The whisper that Si Jiangchen murmured in my ear was heard by Si Tong, who immediately demanded a reward from his father.
Si Jiangchen simply leaned his head against the car window, watching me blush as I explained to Si Tong that the reward Si Jiangchen gave me was exactly the same as his!
Si Tong pursed his still-pale little mouth and looked at me suspiciously. "Whispering means there's a secret! If Sister Xiaohe got the same thing as me, Dad wouldn't need to whisper... Then, Sister Xiaohe, tell me what reward Dad gave me?"
"Uh!!"
Who would have thought that a kid could have such a meticulous mind? I'm really not good at dealing with kids, so I had no choice but to look at Si Jiangchen for help.
Unexpectedly, that guy seemed to enjoy watching me embarrassed. He just squinted his eyes and smiled at me.
"Si... Si Jiangchen, you tell him!"
I couldn't help but reach out and grab the fingers Si Jiangchen had resting on the back of the seat. "Is the reward for Tongtong the same as mine?"
"Yeah."
Si Jiangchen's voice was deep and rich, filled with laughter as it rumbled from his nose. "I've allowed Si Tong to sleep in my courtyard today!"
"!!!"
"Wow! Dad is the best!!"
After hearing Si Jiangchen's words, Si Tong immediately cheered and jumped up, almost hitting his head on the car roof.
Si Jiangchen didn't say it like that just now. He only promised Si Tong that he would have dinner with him and that Si Tong could choose whatever he wanted.
However, Si Tong didn't care why the two rewards were so different. He was full of curiosity and longing for Si Jiangchen's courtyard.
"Can Tongtong sleep with Sister Xiaohe?"
Si Tong's eyes were bright, full of expectation.
"No."
Si Jiangchen shook his head. "You're a boy. You have to sleep by yourself."
"...... Wuwuwu..." Si Tong playfully burrowed into my arms, showing only one eye as he looked at Si Jiangchen. "Dad is also a boy, and Dad can sleep with Sister Xiaohe!!"
"Thud!"
I buried my head into the backrest of the front seat.
I'm so embarrassed! That scoundrel of a man, how could he say such a thing? Si Tong has seen me wake up from his bed...
"Sister Xiaohe also has to sleep by herself."
Si Jiangchen said seriously, "She asked for her own room, and Dad agreed."
"Really?!"
Sure enough, a kid's attention can shift very quickly. Si Jiangchen knows how to handle Si Tong just as well as he does me. Si Tong's eyebrows were almost flying up. "Then Tongtong also wants a room in Dad's courtyard!"
"Of course. You'll be the same as Sister Xiaohe."
Si Jiangchen's gaze passed over Si Tong and landed on me.
"Great! Great!! Then... Dad, where are we going now? Tongtong didn't eat enough at Aunt's place. I only had two small cakes."
Si Tong clapped his hands. His soft body lay on my lap as he looked out at the colorful street scene. "Let's go eat hamburgers! I've never eaten them... Ah! Forget it. Let's eat steak instead! Lobsters also seem good..."
Si Tong pointed at every restaurant that flashed by outside the car window.
In the end, on Ji Chen's suggestion - he was acting as the driver - the three of us chose a parent - child restaurant with local Beijing characteristics.
The blue - and - white futuristic design and the spiral food - serving method inside made Si Tong extremely happy. He didn't want to sit in the private room that Ji Chen had booked for us at all. He grabbed my hand and insisted on going to the main hall to watch the astronaut show.
The astronauts slid down from the high ceiling and randomly distributed some food to the guests watching the show.
Si Tong was given a pink pig mousse, while I was given a drink that looked like a star - filled, powder - blue sparkling water.
Si Tong was very satisfied. He ate the mousse while walking back to the private room with me.
Si Jiangchen had just finished smoking a cigarette. When he saw us come back, he waved his hand in front of him a couple of times.
"Dad, do you think I should eat this pig's ear first or its butt? Hahaha."
Si Tong squeezed next to Si Jiangchen and waved a transparent spoon in front of the cake...
"Xiaohe, why did you get this drink?" Si Jiangchen glanced at me.
"It's really delicious. Do you want to try it?" I had already taken a big sip. It was sweet, cold, and had a hint of mint.
I walked over to him and held the cup out in front of him.
"Do you like anything sweet?" Si Jiangchen answered my question with another question.
"Yeah! Life is already so bitter. How can I live without something sweet!"
My head was a bit hot, and I just blurted it out. Seeing that he wasn't interested in the drink in the cup, I took it back and took another big sip.
Suddenly, Si Jiangchen tightened his fingers and pulled me towards him by my arm. Then he raised his face, and his thin lips, with a hint of tobacco smell, pressed against mine.
Si Tong is still here!!
I immediately struggled to end this kiss that made my face flush and my heart race, but Si Jiangchen didn't give me a chance at all. His fingers locked my body like shackles, and his lips lingered on mine.
"Dad, Tongtong can't see!"
The moment we kissed, Si Jiangchen had already covered Si Tong's eyes with his big hand. The little guy couldn't see the pink pig in front of him and immediately protested loudly.
"Xiaohe, you're the sugar in my life... Hmm?"
Finally, after enjoying himself enough, Si Jiangchen let me go. At the same time, he also removed his hand from Si Tong's little face.
"Where's the sugar?"
As soon as Si Tong regained his sight, he immediately looked up at me.
My lips were red and glistening after being "kissed" by Si Jiangchen. When the little guy's big, black eyes looked at me, I couldn't help but cover my mouth.
"The pig is going to melt!" Si Jiangchen was in a good mood and helped me out of the awkward situation.
Sure enough, Si Tong was just a kid. His attention immediately went back to the cake. "It won't melt. This isn't an ice - cream cake, okay."
Thanks to this interruption, I finally got out of my embarrassing situation.
Taking small sips of the drink in the cup, I felt my head getting a bit dizzy again. The place where Si Jiangchen had kissed me was itchy, and even my heart felt itchy.
"Drink less. The alcohol content is quite high..."
Before Si Jiangchen could finish his sentence, I "thumped" and fell into his arms.
"Why... didn't you say so earlier? I'm... allergic to alcohol..."
I mumbled groggily. Not only was my heart itchy, but my whole body was itchy too...
My allergy to alcohol wasn't congenital.
A few years ago, in order to escape, Grandpa and I were trapped in the mountains without food or water for a long time. We were so hungry that we would have even eaten tree bark.
That's when I developed my severe anemia and hypoglycemia.
Later, we escaped to a village. There happened to be a wedding there, and they invited us to the wedding banquet. I drank a whole big cup of the homemade liquor in the countryside. That night, my whole body was covered in red rashes. I was so itchy that I wanted to peel off a layer of my own skin...