Chapter 482 Uncle Zhou, you are so handsome
But this also raises countless sharp questions.
Why did she leave without saying goodbye back then?
Why did you give birth to the child alone and never contact him in the past five years?
He took out his phone, his fingertip hovering over the dial button, but when he saw Cui Xiao's tired yet serene profile in the glass window, he silently turned off the screen.
He stood there outside the door for as long as Cui Xiao had been waiting inside.
The motion-activated lights in the corridor flickered on and off with the occasional footsteps, the dim light repeatedly outlining his tall yet lonely figure, casting a long, long shadow.
Around 2 a.m., a faint, sleepy, nasal voice suddenly came from the ward, as soft and sweet as a cotton candy coated in honey, "Mommy... I'm thirsty..."
Zhou Mubin's body froze instantly, his breathing stopped abruptly, and then his heart began to pound wildly, as if it were about to burst out of his chest.
This was the first time he had heard his daughter's voice. It was so soft and gentle, yet it struck his heart like a thunderbolt, making his nose sting and his eyes inexplicably well up with tears.
He could no longer control the impulse in his heart. He paused when his fingertips touched the cold doorknob before gently pushing open the half-closed ward door.
The dim bedside lamp cast a soft glow as Cui Xiao was busy picking up a glass of warm water from the table and gently blowing on it to cool it down.
The little one on the hospital bed was half-leaning on the pillow, his little brows still slightly furrowed, his cheeks flushed from just waking up, and his almond-shaped eyes, just like his own, were wide open, looking curiously toward the door, his gaze as clear as a mountain stream.
The moment their eyes met, Zhou Mubin felt as if his heart was being gently gripped by a pair of soft, cotton-wrapped hands, and even his breathing subconsciously slowed down.
Fingertips curled up unconsciously, and a fine sheen of sweat appeared on the palms.
The little one in front of him had long eyelashes that fluttered like a butterfly's wings when he blinked. The curve of his almond-shaped eyes was exactly the same as his own, which stirred up a strange mix of emotions in his heart.
Before he could even gather his thoughts, Xiao Nuomi spoke first. Her soft, sweet voice, still languid from just waking up, carried the clear, childlike quality of a child. She tilted her head curiously, the wisps of hair on her forehead swaying gently with her movements. "Uncle, who are you? Why are you standing at the door looking at me?"
Just as Zhou Mubin was about to respond, he caught Cui Xiao's movements out of the corner of his eye.
Her hand holding the water glass suddenly paused, the silver spoon handle striking the glass with a clear, soft "ding."
Her back instantly tensed like a fully drawn bow, her fingertips gripping the cup handle so tightly they turned white, and her knuckles bulged slightly from the force.
Zhou Mubin's heart sank slightly, like a pebble falling into warm water, and he instantly understood her concerns.
The child had just escaped death and was still weak. She was certainly not ready to reveal the truth about her origins, and was even more afraid that the sudden appearance of her "biological father" would disrupt the child's peaceful little world.
He quickly suppressed the surging disappointment and excitement in his heart, slowed his pace to the bedside, deliberately softened his tone, and spoke as gently as the moonlight streaming in from the window, even the end of his voice carrying a cautious probing tone, "My name is Zhou Mubin, and I'm a good friend of your mother's for many years. I heard you were injured, so I came here especially to see you. Are you still feeling unwell?"
Cui Xiao's grip on the water glass loosened subtly, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her heart, and even her tense shoulders visibly slumped a bit.
She glanced up discreetly and caught Zhou Mubin's movements.
Instead of standing high up, he gently bent his knees and squatted down, deliberately making a soft, almost inaudible sound when his knees touched the ground, so that he was at eye level with Xiao Nuomi on the hospital bed.
The dim light fell on his face, softening his usually sharp features, and the tenderness in his eyes was like a pool of spring water, almost overflowing.
Little Nuomi stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned, revealing two newly grown little tiger teeth with a light milky white tip.
Her little hands gripped the bed sheet, and she gently swung her little feet, the light blue gauze on her ankles swaying with her movements. "Hello Uncle Zhou, my name is Cui Tiantian, and my mom usually calls me Little Glutinous Rice."
She paused, then, as if remembering something, leaned forward slightly, her voice low and mysterious, "Uncle Zhou, have you known Mom for many years? I've grown up and never seen you before, and Mom has never mentioned you to me."
Cui Xiao paused, holding the water glass, and quietly brought the rim of the glass to her lips. The warm steam blurred her vision. She didn't say anything, but just listened quietly.
"We've known each other for many years."
Looking at his daughter's features, so much like his own, especially the dimples at the corners of her eyes when she smiled, Zhou Mubin's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He suppressed the bitterness in his heart, reached out to touch her head, but stopped mid-air, instead gently touching her little pillow. "Uncle used to work in another city, so I never had a chance to see you. I just heard you were injured when I got back, so I rushed over. Little Nuomi, was it very painful when you had surgery?"
"It hurts a little bit."
Little Nuomi frowned, her little nose wrinkling as if recalling the feeling, but the next second she relaxed, her eyes sparkling. "But Mom held my hand the whole time and told me stories, and the pain stopped after I started listening."
As she spoke, she raised her little hand and shook Cui Xiao's fingers. Cui Xiao subconsciously squeezed back gently, feeling her daughter's warm touch on her fingertips.
Little Nuomi turned to Zhou Mubin and said in a voice full of sincere praise, "Uncle Zhou, you are so handsome, even more handsome than our kindergarten's most handsome teacher, Mr. Zhang, and your eyes look just like mine!"
Zhou Mubin's heart warmed instantly, as if he were enveloped in sunshine. He smiled and nodded, "Yes, Xiao Nuomi's eyes are also very beautiful, like little stars that shine."
Cui Xiao sat on a chair to the side, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the inside of the water glass as the warm water gradually cooled down, but she was completely unaware of it.
The ward was quiet, with only the soft beeping of the electrocardiogram monitor. The dim bedside lamp cast a soft halo around the floor, overlapping the shadows of Zhou Mubin and Xiao Nuomi, creating a strange harmony.
She didn't interrupt or stop them; she just quietly watched the scene unfold before her.
Zhou Mubin squatted by the bed, patiently listening to Xiao Nuomi's rambling stories about kindergarten. From the little boy at her desk stealing her eraser to the little butterfly flying in outside the window, he listened very attentively. Occasionally, he would ask questions in response to what the child was saying, and the tenderness in his eyes was almost overflowing.
Once, when Xiao Nuomi got excited, she reached out to pat his arm. He quickly moved closer, afraid that she would aggravate his wound.
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