Chapter 1024: His Coat
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
When the doorbell rang, Xiaoqi jumped up happily, about to run over and open the door.
Huo Ci grabbed the back of the little fella’s collar and pointed in the direction of the sofa. He bluffed the child, “Lie down properly. If you’re ‘sick’, you should look sick. If you don’t act well, your grandma will know that you’re pretending to be sick and lying to her. See if she doesn’t spank your bottom. She’ll ignore you in the future.”
The delight in Xiaoqi’s eyes dimmed. He turned around obediently and ran to the sofa to lie down. He even covered himself with the small blanket Grandpa had prepared for him. However, inwardly, he was looking forward to Grandma’s arrival. When he thought of how he should look when he was sick, he closed his eyes.
“How is he? Has he gone to the hospital? What did the doctor say? What’s he sick with?” Worried, Nangong Lengyu shot off a lot of questions like a cannonball in one breath.
She had only remembered that she hadn’t asked the child what his illness was after she hung up. However, she didn’t want to call Huo Ci again to ask him. Anyway, she would be coming to see the child soon. She would know when she got there. Because she wasn’t in a hurry, she hadn’t called.
“Low fever. He’s already taken medicine. His fever should have gone down already.” Huo Ci watched as the woman hurried in. He didn’t know if it was because she hadn’t rested well, but her dark circles were very heavy, and her face was also much thinner than the last time they had met. His heart ached inexplicably as he looked at her.
“Grandma.” Upon hearing her voice, Xiaoqi opened his eyes and smiled at her while lying on the sofa.
Nangong Lengyu took a look at the child’s mental state and realized that he was still fine. When she went over, she pressed against his forehead worriedly to test the temperature before heaving a sigh of relief. He did not seem to be having a fever. However, she said, “Huo Ci, bring me the thermometer.”
She still had to measure his temperature before she could relax. After all, using the human body as a measurement wasn’t accurate.
“Grandma, where have you been?” Xiaoqi hugged his grandma and rubbed against her in a reliant manner. His young, soft voice carried a few notes of huskiness as though he had just woken up. “Xiaoqi missed you.”
Grandpa missed Grandma too. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten him to call her over.
“Grandma missed Xiaoqi too.” Nangong Lengyu definitely wouldn’t look for Huo Ci unless absolutely necessary. Who knew that during the week she had been overseas, not just Sheng Sheng, even the two elders of the Huo Family hadn’t been at home. Only Huo Ci was left to look after her precious grandson.
If the two elders were at home, she could still trouble them every day by talking to Xiaoqi via video calls.
If Huo Ci was around, no matter how much she missed him, she still didn’t want to video call Xiaoqi using his phone. Regarding the paternity test last time, she was also left without a choice hence she had looked for him. After all, he was Sheng Sheng’s biological father. She could only discuss such a major issue with him.
As Huo Ci listened to the duo exchange words about missing each other, his brows rose slightly. He casually threw the thermometer on the sofa and sat down by the side. Then, he placed his legs on the coffee table and started playing games.
Upon seeing him behave like this, Nangong Lengyu was infuriated. If it was possible, she really wanted to kick him. The child was already sick from a fever, yet he was still in the mood to play games. How could she rest a.s.sured leaving Xiaoqi to someone like him?
When Xiaoqi spoke, the ears on his tiny face were all red.
Nangong Lengyu was worried and anxious. She only thought that he was sick. In her heart, the baby had always been a good child, obedient and sensible. She hadn’t even thought that he could be lying.
Xiaoqi didn’t dare to speak much, afraid that his grandma would know that he was lying. His small heart kept beating wildly, and he even stole a look at his grandpa, who was playing games by the side, from time to time. He became even more worried.
Upon seeing that the child was fine, Nangong Lengyu finally took out her laptop and did her work by the side. The little guy wasn’t willing to go back to his room to sleep. Even if he was sick, he couldn’t be sleeping all the time. She made him sit on the sofa and watch cartoons.
Xiaoqi nestled on the sofa obediently and drew a painting with oil pastels. He stole a look at Grandpa and saw that he kept staring at a black phone screen. Afraid of disturbing Grandma’s work, he reminded him in a low voice, “Grandpa, your phone isn’t lit up anymore.”
Upon hearing the child’s words, Huo Ci returned to his senses. His phone tilted slightly, and the black screen reflected the image of a woman working seriously nearby. Perhaps it was because she was cold, but she had draped a coat over herself casually. He didn’t know if it was because she had been too engrossed in her work that she hadn’t seen it clearly, but it was his coat.
“Shh!” Huo Ci shushed him softly, telling Xiaoqi to be quiet. The expression in his eyes gentled gradually. The living room was very quiet, and he could clearly hear her fingers tapping on the keyboard as she sighed from time to time. He could even hear her shallow breathing.
The tip of his nose was filled with the faint fragrance from her body. She never used perfume, so the fragrance was light and mesmerizing. In his stupor at this moment, he felt like he had gone back in time.
Xiaoqi was obedient, but he still rubbed his stomach and leaned over to whisper, “Grandpa, Xiaoqi is hungry.”
When Huo Ci carried the brat away, he realized that she was frowning deeply, as though she had encountered a difficult problem. He wanted to b.u.t.t in and ask about it, but he was also afraid that she would turn hostile. He carried Xiaoqi to the balcony to pick vegetables.
“Grandpa, do you know how to cook?” Xiaoqi plucked a few big red tomatoes and ran over on his short legs to put them in the basket. He was a little doubtful of Grandpa’s culinary skills. Should he call for Grandma?
“Tomato and egg noodles.” Huo Ci looked at the little fella. “Just tell me, do you want to eat it or not?”
Xiaoqi nodded hurriedly. “Xiaoqi will eat everything Grandpa makes. Grandpa’s culinary skills are the best.”
Huo Ci cursed that he was a bootlicker, but the smile on his lips was extremely delighted. He also plucked a few cuc.u.mbers, a small bunch of vegetables, and two bitter gourds. Lastly, he even picked more than a dozen strawberries. He washed the strawberries first and pa.s.sed them to Xiaoqi. Then, he pointed at the person in the living room. “Deliver them to your grandma.”
Xiaoqi nodded, walked over with his short legs, and placed the strawberries on the table. He didn’t dare to disturb her either and ran back to the kitchen to help Grandpa with the cooking without saying anything.
When Nangong Lengyu started working, she would sometimes enter a state of oblivion. By the time she closed the laptop, she realized that she wasn’t in her office but at Huo Ci’s house. She glanced toward the side and suddenly stood up. Just as she was about to call out for Xiaoqi nervously, she saw two busy figures—one large and one small—in the kitchen. There was a faint fragrance that filled her nose, the smell of tomatoes and eggs.
For some reason, at this moment, all her prejudice against Huo Ci actually disappeared instantly. As she looked at that person’s figure, an image of the youthful him hopping around in the kitchen frantically surfaced in her mind.
Old matters of the past came to mind, and the corners of her lips also curled up slightly.. Perhaps it was because the current atmosphere was too peaceful, or perhaps it was because Huo Ci hadn’t lost his temper today or looked for trouble… She actually found him much more pleasing to the eye.