The "royal palace" Ling Qi mentioned was the imperial palace. Although their relationship with the empire was good now, the situation with the little child’s father was still unclear. Keeping it quiet for now was the safer choice.
However, while they wouldn’t tell the imperial family, the royal family of the Sixth Planet still needed to be informed.
"Ningning, why don’t you tell your Uncle An Nuo about it?"
Ling Qi left this task to the little child himself. "An Nuo will probably be very interested in news about your father. If you can’t explain it clearly, your dad can help."
"Okay!"
The little child wanted to call his uncle right away, but after checking the time, he realized it was too late. Obediently, he said, "I’ll call Uncle during the day. He’s sleeping now!"
Auntie had said that going to bed early was good for your health!
The little child decided to call his aunt during the day and started counting on his fingers. "There’s so much to do tomorrow! I have to visit Brother, Uncle Lulu, Auntie Ai Wei, and play with my friends. Oh yeah, when is Lele coming back?"
"Lele will need some more time before he can come. Savi is teaching him right now."
"Lele can come here to study!"
As the little child kept insisting, Ling Qi watched him counting on his fingers and suddenly asked, "Ningning, you just woke up. With so much to do tomorrow, won’t you be tired?"
Hearing this, the little child immediately straightened his little chest and declared, "I’m not tired!"
When he had first woken up, his tummy had been a little uncomfortable from hunger, but after eating several bowls of food, he felt fine again. Not just fine—he was full of energy!
Ling Qi looked at his confident little pose but still said they’d need to observe him a bit more.
By bedtime, after drinking bone broth and eating another bowl of noodles, the freshly bathed little child was back in his small bed.
Propped up on a pillow, his chubby little legs crossed in a little boss-like posture, he asked, "Daddy, Uncle Ling Qi, don’t I look full of energy?"
Ling Qi and Zhan Xi exchanged a glance, silently coming to the same decision.
Turning back to the little child with his folded chubby legs, they asked, "Ningning, do you want to take a look at your diary?"
"Why are you looking at the calendar?"
The little child asked carelessly, "Does Ningning need to check the calendar when going out to play?"
Zhan Xi didn’t answer, just handed him the calendar. The moment he saw it, the little guy’s chubby folded legs flopped down in shock. He stared at the calendar in disbelief, his tiny voice trembling: "Daddy, how… how is tomorrow the first day of school?!"
Ningning hadn’t even gone to the palace to pay New Year’s respects again yet!
The little child was utterly distraught. He glared at the calendar, desperate to switch to one without a school start date: "Daddy, Ningning doesn’t wanna go to school! Ningning wants to stay home and play."
"If you don’t want to go to school, I’ll tell your father, and he’ll take you away to teach you himself."
With that one sentence from Zhan Xi, the child swallowed back all his protests.
He thought about life at home: Sure, he had to go to school, but Daddy and Uncle Ling Qi took care of him, and he had other kids to play with.
If his birth father took him away: Ningning would still have to study—but with no one to look after him. Instead, he’d have to take care of his father, cook his own meals, and do his own laundry.
Both scenarios filled the little child with sorrow.
Sitting on his small bed, he looked up at his daddy and asked mournfully, "Can Ningning just not have a father anymore?"
Zhan Xi hesitated. "Probably not. Your mom picked this one for you, and you can’t exactly return him."
Hearing this, the little child’s heart broke even more.
That night, the grieving child clung to the stuffed toy his daddy had sewn for him and refused to wake up the next morning, even at 7:30.
When Daddy finally roused him, the little child’s face was droopy, eyes begging to flop back onto the pillow.
"Ningning, be good. If you go to school and learn more, you can finally translate those letters from your father. But if you misbehave, Daddy will let him take over."
Under all this pressure, the little child finally surrendered to fate and sat up, letting his daddy dress him.
As he got dressed, his chubby finger pointed at a freshly washed pair of little underwear drying overnight: "Ningning wants to wear those."
Those underwear were handmade by his birth father.
After days of cooking, cleaning, and waiting on that man, it was only fair that Ningning got to wear something his father had made for him.
"Ningning… maybe wear them tomorrow instead?"
Zhan Xi hesitated, eyeing the underwear. "Daddy will fix the stitching during the day. You can wear them then."
"No! Ningning wants them today."
"...Alright then."
Zhan Xi couldn't talk his little child out of it, so he went to fetch the little underpants: "Looks like your dad hasn’t done much handiwork—he really doesn’t know how to make underpants."
The stitching on these little underpants was terrible. Aside from the good fabric, there wasn’t a single other redeeming quality.
Zhan Xi was worried that if his little child wore them and they happened to rip or come apart somewhere, it’d be his own kid who’d end up embarrassed.
But no matter how concerned he was, he didn’t push too hard to stop him.
After all, this was a gift from the little child’s own father—it wouldn’t be right to spoil the sentiment.
The little child put on the underpants he’d insisted on, and his expression finally improved a bit. His dad carried him off to wash up, get ready, and then eat breakfast before heading to school.
Before leaving, the little child grabbed his own backpack and slipped the letter into his pocket.
On the way to school...
Zhan Xi figured that since the New Year celebrations were over, his little child must have collected quite a few red envelopes by now.
As he drove the electric tricycle, he asked, "Ningning, where’d you put all your red envelopes? You’re still little—it’s not safe to carry so many. How about letting Dad keep them for you?"
"No!"
The little child absolutely refused to let his dad take care of his red envelopes. Every time Dad "kept" them, the little child never got them back.
Zhan Xi kept trying to persuade him: "If you give them to Dad, I’ll save them up for you so you can use them to get a wife when you grow up. If you leave them with me now, I’ll even give you interest!"
The little child remained firm: "No, Ningning doesn’t want a wife."
Sitting in the tricycle’s front basket, his small voice was resolute: "Ningning has Brother. Don’t need a wife."
Getting a wife would cost him all the red envelopes he’d worked so hard to earn by kowtowing—way too unfair!
A smart little kid like him didn’t need a wife!
Listening to him, Zhan Xi couldn’t help but laugh: "You might not want a wife, but your Brother will. Your Brother is the Imperial Crown Prince—who knows what kind of wife he’ll end up marrying."
Given Huo Lin’s dad’s taste, she’d definitely be beautiful. But as for personality—would she be gentle and understanding, or lively and cute?
Whatever the case, he’d have to prepare a generous wedding gift for Huo Lin when the time came.
Zhan Xi’s thoughts drifted further and further off track...
The trip didn’t take long.
Zhan Xi didn’t dwell on the short delay. He decided to wait until after picking up his little child from school to continue their conversation about the red envelope issue.
"Sweetheart, Daddy will come get you after school. Go on inside now."
"Mm!"
The little child hoisted his backpack and walked into kindergarten.
Usually, he’d trot in eagerly, but today his steps were sluggish—and for good reason. His tiny underpants seemed to be struggling more and more to contain his plump little bottom.
