Chapter 31
Linshan Villa.
When Xingxing got home from kindergarten and saw Chu Ci, her eyes lit up, and she rushed over for a hug, asking, "Mommy, where have you been these past two days?"
"You've been having fun these past few days without your grandparents taking care of you, haven't you?"
Looking at her son's high-end private kindergarten uniform, Chu Ci turned to Huo Junyan.
He turned his head. "Prepare dinner."
Was it easy for him? He hadn't even gotten married yet, and he already had to face conflicts with his mother-in-law. His mother, Meng Huizhou, and Chu Ci (a famous Chinese poet) are actually quite similar in some ways, such as both being very opinionated.
The kindergarten transfer was done without his prior notice, catching him completely off guard, so much so that he couldn't think of a good explanation for Chu Ci.
"My grandparents bought me lots of toys, as did my great-grandfather, and the new friends I made at kindergarten..."
Chu Ci picked up her son and rubbed his soft face against hers. She listened to him chatter about his new kindergarten friends. After playing around for a while, dinner was set out, and the mother and son sat down.
Dinner was rather bland overall, with only one spicy dish. Chu Ci took a bite and exclaimed, "Hmm?"
The dish tasted very similar to Liu Fengqin's, so she couldn't help but eat a few more bites. "Auntie, how is this dish made?"
"This was made with the chili sauce that you and your husband brought back."
Chu Ci paused. She had seen Liu Fengqin make chili sauce before, but had never tasted it. It turned out that she used chili sauce in cooking. Xu Yunhua's chili sauce-making skills had indeed been taught to many people.
"Star, what did you learn at kindergarten today?"
Chu Ci glanced at Huo Junyan and understood that he was trying to distract her.
But actually, she didn't care anymore.
Some things came to mind, but the emotions seemed to remain sealed away, or perhaps the few feelings that were to begin with had long since faded away with time.
You don't get to choose your parents, and you're not the one who receives their favoritism, so it's really not all that great. Chu Hao has been spoiled by everyone since birth, while Chu Ci is an exception, so she seizes every opportunity to stand up for herself. As for Chu Ning... when she went back to her hometown, Chu Ning was the only one who called to persuade her to go back to school. During the Spring Festival, the whole family went back to their hometown, and Chu Songbai tried to hit her several times, but Chu Ning protected her, taking the beating herself, and kept urging her to bow her head and admit her mistakes.
Chu Ci continued eating the spicy dish.
Xingxing ate a piece of oyster omelet and said coolly, "Draw."
It doesn't sound very interesting.
"You like the new kindergarten, don't you?" Chu Ci glanced at Huo Junyan sideways.
"I like it." A crisp and decisive answer.
...
Huo Junyan's lips curled slightly, "What's your favorite subject?"
"Tomorrow's horseback riding lesson." Xingxing's eyes sparkled, and her voice was filled with excitement.
He liked anything that could run, whether it was a car, a pony, a duck, or an alpaca. Chu Ci was speechless, and of course, there were no horse riding classes in the previous kindergarten.
"Anything else?" Huo Junyan raised an eyebrow at Chu Ci.
Xingxing thought for a moment, "Swimming lesson."
Uh... this wasn't the case at the previous kindergarten, but they did assign homework.
Chu Ci felt somewhat ashamed. She took Xingxing to the swimming pool to learn to swim because she had experienced a shipwreck herself. She was terrified when she saw Xingxing choke on water at the swimming pool. Later, she simply stopped taking him and wanted to wait until he grew up before he started learning.
"Didn't you say your favorite sport is racing?" Huo Junyan coaxed gently.
Xingxing suddenly sat up straight, her eyes shining, and began to chatter on and on, "I've been practicing with Grandpa these past two days. Dad, do you think I should participate in the motorcycle race or the go-kart race? Each child can only choose one. Oh! The coach said that the most important race in the world is Formula One racing. Dad, can I participate?"
“Your coach is a retired Formula One driver. Formula One racing takes place in a very, very large room, using the best cars to challenge the fastest speeds,” he explained, trying to use simple language that children could understand. “There’s another kind of racing called rally racing, which takes place outdoors, in the mountains, on rocky terrain, sometimes in the rain or snow. It’s a challenge against nature…”
Xingxing listened intently, her eyes filled with longing, so focused that she didn't even notice the shrimp she was picking up fell from her plate.
Huo Junyan scooped a piece into his small bowl with a small spoon, saying, "Daddy will help you."
I glanced at the Chu Ci (a collection of classical Chinese poems) as well.
"Daddy is the best." Xingxing wiggled her little feet.
Chu Ci was unwilling to give up, so she picked up a piece of broccoli and was about to put it in Xingxing's bowl when he stopped her with his little hand, "Mommy, I don't like vegetables."
“How can you not eat vegetables?” Chu Ci forcefully placed the broccoli in his small bowl. “Eat it.”
Xingxing hesitated between the shrimp and broccoli for a moment, then secretly glanced at Chuci with her dark eyes before quickly picking up a shrimp and taking a big bite.
Chu Ci pretended not to see it.
After finishing the shrimp, looking at the oyster omelet in front of her, and then at the broccoli in the bowl, she blinked her innocent eyes, seemingly having a hard time making a decision.
“Dad loves broccoli.” Huo Junyan winked at him.
Xingxing immediately picked up a floret of broccoli, saying, "Xingxing, I'll feed you."
"Mmm~ delicious," Huo Junyan also picked up a piece of oyster and fed it to Xingxing, "Daddy, feed Xingxing too."
Chu Ci smirked, "What a beautiful scene of fatherly love and filial piety!"
“Mommy,” Xingxing turned her head, “Daddy loves broccoli.”
Swish, swish, swish!
Three knives flew past her and stabbed her, bursting into tomato juice.
"Xingxing is so smart." Huo Junyan almost couldn't help but laugh.
Xingxing smiled, her eyes crinkling.
"Okay, tonight your dad will tell you a bedtime story, give you a bath, and lull you to sleep," Chu Ci said.
Father and son said in unison, "Yes."
Chu Ci gritted her teeth, feeling a heart attack.
Previously, this was her exclusive domain. Whether it was Liu Fengqin or the previous nanny, he would always be uncooperative when taking a bath at night. Even when Zhou Yubai or Lin Muchen occasionally bathed or changed his clothes, he was not very willing and would just stick to her.
Last time she flew abroad for two or three days, after she came back, Xingxing clung to her day and night.
Of course, he was injured that time.
But this time, even though she was away for two days, she didn't cling to her at all.
Chu Ci felt a pang of jealousy. The father and son acted as if they hadn't seen anything, keeping talking about F1 races. What could a kid as young as a garlic sprout understand? Humph.
She left the table early, and the two of them looked at her at the same time, then turned back at the same time. Huo Junyan even took out his phone and showed her the game video.
Ahhh!
Chu Ci went upstairs, locked the door from the inside, sat on the sofa at the foot of the bed, punched the sofa, and suddenly laughed.
She got up, humming a song, and wandered around the dressing room three times before finally choosing a formal nightgown. She then strolled to the bathroom to hang it up, her fingertips hooked on the hanger.
Turn on the bathtub and fill it with water.
After carefully removing my makeup and washing my hair with water, I prepared a rose face mask and applied it to my face. Then I divided my hair into several sections, wrapped them with a nourishing hair mask, and rolled them up with plastic rollers.
I threw two rose balls into the bathtub, and they instantly burst into a pool of rose-pink foam.
I took off my clothes, turned on my tablet and played some instrumental music, then sat comfortably in the bathtub. After soaking for a while, I took a small sip of red wine and noticed a pop-up novel ad, so I clicked on it.
"The Warlord and His Father's Sixth Concubine," stepmother literature, wow~ it's exciting.
I peeled off the face mask, and my skin felt smooth and soft. As I reached for my skincare products, I caught a glimpse of a pair of black soft-soled shoes. Above them, I saw dress pants, a white shirt rolled up to the elbows, and a key twirling in his fingers.
Chu Ci blinked, then belatedly realized that she had locked the bedroom door from the inside.
"Hehehe~~~" The tablet emitted the male protagonist's maniacal laughter, "Don't stay with my dad, stay with me!" Lightning flashed, rain poured down, and there were sounds of impacts.
Chu Ci hurriedly closed the app, but unfortunately, her hands were wet, and clicking a few times yielded no response.
The female protagonist was sobbing softly and delicately, and there were strange breathing sounds. Chu Ci was so anxious that he pressed the power button.
Voiceover: [VIP trial of three chapters ended]
She looked at the membership recharge interface that popped up on the tablet and breathed a small sigh of relief. What's going on here? Hehe.
Chu Ci glanced at Huo Junyan, then looked down following his gaze. She immediately shrank back into the water and scolded him, "You rascal!"
Huo Junyan's eyes flickered slightly as he looked up. Steam swirled around her fair collarbone, making it difficult to see clearly. He approached and bent down to get a better look.
"Hey!" Chu Ci crossed her arms and dodged to the side.
As she moved, the pinkish-red bubbles rippled and broke open, revealing glimpses of what lay beneath the water.
He had already unbuttoned his shirt, but she raised her hand to stop him.
"Wait a moment."
Water droplets splashed on his body from his fingertips, glistening under the bathroom light.
Huo Junyan grunted an "Mmm," quickly took off his shirt, and began to unbuckle his belt.
“You, I, I said wait a minute,” Chu Ci glanced at the dress and pajamas hanging outside the bathroom, then suddenly turned her face away. When she heard him ask, “Wait for what?” she weakly protested, “The water is cold.”
"oh."
The water in the bathtub sloshed around, and Chu Ci quickly pulled her legs back, shrinking into a corner like a rabbit waiting to be caught by a hunter.
The man naturally pulled her into his arms. "Are you still cold?"
"Uh..." She laughed in exasperation.
Chu Ci glared at him, "Do you know why I locked the door?"
“I have the key,” the man said nonchalantly, picking up his wine glass and downing the rest of her drink in one gulp. “Hmm… I just finished commentating on a match and I’m thirsty.”
...
Chu Ci resignedly poured the wine, saying, "Don't move your hands, hey, don't push me, or I'll spill it."
Huo Junyan leaned back slightly and said, "Feed me."
Chu Ci put the red wine back, her face serious. "I have something to tell you."
He moved slightly, and the shower water started flowing.
Pink bubbles dissipated and escaped as the water rippled, leaving behind a beautiful scene.
Huo Junyan tightened his grip on her arm, and Chu Ci, blushing, picked up her wine glass again and brought it to his lips. He turned his head away slightly, his eyes lifting slightly as he held her close, making her face even redder.
For some reason, she understood with just a glance.
Memories from five years ago have been surfacing little by little these past few days, fragmented, but she's certain that they didn't spend much time together; it was just him nitpicking, her finding fault, and that one time.
So, could that look in her eyes just be her own imagination?
He took a sip of wine, and his arm immediately tightened, almost making Chu Ci choke. He relaxed, and Chu Ci understood. She bit her lip and took another small sip.
They half-swam and half-crawled over.
He was resting his head on the bathroom counter, and his height advantage made it a little difficult for her to reach him. She rubbed against him, then suddenly sensed something was wrong, her eyes widened, and she murmured, "Mmm~"
"Alright, you offered this on your own initiative."
The man looked up and, seeing that she was about to run, immediately pulled back, pinching her chin and slowly drawing out the alcohol from her, before finally loosening his grip slightly. "What is it? Tell me."
Chu Ci, feeling oxygen-deprived, parted her lips slightly and murmured, "Huh?"
"Are you alright? Then let's continue."
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