Chapter 219: Parent-Child Summer Camp

"Anything is fine... no, I don't want stones."

Stones?

Shi Youxuan looked at Zhu Yiwen and gave a bitter smile: "This child doesn't know what's good for her; you just need to bring back a few dolls for her."

Last time Zhu Yiwen went on a business trip, he returned and gave her a pocketful of pink diamonds and blue diamonds as gifts.

Diamonds that would be very valuable even if one took out a tiny piece, yet Zhu Yiwen gave a whole pocketful at once.

But it didn't gain Shi Ran's favor; she played with them for a bit and then didn't want them anymore.

The parent-child summer camp began.

Shi Youxuan brought Shi Ran, with Alisha following behind, and the three of them set off.

The kindergarten director had put a lot of thought into this summer camp; the family backgrounds of the children in the kindergarten were all quite extraordinary, and the parents were busy with official duties and had little time to accompany their children.

Most of the children were cared for by servants at home, and some didn't even see their parents a few times a year.

Parent-child relationships were mostly thin, and many children had developed various psychological problems.

Therefore, the director hoped that through such activities, the relationship between parents and children could be improved, and they could realize that companionship is more important than anything else!

Because of this purpose, the director stipulated that each family was only allowed to bring one servant to take care of the child; more were not permitted.

It was unrealistic not to allow any, as the noblewomen of L Country rarely took care of their own children, and if they did it themselves, they were afraid things would go wrong.

The kindergarten was very lively today, and people brought tents to set up camp in the kindergarten courtyard.

Those who had finished setting up their tents had to go to the nearby river to catch fish and shrimp, go to the vegetable garden to pick fresh vegetables themselves, and climb fruit trees to pick fruit.

These were all things Shi Ran liked to do most.

The little one was practically going crazy with joy!

Usually, Mommy wouldn't let her go into the river or climb trees, but now that Mommy was going with her, she was incredibly excited.

Alisha set up their tent, one for each family!

This was also a requirement from the director, requiring each family to have only one tent so that family members could live together to facilitate closer relationships.

Servants, however, could stay in the staff dormitory, where the conditions were relatively better.

Shi Youxuan originally wanted to help, but he told her to just accompany their daughter, saying he could finish this little task quickly himself and didn't need help.

He really did set it up quickly and well, winning first place!

The director rewarded the family that built their new home the fastest with a prize—a thirty-centimeter-tall crystal ornament, which was a family of three, with the father and mother standing on either side and a little girl in the middle.

Shi Ran treasured it like a treasure, clamoring to take this prize back and place it in the most conspicuous spot at home.

After everyone finished setting up their tents, the next item was to assign tasks.

The director held a tray and asked each family to send a representative to draw lots.

Whatever task was drawn had to be completed according to what was written on the slip of paper, and then they had to come back and make at least two dishes per family; lunch for everyone would depend on these things.

Shi Ran was sent out as the representative, and the slip of paper she drew had two words on it: "Fishing."

"Great, fishing, let's go fishing!" She jumped up and down with joy, and being unable to wait, she wanted to set off immediately.

The three of them arrived at the riverbank, each with a fishing rod, but Shi Ran was too lively and couldn't sit still at all.

She would lift the fishing rod several times a minute to check, and of course, she couldn't catch anything!

Not only could she not catch anything herself, but she also had to disturb Shi Youxuan and Sheng Hanyu.

Every once in a while, she would go and tug on the line of Shi Youxuan's fishing rod: "Mommy, let me see if the fish has bitten the hook?" It had actually bitten the hook, but before it could bite firmly, it was scared away by her.

"Oh, it's all your fault!"

Shi Youxuan gently patted "Xiaozhu" and scolded with a smile: "You little troublemaker, if you hadn't caused trouble just now, we would have a big fish by now. If you keep doing this, you'll never catch anything, so just wait to be in last place, and the prize you just got will have to be returned."

She scared the child, and the child took it seriously.

She pouted and was about to cry: "I don't want to be in last place, I don't want to give the prize back."

Seeing her daughter's aggrieved little look, not only did Shi Youxuan not feel sympathy or pity, but she was instead very smug and laughed out loud: "Serves you right, letting you cause trouble? You brought this on yourself."

This woman didn't have the slightest self-awareness of being a mother; she didn't have a shred of maternal radiance.

Now the two of them were like two children, with the big child bullying the small child.

Sheng Hanyu watched, mesmerized; this was the real Shi Youxuan, exactly the same as she was five years ago.

Cute, spontaneous, and overflowing with sunshine and spirit from head to toe!

The mother and daughter were still bickering and didn't notice Alisha's gaze at all.

The fishing rod in his hand suddenly sank, and Sheng Hanyu came back to his senses and immediately lifted the rod; a big fish over half a meter long was flung onto the lawn.

The fish didn't give up after coming ashore and was still jumping around, intending to go back!

But it was destined to be wishful thinking; since it had already come ashore, returning was impossible.

"Quick, catch it."

The little girl shouted loudly and pounced over, hugging the fish in her arms, but her dress got dirty.

She didn't care at all whether the clothes on her body were dirty or not; all her attention was on the fish. The harder her two little hands tried to catch it, the less she could hold it; the fish jumped and the child hopped, and the scene was very funny.

Shi Ran giggled, the smile on her face as bright as a blooming flower.

Shi Youxuan only knew her daughter was naughty, but she never knew she was so happy when she was being naughty; she looked so cute.

When she saw her, it was always the aftermath of "Xiaozhu" being naughty—covered in dirt, her little face a mess.

But this was the first time Shi Youxuan had seen the process of her being naughty; her daughter was so happy, lively, and full of energy, and one couldn't see any signs of her congenital deficiency at all.

She recalled that it seemed "Xiaozhu" had never fallen ill after being naughty; her illnesses always happened during the change of seasons.

Every time that happened, she would be extra careful, having people strictly supervise "Xiaozhu," not giving her a chance to go out even half a step.

But the more she did that, the worse her health became...

Shi Youxuan realized that her past parenting style seemed to be wrong, and since it was wrong, it had to be changed; trying another way might not be a bad idea.

"I'll help you!"

She joined the "battle!"

"Really?"

Shi Ran blinked her big eyes, and for a moment, she actually stopped moving.

She was too shocked; she found it hard to believe this was real.

It only paused for an instant, but the fish had already flopped twice; a few more flops and it would be back in the water.

"Don't let it get away." Shi Youxuan lunged over as well.

"Mommy, I'll help you." Shi Ran suddenly sprawled onto her mommy's back, her soft, pink little arms wrapped tightly around her mommy's neck.

This wasn't helping at all; it was more like getting in the way.

She was so happy, so excited that she didn't quite know how to express it; she was already used to being scolded whenever she did this in the past.

Today, not only was she not scolded, but Mommy was even catching fish with her; she was simply too happy, so happy she didn't know how to express it.

Her daughter's soft, small body pressed tightly against her, and the sweet, milky scent reached her nose; Shi Youxuan's tears almost fell.

"Xiaozhu" had always loved her; she knew that.

But "Xiaozhu" had never relied on her like she did today—with such unconditional trust and reliance, just like this.

Shi Youxuan's heart felt like it was melting into water, impossibly soft.

She began to reflect, reflecting on whether everything she had done in the past was entirely correct.