Chapter 113 N - Breaking the Ice
There were no particularly important arrangements in the afternoon. Fu Xingzhou was still in China, so Chu Beiling could work remotely using his computer. He and Xing Yu took Xiao Qiezi to a nearby restaurant for lunch, and then Chu Beiling followed Xing Yu to Chu Meng.
Chu Beiling originally intended to hand the little eggplant to Xing Yu and then look at the picture books on the bookshelf. He hadn't looked at them since he learned that Xing Yu had responded to him after learning about them.
Little Eggplant, however, refused. Arriving in a completely new place, its curiosity was bursting, and it insisted on coming down to play by itself.
Chu Beiling didn't let go; he first asked Xing Yu for his opinion.
He laughed and said, "Why do you always ask me? She can play whatever she wants."
Chu Beiling gave him a heads-up: "Kids can be really cute, but they can also be really naughty. They can be both angels and devils, switching seamlessly. If she comes down, your office will most likely be a mess."
Xing Yu chuckled: "It's just playing around in the office, it's not that serious."
Chu Beiling smiled, put down the eggplant, and planned to let Xing Yu experience the wickedness of a naughty child again: "You should put away the dangerous items and important documents in the office in advance, because she really will tear your office apart."
He smiled and raised an eyebrow: "Brother Yu, if you have any little secrets, remember to hide them in advance, because kids will find them!"
Xing Yu moved all the sharp objects on his desk and the tabletop that could pose a danger to a high place.
He paused for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "You seem quite expectant."
Chu Beiling blinked: "So, is that so?"
Xing Yu walked in and flicked his forehead with his index finger: "No, if there is, it's at home."
It took Chu Beiling a moment to realize what he was talking about. With her ears turning red, she muttered under her breath, "You're being indecent."
Xing Yu: "I'm just going along with what you said."
Chu Beiling: "Turning the tables."
Xing Yu glanced at him: "You're cheating on me, and now you're trying to drag me down with you."
Chu Beiling snorted twice, too lazy to pay him any attention, and began to flip through the picture book one by one. Then she waved it at Xing Yu: "Tell me honestly, why is this here with you?"
Xing Yu looked down at him, his eyes filled with an indescribable emotion.
Chu Beiling's heart sank: "What kind of reaction is this?"
Xing Yu: "You really don't remember?"
Chu Beiling's mind suddenly went blank, and his ears started ringing. He shook his head in frustration: "I'm sorry." He opened his mouth and explained somewhat guiltily: "I don't remember much about anything related to painting."
"Just remember that it's mine now," Xing Yu said.
"..."
Chu Beiling said, "Although there are some of your paintings in the later ones, the person in question didn't agree to you doing so, so how can they be yours?"
Xing Yu: "I want it!"
Chu Beiling: "Of course."
Xing Yu pulled out a date sheet for today and handed it to him: "If you want one, come and get one every day."
Chu Beiling accidentally poked his chest with her index finger: "It's really dark here."
Xing Yu grabbed his hand and said lazily, "Yes, you certified it."
Chu Beiling pulled it away, humming twice: "We'll see how you do." He turned his back and continued flipping through the pages.
Xing Yu looked down at Chu Beiling, lost in thought, then glanced at the curious little eggplant exploring the office out of the corner of his eye: "Eggplant is a lot like you, both in personality and appearance."
Chu Beiling gave a soft "hmm": "What a little bastard."
Xing Yu asked with a smile, "So you're talking about yourself?"
Chu Beiling nudged his strong waist with her elbow: "Get out of here, go somewhere cool."
Xing Yu grabbed his hand, held it tightly, and then gently squeezed his palm: "If you can't win an argument, you resort to violence?"
Chu Beiling didn't let go, but instead gently tickled Xing Yu's fingertips with her hand, laughing heartily: "That depends on who you're attacking, and... how you're attacking them."
Seeing the slight change in Xing Yu's eyes, he decided to stop while he was ahead and pointed at the small eggplant with his hand.
To say that Xiao Qiezi resembles him is not entirely true. Perhaps because she is a girl, Xiao Qiezi looks more like Li Shuying and also somewhat like Zhao Chen. All the good qualities of the two of them are found in the child.
The only similarity is in their eyes and eyebrows, which also resemble their mother's.
“When I take her out alone, everyone thinks Little Eggplant is my daughter.” Chu Beiling raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, “At that time, I would say that the child is more like the mother. I am divorced and raising the child alone. The child’s mother doesn’t want us anymore, right, President Xing?”
Xing Yu gently rubbed his fingertips, which had just been scratched, and said in a low but clear voice, "Oh? Then who was the person who clung to me and wouldn't let go last night? It's so hard to guess!"
Chu Beiling's face instantly flushed red; his attempt to outwit Xing Yu had backfired.
He couldn't contain his anger and stomped on Xing Yu's foot: "You bastard."
Xing Yu hissed in pain. Chu Beiling was about to ask him a few words of concern when Xing Yu chuckled, "Last night you wouldn't let go of me, and today you stepped on me and called me a bastard." He sighed in distress, "Mr. Chu has quite a temper."
Chu Beiling nodded: "You have a bad temper, huh? Whose sofa are you getting tonight?"
Xing Yu thought for a moment: "I remember that day, you said you wanted to sleep on the sofa, but you didn't end up sleeping there."
Good grief, this is where he's waiting.
Black sesame dumplings, black heart, black heart, black heart.
Chu Beiling was furious and about to retort when the two of them simultaneously noticed the eerie silence in the office; the noisy little figure had vanished.
"Little Eggplant?" Chu Beiling's anger was instantly replaced by worry. She exchanged a glance with Xing Yu and immediately split up to search the spacious office.
It was Xing Yu who first spotted the child in the corner and called Chu Beiling over.
The little guy was facing away from them, his bottom sticking out, completely absorbed. One little hand was on the snow-white wall, and the other was holding a Burgundy red watercolor pen. He was enthusiastically creating something on the wall.
The child was quiet, but sure enough, he was up to no good.
There are countless ways to destroy a house, making it impossible to guard against them all.
Chu Beiling's blood pressure spiked as he looked at the abstract and wild graffiti on the snow-white wall.
Just as he was about to lose his temper, Xing Yu grabbed his hand, signaling him to calm down.
Chu Beiling watched as Xing Yu squatted down next to Xiao Qiezi and held her small hand in his large one.
Little Eggplant was happily engrossed in drawing when she was startled by the sudden movement. She looked up and saw Xing Yu, then saw Chu Beiling behind her with a face as black as the bottom of a pot. She immediately realized that she had made a big mistake.
Xing Yu patiently taught: "Eggplant, you can't draw on the wall, you have to draw on paper."
The little boy pouted, his eyes immediately welled up with tears, and he looked at him with a pitiful expression. Then he looked at his older brother, looking as pathetic as could be: "Brother, you used to draw on the wall too, and your drawings were even worse than mine."
The air froze instantly.
Chu Beiling felt a rush of blood surge from his feet to his head. Suddenly, all his anger was shattered by those words, leaving only a caught-off-guard embarrassment and a chilling sense of guilt. His brain completely shut down.
He glanced at Xing Yu instinctively, his eyes filled with a panic he himself was unaware of.
Xing Yu naturally handed the child over to him, his tone still calm and gentle: "Take her to wash her hands and face first." He glanced at the wild graffiti on the wall, "I'll handle this."
Chu Beiling nodded mechanically, picked up the eggplant that had dropped small pearls, and headed to the restroom in the lounge. While cleaning it, she gave him a lecture on "not drawing on the walls anymore" and explained that his previous behavior was wrong and should not be imitated.
When he came out carrying the smelly, clean little eggplant, whose emotions had gradually calmed down, Xing Yu had already finished cleaning and was putting the cleaning tools back in their place.
The red and blue marks on the wall were too stubborn, even though they had been cleaned and faded a bit.
Yet it remains clearly visible.
Xing Yu glanced at the mark: "Blue and red are hard to remove, you can't wipe it off." He turned to Chu Beiling: "When I have time, I'll mix a similar color and cover it up with a painting."
Chu Beiling responded lightly. For them, who were skilled in painting, there was no problem in repainting directly on the wild and abstract graffiti of the little eggplant.
He was a little guilty, afraid that Xing Yu would ask about his out-of-control daily life, which was not as simple as he said, such as not being able to pick up a paintbrush.
But Xing Yu didn't ask any further questions.
He stepped forward and naturally reached out to wipe away the colorful water droplets that had splashed onto his cheek with his fingertips.
"Alright." Xing Yu's voice carried a faint smile as he glanced at the little eggplant nestled obediently in Chu Beiling's arms. "Everything's taken care of."
All the chaos and confusion were silently absorbed by Xing Yu, and Chu Beiling's restless heart slowly settled down.
Xing Yu took the eggplant from her, whispered a few words in her ear, glanced down at his watch, and said, "I have to go to a meeting, I'll head over now." He pointed to the tea cabinet and said, "There are snacks in there, you can eat them if you're bored."
Chu Beiling nodded slightly: "Okay."
Xing Yu put the small eggplant down: "It doesn't matter if the office is messy, I'll take care of it when I get back."
Because of this little incident, Chu Beiling was not in a good state of mind for the entire afternoon.
Little Eggplant also noticed his emotions and behaved very well, trying to make him happy from time to time, attempting to make up for her mistakes and fulfill Brother Ayu's instructions.
Xing Yu returned from his meeting as the sun set.
On the way home, Xing Yu suddenly brought up the matter of sleeping on the sofa that night, and even secretly drove off, which angered Chu Beiling. She retorted a few times before she was barely able to recover.
The Filipino maid had arrived home, and Chu Beiling asked her to help Xiao Qiezi change into her pajamas. It was a rare occasion that it was just the two of them.
Chu Beiling grabbed his collar, pulled him to her side, and began to settle scores: "What were you doing just now? There were children here."
Xing Yu remained unchanged, feigning innocence and turning the tables: "I didn't do anything wrong, you're the one who misunderstood."
Chu Beiling stared at him speechlessly, deciding to teach him a lesson, otherwise he would really think he was a kitten who only knew how to scratch an itch and had no power whatsoever.
He picked up his luggage, preparing to sleep in the guest room with Little Eggplant that night.
Xing Yu pulled him back: "Are you really going to sleep in the guest room with Little Eggplant?"
Chu Beiling snorted twice: "Otherwise what?"
Xing Yu: "Can you bear to leave me alone in this empty room?"
Chu Beiling: "You deserve it."
Persuasion was too slow, so Xing Yu decided to take direct action to shut up this incessant mouth.
Families with children are frequently experiencing problems. Just as Xing Yu's kiss was about to land, Little Eggplant, wearing a light yellow dress and holding Abeibei, stood at the door of the walk-in closet: "Brother, I want to watch Peppa Pig."
Xing Yu immediately let go of him, scratching his nose in a somewhat helpless and embarrassed manner.
Chu Beiling chuckled mischievously, picked up the little eggplant, and rubbed his head against her cheek: "Eggplant baby, brother will take you to see Peppa Pig." He turned his head and made a shooting and blowing-out gesture at Xing Yu.
Xing Yu, who was following behind, couldn't help but chuckle: "Aren't you childish?"
Chu Beiling: "Of course not. I'm happy to see you get the short end of the stick."
It was a rare opportunity for Chu Beiling to humiliate Xing Yu, so he certainly wouldn't let it pass. Taking advantage of Xiao Qiezi's presence and the fact that Xiao Qiezi's attention was entirely on the television, Xing Yu didn't dare to really do anything to him.
Chu Beiling recklessly provoked someone, completely disregarding the person's face, which was already as dark as it could possibly be, and without any thought for what would happen next.
Xing Yu said coldly, "Chu Beiling, you just wait."
Chu Beiling smiled: "I'm waiting."
At night, when they rested, Little Eggplant hugged Abebe and slept between them.
Xing Yu: "..."
Seeing the expression on his face, which was even uglier than the bottom of a hot pot, Chu Beiling couldn't help but laugh for a long time.
That wasn't enough. He pretended to be friendly and whispered in Xing Yu's ear, "It's a pity, I still..." Chu Beiling deliberately blew a breath into his ear, "I really want to sleep with you tonight."
Xing Yu actually quite enjoyed Chu Beiling's reckless and daring attitude.
Outside the window, the lights of thousands of homes twinkled. He leaned against the headboard, his voice soft and lazy as he whispered in his ear, "Wait until Little Eggplant falls asleep. You won't go hungry."
Chu Beiling: "..."
The little eggplant lying in the middle opened its big eyes and blinked: "Brothers, what are you talking about?"
Both of them lowered their eyes. Chu Beiling didn't answer, but covered the little eggplant with the blanket and tried to distract the child: "Go to sleep early."
Xing Yu chuckled softly from the side, and Chu Beiling could sense in his laughter a hint of "You're quite impatient."
Chu Beiling sneered, and if it weren't for Little Eggplant lying between the two of them, he would have kicked him long ago.
At this moment, Little Eggplant said, "Brother, your face is so red."
Xing Yu kindly explained, "Your brother might be a little hot."
Chu Beiling: "Xing Yu."
"I am here."
Little Eggplant climbed off the bed, and Chu Beiling asked, "Eggplant, what are you doing?"
The child took a few tissues, walked over to him, and wiped his sweat: "Brother, you're sweating a lot, you need to take a bath."
Chu Beiling: "..."
Well, he's shot himself in the foot again. He's not as shameless as Xing Yu.
They went too far.
Chu Beiling slid into the quilt like an eel. Xing Yu looked at his ears, which were so red they were dripping with water, and persuaded the bewildered little eggplant to lie down: "Eggplant, let your brother calm down."
Little Eggplant nodded obediently, pulled Xing Yu to tell him a story, and then pulled Chu Beiling to pat him.
As Xing Yu’s deep voice rang out, not only Little Eggplant but also Chu Beiling began to doze off.
In a daze, he heard Xing Yu say, "Okay, let's continue tomorrow." Then he heard the sound of the lights being turned off.
Spending a day with kids is exhausting, even for the most energetic person; everyone feels drowsy in the warm environment.
,
Less than ten minutes later, Little Eggplant suddenly started crying without warning, constantly calling for her mother.
Chu Beiling woke up with a start and hugged the child. He and Xing Yu coaxed and comforted the little eggplant, occasionally diverting the child's attention.
She finally calmed down for a moment, but less than ten minutes later she remembered Li Shuying and wanted her mother.
After nearly four hours of fussing, the child was still sobbing and had cried until his voice was hoarse, but he still wouldn't stop.
Having no other choice, Chu Beiling contacted Li Shuying, called on the Filipino maid, and sent Little Eggplant back overnight.
Upon seeing people, the child finally calmed down and fell asleep nestled in Chu Beiling's neck.
After settling everyone in, Chu Beiling went to find Li Shuying and said, "We're going back now."
Before leaving, Li Shuying called him back and gave him a black card. "Over the years, you have cut off all financial ties with me. You even rejected investments that I carefully evaluated, not for personal reasons. I know what you're thinking."
Chu Beiling looked at the black card but did not accept it.
“Although I still don’t approve of it, at least I really hope you’re doing well,” Li Shuying said.
Chu Beiling looked at her: "Mom..."
“You’re right, I do have a request of you.” Li Shuying glanced at Xing Yu behind her and said, “My only request right now is that you accept this black card. You don’t have to use it, but it must be in your hands.”
Chu Beiling glanced at Xing Yu, while Li Shuying looked at him irritably: "Why are you always looking at him? You're so good at arguing with me, but you can't even make a decision about such a small thing?"
Chu Beiling hesitated for a moment, then took the black card and hugged Li Shuying: "Mom, thank you."
Li Shuying paused for a moment, then pushed him away with disdain: "A grown man, more pretentious than me."
Chu Beiling remained noncommittal.
“I can’t say I agree yet, and don’t be too careless,” Li Shuying said. “Chu Beiling, I hope you and Xing Yu can prove to me that my idea is wrong.”
Chu Beiling and Xing Yu exchanged a glance and spoke one after the other.
“Mom, I never thought you did anything wrong. I just hope you can understand me,” Chu Beiling said. “Xing Yu and I will be fine.”
"Aunt Li, thank you," Xing Yu said. "I will take good care of Fanfan."
"Heh~ You two only know how to say nice things." Li Shuying glanced at them, waved her hand, and interrupted their nonsense in time: "Get lost, seeing you makes my stomach hurt."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
