ALPHA UNIVERSE #9: BABY DADDY

CHAPTER 35

Welcoming the new year is much more chaotic than usual. On previous celebrations, the Songs would join the neighbors outside and do the ten-second countdown, then loudly greet each other under the colorful fireworks display. For the Zhongs, they would rather have quiet traditions within the family, have a sumptuous meal, and give pocket money.

Today, though, they decided to celebrate it in a much livelier way. On the previous days, they were busy decorating the whole house as well as hanging lucky charms on the trees outside the gates. Since the neighborhood is quite introverted and looks gloomy amidst the snow, they agreed to make the house more interactive and made sure that the place was the brightest of them all.

The whole family agreed that they should do their best to spread joy and warmth, and it was a huge success. They got out and loudly greeted everyone, and they even played around with sparklers with the other neighbors. It was the Zhong family that lit up fireworks too.

All in all, it was a joyful new year, probably the most fun that the Zhong family has ever had in such a long time.

The morning of January 1 is colder. They succumbed to their ways of getting warmer, and the heaters were definitely on and increased for days.

Daehoon and Ellie have gotten much closer than ever, and they assumed that it was happiness that got baby Ellie to mutter her first word. Hoon-ah.

Yeah, her first word is her playmate's name. Even still, it was a great day, especially for Shen and Cali.

The moms chat about 80% of the day. Since they are not too fluent with each other's languages, they converse more in English. They mix some words in their first languages, so when you listen to them, you can actually hear a Korean-English and Chinese-English conversation. That made them learn more of their languages though, so it was fun.

The lack of a father figure from the Song's side is not a bother. Since both of his sons are now fathers, Cai relates to them. He's still giving them advice on how to provide extra care and protect their children. He even suggested kindergarten schools for Daehoon and made Chenle consider hiring a private language and vocabulary tutor.

Of course, Cali, Sulhee, and Yushi became an unexpected trio. They are responsible for watching over the kids most of the time, but that became their bond. Since they gave their maids a holiday break, Cali and Sulhee help Lei prepare meals, while Yushi tries his best to become the best uncle again.

At night, they talk about Chenle and Sulhee's wedding. They already contacted a few cooks, coordinators, and designers, and the couple is set to visit their offices once work resumes. They are just planning, but it gives them the same thrill and excitement. It's obvious that it's the topic that everyone loves, as all of them put their time and efforts into it.

Of course, the golden question is,

"Have you decided a date?"

Chenle and Sulhee looked at each other for a second, then smiled at them. "March 1"

Bora's brow raised. "Oh, is there any reason for it?"

"We just thought that it'll be too soon if we pick sometime in February. Also, we will deal with more work for January to February as an opening project for the new year. We don't want to drag it out longer either, so we decided March 1 is just right. Besides, I think we need to plan it out thoroughly, right? It might be a little too time-pressuring to hold everything in February. We have to make it perfect, don't we?" Chenle's detailed answer made them nod in agreement.