"Let’s get started then," said Zhang Xuehan.
Her response came from Xiao Yu, who struck an Ultraman pose, shouted "Charge!" and dashed down like a little firecracker.
Wu Yaxi also turned to Zhouzhou and said, "Zhouzhou, let’s go pick some strawberries."
Zhouzhou nodded and took a step toward the strawberry field, but there was a slight slope from their spot down to the field, and Zhouzhou seemed hesitant to go down on his own.
Before Zhouzhou had the chance to turn around and look for Mommy for help, Wu Yaxi, in her childish voice, said, "Zhouzhou, I’ll hold your hand, you won’t be afraid if I hold your hand."
Zhouzhou nodded again and extended his little hand to meet Wu Yaxi’s. Holding hands, he tentatively took a small step.
Ye Wanwan watched from behind, knowing Zhouzhou might not walk steadily but didn’t step forward to help.
Su Tong wrapped an arm around Ye Wanwan’s shoulder and, as Ye Wanwan turned to look at her, Su Tong smiled, "Don’t worry, isn’t this just lovely?"
"Yeah." Ye Wanwan also thought it was quite nice.
"You’ll have your hands full looking after them later, so we’ll take care of picking the strawberries," Su Tong added.
Ye Wanwan wasn’t a fool, naturally aware that Su Tong said this to take care of her.
Xixi and Xiao Yu were not introverted kids, nor were they the unruly kind who’d run around not listening, while Zhenzhen’s temperament was a bit awkward, the little girl always seemed to be crying, and Zhouzhou was just too quiet, always serene.
The real need for extra attention was only for Zhenzhen and Zhouzhou.
However, at that moment, none of them had considered asking Zhao Yingling to watch the children. Though it was unspoken, it seemed they had a tacit agreement.
None would feel at ease letting Zhao Yingling take care of the children.
They didn’t have much time and didn’t dawdle any further, all diving into the strawberry field to start picking.
Ye Wanwan picked strawberries, occasionally glancing over at the children’s antics, until Xiao Yu picked a big, red strawberry and went bouncing off to find Zhang Xuehan.
Zhang Xuehan held it carefully and praised it sincerely, making Xiao Yu’s nose nearly lift to the sky, as if she wasn’t just praising the strawberry but him too.
However, the next moment, Zhang Xuehan wiped the strawberry in her hand and promptly ate more than half of it.
Xiao Yu’s face showed disbelief, then he suddenly burst into tears with a loud "wah."
Su Tong was close by and had heard their exchange; now, seeing what happened, she immediately understood the reason behind it.
Trying to suppress her laughter, Su Tong scolded Zhang Xuehan, telling her not to tease children.
Zhang Xuehan then began to act aggrieved, claiming that her darling wouldn’t even share a strawberry with her, surely that meant he didn’t love her anymore, and so on.
Xiao Yu stopped crying at once, assuring Zhang Xuehan, "I love mommy the most."
Perhaps hearing Zhang Xuehan’s earlier complaint about not sharing a strawberry as a sign of not loving mommy, Zhouzhou also brought a strawberry over to Ye Wanwan.
The strawberry wasn’t particularly large, and Zhouzhou probably couldn’t tell what made a strawberry both good-looking and tasty—he just wanted to give it to her, as if to prove his love.
Ye Wanwan became quite sentimental and couldn’t help her eyes welling up. She took the strawberry from Zhouzhou, gave it a casual wipe, and popped it into her mouth all at once.
"The strawberry is delicious, thank you, Zhouzhou," said Ye Wanwan.