Chapter 369 Why aren’t you sleeping yet?
Lu Yiran took Chenchen back to his bedroom.
The room is spacious and tidy, and the warm yellow wall lamp softens the cool-toned furniture.
Chenchen stood at the door, clinging to the door frame with his little hands, peeking inside cautiously, like a cautious kitten.
"Come in, why are you standing there?"
Lu Yiran looked back at him and couldn't help laughing.
Chenchen then slowly moved in, looking around curiously.
This was Chenchen's first time in Lu Yiran's bedroom, and everything here seemed strange and new to him.
"Go wash up first?" Lu Yiran asked.
Chenchen nodded, but when Lu Yiran brought him to the bathroom door, he hesitated again.
"What's wrong?"
Lu Yiran looked down at him.
Chenchen pursed his lips and whispered, "I...I didn't bring a toothbrush."
Lu Yiran raised his eyebrows: "So?"
Chenchen blinked and looked up at him.
"So... can I borrow yours?"
Lu Yiran almost laughed out loud, deliberately putting on a serious face to tease him:
"No, my toothbrush is too big for children."
Chenchen immediately frowned, with a conflicted expression of "what should I do then?"
Lu Yiran finally couldn't help it and rubbed his head:
"Just kidding, I've already prepared a new one for you."
After saying that, he took out a brand new set of children's toothbrushes and a cartoon mouthwash cup from the cabinet. There was a cute little dinosaur printed on the cup.
Chenchen's eyes lit up, he reached out to take it, and couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth:
"Thanks!"
"You're welcome, but you have to use my toothpaste. I didn't have time to buy the children's toothpaste."
Chenchen immediately nodded seriously:
"It's okay, I can use adult toothpaste too!"
Seeing his serious look, Lu Yiran felt completely softened in his heart.
He squeezed a little mint toothpaste onto Chenchen's toothbrush. Chenchen took it and began to brush his teeth seriously, with his little face puffed up like a little hamster stealing food.
As he was brushing, Chenchen suddenly frowned and said vaguely:
“So spicy…”
Lu Yiran then remembered that his toothpaste had a strong mint flavor, which might be too irritating for children.
He quickly took the glass of water and handed it over:
"Rinse your mouth."
Chenchen rinsed his mouth, spit out the water, stuck out his tongue, and looked accusing:
"Your toothpaste is spicy!"
Lu Yiran laughed: "Sorry, I'll buy you strawberry flavor next time."
Chenchen was satisfied and continued brushing his teeth. This time he learned his lesson and only used a little bit of toothpaste.
After they finished washing up, Lu Yiran took a new towel, soaked it in water, wrung it dry, and squatted down to wipe Chenchen's face.
Chenchen closed his eyes and let the warm towel gently wipe his face. He looked so well behaved.
After wiping his face, Lu Yiran pinched his cheeks:
"Okay, it's clean."
Chenchen opened his eyes, suddenly reached out and touched Lu Yiran's chin, and asked curiously:
"Why don't you shave?"
Lu Yiran was stunned, touched his slightly stubbled chin, and smiled:
"I was too busy today and forgot."
Chenchen tilted his head and thought for a while, then suddenly stood on tiptoe, patted his shoulder with his little hand, and said in a little adult tone:
"Then go shave it now, or you'll prick someone."
Lu Yiran was amused by him: "Okay, I'll listen to you."
When Lu Yiran came back after shaving, Chenchen had already climbed onto the bed, wrapped in the quilt, with only a pair of sparkling eyes looking at him.
Lu Yiran walked over, lifted the quilt and lay down. Chenchen immediately rubbed against him, like a little animal that had found a warm nest.
"Go to sleep."
Lu Yiran patted his back gently.
Chenchen hummed and closed his eyes obediently, but not long after, he quietly opened his eyes a little.
The room was very quiet, with only the sound of Lu Yiran's even breathing.
He tried to whisper, "Uncle Lu?"
I originally thought that the other party had fallen asleep, but unexpectedly Lu Yiran hummed softly, his voice a little lazy and sleepy:
"Why aren't you sleeping yet?"
Chenchen didn't expect that he was really awake. His eyes lit up and he rubbed towards him:
"I can't sleep."
Lu Yiran turned sideways and looked at the energetic little guy in the light of the night light, feeling helpless and amused:
"Recognize the bed?"
Chenchen shook his head and whispered, "Just... a little excited."
Lu Yiran reached out and rubbed his hair: "Are you nervous about sleeping with me for the first time?"
Chenchen pursed his lips, didn't deny it, but soon raised his head again, his eyes sparkling:
"Uncle Lu, tomorrow...can we go see our godfather?"
Lu Yiran paused: "Cui Hao?"
Chenchen nodded vigorously.
"Yeah! My godfather and I haven't seen each other for a long time. He has been staying in the capital and has not returned. I am a little worried about him."
Lu Yiran was silent for a moment.
His mind unconsciously recalled the day when Cui Hao came to the company to find him. To be honest, he should thank him. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't have gone to Haicheng, let alone saved Nan Yan... Maybe Nan Yan would have been... Thinking of this, a complicated emotion arose in his heart.
He finally agreed: "Okay, I'll take you there tomorrow."
Chenchen opened his eyes wide in surprise: "Really?"
Lu Yiran pinched his face:
"Really, but you have to promise me that you must sleep well tonight, otherwise you will have no energy tomorrow."
Chenchen immediately lay down obediently and closed his eyes tightly:
"I'm going to sleep now!"
Lu Yiran chuckled and tucked the corner of the quilt for him.
But within two minutes, Chenchen secretly opened one eye again:
"Uncle Lu..."
"Um?"
"Will Godfather be very busy? Will we disturb him if we go to see him suddenly?"
Lu Yiran thought for a moment and said:
"No, if he's busy, I'll take you somewhere else to play first."
Chenchen said "Oh" and was quiet for a while, then couldn't help asking:
"Then...can we have dinner with Godfather?"
Lu Yiran raised his eyebrows: "Why do you have so many questions tonight?"
Chenchen shrank his neck and muttered softly:
"It's just... I can't sleep..."
Lu Yiran couldn't do anything about him, so he sighed and reached out to pull him into his arms:
"Close your eyes and count sheep."
Chenchen finally calmed down, leaning obediently in his arms, muttering softly:
"One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep, five sheep..."
As he counted, his voice gradually became lower and his breathing became long.
Lu Yiran looked down at the little guy sleeping in his arms, pinched his cheek gently, and whispered:
"Good night, Chenchen."
After confirming that Chenchen was asleep, Lu Yiran gently lifted the quilt and got out of bed very quietly.
The little guy unconsciously curled up in the warm quilt in his sleep, rubbing his little face against the pillow, but did not wake up.
Lu Yiran stood by the bed and looked at him for a while, making sure that he was not awakened, then turned and walked out of the bedroom, gently closing the door.
Only a few dim wall lamps were on in the corridor, and the old house was particularly quiet at night.
He walked straight to the study, pushed the door open, and turned on the desk lamp.
Warm white light poured down, reflecting on the piles of documents. This time when I returned to Haicheng temporarily, the backlog of work at the company had piled up into a small mountain.
He rubbed his brows. He had originally planned to let Chenchen stay at the old house to accompany the old man tomorrow, and he would take time to go to the company to deal with these documents.
But now that I have promised Chenchen to take him to see Cui Hao, I have to rearrange tomorrow's schedule.
"Looks like I'll have to stay up late tonight."
He muttered to himself, sat down at the desk, and casually opened the top report.
The night was dark outside the window, and the only sounds in the study were the rustling of turning papers and the occasional tapping of the keyboard.
Time passed minute by minute, and when Lu Yiran finally finished processing the last document, the sky outside the window had already turned pale.
He stretched his stiff shoulders and glanced at his watch—it was 4:30 in the morning.
Fortunately, I can still sleep for two hours.
When he stood up, his eyes inadvertently swept over the photo frame on the desk.
The photo shows the young old man holding the young boy, with the garden of the Lu family's old house as the background.
He paused, reached out and gently put the photo frame down.
When I returned to the bedroom, Chenchen was still sleeping soundly, but his sleeping position had changed from lying flat on his back to lying on his back with his legs spread out, and he had kicked the quilt aside.
Lu Yiran smiled helplessly, tiptoed onto the bed, and covered him with the quilt.
The little guy seemed to sense something in his sleep, and rubbed towards him in a daze, his little hand unconsciously grabbing the corner of his clothes.
Lu Yiran looked at Chenchen's sleeping face and suddenly felt that it was worth staying up all night.
He gently closed his eyes and thought about tomorrow's itinerary in his mind:
I'll take Chenchen to have breakfast with my grandparents, then go meet Cui Hao. If time permits in the afternoon, I might be able to take him to the amusement park...
This thought surprised him a little. Since when did his schedule become filled with the little guy's preferences?
————
The morning light poured into the room through the gaps in the curtains, and Chenchen opened his eyes drowsily.
He rubbed his sleepy eyes and found that Uncle Lu next to him was still sleeping soundly.
Uncle Lu, who is usually full of energy, now has a slightly frown on his face, with a faint blue color under his eyes, and his breathing is particularly long.
Chenchen carefully raised himself up and stared at Lu Yiran for a long time.
He remembered that when he woke up in the middle of the night last night, he found that Uncle Lu was not in bed and did not come back until dawn.
The little guy stretched out his hand and gently touched Lu Yiran's cheek, then quickly retracted it as if he had done something wrong.
"Uncle Lu must be working late..."
Chenchen muttered to himself and climbed out of the bed quietly, fearing that he would wake up Lu Yiran who was sleeping soundly.
He tiptoed to the bathroom, squeezed the toothpaste clumsily, and brushed his teeth carefully in front of the mirror.
After washing up, Chenchen quietly returned to the bed and looked at Lu Yiran who was still sleeping. His little face was full of confusion. Should he wake up Uncle Lu or let him sleep a little longer?
At this moment, Lu Yiran's eyelashes trembled slightly and he slowly opened his eyes.
Seeing Chenchen already dressed and standing beside the bed, he was obviously stunned.
"What time is it?"
His voice still had that morning raspy quality.
Chenchen answered in a low voice:
"It's half past seven, Uncle Lu, do you want to sleep a little longer?"
Lu Yiran rubbed his temples and forced himself to sit up:
"No, we agreed to go see your godfather today."
He reached out and rubbed Chenchen's head, then continued:
"Did you wash up by yourself? That's good."
Chenchen nodded proudly, and looked at Lu Yiran worriedly:
"But you look tired..."
Lu Yiran threw back the quilt and got out of bed:
"It's okay, wait for me for ten minutes, then we'll go downstairs and have breakfast with Grandpa and Grandma."
Breakfast was held in the main dining room of the Lu family's old house.
Mr. Lu sat in the main seat, looking as serious as ever, but when he saw Chenchen jumping in, the corners of his eyes softened a little.
Old Mrs. Lu smiled with her eyes curved, and waved for Chenchen to sit next to her.
Mr. Lu looked at Lu Yiran's slightly tired expression and frowned slightly:
"Stay up late again?"
"Processing some documents."
Lu Yiran brushed it off lightly and picked up a shrimp dumpling for Chenchen. Chenchen took a bite of the shrimp dumpling and his eyes lit up:
"Grandma, these shrimp dumplings are delicious!"
Chenchen picked up another crystal clear shrimp dumpling and showed it to the old lady like a treasure.
The old lady looked at Chenchen lovingly and gave him another bowl of porridge:
"Eat more if you like. Your great-grandfather specially asked the kitchen to prepare it."
Mr. Lu coughed lightly, pretended not to hear, and lowered his head to drink a sip of tea.
Lu Yiran looked at this scene, and the corners of his mouth rose unconsciously.
He picked up the celadon teacup and took a sip, the fragrance of tea lingering between his lips and teeth.
He raised his eyes to look at the old man in the main seat, his tone respectful but firm:
"Grandpa, I'm taking Chenchen out today. We'll go back to Haicheng in the evening and won't be back today."
The old man's hand holding the teacup paused slightly, he snorted, and the corners of his wrinkled eyes drooped a little, but in the end he didn't say anything more.
On the other hand, Mrs. Lu, who was sitting next to her, immediately put down her chopsticks upon hearing this. She gently held Chenchen's small hand with her well-maintained hands. She looked at Chenchen with eyes full of reluctance:
"Why are you in such a hurry? Can't you stay a few more days? Grandma hasn't taken you to the back garden to see the new koi yet."
Just as Lu Yiran was about to explain, Chenchen had already raised her little face, with a bright light flashing in her big black eyes:
"Grandma, tomorrow is Monday and I have to go back to school."
He held the old lady's hand and comforted her like a little adult:
"If you miss me, you can come to Haicheng to play with me! Or I'll come to see you on the weekend!"
The old lady was amused, and fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes.
She couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke Chenchen's cheek, secretly sighing in her heart: This child looks so much like Yiran when he was a child, but their personalities are completely different. If Yiran back then could also be this lively and caring, perhaps...
"Good boy, that's what you said."
The old lady deliberately put on a stern face, but her eyes were full of smiles.
"You must come to see Grandma on the weekend. Don't break your promise."
"Uh-huh!"
Chenchen nodded vigorously, and the ahoge on his little head swayed.
After breakfast, Chenchen said goodbye to the two old people obediently.
He stood on tiptoe and kissed Mrs. Lu on the cheek:
"Grandma, I'll come see you next time!"
The old lady smiled from ear to ear and said yes repeatedly.
Even the usually serious Mr. Lu couldn't help but pat the little guy on the back when Chenchen hugged him and said, "Grandpa, take care of yourself."
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