Zhang Hao continued, "You take the babies home first. I'll clean up here and head back soon."
With that, he began packing things up.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a few figures approaching.
"Sorry, we're sold out of dishes for today. Come back tomorrow."
"Brother Dao! That's the punk who beat me up!"
A fierce voice rang out.
Zhang Hao frowned slightly, recognizing Monkey's voice.
He had only taught that guy a lesson last night, and already he was back looking for payback?
He looked up, and sure enough.
Aside from Monkey, there were five punks with tattoos showing all over their bodies.
The man in the lead had an obvious knife scar running down his left cheek.
Zhang Hao knew this guy. He was the local boss, known in the underworld as Brother Dao.
Rumors had it that the scar on his face was the result of taking on fifty men alone with a knife, fighting for over an hour without even blinking once.
"So it's you, punk!"
Brother Dao's face was full of disdain.
Even though he knew Zhang Hao was one of the Four Young Masters of Haicheng, that was in the past.
The Zhang Hao of today was nothing more than a stray dog.
"You've got some nerve hitting my lackey. You must be tired of living!"
"Brothers, get him!"
Brother Dao was a man of action who preferred fists to words.
At his command, four thugs wearing vicious expressions closed in on Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao wasn't one to be pushed around either. He rolled up his sleeves and prepared to wade into the fight.
Just then, a slender figure suddenly stepped in front of him.
Su Yuyan?
Zhang Hao froze in surprise.
"Stop right there!"
Su Yuyan's expression was icy. Facing four burly men, she showed not a trace of fear.
"This is a lawful society! If any of you dare lay a hand on him, I'm calling the police!"
As she spoke, she pulled her phone out of her pocket.
The four thugs paused when they saw this.
Not because they were scared, but because they were captivated by Su Yuyan.
"Well, well, well. Look at that figure, that face—absolute perfection."
"Hey beauty, those three babies definitely aren't yours, are they? You look nothing like someone who's ever given birth."
"Hey babe, free tonight? Let big bro take you out for some fun."
"Such a delicate little body, must be real easy to handle."
*Whoosh!*
Suddenly, a piercing sound cut through the air.
A blur charged straight toward the four thugs.
*Bang, bang, bang!*
Accompanied by a few muffled thuds, the thugs instantly crashed to the ground, knocked completely unconscious.
A furious Zhang Hao had held nothing back.
How dare these bastards hit on his wife? Knocking them out cold was getting off easy.
If he wasn't strapped for cash right now, he would have crippled these hoodlums for good!
Brother Dao was completely dumbfounded by the sight.
Monkey turned coward in an instant, stammering, "B-Brother Dao, maybe we should fall back."
He knew Zhang Hao could fight, but he never expected him to be *this* good.
Those four thugs were all seasoned brawlers who usually handled five men each without breaking a sweat.
Yet in front of Zhang Hao, they went down like baby chicks, wiped out in a single second.
What kind of drugs had this guy taken? He was too fierce!
"We're not falling back!"
Brother Dao snapped out of it, a fierce glare returning to his face.
"Hitting my men is a slap to my face!"
"If word of this gets out, how am I supposed to show my face in the streets?!"
"Sure, this punk has some moves, but Brother Dao isn't someone you push around either!"
With that, he cracked his neck, making it pop loudly.
"Listen up, punk. All you gotta do is kneel, kowtow, apologize, pay ten thousand for my brothers' medical bills, and let your girlfriend keep me company for a night, and we'll call it even. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Zhang Hao let out a snort of utter contempt, ignoring Brother Dao entirely as he turned back to pack the dishes.
"What the hell!"
Ignored completely, Brother Dao glared with wide eyes and stormed toward Zhang Hao in a rage.
He stepped up behind Zhang Hao, raised his leg to deliver a kick—and the moment his foot left the ground, everything went pitch black as he lost consciousness.
Zhang Hao pulled back the leg he had just kicked out with.
"Wife, let's go home."
With that, he cast an indifferent glance at Monkey, picked up the stack of plates, and walked into the residential compound.
Su Yuyan snapped out of her shock and hurriedly pushed the babies along behind him.
Monkey was practically pissing his pants by this point.
He was terrified Zhang Hao might turn around and beat him up too.
Especially that final kick to Brother Dao—it was like Bruce Lee possessed the guy. A single side-thrust kick had knocked Brother Dao completely out cold.
The worst part was that the movement was so fast he hadn't even seen it coming.
"Holy crap, Zhang Hao is too violent. I'd better stay away from him from now on."
"Still... he crossed Brother Dao this time. He's got a world of hurt coming for him."
Muttering to himself, he pulled out his phone and dialed 120.
"Hello? I've got five people here suffering from heatstroke. Please send an ambulance right away."
...
"Wife, what do you want for dinner?"
Back at home, Zhang Hao asked Su Yuyan with a smile.
"Whatever's fine."
Su Yuyan knitted her delicate brows. "You hit those men earlier. Aren't you worried they'll call the police?"
"They won't," Zhang Hao said with a grin. "They threw the first punch. That's legally self-defense."
"Besides, those guys aren't good people. You don't need to worry, Wife."
Su Yuyan nodded slightly, a hint of worry lingering on her pretty face.
"You should still avoid fighting in the future, especially in front of the babies."
Zhang Hao's expression shifted slightly. He asked urgently, "Did I scare the babies?"
Su Yuyan pouted. "No. You wouldn't believe it—while you were fighting out there, the babies were actually clapping. I'm worried they're going to pick up bad habits from you."
"Huh?"
Zhang Hao blinked, then burst into laughter.
"Haha, that's definitely my kid! Got my temper—not scared no matter what happens."
"Still, the babies are too small. We shouldn't let them see violent scenes."
"Don't worry, Wife. I promise I won't throw punches in front of them from now on."
He looked into the stroller at the three babies, his eyes filled with doting affection.
Su Yuyan blushed. "You should just call me by my name. Calling me 'Wife' feels really awkward."
"Got it, Wife."
"Call me Yuyan."
"Got it, Wife."
*Sigh...*
Su Yuyan was utterly speechless. Seeing that Zhang Hao had started cooking, she pushed the three adorable babies back into the bedroom.
Half an hour later.
Zhang Hao finished cooking a sumptuous dinner, along with some vegetable puree that the babies loved.
"Wife, bring the babies and come eat."
"You eat first. Dabao has a fever; I'll eat later."
"What?! A fever?!"
Zhang Hao frowned deeply and rushed toward the bedroom.
Right at that moment, the system's voice rang out.
"Ding: Detected that Dabao is having a fever. Do you wish to purchase the Super Traditional Chinese Medicine Skill?"
"Purchase!"
Zhang Hao didn't hesitate for a split second.
He didn't even ask how much it cost, opting to buy it immediately.
To him, nothing in the world mattered more than his babies.
"Ding: The Super Traditional Chinese Medicine Skill costs 200,000. Detecting insufficient balance in host's bank card, installment payment has been automatically arranged at 20,000 per month."
"Ding: Skill delivered. Congratulations to the host for acquiring the Super Traditional Chinese Medicine Skill."
In an instant, a massive wave of medical knowledge flooded into Zhang Hao's mind.
At the same time, Zhang Hao burst into the bedroom.
Su Yuyan had just pulled the thermometer out from under Dabao's arm and was holding it up to the light, her brows furrowed tightly.
"Thirty-eight point six degrees! This is worse than a low-grade fever. Zhang Hao, get the fever-reducing suppository out of the drawer."
"Okay."
Zhang Hao hurried over to the desk.
He yanked open the drawer to find a paper box labeled with the words "fever-reducing suppository" and immediately brought it over to Su Yuyan.
"Here."
Su Yuyan took the suppository, pulled off Dabao's diaper, and parted the baby's soft little bottom.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
Seeing Su Yuyan about to push the suppository into Dabao's bottom, Zhang Hao quickly stepped in to stop her.
Su Yuyan frowned. "Lowering Dabao's fever, of course."
Zhang Hao looked extremely puzzled. "Lowering a fever? Isn't this supposed to be taken orally?"
"Uh..."
Su Yuyan was left speechless. Realizing Zhang Hao had no idea how a suppository worked, she explained, "Fever suppositories aren't taken by mouth. They're administered rectally."
"Rectal administration."
Zhang Hao nodded thoughtfully.
If this were before, he definitely wouldn't have understood what rectal administration meant.
But after acquiring the Super Traditional Chinese Medicine Skill, he was well-versed in all medical terminology.
Suddenly, an alternative method for reducing a baby's fever flashed through his mind.
Seeing that Su Yuyan was about to proceed with the suppository, he quickly stopped her again.
"Wait."
"What is it now?"
"Sure, suppositories bring down fevers, but they're irritating and can affect a baby's kidney function. Even if the impact is minor, we still shouldn't use it. Let me handle it!"
With that, Zhang Hao stepped up to the bedside and began massaging Dabao's soft little arm using forward-pushing strokes.
Su Yuyan froze in surprise.
"What are you doing?"
"Lowering Dabao's fever, of course."
Su Yuyan stared blankly, then asked, "Are you sure this will work?"
"Trust me."
Confidence radiated from Zhang Hao's face.
He massaged Dabao's arm for a moment, then pressed on the Hegu point on the web of the hand and the Dazhui point on the back for a few minutes.
Su Yuyan stood by and watched quietly without a word.
Though she didn't believe Zhang Hao could lower a fever this way, seeing how serious he looked made her hesitant to interrupt.
Besides, she knew that using suppositories on a baby wasn't great for their health, so she decided to wait and see.
Ten minutes later, Zhang Hao stopped.
"Alright, take her temperature and see if it's dropped."
"Oh."
Half-doubting, Su Yuyan nodded and immediately measured Dabao's temperature.
When she looked at the reading, sheer astonishment washed over her face.
"Thirty-six point eight! The fever broke!"
Seeing the smile on Zhang Hao's face, she continued in disbelief, "That's incredible! I had no idea you knew how to do this!"
"Just a minor trick," Zhang Hao smiled. "Actually, it's not that hard—just massaging three specific acupoints."
"Tianhe point is on the inner forearm; you just massage in a straight line from the wrist to the elbow crease."
"Hegu point is right at the web between the thumb and index finger, and Dazhui is located in the depression below the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra."
"Massaging these three points brings the fever down."
Su Yuyan nodded slightly, engraving Zhang Hao's words into her mind.
Because the babies were still so small and had low immunity, they caught fevers easily.
If it happened again, she could use this method.
"Zhang Hao, I never knew you knew medicine. Did you study it before?"
Zhang Hao thought for a moment and replied, "Um... no. I picked it up from books. These are just everyday health tips."
"Oh."
Su Yuyan nodded, mentally adding a new label to Zhang Hao: attentive.
After all, she had been taking care of the babies for over half a year and had never even heard of this fever-reducing trick.
At least in this regard, she wasn't as capable as Zhang Hao.
At that moment, Zhang Hao smiled. "Alright, now that Dabao's fever is gone, go eat your dinner. I'll watch the kids."
"It's fine, you go eat first. I'm not hungry yet."
"Alright then, I'll eat."
Su Yuyan didn't stand on ceremony anymore, standing up to leave the bedroom.
Zhang Hao looked at the three adorable babies and broke into a bright smile.
"Little princesses, it's all up to you now."
"Whoever learns to say 'Daddy' first gets a lollipop tomorrow."
"Come on, say 'Daddy'."
The thought of that 300,000-yuan reward made Zhang Hao immensely excited.
Yet after teaching for a few minutes, the result was the same as during the day: apart from failing to say "Daddy," they could make all sorts of other sounds.
"Look at my mouth. *Da-dy*—"
Dabao: "Da-da~"
Erbao: "Pa-pa!"
Sanbao: "Hey~"
"Huh?"
Zhang Hao glared with wide eyes. "Well, aren't you something, Sanbao? Daring to take advantage of your old man. Time to spank your little bottom."
"Giggle~"
Suddenly, a lovely laugh came from behind him.
Zhang Hao turned around to see Su Yuyan had finished her meal and returned.
"It's driving me crazy. I've been teaching them for ages, but none of them will say 'Daddy'."
Su Yuyan walked over to the bed with a smile. "Babies, say 'Mommy'."
"Mommy~"
The three cute babies chimed in unison, babbling away without stopping.
Zhang Hao's eyes widened in a comically tragic expression.
"I spent half a day trying to get them to say Daddy and not a single one would, but you just casually drop 'Mommy' and they all join in. These babies are way too biased."
Su Yuyan chuckled. "That's because you've only known the babies for two days."
"Give it time, and they'll naturally learn to say Daddy."
"You should go eat your food before it gets cold."
Zhang Hao smiled. "Still my wife looking out for me."
With that, he turned and walked out of the bedroom.
Su Yuyan stood by the doorway, a smile playing on her lips.
Though she had heard Zhang Hao call her "Wife" again, it didn't feel awkward this time.
Instead, a sudden wave of warmth and happiness washed over her.
It was a feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time, yet it felt intimately familiar.
On the other side, Zhang Hao finished his meal at lightning speed.
Just as he was planning to go back to teaching the babies how to say Daddy, he noticed the three little ones lying quietly on the bed.
Though not fully asleep, their eyes were half-closed, clearly growing drowsy.
"Well, it's getting late. I should head back. Call me if anything comes up tonight."
With that, Zhang Hao pulled the door shut and left.
Su Yuyan blinked in surprise; she hadn't expected Zhang Hao to leave on his own accord.
...
Ten minutes later.
Zhang Hao arrived outside his dorm room.
Before knocking, he sent a WeChat message to Su Yuyan.
"Don't worry, Wife. I have returned safely."
"Hmph, who's your wife?"
"Sigh~ How can hands at thirty-seven degrees celsius type such icy words? My heart is broken..."
"My fault? I didn't actually tell you to leave just now."
Seeing Su Yuyan's reply, Zhang Hao's eyes lit up instantly.
Just as he was about to type a reply, a deafening voice rang out.
"Holy crap! Haozi, why are you back again?!"
"Keep your damn voice down! You're gonna scare your dad to death!"
Zhang Hao rubbed his ear, shot back a retort, and then happily replied to Su Yuyan's message.
"Should I head back over now?"
"No, the babies are all asleep."
"Haha, isn't that even better?"
"Hate you. Go to sleep!"
Zhang Hao chuckled, slipped his phone into his pocket, and stopped teasing Su Yuyan.
"Haozi! How come you're back again?!"
A shocked Zhao Yong repeated his question.
Zhang Hao frowned. "Where else am I supposed to go if I don't come back?"
Zhao Yong raised an eyebrow. "Sleep with Goddess Su, of course! Did she kick you out again?"
"That won't do. You're a dad now; you can't keep running back here."
"Let me tell you, girls love proactive guys. You've got to be bolder—I guarantee you can win Goddess Su over."
Zhang Hao was left speechless, dark lines tracing his forehead.
He shot Zhao Yong a look of utter disdain. "Since you've got so much experience, why have you been single for twenty years?"
"This..."
Zhao Yong was temporarily at a loss for words. He curled his lip and said, "You really know how to hit below the belt. Can we even have a pleasant conversation? Oh right, Miejue Shitai said to come see her as soon as you got back."
"What does she want?"
Zhang Hao was a bit puzzled.
But the next moment, realization dawned on him.
Needless to say, it had to be about translating English.
Zhao Yong teased, "What else could she want? She thinks you're handsome and took a fancy to you."
"Get lost!"
Zhang Hao dropped a colorful string of Chinese profanity and turned to leave.
Zhao Yong shouted after him, "Haozi, take it easy! Don't wear yourself out!"
Zhang Hao raised his middle finger without looking back.
...
*Knock, knock, knock.*
Arriving outside Miejue Shitai's dorm room, Zhang Hao knocked on the door.
"Come in—"
A calm voice rang out, carrying a hint of fatigue.
Zhang Hao pushed the door open and saw Miejue Shitai sitting at her desk reading a book.
"Mie—Teacher Li, you wanted to see me?"
Li Yan looked up at Zhang Hao, a flash of annoyance in her eyes.
After all, the nickname Miejue Shitai was one Zhang Hao had invented.
At first, only he and the punks in his dorm used it, but eventually, the whole school knew.
Though she was extremely strict with her students, wasn't it all for their own academic future?
"Zhang Hao, take this test."
Li Yan pulled out an English exam paper.
Zhang Hao walked over, took one look at it, and smiled.
If it were before, the English on the paper would have looked like hieroglyphics.
But now, it was as simple as single-digit addition.
"Got it, Teacher."
With that, Zhang Hao picked up his pen and began writing furiously, finishing the test in no time at all.
"So fast!"
Shock registered on Li Yan's face.
Barely three minutes had passed since Zhang Hao picked up the pen, yet he had finished the whole exam.
"Zhang Hao, are you just messing with me?"
Li Yan frowned.
Seeing Zhang Hao smile without answering, she reached out and snatched the test paper directly.
But as she checked his answers, the astonishment on her face grew more and more pronounced.
"How is this possible? He got every single one right!"
"Your English is this good, so why do you always fail tests?"
Zhang Hao thought for a moment and replied, "Because I've been studying hard lately, so my grades shot up."
"And it's not just English. Other subjects are a piece of cake too."
Just as his voice trailed off, Zhang Hao suddenly frowned.
From Li Yan's complexion, he could instantly tell she was suffering from an illness.
"Teacher, you're sick!"
"What did you say?!"
Li Yan glared with wide eyes. "Zhang Hao! Your grades might have improved, but that doesn't give you the right to insult your teacher—and calling me Miejue Shitai behind my back! Do you want me to make you clean the bathrooms for a week?!"
Zhang Hao smiled and explained, "Teacher, don't get excited. I just mean your body has some issues."
"If I'm not mistaken, you've been suffering from insomnia and headaches lately, along with lower back soreness and... irregular menstrual cycles. This is all caused by staying up late for long periods and having an irregular diet."
Hearing this, Li Yan looked utterly shocked.
"Y-You, how do you know?"
Although she knew her health was failing, she had never told a single soul about it.
Not only had Zhang Hao figured it out, but he had nailed every single symptom.