The three people in the room were stunned at the same time.
Chen Yanan opened his eyes wide in astonishment and fell off the stool: "It it it it—"
The little cub on the ground looked only a few months old and was lying unsteadily. Its skin was smooth and white without any scales.
Obviously better than the first time my father became a human.
The little fish boy slowly raised his head and saw Qin Zhao first. His eyes were big and round, and his pupils were dark and bright. The outline of his eyebrows and nose bridge looked vaguely like Qin Zhao. He stretched out his lotus-root-like arm towards Qin Zhao and waved it gently.
"Aa ...
He seemed to have not noticed the changes in himself, but was startled by the sound he could make. Later he saw the chubby little hand again and tilted his head.
There was a look of doubt on that delicate little face, her brows were furrowed tighter and tighter, and tears welled up in her eyes.
The naked kid sat on the ground and burst into tears.
The cry of the baby woke up the three adults present. Qin Zhao was the first to react and quickly stepped forward to pick up the baby: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Daddy is here."
It would have been fine if no one comforted him, but after being comforted by his father, the kid cried even harder.
Fish cannot make any sound. This was the first time Jing Li heard a baby cry since he gave birth to the baby fish. He felt extremely upset. He wanted to hug the baby, but was afraid that it would make him cry even more. He was at a loss what to do.
Chen Yanan was still sitting on the ground, his face pale and his eyes dull, as if he had been frightened silly.
Qin Zhao looked around at the chaotic situation in the room, feeling helpless and amused.
This little thing never makes me worry for a single day.
He acted decisively, sat down with the child in his arms, scooped a spoonful of the soft chicken porridge, and blew on it gently.
The kid's attention was attracted by the fragrance and he stopped crying immediately.
"Ah, ah..."
There were tears hanging on the little boy's long eyelashes. He opened his mouth and hiccuped.
Qin Zhao fed the porridge to his mouth.
After slowly feeding the kid a mouthful of porridge, Qin Zhao smiled and said, "You're so greedy, I don't know who you inherited it from."
As he said this, he glanced at Jing Li meaningfully.
"It's not me anyway." Jing Li subconsciously retorted, angrily, "I don't like to cause trouble like him."
The kid didn't understand what they were saying at all. He moved his arms and pestered Qin Zhao for a drink.
Qin Zhao wiped his tear-stained face with his sleeve and scooped him a spoonful of porridge.
After the kid calmed down, he looked more well-behaved and more like Qin Zhao.
—But it’s a soft, cute version with a little baby fat.
Jing Li poked his soft cheek and said disdainfully, "Fat."
Qin Zhao chuckled.
"No, no, can anyone explain it to me?" Chen Yan'an was still sitting on the ground, but he had recovered from his initial surprise.
He looked at the two people who were chatting as if no one was around, then looked at the baby in Qin Zhao's arms, and felt that his rationality was on the verge of collapse: "What the hell is going on???"
Jing Li: “…”
I almost forgot there's someone else here.
Qin Zhao put down the spoon, took off his coat slowly, wrapped up the naked baby, handed it to Jing Li, and said slowly: "As you can see, this is my son."
Jing Li naturally took over the task of feeding the cub and added, "He's my son too."
"Yes." Qin Zhao nodded, "He gave birth to her."
Chen Yanan: “???”
Chen Yanan got up from the ground, thought for a while, and said to Qin Zhao in astonishment: "You are a monster??!!"
Qin Zhao: “…”
Jing Li: “…”
How on earth did this guy pass those two exams with his brain
"Wait, that's not right..." Chen Yanan realized something and his eyes fell on Jing Li.
The appearance of the little fish, the koi released by Qin Zhao, and the husband who suddenly appeared in Qin Zhao's house...
He suddenly realized: "It's you!"
"Finally figured it out?" Jing Li sneered, "You wanted to feed me earthworms before."
Chen Yanan: “…”
Qin Zhao pressed his eyebrows and said, "Sit down, I will explain it to you slowly."
Qin Zhao and Jing Li had already discussed whether or not to tell the truth. In fact, they were already prepared in their hearts, knowing that this matter probably could not be concealed for too long.
Because they don't know when the little fish will transform.
According to Jing Li's transformation rules, not counting the eighteen years he lived in modern times, it took him nearly five years from birth to his first transformation in this world.
If the little fish behaved like this, they wouldn't be able to hide it anyway.
Not telling it for now is to avoid trouble, but if the day comes when I can no longer hide it, I will have to tell the truth.
Qin Zhao explained everything in detail, but Chen Yanan didn't answer for a long time, as if he couldn't accept such a large amount of information for the time being. He sat there in a daze for a while, muttering in a low voice: "No wonder you don't want to sell it, this really can't be sold..."
Qin Zhao: “…”
The kid was a little sleepy after eating, and yawned while grabbing Jing Li's hair.
Qin Zhao said: "Let's carry him in first."
Jing Li nodded and carried the baby back to the inner courtyard.
Qin Zhao watched him leave, the smile on his face faded a little, and he said seriously: "Yan An, I hope you can keep what I told you today a secret."
Chen Yanan immediately understood what he meant: "I understand. If my sister-in-law's identity is known to others, there will definitely be trouble. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Qin Zhao: "Thank you."
Chen Yanan looked at the empty fish tank next to him, thought for a moment, and said excitedly: "But there is one more thing I want to discuss with you."
Qin Zhao asked: "What's the matter?"
Chen Yanan said: "Our two families are so familiar with each other, how about arranging a marriage for children in the future?"
"..." Qin Zhao didn't even think about it, "No."
"Can't you think about it a little more? Is there still brotherhood?"
Qin Zhao: "No."
"I'm really not attracted by Koi's good fortune, I just think your son is cute, really!"
"… "
Qin Zhao never expected that after seeing the fish transform into a human, the first thing Chen Yanan thought of was a child marriage.
He simply left the nagging Chen Yanan in the front yard and went back to his bedroom.
The little fish had fallen asleep in Jing Li's arms.
The little fish hasn't transformed these days, but Qin Zhao and Jing Li still prepared baby clothes and supplies for him, just in case.
Jing Li wrapped the child in a cotton swaddle, leaned on the bed, looked down at the sleeping face, lost in thought.
Qin Zhao sighed in his heart.
His husband finally got used to the appearance of the little fish and stopped staring at them in fascination all the time. Now, the little fish has turned into a baby and everything is back to square one.
Qin Zhao walked to the bedside and asked in a low voice: "Are you tired of holding you? Let me hold you for a while?"
"Not tired." Jing Li shook his head and stared at the kid without moving his eyes. "He looks like you."
Qin Zhao laughed: "How is it similar?"
"Eyebrows, nose, lips..." Jing Li looked at the boy, then at Qin Zhao, feeling inexplicably annoyed, "He doesn't look like me at all."
This person's genes are terrible.
But Jing Li quickly convinced himself: "It's also good to be like you, you are so beautiful."
Qin Zhao lowered his head and kissed the corner of Jing Li's lips, forehead against forehead: "I would rather he didn't look so much like me, so that you don't like him too much and don't even look at me."
Jing Li laughed: "In the end, you are still jealous of your own son, who has no future."
Qin Zhao smiled but did not answer. She sat sideways on the bed and hugged her soft husband and son in her arms.
The little fish's body temperature is not as cold as Jing Li's, but is the normal temperature of a baby. This is a good thing. At least the winter will not be as hard as Jing Li's.
Jing Li leaned his head against Qin Zhao's chest and whispered, "It's time to give him a name."
"Well, no rush." Qin Zhao said, "I need to think about it again."
Jing Li: "You've been thinking about it for several months."
Mr. Qin, who is good at writing articles and poems, took him several months to name his son. It's outrageous to think about it.
"Wait." Jing Li's face changed slightly, and then he remembered what they had forgotten, "We still have to go to see the results today."
Qin Zhao was silent for a moment: "Forget it, it's already late, let's wait for the government to send a letter."
"What message?"
Qin Zhao was about to answer when Chen Yan'an knocked on the door outside, saying anxiously, "Brother Qin, I don't want to disturb you, but someone from the government is coming. You have to go out and meet him."
"They said you won the Little Three Prizes!"
Chen Yanan's shout almost woke up the little fish. The little fish moved in Jing Li's arms. Qin Zhao comforted him, "You stay in the room with him. I'll go check on him."
Qin Zhao followed Chen Yanan to the front yard.
As soon as I walked into the yard, I heard the crackling sound of firecrackers.
The gate was not closed, and red flowers from the firecrackers were flying all over the sky. Several yamen runners were standing outside the gate. When they saw Qin Zhao coming out, they bowed to him and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Qin, for winning the top three prizes in the imperial examination!"
Qin Zhao returned the greeting and stepped aside to let them in.
Outside Qin Zhao's house, there were not only yamen runners coming to report the good news, but also many ordinary people.
There were not only scholars from the city, but also several middle-aged women wearing hairpins. They all looked inside the door curiously, and after seeing Qin Zhao's appearance clearly, they all showed joy on their faces.
Seeing this, Chen Yanan leaned over to Qin Zhao's ear and said, "Those guys are matchmakers in the city. When I went to open the door just now, they thought I was you and rushed to hand me the portrait."
Scholars are common in the city, but the top three scholars are rare. In addition, Qin Zhao is still the teacher of the Gu family, and he is the object of admiration of the young ladies in the city.
Chen Yanan said, "It's alright, I can send these people away, you can go in and entertain those officials."
Qin Zhao tilted his head to look at him and said seriously: "Chen Yanan, no matter how attentive you are to me now, I will not consider a child marriage."
"..." Chen Yan'an covered his face, "Am I so obvious?"
Qin Zhao patted his shoulder, and suddenly a voice came: "No need, I'll do it here."
Jing Li strode over, and Qin Zhao asked, "Where's the child?"
"He's asleep in the room." Jing Li glanced outside and snorted with an ambiguous tone, "Things here are more important."
Qin Zhao heard the anger in his voice, laughed, and cleared his throat: "Okay, then I'll trouble you, Madam."
After saying that, he turned and walked into the yard.
Jing Li stepped out of the courtyard, smiling: "Who wants to hand over a portrait to my little Sanyuan master?"
The bailiff who brought the news had already sat down in the main hall. Qin Zhao took the good news they brought, treated them to tea, and gave each of them some silver, thus completing the process of announcing the good news.
Before the runners left, they handed Qin Zhao another note: "The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming in a few days. The prefect wants to host the students who have performed well in the college entrance examination at the hot spring villa outside the city. I hope Mr. Qin will be there."
The yamen runner added: "It will be for three days. If you have relatives, you can bring them along."
Qin Zhao's eyes moved slightly and he took the note.
"You will keep the appointment."