Susu blew on the roasted meat, took a bite, and stopped arguing with him. "This is delicious," she praised.
She offered the skewer to Tianyi, letting him taste it too.
Tianyi took a bite and boasted with a smile, "My grilling skills are getting more professional. I could even open a barbecue restaurant."
Susu scoffed, thinking he was getting ahead of himself again.
At that moment, the children playing not far away smelled the aroma of the roasted meat and ran towards them.
Tiantián, the leader, saw her mother eating barbecue and her mouth watered. "I want a skewer!" she whined.
"Don't worry, there's enough for everyone," Tianyi said, holding up a skewer of grilled meat. "One by one, no pushing!"
Tiantián, standing first in line, stretched out her hand. "Daddy, I want two skewers."
Tianyi gave her two, and she happily went off to eat them.
Níngyǔ, second in line, also received two skewers.
Hénghéng let Tángtáng go in front of him, but Tángtáng refused and stood obediently at the end.
When it was finally Tángtáng's turn, Susu whispered to Tianyi, "Give her the rest, look how good she is."
Tianyi didn't listen. He only gave Tángtáng two skewers, gave the rest to Susu, and said, "You have more to eat. I'll grill some more."
Susu, holding the remaining three or four skewers, didn't understand his actions. "You should have divided them among the children. Why give me so many? Do you want me to get fat?"
Tianyi took a skewer and began to gnaw on it himself. "Since everyone gets two skewers, we have to be fair to all the children. No favoritism."
Susu flipped the skewers he had just placed on the grill. "Anyone can see you spoil Tiantián the most. Don't you often show favoritism? Don't you like Tángtáng? You agreed when we brought her back from the orphanage."
"This child is well-behaved and sensible. I don't dislike her," Tianyi said. "Tiantián is carefree and doesn't worry about anything. It's good to have Tángtáng with her, to remind her and set an example."
"What do you take Tángtáng for, Tiantián's study companion?" Susu questioned unhappily.
"No, I consider her my adopted daughter," Tianyi said truthfully. "Tángtáng isn't our biological daughter after all. I can only try to treat her equally, but I can't be as uninhibited with her as I am with Tiantián. She's a girl, and you can teach her, right? Besides, you've taught her very well."
Susu also understood that she couldn't force Tianyi on this matter. When it came to his own biological daughter, he naturally had fewer reservations. He could be as playful, or as stern, as he pleased.
She remembered that when Tángtáng was first brought back from the orphanage, she was shy and introverted, always timid in everything she did.
She also knew that she was different from Tiantián and always gave way to her.
Tiantián, used to being dominant at home, was initially very resistant to Tángtáng. Susu had even lectured Tiantián a few times.
Later, when the three children could play together, Tángtáng's personality gradually became more cheerful, and she started calling Hénghéng "brother" and Tiantián "sister."
She and Tianyi treated all three children equally in terms of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and never mistreated Tángtáng.
Susu put her arm around his shoulder and said, "By the way, before we left, the director of the orphanage contacted me. She said that most of the children adopted by the orphanage in the past two years have disabilities or serious illnesses, and the orphanage's funds are becoming increasingly tight. The children's medical expenses are too high each year. She suggested establishing a fund specifically for children's medical treatment. I thought we could take the lead and organize a charity fundraiser in Lancheng."
"That's a good idea. You can plan it. When we get back to Lancheng, just let me know if you need any help," Tianyi agreed.
Susu, however, looked worried. "It's my fault for not socializing much. I rarely attend gatherings of wealthy wives. I always hear them talking about doing charity work, but I have no idea how to operate."
"That's not difficult. You can find someone when we get back," Tianyi said, thinking of someone very capable in this area.
"Who?"
Tianyi replied, "Huangfu Mengqi. Our group is currently cooperating with the Huangfu Group, and our relationship has eased considerably. If you go to her, she should help you."
"Yes, why didn't I think of that?" Susu stopped worrying and proactively kissed him. "Mengqi is the epitome of a socialite; she often appears at various charity events. With her help, this matter will be settled, and the children at the orphanage won't have to worry about medical expenses anymore."
Tianyi, however, didn't seem to hear what she was saying. He stared at her, then put his arm around her neck and pulled her into his embrace, kissing her lips without warning.
"Mmm... Woo..." Susu struggled in panic, her face turning completely red.
Lan Yu, Xiao Mei, and the other children must have seen it. It was so embarrassing.
Tianyi kissed her for a while before reluctantly letting go, his voice deep. "Who told you to provoke me, and then want to get away with it?"
"You're annoying," Susu quickly stood up, covering her cheeks with her hands, wanting to get away from him. "You grill yourself. I'm going to play in the sand with the children."
Without waiting for his reply, she ran over to the children.
The two families, along with Xiao Mei, spent the day playing and eating on the beach.
As the sun began to set, they had played enough and eaten their fill. Hand in hand, they walked barefoot along the seashore.
The little ones released the small fish, shrimp, and crabs back into the sea. Their pockets were stuffed with seashells, which they took out from time to time to compare whose collection was the prettiest.
Xiao Mei suggested taking a group photo, so they used a selfie stick to take several group shots.
After the photos were taken, Tianyi didn't forget to send them to An Jing to reassure him.
Susu gazed at the clouds dyed golden by the setting sun, and at the children playing and chasing each other on the sand, feeling an inexpressible happiness.
As it grew dark, they reluctantly left the beach and returned to their respective rooms.
When Susu came out of the bathroom, she received a call from Xiao Mei.
Xiao Mei said that the three children had played wildly all day. After returning to their rooms and showering, they had all fallen asleep and couldn't be woken up.
Susu smiled and said, "It seems children need to play more outdoors to expend their energy. Then they eat better and sleep soundly."
Xiao Mei repeatedly agreed.
After Susu hung up, she realized Tianyi wasn't in the room. She looked towards the balcony and saw him sitting there alone.
She walked over and sat beside him, saying, "It's already dark. What else is there to see?"
Tianyi put his arm around her waist and snuggled with her, saying, "Don't you think the sea in the darkness has a mysterious power?"
Susu couldn't help but shiver, recalling the experience of being stranded at sea and capsizing their yacht years ago. She still had a shadow from it.
She merely glanced at the dark sea in the distance before wanting to look away. "The wind is strong at night, and it's too cold to sit here. Let's go back to the room."
Tianyi said, "Okay."
She just wanted to get back to the room quickly. As she stood up, she met Tianyi's deep gaze and her face instantly turned red as she tried to avoid it.