Chapter 138

In the afternoon, Rong Qing was a bit late picking up little Huo Tianci. When she rushed to the kindergarten in a flurry of anxiety, she saw that many children had not yet gone home. Little Huo Tianci was standing coldly to one side, surrounded by a group of children. A chubby little boy was talking incessantly; although a trace of impatience appeared on Tianci's face, his fine upbringing made him simply stand there coldly with a completely expressionless face.

"Hey, Huo Tianci, are you listening to me? Come play at my house! My house is huge, with a giant swimming pool and all sorts of toy models. I even have my own small study and a cute little puppy! My mom can make all kinds of delicious food, it's so yummy!" The chubby little boy said animatedly. Today, after much effort, this handsome and cool friend had finally spoken to him. He liked this little companion immensely—he was cool and smart, far better than those slow-witted kids.

"Not going!" Huo Tianci coldly rejected him. He certainly wouldn't go! Today was his very first day of kindergarten, and Qingqing had said she would come to pick him up. He had no intention of going to this little chubby kid's house! Raising his gaze, Huo Tianci caught sight of a familiar, graceful figure at the entrance, and he bolted forward instantly, wrapping his arms tightly around the woman's thigh.

"Qingqing, you're late," Huo Tianci said, his voice muffled against her leg, refusing to admit that he had been worried Mommy wouldn't come for him.

Rong Qing scooped Huo Tianci up into her arms. Ever since the little fellow had tried to save face last year, he had refused to let her carry him. But carrying her baby today, he felt noticeably heavier. Rong Qing planted a loud *muwah* kiss right on Huo Tianci's forehead and said, full of pampering affection, "How about the baby punishes Mommy by making her pick you up every single day, hmm?"

Tianci was only a child after all; no matter how mature and aggrieved he tried to act, his facade crumbled at that moment. His chubby face bloomed with a happy smile, completely devoid of the icy little brat look from a moment ago, making him look exceptionally adorable. "Okay, Qingqing said so! Pinky swear!"

Rong Qing helplessly extended her finger, her large finger intertwining with his tiny pinky: "Pinky swear, seal it, and it won't change for a hundred years. Stamp it!" Pouting his little lips, Huo Tianci quickly planted a return kiss on Mommy's cheek.

"You little imp." Rong Qing gently tapped her baby's forehead, her expression overflowing with helpless indulgence. This sweet, tender interaction and deep maternal bond filled the surrounding children with envy. Although their families were wealthy, their parents were constantly busy with work; some hired nannies to look after them, and sometimes even forgot to pick them up altogether. Coming home meant returning to a cold, lifeless environment where their parents were consumed by work, leaving them to play entirely alone without a shred of warmth.

"Um... Tianci, are you leaving now?" The chubby boy squeezed out from the crowd, looking rather reluctant to part, completely unaware that his family's chauffeur had already been waiting for over half an hour. This young master had somehow gotten it into his head that he desperately wanted this pretty child to come play at his house.

"Yeah." Huo Tianci finally bestowed a fraction of his attention upon the chubby boy, giving a faint hum in response.

During her earlier covert observation, Rong Qing had formed a rather favorable impression of this chubby little boy. Faced with Tianci's arrogant and stubborn personality, the boy had managed to set aside his pride to talk to him. Furthermore, knowing her son as well as she did, she knew Tianci wasn't as cold and haughty on the inside as he appeared on the outside. She suddenly felt that sending him to kindergarten had been the right choice, unlike the past when they were cooped up in the Huo residence, where hardly any children played with him and he was constantly bullied.

"Little one, it's getting late and we need to head home. Another day when you're free, we'll invite you over to play. Tianci has all sorts of 'treasures' hidden in his bedroom," Rong Qing squatted down and said kindly to the chubby boy.

The chubby boy was quite tempted by the pretty older sister's words. His round head nodded involuntarily, and without thinking, he blurted out, "Tianci, your mom is just as pretty as you are!"

You idiot! As soon as those words left his mouth, he received a heavy side-eye from Huo Tianci, who wished he could throw this fool away just to save himself from further embarrassment. That wasn't called being pretty, alright? That was called being "cool"! For the very first time, little Tianci felt a deep, burning resentment toward his own overly delicate face.

"Qingqing, let's go," Huo Tianci tugged at the corner of Rong Qing's clothes. He refused to be friends with this dummy anymore, humph.

Watching the retreating figures of Rong Qing and Huo Tianci, the other children were consumed with envy; they too longed for such a beautiful and gentle mother. Satisfied at last, the chubby boy gave a grand wave of his hand and finally agreed to return home with his chauffeur.

Rong Qing and Huo Tianci returned directly to Huo Zhen's residence. As soon as little Tianci got out of the car, he scampered wildly toward the villa, startling the servants nearby into a heart-pounding panic. After all, this was the most precious little grandson of the Huo family; if he were to trip, fall, or bump himself, their high-paying jobs would instantly come to an end. Fortunately, ever since this little troublemaker was born, the floors throughout the house had been laid with thick carpeting. Huo Tianci scampered along on his little feet, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Grandpa... Grandpa..." At this rate, even the word "Great" before Grandpa was being saved for later.

As a result, the old man, who had been resting in bed due to illness, could no longer sit still and hurriedly scrambled up to welcome his little grandson. If not for the people holding him back, there was no telling what impulsive thing this willful old man might have done.

Huo Tianci burst straight into the inner parlor. Seeing a crowd of heavily-made-up, unrelated women surrounding Huo Grandpa's curtained bed, the little fellow elbowed his way past them and went straight to the head of the bed. Clever and sensible even at his young age, little Tianci could tell that Grandpa was not feeling well. His soft, whimpering voice was enough to melt anyone's heart: "Grandpa~" At the same time, Huo Tianci's tiny hand grasped Huo Zhen's wrinkled fingers.

Hearing his grandson's voice, Huo Zhen felt his lethargic body instantly revitalize. "Baby, come up here and sit with Grandpa for a while." Trying to sit up caused Huo Zhen to struggle for a moment before a fit seized him: *cough, cough...* and he began coughing again.

Huo Tianci climbed onto the bed, carefully avoiding Grandpa's body. His entire little person stared fixedly at Huo Grandpa, terrified that if he so much as blinked, this old man who had doted on him since infancy would simply vanish. Although he was still very small, he already understood the concepts of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Standing to one side, the Huo family's elderly physician looked at the young master's display of filial piety and sighed deeply with emotion: The descendants of the Huo family are truly extraordinary. This second-generation scion is destined for greatness in the future.

Just then, Huo Lingtian and Rong Qing walked in as well. Seeing the commotion surrounding the old man, the usually calm and steady Huo Lingtian lost his composure: "What is going on?" His question was directed at the physician, but his gaze swept over the group of women gathered in the house.

Taking the old master's pulse, the physician wrote out a prescription on a piece of paper and said, "It's just a routine cough. The old master is getting on in years, so everything requires greater care and precision. Don't underestimate a minor illness like this; it could lead to major trouble. He must not catch a chill recently, and the old master cannot be willful anymore." The physician gave Huo Zhen a deep look, causing the old man to look somewhat guilty, though he still put on a clueless expression.

"I understand. Thank you for your trouble." Although this veteran physician occasionally pulled rank and leaned on his seniority thanks to his authority and status within the Huo family, Huo Lingtian was deeply grateful to him in his heart. The man had devoted his life to serving the Huo family through thick and thin without a single complaint, and he knew their physical conditions like the back of his hand. All the members of the Huo family, old and young, relied on him for recuperation. Consequently, Huo Lingtian permitted him certain liberties to scold and direct them when special circumstances arose.

Afterward, Huo Lingtian cleared out the chaotic crowd of onlookers and strictly forbade anyone else from coming to visit for a month. Left alone in the room, Huo Lingtian and Huo Zhen—the old man and the young one—stared at each other eye to eye. Seeing Huo Zhen put on a stubborn expression with his eyes tightly shut, Huo Lingtian reined in his formidable aura and walked over to his grandfather's bedside.

With his own hands, he adjusted the old master's quilt, poured a cup of water, and picked up the Western medicine prescribed by the doctor, preparing to feed the stubborn old man. "Drink your medicine." Huo Lingtian held out his hands; though performing these domestic tasks looked slightly awkward on him, it clearly demonstrated the warmth flowing between these two generations. Huo Zhen stopped being stubborn and obediently let his grandson help him drink the water and take his medicine before lying back down securely beneath the covers. Meanwhile, Huo Lingtian also set aside his sharp, overbearing aura, revealing a rare tenderness and cherished affection.

Although this pair were not father and son in the biological sense, they were closer than true father and son. Though they would occasionally bicker or talk back to the old man during ordinary times, they never harbored genuine anger or built emotional walls between them. Huo Zhen was the family member who had raised him, and Huo Lingtian was, without a doubt, the old man's only remaining hope and expectation. This minor illness, filled with unspoken care and precious concern, finally cured the old man of his habit of pushing his body past its limits.

Huo Lingtian and Rong Qing stayed by the old man's side the entire night, tending to his health. Rong Qing went even further, personally brewing a batch of traditional Chinese medicine for him. Although Huo Grandpa was approaching the age of knowing destiny, they couldn't help wishing he could stay longer—if only he could live a little longer, just a little longer.

When Huo Lingtian left that night, he was carrying in his arms a deeply slumbering Huo Tianci, who had fallen fast asleep beside the old man. Huo Zhen opened his eyes to glare fiercely at his grandson, then immediately put on a pitiful, woeful expression as if to say: *I am already in this state, and you won't even let Tianci keep me company!*

Unyielding, Huo Lingtian turned and walked away with his son, casually tossing back a parting remark: "If your health doesn't recover properly, Huo Tianci won't be allowed to come over and tire you out either."

Huo Zhen nearly choked on his own breath. *Unbelievable! Such blatant extortion! What happened to paternal affection? What happened to gentle care? It's all a sham! Everything is an illusion!* Humph, he simply had to get well quickly—how could his poor baby survive being bullied by that big tyrant?!

Carrying Tianci out of Huo Grandpa's courtyard, Huo Lingtian watched as the little fellow rubbed his sleepy, tear-filled eyes and groggily surveyed his surroundings. *Where's Great-Grandpa?* Shortly after, Huo Tianci made a far more startling discovery: he was being held in the arms of his icy father, who was actually looking down at him with such gentle eyes.

"Be a good boy and sleep a little longer, we'll be home soon," Huo Lingtian murmured, gently stroking the soft hair on little Tianci's head. His voice, uncharacteristically devoid of its usual sternness, sounded exceptionally tender. Even though he constantly locked horns with this little fellow in daily life, how could he possibly not love the baby he shared with Rong Qing? If he were to indulge and spoil the child unconditionally, the little fellow would inevitably be ruined. Therefore, in the process of raising his child, he was willing to play the villain—a strict father.

Huo Tianci's eyes widened in sheer shock: （≧▽≦）/ (*Silently muttering to himself: Dad must be sick today. This is definitely an illusion.*)

Walking alongside them, Rong Qing watched this awkward pair of father and son, her heart bubbling over with boundless joy...

Although the bad daddy's chest wasn't quite as soft and warm as Mommy's, it gave him an extraordinary sense of security. Without realizing it, little Huo Tianci drifted off to sleep right in his daddy's arms.