Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Playing by the Sea
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the kids’ summer vacation.
Xiao Li finally arranged the trip she had been anticipating for half a month.
For this beach trip, Xiao Li sneakily bought a swimsuit and secretly packed it in her suitcase.
Upon arriving at the beach, Mianmian was thrilled and kept running around on the sand. Xiao Li ran with her for a while but couldn’t keep up, leaving Qin Xiao to play with Mianmian on the beach, while Xiao Li sat in a lounge chair with Xiao Li, who wasn’t interested in the sand, to rest.
She placed Xiao Li in the lounge chair and sat down beside him. As soon as she settled, she saw Xiao Li picking up a coconut with a straw already inserted, sipping it.
Little Xiao Li hugged the coconut and started sipping slowly...
Watching Xiao Li sip coconut juice so elegantly, Xiao Li felt he was not like a little kid at all.
Aren’t children supposed to be like Mianmian, full of energy, playful and excited even when eating?
Why doesn’t Xiao Li like to play or make a fuss?
Here at the beach, Mianmian is going wild, yet he merely wet his little feet for a bit before quitting.
But if you think there’s something wrong with him,
there isn’t. His eating habits, communication with family, and self-care abilities are all excellent. He plays, but only with intellectually stimulating toys, not the simple ones.
If Xiao Li were older, Xiao Li would think he was easy to take care of and worry-free.
But Xiao Li is not even three years old yet, and he’s already mature beyond his years, even more than his sister.
While pondering this, Mianmian ran over after playing, thirsting for coconut juice, with Qin Xiao following behind.
As soon as Mianmian arrived, she hugged the coconut and sipped greedily...
Xiao Li glanced at the sweaty-faced, disheveled-haired Mianmian, whose face even sunk a bit from sipping too forcefully.
Then looked at the quiet Xiao Li sipping the coconut juice gently, the contrast was too, too, too obvious!!!
Xiao Li’s gaze was unmistakable, and Qin Xiao, noticing it, reached out to rub the top of her head, "Are you thinking about whether you got their genders mixed up when you gave birth to them?"
Xiao Li shook her head, "No, now I wonder if I went through too much while pregnant with Xiao Li, causing him to be so quiet."
Qin Xiao chuckled, "He’s just a bit quieter, it’s nothing!
Every child has their own personality; don’t worry too much."
Xiao Li looked at Qin Xiao, "Is he happy like this?"
Qin Xiao smiled, "Happy! Xiao Li may be mature, but he often smiles!
He’s happy when playing with the intellectual building blocks he likes!"
Reminded by Qin Xiao, Xiao Li too remembered Xiao Li’s gleaming eyes and subtle smile whenever he played with blocks.
Quietly sipping coconut juice, Xiao Li slightly reacted upon hearing their conversation.
As they talked, Mianmian finished her coconut juice and tugged on Qin Xiao to return to the beach, but Xiao Li stopped her to reapply sunscreen before letting her go back.
Just as Mianmian was about to drag Qin Xiao back to the beach, the once quiet and sipping Xiao Li placed the coconut back on the table, climbed down from the lounge chair, and approached Xiao Li, holding her hand, "Mom, let’s go play."
Xiao Li was surprised for a moment, but still held Xiao Li’s hand, following Qin Xiao and the others back to the beach to play.
Once back on the beach, the whole family played wildly. The previously held Xiao Li was running on the sand, and even built a sandcastle with Mianmian.
Qin Xiao and Xiao Li buried the siblings in a pile of sand, and the family played until the tide came in before leaving the beach to return to the holiday house.
Back at the house, Qin Xiao took Xiao Li for a shower, while Xiao Li took Mianmian to wash.
The two teams showered simultaneously, with Qin Xiao and Xiao Li using the bathroom downstairs, and Xiao Li with Mianmian using the upstairs one.
Girls shower slower, so although they entered at the same time, by the time Xiao Li and Mianmian finished, Qin Xiao and Xiao Li were already done and had dry hair.
Even without using a hairdryer, it air-dried on its own.
When Xiao Li and Mianmian came downstairs with dry hair, the dinner Qin Xiao ordered had already been delivered.
Taking a shower and having food waiting was a wonderful feeling.
Xiao Li happily exclaimed and raced to the dining table with Mianmian, who laughed joyfully.
Upon hearing his mom and sister, Xiao Li glanced at them and walked over, being helped onto a chair by Xiao Li.
Qin Xiao opened the champagne, brought over juice for the kids, poured juice for them, and champagne for himself and Xiao Li. After clinking glasses together, they began eating.
As they were by the seaside, Qin Xiao ordered mainly seafood for dinner, which proved a bit challenging for the usually independent Xiao Li, who usually ate on his own.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t peel shrimp; compared to difficult building blocks, peeling shrimp was easy.
But he was a bit of a neat freak and couldn’t bring himself to peel shrimp with greasy hands and then eat.
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Li directly said to Xiao Li, "Mom, I want to eat shrimp."
Upon hearing Xiao Li, Xiao Li instinctively put a shrimp into Xiao Li’s small bowl, thinking he couldn’t reach it.
Looking at the shrimp in the bowl, Xiao Li hesitated for a while before speaking again: "Mom, help me peel it."
Upon hearing him, Xiao Li paused in her shrimp-peeling, turning to look at Xiao Li. Had she heard wrong?
Xiao Li blinked, "Xiao Li, what did you just say?"
Xiao Li pursed his lips, "Mom, peel the shrimp for me."
Xiao Li: So she didn’t hear wrong earlier!
It truly was Xiao Li asking for help!
Xiao Li felt like the world was unreal!
For the rest of the time, Xiao Li was peeling shrimp, picking snail meat, sometimes feeding Mianmian, sometimes Xiao Li.
As for herself, Qin Xiao was the one feeding her.
Qin Xiao knew Xiao Li enjoyed the feeling of preparing food for the kids, so he didn’t take over her job.
Just silently fed her!
After a joyful family dinner, they held hands and went outside for a post-meal walk.
The greenery around the resort was well-maintained, and the family strolled along the paths in the woods, enjoying the comfortable sea breeze.
As they walked, the two kids slowly nodded off, exhausted from the frantic afternoon.
Upon seeing this, Qin Xiao picked up Mianmian, and Xiao Li picked up Xiao Li, before heading back.
Back at the house, they laid the children on the bed, covered them with blankets, and quietly exited the room.