When Qi Shifeng showed up at the birthday party with Youyou, the birthday girl's family was extremely delighted.
The birthday girl's father, Qian Luo, was Qi Shifeng's childhood friend. The two had been on good terms since childhood. However, during college, Qian Luo went abroad to study.
He then developed his career abroad for some time and didn't return to China with his family until last year.
The birthday girl today was Qian Luo's eldest daughter, Qian Zhao, who was only one or two years older than Youyou.
Qian Luo was also aware of Qi Shifeng's ways in recent years. When he sent the invitation, he didn't expect Qi Shifeng to show up in person.
So he was naturally overjoyed to see that not only did Qi Shifeng come himself but also brought his son.
Qian Luo immediately stepped forward to greet them. "Shifeng, you're really giving me face today. I must give you a hug."
He was always fond of joking and was straightforward. Over the years abroad, he had developed an even more unrestrained personality.
Seeing Qi Shifeng, he immediately opened his arms to give him a hug.
Qi Shifeng patted him and declined the hug. "Stop joking around. Where's Zhaozhao?"
Qian Luo didn't feel embarrassed at all. He smiled and retracted his hands. Then he bent down to pick Youyou up.
"I finally get to see my godson again. Come on, give godfather a kiss."
Qian Luo shifted his enthusiasm to Youyou. While saying he wanted Youyou to kiss him, he actually kissed Youyou first.
Youyou had no choice but to reciprocate by giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Then he seriously told him, "Godfather, don't act like this in the future. We're both men. It's not appropriate."
Qian Luo burst out laughing. "You're truly Qi Shifeng's son. Hahaha. Come on, godfather will take you to meet your sister."
After saying that, he carried Youyou off to find Qian Zhao to play with.
When they saw Qi Shifeng, many people came up to talk to him.
There weren't many people at the party today. They were all close friends of the Qian family and naturally knew Qi Shifeng.
Unable to break free for the moment, Qi Shifeng watched as Qian Luo carried Youyou towards the cake.
Qian Zhao had never seen Youyou before. Seeing her father carrying a little boy over, she widened her curious eyes.
"Zhaozhao, this is little brother Youyou. He's here today to wish you a happy birthday."
Qian Luo put Youyou down and introduced the two children to each other.
Youyou was very well - behaved. He handed over the gift and said, "Happy birthday to you."
But after taking the gift, Qian Zhao didn't look at it right away. Instead, she sized Youyou up. Her expression was hard to read. "You're Youyou?"
Youyou nodded generously. "Yes, I am."
Qian Luo winked at Qian Zhao beside them and whispered, "Zhaozhao, you can't be impolite."
Qian Zhao pouted. "Got it. I'll take little brother to play over there."
Saying so, she took Youyou's hand and walked into the house.
Qian Luo didn't think much of it. Seeing the two kids go inside to play, he turned back and walked towards Qi Shifeng.
"Where's the kid?"
Qi Shifeng immediately asked about Youyou's whereabouts.
"He's gone to play with Zhaozhao. Don't worry. There are people watching. There's no danger in the house. Shifeng, you're being too cautious."
Qian Luo joked.
He was in favor of hands - off parenting and naturally didn't agree with Qi Shifeng's meticulous attitude.
But Qi Shifeng ignored his joke and still insisted on going to check on Youyou.
Seeing that the two kids were playing with Lego and there was a nanny beside them, he finally felt relieved and returned to the main venue.
After he came back, Qian Luo joked again, "People always say that as long as the kids are alive when they're with their dads. I think they should take a look at you."
A grown man taking care of a child could truly be described as "perfect in every way".
Even his wife had expressed her envy in front of him.
She said that marrying such a husband was truly a blessing. He was not only handsome and wealthy but also so good at taking care of children.
He was a typical model husband.
"Kids are inherently a vulnerable and fearless group. They should be carefully taken care of."
Qi Shifeng didn't take his teasing to heart.
He himself had had an abnormal childhood, so when taking care of Youyou, he had really read a lot of books, attended many training classes.
He had even joined some parenting groups and seen many tragedies caused by careless parenting.
Youyou was truly a very well - behaved child, but even the best - behaved kids had curiosity.
And many tragedies happened because of curiosity.
So Youyou participated in various safety education programs every year.
Qi Shifeng also attached great importance to this in daily life.
Qian Luo laughed. "That's true. But don't let my wife hear this, or I'll have to kneel in the study tonight."
His wife was also a career - oriented woman. Usually, they shared the responsibility of taking care of the children.
Qian Luo was straightforward by nature, so it was inevitable that there would be some mistakes when taking care of the kids. His wife would sometimes get angry and think he was not being attentive.
However, they had fallen in love freely. Qian Luo had fallen head - over - heels in love with her at first sight and had chased her relentlessly. Their relationship was truly deep.
People around them who heard Qian Luo say this also laughed, and the topic naturally shifted from business to family.
Qi Shifeng rubbed his temples, finally relaxing.
When everyone had dispersed, Qian Luo finally couldn't help but ask him.
"I heard that Tingyu has also returned to China. So, do you two have any plans to get back together?"
Qian Luo had met Xu Tingyu twice.
The first time was at Qi Shifeng's wedding. He was the groomsman who had joked about the 200 - yuan fake ring.
However, he hadn't communicated with Xu Tingyu at all during the whole process.
The second time was when Qi Shifeng had been married for only one and a half years. Qian Luo had returned to China on business and had organized a temporary gathering of friends.
Since they were all friends, they had played until quite late.
At that time, all the married people had received calls asking about when the gathering would end, except for Qi Shifeng.
His phone hadn't rung even once from beginning to end.
At that time, Qian Luo had joked, "No way, no way. How can there be someone whose wife isn't worried at all? Is this the retribution for the 200 - yuan ring?"
This incident wasn't a secret among their friends. Of course, they also knew that the Qi family had later compensated Xu Tingyu with a lot of jewelry.
But the 200 - yuan ring had always been a thorn in their side.
Qi Shifeng had been drinking at that time. Hearing this, the fingers holding the wine glass had turned white, but he hadn't said a word.
Someone else had then chimed in, "Hey, offending your wife has no benefits. It was your fault in the first place. You should coax her."
"Yeah, girls are the softest - hearted. And I think Xu Tingyu is really gentle, sensible, and loves you very much. If you coax her, she will definitely forgive you."
"A real man can bend and stretch. Being mean to your wife isn't a sign of ability. Making your wife happy is the way to a good life."
"Right. In my opinion, call her right now and invite her to come and play with us. Brothers will order flowers and buy gifts for you right away."
Under the influence of alcohol, the guys began to cheer and egg him on.