My Years as the Pure Love Interest at the Noble Academy

Shen Yujing's response was met with silence.

It was Cheng Chen who stepped in with a smile, saying, "Yujing is still so good at joking."

Shen Yujing: "?"

He wasn’t joking.

Of course, for now, no one believed him, and the conversation quickly shifted to what they should cook for lunch.

Meng Shang said, "Although I’ve never cooked before, I’ve helped my wife in the kitchen. I remember a few simple dishes we could try."

"Alright," Jiang Chun nodded in agreement. "Let’s start by checking what’s in the fridge."

In the end, Cheng Chen stayed in the living room to watch over the four kids while the other three dads headed to the kitchen to figure out what they could make for lunch.

They opened every compartment of the fridge, revealing a decent variety of ingredients: several types of leafy greens, two cuts of meat, a few tomatoes, two full rows of eggs, a large bag of ham sausages, some seaweed, and plenty of seasonings.

However, Shen Yujing was disappointed. There was no chicken in sight, so he couldn’t showcase his cooking skills.

Meng Shang, relying on his memory, began picking out ingredients confidently. "We can make scrambled eggs with tomatoes, shredded pork with green peppers, stir-fried cucumber with ham, sautéed baby bok choy, and a seaweed egg drop soup."

His tone was so assured that it inspired confidence in the others.

Shen Yujing and Jiang Chun decided to trust Meng Shang and started washing and chopping vegetables to assist him.

Though they were a bit clumsy and inexperienced, everyone was serious about preparing a homemade lunch for their children.

The live chat began to cheer them on, but—

[Go, Jiang Chun! You’re a champion! Even in cooking... Wait, don’t use so much seaweed! It’ll expand and become a disaster!]

[Shen Yujing, be careful with that knife! Don’t rub your eyes after handling the peppers!]

[Meng Shang seems so reliable... Oh no, are you not wearing your contacts? There’s a huge piece of eggshell in the egg mixture! Can’t you see it?]

Someone ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‍summed it up mournfully:

[This isn’t going to end well, is it?]Nôv(el)B\\jnn

[As long as it’s edible... as long as it’s edible...]

The camera shifted to the living room.

Since Little Qi was the most energetic of the children, Cheng Chen, as his father, naturally took charge of keeping an eye on the group.

At the moment, Little Qi was running around the living room, holding an Ultraman toy high in the air.

The other three children, however, were much calmer.

Jerry sat quietly on the couch, clutching a small bunny plushie and tugging at its ears.

Song Chaochao confidently walked over to the corner play area and climbed onto the swing.

Her feet barely touched the ground, and she gripped the swing ropes tightly, trying hard to get herself moving.

Jiang Qi stood nearby, watching with wide eyes filled with envy but too shy to approach.

Song Chaochao noticed her gaze and looked up. "Do you want to play?"

Jiang Qi stared at her but didn’t respond, nervously fidgeting with the hem of her shirt and tucking her hands underneath.

Song Chaochao continued, "I’ll let you have the swing, but you have to push me for a while first."

Jiang Qi hesitated but eventually walked behind Song Chaochao and gave the swing a gentle push.

In a soft voice, she said, "You have to keep your promise."

"Of course," Song Chaochao replied with a smile. "I’ve been teaching my dad since I was little that you always keep your promises."

The live chat erupted with laughter.

[Hahahaha at first glance it sounds fine, but when you think about it, it’s hilarious!]

["I’ve been teaching my dad since I was little" hahahaha]

[The best part is how serious Chaochao sounds—it’s impossible not to believe her!]

[Shen Yujing: ???]

[Once again, the family hierarchy is crystal clear hahaha]

Jiang Qi dutifully pushed Song Chaochao for five minutes, after which Song Chaochao hopped off and said, "Your turn."

Jiang Qi carefully climbed onto the swing.

Just then, Little Qi, who had been running around with his Ultraman toy, suddenly noticed what was happening and rushed over.

"I’m a boy, so I’m stronger. Let me push her," he declared.

Song Chaochao immediately objected. "No."

This was her deal with Jiang Qi—Jiang Qi had pushed her, so it was only fair that she pushed Jiang Qi in return. Little Qi had no place in their agreement.

But Little Qi ignored her and grabbed the swing ropes to start pushing.

Song Chaochao wasn’t about to back down. She grabbed the ropes too, pushing alongside him and saying, "We don’t need your help!"

Neither of them let go, and the swing began to sway higher and higher. Jiang Qi, frightened, gripped the ropes tightly and whispered, "Stop pushing... please stop..."

But Song Chaochao and Little Qi were locked in a battle of wills, neither willing to give in.

Cheng Chen had stepped away to fetch a water bottle from the kitchen, and by the time he returned, the situation had spiraled out of control.

Just as it seemed like Shen Yujing’s daughter and his own son were about to come to blows over the swing, Jiang Qi fell off and landed on the floor, crying loudly.

Little Qi and Song Chaochao froze, unsure of what to do.

Cheng Chen hurried over, scolding his son while picking up Jiang Qi to check for injuries. Thankfully, there were no visible wounds—she was just shaken up.

He tried to comfort her, but her cries only grew louder, quickly drawing the attention of the three dads in the kitchen.

They abandoned their cooking and rushed to the living room.

Jiang Chun scooped up his daughter, wiping her tears as he asked, "What happened?"

Cheng Chen, realizing his son was likely at fault, quickly apologized and raised his hand to spank Little Qi. "What’s wrong with you? I told you to behave! Can’t you be more responsible?"

Little Qi, tears welling up in his eyes, protested, "I didn’t mean to!"

The live chat chimed in:

[Kids this age need to be disciplined, whether it was intentional or not.]

[I always thought Little Qi was the most troublesome. Boys are just so rowdy.]

[Hey, that’s not fair. Song Chaochao was involved too. Why is it all Little Qi’s fault?]

[Exactly. I think Song Chaochao’s not owning up to her part. If we’re talking about parenting, Shen Yujing’s the one to blame, isn’t he?]

As Cheng Chen raised his hand again, ready to discipline Little Qi further, Song Chaochao hesitated for a moment before running over and grabbing his arm. "Uncle... it’s not just his fault. You should hit me too."

The live chat exploded with laughter.

[First Little Qi, then herself—Song Chaochao’s got it all figured out hahaha]

[Fair and just Song Chaochao!]

[What happened to those who said she wouldn’t admit her mistake? Where’s your apology now?]

[Honestly, I don’t think Song Chaochao did anything wrong. She and Jiang Qi had an agreement, and Little Qi barged in.]

...

The chat was in chaos, and so was the scene in the living room.

Jiang Qi, who seemed so quiet and gentle, was now wailing at the top of her lungs.

Cheng Chen felt awkward. After all, Song Chaochao was Shen Yujing’s daughter, and he couldn’t exactly scold her. Plus, knowing his son, Little Qi was probably the main culprit.

Shen Yujing frowned and turned to Song Chaochao. "Chaochao, tell me what happened."

After Song Chaochao explained, everyone finally understood the sequence of events.

Jiang Qi, now calmed down by Jiang Chun, was still sniffling, her eyes red as she clung to her father’s leg.

Shen Yujing patted Song Chaochao on the shoulder and said, "Hey."

Song Chaochao walked over to Jiang Qi and said, "I’m sorry."

Jiang Qi peeked out from behind her father, looked at Song Chaochao for a few seconds, and then whispered, "It’s... it’s okay."

Cheng Chen, following Shen Yujing’s lead, patted his son on the shoulder.

Little Qi didn’t move, instead asking tearfully, "Why are you hitting me again?"

Cheng Chen: "..."

Why does it seem like the intelligence of other people's daughters and their own sons is different?

So Cheng Chen's hand landed on Little Qi's head this time, and he said, "You go and apologize too!"

Little Qi pursed his lips, looking reluctant as he walked forward.

Jiang Qi immediately pulled her head back, clearly even more unwilling to face Little Qi.

Jiang Chun helplessly reached out and pulled her daughter out from behind her, saying, "Dad's here, he won't dare to bully you. How about we listen to what Little Qi has to say, okay?"

Jiang Qi hesitated for a few seconds but eventually nodded.

Little Qi looked at Jiang Qi and said, "I'm sorry."

Conflicts between children come and go quickly. Just moments ago, they were crying and making a fuss, but in the blink of an eye, they had made up.

This time, Jiang Qi was sitting on the swing, and Little Qi stood obediently behind her, pushing the swing while Song Chaochao stood nearby, diligently supervising.

If the swing went a little too high—

"Little Qi, be careful! Don't let her fall again."

If the swing went too low—

"You're not even pushing properly, are you?"

Little Qi felt miserable. He began to regret not sticking to playing with his Ultraman toys and instead coming here to cause trouble.

The comments section also became much more harmonious.

【They're just kids, it's normal for them to have little fights and friction.】

【They're playing together just fine now, so some of the commenters should stop overanalyzing things with adult mindsets.】

【Little Qi looks reluctant, but he's still dutifully pushing the swing. This scene is so funny.】

【Isn't it all thanks to Song Chaochao? Peace is all thanks to our little treasure, Chaochao!】

This time, Cheng Chen went back to the kitchen, and the responsibility of supervising the kids fell to Shen Yujing.

The scene before him was heartwarming, but Shen Yujing soon noticed something amiss.

Seeing Jerry still sitting alone in the corner of the sofa, Shen Yujing, adhering to the principle of fairness, decided not to leave any child out.

He walked over to Song Chaochao and said, "Can you take Jerry to play with you? Look at him sitting there all alone; he seems so lonely."

Song Chaochao followed Shen Yujing's pointing finger and nodded, saying, "Okay."

Then Song Chaochao picked up a building block and walked over, saying, "Jerry, do you want to build blocks with us? We can make a really big castle."

Song Chaochao held a block in her left hand and extended her right hand toward Jerry, clearly inviting him.

The mixed-race boy had strikingly beautiful blue eyes and long eyelashes. He looked up at Song Chaochao, hesitated for a few seconds, but eventually reached out and took her hand.

The comments section completely derailed.

【OMG, I feel guilty, but I'm shipping these two kids.】

【Chaochao is such a little angel, spreading love to everyone and making sure no one feels left out.】

【How can such a young child be so well-behaved and considerate? She's just too adorable.】

【Childhood sweethearts in the making, folks. I'm guilty too, but I'm the first to invest in this ship.】

...

At that moment, Song Chaochao held Jerry's hand and led him toward the pile of blocks near Shen Yujing.

For some reason, the more Shen Yujing looked at the scene, the more it bothered him.

It was as if he could already see his daughter in the future, holding the hand of some other guy and calling him "father-in-law"...

Ugh, no!

What kind of nonsense was this? Get out of his head!

Just as Shen Yujing was feeling annoyed, Song Chaochao suddenly stopped.

She let go of Jerry's hand, placed the block in Shen Yujing's hand, and said, "Dad, I brought him over. You play with him now."

Shen Yujing: "?"

Was that what he meant?

Jerry: "..."

Comments: ???