ST3YC Chapter 144

Shrank to a 3-Years-Old Child Chapter 144: Celebrating the Lantern Festival

Having finally finished his work for the day, Fu Heng looked up.

A salted fish was lying on the sofa.

He raised an eyebrow: “What’s wrong with you?”

She looked utterly dejected, as if her soul had left her body.

“It’s nothing.” Qingqing waved her hand weakly, “I just suddenly realized that I’m a piece of trash.”

“How could you be a good-for-nothing? Who gave you that misconception?” Fu Heng wondered if his wife had suffered some kind of blow.

He couldn’t help but start recalling recent events, afraid of missing any detail.

However, the case was solved in the next moment; the truth was that Qingqing had gotten the hair extensions herself.

She waved her phone, showing Fu Heng her grayed-out game record: “I played twenty games this afternoon and only won one.”

They only won that game because the opposing team consisted entirely of newbies and one player disconnected due to a bad internet connection.

Just thinking about it gives her the illusion of being mocked, and her self-confidence was undermined.

Fu Heng: “…”

He, an old man, can’t keep up with the way young people think.

“Are you hungry? I just finished what I was doing here, shall we go grocery shopping together?”

“Come on, I’m starving! While you’re at it, could you buy some more seaweed, kelp, or jellyfish skin, and make me a cold salad to keep in the fridge as a snack?”

Qingqing was the most enthusiastic person there when it came to food.

She immediately perked up, sat up with a jolt, grabbed Fu Heng who had just put on his coat, and rushed outside.

The two drove directly out of the underground parking lot. Halfway there, Fu Heng suddenly braked hard. If Qingqing hadn’t been wearing her seatbelt tightly, she would have been thrown out of the car.

She angrily turned to glare at Fu Heng, but before she could confront him, she saw him staring at her with an icy expression.

Qingqing turned her head in the direction of his gaze and saw the female hooligan she had chased away that afternoon standing with her arms outstretched, blocking their car aggressively.

She was very close to the car; if Fu Heng hadn’t braked in time, they probably would have crashed into each other.

“…A staged accident!”

Qingqing was so angry she wanted to curse, but she still knew to consider her status and refrained from lowering the overall quality of the nation.

When the female hooligan saw the car stop, her eyes lit up slightly, revealing a hint of joy.

But then she remembered the call she had just received from the HR department, and she was so angry that her heart, liver, and lungs ached. She immediately stormed around the front of the car and pounded on the window, signaling the people inside to roll it down so she could speak.

Without even sparing a glance, with no obstacles in front of him, Fu Heng immediately stepped on the gas, and the car shot off like an arrow, spraying the female hooligan with exhaust fumes.

That’s impossible. He drives an energy-efficient car that’s powered by electricity and doesn’t emit harmful gases like exhaust fumes.

But that was enough for him to leave that woman far behind.

“Aren’t you going to listen to what she has to say?” Qingqing turned her head and glanced at the figure gradually disappearing into the distance behind her.

“I’m afraid she’ll hurt you if I don’t listen.”

Everyone says the other person has something wrong with their head. What if they suddenly throw some dangerous items into the car if you open the window?

Fu Heng didn’t care what would happen to him, but he would absolutely not allow anyone to harm a single hair on his wife’s head.

We must eliminate even the slightest possibility of danger!

The unexpected roadblock did not disrupt the couple’s plans; they went to the market to buy groceries as usual.

Qingqing said that this ‘parent-child’ activity was very novel.

That’s right, this young lady has never set foot in the market before, and today is her first time.

Luckily, Fu Heng was there to guide her, otherwise Qingqing would probably have gotten lost in this maze-like market.

The huge farmers’ market was bustling with noise and crowds, even more crowded than a shopping mall.

The place was filled with the smells of fish, rotten vegetables, and other unidentified odors, all mixed together to create a complex and unpleasant atmosphere, but still within tolerable limits.

At least Qingqing didn’t cover her mouth and nose in disgust, partly because that would be very impolite.

Understanding Qingqing’s feelings, Fu Heng acted swiftly, leading her through the entire market in a whirlwind, returning home in less than twenty minutes with several bags full of spoils.

It contains fish and meat, which are all Qingqing’s favorite foods, and of course, vegetables are also essential, even if there are some that Qingqing doesn’t like to eat.

For example, green bell peppers.

After shopping, the couple prepared to go home. They had only gone halfway when Qingqing suddenly stopped, looking surprised: “Little bird?”

Fu Heng, with his sharp ears, heard her soft cry and immediately turned his head to look, only to see a vendor selling sparrows.

Before he could identify which bird was Qingqing’s, the person beside him had already stepped forward, rushed to the vendor, and flung out a wad of hundred-yuan bills: “I’ll buy all of these birds.”

When business comes knocking, there’s no reason not to do it.

The vendor immediately took the money with a smile, opened the cage, and picked up a cleaver from the cutting board: “Wait a moment, I’ll take care of these birds for you.”

“No need,” Qingqing immediately stopped her. “I just thought these birds were cute and was thinking of buying some for my daughter as pets.”

Do we need so many pets?

A question flashed through the vendor’s mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

Who cares? Rich people can do whatever they want.

He sets up a stall here to sell sparrows, and some children do see how cute the birds are and insist that their parents buy them one to take home as a pet. It’s just that this girl bought more than one.

However, these are all specially bred finches for food, and they generally don’t live long. Out of kindness, the vendor still reminded her: “These birds don’t survive and are not suitable as pets.”

Seeing that Qingqing insisted on having it, the vendor stopped caring, as long as he made money.

The cage was made of bamboo and wasn’t worth much, so the vendor simply gave Qingqing the whole cage, bird and all, and went home with the money in his pocket, feeling completely at ease.

Qingqing returned carrying a cage of birds. When she met Fu Heng’s gaze, she didn’t say anything. After leaving the market, the two of them drove to the suburbs to release all the birds.

Whether they live or die is up to fate.

“Chirp chirp…” A melodious bird song came from nearby, as if the little bird was expressing its gratitude to Qingqing.

On the drive home, Fu Heng couldn’t help but ask, “The bird that shrunk you?”

“No, it’s not that weak.” Qingqing shook her head in denial, then continued to explain, “This is another one. I recognized it because it looks a lot like it.”

Although they are the same species, Qingqing felt that the two Zhumeng birds were worlds apart in strength.

According to the classification of cultivation novels, the one who helped her fulfill her wish should be a powerful being.

The unfortunate sparrow that was caught by the vendor and sold among the sparrows was a true novice.

Fu Heng: “…”

Actually, what he really wanted to ask was, wasn’t it even more astonishing that Qingqing was able to encounter two Dream Birds that other people would never encounter in their entire lives?

Unfortunately, the person involved didn’t realize this and didn’t even take it seriously, which made Fu Heng seem a bit overreacting.

Seeing her like this, Fu Heng also composed himself and acted as if nothing had happened.

Anyway, Qingqing can no longer wish to shrink, and saving such a magical creature is already a good deed, so there’s no need to dwell on it too much.

Tonight’s dinner is destined to be sumptuous.

Fu Heng cooked all the dishes they bought: steamed yellow croaker, braised ribbonfish with broad bean paste, abalone and chicken bone soup, braised pork, cola chicken wings, stir-fried shredded pork with green peppers, stir-fried shredded vegetables, and mixed cold salad…

The table was laden with food, leaving Qingqing stunned. “There are only two of us; we can’t possibly eat that much!”

“Who said it was just the two of you?”

Gu Lan’s arrogant voice came from the doorway. Qingqing subconsciously turned her head to look, only to find that he wasn’t the only one who had come.

Fu Sijin and his wife, Fu Sishen, Bai Qiyu, and even Xiao Niangao came.

He has grown taller and matured a lot, already showing the handsome features of a young man, but for him at present, he is still a callow child.

“What’s the child’s name?” Qingqing forced a smile, though it seemed a little awkward.

They were clearly good friends who knew each other, but in the end, they became strangers when they met.

If she hadn’t seen the person at all, she would have kept her regret to herself. But when she suddenly saw him in person, the suppressed discomfort began to surge uncontrollably.

Pretending not to see Qingqing’s sad expression, Bai Qiyu took on the role of introducing her.

“Nian Gao, this is your Uncle Fu’s wife. You can just call her Aunt Gu.”

“Aunt Gu.” Nian Gao greeted her obediently, his clear eyes reflecting Qingqing’s figure clearly, a figure he didn’t recognize at all.

Her hands, hanging at the hem of her skirt, unconsciously tightened around the hem. Qingqing felt herself revealing a gentle smile unique to an elder: “Nian Gao is so good.”

As soon as she said it, she suddenly felt relieved.

People who don’t live on the same timeline to begin with, even if they have a brief encounter due to a chance meeting, will eventually have to return to their own lives.

Qingqing was no longer sad; she was only grateful that she had once had such a good friend.

The two then got along as harmoniously as everyone expected.

Qingqing would patiently play with Nian Gao and even help him with his homework. As a top student who graduated from Jin University, she could easily handle the homework of a mere elementary school student.

Seeing this, the others didn’t say anything, but they were all secretly relieved.

Gu Lan rolled up his sleeves and strode into the kitchen with great enthusiasm: “I’ll help make the glutinous rice balls.”

That’s right, today is the annual Lantern Festival, a day for family reunions.

Gu Lan, being all alone, decided to spend the holiday with his sister’s family at the Fu family’s house. The Fu brothers were originally going home, while Bai Qiyu came at Gu Lan’s invitation.

His brother and sister-in-law, who were always busy traveling, had left their child behind on a business trip, leaving him and his nephew alone at home for the holiday, which was cold and boring.

Just then, Gu Lan sent him a text message, so he came over with his nephew.