Ye Zhen bit the corner of the blanket. She wanted to cry but had no tears. She wanted to scream.

  Lu Beichuan, this bastard, refused to suffer even a little bit!

  She tossed and turned. She couldn’t fall asleep, but next to her, Lu Beichuan’s breathing had evened out. He was soundly asleep. Ye Zhen really wanted to kick him out of bed.

  Ye Zhen didn’t remember how long she stared at him until she fell asleep. Suddenly, there was movement next to her which woke her up.

  She rubbed her sleepy eyes. Just as she was about to ask, she saw Lu Beichuan’s figure vanishing from behind the door.

  Ye Zhen glanced at the clock on the wall. Only an hour had passed since she had gotten into bed to sleep.

  She threw back the blanket, got up, gingerly made her way to the door, opened it, and saw that the door to Zhouzhou’s room was open. Weak light spilled out from that room along with Lu Beichuan’s coaxing murmurs.

  They had been working on weaning Zhouzhou the past few days, but Ye Zhen and Mother Lu couldn’t keep a firm heart. As soon as Zhouzhou cried and fussed, they would compromise. Little by little, they had gotten further from succeeding in weaning Zhouzhou.

  However, Lu Beichuan wouldn’t spoil Zhouzhou and didn’t give in. He came home on time every night to feed Zhouzhou the food that Aunty Yue had prepared.

  Zhouzhou’s act of crying and acting cutely spoiled worked so well for Mother Lu and Ye Zhen, but it didn’t work at all in front of this strict father. When he was throwing too big of a tantrum, Lu Beichuan would grab his hand and slap it, which would successfully intimidate him into stopping.

  Under this fierce coercion, Zhouzhou didn’t dare to rebel against his father.

  When he saw Lu Beichuan, it was like a mouse seeing a cat. He couldn’t be more well-behaved. If his father told him to open his mouth and eat, then he would do just that. When Lu Beichuan told him to stop crying, he really would stop crying. Lu Beichuan’s command was much more effective than Ye Zhen and Mother Lu coaxing him and tempting him with toys.

  However, Ye Zhen was worried. If he used this approach to teach Zhouzhou how to behave, would their son not be close to him when he grew up?

  Ye Zhen leaned against the doorway. She watched Lu Beichuan holding Zhouzhou and carefully patting his back. He was holding the milk bottle behind his back and by Zhouzhou’s mouth. Zhouzhou was sleepily resting his head. on Lu Beichuan’s shoulder. Perhaps, it was because the lighting was too dim. Zhouzhou didn’t seem to notice that the person holding him and coaxing him was the father that he usually found frightening. He seemed completely at ease right now with an arm around Beichuan’s neck. While biting the milk bottle, he was still quietly sobbing. It was obvious that he had recently cried.

  As Lu Beichuan held Zhouzhou, he touched his forehead and gently patted him on the back to coax him to sleep. His tone was gentle. He was completely different from the strict father image he had during the day.

  Zhouzhou gradually stopped sobbing after being coaxed for a long time. Leaning on his father’s shoulder, he slowly fell asleep.

  Seeing that Zhouzhou had fallen asleep, Lu Beichuan put him down in the crib, covered him with the blanket, and kissed him on the forehead.

  Ye Zhen tiptoed into the room. She glanced at the sweetly sleeping Zhouzhou. There were still tears on his long eyelashes. She quietly asked, “What happened?”


  Lu Beichuan hugged his wife and kissed the top of her head. In a lowered voice, he answered, “It’s nothing. I heard him cry. Maybe it’s because he’s hungry. I made him milk. You can go back to bed first.”


  The mood was just right under the dim light.

  Ye Zhen pulled Lu Beichuan’s face towards her and kissed him. “You’re usually so strict with him. I was worried that you don’t like him.”


  “You and Mom have almost spoiled him rotten. Of course I have to be stricter one.” Lu Beichuan joked with her, “Who was the one that said she would be a strict mother back then? And said that she wouldn’t let him go down a crooked path? That same person so easily feels distress for him and keeps spoiling and pampering him. Who’s the one that won’t let me discipline him?”


  He was using this to tease her again.

  Ye Zhen pouted. “When do I keep you from disciplining him? He’s your son. You can discipline him however you like, but you have to be careful. Don’t go too far. He’s so scared of you. What if he becomes estranged from you when he grows up?”


  “Don’t worry, I know how to handle this.”