Chapter 10 SJC
Shen Jinnian kept an eye on the video online, watching the direction of the comments. Whenever someone mentioned his or Gu Yan’s name, he immediately pretended to be a random passerby, fought back, and reported them.
Fortunately, the video’s popularity had started to fade. His reputation was safe.
The weight on his chest finally lifted. Feeling pleased with himself, he went to the nursery to take over from the nanny.
The baby hadn’t seen Shen Jinnian for a while and threw himself into his arms with excitement. He planted a big, slobbery kiss on his cheek. His clear, bright eyes were filled with mischief.
Grinning, he chirped, “Wuya~”
“Ugh, disgusting. You got drool all over me.” Shen Jinnian grimaced and pinched the baby’s little shirt to wipe his own cheek. “Next time, I’ll smack your little butt.”
“Papa~” The baby clung to Shen Jinnian’s arm and rubbed his chubby little face against him in an obvious attempt to please him.
Shen Jinnian raised a hand to block the soft little face. “That doesn’t work on me. Being cute is useless against a handsome guy like me.”
The baby let out a pitiful whimper and curled up in his arms, looking like a small, neglected kitten. He hugged his tiny hands together and occasionally peeked up at Shen Jinnian with big, watery eyes.
He was trying to awaken even the faintest trace of fatherly affection in this man, who was as cold as ancient ice.
But it was useless.
Shen Jinnian rejected not only his attempt at being cute but also his attempt at playing pitiful.
Pouting, the baby huffed and let go of his arm, twisting his plump little body toward the nanny as if drawing a clear line and declaring that he no longer liked Shen Jinnian.
“Sulking won’t help.” Shen Jinnian easily saw through his little act and smirked. “Aunt Chen is going home to rest tonight. Looks like you’re stuck with me.”
“Fuya~ fuya~” The baby waved his tiny hands at the nanny.
Shen Jinnian froze for a second, surprised that the little thing actually responded at the same frequency as him. Not only that, but he even knew how to wave goodbye.
As expected of a child who grew up absorbing his pheromones, he is smarter than other children.
Even when the nanny finished packing up and was about to leave, the baby babbled and pointed at the door with his tiny finger.
“You even know how to see guests out?” Shen Jinnian looked at him with admiration. He stood up from the sofa holding the cub and followed the nanny to the door and said, "Auntie, be careful on the road. Let me know when you get there.”
“Don’t worry.” The nanny slung her bag over her shoulder and smiled as she reminded him, “Taking care of the baby alone might be a lot. If you need help, just give me a call. I’ll come back as soon as I’m done.”
Shen Jinnian bounced the baby in his arms, watching him happily suck on his fingers. “It’s fine. He’s an easy kid.”
All he did was eat and sleep. If he cried, a little pheromone release would settle him down.
No big deal.
The nanny hesitated for a moment.
She glanced at Shen Jinnian, then at the sweet and obedient little baby in his arms, but in the end, she didn’t say anything. After saying goodbye, she gently closed the door behind her.
The lively atmosphere instantly quieted. Now, only the two of them remained in the room.
The baby clutched Shen Jinnian's clothes excitedly and expectantly, and his clear big eyes were shining brightly.
“You want to sleep with me?” Shen Jinnian asked.
"Wuya~" The baby stretched out his little fingers and gestured randomly, and the happy expression on his face said it all.
Shen Jinnian had only spent one night with him since he picked him up. Now he finally had a second chance, so the little cub was naturally very excited.
Shen Jinnian carried the baby straight to the nursery.
After the two of them finished washing up, it was exactly nine o’clock. To help the child sleep, he had deliberately avoided looking at his phone. He took his role as bedtime supervisor quite seriously.
With his eyes closed, Shen Jinnian said, “Starting now, whoever falls asleep last is a dog.”
The little one nestled in his arms and was very happy. “Liya~”
After less than two minutes of happiness, he suddenly remembered that something was missing.
The baby wriggled his little body toward the head of the bed and extended his chubby hands to grab a neatly folded piece of clothing from the bedside and hugged it tightly, as if it were a treasure.
Shen Jinnian was pretending to sleep to set an example for an early bedtime.
But when he opened his eyes again, the little rascal had already rolled himself to the edge of the bed and was happily snuggling an old shirt, rubbing his face against it like it was the best thing in the world.
Shen Jinnian recognized it immediately—it was the set he had worn that night when they stayed at Gu Yan’s house in the rain.
It hadn’t been washed in days. The lingering scent had probably fermented by now.
Disgusted, he snatched the shirt away and tossed it onto the floor. “Don’t hug that, it’s filthy.”
The moment the shirt was pulled from his arms, the familiar scent disappeared from the little one’s nose.
He froze for a second, then his lips trembled, and fat teardrops rolled down his cheeks. “PaPa! PaPa!”
Shen Jinnian propped himself up and pressed a finger against the child’s lips. “I’m right here. Why do you need to hug some dirty shirt to sleep? That thing stinks!”
The baby wiped at his tears, crying as he stretched out his little hand toward the fallen shirt, completely devastated. “PaPa…”
Shen Jinnian picked him up, sighing helplessly as he released a calming pheromone. “Forget the shirt, okay? Gege will give you pheromones instead.”
“PaPa…” The child buried himself in Shen Jinnian’s arms, wailing uncontrollably. “Wuyo… PaPa…”
“I’ll get you a new one, alright?” The pheromones had no effect. Shen Jinnian’s head throbbed as he struggled to comfort him. “That one’s dirty, full of bacteria. You’ll get sick.”
The baby sniffed his little nose, blinked his wet eyes, and the tears on his long eyelashes were about to fall.
Shen Jinnian thought he had finally calmed him down. He sighed in relief and was about to get up and fetch another shirt when—
A deafening wail erupted beside his ear.
Shen Jinnian: “…”
The child was gearing up for another outburst, about to launch into an even louder crying fit.
Shen Jinnian jumped up from the bed, stretched out his arms to pick up the shirt on the floor, and impatiently stuffed it back into the child's arms: “Fine, fine! Take it! Just stop crying, you’re driving me crazy.”
The little one immediately stopped crying. He hugged his long-lost treasure to his chest, and hiccupped softly.
Shen Jinnian smelled the messy smell on the clothes, and couldn't help but pinch his nose. “You can keep it for one night, but tomorrow, it’s going straight into the washing machine. Got it?”
The baby turned over, facing away from him, clutching the shirt like the most precious thing in the world.
Curious, Shen Jinnian leaned in for a sniff. A faint trace of pheromones lingered on the fabric.
Strawberry ice cream, with just a hint of cedarwood.
Nothing else.
He had no idea why the little rascal was so attached to it.
Fortunately, the video’s popularity had started to fade. His reputation was safe.
The weight on his chest finally lifted. Feeling pleased with himself, he went to the nursery to take over from the nanny.
The baby hadn’t seen Shen Jinnian for a while and threw himself into his arms with excitement. He planted a big, slobbery kiss on his cheek. His clear, bright eyes were filled with mischief.
Grinning, he chirped, “Wuya~”
“Ugh, disgusting. You got drool all over me.” Shen Jinnian grimaced and pinched the baby’s little shirt to wipe his own cheek. “Next time, I’ll smack your little butt.”
“Papa~” The baby clung to Shen Jinnian’s arm and rubbed his chubby little face against him in an obvious attempt to please him.
Shen Jinnian raised a hand to block the soft little face. “That doesn’t work on me. Being cute is useless against a handsome guy like me.”
The baby let out a pitiful whimper and curled up in his arms, looking like a small, neglected kitten. He hugged his tiny hands together and occasionally peeked up at Shen Jinnian with big, watery eyes.
He was trying to awaken even the faintest trace of fatherly affection in this man, who was as cold as ancient ice.
But it was useless.
Shen Jinnian rejected not only his attempt at being cute but also his attempt at playing pitiful.
Pouting, the baby huffed and let go of his arm, twisting his plump little body toward the nanny as if drawing a clear line and declaring that he no longer liked Shen Jinnian.
“Sulking won’t help.” Shen Jinnian easily saw through his little act and smirked. “Aunt Chen is going home to rest tonight. Looks like you’re stuck with me.”
“Fuya~ fuya~” The baby waved his tiny hands at the nanny.
Shen Jinnian froze for a second, surprised that the little thing actually responded at the same frequency as him. Not only that, but he even knew how to wave goodbye.
As expected of a child who grew up absorbing his pheromones, he is smarter than other children.
Even when the nanny finished packing up and was about to leave, the baby babbled and pointed at the door with his tiny finger.
“You even know how to see guests out?” Shen Jinnian looked at him with admiration. He stood up from the sofa holding the cub and followed the nanny to the door and said, "Auntie, be careful on the road. Let me know when you get there.”
“Don’t worry.” The nanny slung her bag over her shoulder and smiled as she reminded him, “Taking care of the baby alone might be a lot. If you need help, just give me a call. I’ll come back as soon as I’m done.”
Shen Jinnian bounced the baby in his arms, watching him happily suck on his fingers. “It’s fine. He’s an easy kid.”
All he did was eat and sleep. If he cried, a little pheromone release would settle him down.
No big deal.
The nanny hesitated for a moment.
She glanced at Shen Jinnian, then at the sweet and obedient little baby in his arms, but in the end, she didn’t say anything. After saying goodbye, she gently closed the door behind her.
The lively atmosphere instantly quieted. Now, only the two of them remained in the room.
The baby clutched Shen Jinnian's clothes excitedly and expectantly, and his clear big eyes were shining brightly.
“You want to sleep with me?” Shen Jinnian asked.
"Wuya~" The baby stretched out his little fingers and gestured randomly, and the happy expression on his face said it all.
Shen Jinnian had only spent one night with him since he picked him up. Now he finally had a second chance, so the little cub was naturally very excited.
Shen Jinnian carried the baby straight to the nursery.
After the two of them finished washing up, it was exactly nine o’clock. To help the child sleep, he had deliberately avoided looking at his phone. He took his role as bedtime supervisor quite seriously.
With his eyes closed, Shen Jinnian said, “Starting now, whoever falls asleep last is a dog.”
The little one nestled in his arms and was very happy. “Liya~”
After less than two minutes of happiness, he suddenly remembered that something was missing.
The baby wriggled his little body toward the head of the bed and extended his chubby hands to grab a neatly folded piece of clothing from the bedside and hugged it tightly, as if it were a treasure.
Shen Jinnian was pretending to sleep to set an example for an early bedtime.
But when he opened his eyes again, the little rascal had already rolled himself to the edge of the bed and was happily snuggling an old shirt, rubbing his face against it like it was the best thing in the world.
Shen Jinnian recognized it immediately—it was the set he had worn that night when they stayed at Gu Yan’s house in the rain.
It hadn’t been washed in days. The lingering scent had probably fermented by now.
Disgusted, he snatched the shirt away and tossed it onto the floor. “Don’t hug that, it’s filthy.”
The moment the shirt was pulled from his arms, the familiar scent disappeared from the little one’s nose.
He froze for a second, then his lips trembled, and fat teardrops rolled down his cheeks. “PaPa! PaPa!”
Shen Jinnian propped himself up and pressed a finger against the child’s lips. “I’m right here. Why do you need to hug some dirty shirt to sleep? That thing stinks!”
The baby wiped at his tears, crying as he stretched out his little hand toward the fallen shirt, completely devastated. “PaPa…”
Shen Jinnian picked him up, sighing helplessly as he released a calming pheromone. “Forget the shirt, okay? Gege will give you pheromones instead.”
“PaPa…” The child buried himself in Shen Jinnian’s arms, wailing uncontrollably. “Wuyo… PaPa…”
“I’ll get you a new one, alright?” The pheromones had no effect. Shen Jinnian’s head throbbed as he struggled to comfort him. “That one’s dirty, full of bacteria. You’ll get sick.”
The baby sniffed his little nose, blinked his wet eyes, and the tears on his long eyelashes were about to fall.
Shen Jinnian thought he had finally calmed him down. He sighed in relief and was about to get up and fetch another shirt when—
A deafening wail erupted beside his ear.
Shen Jinnian: “…”
The child was gearing up for another outburst, about to launch into an even louder crying fit.
Shen Jinnian jumped up from the bed, stretched out his arms to pick up the shirt on the floor, and impatiently stuffed it back into the child's arms: “Fine, fine! Take it! Just stop crying, you’re driving me crazy.”
The little one immediately stopped crying. He hugged his long-lost treasure to his chest, and hiccupped softly.
Shen Jinnian smelled the messy smell on the clothes, and couldn't help but pinch his nose. “You can keep it for one night, but tomorrow, it’s going straight into the washing machine. Got it?”
The baby turned over, facing away from him, clutching the shirt like the most precious thing in the world.
Curious, Shen Jinnian leaned in for a sniff. A faint trace of pheromones lingered on the fabric.
Strawberry ice cream, with just a hint of cedarwood.
Nothing else.
He had no idea why the little rascal was so attached to it.
· · ────── ꒰เฆ·✦·เป꒱ ────── · ·
T/N: This chapter is a bit short, but oh well~ (≧◡≦)♡
Oh, and by the wayyy—We hit 15 votes on NU! Hehe~ Even though the novel is still sitting at 3.8 stars... cough cough.
(๋_๋)
Let’s keep voting and show those haterrrsss who's boss! (เธ'̀-'́)เธ
edit: Hate is a strong word but eh well. Let's just use that until I think of a better word. (^～^;)ใ
The baby knows =d
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