Zhai Yaohui and Miao Jing weren’t old fools. They could see the hard work that Qiao Nan put in for the three children.

  Even though the three children couldn’t speak Chinese well yet, Qiao Nan would switch between Chinese and English from time to time when teaching them to recognize things.

  What made the two elders relieved was that under Qiao Nan’s training method, aside from the triplets being confused at the start, they gradually got used to it and could guess that the same thing was being referred to in Chinese and English.

  Actually, Qiao Nan figured out this method of education in her dream. To put it more accurately, it was her master, Lin Yuankang, who had taught this to Qiao Nan.

  Qiao Nan initially felt that she had given the children too much pressure. While she paid attention to the children’s language-learning environment, had she started too early?

  Thankfully, the facts later proved that her triplets seemed to have adapted well, although Qiao Nan wasn’t sure about other children.

  “Mom, carry me.”

  \r \r \r

  Children grew up quickly. To Qiao Nan, in the blink of an eye, not only could the three children who were still crawling around like worms yesterday stumble around and rush forward like little ducks now, but they had also grown teeth and could call out to their mother for her to hug them.

  Zhai Sheng glanced at Er Bao, who loved to act like a spoiled child, and said in disdain, “Your mom’s not carrying you. You’re too fat.”

  Er Bao blinked, as if not understanding what his dad meant.

  After thinking for a while, Er Bao seemed to understand it a little. He lowered his head and used his small hands to touch the flesh on his body seriously before answering, “Grandma. Jiajia. Said. Er Bao. Good.”

  The three children didn’t know how to say long sentences now. They could only utter single words at a time. Er Bao spent a little more time saying this broken sentence. It wasn’t considered easy for him to express all the meaning in his words.

  “Yes, how is our Er Bao fat? Children look better if they grow up like this. Our Er Bao’s just right. He’s not fat at all.” Miao Jing was the first to step out and lecture the unscrupulous Zhai Sheng. He was really bold to bully her grandson like this. “Er Bao, I’ve cut an apple for you. Shall we go and eat it now?”

  Er Bao shook his head stubbornly. “No. No…” Er Bao repeated this word a few times and sprayed his saliva on Miao Jing’s face. “Eat. Heavy. Mom. Carry.”

  What Er Bao meant was that if he ate the apple, he would become heavier. He wanted his mom to carry him, not have fruits. “Give. Da Da. San San.” He wasn’t going to eat it. Da Bao and San Bao could help him eat it. Yes, if the two of them ate his apple, Er Bao wouldn’t mind it at all.

  “Okay, I’ll carry you.” Had it not been for Zhai Sheng stopping her, Qiao Nan would have long carried Er Bao, this little fatty. After the three children grew up and had strength in their legs, Qiao Nan rarely carried them. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to but she didn’t dare to. The children were still young and insensible. Once they encountered something exciting, their strength of flapping and moving around wasn’t something that ordinary people could withstand.

  This was almost the same situation for the three children. If they kicked about in Qiao Nan’s arms, Qiao Nan would fall together with them.

  This made Qiao Nan slowly develop the habit of not carrying children. To them, having a mother carry them became more attractive and they became infatuated.

  “Carry!” Upon hearing that his mom was willing to carry him, Er Bao’s eyes shone. He opened his arms, ran to Qiao Nan, and pounced on her legs. Qiao Nan placed her hands under Er Bao’s armpits. Yes, there was more flesh around Er Bao. “Don’t move around. Er Bao has grown up. If Er Bao moves around, I can’t carry you.”

  “No, no.” Er Bao sat on Qiao Nan’s lap obediently and waved his chubby hands, signaling that he wouldn’t move around. After that, Er Bao pointed to a fairy tale book on the coffee table. “Mom, read.”

  Qiao Nan naturally wouldn’t stop her children from reading books. They were probably influenced by blood ties, but Da Bao and Er Bao only liked books where the characters were dressed in green military uniforms and wearing little green hats. Even if it was the same story and Qiao Nan had already repeated it several times, they didn’t seem to get tired of listening and would want to hear it again the next time.

  It was a really good thing to Qiao Nan that her son was so good-tempered and nostalgic. At least until now, she wasn’t in a hurry to find other fairy tale books for the three children. The three children hadn’t gotten tired of the ones at home.

  Er Bao leaned his head against his mom’s soft chest. An expression of enjoyment hung on his face as he kicked his legs. Both his expression and action told everyone how happy he was now. He could be as smug as he wanted and as happy as he wanted.

  The son was happy but the father felt uncomfortable in his heart. Zhai Sheng thought for a while. He put one hand between Qiao Nan and Er Bao, grabbed the fabric of Er Bao’s clothes, and pulled Er Bao out of Qiao Nan’s arms. Then, he placed him on his lap. “Your mom’s tired. I’ll carry you.”

  Er Bao expressed that he couldn’t understand why he suddenly switched places. After blinking a few times, he adapted to the fact that the person carrying him now had changed from his mom to his dad. Er Bao hesitated and looked at Qiao Nan. “Mom. Pain?” Er Bao didn’t know what tired was. He only felt that any uncomfortable feeling in this world should be called pain.

  Under Zhai Sheng’s threatening gaze, Qiao Nan held back her laughter and nodded reluctantly. “It’s a little painful.” If she didn’t tell her son that she was feeling pained, she was afraid that this man next to her would hold her down until she felt pain. After thinking for a while, Qiao Nan could only succumb to Zhai Sheng’s might and tell a white lie to her son.

  “Blow. Pain. Fly.” Er Bao pouted and wanted to blow out some air for Qiao Nan. However, Zhai Sheng pressed his head and turned it away. “Zhai Xin, how many times have I told you that blowing your saliva is something impolite? Your brother and sister never do this. Why are you so disobedient?”

  The three children were just a little over a year old. They were at an age with a lot of saliva. If Er Bao really blew at Qiao Nan, she would be sprayed with a lot of saliva. He wasn’t exaggerating at all.

  Er Bao became unhappy. He only allowed his mom to carry him.