DASB Ch24

Mu Chengyang was holding the child and called out to Huo Rulan and Ye Xi: “We were just about to eat. Would you like to join us?” Beside him, Gu Qing reached out to take the child, a gentle smile on his face: “Huo Ge, Xiao Xi.”

After he said that, he expressionlessly kicked to the side and added, “You and Huo Ge sit down. I want to be with Xiao Xi.” Mu Chengyang, not daring to argue, sullenly went to sit on the opposite chair, lazily leaning against it.

Ye Xi, holding a big radish, happily went to sit down. The child leaned against Gu Qing’s chest, sucking on his fingers with drool all over his face, turning his head with big, watery eyes, staring intently at Ye Xi.

Ye Xi waved his hand: “Hi, how are you?”

The child looked at Ye Xi, then suddenly grinned a toothless smile, shyly burying his head in Gu Qing’s embrace and refusing to come out.

From time to time, he would rub his head against Gu Qing’s chest while laughing, drooling and dampening Gu Qing’s shirt.

Gu Qing laughed softly, patting the little one’s soft back, and tilted his head to ask, “You’re so young and already know how to be shy?”

Ye Xi was also smiling and reached out to hold the child’s small hand, which the child squeezed tightly for a moment before letting go, hiding happily in Gu Qing’s embrace.

“So cute~” Ye Xi, holding the radish, leaned back in his seat and giggled. Human babies are really adorable.

Seeing the little one looking over again, and noticing his gaze falling on the radish, Ye Xi shook the big radish: “Do you like this? You can play with it.”

Before Gu Qing could say anything, Mu Chengyang spoke first: “Sister-in-law, don’t, it’s obvious that this was hard-earned by Old Huo.”

He then laughed and asked Huo Rulan beside him with certainty, “Did you really get it? Or was it given by the staff?”

Huo Rulan’s face flushed with embarrassment. Angrily, he punched him: “If you keep talking, I’ll reveal the story about you being chased and kicked by the dog mom when you were five!!”

Mu Chengyang was stunned by Huo Rulan’s shamelessness and instinctively turned to look at the person, only to meet three pairs of eyes.

Ye Xi, stifling a laugh, watched the commotion. Gu Qing gave him a meaningful glance, took a tissue, and wiped the drool from his son’s mouth while smiling.

The little one still stared with big, round eyes, drooling, and didn’t understand but still smiled foolishly.

Mu Chengyang, red-faced, turned and grabbed Huo Rulan by the neck, shaking him, shouting, “Old Huo, you owe me an apology for my image! You owe, you owe!!”

Huo Rulan grinned widely, still holding the menu and ordering dishes.

Gu Qing, holding back his laughter, asked, “Where’s the dog?”

Huo Rulan answered, “It’s not yours; it’s my neighbor’s dog, Uncle Yu’s. He was the one I collided with when practicing driving.”

As he said this, Huo Rulan remembered something and spoke with a hint of grievance: “He hit the doghouse, and then Uncle Yu caught me too and brought me to his door to settle the matter.”

Hearing this, Mu Chengyang, unable to hold back his anger, grabbed Huo Rulan’s neck again and shook him, while condemning him: “Old Huo, the older you get, the less human you look!! When you were picking bird eggs, did I leave you and run away alone?”

“Running away? You couldn’t run, Uncle Yu only brought you back because you had no choice but to leave me alone!!”

Listening to their mutual accusations of childhood embarrassing moments, Ye Xi laughed so hard he fell into his seat.

Seeing Gu Qing looking at him in confusion, Ye Xi wiped away his tears and whispered a few words in Gu Qing’s ear, causing Gu Qing to laugh uncontrollably as well.

During the meal, in revenge against Huo Rulan, except for Huo Rulan serving dishes to Ye Xi, whenever Huo Rulan reached for a dish, Mu Chengyang quickly snatched it away and ate it.

Huo Rulan, fuming, reached for another dish, and Mu Chengyang grabbed it again.

Just as Mu Chengyang managed to grab a dish, Huo Rulan’s chopsticks turned and grabbed the original dish, taking it away and eating it immediately.

A clever move to distract and deceive!

Ye Xi and Gu Qing watched their subtle battle, while the little one drank milk from his bottle, occasionally wiggling his chubby feet and making happy sounds, as if cheering them on.

Gu Qing’s son wiped his mouth and then picked up the dish Mu Chengyang had previously grabbed, chatting with Ye Xi.

“Have you finished the supplements from last time? Should I get you some more?”

Gu Qing referred to the supplements he had given Ye Xi when he was hospitalized.

Since it was cold and the child was still small, Gu Qing hadn’t visited the hospital to see him but had sent a large amount of supplements and warm items with Mu Chengyang.

“No, Sihan, there are still some left.” Sihan is Gu Qing’s courtesy name, given by the elders in his scholarly family.

“Alright, if you need more, just call me. I’ll have Mu Chengyang bring it over.”

Ye Xi ate the meat Huo Rulan had served and responded obediently, “Okay~”

While eating, Ye Xi playfully asked the child, “What’s his name?”

Mu Chengyang was still busy fighting over dishes with Huo Rulan. He took a moment to answer, “Gu Zhixia. It means ‘Meeting in Xizhou, waiting for a good partner day and night.’ His nickname is Dudu.”

For some reason, Ye Xi noticed Mu Chengyang stealing a glance at Gu Qing.

Gu Qing, looking down at his son and adjusting his little clothes as if he hadn’t heard Mu Chengyang, looked up and smiled at Ye Xi, “His name is Mu Zhixia.”

Ye Xi glanced at the stunned Mu Chengyang, who turned back to look at the little one and said, “Mu Zhixia, that’s a really nice name.”

Mu Chengyang then stopped fighting over the dishes with Huo Rulan and focused entirely on serving Gu Qing, his mouth nearly stretching to the back of his head with a grin.

Huo Rulan and Ye Xi exchanged glances and laughed quietly. Ye Xi picked up a shrimp.

After the meal, the child fell asleep from exhaustion. Mu Chengyang held him gently and rocked him, showing much more skill than a month ago in the hospital.

As the child slept in his arms, Ye Xi felt sleepy too and yawned, leaning against Huo Rulan.

“We’ll head back first,” Mu Chengyang said, carrying the child and his bag. He said goodbye to them and left with Gu Qing.

Watching them leave, Huo Rulan, holding Ye Xi, looked down and asked, “Shall we go back and take a nap?”

Ye Xi, holding the radish and rubbing his eyes, drowsily nodded.

As Huo Rulan began to lead him towards the door, Ye Xi stopped him and said, “We haven’t taken a photo yet.”

Huo Rulan, amused, let Ye Xi find a good spot and had their bodyguard take the photo.

Ye Xi, holding the big radish in one hand and a large bouquet of beautiful flowers bought from a nearby flower shop in the other, leaned against Huo Rulan and smiled with squinted eyes.

Huo Rulan, with one arm around Ye Xi’s waist and the other hand in his pocket, looked directly at the camera with a gentle gaze and a smile.

***

Huo Rulan helped Ye Xi into the car, adjusted the seat, and covered him with a blanket.

Ye Xi woke up once during the ride, groggy, and reached for Huo Rulan. Huo Rulan gently patted his back and coaxed him back to sleep.

After settling Ye Xi, Huo Rulan drove back home.

Ye Xi slept through dinner and was only woken up by Huo Rulan for the meal.

Sleepily, Ye Xi opened his mouth, and Huo Rulan fed him spoonfuls of egg custard.

“Let’s eat dinner first, then you can go back to sleep, okay? Finish eating first.”

Huo Rulan, unable to persuade him otherwise, lifted Ye Xi and had him sit on his lap. He fed him a spoonful of food and used a tissue to wipe his mouth.

Ye Xi, eating and then falling asleep again, was carefully attended to by Huo Rulan, who held the bowl in one hand and the spoon in the other, sighing with helplessness.

When Ye Xi woke up again at 10:30 PM, he sat up in bed, turning to see Huo Rulan sitting beside him, reading documents.

Seeing him awake, Huo Rulan set the documents aside, knelt down to help Ye Xi put on his shoes, and supported him as he got up.

“Are you hungry? Do you want to eat now or have some fruit?” Huo Rulan helped him prepare to go downstairs.

Ye Xi touched his stomach, frowning with a pale face, “I feel a bit nauseous.”

Huo Rulan, upon hearing this, turned and guided him to the bathroom.

He then prepared tissues, a washcloth, and two cups of warm water.

After Ye Xi vomited, Huo Rulan held him gently, using a warm washcloth to clean his face.

He gave Ye Xi a cup of warm water to rinse his mouth and then wiped his mouth with a tissue before offering him the second cup of water to drink.

Huo Rulan decided it was best not to let him go downstairs and helped him back to bed.

“Are you feeling better now?” Huo Rulan placed a comforting pillow behind Ye Xi and sat on the edge of the bed.

He massaged Ye Xi’s lower back with one hand and rubbed his small belly with the other, leaning close and speaking sternly, “If you keep acting up, I’ll come and deal with you.”

Ye Xi moved his hand away, reaching out to touch his belly, “Your big daddy is just joking, he won’t hit you. Be good, little ones~”

Huo Rulan, laughing and annoyed, said, “You’re biased.”

Ye Xi replied, “I’m not.”

After Ye Xi finished speaking, he paused and slowly lifted his head to look at Huo Rulan, “Huo Rulan, the babies kicked me…”

Huo Rulan was stunned for a while, then placed his hand on Ye Xi’s belly and said softly, “It’s okay. It’s normal to feel fetal movement around twenty weeks.”

They both touched Ye Xi’s belly in silence.

Huo Rulan asked, “Why aren’t the babies moving now?”

“Are they still mad at me?”

He lowered his head and kissed Ye Xi’s belly, “Babies, forgive daddy. Don’t be mad. Daddy was just talking out of anger. I will never hit you. Please move a little, okay?”

There was still no response from the belly. Ye Xi touched Huo Rulan’s hair and said, “It’s okay. Maybe it’s still early, and the movements aren’t obvious yet.”

Huo Rulan hugged Ye Xi, resting his head on Ye Xi’s shoulder, and said in a muffled voice, “It will be tougher from now on, I’m sorry…”

Ye Xi kissed his hair and pressed his face against Huo Rulan’s head, “The little ones are so cute. I don’t find it tough at all. Just thinking about having two children who look like you and me makes me really excited.”

Huo Rulan closed his eyes and nuzzled against Ye Xi’s shoulder, tilting his head to kiss Ye Xi’s face, then searching for his lips.

For a long time, he buried his face in Ye Xi’s neck, saying nothing.

Gradually, Ye Xi felt warmth seeping through his neck, dampening his clothes. Ye Xi quietly held Huo Rulan.

As Huo Rulan had comforted him earlier, Ye Xi gently stroked his back.

“Ye Xi, I’m a bit scared…”