IBO -Chapter 89 Fruit Mantou

This novel contains sensitive and taboo content like R*pe, Mu**er etc. Read only if you are comfortable.

Song Yiran sat by the bed with Song Buli for a long time. Only after confirming that Song Buli had fallen fast asleep did he quietly leave the room.

Tomorrow morning, he should make something sweet. Eating sweets should help improve a child’s mood, right?

He knew why Song Buli was afraid of being abandoned. At the root of it all, it was because Song Buli had never received enough security.

A child who had never been loved—when they suddenly received love one day—it was only natural to doubt how long that love would last.

He knew that what he said tonight might not be enough to change the thoughts in Song Buli’s heart.

The rest could only be left to time—let time bear witness to his love for the children.

No matter what happened in the future, he would always love these children.

Xiao Zhongni was awakened by the morning sunlight. The light streamed in through the balcony and fell across his face.

Once the sunlight hit him, he was fully awake. He glanced at the time—at this hour, Song Yiran should be in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

Yawning, Xiao Zhongni slowly floated toward the kitchen.

The moment he entered, he smelled the rich fragrance of food.

Just then, Song Yiran took a large plate of round objects out of the oven.

“Good morning, Xiao Zhongni!” Song Yiran placed the plate on the dining table and smiled as he greeted him.

He playfully winked his right eye. “Xiao Zhongni, guess what delicious thing I made this time?”

Xiao Zhongni flew over to the plate and widened his little bean eyes, carefully examining what was on it.

The thing was round and very large—if he had to describe it, it looked like a gigantic round mantou.

For now, let’s call it mantou. This round mantou looked very fluffy, with a golden-yellow color.

But unlike regular mantou, this one was dotted with many blueberry pieces on top.

Xiao Zhongni leaned in and sniffed it. Mm, it smelled like mantou too.

It smelled like mantou and looked like mantou.

Case closed—this was mantou!

Xiao Zhongni announced his verdict, “This is mantou, right?”

However, Song Yiran frowned upon hearing that and shook his head. “No, this is a fruit tart.”

“Fruit tart? But this looks exactly like mantou.”

Xiao Zhongni couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. How could this thing possibly be a fruit tart?

It looked exactly like mantou and smelled exactly like mantou.

Since when did fruit tarts look like mantou?

He looked at Song Yiran suspiciously. “You’re not bullying me just because I’m a system who hasn’t seen much of the world, right? You’re not using mantou to trick me into thinking it’s a fruit tart, are you?”

Song Yiran immediately shook his head. “How could that be? Am I that kind of person?”

To prove his innocence, Song Yiran grabbed a knife and sliced into the fruit tart.

The moment the knife went down, sweet blueberry jam flowed out from the center and onto the tray below.

The sweet aroma of blueberries instantly filled the entire kitchen. Song Yiran inhaled deeply, looking intoxicated.

Ah! This enchanting fragrance of jam!

As expected of the blueberry jam he’d painstakingly simmered early this morning—it smelled incredible!

Earlier, Song Yutu had wanted to make breakfast together with him, but Song Yiran had ruthlessly kicked him out of the kitchen.

His body was doing great now. Making breakfast was a small matter—no need for Song Yutu’s help.

To get the jam into perfect condition, he’d guarded the pot all morning, and the result was extremely satisfying.

Song Yiran held out a palm toward the sliced fruit tart. “Look! The filling of this fruit tart is blueberry jam that I personally simmered this morning!”

“Xiao Zhongni, have you ever seen anyone put blueberry jam inside mantou?” Song Yiran asked confidently.

Xiao Zhongni pouted. “Well… it’s not impossible, right? Even mantou can have innovative versions.”

Song Yiran gave a wicked, domineering smile straight out of a melodramatic novel. He’d known Xiao Zhongni would be stubborn!

He smoothly cut off a small piece of the fruit tart and quickly stuffed it into Xiao Zhongni’s mouth.

“Xiao Zhongni, whether it’s a fruit tart or mantou—you’ll know the moment you taste it!”

Xiao Zhongni was speechless at Song Yiran’s sudden move, but he still obediently finished chewing the food in his mouth.

Song Yiran pressed eagerly, “So? So? Isn’t the fruit tart I made especially delicious?”

But Xiao Zhongni suddenly closed his eyes and said nothing.

Confused, Song Yiran leaned closer to check on him.

At that very moment, Xiao Zhongni suddenly broke off a piece of the fruit tart and forcefully stuffed it into Song Yiran’s mouth.

Oh no—so it was an ambush!

Was this Xiao Zhong’er’s revenge on him?

Song Yiran chewed rapidly on the fruit tart in his mouth. As he chewed, he gradually sensed that something wasn’t quite right.

There was nothing wrong with the filling—the blueberry jam was delicious.

The blueberry bits decorating the top were fine too—very fresh, pleasantly sweet and tart.

But… why did the tart crust taste like mantou?

Eating it felt exactly like biting into a piece of mantou spread with blueberry jam and blueberry bits.

After swallowing the fruit tart—no, the mantou—in his mouth, Song Yiran braced both hands against the edge of the dining table and stared gravely at the mantou on the tray.

Xiao Zhong’er also let out a faint sigh and comforted him, “It’s fine. Actually, I think fruit mantou tastes pretty good too.”

“This is my first time eating mantou with this kind of pairing. I think it’s quite innovative!”

To be fair, it did taste good. It was just that mantou was rarely eaten together with jam.

If sadness could take physical form, there would definitely be a small dark cloud hovering over Song Yiran’s head right now.

How did this happen?

He clearly just wanted to make fruit tarts—so why did they turn into fruit mantou?

He had obviously followed every step of the tutorial—so why did it end up like this?

Despite feeling extremely unwilling to accept it, Song Yiran eventually resigned himself to the result.

Forget it. Mantou it is—at least it tastes good.

And mantou isn’t inferior to fruit tarts at all!

First of all, mantou originated from the Dragon Nation, and Song Yiran was a native of the Dragon Nation. His ancestors for eighteen generations were all Dragon Nation people.

That’s one win for mantou.

Secondly, fruit tarts originated overseas, and Song Yiran had no sentimental attachment to fruit tarts as part of his homeland.

That’s mantou’s second win.

Moreover, the mantou he made belonged to the innovative school—this was fruit mantou.

That’s mantou’s third win.

In summary, mantou was stronger than fruit tarts—strong upon strong!

After piling up a whole heap of justifications to salvage his pride, Song Yiran found himself liking the mantou more and more the longer he looked at it.

Pulling his attention away from the mantou, Song Yiran remembered what he needed to do today. “Oh right, Xiao Zhong’er, could you…”

That day’s breakfast at the nursery was the fruit mantou Song Yiran made, and the children’s reaction was extremely positive. Everyone thought the mantou was delicious.

After breakfast, instead of letting the children go out to play as usual, Song Yiran had them temporarily stay in the kitchen.

He walked over to the storage cabinet at the side and took out the things he had asked Xiao Zhong’er to prepare earlier that morning.

When he turned back around, his hands were full of necklaces.

At present, only Song Buli, Song Xiuhu, Song Fu, and Song Yutu had necklaces.

But who was Song Yiran? He was the master of fairness! He absolutely could not let one bowl overflow while another ran dry.

So he had the children who didn’t have necklaces line up, preparing to hand them out one by one.

Each necklace had a different ornament.

Song An and Song Yang’s necklaces had a twin lotus flower; Song Chiyu’s had a blue butterfly.

Song Xianyue’s had a sprig of osmanthus; Song Yuexin’s had a small yellow star; Song Yinyun’s had a little cloud.

Song Yutu got one too. To make up for the grievance Song Yutu had suffered, Song Yiran decided to give him a brand-new necklace.

The ornament on Song Yutu’s new necklace was a peony flower.

Then came Xiao Zhong’er—his necklace bore a peach blossom.

Finally, there was Song Yiran himself. The ornament on his necklace was a single segment of pomelo pulp.

Now, aside from the little one still unhatched in the incubator, every child in the nursery had a necklace.

Even the two “big friends,” Song Yutu and Xiao Zhong’er, had necklaces too.

Truly cause for celebration—how delightful!

The children were extremely excited after receiving their necklaces. Some were absorbed in examining the one around their own necks, while others were busy inspecting the necklaces worn by other children.

Song Yutu, however, lowered his head and held the peony ornament on his new necklace in his hand, rubbing it over and over, no one knowing what he was thinking.

After distributing the necklaces, Song Yiran somehow produced that familiar calendar again. Next came the segment where the children chose their birthdays.

At present, only two children in the nursery had already chosen birthdays—Song Buli and Song Xiuhu.

After a round of lively choosing, everyone’s birthdays were finalized.

Song Fu’s birthday was April 5th.

Song An and Song Yang’s birthdays were May 8th.

Song Chiyu’s birthday was May 17th.

Song Xianyue’s birthday was September 15th.

Song Yinyun’s birthday was November 35th.

Little Song Yuexin gave up choosing and decided to share the same birthday as Song Xiuhu.

After all, he and Song Xiuhu were twin brothers, weren’t they?

Just like Song An and Song Yang—they were twins too, so they picked the same birthday.

He and Song Xiuhu were also twins, so naturally their birthdays should be on the same day.

Song Yiran circled all the dates the children had chosen on the calendar.

He wanted to circle Song Yutu’s birthday as well, but hesitated before writing. He quietly asked Xiao Zhong’er for help in his heart.

“Xiao Zhong’er, in the timeline I remember, the birthday Song Yutu chose was October 3rd.”

“But the current Song Yutu came from the timeline in your memories. What date did the Song Yutu you remember choose?”

Xiao Zhong’er thought for a moment, then gave the answer, “December 35th.”

In the end, Song Yiran circled the birthdays of Song Yutu, Xiao Zhong’er, and himself together on the calendar.

This Song Yutu’s birthday was December 35th.
Xiao Zhong’er’s birthday was August 15th.

And his own birthday was August 15th.

What a coincidence—his birthday and Xiao Zhong’er’s were only one day apart.

Perhaps this was the destined bond between him and Xiao Zhong’er!