Her heart melted as she looked at him. She crouched down to hug him and then held the little toy out to him.
"I bought you a toy, see what this is."
"A dinosaur~"
"And this one."
"A little car~"
"And this one too."
"Wow, a lollipop~"
"Do you like it?"
"I like it~"
"Do you want to thank sister?"
"Thank you, sister~"
The little fellow was so sweet-mouthed and cute. Tian Tian was completely enamored with him, stretching her face out towards him.
"Then do you want to give sister a kiss?"
Smack, Dou Bao kissed her on the cheek, making Tian Tian giggle.
"So fragrant!"
The first time she saw her, she was an arrogant and picky young lady. Later, upon further interaction, she found that she actually had quite a bit of compassion and empathy, but also carried a sense of noble distance.
Seeing her today, she seemed to have transformed into a girl next door.
Chen Dong Yang's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the two of them, and he smiled along with them.
Hui Hui, who was stir-frying in the kitchen, heard the sound and ran out with a spatula.
"Miss Jiang is here! Welcome, welcome. I'm stir-frying, and it will be ready soon. We can eat shortly. Please sit down first."
"Dou Bao, come down quickly. Don't tire Auntie."
Dou Bao excitedly showed off the two little toys to his mother.
"Mom, a dinosaur~ Sister bought it~"
Hui Hui said shyly, "Oh, you didn't have to, but you bought so many things. You've spent too much."
At this moment, Tian Tian felt that Hui Hui and Chen Dong Yang were quite complementary.
Although she was young and poor, she was worldly wise.
Chen Dong Yang was a man of technical skill, fierce in action and sparing with words.
One for the outside, one for the inside, a very traditional Chinese couple.
"We're friends, why be so polite? I like Dou Bao, so I wanted to come see him. You go busy yourself, don't mind me."
More people liking their son made a mother naturally happy.
Hui Hui smiled with great joy, "Alright, alright, I'll go get back to it. You sit first. Dong Yang, pour Miss Jiang some water."
Chen Dong Yang poured her a glass of plain water and placed it in the center of the coffee table to prevent Dou Bao from knocking it over.
Then he extended his hands to Dou Bao, "Chen Baba, let sister rest."
Dou Bao pounced on his feet and landed, "Little car, little car~ Chen Baba, play with me with the little car."
Chen Dong Yang squatted down and played with him.
It was Tian Tian's first time in this modest home, and she couldn't help but look around.
The rented apartment was always simple. The interior walls were just whitewashed. A green fan hung from the ceiling in the center of the living room. There was a set of outdated leather sofas, a coffee table, and two small stools.
The rest were even simpler small pieces of furniture, everywhere exuding the hardship of their lives.
But fortunately, Hui Hui was virtuous and kept everything neat and spotless, making it not feel unpleasant.
Tian Tian sat on the sofa and watched Chen Dong Yang dote on Dou Bao. With nothing to do, she made conversation.
"Has Dou Ya gotten off work? Is he coming?"
Chen Dong Yang looked up at her, "He heard you invited him and agreed immediately. He should be here soon. That cup of water is yours."
Tian Tian picked up the teacup and held it to warm her hands.
It was already March of the lunar calendar, and it was still cold in Nancheng. Dou Bao's clothes were a bit small, and when he crouched down to play, a large section of his waist was exposed.
After a bout of aimless thought, Chen Dong Yang picked up Dou Ya, took off his shoes, and placed him on the sofa.
Dou Bao sat in the middle, with the two of them on either side. Dou Bao rolled the little car back and forth on Tian Tian's lap.
Looking at his small, cute hands, Tian Tian suddenly felt that she was indeed getting older. It seemed it was time to find someone to date seriously and have a child.
Freedom and loneliness always went hand in hand.
She lacked neither money nor freedom, but gradually she began to experience loneliness.
A life accompanied by a lover and children, like this, should be the ultimate destination for every woman.
"Why does he call you Chen Baba?"
After a pause, her mind went blank, and she suddenly asked this question, but immediately regretted it.
"I didn't mean anything by it, I just..."
Chen Dong Yang knew she didn't mean anything by it and explained indifferently.
"His father passed away before he was born. It's perhaps human nature; babies start calling parents 'mama' or 'dada' within a few months. It felt inappropriate to have him directly call me 'Baba', so he calls me 'Chen Baba'."
Tian Tian coughed, "I'm sorry..."
Chen Dong Yang remained his usual indifferent self, "It's fine."
Without Hui Hui present, the atmosphere between the two felt a bit odd.
Fortunately, Dou Ya arrived in time.
Seeing Tian Tian, he became as excited as a big fool.
Tian Tian also felt a sense of familiarity seeing him.
They greeted each other enthusiastically. Seeing her smile so happily at Dou Ya, Chen Dong Yang couldn't help but scratch his nose.
It seemed he would never be able to interact very casually with women.
Dou Ya pulled a small stool and sat in front of Tian Tian, excitedly recounting the renovation progress of Wu Shuang's house.
They chatted happily, with back-and-forth conversation.
Before long, Hui Hui brought several dishes to the table.
"Dou Ya is here too? What perfect timing, the food is ready. Let's all eat."
Both Dou Ya and Hui Hui were good conversationalists, and with them around, the meal had a decent atmosphere.
They were all home-style dishes, but they ate happily. After more than an hour, the meal ended.
Although it was still early, Tian Tian said she had to leave.
Her gesture of good intentions was enough, and she shouldn't overstay her welcome.
Hui Hui didn't try to keep her, as Dou Bao needed to sleep, and she was already walking around the room cradling him to lull him to sleep.
Dou Ya was going to clear the dishes and wash them. Chen Dong Yang said, "Then I'll walk you downstairs."
After bidding farewell to everyone, the two of them went downstairs.
As they walked towards the car, Tian Tian let out a sigh of relief.
Chen Dong Yang caught her action and felt quite sorry for her.
He had received her help, and now he was adding the burden of extra social interaction.
"What have you been busy with lately?"
With a person's distance between them, Chen Dong Yang suddenly spoke.
Tian Tian glanced at him. As night fell, the streetlights cast a dim yellow glow, enveloping his features in a warm, yellow light, making him look even more handsome.
She averted her gaze, "Drawing design drafts. What else could I be doing? There's a competition for emerging designers in the industry. It's the second year this year, do you know about it?"
Speaking of his professional field, Chen Dong Yang nodded.
"Did you sign up?"
Tian Tian said yes. "Did you sign up too?"
Chen Dong Yang also nodded.
After all, winning an award in this competition not only came with a substantial cash prize but also greatly enhanced one's resume. Any designer with a bit of ambition would likely participate.
"Now I have another competitor."
Tian Tian said with a smile, making a joke.
"You seem quite busy; do you still have time to participate in the competition?"
Chen Dong Yang answered truthfully, "I'm short on money. Life has to go on."
Tian Tian was speechless and paused again.
"Your workload is so huge, where do you get so much inspiration? Have you figured out the designs for the competition?"