TGMNDIAR - 12
The weather on Sunday was nice, clear and cloudless, with brilliant sunshine.
Since Xu Mu had agreed to join Ye Ye for a parent-child activity at the amusement park, He purposely got up half an hour earlier. Standing in front of the closet, he hesitated for a while, then chose an outfit suitable for sports, put on a baseball cap, and played it safe.
Nades said, "Master, are you going out dressed like this?"
Xu Mu was puzzled, "Why not? I’m just going to the amusement park with Ye Ye, it’s nothing special."
Nades said, "... Alright, Master, if you like it, then it's fine. I wish you a smooth journey."
Xu Mu muttered, "So fussy."
After finishing breakfast, he knocked on the door next door. Soon, the door opened, and Ye Ye dashed to his feet, shouting excitedly, "Daddy!"
"Hey." Xu Mu was already accustomed to this title, so he responded calmly, effortlessly lifting him up. "Are you excited about going to the amusement park today?"
Ye Ye giggled, his short arms grabbing onto Xu Mu as he replied loudly, "Excited!"
Xu Mu couldn't help but smile.
The next moment, Bai Nian's gentle voice sounded.
"Ye Ye, finish the rest of your toast."
Ye Ye pouted, burying his head into Xu Mu's neck, murmuring incoherently, seeming reluctant to eat.
Bai Nian also emerged from the hallway, and said with a headache. "Do you still want to go out and play?"
Ye Ye immediately nodded obediently, "Eat!"
Bai Nian then shifted her gaze to Xu Mu, asking gently, "Ah Mu, have you had breakfast?"
Xu Mu replied, "Yes."
He noticed that both of them, Bai Nian and Ye Ye, were wearing matching outfits – a sky blue t-shirt with cartoon logos and characters, paired with slate gray casual pants.
——This was the first time he had seen them dressed like this, different from their usual suits and sweaters, with a youthful and lively style, even a bit childish.
Xu Mu, then asked out of nowhere, "Would I look strange dressed like this? It doesn't match with you guys."
Bai Nian also paused, then glanced down at his own clothes. "It's okay, it's a parent-child outfit from the official website. Ye Ye likes this design, so I bought it when he insisted on wearing it."
"Oh, I see." Xu Mu couldn't control his mouth. "Should I wear it too?"
Bai Nian replied, "If you want to, you can. There's another set available."
Xu Mu cleared his throat lightly, realizing his abruptness, and tried to make up for it. "After all, the three of us walking together, it would be too conspicuous if I were different from you guys."
Bai Nian smiled understandingly, "Yeah, I know."
Xu Mu sat upright in the living room, waiting for Bai Nian to finish coaxing Ye Ye into finishing his toast.
Bai Nian also fetched him a similar set of clothes.
"Thank you," Xu Mu stood up briskly. "I'll go change."
Bai Nian nodded, "Okay."
When Nades saw Xu Mu return, he asked, "Have you been abandoned?"
Xu Mu: ?
"Has your language system caught a virus?"
Nades said calmly, "Alright, it was just a little joke. You really have no sense of humor."
Xu Mu didn't engage in banter with the robot and hurried back to his room to change clothes.
The entire process took no more than three minutes, and he dashed back to the neighboring room with gusto.
Bai Nian also looked surprised. "So fast?"
Xu Mu remained composed. "Really? It's alright." He discreetly adjusted his baseball cap.
"Shall we go now?" he asked.
Bai Nian tidied Ye Ye's hair and put on a fisherman's hat for him. "Yeah, we'll leave right away."
Ye Ye shook his head from side to side, chanting incessantly, "Super Saiyan! Saiyan! Saiyan!"
Xu Mu approached, crouching down and gently pinching Ye Ye's chubby cheeks. "You like Saiyan so much, what about Flying Whale?"
Because he was going to the themed activity with Ye Ye, he had deliberately caught up on the relevant cartoons, gaining a rough understanding of the plot and characters.
Ye Ye blinked. "Saiyan is cool, Flying Whale isn't cool."
Xu Mu chuckled. "Why is that?"
"Black is cool, red isn't cool," Ye Ye referred to the clothes commonly worn by two characters.
Bai Nian patted his head. "Alright, let's go."
Ye Ye held Bai Nian's hand with one hand and reached out to Xu Mu with the other, his voice cracking as he shouted, "Hold hands!!!"
Xu Mu smiled and followed the child's lead.
Ye Ye's eyes curved like crescent moons, his laughter becoming even more joyful.
…
Amusement Park
Xu Mu and the others arrived by public airship. Along the way, they saw many parents with children, all clearly heading to the same destination.
"Wow!" Ye Ye stood at the entrance, tilting his head up high, his eyes sparkling. "Saiyan!"
The suspended 3D characters were vividly lifelike, performing the most classic combat moves, attracting exclamations of awe from groups of children who were unwilling to move their feet.
The entrance of the amusement park was decorated in a very playful and dreamy manner, in line with the theme of the animated series "Heroes." Everywhere, there were staff dressed as animated characters in realistic costumes, close to the original.
They wore badges from the amusement park on their chests and would actively greet children and interact with them using lines from the show.
Ye Ye received a balloon with a Saiyan character's face on it.
The staff were very enthusiastic and wanted to give balloons to Xu Mu and Bai Nian too, but they politely declined.
When Ye Ye was reluctantly led away by Bai Nian, he was still reluctant to leave. Xu Mu reassured him, "Ye Ye, there will be even more fun things later. Let's go inside first."
Ye Ye finally relented and turned his head. "Okay, let's go."
---
As the name suggests, the themed joint parent-child activity requires both parents and children to participate together.
When Xu Mu arrived at the location indicated on the ticket, what greeted him was a completely replicated "Hero's House" from the animated series.
Ye Ye widened his eyes and without hesitation, broke free from Xu Mu and Bai Nian's hands, gleefully running inside.
The two of them were taken aback, instinctively locking eyes and sharing a smile.
Xu Mu scratched his nose. "It seems like Ye Ye really likes this animated series."
Bai Nian nodded. "Yes, Ye Ye always waits on the Star Network to watch the latest episodes every day."
The staff at the entrance stopped Ye Ye, bending down and gently asking, "Little one, where are your parents?"
Ye Ye tilted his head and immediately pointed behind him. "Daddy! Daddy!"
The staff member smiled brightly. "Gentlemen, please scan your tickets."
Bai Nian acknowledged with a nod and then operated the light brain, making a "beep" sound on the nearby machine.
The staff member gave them three wristbands, indicating they needed to wear them when entering. "Enjoy your time here~"
The cabin was bustling with noise, filled with various laughter and playful shouts.
"It's really lively," Xu Mu remarked as he scanned the surroundings.
They arrived relatively early, about an hour before the scheduled opening time. However, the cabin was already packed, with people filling every corner.
Children seemed to have their own magnetic field of playfulness, each with a smile on their face, happily bouncing and jumping around. Meanwhile, parents watched from the sidelines, occasionally chatting quietly among themselves.
Xu Mu asked Ye Ye if he wanted to play with the other children.
As expected, Ye Ye declined, pointing to the huge plush toy on the right, indicating that he wanted to go over there.
Bai Nian asked, "Do you want us to accompany you?"
Ye Ye shook his head. "I want to play with Saiyan."
It meant he didn't want a third person to interfere.
Xu Mu watched Ye Ye's stumbling figure as he walked away and casually asked, "Does Ye Ye usually like playing alone?"
Bai Nian gently looked on and replied softly, "Yes, Ye Ye's personality is actually quite solitary, even though he can be lively when he's playing and has a lot of energy."
"Of course, he might be different when he's around you. He really likes you," Bai Nian said.
Xu Mu smiled awkwardly. "I see. I really want Ye Ye to like me."
After a pause, he carefully continued, "I saw him playing alone with a ball downstairs earlier..."
Bai Nian sighed softly. "Did Ye Ye say that other children are too noisy?"
Xu Mu nodded. "Yes."
"To be honest, I'm also troubled by this," Bai Nian's voice softened. "As parents, of course, we hope our children can socialize and play with peers, but if he doesn't like it and prefers to enjoy being alone, maybe we don't need to intervene too much."
He thought of Tong Fei—Ye Ye's mother—and felt a heavy weight in his heart.
"Let's take it slowly. Ye Ye is only three years old, there's no rush," Bai Nian's sigh was very light, hiding a subtle sense of melancholy, the sound of his last sentence dispersing.
Xu Mu couldn't help but look over.
Because of today's parent-child activity, Bai Nian wasn't wearing his framed glasses and had opted for contact lenses for convenience.
The bright white light shining on his face, accentuating his high nose bridge. Shadows fell at the contours of his eyes, and his chin was pointed, yet the overall profile was gentle. His face lacked color, even his lips were pale, carrying a hint of exhaustion, which brought out a sickly fragility in his gentle demeanor.
His gaze towards Ye Ye was both indulgent and accepting.
"It will take a long time for him to grow up. Let's trust Ye Ye a little more. He will find his own preferred state," Bai Nian said.
How fortunate.
Xu Mu came back to his senses, silent for a moment before slowly replying, "Yes, you're right."
He remembered his own childhood in the orphanage, where he also didn't particularly enjoy fitting into groups. Because of this, his sister, who was responsible for taking care of him, worried constantly, always concerned that he would feel lonely.
—In fact, he wasn't lonely at all. Some of the most wonderful moments were those spent alone.
Sure enough, it's easy to overthink things as an adult. Even though he had gone through the same experiences himself, he couldn't help but...
Xu Mu's mood was subtly complex, for no apparent reason, he felt a bit envious of Ye Ye.
Although it was somewhat darkly humorous to say that orphans get used to it, there was no denying that he, too, had fantasized about what his "mom and dad" would look like as he grew up.
Or rather, what kind of figure the elders who raised him would be like.
Most of his friends and classmates had happy families, but that didn't mean they were free from the troubles of being "disciplined," especially during adolescence, when they often confided their frustrations.
At times like this, Xu Mu couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart.
This bittersweet dilemma, like a coin with two sides, added a touch of reality to his imagined family.
—Enlightened, gentle, and warm, a perpetual harbor.
"Brother Nian," Xu Mu said.
"Yeah?" Bai Nian turned his head slightly.
"It's no wonder Ye Ye likes you so much," Xu Mu replied.
Bai Nian chuckled. "Why do you suddenly say that?"
"The ideal perfect parent," Xu Mu stared intently into those gray-blue eyes, the muscles around his lips twitching slightly. "If I were Ye Ye, I would like you too."
Bai Nian was taken aback, standing still for a moment, unsure of how to respond.
A sudden silence fell over them.
Out of the blue, Xu Mu asked, "Is that where we get the little gifts? Are they for everyone?"
Bai Nian looked over and pondered for a moment. "It should be. I remember there's—" He glanced at the ticket information. "Yes, we get a protagonist commemorative keychain as soon as we enter."
"I'll go queue up," Xu Mu said immediately.
Bai Nian had no objection and nodded. "Sure, go ahead."
Xu Mu walked away quickly, a faint sense of regret rising in his heart.
What did he just say?
It felt like he was possessed.
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