Chapter 23
Meng Huizhou looked at the father and son's strikingly similar features, and the moment their eyes met, they mirrored each other and looked away, displaying an uncanny understanding.
She had been with Huo Chaojiang since he was a teenager, watching him transform from a sharp-witted youth into the dignified and restrained man he is today—a transformation that had been subtly influenced by nearly forty years of holding a high position.
Her son grew up surrounded by admirers. No matter how reserved he was, he was only in his early twenties five years ago, with the pride and arrogance of a young man, and occasionally he would show his claws in a show of defiance.
But overnight, all its sharpness vanished, leaving it as calm as an abyss.
After that, the confrontations between father and son were always subtle and hidden deep within.
Meng Huizhou softened again and took Huo Chaojiang's hand. He didn't move, and she knew that her husband would not compromise.
Huo Junyan's gaze followed Xingxing's running figure, his thoughts somewhat scattered.
Chu Ci appears to be tactful, but in reality he is unruly and unrestrained at heart. Yet, he endured and maneuvered within the Zhou family for a full five years before finally managing to escape.
Just thinking about what she's been through these past five years makes my heart ache, a physical pain.
He took a deep breath and began to explain for her, "Dad, five years ago, Zhou Yubai lied to Chu Ci. She was only doing it to protect herself. Actually, back then..."
“Alright,” Meng Huizhou stopped him from continuing to speak for Chu Ci, “Your father and I mean that this woman has a complicated past, and we don’t want to discuss it anymore. In short, Xingxing stays.”
"That's impossible."
Meng Huizhou gripped Huo Chaojiang's hand tightly, emphasizing his words, "Junyan!"
"Mom, Xingxing is Chu Ci's son. Where were we during the past five years when they were relying on each other? Now, what gives you the right to take her son away?"
Meng Huizhou stared at him blankly, "It's not our fault... I'm not stopping her from seeing the child; she can come anytime she wants."
"The stars can only be given to Chu Ci. If you miss your child, you can see him anytime."
"Enough!" Meng Huizhou was also furious. "Chu Ci abandoned the child with the nanny and went abroad, causing Xingxing to be abused by the nanny and suffer such serious injuries. I didn't want to say these things because I understand that it's not easy for her to raise a child alone, but what if the nanny took the child to the airport and got lost? Does such a person deserve to take care of a child?"
Huo Junyan turned to leave.
Meng Huizhou said coldly from behind him, "Junyan, do you want to see the Huo family fall apart?"
He paused, then saw Xingxing running towards him. He smiled, squatted down, opened his arms, and picked up his son. "Are you tired from playing?"
"Dad, I'm hungry."
Meng Huizhou stepped forward and said, "Xingxing is hungry. Grandma has had lots of delicious food prepared. How about Grandpa and Grandma take you there?"
"Grandma, I want to eat with Mommy. I should go home now."
Meng Huizhou and Huo Chaojiang exchanged a glance, and she coaxed with a smile, "This will be Xingxing's home from now on. If your mommy wants to come, she can come here to see the stars, okay?"
Xingxing pursed her lips, tightened her arms around Huo Junyan's neck, and stared at the two elders with her dark eyes.
"Dad will take you home." He sensed the change in his son's emotions.
"Junyan," Meng Huizhou said urgently, then quickly maintained her smile and tried to hug Xingxing, but Huo Junyan avoided her.
"Mom and Dad, I brought Xingxing back with me."
Huo Chaojiang swayed slightly, but ultimately said nothing. Meng Huizhou's eyes showed hurt, reluctance, and anger, but her good manners allowed her to control her emotions, and she only breathed slightly rapidly.
They refused to give way.
Even though the Huo family compound was large enough that Huo Junyan could have bypassed it, he didn't. This was an attitude, and the etiquette he had been taught since childhood wouldn't allow him to do so.
"Grandma," Xingxing opened an arm toward Meng Huizhou, hugged her with her little hand, and kissed her on the cheek. "Grandma, I really like you. I'll come to accompany Grandpa to race cars again next time, and I'll come to see Grandma again."
"Oh my goodness," Meng Huizhou's heart melted, and he wished he could hug her tightly. "Then why don't you stay here and keep Grandma company?"
She tried to hug him a few times, but he wouldn't come over. She glared at Huo Junyan angrily.
This time, Huo Junyan acted very innocent, as the little guy was gripping the back of his collar tightly with one hand.
"Grandma, I'll start missing Grandpa and Grandma from tonight." The little hand reached out to Huo Chaojiang, trying to share the love equally.
Meng Huizhou felt both love and pity for the little one. She kept waving to him until she saw him being carried into the car, at which point she couldn't help but wipe her eyes with the back of her hand.
As soon as she got in the car, Xingxing immediately let go of Huo Junyan.
"You like your grandparents, so why don't you want to stay?" Huo Junyan touched his neck, which was a little sore.
Xingxing moved aside and changed the subject, "Dad, can I have an iced Coke tonight?"
He chuckled. "Answer me first: your grandparents want you to stay and keep them company. Are you willing?"
Xingxing looked up and said, "Daddy, if I stay, Mommy will come looking for me soon. Grandma used to take me to my uncle's house, I mean my grandma, and Mommy could always find me. Even if I get on the ship, Mommy will still be able to find me."
They just won't give a direct answer.
Huo Junyan felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. Chu Ci had fought with the Zhou family countless times in the past five years, maneuvering between Yao Shengjie and Zhou Yubai, and every wrong step could lead to danger.
He held his son horizontally on his lap, pinched his chubby little face, and asked, "What happened after we found you?"
The image of Chu Ci baring her teeth and brandishing her claws flashed through my mind. No, she was cunning, vigilant, and highly defensive; she would only bar her teeth and brandish her claws in places she considered safe.
Xingxing lay in his arms and thought for a while. "Take me home. ... But I think Mommy is a little unhappy, and Grandma is even more unhappy. Grandma was very unhappy on the boat, and she even cried."
Huo Junyan chuckled, "So what would you do?"
"I'm going home with Mommy, and then I'll call Grandma." Her round eyes darted around, and she sat up abruptly.
"Hehe..." Huo Junyan covered his mouth with his fist, his laughter hearty, "You made the call secretly, didn't you, haha..."
Okay! As long as you can smooth things over.
Chu Ci waited and waited at the Linshan Villa, wanting to call Huo Junyan again several times, but she held back.
After leaving the hospital, she called Huo Junyan and asked him to take Xingxing home. She said it was her own home. Huo Junyan told her to wait at home and that he would take Xingxing home in a little while. Then he sent someone to give her the key to the Linshan Villa.
I'm playing word games with her now.
A luxury car drove in through the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows. Chu Ci suddenly stood up and saw Xingxing get out of the car. She breathed a sigh of relief. The Huo family hadn't forced her to stay, and she didn't need to come looking for them.
Chu Ci really didn't want to treat Huo Junyan's parents the way she treated Yao Shengjie.
Yao Shengjie experienced the pain of losing her son, suspected Zhou Yubai, and then turned this suspicion into hatred. She acted and spoke in extreme ways, and most of her actions were directed at Chu Ci.
Her retaliation was naturally not going to be gentle.
“Mommy,” Xingxing came in from the entrance hall and ran to her as soon as she saw her, throwing herself into her arms. “Grandpa and Grandma said I’m going to a new kindergarten tomorrow. I promised Tangtang I would lend her the binoculars. What should I do?”
"What? Who?" Chu Ci hesitated for a moment, faced with two key questions in one sentence. "Tangtang, uh, going to the new kindergarten?" She looked at Huo Junyan.
Xingxing corrected, "It's not that Tangtang is going to a new kindergarten, it's that Grandpa and Grandma are making me go to a new kindergarten."
"I'll have someone send you the kindergarten information later."
Huo Junyan left a comment and went straight upstairs.
Avoid her?
Chu Ci wanted to talk to Huo Junyan about kindergarten, but her attention was drawn to Tangtang. Watching his disappearing figure, she had no choice but to focus on Tangtang first.
"Is Tangtang in your class? What's her name?"
She checked the class group chat, but there was no "tang" sound in it, so it must be a nickname.
Xingxing looked around a few times and said, "Dad said he prepared a Ferrari for me."
She pursed her lips, gritted her teeth, took her son's hand, and asked another question that avoided her: "It's all thanks to his roots."
"Ferrari~"
She looked around the first-floor living room but didn't see the toy car packaging in sight, so she figured it must be in the children's room on the second floor.
The two, one big and one small, went upstairs, glanced at Huo Junyan's tightly closed door, snorted coldly, and led Xingxing to his room, pushing the door open and entering.
"Wow……"
Xingxing suddenly let go of her hand and rushed in, touching this car and that car, then pounced on the Ferrari bed, then scrambled up and climbed onto a stool to touch the model cars on it.
Chu Ci was stunned.
She simply had a car-shaped wooden bed custom-made for Xingxing at home, and he absolutely loved it.
This room is entirely custom-made, like stepping into a car, reminiscent of a car convention, with countless car models of all sizes inside, and even the legs of the desk are shaped like thin red wheels.
"Thank you, Mommy."
Xingxing ran over and hugged her leg, tilting her head up and acting cute. Before she could react, she ran off to play with the toy car track on the ground.
Chu Ci stood there for a while. Her son had already fallen for her. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She turned around, went out, closed the door, and stormed to his door. She raised her hand and paused for several seconds.
Knock knock knock!
I knocked three times politely.
There was no movement. I pressed my ear to the crack in the door, but there were no footsteps. Was I not going to open the door for her?
"Whoosh," the door suddenly opened, and she nearly hit him as she raised her hand to knock harder. "Hey, hey, why didn't you make a sound?"
Huo Junyan barely dodged her swinging fist. "You're quite good at turning the tables."
Chu Ci raised her eyes, lifted her chin high, and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "I'm asking you, Xingxing Kindergarten,"
"Come in." He turned and went into the house.
One should press on with one's might, but the momentum will wane with each attempt, and exhaust it completely with each subsequent one.
The ancients were right!
She should have pressed her advantage and asked him about kindergarten downstairs, but now her momentum was abruptly cut short. Chu Ci took a deep breath and followed him inside.
It wasn't what she expected.
The bed faces an entire wall of books, with a daybed placed against the wall, and a copy of the "Huangdi Neijing" (Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic) on a low table on the daybed.
"The bookshelf was reinstalled later."
The "later" he was referring to was after the two of them. Chu Ci turned his head away, pretending to look carefully at the books on the wall.
"You still remember this place?"
“I have absolutely no recollection of it.” She turned around abruptly and blurted out.
Such a reaction drew a suspicious look from Huo Junyan. Chu Ci gritted her teeth and said, "Oh, I admit it," after all, Xingxing was already four years old, "but I don't remember anything else."
Huo Junyan's eyes darkened as he stared at her without any attempt to hide his feelings, determined to find out what was going on.
She turned to leave, but he stopped her.
"I really don't remember. If you don't believe me, let's go to the hospital for a checkup."
“The examination is just an aid,” Huo Junyan’s lips suddenly curled up, and he smiled like a villain. “I’ll show you something, maybe it will remind you of something.”
"I won't watch."
She refused.
A few seconds later, Chu Ci's momentum subsided, she smiled, her eyes crinkled, and she winked at him: Can't I even look?
When she saw it clearly, she almost popped her eyes out.
Huo Junyan held the phone screen in front of her: well-defined abs, smooth V-line, broad shoulders and narrow waist, and above that, a sleeping face with her hair partially covering her eyes.
She leaned closer, almost touching the phone screen, and exclaimed, "Male model physique, wow~"
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