Huo Yuhao was still young, however, and as time pa.s.sed he became more and more normal under his companions’ influence. However, he still felt very lonely. After all, companions and friends weren’t family! He had no more relatives left in this world. He cultivated tirelessly to avoid the loneliness and dead silence in his dreams at night.
At this point, tears fell from his eyes because of what Ma Xiaotao had said. “I will take revenge on whoever dares to bully you by roasting him into a suckling pig.”
Elder sister, if only he had an elder sister. She could openly ask him for help to suppress the evil fire, protect him and take care of him. The phrase ‘elder sister’ was a very unfamiliar term to him.
“Why are you crying?” Ma Xiaotao was stunned as she saw Huo Yuhao crying. Huo Yuhao leapt up from the sofa towards her and gave her a tight hug. He wailed as he hugged her.
He was bawling hysterically to vent his emotions. He didn’t even realize that he had buried his head in Ma Xiaotao’s chest as he wept.
Ma Xiaotao was in a daze. A wave of distress surged within her heart after that. Although she was unsure why Huo Yuhao was crying so pitifully, she could clearly sense the change in his emotions. He developed a reliance on her as he bawled.
All females possess maternal instincts. It was just a matter of how strong they were. Ma Xiaotao might seem very st.u.r.dy in front of others, but she was actually very delicate. Those who usually seemed tough were actually the ones who were the most vulnerable internally. Huo Yuhao’s wailing sparked the kind, maternal instincts that resided within her.
She patted his back lightly and did not mutter any words of comfort. She felt that letting him cry his heart out like this was the best for him.
Huo Yuhao was crying very sadly. The venting of his emotions caused his tears to fall uncontrollably.
He recalled his predicament when he was at the Duke’s Mansion at a very young age. He was afraid of winter. Every winter, he would s.h.i.+ver in the cold with his mother at night. In the day, he still had to help his mother perform ch.o.r.es outside. His mother’s hands were already frozen, but she did laundry for the higher-cla.s.s servants in the Duke’s Mansion in exchange for some low-quality grease for him to rub on his hands so that he wouldn’t freeze up.
The look in his mother’s eyes was so kind and amiable. But it also carried a tinge of sorrow that could never be wiped away.
He deeply recalled that his mother was crying very sorrowfully once. That’s because he asked her, “Mom, when can we ever be full?”
“Mom, when can we ever be full?” Huo Yuhao talked in his sleep.
This simple sentence caused Ma Xiaotao’s body to tremble. She teared up as she thought of how much bitterness Huo Yuhao had experienced when he was young.
“Mom, mom…” Huo Yuhao muttered under his breath as he wailed. His tears had already drenched Ma Xiaotao’s s.h.i.+rt. However, he was unaware, and gradually fell into a deep sleep in Ma Xiaotao’s arms.
He cried for 15 minutes until he fell asleep without drying his tears. Ma Xiaotao hugged him lightly.
Perhaps he missed the feeling of being in his mother’s arms when he was young, but Huo Yuhao placed one of his hands on Ma Xiaotao’s chest very naturally. But Ma Xiaotao was not angry with him for doing so. She only felt that he was very pitiful.
Everyone would miss their mother. But from the way he cried, how could it be that he only simply missed his mother? Ma Xiaotao could sense the sorrow that was deeply ingrained in his bones. She also heard some of his childhood stories when he talked in his sleep.
She did not place Huo Yuhao on the bed directly. Ma Xiaotao hugged him as she leaned on the bedside. She allowed him to snuggle in her arms and continued to pat his back softly.
It was early still in the morning when their match had ended. But right now, the Grand Imperial Star Hotel lit up with bright lights as night approached.
Huo Yuhao slept very soundly and sweetly. In his dream, his mother had come back to life. He felt his mother’s warmth as he laid in her arms. Little Yuhao had never felt so peaceful before.
Mom, mom…
He murmured continuously as he stuck close to his mother in her arms. There were no more tears, but warmth and longing affection.
By wailing bitterly, he had unleashed the sorrow and hatred that he had suppressed for so long. The warm hug left him completely relaxed. Maybe the knot in his heart had not been completely untied, but at least it was no longer a dead knot anymore.
A man’s growth would never be far away from a woman. A mother, sister, girlfriend, wife or daughter could not be missing from a man’s life. In Ma Xiaotao’s sister-like or mother-like arms, Huo Yuhao’s body and mind were both maturing subconsciously.
When the first ray of sunlight pa.s.sed through the window to the bedside at dawn, it landed on Huo Yuhao’s face.
The golden ray caused the sleeping youth to slowly wake up.
His entire body was warm, and he was feeling extremely comfortable. His soul power coursed freely in his body, and his heart felt an indescribable carefreeness. It was as if all his acc.u.mulated negative emotions had been vented.
“So comfortable…” He turned his head around unwillingly to avoid the beaming sunlight. But the abnormally soft pillow caused Huo Yuhao’s consciousness to become a little clearer.
As he moved his finger, an elastic force was exerted on his fingertip. Huo Yuhao was truly awake now. He opened his eyes and saw a lazy but serious-looking face watching him weirdly, whereas his hands were placed on the upper chest of this person, and he was even grabbing this person’s chest.
“Sister Xiaotao, this… this is a misunderstanding.” Huo Yuhao relaxed his grip quickly and crawled up awkwardly. His face blushed.
“What did you call me?” Ma Xiaotao straightened her face, “Did I hug you one night for you to call me this?”
Huo Yuhao only regained his awareness now. He lowered his head as he said, “Elder sister.”
Ma Xiaotao sat up straight and stretched her arms and aching body before rubbing Huo Yuhao’s head and saying, “Go back to your room and wash up.”
Ma Xiaotao’s indulgent action relieved the embarra.s.sment and nervousness that Huo Yuhao felt. He lifted his head to look at her, “Elder sister.”
Ma Xiaotao smiled and replied satisfactorily, “Oh, that’s better.” As she said that, she dragged Huo Yuhao down from the bed and tidied up his s.h.i.+rt. “Go wash up and eat something. It’s not early anymore. We still have to compete later.”