#59: [Extra] Luo Xuening

“Wake Daddy up,” Shi Min carried Shi Yueming to the living room and placed her on Luo Mingjing.

Luo Mingjing had stayed up late working on designs last night and was now sprawled out on the sofa, fast asleep.

With a thump, Shi Yueming’s tiny body fell onto Luo Mingjing. Slowly, she said, “Dad... wake.”

She started speaking later than most children. Luo Mingjing had taken her to see a doctor, who confirmed she was healthy, with no autism or speech impediment. The final suggestion was for the parents to talk to her more.

Luo Mingjing almost turned himself into a nursery rhyme encyclopedia, but Shi Yueming still only uttered simple words. She seemed to love listening to him talk, and from her eyes and expression, she seemed to understand, but the little princess would only smile, give simple responses, and never followed him in learning those nursery rhymes.

“Einstein didn’t speak until he was seven,” Shi Min, who had apparently read some scientific gossip somewhere, comforted Luo Mingjing, “It’s fine as long as we know she doesn’t have a language disorder. No need to dwell on it too much.”

Luo Mingjing rested his chin on his hand in thought: “Shi Min, were you like this when you were little?”

“I talked a lot when I was little,” Shi Min raised an eyebrow. “My mom said I talked less after I had a fever when I was three.”

“...From the fever?”

“No,” Shi Min said expressionlessly, “I got smarter and felt I had nothing to say to them.”

“Never mind,” Luo Mingjing looked at his happily playing daughter and said, “Let nature take its course. As long as she’s happy.”

Shi Yueming was very lively. Aside from not speaking much, she seemed to develop faster than other children her age in every other aspect.

On the day Luo Heqiang passed away, Luo Mingjing received the news. He calmly continued drawing, but tears fell, dripping onto his paper.

Shi Yueming, who was playing with toys on the table, heard the sound and turned her head to look at him curiously. After a long while, she opened her arms for Luo Mingjing to hug her. She tightly hugged Luo Mingjing’s neck, gently kissed him, and slowly said, “Pain-pain fly away.”

She also pointed to the small towel hanging around her neck, motioning for him to use it.

“Crying, shame.”

“So good...” Luo Mingjing smiled gently through his tears. “Daddy’s not in pain, my little princess. Daddy has you, so he’ll never be in pain.”

________________________________________

It was another ordinary day.

Shi Min placed her daughter on him and said, “Sugar, wake him up, wake up and come to the meeting with Mommy.”

Luo Mingjing slowly curved his lips. He felt the weight on his body.

“Tangtang,” he said hoarsely, “Is Daddy carrying Tangtang, or two kitties?”

“It’s Tangtang...” Shi Yueming slowly crawled over, lay in Luo Mingjing’s neck, and answered him with simple words.

He couldn’t open his eyes, but he still smiled and pressed this little thing on his chest, planting a big kiss.

“Ah... so much drool,” Luo Mingjing managed to open his eyes and wiped his daughter’s mouth.

“Daddy, eat.”

“Then let go of Daddy’s hair.”

“Mommy, grab too...” Shi Yueming laughed like a little angel.

“Don’t learn from your mommy,” Luo Mingjing hugged her, got up, made her sit properly, and picked up a small comb from the table to brush her hair.

He asked Shi Min, “Should mother and daughter have the same hairstyle?”

Shi Min saw him about to braid Shi Yueming’s hair and refused, “Let’s stick to father-daughter hairstyles. I think it’s very good.”

“You won’t trick me,” Luo Mingjing tied a small bow, kissed his daughter, and happily said, “Tangtang smells sweet. Let’s go to Mommy’s office.”

Shi Yueming loved going to places with many adults. Luo Mingjing would carry her on his back during meetings and discussions about cooperative projects.

When he and Shi Min were working, Shi Yueming would quietly lie on his back, observing them silently, occasionally smiling.

Seeing her enjoy work environments so much, Mrs. Zhang was very pleased and often told Shi Yueming that their Tangtang was getting a preview of her future company. However, Uncle Shi said that Shi Yueming was not a business talent; she was more interested in things like writing and drawing.

Uncle Shi had observed many times that this girl, Shi Yueming, liked to go to crowded places and observe people coming and going. She watched their expressions, their movements, the changes in their demeanor, and enjoyed listening to them talk and observing, but she wasn’t interested in work and meetings themselves.

Uncle Shi also pointed out that the girl was more like Luo Mingjing.

When Shi Min held review meetings and discussed efficiency, Shi Yueming would get sleepy. But as soon as Luo Mingjing took out a design draft, if it had shapes and patterns on the paper, she would lean on the adults and quietly stare, her eyes following the draft.

After Uncle Shi finished his analysis, Shi Min smiled slightly, turned to Luo Mingjing, and said, “Your daughter is just like you.”

“That’s good,” Luo Mingjing said. “What she’s interested in happens to be what I can guide her and help her with. It will be easier in the future.”

Mrs. Zhang said, “Oh, no, children need adversity education. It’s not good if things are too smooth.”

Luo Mingjing just smiled and didn’t argue, but on the way back to the studio, he told Shi Min, “I hope her life is always smooth sailing, with her own world. I will help her protect that world into a paradise. If possible, I hope she never encounters setbacks in her life and always remains like a princess.”

Shi Min: “Then you need to work hard.”

“You need to work hard too, Your Majesty,” Luo Mingjing joked. “Your kingdom cannot fall.”

“It won’t,” Shi Min said. “I am the most astute and capable monarch in my business kingdom.”

“Why are you praising yourself now...” Luo Mingjing chuckled heartily.

________________________________________

Another Chinese New Year approached, and Shi Yueming turned three.

In the morning, Luo Mingjing held Shi Yueming as they put up spring couplets at the door. The couplets were written by him, and the ‘Fu’ (luck) characters were also cut by him.

He lifted Shi Yueming, who was wearing a little red cotton dress with the ‘Fu’ character, and the father-daughter duo smiled as they put up the couplets.

Shi Min watched from the side, then slowly walked forward, extended her hand, and said, “Mingjing, come, rock-paper-scissors.”

“...What are you deciding again?” Luo Mingjing chuckled. “One round to determine the winner?”

“Up to you.”

“Then one round it is, three, two, one!”

Luo Mingjing won against Shi Min.

Shi Min snickered, then said, “This result is quite good.”

Luo Mingjing asked curiously, “Huh? Aren’t you going to tell me what you were deciding?”

“It’s not decided yet. I’ll tell you when I get back tonight,” Shi Min said. “You won.”

Shi Min left in a hurry. Two hours later, she called back: “Mingjing, make something delicious.”

“Oh? Did something good happen?” Luo Mingjing’s tone was joyful. “What do you want to eat? Name your dishes.”

When Shi Min returned, she was carrying a white box.

“You’re back just in time. Dinner’s ready. Hurry, Tangtang can’t wait.”

Shi Min: “Open it and eat.”

“Cake? You even bought a cake.” Luo Mingjing took the box, untied the ribbon, and was about to cut the cake when he saw the congratulatory message on it and froze.

His voice changed pitch: “What is this? What does this mean?!”

On the cream surface of the cake, a line of text was written.

“Congratulations: You’re going to be a father again.”

“She’ll take your surname,” Shi Min smiled. “Luo Mingjing, a gift for your thirtieth birthday.”

“I’ve already thought of a name,” Shi Min said. “If you have no objections, it’s decided.”

She handed him a slip of paper with three characters written on it—Luo Xuening.

“Huh?” Luo Mingjing happily asked, “Another little cotton jacket?”

“Who cares if it’s a cotton jacket or underwear,” Shi Min chuckled briefly. “That’s the name. Her nickname will be Qiuqiu (Ball).”

“...” Luo Mingjing, “No, no, no, change it. Candy, let’s call her Guoguo (Fruit).”

“Qiuqiu is catchier.”

“But if she’s a little cotton jacket, and you call her Qiuqiu...” Luo Mingjing’s eyebrows drooped into a frown. “No.”

“Qiuqiu Guo, Qiu Guoguo, Guoguo Qiu,” Shi Min said. “You choose one.”

She said, “Tangqiu (Candy Ball) is more down-to-earth than Tangguo (Candy Fruit), easier to raise, less worry.”

Raising children was exhausting; she knew that from experience.

“...Guoguo Qiu then,” Luo Mingjing compromised.

________________________________________

In winter, their youngest daughter, Luo Xuening, was born. Her nickname, Guoguo Qiu, was sewn onto her little blanket.

She was very well-behaved, looked like her father, but her personality was remarkably similar to Shi Min’s. When she opened her eyes, she somehow gave an impression of calm competence.

Five years later, Guoguo Qiu, dressed in a blue shirt and overalls, sat on the sofa reading a children’s picture book. Shi Yueming and Shi Chu’s four-and-a-half-year-old Shi Xiaoshu clung to Luo Mingjing, wanting him to comb their hair and tie pigtails.

Shi Yueming, with a naturally slightly smiling face, raised her hand and said, “I want to wear a princess dress!”

And Shi Xiaoshu, being a boy, chased after her, asking Luo Mingjing for a dress: “Uncle, I want to wear a dress!”

Ultimately, both children got their wish, while little Luo Xuening merely lazily lifted her eyelids and glanced at them.

“The future pillar of the family,” Shi Min commented on her youngest daughter.

Indeed, she was right. Years later, Luo Xuening expanded Shi Min’s entertainment empire, conquering countless territories.

Just as they once called Shi Min “Second Young Master Shi,” Luo Xuening also had a nickname: “Young Master Luo.”

This young woman with an angelic face, excellent figure, and a gentle, pleasant name became the most daring, ambitious, and commercially savvy pillar of the family.

Her older sister pursued pure art, just like her father, while she, on the launching pad built by her mother, carved out her own new world.

Later, when her older sister Shi Yueming talked about her family in an interview program resembling a memoir, she evaluated her sister like this:

“She’s a born ambitionist. She knew what she wanted from a young age. Like my mother, her life is dedicated to building her own castle, constructing its walls. This castle holds our home. Because my father and I walk a different path, our home, she and Mom are laying the foundation for us, building the most solid support.”

The host said, “That must be very tiring, right? Generally, the one supporting the family gets more tired.”

“No, it’s not like that,” Shi Yueming smiled and said, “Every member supports the family, at least in my family. Mom and my sister, they truly enjoy this division of labor. It’s how they were born. Genetics or family influence are mysterious things. I’m a bit more like my father, Xuening is more like my mother. You see, it’s another generation, and that’s how the family is passed down, through this invisible bond of kinship.”

“Your family is truly wonderful,” the host said from the bottom of her heart.

“Indeed,” Shi Yueming nodded. “I’m very lucky. I love my family.”

After seeing this interview, Luo Xuening made a phone call. She asked, “Kelly, what’s the market value of that huge painting my sister did, the one hanging in Exhibition Hall A of the Grand Auditorium, ‘My Beloved Family’?”

The secretary reported a figure.

“Understood,” Young Master Luo said. “Buy it back.”

“But... that painting is very large,” the secretary hesitated. “Where would you put it after you buy it back?”

Young Master Luo replied, “Simple. I’m going to build a personal exhibition hall for my sister. The main exhibition hall will display that painting of our family.”

I love my family.

That was what she wanted to say too.