Chapter 31 Picking up Huo Zhiqi home
In just twenty minutes, Shen Mo returned with Zhiqi.
Zhiqi was very uneasy when he followed Shen Mo. Grandma Wang's words from last night had been echoing in his ears all night.
He was also genuinely afraid of being passed around like a football to another household.
Huo Zhiqi followed Shen Mo into the courtyard with a deep sense of unease.
Hearing the voice, Jiang Ning turned around and smiled, "You're back. Wash your hands and come over to taste the saltiness."
Shen Mo listened to his wife and walked over without hesitation. Huo Zhiqi hesitated for a moment, then followed in her footsteps.
Jiang Ning scooped out some soup with a spoon, then used chopsticks to pick up the ribs from the spoon, blew on them, and handed them to Zhiqi, "Try it, is it salty?"
Jiang Ning ladled the soup into a bowl and handed it to Shen Mo, saying, "You drink the soup."
Huo Zhiqi listened to Jiang Ning and did whatever she asked. A couple of days ago, when Jiang Ning invited him to dinner, she would always put some food on his plate and ask him if the seasoning was right.
Huo Zhiqi took a bite of the rib and said, "Delicious."
Jiang Ning smiled and took the stir-fried dishes out of the pan. "Alright, let's eat."
Just as he was about to take the dishes to the main room, he suddenly remembered something. "Zhiqi, come with me."
Then she said to Shen Mo, "Shen Mo, you can bring the dishes to the table."
Shen Mo responded, while Huo Zhiqi's expression changed slightly. He knew that Sister Jiang was probably going to take him away for a talk.
When he first arrived at Uncle Wang's house, Aunt Wang and Grandma Wang talked to him.
Aunt Wang politely told him that this was not his home and that he should not be naughty while staying at her house. Grandma Wang warned him not to touch anything in the house, or she would kick him out if he misbehaved.
Huo Zhiqi followed behind Jiang Ning with his head down, his two little hands twisted together behind his back.
Jiang Ning suddenly stopped, and he stopped too, but he never looked up.
Suddenly something was draped over his shoulder. "Here, try it on and see if the strap is too long. If it is, I'll shorten it for you."
Upon seeing the military green crossbody bag at his waist, Huo Zhiqi looked up in surprise, then stared blankly at Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning thought the length was just right, then took out the clothes and held them up against Zhiqi. Sure enough, the size the salesperson had chosen was correct.
Huo Zhiqi stared blankly as Jiang Ning took out things for him one by one, saying that these were bought for him: a new towel, a new cup, new clothes, and a new schoolbag.
Looking at all this, he felt like he was dreaming. When he was in the Wang family, he could only use the things that Wang Xiaotian and Wang Xiaodi didn't want anymore. His schoolbag was a torn one, and even the pen was the one that Wang Xiaotian and the others had discarded after writing on it until it was just a fist.
Wang Xiaotian and his friends didn't like studying, so he could occasionally find an unused pen.
Huo Zhiqi was flattered and held the things Jiang Ning had stuffed into his arms. Since there was no more room in the child's arms, Jiang Ning put them on the table.
Then she looked up and saw Zhiqi clinging tightly to his things, refusing to let go. She chuckled and said, "Alright, these are your things, they won't run away. We'll take them to your room after we eat."
Huo Zhiqi felt a lump in his throat; he really wanted to cry, but how could a man like him shed tears in front of a girl?
He lowered his head to hide his red-rimmed eyes.
"Thank you...thank you, sister~"
"Why call me 'sister'?" Jiang Ning was unhappy with the title. She had thought it was fine before, but now she inexplicably felt that she was a generation below Shen Mo in terms of seniority.
Jiang Ning rested her chin on her hand and thought, "Now that you're living with my family, you should call me Auntie, oh no, Mom. From now on, you're my son."
Mom...Mom?
Huo Zhiqi's pupils contracted sharply; he hadn't called his mother "Mom" for many years.
Actually, as soon as the word "Mom" came out, Jiang Ning regretted it a little. It's not something you can adapt to in a short time. It seemed a bit awkward for her to have a toddler call her "Mom" right after she arrived.
Jiang Ning quickly said, "Just call me Auntie, come inside and eat."
Without giving Zhiqi a chance to call for help, he turned around and went into the main room.
On their side, everything was peaceful and harmonious. On the Wang family's side, Old Mrs. Wang was also overjoyed, dancing with delight.
She was naturally happy that her family had sent away a big problem.
No one wants to get into trouble. Before, the people in the compound were pushing and shoving each other about adopting Zhiqi, and in the end, it was pushed to her Wang family. She didn't believe that there was really a family that would willingly pay money to raise a child who had no blood relation to them.
At first, she would just put on a show and wait a few days before going to the Shen family's house to see how that sharp-tongued vixen mistreated that penniless son. Then she would spread the word and see if that vixen could stay in the family compound any longer.
*
Huo Zhiqi stared in disbelief at the small house that had all the necessary organs.
Jiang Ning helped him hang the clothes he bought in the small wardrobe, saying, "This room doesn't look big, but it's just right for a child like you."
Shen Mo is so tall and big that the room felt inexplicably cramped when he entered, but she and Zhiqi didn't feel that way now that they were both in the room.
It's really been a bit unfair to let Shen Mo sleep here these past few days.
Jiang Ning said, "Zhiqi, sit on the stool and see if the height is suitable."
Zhiqi sat down at the small desk. He shared a room with the two brothers at the Wang family's house. There was a desk in the room, but the two brothers wouldn't let him use it.
Huo Zhiqi then settled down at the house.
By evening, Jiang Ning had finished showering and come out of the bathroom, but Shen Mo still hadn't returned.
I glanced at the courtyard gate.
This was the first time Shen Mo hadn't gone home for dinner. It was already nine o'clock, and it would be bedtime soon, but Shen Mo still hadn't returned.
The lights were off in the small room where Huo Zhiqi was sleeping.
Jiang Ning sat in front of her vanity, applying skincare products to her face, glancing at the time every now and then.
It's almost ten o'clock, why hasn't this man come back yet?
Now that they were going to sleep in the same bed, she still had things she wanted to say to Shen Mo.
Actually, she was a little nervous. She had never met a man in the real world, except for seeing pigs run away. She had never experienced it firsthand.
On days without nightlife, she went to bed early and woke up early. When the time on her watch reached ten o'clock, she couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep soon after lying down in bed.
In her hazy state, she sensed a dark shadow moving around the bed. The familiar scent of soap told her that Shen Mo had returned. Her eyelids felt glued shut, and she mumbled something before turning over and falling asleep.
The shadowy figure beside the bed heard Jiang Ning mutter, "Shen Mo, you're back. It's so late, go to sleep."
Shen Mo stood by the bed for a long time before pulling back the covers and crawling in, resting his head on the pillow that Jiang Ning had prepared for him.
Then he would lie flat on the edge of the bed like a wooden stake, and if he didn't sleep still, he would fall off the bed if he turned over even slightly.
Most of the seats were reserved for Jiang Ning.
Not long after, I heard the buzzing of mosquitoes in my ears.
Jiang Ning knew he would eventually come back to sleep, so she didn't close the mosquito net when she lay down on the bed.
Upon hearing the buzzing of mosquitoes, Shen Mo rolled over and got up, using a fan to shoo them away in the darkness before lowering the mosquito net.
Once he was sure the mosquitoes wouldn't bother Jiang Ning, he lay back down in the same spot.
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