Ever since Xiao Bao started attending early education classes, she became much livelier and more cheerful. Lin Feng played games with her, singing, dancing, and doing crafts. He had basically gone through the same curriculum with her as he had with the four older kids.

Aside from loving to play, Xiao Bao disliked any homework involving crafts, drawing, or anything else that required using a pen. Today's assignment was to draw on paper cups.

Lin Feng prepared everything and called for Xiao Bao several times before she reluctantly came over.

"Daddy, Xiao Bao is tired. Can I go to sleep?"

"No, not yet. We can sleep after we're finished! Besides, it's not bedtime yet. Mommy and your older brother and sisters will be home for dinner soon."

"Then can I rest for a bit? Xiao Bao is a little tired…"

"You've rested long enough. Come on, you can draw whatever you want!"

"How about we wait for Mommy and the others to come back? We can draw after dinner, okay?"

"No, that's not okay! It'll be too late by then. After you finish, we still need to take a photo to send to your teacher."

"Daddy, I miss Mommy, and I miss my brother and sisters… Listen, it sounds like they're back. I'll go check."

"They're not back yet. Get to drawing."

"How do you know, Daddy? Can you hear them?"

"Daddy is amazing, of course I can hear them! Now, hurry up and draw!"

After all that wrangling, Xiao Bao finally, and unwillingly, picked up a pen.

She turned her head and asked, "Daddy, can you help Xiao Bao?"

Lin Feng shook his head. "No, I can't. This is something you have to do yourself!"

Xiao Bao was silent.

From her expression, it was clear she was very reluctant as she doodled on the paper cup.

Lin Feng reminded her, "Xiao Bao, you need to be serious about this!"

Xiao Bao put on a serious face, though her drawing was a chaotic mess. "Xiao Bao *is* being serious."

Lin Feng was speechless.

After scribbling randomly, Xiao Bao smiled, satisfied with her creation.

"All done!"

"What is this?"

"They're all lines!"

"..."

Xiao Bao earnestly explained to Lin Feng, "They're all tangled up, that's why it looks like this!"

Alright, Lin Feng had to admit that was a convincing explanation. Seeing that her father didn't say anything else, Xiao Bao ran out happily, "I hear my brother and sisters' voices!"

After the four older kids came back, Xiao Bao presented the paper cup to her siblings as if it were a treasure. It received high praise, though it was all shameless flattery.

Da Bao praised her convincingly, "That's very well drawn. You don't even need to tell us what it is; we can tell at a glance."

Er Bao said with exaggeration, "Wow, amazing, Xiao Bao! It's abstract art! You've got an artistic streak. You'll definitely become a designer like your big sister one day!"

Da Bao chimed in, "Xiao Bao really is great. It's drawn fantastically."

Tuan Tuan was even more dramatic. "Oh my goodness, our Xiao Bao is definitely going to be a little painter when she grows up! This is drawn so well! Look at these distinct lines, so realistic!"

San Bao was more subtle. "Nicely done. Xiao Bao is impressive."

Standing to the side, Lin Feng simply couldn't watch anymore. Is it really okay to flatter her so much? Look at how conceited they've made her. No wonder she has such an inexplicable confidence; it's all because of their daily, over-the-top praise. Lin Feng felt mentally exhausted and couldn't be bothered to intervene, so he went to the kitchen to get busy.

Five minutes later, Zhang Yuxi came over holding Xiao Bao's artwork.

"Honey, what is this?"

"You guess."

"How am I supposed to guess that?"

"It's Xiao Bao's homework. Her teacher asked them to draw anything they wanted on a paper cup. Your daughter drew tangled lines."

"Really? That's quite a creative idea!"

Lin Feng was speechless. "You're only seeing the result, not the process! Xiao Bao was clearly just scribbling."

Zhang Yuxi thought it was quite good. "I think it looks fine!"

Lin Feng sighed. "Do you remember that mountain she drew last time?"

Zhang Yuxi nodded. "I remember."

"That was actually poop."

"Uh, she did tell me afterward that it was poop…"

Zhang Yuxi felt that Xiao Bao was only one year old, and it was perfectly normal for a one-year-old to have her own ideas and to be trying everything. She comforted Lin Feng.

"Honey, didn't we already agree? No matter what our children do, we'll support them! We don't expect them to achieve anything grand. As long as they're safe and healthy, that's the greatest blessing, right?" she said. "Xiao Bao is still little, and she isn't like the older four. Her personality is a bit more free-spirited and naughty, which I think is great. They are all our precious babies."

Lin Feng nodded. "Putting everything else aside, the main issue is that the older four spoil Xiao Bao too much, making her utterly spoiled."

Zhang Yuxi was understanding. "It's normal for older siblings to dote on their little sister a bit more, honey!"

It's easy for people to have all the answers when they're not the ones facing the problem.

「That evening.」

Lin Feng went to the study to handle some work. Since Xiao Bao hadn't eaten much for dinner, Zhang Yuxi planned to feed her a little more, otherwise, she would complain about being hungry in the middle of the night.

Tuan Tuan eagerly volunteered for the task of feeding her, and Zhang Yuxi didn't think much of it.

But when she went to check on them midway, she was met with quite a sight. The brother and sister were snacking together. When they saw Zhang Yuxi, they both tried to hide the food.

"Don't bother hiding it. I saw everything."

Tuan Tuan liked to buy snacks online—all from big, reputable brands. When they arrived, he would divide them among his siblings, so no one ever got a large amount. They ate them for fun, just as a little something to nibble on.

Zhang Yuxi and Lin Feng had emphasized that they must not let Xiao Bao see these snacks, lest she clamor for some too. But one day, Xiao Bao had discovered a stash of snacks under Tuan Tuan's pillow. Tuan Tuan's room was messy and smelled of sweat, so Xiao Bao normally avoided it. Ever since finding the snacks, however, her favorite activity had become treasure hunting in his room, rummaging through everything to find food.

A one-year-old has no self-control; she would eat anything she got her hands on. If you didn't give her snacks, Xiao Bao would throw a tantrum and refuse to listen to reason. Her mind would be completely fixated on getting snacks.

Zhang Yuxi and Lin Feng had laid down the law: eating snacks was allowed, but they had to do it secretly and dispose of the wrappers properly so Xiao Bao would never see them. Everyone except Tuan Tuan followed this rule perfectly.

Zhang Yuxi looked at the packaging. Wow, they had eaten quite a lot. Then she looked at the bowl of supplementary food, which was untouched. She was absolutely furious.

"Who told you to give Xiao Bao snacks?" Zhang Yuxi asked angrily.

Tuan Tuan put on an innocent face. "But Xiao Bao wanted to eat them…"

"Oh, so if she wants to eat them, you just give them to her? She can do whatever she wants?"

"Mom, they're just little crackers. It's no big deal!"

"What do you mean, 'no big deal'? The reason Xiao Bao won't eat her proper meals is that she eats too many snacks!"

Moreover, it was Tuan Tuan who had gotten her started on snacks in the first place!

You can see a child gain or lose weight almost overnight, and Xiao Bao had thinned out considerably after turning one. Although she still looked like a chubby, cute little doll, she was definitely slimmer than before. Lin Feng tried every trick in the book to get her to eat, even trying to let her feed herself.

But the result was always the same. Whenever Xiao Bao ate slowly, didn't want to eat, or used one of her tricks, the four older siblings would immediately surround her, coaxing and feeding her, doting on her hand and foot.

She was already a year old but still wasn't eating properly, instead just eagerly waiting for snacks. Thinking about all this made Zhang Yuxi's blood boil.

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