Chapter 51, Part 51

51:

Mu Shaowu went to work.

Ye Qingxi had known this fact for a long time.

But it wasn't until he got home from school in the afternoon that he finally truly understood what this meant.

The house was quiet.

Mu Shaoting and Mu Shaoyan were not there, nor was Mu Shaowu. The three most talkative people in the house were gone, leaving only him and Mu Feng.

But Mu Feng was never one to talk much, and so the Mu family suddenly fell silent.

Ye Qingxi and Mu Feng ate together, and then he returned to Mu Shaowu's room.

Although his room was already habitable, and he felt that since Mu Shaowu wasn't there, he should go back to his own room, he still inexplicably walked into Mu Shaowu's room.

In his study, at his small desk, he began to do his homework and read.

Cotton Candy followed him obediently, like a little puppy following him around.

He sat in the chair, and Cotton Candy clung to his trouser leg, trying to climb up.

Ye Qingxi had no choice but to pick it up and place it on her lap.

Marshmallow stood up instantly, stretched out her body, put her two front paws on the desk, and curiously peered out with her little head, looking left and right.

Ye Qingxi was charmed by its cuteness, picked it up, and placed it on the desk.

Marshmallow lay on the desk, watching him do his homework.

"Good girl," Ye Qingxi thought.

He patted Cotton Candy's head, and for some reason, he thought of Mu Shaowu again.

When Mu Shaowu was around, Ye Qingxi didn't actually feel that she relied on him that much.

He has a wonderful life every day.

There are friends, a grandfather, and other family members.

Even though Mu Shaowu was gone, Ye Qingxi couldn't help but think of him again.

I remember the times he helped him with his homework, the times he sang to him to lull him to sleep, the times they took a bath together and Mu Shaowu covered him in bubbles, and so many other things.

Finally, he remembered the day they built the city wall, and Mu Shaowu looked at him with tender eyes.

He actually seemed to like Mu Shaowu a little more than he thought.

They rely on him more.

Ye Qingxi felt a little regretful.

When Mu Shaowu left that day, he saw him off, but all he did was hand him breakfast and nothing else, not even a farewell hug.

He should have given him a hug.

Mu Shaowu always liked to hug him.

He hasn't hugged him yet.

When he comes back, Ye Qingxi thinks that when he sees Mu Shaowu again, he will hug him and give him a homecoming hug.

With that thought in mind, he slowly began to do his homework.

After finishing her homework, Ye Qingxi picked up a cat toy and started playing with Cotton Candy.

Marshmallow is a very individualistic cat. She only likes the kind of cat toys that feel fluffy to the touch; she doesn't like any other ones that are striped or feathered.

Ye Qingxi teased Cotton Candy for a while with its favorite fluffy cat toy, until Cotton Candy crawled under the table and stopped chasing and biting the toy. Instead, it prepared to find the right opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the toy.

However, it was so patient that Ye Qingxi was almost losing patience shaking the cat toy, but Cotton Candy was still crawling around.

Ye Qingxi: ...

Ye Qingxi was just thinking about whether to give up and play with the infrared pen and cotton candy instead, when the door was pushed open.

Ye Qingxi turned around in confusion, the cat toy in her hand moved slightly and then stopped. Cotton Candy immediately jumped up, bit it, and started to back away with its four paws, trying to have a tug-of-war with Ye Qingxi.

Ye Qingxi: ...

Ye Qingxi had no choice but to keep tug-of-war with it while glancing at Mu Feng, who had just entered through the door.

"Grandpa, what brings you here?"

Mu Feng walked up to him, looked at him, and said, "You'll sleep with me tonight."

Ye Qingxi: ? ? ? !!!

Ye Qingxi quickly replied, "I can sleep by myself."

"The weather is unpredictable this time of year. If you sleep alone and develop a fever at night, I won't even know."

Mu Feng had no intention of sleeping with Ye Qingxi.

He wasn't aware of it.

Throughout the years he raised his children, from Mu Zheng to Mu Shaoyan, they all slept independently.

When they were little, the nanny would look after them.

As they get a little older, they like to cling to their older brothers and will hug a pillow and go to sleep with their brothers.

As people grow older, they develop a sense of privacy and start sleeping in their own rooms.

Of all these people, only Mu Shaoting was forbidden by Mu Feng to sleep with her brother because she was a girl.

However, Mu Shaoting herself did not like sleeping with her brothers.

From a young age, her room was decorated like a fairy's flower castle, so much so that until she was ten years old, Mu Shaoting believed that girls should sleep in beds that looked like flower buds.

She was the only one in the house with this kind of bed, so she refused to leave her bed and sleep with someone else.

Mu Feng was pleased with the outcome and had no objections.

Therefore, although Mu Shaowu left, Mu Feng didn't really think it was a big deal at first.

Until Mu Zheng called him.

“The temperature has been unstable lately, with big changes between hot and cold. Several children in Xiao Cheng’s class have gotten sick. Shao Wu isn’t home, so it’s just you and Xiao Xi. Dad, please take good care of Xiao Xi and make sure she doesn’t get sick too.”

"By the way," Mu Zheng added, "If Shao Wu isn't here, will Xiao Xi sleep alone or with you? You two should sleep together, otherwise Xiao Xi will be on the third floor and you'll be on the second. Not only are you on different floors, but you're also not even facing the same direction. If Xiao Xi gets a fever again in the middle of the night, you won't even know."

After hearing what he said, Mu Feng thought it made sense, so he went upstairs to find Ye Qingxi.

When Ye Qingxi heard him mention the fever he had last time, she didn't refuse anymore and agreed.

"Then you can continue playing with the kitten," Mu Feng said.

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingxi handed the cat toy in her hand towards him, "Grandpa, would you like to play with Cotton Candy for a while?"

Mu Feng: ...

Mu Feng glanced at the tiny kitten rubbing against Ye Qingxi's legs and thought it was more suitable for Ye Qingxi.

"You can play with it yourself," he said, turning and leaving the room.

After he left, Ye Qingxi continued playing with the cat toy with Cotton Candy.

Around 10 o'clock, both the person and the cat were sleepy.

Cotton Candy jumped onto her little bed to sleep, and Ye Qingxi went downstairs to Mu Feng's room.

Mu Feng's bedroom is in a classic European style, decorated in a very luxurious and heavy style.

Ye Qingxi went inside and saw the photo Mu Feng had placed on the bedside table when she reached the bedside.

It was a group photo of the young Mu Feng and his wife.

Ye Qingxi looked at them and immediately noticed that Mu Zheng and Mu Shaoyan clearly resembled Old Master Mu more, while Mu Shaowu and Mu Shaoting clearly resembled his wife more.

As he was looking at it, he heard Mu Feng's voice, "That's my wife. If she were still alive, you would have another grandmother."

Ye Qingxi turned to look at Mu Feng, whose eyes held a calm longing.

Like a quietly flowing river, delicate and tender.

He is truly a loyal person, Ye Qingxi thought, whether it is friendship or love, he is exceptionally loyal.

“Grandma is so beautiful,” he said.

Mu Feng smiled, a hint of tenderness in his eyes. "That's right."

He patted Ye Qingxi's head, pulling himself out of his reverie, and said, "Let's go, I'll give you a bath."

“I can wash myself,” Ye Qingxi said, tilting her head back.

Mu Feng and Mu Shaowu have distinctly different personalities.

Mu Shaowu was gentler, like his mother.

Mu Feng, on the other hand, hoped that all his children could be decent and capable.

Therefore, he nodded slightly and said to Ye Qingxi, "Then you can wash it yourself."

"Mm." Ye Qingxi nodded.

Mu Feng led him into the bathroom, prepared a new towel for him, filled the tub with hot water, and explained which towel was for shampooing and which was for shower gel before leaving.

"If anything happens, just shout for me," he reminded Ye Qingxi.

"Okay," Ye Qingxi replied.

He soaked in the warm bathwater, scrubbing himself left and right, feeling very comfortable.

When Ye Qingxi finished showering and came out of the bathroom, she saw Mu Feng sitting on a small sofa not far from the bed, looking at his laptop.

"Grandpa, where's the hairdryer?" Ye Qingxi asked him.

Mu Feng stood up, went into the bathroom, found a hairdryer for him, and then approached him to start drying his hair.

He blew his hair, just like him—the wind was fierce, unlike Mu Shaowu, whose wind was gentle.

Ye Qingxi couldn't help but laugh, feeling that the father and son had very different personalities.

"What are you laughing at?" Mu Feng asked him.

Ye Qingxi smiled and said to him, "Grandpa, the wind is a bit strong."

Mu Feng: ...

Mu Feng silently turned down the wind speed.

After drying his hair, Mu Feng told him to go to sleep.

Ye Qingxi asked in confusion, "Grandpa, aren't you going to sleep?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Feng asked, "Do you need me to sleep with you?"

That's not necessary.

Ye Qingxi shook her head, "It's very late."

“Grandpa will go to sleep soon,” Mu Feng replied.

Ye Qingxi had no choice but to walk to the bedside and lie down on the small pillow that Mu Feng had arranged for him.

He lay in bed and started playing with his smartwatch.

While I was playing, Mu Shaowu sent me a WeChat message.

Mu Shaowu: [Baby, what are you doing? Are you asleep?]

Mu Shaowu: [Are you comfortable sleeping alone without Dad? Or do you want to sleep with your grandpa?]

Ye Qingxi replied to him: 【Just about to go to sleep.】

The next second, Mu Shaowu's video call came through.

Ye Qingxi quickly answered the call.

Mu Shaowu was clearly at the hotel. He was still wearing that black shirt, probably because he had just finished working and hadn't had time to change.

"Look." Mu Shaowu pointed to the brooch on his shirt.

"It looks good," Ye Qingxi said.

Mu Shaowu smiled and said, "I've been wearing it all day!"

Ye Qingxi: Then... should I praise you?

After Mu Shaowu finished speaking, he belatedly realized, "You're in...your grandfather's room?!"

Ye Qingxi nodded.

Mu Shaowu was shocked, "You went to sleep with your grandfather?!"

"Yes, Grandpa came to see me and told me to sleep with him."

"Your grandpa... came to find you? He took the initiative to find you?!" Mu Shaowu was shocked. "Good heavens, your grandpa is so biased. When I was a kid, I would go to him to sleep, and he would only tell me, 'A real man shouldn't be so clingy,' and 'Boys should learn to be independent from a young age.' How come it's you who takes the initiative to find you? Aren't you a real man? Don't you need to learn to be independent?"

Ye Qingxi was amused by his mournful tone and was about to remind him that his grandfather was there.

Before she could even speak, she heard Mu Feng say in a calm tone, "It's so late at night, why aren't you sleeping? The kids need to sleep."

Mu Shaowu: ? ? ? !!!

Mu Shaowu whispered, "Is your grandfather next to you?"

Mu Feng: "I'm here. You don't need to lower your voice so much, I can hear you."

Mu Shaowu: ...

This children's phone watch has really good radio reception!

"Xiaoxi, you should go to sleep first." Mu Shaowu was also afraid of disturbing his sleep. "You should sleep well. Dad will try to finish work early tomorrow so I can video call you as soon as possible."

Mu Feng: "Heh."

Mu Shaowu: ...

Mu Shaowu pretended not to hear, gave Ye Qingxi two quick kisses through the phone, and then hung up the video call.

Seriously, next time I need to make sure his dad doesn't hit him again!

Ye Qingxi wanted to laugh but was too embarrassed to, so she placed the watch next to her pillow.

"Grandpa, I'm going to sleep now," he said to Mu Feng.

"Okay." Mu Feng softened his tone. "Good night."

However, five minutes later, Mu Feng looked at Ye Qingxi, who was lying obediently on the bed with her eyes closed but seemed not to be asleep.

After thinking about it, I closed the laptop, walked to the bedside, and lay down.

Ye Qingxi turned around and asked in confusion, "Grandpa, aren't you busy anymore?"

He thought Mu Feng would be busy until midnight.

"Hmm," Mu Feng said.

He had the light on, and Ye Qingxi seemed unable to sleep.

The child didn't say anything, probably because he didn't want to disturb his work.

Mu Feng raised his hand and turned off the light, then lay down next to Ye Qingxi.

Goodnight, Xiaoxi.

"Goodnight, Grandpa," Ye Qingxi said softly.