After familiarizing themselves with their new workplace and discussing the last details, the Zhongs went back home while Zhong Gang hurried to his restaurant. After all, just because the teahouse would open soon the restaurant wouldn’t close and as the owner, Zhong Gang didn’t feel too well leaving it all for that long.

Mister and Madam Zhong talked about the opening of the teahouse while Jing Yi went to explore the house further. Like that the day ended and the day of the opening arrived.

Jing Yi woke up even before the first rays of sunlight shone through the window. He jumped out of the bed and hurried to get dressed. Then he ran back to his parents’ bed, clasped the edge and stared at his father’s face. Weren’t they supposed to go and open that teahouse? Shouldn’t he start smiling at the customers? He wanted his mommy to be happy!

Unfortunately, his father didn’t seem like he wanted to get up. Jing Yi frowned and reached out to tug at his father’s sleeve. Mister Zhong furrowed his brows, sighed, and continued to sleep.

Jing Yi didn’t know what to do. He turned to look at his mother but she was still sleeping and he couldn’t bear to wake her up. It was still early, after all. Jing Yi looked back at his father and once again tugged at his sleeve. When he still didn’t get a reaction, he tried once more.

Qiu Ling watched him from the side and smiled brightly. Ah, how cute his beloved was! How could his father still bear to sleep?

He reached out and flicked Mister Zhong’s shoulder, making him flinch. He sat up abruptly and stared ahead. What was going on? Were bandits attacking them again?! He anxiously looked around but couldn’t see anyone. His gaze finally lowered and he noticed his son in front of the bed. He blinked.

"Jing’er? What are you doing here?"

"The teahouse!" Jing Yi was getting impatient. He pursed his lips and stared at his father with accusing eyes. This was probably the closest he would ever get to throwing a tantrum.

Unfortunately, his antagonizing glare was completely misinterpreted on both sides.

Qiu Ling’s eyes lit up and he crouched down next to Jing Yi, just one step away from pulling him into his arms and cuddling him. Ah, his beloved seemed to get cuter every day! No, every single minute! How could he look so lovable? He wanted to hug him so much!

Mister Zhong’s reaction wasn’t much better. He laughed heartily, bent down and pinched his son’s cheeks. "Are you already practicing to smile at the customers? What a good child! Come, come, let father help you!" Much to Jing Yi’s dismay, Mister Zhong climbed out of the bed but sat down on the edge again as if he had all the time in the world. A goofy smile spread out on his face and he pointed at the corners of his mouth. "Look at this! Try lifting them up a bit."

Jing Yi continued to glare at him. He even took the extra effort to press his lips into a straight line to make sure his father would finally understand his intentions.

He failed miserably though. Mister Zhong looked at him worriedly, then pinched his cheeks again, this time trying to lift the corners of Jing Yi’s mouth on his own. "Look! Just like this! Isn’t it fun?" He smiled brightly.

Jing Yi’s face grew gloomier but with his cheeks still being held like that, it wasn’t as noticeable. Qiu Ling sighed when he saw this. Mister Zhong wouldn’t understand if he wasn’t told while Jing Yi wouldn’t tell and just look accusingly. Why was it so difficult for the two of them to communicate? There was only one way to resolve this issue.

He reached out and gingerly tapped his mother-in-law’s shoulder.

Maybe it was the instinct of a mother or maybe Madam Zhong was just more alert than her husband but she opened her eyes immediately. The first thing she spotted were her son’s scrunched up face and her husband’s unruly claws that were still clutching his reddened cheeks.

Madam Zhong frowned. If her husband continued with this, their child might start crying the next moment. She hurriedly reached out, grabbed his hand and pulled it away. "Ah Lei, what are you doing?"

Mister Zhong finally let go of his son and happily turned to his wife to explain. "Xiao Chun! I helped Jing’er practice how to smile at the customers later on." He proudly stuck out his chest, waiting for his wife to praise him.

Madam Zhong smiled wryly, got up and patted her son’s head. "I’m sure Jing’er already knows how to do that." She smiled at her son before turning back to her husband with a reproachful look. "Now, let’s stop playing around. You wouldn’t want to be late for the opening of the teahouse, would you?"

Mister Zhong finally leaped to his feet. "You’re right, you’re right! Ah, don’t worry, Jing’er, we’ve already practiced enough. Your smile looks great now! The customers will certainly love it!" Even though he realized that he couldn’t dilly-dally he still took the time to reassure his son.

Jing Yi ignored him and instead followed his mother around. Thankfully, his mother had woken up! Now they could go to the teahouse. Thinking of that, his spirits lifted again. He grabbed her hand when she finished changing and smiled sweetly at her.

Madam Zhong smiled back and patted his head. "Just be like that in the teahouse and the guests will want to take you home!"

Jing Yi’s smile froze and he looked up at her with big eyes. "They’ll take me home?"

Madam Zhong laughed. "They would love to! But don’t worry. Mommy won’t give you away. Aren’t you mommy’s favorite person?"

"Mn!" Jing Yi followed her to the door but stopped again after a few steps. "Then … Does mommy like me more than she likes father?"

Madam Zhong smiled. "Of course! Aren’t you the most important thing to both of us?"

Jing Yi nodded, not really caring if he was the most important person to his father. The main point was that he was his mother’s favorite person! He would definitely make her happy today and smile at the customers a lot!