Next to her were Gu Xiaotian's clothes. He looked at his son sitting on the other side of the sofa, who was not saying a word and had red handprints on his face. Ye Lichuan guessed what had happened. He went over and touched his clothes. Sure enough, they were still wet.
"Go change your clothes first."
Gu Xiaotian glanced at him but wouldn't move, his eyes red and clearly filled with tears. Gu Anran also noticed that he had returned, her crying subsided, she stood up, handed the clothes to Ye Lichuan, and sat down to stare at the TV, silently shedding tears.
The TV was showing the Spring Festival Gala, but it was a rebroadcast, and they were performing a skit. The laughter couldn't melt away the tense atmosphere.
Children's bodies are not as healthy as adults'. Wearing wet clothes for a long time will allow cold air to seep into their bodies. Ye Lichuan picked up his son and put him in the bathroom, where he prepared water for him.
"We'll talk when you come out." After saying that, he closed the bathroom door and went to the living room.
Gu Anran was still crying in the living room. In fact, she regretted hitting him not long after she got home, but Xiao Tian kept resisting her approach and even threw all the clothes she brought on the floor, refusing to say a word to her.
Ye Lichuan approached her and noticed she was also soaking wet. He frowned and led her to the room with a cold expression. "Why didn't you change your clothes?"
She shook her head and cried for so long that her vision became blurry and her head felt so heavy that she couldn't straighten it. Ye Lichuan took off her clothes and found that she was burning hot. He touched her forehead and found that she had a fever.
After quickly changing his clothes, he carried her into the bathroom for a hot shower, then tucked her into the blankets before heading to find the medicine.
After he left, Gu Anran barely managed to get to her son's room. She knocked on the door but received no response. Thinking that he still didn't want to talk to her, she coughed twice and went downstairs.
Why aren't you lying down?
"I'll find some medicine to reduce the swelling for Xiaotian." Ye Lichuan stopped her and helped her to sit on the sofa.
"You rest, I'll take care of it."
She sat on the sofa, her eyelids heavy with sleep. Just as she was about to drift off, she heard footsteps. She looked up and saw Xiao Tian. Gu Xiao Tian saw her too and promptly turned his head away.
After preparing the medicine, Ye Lichuan watched her drink it and then cleaned her wound with disinfectant. He then handed the swelling-reducing medicine to Gu Xiaotian, who took it but didn't touch it.
Ye Lichuan sat down next to him and said in a low voice, "I already know what happened. I hope you can forgive your mother."
"You know about Mom's situation. She got angry tonight because you suddenly disappeared."
Gu Xiaotian looked away without saying a word. He pressed on and recounted how Gu Anran had fallen and hurt her hand while looking for him, and how she had gone to the police station to beg the police for help.
Every word of these words reached Gu Xiaotian's ears. He looked at his mother, who was dozing off beside him, and his heart softened a little. However, the image of the slap from the orphanage resurfaced in his mind.
He shook his head. "I don't want to forgive my mother."
Seeing this, Ye Lichuan said nothing more. The three of them sat on the sofa and watched TV in silence. The time appeared in the upper right corner of the TV screen; it was already three o'clock. The night was deep and quiet, with occasional firecrackers going off.
"I'll cook dumplings for you." The two people on the sofa didn't respond, but he didn't mind. He got up and went to the kitchen, boiled water, put in the dumplings, and waited for them to be cooked.
He stood at the kitchen door while waiting. The mother and son still didn't talk. This New Year wasn't very smooth, but at least the family spent it together.
The round, plump dumplings floated to the surface of the water, carrying a rich aroma of meat. He took a bite to make sure they were cooked before scooping them into his bowl. Once he had prepared three bowls of dumplings, he placed them on the table. "Come and eat," he said, "these are New Year's dumplings."
Gu Anran was too sleepy to move, but she still came over and sat down at the dining table. When Ye Lichuan saw that his son was not moving, he knew that he was still angry, so he went over and coaxed him personally.
"Son, come and have a bite. May you grow more handsome and taller in the new year." Gu Anran glanced at his mother at the table, then awkwardly refused to move.
Having no other choice, Ye Lichuan looked at Gu Anran again. She walked over with heavy steps, "Xiaotian, this is your father's gift. You can have one."
She crouched down and looked at her son, while Gu Xiaotian looked at the marks on her hands, then glanced at the snacks he loved on the table. After a while, he suddenly snapped, "I'm not eating! I'm so annoyed!"
After speaking, he stomped upstairs in his slippers, stomping the stairs loudly as if venting his anger. Once back in his room, he slammed the door shut, and the house returned to silence.
Gu Anran remained squatting, and Ye Lichuan put his arm around her shoulder to help her up. He then went over and brought her the dumplings.
"You haven't eaten properly all day, have something to eat."
She stared at the dumplings for a while, then shook her head. "I don't want to eat them, you eat them." Her son's attitude just now clearly showed that he hadn't forgiven her yet. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and now she just wanted to be alone for a while.
Seeing that she was very sad, Ye Lichuan couldn't eat. He put his arm around her and went back to the room. The three bowls of delicious dumplings were left on the table and gradually cooled down, the soup and juice congealing together.
Lying on the bed, Gu Anran didn't want to sleep anymore. She stretched herself out on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. Ye Lichuan turned and hugged her.
"Does your hand still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore. You can go keep Xiaotian company tonight. I can manage on my own."
Ye Lichuan held her hand and bit her fingertip. Seeing her staring blankly at him, he sighed, "Do you know how I felt when you said those words at the orphanage tonight? I was panicked and helpless, afraid that you were really going to leave." He asked himself the question and answered himself.
The real feeling of holding him in her arms finally calmed him down. Gu Anran turned around and hugged his waist. "I'm sorry, I was too emotional today." She hurt two of the most important people in her life.
The two embraced quietly, and after a long time, Ye Lichuan began to tell her what had happened after they left, recounting everything the little girl had said on the way.
Xiao Tian felt lonely watching them leave early. Just then, Xiao Ling called, and the two agreed to spend the New Year together. He took the little girl to buy sugar figurines and then took her shopping. However, he forgot the time and his phone died.
In previous years, Xiaoling had never experienced what it was like to celebrate the New Year. Xiaotian was supposed to rush home, but Xiaoling begged him to stay past midnight. Later, Xiaotian was afraid that she would no longer allow them to see each other, which led to what happened later.
"That's how it is. Xiaotian and we were both wrong. We just need to apologize," he said tentatively.
Gu Anran nodded. "It seems it's still because I have a bad temper."
"It's not your fault, kids can be a bit temperamental." He patted her head to comfort her.
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