Chapter 122

Shen Xue was starting to regret the decision to take the twins with him for a day-out. He was really expecting that his brother and Big Sis would join them, but he didn’t think that the two would ditch him to look after the children.
“Come on, Uncle Xue! They have a lot of games and rides over there!” Shen Zhichen exclaimed excitedly.
“Noooo….” Little Yuyan whined. “I want some caramel apples and ice cream. Please, Uncle?”
Shen Xue took a sniff of the food from the distance, smelling all sorts of sweets, barbecued meats, and the buttery scent of popcorn. The scent brought him to the early memories with Shen Yi when they were younger.
“Here. Wear these bracelets.” Shen Xue gave the children two green bands that they needed to wear on their wrists. “Don’t wander too far away from me so you won’t get lost.”
With excited glee from the twins, Shen Xue followed the children as they ran to the nearest booths. Their little group walked through the game booths until the twins wandered over and found a booth where they could win some toys.
When they came back to their Uncle Xue, Little Yuyan had a stuffed teddy bear in her arms, so big that she could barely see what was in front of her. Shen Xue shook his head and took the bear from her, earning a big grin from his niece.
“Look! There’s a booth there where we can win little fishies!” Shen Zhichen pointed on the other side of the park. Shen Xue frowned; he didn’t remember seeing this kind of games when he was younger.
During his high school days, he usually skipped school with his friends to visit this amusement park.
“Alright, but just one game.” He conceded.
The twins were able to win seven goldfishes and were ecstatic to name each of them.
“What should we name them?” Little Yuyan asked her brother.
“I don’t know.” Shen Zhichen shrugged. “How about we name this spotted fish, Happy?” he said and pointed to a slightly puffed goldfish with a spot near its mouth.
Shen Xue snorted and took a sip from his soda. Their naming sense was so original—might as well name them after the seven dwarfs.
“I like it!” Little Yuyan beamed. “Too bad Aunty Xinxin isn’t here to join us.”
This was supposed to be a happy and exciting day, but it ended up with him being tired and exhausted. How come he ended up being a babysitter for today? He slumped himself on the bench and wiped his sweat from his forehead while the children asked if they could buy some sweets nearby.
He nodded and gave them cash, telling them not to wander too far or out of his sight. The twins came back with ice creams. Little Yuyan even had a pink balloon in one hand as she licked her ice cream from her other hand.
Shen Xue swallowed. He wanted some ice cream, too. Why were the twins the only ones getting all the fun while he was suffering alone? He was bombarded with several questions from the twins, and he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Uncle Xue, when we’re going home? I miss Aunty Xinxin!”
“Uncle! Uncle! Do you think we can stay with Uncle Yi and Aunty Xinxin forever?”
“Uncle Xue, why aren’t you married like Uncle Yi?” That question caught him off-guard. He never thought something like that would cross Little Yuyan’s mind. He laughed awkwardly, trying to keep eye contact with his niece.
“Because Uncle Xue doesn’t need to marry yet,’ he replied.
“Why not?” Zhichen tilted his head on one side, his eyebrows met in a deep frown.
Shen Xue shrugged. He hadn’t really thought he should go out and find a woman he could date. His brother, though, had needed someone to marry him because of his obligation as the eldest child.
“I don’t need to. Your Uncle Yi married your Aunty Xinxin so he could have babies.”
“Babies?” Little Yuyan sniffed, tears filled her big round eyes. “Why can’t we be Aunty Xinxin’s babies? Don’t they like us?”
Shen Xue panicked. He was never good with children, especially those crying ones. How could he explain to these children that they were just staying temporarily with their Uncle Yi and Aunty Xinxin? That eventually, after they would leave Shen Yi’s home, his brother and Big Sis would probably start to have their own children.