When Ren handed the cheese stick to his little one, the baby clapped happily.
The sight of his wide smile, with a few small white teeth showing, filled Ren with warmth. The little boy eagerly grabbed the cheese stick and began munching on it.
"So, when will you finally say 'daddy'?" Ren sighed as he picked up the toy bear from the floor. "My happiness depends entirely on you, kid."
"Dah-buh?"
The little guy, chewing on the cheese stick, tilted his head, curious about what his dad was saying.
"What's with the 'dah-buh'? Say 'daddy'! Daddy! Daddy!"
Ren gently pinched his son's cheek, then flopped back onto the bed.
"Babe?"
"!!!"
Just as Ren was lying there, phone in hand, ready to play a game, his hand froze mid-motion. Did he just hear what he thought he heard? Did his little one just say something?
Sitting up quickly, Ren looked at the baby with excitement. "Rui, what did you just say? Did you say 'daddy'?"
"Dah-buh?" The little guy tilted his head again, seeming confused about what his dad was asking.
"Not 'dah-buh,' say 'daddy'! Or even 'papa' works!" Ren decided to simplify things, remembering how Yueyue used to call him 'papa' when she was little.
"Babe."
As if responding to Ren's encouragement, the little one took another bite of his cheese stick and said clearly, "Babe."
"What? Say it again?"
"Babe! Babe! Babe!" The baby, thinking this was some fun new sound, repeated it several times excitedly.
Ren heard it loud and clear this time! Though the pronunciation wasn't perfect, it was unmistakably close to "daddy"! He was saying it smoothly, even repeating it.
"Say it a few more times!" Ren couldn't hide his excitement as he picked up the little guy, lifting him high into the air. Rui laughed happily, continuing to shout "Babe."
Just then, from downstairs, Jada's voice called out, "I'm home!"
Ren immediately ran downstairs, holding the baby, ready to show off. "Honey, our son can say 'daddy' now!"
A few moments later...
"Say 'sister,' say 'sister!'"
On the couch in the living room, Yueyue was now trying her best to get her little brother to call her "sister," but the baby wasn't interested. He just giggled, ignoring her attempts.
"Why won't you say it…" Yueyue pouted, disappointed. "You only know how to say 'daddy,' that big meanie!"
"Babe!" The little guy, now fond of the sound, lit up at hearing Yueyue's words and shouted "Babe" once more.
Ren, standing nearby, couldn't help but grin ear to ear, feeling victorious.
Jada, on the other hand, watched the baby with a mix of emotions. She was thrilled that their son had started speaking, but also a bit jealous that his first word was "daddy."
"Alright, that's enough bragging," Jada said, rolling her eyes at Ren.
"Oh, come on. I'm not bragging." Ren exaggeratedly sniffed the air around him. "What's that smell? Oh, it's so sour~"
As he joked, an idea popped into his head, and he leaned close to Jada. "By the way, remember that bet we made? Does it still count?"
Jada froze for a moment, recalling their playful wager. Her expression turned annoyed as she realized what he was referring to, and she glared at Ren, clearly unimpressed.
Without a word, she reached over and pinched Ren's side hard, twisting as she did.
"I'm sorry!" Ren quickly surrendered, feeling the sharp pain.
"Oh, by the way," Jada suddenly said, changing the topic. "Someone wants to buy the official licensing rights for Cells at Work."
"Huh? Licensing rights? For a movie or TV show?" Ren asked, a bit confused.
He hadn't expected anyone to want to buy merchandise rights, especially since his company already produced their own products. So, it was probably something else, like media rights.
"No, they want to use it for an advertisement," Jada replied, her expression a little strange. "A tobacco company wants to use it for a 'smoking is harmful to your health' campaign."
"…Seriously?"
Ren was speechless for a moment. He found the idea somewhat ironic. Tobacco companies always struck him as odd.
They sold cigarettes but had to include health warnings on every pack, acknowledging how harmful smoking was. It felt like a hypocritical move—profiting off of something harmful while simultaneously condemning it.
Trying to get the baby to say new words within a short period wasn't realistic. But Jada and Yueyue didn't give up. They spent their days encouraging the little guy to call them by name.
Unfortunately for them, when the grandparents came over, the baby quickly learned how to call them. While Jada and Yueyue had spent days trying, Rui learned "grandma" and "grandpa" almost instantly.
This left Jada and Yueyue feeling a bit betrayed by baby Rui.
Amid their disappointment, Fate/Stay Night: Heaven's Feel – II. Lost Butterfly was gearing up for its New Year's theatrical release.
Many fans were buzzing with excitement upon hearing the news.
"We've been waiting an entire year! Finally, the new FSN movie is coming out!!!"
After all, during this time, the Porter had been teasing them relentlessly with promotional videos, keeping them on the edge of their seats.
First, there was the confrontation between Sakura and Gilgamesh in the alley.
Then, there was the intense, adrenaline-pumping battle between Saber Alter and Berserker.
And of course, there was that infamous scene of Sakura being pinned down by Shinji, the "seaweed-head."
Fans were desperate to know—would this movie really feature a "cuckold" storyline?
"I swear, if this movie actually goes down that route, I'll never watch anything by the Porter again!"
"Come on, people said that about him before too, but then they all ended up loving his work!"
"This time, it's definitely the last straw!"
"More like the last billionth straw!"
Online discussions were buzzing with debates about the movie's content.
While many fans were put off by the potential "cuckold" plotline, the rest of the story was just too captivating to ignore.
And, most importantly—
"Maybe it's just a misleading trailer?"
"Exactly. You guys know how the Porter works. He's all about dark, intense stories, not that kind of drama."
"I think it's possible that Shinji tries something with Sakura, but then Shirou shows up, and… Sakura dies."
"That's totally possible. The Porter does love to hit us with emotional gut-punches."
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