A Billionaire CEO Brings His Child Home: The Awakening of the Stay-at-Home Dad System

The phone rang.

Chen Hao picked it up and looked at it—a video call with "Shen Mengyao".

He answered the call, and Shen Mengyao's face appeared on the screen. She was wearing a black silk nightgown, her hair was down, and she was leaning against the headboard.

"Mengyao," Chen Hao said.

"Chen Hao," Shen Mengyao said, her voice a little lazy, "Is Tingting here?"

"I'm drawing," Chen Hao said, turning his phone towards his daughter.

Shen Xiaoting's eyes lit up as soon as she saw her mother on the screen.

She took the phone, held it in both hands, and brought her face close to the screen, so close that her nose was almost touching it.

"Mom!" Her voice was clear and loud, as if she were shouting, "Dad taught me to swim today! I've learned the breaststroke! I can swim more than five meters!"

Shen Mengyao paused for a moment, then blinked.

"Tingting has learned the breaststroke?" she asked. "How long did it take her to learn?"

"I spent the whole afternoon learning!" Shen Xiaoting said, her voice full of pride. "My dad taught me! He says I'm a swimming prodigy!"

Looking at her daughter's excited little face and bright eyes, Shen Mengyao felt a complex mix of emotions.

She recalled that when she was learning to swim, it was in a college physical education class, and it took her a semester to barely avoid sinking.

At that time, she was afraid of water. She would get nervous as soon as she entered the water and would flail her arms and legs wildly. Even after several lessons, she still couldn't breathe properly.

I managed to learn it eventually, but I couldn't swim very far; I had to stop and catch my breath after about 20 meters.

My daughter is a little over three years old, and she can swim more than five meters in an afternoon.

It's not that his daughter is particularly talented; it's that Chen Hao taught her well.

"Tingting is amazing," Shen Mengyao said, then paused and added, "Your dad is amazing too."

"Mom, do you want to watch me swim?" Shen Xiaoting asked, her eyes fixed on the screen. "Next time you come to see me, I'll swim for you."

My dad built the swimming pool himself; it has a blue bottom, white rim, and the water is very clear.

"Okay, Mom will go watch Tingting swim next time," Shen Mengyao said.

"Mom, the swimming pool is huge, even bigger than Grandma's living room!" Shen Xiaoting added.

"The water in the pool is warm, not cold. Dad said it's heated, so we can swim in it even in winter."

"Really?" Shen Mengyao smiled.

"Okay! Mom, when are you coming to see me?" Shen Xiaoting asked.

"I'll go after a while, when Mom isn't so busy," Shen Mengyao said.

"Then hurry up and stop being busy," Shen Xiaoting said.

Shen Mengyao smiled but didn't reply.

Shen Xiaoting chattered on and on, talking about how clear the pool water was, how her father taught her to perform the flip kick, and how she darted around in the water like a frog.

As she spoke, she placed her phone on the table and demonstrated the movements of the breaststroke in front of the screen, stretching her arms forward and stroking them to the sides, while pulling, turning, kicking, and squeezing her legs, doing it all very precisely.

Shen Mengyao listened intently, a smile playing on her lips, occasionally nodding and saying things like "Really?" or "That's amazing."

After talking for a while, Shen Xiaoting picked up her phone and brought it close to the screen.

"Mom, you should go to bed early," she said. "I'm going swimming tomorrow."

"Okay, Tingting, go to sleep early too," Shen Mengyao said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Mom!" Shen Xiaoting said, then kissed the screen loudly with a loud "smack."

Shen Xiaoting returned the phone to Chen Hao.

Chen Hao took the phone. On the screen, Shen Mengyao was looking at him, her tone much more serious.

"Be careful when teaching Tingting to swim," Shen Mengyao said. "She's still young and hasn't fully developed her swimming skills yet, so we can't let her go into the water alone."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her the whole time," Chen Hao said. "I'll be in the water with her while she swims, and I won't let her swim alone."

Shen Mengyao nodded.

"Okay," she said, "Get some rest."

"You too. Goodnight," Chen Hao said.

The call has ended.

Chen Hao put down his phone and looked at the clock on the wall—nine o'clock at night.

"Tingting, it's time to take a shower and go to bed," he said.

"Okay." Shen Xiaoting carefully put away the drawing paper, pressing the corner of it down with the rabbit cup to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.

She grabbed her father's hand and ran towards the bathroom, running very fast, her slippers making a clattering sound on the floor.

After taking a shower, Chen Hao carried his daughter, wrapped in a bath towel, to her room.

The bath towel was pink, and it wrapped Tingting up completely, leaving only her small face exposed, her wet hair sticking to her forehead.

Chen Hao dried her hair with a towel and helped her put on her pajamas.

The pajamas were pink with white polka dots and printed with little bunnies; she picked them out herself.

Shen Xiaoting lay on her small bed, hugging her rabbit.

She brought the rabbit from the city; it had white fur and pink ears. She had been holding it for a long time, and its fur was a little matted.

Chen Hao sat down on the edge of the bed and began to tell a story.

Today I'm going to tell you a story about a little whale.

The baby whale is born in the ocean. It can't swim, but other whales can.

It tried very hard to learn, but always sank in.

Later it discovered that it was not a whale, but a dolphin.

Dolphins don't sink; they jump up.

The little whale was very happy and jumped out of the sea, where it saw the blue sky and white clouds.

As Shen Xiaoting listened, the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.

Her eyes were half-open, her long eyelashes fluttering.

Her breathing gradually became even and long, and the expression on her little face was peaceful and content.

After telling the story, Chen Hao sat by the bed for a while.

He looked at his daughter's face for a long time.

Tingting is completely different when she's sleeping compared to when she's awake.

When it's awake, it keeps talking non-stop, chattering away like a little sparrow.

When she's asleep, she's quiet and peaceful, with a chubby little face and slightly parted lips, occasionally smacking her lips as if she's eating in her dream.

Once he was sure his daughter was asleep, Chen Hao quietly stood up, turned off the rabbit lamp, and closed the door.

He went to the bathroom, took a quick shower, changed into his pajamas, returned to his bedroom, and lay down.

The bed was a wooden plank bed with a thin mattress on it. It wasn't very soft, but he was used to sleeping on it.

He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

……

The next morning, Chen Hao woke up at six o'clock.

He got up quietly, afraid of waking Tingting.

Get dressed and go to the kitchen to make breakfast.

There are still fresh vegetables and eggs that Meng Meiling brought yesterday in the refrigerator.

The bok choy is a small variety of rapeseed, with bright green leaves and no yellow leaves.

The eggs are free-range, not very big, but the yolks are orange-yellow and more fragrant than factory-farmed eggs.

He decided to make vegetable and egg noodles.

The noodles are hand-rolled.

I scooped two bowls of flour into a basin, added an egg and a small spoonful of salt, and slowly added water to knead the dough.

Do not add too much water at once; add it little by little, stirring with your hands as you add it.

The flour becomes flocculent, then it is kneaded into a dough.

The dough should be firm; if it's too soft, the noodles won't have any chewiness.

After kneading, cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for ten minutes.

As he made breakfast, he was thinking about what to make for his daughter today... a diabolo!