" humph, second brother in law... Don't try to scare me, my sister said that I should it more and grow up," said Yu Mai with a snort, the young boy who once was shy enough to look in his sister and brothers in law's eyes has now turned capricious. Not only did he start refuting them, but he has also gotten smarter and knew when and what he need to say " if I don't eat properly, how will I be able to grow up properly? "
"Oh look at that brother Liu, our little Mai has gotten so smart, hasn't he ?" said Ye Liu with a chuckle as he pinched Yu Mai's now chubby cheeks " hear him say all these witty remarks, where did the shy boy from two months ago? Didn't you say that second brother in law is always right, now you actually refuted me?"
"Okay that's enough, don't tease him anymore" when Shen Li saw that Yu Mai was pouting unhappily, though his blown-up cheeks and narrowed eyes made him look really cute as a squirrel " Mai, you are right...you are still young, you can eat as much as you want"
However, Yu Mai wasn't happy with just his eldest brother in law coaxing him so he ran to his sister and tattled about Ye Liu to Yu Dong " sister, second brother in law called me a little fatty, didn't you say that you like chubby kids and that I should eat more so that I grow up? Then why is my second brother-in-law making fun of me? "
Yu Dong has heard everything that went behind her but she still dotingly brought Yu Mai to her lap and acted as if she was surprised " is that so? Then second brother in law is a baddy. Don't worry, sister in law will hit him later on and teach him a lesson. How can he call our cute little Mai, fat? Mai is not fat at all "
Yu Mai blinked his big grape-like eyes and pursed his lips, as he leaned his head back against Yu Dong and shook his head " no don't hit him, second brother is so weak. Not chubby at all, if Sister hit him then second brother in law will hurt himself "
This time not only Yu Dong thought that Yu Mai was the cutest and sweetest child but also Ye Liu who suddenly looked sheepish as he watched Yu Mai act spoiled in their wife's arms.
Yu Dong wasn't going to hit Ye Liu anyway, so when Yu Mai asked her not to hit Ye Liu, she couldn't help but tease him " why? Weren't you angry at second brother in law because he called you a glutton?"
" then -then sister can hit him a little, " said Yu Mai as he pinched his forefinger and thumb as if to emphasise how much force Yu Dong should apply while hitting Ye Liu " don't - don't hit him more than that I'm not that angry just a little, a little bit "
This time Yu Dong couldn't help but laugh as she hugged Yu Mai and kissed his cheek " you little Mai, how can you be so cute!"
" hehe," Yu Mai who was hugged and kissed was really happy. He let his sister hug him as much as she wanted.
Seeing the scene in front of them both Shen Li and Ye Liu suddenly felt a little bitter, before they never regretted not having a child before but now suddenly they did. No woman was more beautiful than the one who loved little kids and could take care of them, the two have seen Yu Dong play with Little bun and Yu Mai before and every time they saw her play with little bun, they couldn't help but blame their barren womb for letting them down, if they gave birth then their kids would be doted on just like Yu Mai and Little bun.
The thoughts of these two would have become even more depressing if not for Little bun who saw Yu Mai being hugged by his mommy and got jealous. He spread his arm out and cried " ah, ah !".
Only then did Ye Liu and Shen Li come out of their negative thoughts. The two of them looked at little bun who was fussing in Chen Mi's arms and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, what were they thinking? Wasn't little bun their son as well? So what if their womb couldn't give birth? Little bun was just like their son!
"Here let me carry him," said Yu Dong when she saw that Little bun was making a fuss, she asked Yu Mai to scoop the fish in the buckets that Ye Liu and Chen Mi brought from home after she lifted the net from the bottom of the river when the fish were densely packed on it " and what are you three doing here? Go and play in the river, a bit...I didn't bring you here to chatter. Go have a little fun, here take this bait, I added my secret recipe in it, if you want to catch fish just spread this on the bottom of the river and catch them once they gather around"
" we? Wife, you want us to play in the river ?" asked Shen Li feeling a bit awkward, he had never played in the river and now he was over twenty doing something so childish was really embarrassing for him.
" yea, the water is not too cold nor too warm, it's just perfect. Go and soak your feet in it, it's going to feel nice, I assure you" said Yu Dong as she ushered the three mers to play around.
Shen Li and Chen Mi were hesitant, thus the first one to roll his pants and take the net from Yu Dong. Because Yu Mai was too young Yu Dong didn't let him go in the river at night but Ye Liu and the others were adults so it was fine, After Yu Mai finished piling the fish in the bucket, Ye Liu took the piece of cloth and fishing net, and scattered the sticky rice given by Yu Dong on it.
" move slowly alright, don't rush or you will fall," warned Yu Dong when she saw him move closer to the middle of the river. Though the river water was deep for children it was fine for adults, Yu Dong wasn't worried about Ye Liu falling, even if he did end up falling he will only get wet and nothing more. Then she turned to look at Shen Li and Chen Mi before saying " what are you waiting for? Go jump in the river, play a bit"
" But we don't have a net," said Chen Mi a little embarrassed, they only had one net and that with brother Ye Liu, what can he and Brother Li do in the river without the net?
When Yu Dong heard his worries, she laughed" I didn't bring you two here to catch fishes! How much can we eat in a day? Just go and have fun and even if you want to catch something go and catch some snails, we might as well cook some savoury and spicy snails together with fish"
Shen Li and Chen Mi looked at each other, a helpless gaze flashed in their eyes but they were a little excited as well. So, the two too rolled their pants and stepped in the river.
Then they crouched down and carefully looked around for snails as moonlight illuminated the river surface making it easier for them to see clearly.
" oh, this is a big haul" Ye Liu's shout of pure glee broke the silence as he lifted his hands into the air and showed the net that was filled with fish. He had managed to catch a really big haul thanks to Yu Dong's miraculous bait.
There was a stunned silence followed by a loud plop and then water was splashing everywhere. Surprised everyone turned to look at the source of this sudden excitement and then Yu Dong burst out laughing, following her was Ye Liu and Shen Li, even little bun giggled when he saw his daddy sitting in the water with a blank expression on his face - it was just too funny.
Perhaps Shen Li was trying really hard to stop himself from laughing out loud because then he too lost his footing and then he too fell in the river as he flailed his arms around but that didn't stop his fall, and then he was sitting in the water just like Chen Mi.
Another round of laughter ensued after that.