Returning to Parents' Seventeen
Chapter 100 Group Photo

Chapter 100: Chapter 100 Group Photo

The three of them went to a nearby restaurant for a meal first.

There were several decent malls near Shen Sinian’s brokerage company, and Shen Yubai looked around and chose a restaurant with a nice environment.

After sitting down in the restaurant, Xu Chuning was still a bit out of it. She glanced sidelong at the person sitting opposite her and confirmed with him once more, "Are there really clues about her?"

Shen Yubai made an affirming sound, answering her patiently, "Really."

He knew she found it a bit unbelievable at the moment since she had been waiting for so many years and this was the first time they had concrete clues. Anyone in her shoes would probably feel a tinge of fear, afraid that it was all just a dream.

Shen Yubai looked down at her and said softly, "They will send me the specific information about that orphanage later."

Xu Chuning’s eyes brightened.

Shen Yubai made an affirming sound, "If you haven’t found the family who adopted her by the time you return to Ning City and if you’re free, you could go to the orphanage to have a look first."

He understood what was on her mind.

Xu Chuning was stunned, surprised at how thoughtful he was.

She pursed her lips and replied quietly with a soft "Thank you."

Shen Yubai: "Let’s eat first."

He didn’t need her thanks. He was helping her because he wanted to.

Shen Sinian chimed in from the side, "Ningning, you should eat first. Now that we have news, we definitely will find the person soon too."

Xu Chuning looked at the two of them and said softly, "I believe that."

She believed they would meet "Li Xiaonan" soon.

The three of them hadn’t eaten together in a long time, and Shen Sinian hadn’t eaten out for quite a while either. When the waiter brought the delicious-looking dishes to the table, he couldn’t help but dig in with gusto, saying, "Tasty."

As Shen Sinian ate, he sighed, "I never thought that the first hardship I’d face after signing with a brokerage company would be not being able to enjoy food properly."

Xu Chuning was amused by his comment and smiled as she served him some food, "Then eat more today."

Shen Sinian nodded pitifully.

Shen Yubai glanced at their interaction, slightly raising his eyebrows and looked at Xu Chuning, "He can’t eat too much, though."

Xu Chuning: "..."

Shen Sinian: "..."

After exchanging glances, the mother and son both reacted, but Xu Chuning let out her maternal glow softly and murmured, "Just don’t tell his agent about it, and it’s fine."

Shen Yubai was slightly at a loss for words, "There’s no need for me to say anything; Min Jian will find out when he steps on the scale tomorrow."

Shen Sinian, who was stuffing himself with meat, sighed upon hearing this, "Brother Yu, can we not talk about this right now?"

If they kept it up, he didn’t even know if he should continue eating.

Shen Yubai glanced at him with mild disdain and served him a serving of vegetables with chopsticks, his tone indifferent, "You can eat more vegetables."

Shen Sinian: "..."

He liked eating meat.

The next second, Shen Yubai calmly gave Xu Chuning meat, his tone still calm, "You should eat more meat."

Xu Chuning: "..."

Actually, she preferred eating vegetables.

Mother and son met Shen Yubai’s sweeping gaze, daring not to express their anger. Since Brother Yu was hosting, they weren’t supposed to have objections.

After the meal, Shen Sinian said that he still had half an hour of break time, so the three of them found a nearby place to sit for a while and had some drinks.

It was too hot, and even Xu Chuning had developed a liking for cold drinks.

While drinking, Shen Yubai handed the camera to Shen Sinian, "A reward."

Shen Sinian’s eyes suddenly lit up, "A camera?"

Shen Yubai: "Why don’t you open it and see?"

Shen Sinian began to take the camera out of the bag, and before he did, he glanced at another bag placed beside Shen Yubai, "Did you buy two?"

Shen Yubai: "Mhm."

Shen Sinian didn’t understand, "Why buy two?"

He asked subconsciously, "Are you planning to play with cameras too?"

"..." Shen Yubai glanced at Xu Chuning without showing any emotion. She was avoiding his gaze, looking down and sipping on lemon tea.

Seeing this scene, Shen Yubai felt somewhat gloomy and lightly tugged at the corner of his mouth, perfunctorily answering Shen Sinian’s question, "Yeah, see for yourself."

Shen Sinian: "..."

He just asked casually, why is this guy getting angry?

Without thinking too much, Shen Sinian took the camera out of the box and installed the battery which was partially charged, enough for buyers to briefly try it out.

Once ready, Shen Sinian turned on the camera.

"How is it?" Shen Yubai asked.

Shen Sinian: "It’s much worse than the one Ningning bought for me before."

Shen Yubai: "..."

Xu Chuning was startled and looked up at him, "I’ve given you a camera before?"

Shen Sinian nodded, "My first camera was a gift from you."

That year, it was Shen Sinian’s third birthday. He was a clever child from a young age. At a little over a year old, Shen Sinian was already speaking fluently. He loved reading books and watching cartoons. Sang Menglan had once said that he was very precocious.

By the age of two, Shen Sinian could recite the Three Character Classic and also simple poems.

Xu Chuning and Shen Yubai didn’t make excessive demands on him. They simply hoped he would grow up healthy and safe. They were too busy to spend much time with him.

About half a month before his third birthday, Xu Chuning took Shen Sinian back to the Shen Family for a meal. Sang Menglan brought up his birthday, saying she wanted to arrange a big party for him. After some consideration, Xu Chuning agreed.

With the mention of a birthday, naturally came the discussion about birthday presents.

Xu Chuning also took the opportunity to ask Shen Sinian what gift he wanted for his birthday.

At a little over two years old, Shen Sinian could already express his desires clearly. Whatever he wanted, whatever he desired to see or wear, he would tell them directly.

Xu Chuning respected most of his ideas, so she naturally asked him about the birthday gift as well.

After asking, Shen Sinian quickly gave her an answer. He wanted a camera.

When Xu Chuning heard "camera," she was also a bit surprised, "A camera? Can you even hold it?"

Though Shen Sinian looked a bit bigger than his peers, being tall and not at all like a three-year-old, his actual age was still there. Cameras were somewhat heavy, and Xu Chuning worried that he might not be able to handle it.

Hearing her question, Shen Sinian nodded seriously, "Can... can hold."

He wanted a camera.

Sang Menglan laughed and asked, "What do you want with a camera? Does Sinian want to be a photographer in the future?"

Shen Sinian: "No."

Xu Chuning raised her eyebrows, "Then why do you want it?"

Shen Sinian pointed at the television, with an expression that wasn’t exceptionally clear, "Watch mommy and daddy."

A camera could take photos, and through those photos, he could see Xu Chuning and Shen Yubai.

After understanding Shen Sinian’s thoughts, Xu Chuning promised him that she would gift him a camera for his third birthday.

Maybe Shen Sinian still doesn’t know how much homework Xu Chuning did to get him that camera. He had little strength, so she couldn’t buy one that was too heavy. However, he had high demands for many things, and his discerning eye was sharp even at his young age, so the specs had to be good in all aspects. Besides that, it needed to be attractive and easy to get started with.

No matter how clever Shen Sinian was, he was still a kid, and Xu Chuning needed to give him a camera that was easy to handle for him to play with.

...

Remembering the camera Xu Chuning gave to him, Shen Sinian felt regretful, "There were a lot of photos stored in that camera."

The most regrettable thing on this trip, for him, was not bringing that camera.

Xu Chuning smiled gently and consoled him, "Then you can use this camera to record things that happen here."

Shen Sinian had this intention, and indeed, it was for this reason that he suggested the camera as a reward to Shen Yubai.

As he spoke, Shen Sinian lifted the camera, looking at both of them, "How about I take a photo of you two together?"

Xu Chuning: "Ah?"

She instinctively said, "Now isn’t quite—"

Before she could finish with "appropriate," Shen Yubai slightly raised his eyebrows nonchalantly saying, "Can."