It stood to reason that the boss would never make a mistake like that. The more Yan Shuyu paid attention to it, the more she noticed that the boss's performance was impeccable. Over time, she was even able to learn of her own mistake through observing the boss. As such, she made the boss her goal and wanted to be as fair as possible to the two boys. With that in mind, the minute that she thought about going on a vacation, she immediately thought to herself that she couldn't leave the little male lead behind.

And, if she wanted to bring him with her, she'd need to first have a conversation with the boss. He is, after all, his father.

And that was also why when she was already excitedly researching plane tickets to the different islands and lodging information, she still held off telling the little boys. She wanted to communicate with the boss first before she gave them the good news.

Once she had gotten home, it wasn't easy to find an opportunity to talk to the boss without the two kiddos around. The two of them were very clingy and they specifically enjoyed clinging onto her.

As they were now living with the very disciplined boss, dinner at their place was set at 6:30 PM every day. The children had about an hour of free time before dinner. Naturally, they would just sit around and wait idly for that. They utilized their time to play with the Lego that was a gift from the boss.

Toys like Lego had no age limitations. Yan Shuyu happened to be envious of their Lego so she would usually join and play with them.

Over time, this had turned into their parent child bonding time.

The boss didn't usually join them in this activity. It wasn't so much that he thought it was too childish but that it was difficult enough for him to get off by 5:30 PM and be home before 6 PM to have dinner with them. As such, he would not have the time of time and energy to play with the kids like Yan Shuyu could.

That being said, when he had time, he, too, would roll on the floor and join in with them. Just like today, the boss had completed all his work and rightfully took off early and arrived home just after Yan Shuyu.

As soon as he walked inside of the house, he heard the kids cheered that they were going to run back and finish their Lego in their kids' room. Boss Zhou, who was in a pretty good mood, took off his jacket and asked loudly, "Can I join you guys?"

Of course!

The little kiddos, after hearing his voice, ran back down excitedly and grabbed Uncle Zhou/Daddy to head to their happy Lego base camp.

Seeing that, even if Yan Shuyu wanted to have the discussion with the boss, it was difficult for her to say anything at this point. And, just like that, the two adults and the two children walked into the very colorful children room. With the thick carpet in the room, never mind about getting down on one's belly, they could even roll around on it. As such, Yan Shuyu and the children were quickly laying all over the floor. There wasn't much image to speak of but the happiness was real. Shortly thereafter, Yan Shuyu was so happy that she couldn't think of anything else.

There would always be time to discuss what was truly important. What was the rush?

As they were all having fun together, little kiddo Zhang Yuanbao happily shared a good news with the rest of them. "I ran into Tongtong over at Teacher Xiao Lin's. Tongtong said her mother has recently got a puppy and it is very cute. She also said that we are welcome to go over to play with the puppy when we have time!"

Tongtong was Manager Yang's niece and had always gotten along well with Zhang Yuanjia. Now that they were neighbors, it was even easier for them to see each other. Zhang Yuanjia had even introduced his little buddy Zhou Yi to Tongtong. Naturally, when the little girl invited "them", she was referring to both Zhang Yuanjia and Zhou Yi.

Yan Shuyu wasn't sure if she should be surprised that the little male lead's interest in the puppy was nowhere near that of her son's. He didn't react too much to it. In fact, he even looked up and exchanged a look with his dad. Except that, Yan Shuyu, whose attention was focused on the puppy much like her son, fail to notice it. She asked her son excitedly, "Really? How big is Tongtong's dog? What breed is it?"

With someone sharing his excitement, Zhang Yuanjia shared happily, "It's a Samoyed. It's three months old and Tongtong said it was pretty and white like a cloud."

"Samoyeds are beautiful!" Yan Shuyu said with a longing look, "I'll go with you to play with the puppy!"

The puppy was all the mother and son duo, who had never had pets before, could think about. They had even lost interest in the Lego. They got more and more excited as they chatted and only wished they could go. downstairs immediately to see the dog.

Zhou Qinhe was the one who finally stopped them. "This is dinner hours and they might be eating. Why don't you go later?"

Yan Shuyu had always listened to the boss. She immediately said, "Okay, let's go after dinner then?"

Boss Zhou shook his head helplessly. "What if they are still eating?"

The boss made a good point there. They have no idea what time the Yang's have dinner and when they would be done. Regardless of whether they have already had dinner, it would still be rude to go over when the host is having dinner. That still wasn't an issue for Yan Shuyu though. With her relationship with Manager Yang, all she needed to do was to message him on WeChat and find out whether now was a good time to go over.

Yan Shuyu was just about to go get her cellphone from the living room when the boss made the final decision. "Why don't we go together after piano practice? That way it will be bed time by the time we get back."

Yan Shuyu would rather go immediately after dinner. She wanted to see the dog sooner rather than later. But both Zhang Yuanjia and Zhou Yi had agreed, she didn't want to come across as even more impatient than the little kiddos. As such, she had given up on her idea of contacting her little buddy and returned to the Lego.

After dinner was piano practice time as mentioned by the boss. Zhang Yuanjia was slowly going onto the right track on his path. He was a lucky one, having so many good teachers at his young age. He must be truly talented to be picked by Liu Cui and the others. But, hard work was still very necessary even when one was talented.

Liu Cui has had a conversation with Yan Shuyu on Zhang Yuanjia's education when she first started working there to give her an idea about it. Her son had just started out and was still young so he must start from the basics. But if he truly wanted to have accomplishment in this field, he would need to practice for at least 8 - 9 hours a day.

Yan Shuyu was shocked when she heard that, even a little regretful. She felt that it was too much to ask for her son to spend every single free minute in practicing. Perhaps picking this path for him was a mistake?

The mother might have wanted to back paddle but the son was more determined than ever. She had no idea what kind of chicken soup for the soul had Instructor Liu been giving them but the little kiddo never complained about it being difficult. He'd practice for 3-5 hours at the musical institution then another 1.5 hours at home.

Under his influence, Zhou Yi, too, would practice voluntarily every night. He never said it out loud but, truth was, he didn't want to fall behind his little buddy.

This being Yan Shuyu's new career path and with the two kids at home, each of them practicing harder than the other, naturally she had become their de facto instructor at home.

==

Yan Shuyu, who was dying to go visit the puppy finally made it till when the little boys finished with their practices. It was already 8 PM and she couldn't wait to hold their hands and headed out. The boss, who had been working in the living room had also put down his laptop and followed behind them quietly. The four of them shameless went to knock on Manager Yang's door.

Manager Yang and little Tongtong were very friendly and, not only did they let them see the puppy, they even let them pet and hold it. They played with the dog for a good half an hour By the time they went home, Yan Shuyu was still speechless from the cuteness of the dog and all she could think about was how soft and fluffy it was. She didn't even notice that the boss had already sent the boys to bathe and to bed.

When she recollected herself, she saw the boss standing in front of her, looking at her helplessly. "If you like dogs so much, I can bring my dog over from my old place."

"What kind of a dog?" Yan Shuyu blurted out, "You have a dog behind my back?"

Zhou Qinhe, "...”

Zhou Qinhe quietly omitted the very last thing that she had said and replied, "It's a black dog. He's up there in age and the butler usually takes care of it. I worried that it'd be difficult for it to get used to a new environment so I didn't bring it over. Besides, you've never mentioned that you like dogs."

Yan Shuyu has always like dogs but she has never had a pet before as she felt that she, too, was still a baby herself. It was difficult enough to support just herself, let along an added pet. Now that she needn't worry about a thing in her new life and the place was big enough, she was very tempted by the boss's suggestion. Quickly, she realized that the problem right now wasn't whether to have a dog but that she wanted to talk to him about taking the two boys out for a vacation.

Remembering her original purpose, Yan Shuyu sat up straight and, with a very complacent look, said, "I haven't mentioned this yet, but I got paid today. This much..."

She gestured to the boss as she said it and the boss played along and teased her. "Oh, that much huh? So are you going to take us out to dinner?"

Yan Shuyu shook her head and confidently shared her plans. She was short of slapping on her chest and making promises. "Don't worry. I am very experienced in taking care of kids now. I can totally take care of the both of them."

Zhou Qinhe had been frowning ever since she had shared her serious idea. It wasn't so much that she wouldn't be able to take care of two children by herself though. He answered her question with a question, "So, you were paid and to celebrate, you want to take Yuanbao and Xiao Yi on a trip?"

Yan Shuyu had no idea what the problem was with her statement. She nodded matter-of factly. "Yah."

"What about me then?"

She said to him thoughtfully, "I know you are busy with work so it must be difficult for you to take time off. I won't give you a hard time so, don't worry, you can just stay home and work away."

Boss Zhou pointed it out bluntly, "So you guys will go out to have fun and leaving me behind to work?"

Yan Shuyu, "No, I am not, I didn't. I am just saying that you don't need to come along..."

The boss didn't even need to say another word and Yan Shuyu already realized that no matter what she said, she would not be able to lose the leave-the-primary-breadwinner at-home-and-go-out-for-fun label. That did sound quite heartless.

At loss of words, she suddenly asked smartly, "Would you like to come with?"

Boss Zhou gave it some serious thought and asked, "When are we leaving?"

"Either this week or next works, depending on your schedule." Yan Shuyu was very agreeable as she really didn't think to ditch the boss and go out to have fun herself. Perhaps if she was to go alone there would still be a chance of a romantic encounter but she was an inspired mother with two children. There would probably be no chance of a romantic encounter.

And if she couldn't run into some handsome little brothers, then having the attractive boss with her would be just as good too.

Happy with her attitude, Zhou Qinhe looked less annoyed. He chuckled and said, "I happen to have a business trip to Northern Europe next week. Why don't we head over to Finland and Iceland?"

His tone was tender but his voice distinctly authoritative. Yan Shuyu was shocked beyond words. "I thought we were going to an island close by. How did that turn into Northern Europe all of a sudden?"

That was a bit of a stretch, no?

Boss Zhou gave her a smile that wasn't a smile. "Do you not want to go?"

"I have never been to Northern Europe before. Of course I'd want to go when I have the chance to," said Yan Shuyu. Finally, she added, "But I don't have VISA or passport."

She had heard in the past that VISA to Northern Europe wasn't easy to get.

Apparently, what she worried about was not a problem to the boss at all. He said nonchalantly, "You don't have to worry about that. Secretary Lu will take care of that."