CH 62.2

Ling Qi, without being too polite, replied, “Okay, I’ll give it back to you tomorrow.”

On the next day, Huo Lin had classes. Although he wanted to take another look at the child, he knew that it would affect his rest, and his body might not be able to handle it during the day.

No, it wasn’t that his body couldn’t handle it, but rather that his mental power couldn’t handle it.

“Uncle Ling Qi, I’m going back to sleep. If you need anything, come find me any time.”

“Alright.”

Ling Qi watched him leave, and after the door closed, he used the star device to call Zhan Xi.

Zhan Xi was quite far away from his current location, but after receiving the news earlier, he rushed back in a hurry.

Ling Qi called him to ask him to slow down and not be in such a rush.

Now the little child was in his arms, and they were in the palace. It was safe here, and they wouldn’t encounter any more danger.

The phone rang several times before Zhan Xi answered. As soon as Ling Qi heard his voice, he knew that Zhan Xi was on the road.

“Zhan Xi, both Ningning and I are in the palace. Ningning has already seen the doctor, so you don’t need to worry too much. We’re all fine.”

“And Ningning?”

As soon as Zhan Xi spoke, his voice sounded hoarse, as if he hadn’t drunk water for a long time.

Ling Qi frowned, displeased. “Ningning is sleeping in my arms and has already fallen asleep.”

“Zhan Xi, when you come back, you still need to take care of Ningning. I hope you can understand that. Don’t rush and neglect yourself. Or do you want Ningning and I to take care of you when you returned?

Under Ling Qi’s reprimand, Zhan Xi’s schedule finally became less hasty.

Late at night.

The palace also quieted down. Ludwig and Ai Wei stayed in the study for a while before coming out.

Everyone was resting.

***

After Wagner, who was in the Federation’s capital, woke up from a short sleep, he felt a little puzzled.

“Ningning, why didn’t he call me today?”

His eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and he randomly speculated in his mind, could it be that Ningning was tired of him?

Dad had told him that even if they called each other every day, it didn’t guarantee the endurance of their friendship.

Sigh.

Wagner was extremely worried. He sat on the bed, looked at his father, who was still sleeping, and couldn’t resist nudging him. “Dad, when are we going to White Mist Star to play?”

He missed Ningning!

The mischievous child who woke his father up in the middle of the night was met with an icy expression from his good-tempered dad. He almost ended up with a spanked bottom.

“Behave and go to sleep, or else you can forget about going to White Mist Star.”

***

That night, except for the Duke’s mansion, everyone else slept soundly.

Next day.

Early in the morning, Zhan Xi returned in a dusty and disheveled state. He quickly freshened up and changed into clean clothes before coming to see Ningning.

Every time he returned from outside, he would wash up and change clothes before holding the child.

He believed that this was cleaner. Ningning was young, so extra care was needed in this regard.

Ling Qi’s guest room door was not locked.

When Zhan Xi walked in, the large and small figures on the bed were still fast asleep.

The older one had stayed up all night, so he was currently in a daze. The younger one was habitually reluctant to get out of bed; if no one called him, the little guy would sleep until the sun roasted his bottom and he still wouldn’t get up.

Zhan Xi, who had rushed back after a tiring journey, finally felt a sense of peace when he saw the two of them.

He didn’t rush to wake them up, but instead sat aside silently, watching.

Ling Qi was too alert. Being stared at like this, he quickly woke up.

Upon waking up, he saw Zhan Xi by the bedside. In an instant, the wariness in his eyes disappeared completely.

“Zhan Xi.”

He called out Zhan Xi’s name, and after calling it out, he scrutinized Zhan Xi’s face, his gaze becoming increasingly dangerous. “Did you not listen to me and rush on the road all night?”

Zhan Xi remained silent.

Zhan Xi awkwardly changed the subject, “I saw Ningning with a band-aid on his face. What happened? Is he injured?”

Ling Qi coldly stared at him and ignored his words.

Facing his gaze, Zhan Xi couldn’t hold on any longer and softened his voice, apologizing softly, “I was so worried about you, so I wanted to hurry back.”

When the little child called him on the phone, he was crying so much it seemed like he was about to suffocate.

Listening to the child saying, “Ningning is in so much pain,” “Uncle Ling Qi was taken away,” how could he possibly remain calm?

He had been on the road all night, not even closing his eyes once.

Ling Qi could tell from the bloodshot eyes that he had endured a lot.

He slightly moved aside, gesturing for Zhan Xi to come up.

“You can accompany Ningning and sleep a little longer.”

The guest room bed was large enough to accommodate another adult man comfortably.

Ling Qi urged Zhan Xi to get on the bed and asked him to hold the warm Ningning.

The temperature of a child easily rose, and holding the little one in his arms was like a natural hand warmer, especially in cold weather.

Zhan Xi was hesitant at first. This was the palace, not his home, and he couldn’t be so casual...

But Ling Qi told him not to worry about it.

“You hold Ningning, and I’ll tell you about his current condition.”

Ling Qi had already been informed by Ai Wei of Ningning’s diagnosis at the hospital, and now he relayed the results to Zhan Xi.

After hearing the diagnosis, Zhan Xi’s face turned almost ice cold, and his eyes revealed undisguised murderous intent towards Cole.

“Ludwig has already taken action, Zhan Xi, don’t act impulsively.”

Cole was of noble duke status, and the only one capable of opposing him was His Majesty the Emperor.

Ling Qi gently pacified Zhan Xi’s emotions, his reassurance not at all gentle, but fortunately, it was effective for Zhan Xi.

Zhan Xi, who had stayed up all night, was mentally exhausted to the extreme.

In the sound of Ling Qi’s voice, he held the little child in his arms, and his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Ai Wei knew that Zhan Xi had come, but when she heard that he was sleeping in the guest room, she didn’t go to disturb him.

It was only the little child who insisted on staying in bed. After lazing around until mid-morning, his empty belly woke him up.

With half-closed eyelids, the chubby little hands touched his own tummy. “Hungry, hungry.”

He grumbled as he tried to get up to ask for food, but before he could, he noticed Zhan Xi.

“Daddy!”

The little child thought he was seeing things, so he squeezed his chubby little fist and rubbed his eyes hard.

After looking several times, his dad was still in bed.

Finally, the little child was sure: “Daddy’s back!”

Seeing his dad, the little child couldn’t contain his excitement. He leaned his chubby face closer and planted several kisses on his dad’s face.

“Ningning, come here.”

Ling Qi, who happened to come in, didn’t let the little child continue to bother Zhan Xi. “Your dad is very tired and needs to rest. I’ll take you to wash up, and after that, you can have your meal.”

“Okay.”

Although the little child wanted to stay with his dad a little longer, seeing how tired his dad was, the sensible little child obediently extended his hands and let Uncle Ling Qi pick him up.

He couldn’t disturb his dad’s sleep!

The loved ones were all around. Ningning, who got beaten up yesterday, now seemed to have no psychological shadows.

The small wound under his eye would be fine even without a band-aid, but the child insisted on continuing to wear one.

His older brother gave him colorful band-aids with cute patterns. If it weren’t for the adults stopping him, he would have wanted to put more on his face.

“Uncle Lulu, Auntie Ai Wei, does Ningning not have to go to school today?”

“No, I’ve already asked the kindergarten principal for leave on your behalf.”

Ai Wei gently touched his head and asked him to eat obediently.

This time, the child’s injury was not just external; it required some healing internally. He needed to rest at home for a few days. As important as the lessons in kindergarten may be, Ningning’s health was more important.

The child, who didn’t have to go to school, clenched his spoon and happily exclaimed, “Yay! Ningning doesn’t have to go to school!”

Although there were many children to play with at school, and the teachers were friendly, the child still didn’t like going to kindergarten very much.

At such a young age, he had already awakened his talent for being lazy.

In his opinion, sitting in the classroom for lessons was not as good as holding a little shovel and planting vegetables in the vegetable garden.

The child’s happiness didn’t last long.

After he finished breakfast, Ai Wei timed it and brought his medicine half an hour later.

Dr. Jean was a fan of traditional medicine from ancient Earth. Some of the medicinal herbs he prescribed this time needed to be decocted into medicinal soup before they could be taken.

These medicines had no side effects, and their nature was mild, making them suitable for young children.

Although these medicines had many benefits, they also had one fatal flaw—

They didn’t taste very good.

The unpleasant taste was not just bitterness, but a hard-to-describe medicinal flavor.

Ningning had never drunk this kind of medicine before. He wrinkled his nose and looked curiously at the bowl of soup brought by Aunt Ai Wei.

“Auntie, what’s in the bowl?”

Sitting on the sofa playing with a toy excavator, the child was oblivious to the danger. He blinked his shiny black round eyes and really wanted to take a sip of the soup in Aunt Ai Wei’s hand.

Ai Wei calmly stirred the soup with a spoon, not offering it to him proactively. The less she offered, the more curious the child became about the bowl of soup.

“Auntie.”

Ningning’s voice was tender and pleading as he asked the beautiful auntie, “Can you give Ningning a sip?”

Ai Wei glanced at him, looking somewhat hesitant, and said, “Ningning, the soup in my bowl is very precious. If you want to drink it, you have to finish it all without wasting any.”

Upon hearing this, the child immediately became proud. He patted his own belly and confidently promised, “Ningning won’t waste it!”

He could eat everything in his bowl, leaving it spotlessly clean!

While Ai Wei was still playing tricks on the innocent young child, Ludwig, not far away, had already received quite a bit of news through his star device.

This morning, he made a move on Cole’s industry. His actions had put many old noble families in a state of panic.

Ludwig didn’t rush to deal with these affairs. He watched with interest as his wife coaxed the little child to drink the medicine.

The little greedy child had no resistance when it came to the bowl.

To get Aunt Ai Wei to give him the bowl, the child put in a lot of effort.

After struggling for a while, Ai Wei reluctantly said, “Fine, since Ningning wants to drink it so badly, Auntie will let you have it.”

“Yeah! Ningning will definitely finish it!”

The child’s eyes sparkled as he held the bowl with both hands. Although he could smell a strange, unfamiliar scent, he didn’t hesitate at all.

Dad had bought him stinky tofu before, and even though it smelled bad, it tasted delicious.

Fearless little Ningning, with his chubby hands holding the bowl, lowered his head and took a big sip.

***

The author has something to say:

Zaizai: Oops, the bowl fell!