Chapter Sixty-Three: The Life I Yearn For

[Laughing to death, the two children shaped like old men from folklore, yet the bowl is so adorable—Su Wan-ning must have been born a culinary goddess.]
[If she doesn't belong in the kitchen, who does?]
[Look at Sui-sui’s expression, as if saying, "This woman can't possibly be my mother."]

Even Nian-nian now gazed at the small clay figures in Su Wan-ning's hands with a complicated look, and in the end, pointed to the bowl in her other hand.

"Mom, can I have this?"

"No," Sui-sui interjected before Su Wan-ning could even answer.

Su Wan-ning was instantly moved to tears—her son was finally growing up, able to appreciate her efforts!

The next moment, Sui-sui spoke sternly, "You can have those two people, but the bowl is mine."

Su Wan-ning’s lips twitched, while the live chat erupted in laughter.

She sighed and turned to the camera. “What else can I do? Of course I choose to forgive them.”

Each of the two children had made a gift for Su Wan-ning, and strangely enough, their little hands turned out to be more skillful than hers. Nian-nian made her a tiny cup, clumsily inscribed with the character for his name.

What Sui-sui made left Su Wan-ning at a loss for words—he had crafted a perfect cube and carved lines into it with a knife, turning it into a model of a Rubik’s Cube.

Meanwhile, Yu Xin returned from the bathroom with Da Xi, whose mood was noticeably gloomier than before.

"Wow, Da Xi, look! I made this bowl for you. You love eating, right? This is perfect for you!"

Da Xi, the oldest among the children, couldn’t quite feel happy at those words, but still managed to force a smile. "Thank you, Auntie Yu Xin. I really like it!"

From across the room, Su Wan-ning glanced their way with a slight frown, feeling vaguely that something wasn’t quite right.

When the gift-making session ended, each family returned to their own rooms, and the director announced the next game’s rules.

“Starting tonight, each family will play a role-swapping game for one day. Parents and children will switch roles—from now on, the children are the parents, and the parents are the children.”

Upon hearing this, Mingming was the first to jump up in excitement. “Yay! This is awesome!”

But next to him, Feng Rui found it hard to celebrate, already dreading the kind of torment Mingming might put her through.

Elsewhere, Yin Shanshan remained composed, nodding at her son. “Starting now, you’re the parent.”

Yangyang’s expression flickered as he glanced at the desk, his face showing a hint of emotion.

Laughter filled the room where Yu Xin and Da Xi were. From the moment the role swap was announced, Yu Xin had begun acting like a child, clinging to Da Xi playfully.

"Da Xi, I'll be counting on you for dinner tonight."

Da Xi seemed distracted, barely responding until Yu Xin coughed softly to prompt him back to reality.

Meanwhile, Su Wan-ning’s livestream chat was full of jokes.

[Among these four families, Su Wan-ning is the happiest—she has both parents now!]
[Making two such little kids act as parents, poor woman.]
Yet, surprisingly, Sui-sui and Nian-nian handled their new roles exceptionally well, adapting quickly. Nian-nian even marched straight into the kitchen.

Thankfully, plenty of ingredients were left from Su Wan-ning’s earlier cooking. Under her guidance, the two children reheated the dishes and brought them to the table.

Su Wan-ning finished her bowl of rice quickly and was about to get more when Sui-sui stopped her.

"It’s too late; you shouldn't eat so much."

Su Wan-ning eyed the many dishes still on the table, inwardly grumbling—she hadn’t expected Sui-sui to be such a strict “parent.”

Her tone softened immediately. “But if we don’t eat those, they’ll go to waste. I’m really hungry today, Sui-sui dear. Let me have another bowl, just this once?”

Sui-sui hesitated, and seeing this, Su Wan-ning handed him her bowl. “You serve me, and I’ll eat as much as you give me.”

Sui-sui’s furrowed brow relaxed as he looked at the clean bowl, then at Su Wan-ning’s pleading eyes, his face taking on the look of a father reluctantly yielding to a daughter’s wheedling.

As Sui-sui turned to scoop the rice, Su Wan-ning flashed a victory sign at the camera.

Nian-nian, sitting beside her, stifled a giggle behind his hand. The little family was filled with joy.

The next morning, the first family to wake was Yin Shanshan’s.

Six-thirty was the time she’d set for Yangyang’s morning reading. As the alarm rang, she opened her eyes promptly.

The livestream began at that very moment. Yin Shanshan was about to wake her son when she noticed he was still asleep.

"Yangyang, time to get up."

"Ms. Yin, today is the role swap," the cameraman reminded her softly, and Yin Shanshan realized her slip. At that moment, Yangyang opened his eyes.

"Mom, I’m the parent today. Let’s turn off the alarm and sleep in."

Yin Shanshan frowned at this but, with the camera rolling, said nothing.

They slept until eight before Yangyang emerged from his room. Yin Shanshan was still sound asleep.

Accustomed as she was to a strict routine, she found it surprisingly easy to indulge herself on this rare, relaxed day. Yangyang didn’t wake her, but went to the director’s team to collect their breakfast.

When Yin Shanshan finally woke, she saw Yangyang waiting at the table, breakfast laid out.

After eating, she waited for Yangyang to plan the rest of the day, but he simply spread his hands. "Mom, you should do whatever you want today—I'm giving you the day off."

She was surprised, but seeing that he wasn’t joking, she got up and aimlessly wandered outside.

They visited Feng Rui and Mingming next door, only to find the two in the middle of a quarrel.

“Why won’t you let me eat?”

Mingming replied righteously, “You have to maintain your figure, so you can’t eat so much. I’ll take the rest!”

“You!”

Feng Rui, unable to hold it in before the cameras, began arguing openly with her child.

Seeing this, Yin Shanshan could only take Yangyang and quietly leave.

The two of them wandered to the foothills behind Yunshui Village. The scenery was beautiful; at the base of the mountain, a wide pasture sprawled, with cows and sheep leisurely grazing. Yin Shanshan even had Yangyang take several photos of her.

Little by little, genuine smiles blossomed on her face. They climbed the mountain together and only returned at dusk.

“Mom, were you happy today?”

Yin Shanshan nodded without hesitation. “Very happy.”

It was a rare day when she didn’t have to worry about her image, able to enjoy nature with her child—of course she was happy.

“Mom, this is the life I dream of.”

She was taken aback by his words.

[Why do I suddenly feel so sorry for Yangyang?]
[He’s just a kid. Now that I think about it, Yangyang has never really seemed happy—never had fun. Even when filming, he always had homework and practice to do.]