang. The old man understood and sat down across from them. Lu Yubai winked and made faces at the old man, wrinkling his brow and pressing his hands together in a pleading gesture. He was asking Grandfather to help him coax Mommy.

Qin Youjiang locked eyes with Feng You behind the boy’s back. He had seen long ago that Feng You was not actually angry; he was simply enjoying the fun of teasing the little cub. Still, the old man nodded and secretly gave an “OK” sign. It was not so bad playing along with these two childish spirits; he had not felt the joy of teasing a child in a very long time.

Lu Yubai was more serious than ever, his eyes fixed on the board. He held Feng You’s hand, guiding him to place every piece with extreme caution. By the time they won this exhibition match, the little cub was drenched in sweat from the effort.

Lu Yubai let out a sigh of relief and leaned back into his mommy’s soft embrace. Coaxing Mommy was a lot of work. He would never make his mommy sad again; he would always be on Mommy’s side.

“Little treasure is so amazing,” Feng You praised.

Lu Yubai tilted his head back to look at Feng You’s upside down face. He pointed to his own cheek and then to Feng You’s lips. Since he had kissed Mommy earlier and had just led Mommy to a victory, did he not deserve a kiss on the cheek in return?

Feng You looked at the triumphant child and shook his head with a helpless laugh. “How did you learn to be so demanding?”

Even as he said it, he leaned down and kissed the child’s cheek, which still had a bit of baby fat, and even gave the fleshy cheek a playful, gentle nip. “In the future, you are not allowed to bully Mommy, do you understand?”

Lu Yubai nodded frantically, resting his head against Feng You’s chest and patting his own heart to promise. From now on, he would always side with Mommy.

“Good, good. I knew little treasure was the best.” Feng You had never imagined that teasing a child could be this much fun.

On the weekend, Qin Xiaotang brought Xia Chang’an over to play with Lu Yubai. Xia Chang’an, very aware of his role as the older brother, dumped all the toys from his backpack onto the floor of the lounge the moment he arrived.

“My mommy said you do not have any other kids to play with here, so I brought you lots and lots of toys.” He pushed the toys toward Lu Yubai. “These are all for you.”

Xia Chang’an said a reluctant goodbye to his toys and began to introduce each one to Lu Yubai. Lu Yubai’s attention was caught by a bamboo dragonfly. He had seen it in a cartoon before; a big, fat blue cat would use a bamboo dragonfly like this to fly.

“You play with it like this. Rub it between your hands, and it will fly up,” Xia Chang’an demonstrated, rubbing the bamboo dragonfly so that it flew in a beautiful arc.

Lu Yubai picked up the bamboo dragonfly and placed it on top of his head. He held his arms out horizontally and began to spin in circles, imitating the bamboo dragonfly in an attempt to make himself fly. The bamboo dragonfly fell to the floor, and Lu Yubai fell heavily with it.

He was so dizzy that he saw stars. He scrambled up and took two steps before falling heavily to the floor again.

“Yubai! Careful!”

Feng You, who was busy arranging books, caught a glimpse of the fall out of the corner of his eye and came running over. He helped the little cub up, and just as he was about to offer some words of comfort, he saw the child give him a big, silly grin.

The words of comfort were swallowed back down. Feng You only then remembered that this child was not like others.

Lu Yubai crawled and stumbled over to pick up the bamboo dragonfly, holding it up to Feng You in confusion. He did not understand why he could not fly. Was the cartoon lying to children?

“Because this is not the big blue cat’s bamboo dragonfly.”

Feng You rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was ready to get to work. He flexed his arm into a fist and patted his solid biceps with his other hand, his smooth muscle lines full of power.

“Let Mommy help, and the little cub will fly.”