Chapter 1565

Pingping had his arms around Zhao Gang’s neck, bawling his lungs out.

It was really the first time Gong Ruini had heard her son cry this loudly; if it weren’t for the setting, she’d have complained that if her son doesn’t go sing as a tenor, it’s a huge waste.

Once Pingping started wailing, An An followed suit, sobbing in Cai Meina’s arms so hard she couldn’t catch her breath, which really scared Gong Ruini.

"An An, don’t cry."

"Grandma feels like crying too." Don’t be fooled by how Cai Meina had been eagerly longing for a grandson before—once Pingping and the others were born, she actually ended up liking An An more.

Besides An An’s health issues, it was also because An An was well-behaved and sensible.

On this trip back, An An was again with Cai Meina and the rest, so of course they were especially fond of this little girl.

"Ni Zi, when you go in later, you need to coax An An properly, and then you need to pay attention to...." Cai Meina rambled on for a long, long time.

Gong Ruini was honestly stunned. Come on, she’s the actual mother, okay? Was it really necessary to hammer it home like that, as if she’d torment the kid or something?

Zhao Xuran glanced at the time—getting late—and his girl was crying miserably; if it weren’t for Pingping setting her off, he could practically take his head off.

"Alright, let’s go." Zhao Xuran walked over to Zhao Gang and scooped Pingping right out of his arms.

When Pingping saw that someone else was suddenly holding him, he instantly cranked up the volume, which really annoyed Zhao Gang, who was already reluctant to let go.

"You little brat, can’t you move more gently?"

"Don’t you know that makes Pingping uncomfortable?"

Uncomfortable? Tch. Has he not realized this kid is putting on an act? Zhao Xuran smacked Pingping’s butt without the slightest politeness.

"We’re going home."

"We’re taking a big airplane home, okay?" Zhao Xuran’s voice was syrupy gentle.

When Pingping heard that, never mind how fierce he’d been crying before; on hearing this, he worked hard to stop himself from crying, sniffling while trying his best to pull up a smile.

Tears still clung to the corners of his eyes as his mouth forced out a grin. Zhao Gang was displeased, glaring fiercely at Zhao Xuran, clearly not catching the meaning behind his words.

Zhao Xuran didn’t care, but his arms around Pingping tightened even more. How old is this kid, and he already knows how to act? What’s he going to be like when he’s older—ready to go straight to the moon?

Once Pingping stopped crying, An An of course also wrapped up her performance, which delighted the people around them.

"No wonder they’re twins."

"They’re so in sync."

Ugh, "in sync" again. Right now, Gong Ruini really didn’t want to hear that word. That so-called tacit understanding just meant these two kids could team up to torture adults with ease.

Luckily, with Zhao Xuran around, even if Pingping wanted to stir up trouble, it wouldn’t be easy.

An An didn’t care what people around her were saying. To her, crying was exhausting too; she yawned and slowly drifted off to sleep.

When Pingping saw that his little sister had actually fallen asleep, he panicked, constantly reaching out, trying to wake An An up.

"What are you doing?" Zhao Xuran slapped Pingping’s chubby little hand away, annoyed. "Can’t you see your sister’s asleep?"

A daughter who’s just fallen asleep really cannot be messed with, or when she wakes, the sirens will be blaring. Who knows how long it’ll take to soothe her.

And when that happens, his son will absolutely play dead, pretending none of it was his doing. Having suffered losses many times, Zhao Xuran was naturally on his guard.

Pingping was furious, wanting to shout at Zhao Xuran, only to realize they were moving, and he was suddenly dumbstruck.

His courage to act so arrogant had all come from having Grandpa there. Now that he realized Grandpa wasn’t around, how could he dare make a scene?

Walking behind them with An An in her arms, Gong Ruini of course saw the whole process of her son’s expression changing. How old is this kid, and he’s already this monstrous? Truly unbelievable.

"Xuran, do you know Mensa?" Gong Ruini couldn’t help getting excited and caught up to Zhao Xuran to ask.

Of course Zhao Xuran knew Mensa; it wasn’t like no one had ever suggested he go get tested. But he had no interest—what good did knowing your IQ do?

"When Pingping and the others are a bit older, we’ll take them to get tested?" Gong Ruini knew she wasn’t smart herself, but they had a smart son, so of course she wanted to revel in that a bit.

What’s the point of that test? Zhao Xuran really didn’t think his kids needed it. So what if their IQ was high? But seeing how excited his wife looked—

"Then we’ll do one." As for whether son and daughter would agree at the time, kids don’t care about this stuff; it won’t bother them.

"Okay." What Gong Ruini actually wanted to know was how many surprises the two kids would bring her under the nourishment of Space Water. It should be a lot, right?

Right now, Zhao Xuran was busy disciplining his son; everything else was off his radar.

He lifted his son up to make him look him in the eye. "What’s with you today?"

"Were you planning to get Grandpa to punish me?" Ever since they came back to China, Zhao Xuran had felt all kinds of inexplicable discomfort. He honestly never knew his son was this skilled at screwing over his dad.

All his life, he’d never been scolded by his parents; he’d always been the son they could rest easy about. But this trip, he didn’t even know how many times he’d gotten chewed out.

Pingping looked pitifully at Zhao Xuran, nothing like the smug little showoff of the past few days.

Seeing his son’s pathetic look, the fire in Zhao Xuran’s heart was still impossible to hold back. "Don’t think that just because you’re smart you can rely on your little tricks."

Having little tricks at home is no big deal, but if you pull that outside, who’s going to give him face?

It’s not like everyone else is stupid. It’s not that just because you can act, others can’t.

Zhao Xuran didn’t believe his own dad hadn’t noticed, but why would he go along with the kid’s little scheme? Isn’t that obvious?

Watching his pitiful nephew, Wan Yihui nudged Gong Ruzhi. "You’re not going to step in?"

Gong Ruzhi pushed his glasses up. "If this kid doesn’t get disciplined, he won’t turn out right." Hmph, he even dragged me down with him. How can you not straighten out such a brat?

What, seriously? Wan Yihui didn’t get it. Wasn’t this uncle the one who always doted on Pingping, often popping up to smooth things over whenever Zhao Xuran tried to school him? How come his attitude suddenly changed today?

Wan Yihui truly didn’t understand. Really didn’t.

Gong Ruzhi kept inputting data. As for Pingping, never mind how frustrated Zhao Xuran was or how much he wanted to teach the kid a lesson—that would have to wait until they were back in New York.

As for him, he’d thought he’d handle this program smoothly on this trip, but he hadn’t expected problems to crop up. He didn’t know if he’d be able to iron everything out during their layover in Los Angeles.

Whether it was that the kid knew you can’t act up on a plane or because of that big scolding from Zhao Xuran right before boarding, this little brat was unbelievably well-behaved.

For the whole flight, aside from fussing over wanting milk and a few soft whimpers meaning he was uncomfortable, he was as good as gold the rest of the time.

"Our son actually has such an honest side to him." Gong Ruini couldn’t help but sigh. Ever since he was born—other than before his one-month celebration—he’d been as tough and cheeky as they come.

As long as the kid was awake, there was never a moment he wasn’t up to something.

Looks like this trick works. Gong Ruini decided that if they ever flew again, they could reuse this tactic.

As for whether it would lose effectiveness—that depended on how terrifying Zhao Xuran could be. As long as he kept up the pressure, there’d be no worry about this kid not listening.