SGEIRS -Chapter 505 Infected

Qi Yunwen noticed something—lately, his friends had been strictly timing the end of their duties and rushing home immediately. In the past, they would linger a bit, handling some official work, but now every day they seemed to be in a hurry to leave.

At the moment of duty dismissal, Qi Yunwen unsurprisingly saw his friend getting ready to leave again. He smiled and teased, “Yaoling, in such a rush to go home—is it to go be with your Gu Wanwan?”

Gu Jingxi paused and countered, “Don’t you need to go be with your Qi Xiaoxiao at home?”

Qi Yunwen rolled his eyes. “What does the kid even need me for? He’s at the academy studying—plenty of classmates are there with him.”

Gu Jingxi said calmly, “I think he just doesn’t care for your company anymore.”

Qi Yunwen: “…”

To be honest, the kid really didn’t care anymore—and even found him annoying. These days, he played with kids his own age. It wasn’t like a few years ago when he came home and clung to Qi Yunwen immediately.

Qi Yunwen sighed lightly. “It’s not just that he doesn’t need me. He won’t even let me call him Xiaoxiao in front of his mother. Once, some classmates were over when I called him by his nickname. They heard it and he got sulky, ignoring me for three days. In the end, I had to buy him the guqin he wanted with silver to patch up our father-son relationship.”

Gu Jingxi couldn’t help but laugh. “Who asked you to give him such a nickname? A boy called Xiaoxiao—anyone hearing it might think it’s a lively, cheerful little girl.”

Qi Yunwen was speechless for a moment, then said, “Xiaoxiao doesn’t sound like a boy. But Wanwan…does that sound like a boy then? You have a perfectly good son, and you give him the nickname Wanwan? Be careful he won’t dislike it when he grows up.”

Gu Jingxi said confidently, “We didn’t even give him that nickname ourselves. Who would’ve known he wasn’t a daughter? That’s why the nickname ended up on him.”

Qi Yunwen was surprised. “So…you gave a daughter’s nickname to your son?”

Gu Jingxi didn’t deny it. Actually, it wasn’t just the nickname. Even the little clothes A-Yao personally made for her daughter were now given to Wanwan. The little guy looked surprisingly good in pink clothes. He was satisfied, A-Yao was satisfied, and as for Wanwan…what would a kid care about looking good or not?

Qi Yunwen said, “You and your sister-in-law as parents are a little unreliable.”

Hearing this, Gu Jingxi immediately shot back, “And you’re reliable? You gave your son the nickname Xiaoxiao and your daughter the nickname Zhengzheng. Your son once cried and begged to swap nicknames with his sister.”

Qi Yunwen: “…”

He didn’t pick random nicknames. His son had always been cheerful since birth—smiling no matter who held him. That’s why he got Xiaoxiao. As for the daughter, he wanted her to be strong, not weak, so she wouldn’t be bullied when married. That’s why she got Zhengzheng.

Gu Jingxi said calmly, “It’s getting late. I’ll head back to the residence—no more idle chatter.”

Qi Yunwen: “…Having a child late in life really is different.”

Gu Jingxi had just taken a step when he heard this and paused. “Who’s old? I’m only thirty-one this year, still young.”

Qi Yunwen glanced at him. “I’m thirty-two, my daughter is fourteen, and in a few years I’ll be a grandfather. You’re my peer and you still refuse to acknowledge age?”

Gu Jingxi said, “Even so, I’m younger than you.”

Qi Yunwen chuckled softly. “Gu Yaoling, I notice that ever since you married a wife so much younger than you, you’ve become increasingly conscious of your age.”

Gu Jingxi didn’t want to respond, ignoring the comment. Calmly, he said, “It’s getting late. I’ll go first. See you tomorrow.”

Qi Yunwen didn’t hold him up either. “Alright, see you tomorrow.”

Gu Jingxi didn’t reply again. He picked up his pace and left lightly and briskly.

Some colleagues, seeing him leave in such a hurry, curiously asked Qi Yunwen, “Young Lord Qi, why was Minister Gu in such a rush? Was there something urgent?”

Qi Yunwen smiled. “Nothing urgent. Minister Gu was just hurrying home to look after his child.”

The colleague was stunned. “Huh?”

Qi Yunwen explained, “Madam Gu just gave birth to a son, didn’t she?”

The colleague nodded, confused. “The child has a wet nurse, plus so many servants—it’s not like Minister Gu needs to personally take care of him.”

Qi Yunwen glanced at him, then earnestly spouted nonsense. “You don’t understand. If you don’t spend time with your child when he’s little, he’ll grow distant from you when he’s older.”

The colleague reflexively reflected on his own actions. His son didn’t seem very close to him—always going to his mother for things, not him. Maybe he had been a negligent father.

Seeing his colleague stunned, Qi Yunwen didn’t explain further. He turned and left. The colleague called after him in confusion, “Hey, where are you going?”

Without looking back, Qi Yunwen replied, “Young Lord Qi, I’ve finished today’s work. Since there’s still time, I need to go home and teach my son his lessons.”

Qi Yunwen: “…?”

Is spending time with a child some contagious disease? And it can infect others too? Maybe he should go home to bond with that brat and improve their father-son relationship.

Gu Jingxi returned home to find his son asleep again. Almost every day he came back, he missed the little guy awake—he only woke up later when he got hungry.

Meng Jinyao noticed him staring at the child. “Husband, why are you staring at Wanwan like that?”

Gu Jingxi replied, “I’m wondering…he’s not even born in the Year of the Pig. How can he sleep so much?”

Hearing this, Meng Jinyao laughed. “When you were his age, you slept all the time too. Mother said you were not only a heavy sleeper, but also hard to manage—you had to be held constantly, and would wake up immediately if put down. Wanwan is far more obedient than you were.”

Gu Jingxi was caught off guard, then said after a moment, “A-Yao, luckily in this regard, Wanwan got it from you. Otherwise, even the wet nurse would be frustrated with him.”

Meng Jinyao nodded. “Indeed.”

Gu Jingxi continued, “I don’t know if it’s because I’ve stared at him so long, but the more I look, the more pleasing he seems. Now, he doesn’t even look ugly to me.”

Meng Jinyao gave him a sharp look. “He was never ugly. Wrinkled at birth is normal. He’ll look better as he grows. Haven’t you seen Yunxin from the Xiuyuan family?”

Gu Jingxi: “I didn’t pay attention.”

Meng Jinyao sighed helplessly. “Yunxin is your grandnephew, and you didn’t notice him. What do you notice, then?”

Gu Jingxi looked up at her. “I notice you.”

At this, Meng Jinyao was slightly taken aback. She instinctively glanced around, then pouted at him coquettishly. “Speak properly. If someone hears that, won’t you be embarrassed?”

Gu Jingxi smiled gently. “There’s no one here, and Wanwan is sleeping deeply. Even if he were awake, he wouldn’t understand what we’re saying.”