The More Fathers, the Better

The morning mist shrouded the buildings of Cinan. The streetlights hadn't gone out yet, and white steam rose from the breakfast carts. The damp, cold wind mingled with the honking of the early morning buses in the distance.

Today was the day before the holidays.

Shen Nian didn't work out today either. Ever since he started sleeping with Xia Yanchun, he had become increasingly lazy.

Well, one always has to make choices. He clearly knew his priorities between getting a full five hours of sleep with Chunbao and sparing an hour to exercise.

Besides, he didn't really need to work out anymore. Exercising was just to achieve a healthy and strong body, a goal he had obviously already met.

At six o'clock, Shen Nian deliberately hugged Xia Yanchun tightly to wake her up. After her post-sleep whining subsided, he muttered in her ear.

"It's six o'clock, time to get up."

"Oh..."

Xia Yanchun wanted to pretend to have morning crankiness, but then decided against it. The phone alarm was about to go off anyway.

She sat up together with Shen Nian and slipped into her slippers. "I'll go back and brush my teeth first..."

"Alright."

At this time, Shen Yue wasn't even awake yet, so she could walk out openly. The first time she stayed overnight at Shen Nian's place, she had been terrified.

Brushing teeth and washing face...

There was no breakfast for Shen Nian today, either.

It looked like it was going to rain today. There were many clouds in the sky. Back in middle school, her geography teacher seemed to have explained why it always rained during the winter holidays—something about a certain wind blowing—but she had somewhat forgotten.

In the south, continuous drizzle was quite common in winter, and even more so in spring. Not seeing the sun for three or four days was the norm.

Rain meant it would be cold. When Xia Yanchun went out to the balcony, the freezing wind immediately pierced through her.

She would have to wear four layers of clothes.

Xia Yanchun always wrapped herself up tightly in winter. The innermost layer would be a short-sleeved or long-sleeved base layer, then a thinner second layer, followed by a warm hoodie or sweater, and finally a nice-looking coat on the outside.

For pants, it was a simple two-layer set. Her shoes were still regular canvas shoes, but the socks inside were swapped from thin lace socks to cotton ones. However, Xia Yanchun felt there was no difference between the two; it would still be cold.

After getting ready, Xia Yanchun wrapped a scarf around her neck, put on fluffy earmuffs, and walked lightly into the corridor. Sure enough, Shen Nian was already waiting outside.

"Today's high is only six degrees. Damn, is this really going to be the coldest year ever?"

"I don't know. It's mostly because of the rain and the wind, so it's normal to be a bit cold." Xia Yanchun tugged at Shen Nian's clothes. "How many layers?"

Shen Nian held up three fingers.

"Oh my, are you really not afraid of the cold? You should wear the earmuffs I bought you."

"I'm wearing a hoodie inside. It's pretty warm."

"Speechless."

Xia Yanchun couldn't even be bothered to complain. It was five degrees and he was only wearing three layers. Was he really not afraid of the cold at all?

They took the elevator down together.

It was even colder outside than Shen Nian had expected. Even he subconsciously shrank his neck.

"Cold, isn't it? I told you so."

"Tsk, tsk, it's alright." Shen Nian wagged his finger and zipped his jacket up higher. His jacket didn't have a fleece lining and was quite thin. To be honest, it was indeed a bit cold.

"Don't move," Xia Yanchun hummed. She took off her scarf and wrapped it around Shen Nian in three thick layers like a bread roll. "Here, wear this."

"Hiss, your scarf smells so nice. It's the scent of Chunbao..."

"...Gross."

"Fine, it actually stinks a bit."

"Get lost."

"I can't say it smells nice, and I can't say it stinks. Why are your standards so high?"

"Who asked you to say anything? Just wear it and stop talking so much."

"Oh ho, I'll say what I want."

Xia Yanchun shot him a sideways glance, feeling annoyed. It seemed she had no choice but to use that move to shut Shen Nian up.

She raised her hand in front of Shen Nian, pointed at him, then loosely clenched her fist and shook it up and down, her almond eyes narrowing into slits.

Now broadcasting on i-Nian TV.

Shen Nian instantly froze, not knowing what to say for a good while.

Damn it.

He decided that starting today, he would become a robot that only knew how to eat, completely free of desires. He would make Haji-Chun regret everything, embarking on a desperate journey to win her husband back... he forgot the rest.

The rain wasn't heavy, so there was no need to wear a raincoat. Shen Nian was in charge of driving the scooter, while Xia Yanchun was responsible for holding the umbrella in the back. Since the umbrella was easily blown by the wind, Shen Nian drove very slowly the whole way.

Shen Nian was wearing Xia Yanchun's scarf. Xia Yanchun secretly took a sniff; it seemed there really was a nice scent. After all, it had been touching her hair, so it was impossible for it not to have a hint of shampoo.

Shen Nian got lucky.

The morning was the English exam, which was a breeze. The afternoon's comprehensive science exam wasn't much harder either. The overall difficulty of this final exam was quite normal, except for the final physics question, which required a bit more thought.

But it didn't matter much.

The bell for collecting the papers rang, signaling the end of the first semester of their senior year.

They had dinner outside.

Originally, Shen Nian didn't even plan to come to the evening self-study session. However, Xia Yanchun was responsible for returning everyone's confiscated phones, so she had to be there.

She also had to collect the holiday safety receipt forms and whatnot. Being the class monitor just meant being a bit busier than the average student.

"Actually, you could just head back first. There's no need for you to stay with me," the understanding Sister Chun said.

"Then I'd have to drive back here to pick you up later."

"So what? The round trip is only a few minutes."

"Isn't that too much trouble?" Shen Nian quietly snatched a piece of char siu from Xia Yanchun's bowl, popped it into his mouth, and chewed. He said nonchalantly, "Hey, I'll just wait for you at school. We don't have classes anyway, so I can just play games."

"Suit yourself, suit yourself."

Although the boarding students still had to attend the evening self-study, most of them would just play on their phones at their desks.

Having finished the final exams, everyone completely relaxed. Normally, not being in the classroom by six-thirty was considered late, but today, everyone didn't gather until seven-thirty. Some people even brought instant noodles to eat in the classroom.

But no one scolded them. It was technically already the holidays; they just couldn't leave yet.

The multimedia projector was playing a ten-thousand-word movie recap of a sci-fi film. No one knew who had put it on.

After confirming that everyone was present, Xia Yanchun stood at the podium and handed out everyone's phones.

"Your king has returned!" Ma Mingfan was already booting up his game with true dedication.

"Hey, are you two going to the tuck shop?" Chen Dong looked back at Shen Nian and tilted his chin up.

"Your treat?"

"Guaranteed."

"Buy me a bag of LeTV chips then," Shen Nian grinned.

"No problem. The LeTV you want is already at the tuck shop. Later, just give the boss six bucks and you can take it for free."

"..."

What kind of VIP free viewing was this? This guy had truly mastered the essence of certain domestic video streaming apps.

Shen Nian waved his hand. "Since I handed out snacks to you guys, just bring it up for me."

"Alright, daddy will spoil you this once."

Chen Dong ran off nimbly. Even if he left the classroom, no one would care.

When he came back up, a large bag of Lay's was placed on Shen Nian's desk. He also brought a bag of tomato-flavored Copico chips for Ma Mingfan.

Ma Mingfan was quite sensible. "You are my daddy!"

"You're not going to block the bridge, are you?"

"I won't."

"Then I'm relieved." Chen Dong smiled.

Ma Mingfan also smiled.

He really wouldn't do any bridge camping. He always played Naruto, playing passively from start to finish and then refusing rematches. Sometimes, daddies were just consumable items, and the more you had, the better.