WRA CH96

Returning from the countryside after summer vacation, the very first stop on their way home was, naturally, to visit Zhou Qingyun.

The moment Xiao Guazi stepped through the entrance, his eyes locked onto a miniature toddler truck: a baby-blue body, an infant-sized bucket seat, and a two-cubic-meter cargo bed in the back.

Zhou Qingyun had actually filled in his beloved prosperity-accumulating koi pond in front of the house, converting the area into Xiao Guazi’s dedicated driving school course, complete with potted dwarf sunflowers marking out the reference cones.

Years ago, a geomancy master had claimed that sunflowers would bring great prosperity to the Zhou Er Fu Shi Group and advised planting them outside the headquarters. Back then, Zhou Qingyun had scoffed at the suggestion, convinced Zhou Sicheng had hired an actor just to preserve his personal hobby of growing flowers.

Xiao Guazi could not wait to scramble into the cab. He cranked the steering wheel a turn and a half to the left, then spun it two and a half turns to the right, his chubby little arms whirling away like windmills.

Zhou Qingyun instructed, “Step on the accelerator to move forward. Step one of driving: learning how to reverse into a parking bay.”

Xiao Guazi pressed his foot down. The speed was governed at a capped two kilometers per hour, creeping forward at a snail’s pace.

Zhou Qingyun strolled alongside in great satisfaction, raising his cane to point at a pot of mini sunflowers ahead, then tapping the bottom edge of the side-view mirror: “When this point clears the sunflower, hit the brakes immediately, shift into reverse, and crank the wheel hard left until it locks.”

Oh, oh!

“All done, Great-Grandpa!”

Xiao Guazi followed every step to the letter. Under his great-grandfather’s personal tutelage, he flawlessly reversed into the bay—though, admittedly, the toddler’s designated parking space was cavernous and nearly impossible to miss.

The vehicle was covered in external emergency stop buttons; anyone standing outside could bring it to a dead halt with a single tap.

Zhou Qingyun retrieved a handkerchief to dab his brow. The midday sun was a bit too fierce for him to handle, yet Xiao Guazi remained bursting with enthusiasm. He turned to Zhou Sicheng: “You take over teaching him.”

Xiao Guazi chimed in: “Daddy teach baby! Teach baby!”

The toddler truck’s driver seat could only fit a small child, designed as a full-coverage, eggshell-style safety pod that kept the occupant safe even in a rollover. The passenger side featured two matching pods—once he mastered driving, he could chauffeur his little friends around!

Zhou Sicheng had zero interest in teaching. Who on earth wanted to instruct a driving lesson under the scorching sun? The cab was air-conditioned; the outdoors were not. “Does he really need to learn how to drive a flatbed at two and a half?”

Zhou Qingyun was completely unreasonable: “What’s wrong with two and a half! You were a late bloomer yourself. Why do you think Grandpa gave you that name? It meant you were born to drive ride-shares! Your wife saw right through it at a single glance, yet you still play dumb!”

Xiang Zhen perked up: “Grandpa, you’ve finally admitted it!” He had once asked Zhou Qingyun about the meaning behind his husband’s name, but the old man had dodged the question at the time.

“…” Zhou Sicheng could speak about his ride-share days with complete equanimity now, but hearing his grandfather thoroughly brainwashed by Xiang Zhen still tested his composure.

Two sunflower spirits—one big, one small, neither minding the sun in the slightest—stared up at him with identical, round, earnest eyes.

Xiang Zhen encouraged him, “Hubby, you’re so skilled at driving trucks, and baby takes after you so much. He’ll pick it up in no time.”

Zhou Sicheng replied, “Having a driver’s license doesn’t mean I have an instructor’s certification.”

Xiang Zhen said, “It’s fine even if it flips over.”

Xiao Guazi echoed, “Baby will be fine!”

With no other choice, Zhou Sicheng resigned himself to baking in the sun. His grandfather had turned into the sort of person who indulged every passing whim, always leaving him to deal with the aftermath.

Xiang Zhen looked at his husband with adoration, holding up his phone to record a video: “Hubby, you’re so handsome.”

“Baby, you’re so clever!”

Zhou Sicheng: “…” Fine then, seeing as my wife is heaping on the praise.

Xiao Guazi gripped the steering wheel with solemn determination: Baby will master this right away.

After lavishing praise for a while, Xiang Zhen stepped into the patch of sunflowers and began scrolling through his phone.

The audio of short video feeds drifted out, yet Xiao Guazi remained utterly unfazed, completely immersed in his driving lesson. Zhou Sicheng reached through the window with an affectionate smile, ruffling his son’s head: “Doing great.”

Zhou Sicheng projected the image of an omnipotent, capable father, and Xiao Guazi adored him to pieces. For a time, filial piety and paternal tenderness harmonized beautifully.

Instructing his son while admiring his spouse amidst the blossoms, Zhou Sicheng hardly felt the heat anymore.

Suddenly, he noticed Xiang Zhen furrowing his brow, looking somewhat overheated.

Zhou Sicheng tapped the emergency brake on the miniature truck and jogged over to Xiang Zhen, worry evident in his eyes: “Zhenzhen, too hot? Head inside to rest.”

“Ah.” Xiang Zhen looked up. Sunflowers didn’t fear the sun, but smartphones certainly did. Scrolling videos under direct sunlight had made the phone scorchingly hot, feeling as though it might detonate at any moment. He really did need to retreat indoors.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Zhou Sicheng had rushed over out of concern, leaving Xiang Zhen feeling a bit embarrassed. Out of guilt, he touched his forehead: “It’s so hot, hubby. I’ll head inside then.”

“Wait!” Zhou Sicheng’s expression shifted drastically. He caught Xiang Zhen by the wrist. “Aren’t you supposed to be immune to the heat?”

Ever since learning about Xiang Zhen’s first pregnancy, he had thoroughly analyzed every single symptom from the entire gestation period.

Long before the morning sickness started, Xiang Zhen had displayed other anomalies—such as deliberately covering Zhou Sicheng’s face in bed, or feeling dizzy under the sun while admiring sunflowers outside the Zhou Fu headquarters.

A sunflower growing averse to sunlight was deeply abnormal.

Xiang Zhen pressed his lips together.

My husband is just too sharp. He saw right through my act in an instant.

Zhou Sicheng’s composed facade began to crack as he asked in a low whisper, “Wife… are you pregnant?!”

Hadn’t they said spirits could consciously prevent pregnancy? How on earth were they having two kids in three years?!

Had Xiang Zhen secretly conspired with the other two spirits behind his back again?

Xiang Zhen was startled: “No! I am definitely not pregnant!”

He was an honest sunflower; if his husband didn’t want a second child, he wouldn’t carry one.

Zhou Sicheng pressed, “Then why are you—”

Xiang Zhen confessed honestly, “It’s from scrolling videos. The phone got baked so hot.”

Zhou Sicheng closed his eyes, exhaling a massive breath of relief. Even though he had jumped to conclusions on his own, he still reached out and pinched his spouse’s cheek: “Your punishment is no short videos for three days.”

That was a severe penalty.

Xiang Zhen bargained: “Can we start tomorrow?”

He was heading back to work at the office tomorrow anyway, so he wouldn’t have time to play on his phone regardless.

Zhou Sicheng warned, “Don’t let it happen again.”

Xiang Zhen beamed: “Deal!”

Xiang Zhen retreated into the air-conditioned villa. The moment his backside touched the sofa cushions, the algorithm pushed a driving lesson video directly onto his feed:

[Son’s first day on the road, dad in the passenger seat coaching.]

The video opened with fatherly warmth and filial respect, only to degenerate into the father violently grabbing the steering wheel, furiously bellowing that his son was a brainless idiot.

Xiang Zhen clicked into the comments section. Scores of netizens shared identical trauma: “I’d rather pay for a professional instructor,”“We almost severed our parent-child relationship.”

Good heavens!!

Xiang Zhen scrambled to his feet. So a father teaching a son to drive placed that much strain on their relationship! No wonder Zhou Sicheng had been so reluctant to teach at first.

Even fully grown humans with mature intellects got berated until they had no dignity left. Xiao Guazi was only two and a half—could he possibly learn?!

Had Zhou Sicheng deliberately sent him away just so he could discipline their son?

His pale, tender Xiao Guazi was probably covered in bruises by now!

Xiang Zhen dashed outside to mediate the father-son conflict, only to find Zhou Sicheng crouching on the ground, carefully feeding water to their son. At his side stood the Xiao Kui Bao robot, holding up a tray laden with an assortment of beverages.

It’s actually this harmonious?

Zhou Sicheng looked up: “Wife, what did you run back out for?”

Draping himself across Zhou Sicheng’s back, Xiang Zhen whispered, “I was worried you’d lose your temper and beat our son.”

Zhou Sicheng reached behind him to offer a steadying hand: “Unless he’s causing deliberate mischief, when have I ever hit him? Whether a child learns fast or slow is never an excuse to lay a hand on them.”

Xiang Zhen flattered him: “Hubby, you are the most magnificent father in the world. From now on, you’ll oversee all his homework.”

Zhou Sicheng gracefully deflected the excessive praise: “Let Xiao Kui Bao tutor him.”

Xiao Kui Bao chimed in: “No problem! Master!”

Xiao Guazi finished his cup of water, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and turned to his father: “Daddy, film a video for baby!”

Xiang Zhen asked, “Want to send it to your best friends?”

Xiao Guazi nodded eagerly. He wanted to invite the little snake baby and the coffee bean baby to ride in his truck!

The little snake baby would definitely adore these eggshell pods!

Xiang Zhen held up his phone. Xiao Guazi scrambled into the vehicle, patting the passenger seat with his chubby hand: “This is Coffee Bean’s spot,” “This is Little Snake’s spot.” Then he clambered into the driver’s seat, clicked his seatbelt in place, and announced: “Hold tight, the baby truck is ready to roll!”

Xiang Zhen recorded the clip and forwarded it to the other two spirits.

Zhou Sicheng suggested, “Post it in the big group chat.”

Xiang Zhen asked, “Why?”

Zhou Sicheng replied, “To see if we can randomly scare Chu Ren to death.”

Xiao Guazi had the nerve to drive it, but would Chu Ren have the nerve to let his son ride? The moment he saw the video, he was bound to pace the floor in agony.

Xiang Zhen opened a private chat with Bai Qi: Is your husband really that faint-hearted? Little Bai Chu seems plenty brave, though.

Even though the little white snake was tiny, his courage appeared to have already surpassed his father’s—daring in thought and bold in deed.

Receiving the message, Bai Qi cast a thoughtful glance at the arborvitae tree out in the courtyard. During Chu Ren’s four years at university, he had snuck back countless times without reporting his movements, breaking off practically every low-hanging branch beneath that tree.

Was it because Chu Ren had met him at eighteen and been kept on too tight a leash?

Bai Qi asked Chu Ren, “Do you want to eat some snake gallbladder?”

Human e-commerce stores surprisingly sold snake gallbladders.

Chu Ren was baffled: “Why would I eat that?”

Bai Qi stated, “Because your gallbladder is too small—you’re a coward.”

Chu Ren protested: “…I am being prudent! Every single one of you acts completely fearless. If I didn’t balance things out, how could we even survive as a family?!”

Bai Qi replied, “We’d survive just fine.”

Bai Qi gestured for his son to come over, pulled out a pair of black spectacle frames without lenses, crouched down, and propped them onto the toddler’s nose bridge.

“You are a cobra baby now.”

Little Bai Chu lifted his tiny face—small nose, tiny mouth, oversized spectacle frames. Baby is a cobra now!

Bai Qi instructed, “That’s right. In the future, whenever you want to disguise yourself, or whenever you want to do something Daddy doesn’t allow, remember to put on your glasses first and become a formidable snake.”

Little Bai Chu nodded with absolute earnestness: Memorized!

Bai Qi offered a faint smile, turning to Chu Ren: “Feel better now?”

Chu Ren said, “How does that make me feel better?! A cobra isn’t scary in the slightest!”

Bai Qi pinned him with a cool, impassive stare.

Chu Ren changed his tune instantly: “When you wear glasses, it looks commanding. Our son doesn’t pull it off.”

Bai Qi explained, “From now on, as long as you watch whether our son is wearing glasses, you’ll know whether he’s scheming to cause trouble. You won’t have to fret during the rest of the time.”

Chu Ren had a sudden epiphany: It’s like the mice hanging a bell around the cat’s neck!

Though, as he recalled, the ending of that tale involved the cat hanging the bell elsewhere to create a diversion. If it worked for even a short while, it would already be a win.

On his first day back at work at the trade union, Xiang Zhen sat for an interview broadcast to all company employees, primarily outlining the union’s focus areas and expanded welfare packages for the coming year, inviting everyone’s collective supervision.

Recently, a tech firm had gone public, its market valuation skyrocketing. Zhou Sicheng had invested in the startup a decade ago, securing tens of billions in returns.

He had allocated a portion of those profits to back his spouse’s endeavors—directly funding the expansion of employee welfare.

President Zhou was truly generous, providing genuine capital to support his spouse!

Toward the close of the interview, the reporter suddenly remembered this development and asked Xiang Zhen: “What are your thoughts on President Zhou’s initiative?”

It was the very first time anyone had asked Xiang Zhen for his thoughts on Zhou Sicheng in an official professional setting.

Xiang Zhen was well aware that in public, his words represented his husband’s face. He could not spout nonsense and embarrass his spouse.

He couldn’t say “hubby”—he had to use official titles. He couldn’t merely say “my husband is handsome”—he had to cite classic references.

Xiang Zhen blinked: “My thoughts on President Zhou? Well, that story begins with Pangu creating the heavens and the earth…”

The reporter: “?”

That evening, the reporter compiled a twenty-thousand-word transcript and posted it onto the Zhou Fu Group’s internal forum.

The staff read through it and fell into collective silence: “…”

[I’ve read three pages, and I still don’t understand why this starts with Pangu creating heaven and earth.]

[Page four reveals it! Because after Pangu split the heavens and the earth, his body transformed into the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers—that was the origin of the sun. And President Zhou is—the sun!]

[Madam, just call him hubby already! You almost slipped up and said ‘hubby’ several times!]

[When discussing the corporate group: crisp, concise, to the point. When discussing her husband: an endless torrent of prose!]

[How strange. This is the first time I’ve seen someone flaunt their husband without feeling the slightest bit annoyed.]

[Because our President Zhou actually backs it up!]

[Dare to show annoyance and you’re done for. You’d get fired tomorrow for stepping into the building with your left foot first, and not even Madam would take your side.]

[Feels less like I’m clocking in to work and more like I’m here to comfortably ship my favorite couple. This has to be a trade union conspiracy.]

[Whoever first thought to ask Madam for her thoughts on President Zhou is an absolute genius!]

[Still a bit too businesslike! Pack the two of them off to do a ‘100 Questions for Couples’ questionnaire right now! I need to see it!]

The interview was reviewed and acknowledged by the employees, and reviewed by Zhou Sicheng as well.

“Wife, your literary flair is magnificent.”

Xiang Zhen insisted, “Hubby, I was only speaking the honest truth.”

No matter how many years slipped by, Zhou Sicheng would willingly move mountains just to hear his spouse say, “Hubby, you’re so handsome.”

Xiang Zhen beamed: “You like it? Then I’ll launch a dedicated column on the forum exclusively writing about you!”

Zhou Sicheng pondered for three seconds: “That won’t be necessary.”

He was terrified of seeing statements emerge along the lines of: “My husband is just too handsome; even if he hits me, I won’t divorce him.”

The general public had no idea how formidable spirits truly were.

There was no need for them to know. It was enough that he knew.