Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Ji Qisen stood in the bedroom, calmly scrutinizing the child in front of him.
At this moment, his mother was holding the little boy named Huo Lanting, coaxing him to go to sleep quickly, and telling him in a gentle tone that if children don’t go to sleep early, they won’t grow tall and it will be bad for their health.
Huo Lanting looked up at his mother with a blank expression: “But Auntie, my stomach is upset, and I can’t sleep.”
Gu Yuan: “Lie down on the bed, close your eyes, and count one, two, three, four, five slowly. You’ll fall asleep as you count.”
Huo Lanting blinked: “How do we count them?”
Gu Yuan: “Look, just imagine there are some sheep there, and count them. That’s what I do when I can’t sleep.”
Huo Lanting pursed his lips and remained silent.
Gu Yuan thought he was a stubborn and proud child, so she deliberately said, “How about I count with you? We can count to one hundred together, and maybe you’ll fall asleep.”
Huo Lanting glanced at Gu Yuan furtively and said reluctantly, “Okay, then Auntie, you have to count with me until I fall asleep.”
Gu Yuan nodded hurriedly, “Mmm-hmm!”
Ji Qisen, who was standing nearby, witnessed this scene and seemed to be deep in thought. Just then, Butler Duanmu came over, and Gu Yuan asked if Huo Lanting had eaten anything. Butler Duanmu replied with a worried look, “No, the young master hasn’t eaten anything at all!”
Upon hearing this, Huo Lanting even clutched his stomach and groaned, “I don’t want to eat, I feel so uncomfortable.”
Gu Yuan hurriedly said, “Then you guys go and make something to eat, I’ll eat with him!”
Butler Duanmu paused for a moment, then nodded: “Oh, okay, I’ll have someone prepare it right away.”
Ji Qisen raised an eyebrow and said calmly, “Mom, since the child has an upset stomach, we should be careful about what he eats. The people downstairs might not be attentive enough. Why don’t you go and check on it yourself?”
Gu Yuan thought about it and agreed. She looked at Huo Lanting and instructed, “Then you rest well. Auntie will go down and check on the food. Auntie’s stomach used to get upset too, so I know what’s best to eat.”
Huo Lanting glanced at Ji Qisen, then at Gu Yuan, and for some reason, he felt that something was amiss.
Ji Qisen stared at him with a cold expression, as if he could see through his thoughts.
Waaah, he doesn’t want this cold Ji Qisen, he wants the fragrant Gu Yuan!
However, after giving a word of advice, Gu Yuan went downstairs with Butler Duanmu, and Ji Qisen closed the door behind him.
After the door closed, only Ji Qisen and Huo Lanting were left in the room. Huo Lanting suddenly felt a sense of unease.
If it were Nie Yu who came with Gu Yuan, he wouldn’t be afraid; he had ways to deal with Nie Yu. But this Ji Qisen… he just couldn’t see through him.
Huo Lanting carefully held the blanket, sat on the edge of the bed, blinked, and said softly, “Brother Ji…”
Ji Qisen looked at the child’s adorable appearance and suddenly smiled.
He walked to the bedside, his tall and slender figure looming over Huo Lanting. He then leaned down, raised an eyebrow, and said, “Your stomach isn’t feeling well, is it?”
Huo Lanting nodded, surprised and suspicious.
Ji Qisen stretched out his hand, his large fingers long and strong: “I know a little about paediatric massage. Whenever a child has an upset stomach, I can massage it and it will be fine.”
As he spoke, he reached out and pulled at Huo Lanting’s blanket.
Huo Lanting felt a pang of panic.
What paediatric massage? Could he possibly believe that? Bah! Ji Qisen is a single, eligible bachelor; he doesn’t even have a girlfriend. How could he possibly know anything about paediatric massage?
Huo Lanting refused to believe it. He desperately protected the blanket with all his might, determined not to let Ji Qisen give him a massage or take the blanket away!
My quilt, my quilt!
Ahhhhh… After a desperate struggle, little Huo Lanting finally couldn’t withstand the powerful Ji Qisen, and in the end, his attempt to protect the blanket failed, and the blanket was mercilessly torn away.
Ji Qisen grabbed his little arm and laid it flat: “Come on, let me give you a paediatric massage.”
Huo Lanting, of course, refused. He struggled desperately, kicking and thrashing about, as lively as a fish just out of the water. He finally managed to break free from Ji Qisen, jumped three feet high, and ran straight to the bedside table.
He stood on the high bedside table, arms crossed, and shouted at Ji Qisen with a fierce but childish expression, “Ji Qisen, what are you trying to do? Are you going to bully me?”
Ji Qisen looked at his adorable expression and found it amusing: “Huo Lanting, what exactly are you planning to do, and what tricks are you playing? That’s what I need to ask you.”
Huo Lanting turned his face away angrily: “Hmph, my stomach hurts!”
Ji Qisen: “Does your stomach hurt? Then come over here, I’ll give you a massage.”
Huo Lanting angrily accused Ji Qisen: “Are you deliberately bullying me? This is my home!”
Ji Qisen: “It’s your house, but that was my mom just now.”
Huo Lanting fell silent. That was Ji Qisen’s mother, not his mother.
He hung his head, unable to utter a word for a long time. After a while, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Ji Qisen with a wronged expression: “I don’t want to take your mother away. I just wasn’t feeling well and wanted her to keep me company. I even gave her a gift before…”
Thinking about this made him very sad.
He wanted to give away the Crown Star, but he didn’t have enough money to buy it, so Nie Yu won the bid.
“Although the gift I gave her wasn’t expensive…” At this point, two lines of tears fell. Huo Lanting wiped away his tears and said in a sobbing voice, “But she said she liked it very much!”
Since she really liked his gift, he proceeded to the next step.
He was so old now, he couldn’t very well say he didn’t want to sleep alone and wanted her to keep him company, so he had to come up with this solution.
He was forced into it, you know.
Ji Qisen frowned deeply as he looked at the little guy who had climbed onto the high bedside table and was wiping away tears and crying.
This was the only grandson of the Huo family patriarch and the only son of the current head of the Huo family. He was destined to have trillions of dollars in wealth from birth, making him richer than a country. If such a child really wanted the stars in the sky, his loving elders in the family might even launch a satellite to find some meteorites to send to him.
This child, who was destined to be loved by everyone, was now standing on the bedside table wiping away tears, crying pitifully.
He even said the gift he gave was worthless…
Ji Qisen sized up the little brat, and after a long while, he finally said, “I can refuse to give you a massage, but you have to tell the truth.”
Huo Lanting sobbed, his eyes still wet with tears, and looked at Ji Qisen in surprise: “The truth?”
Looking at his pitiful state, Ji Qisen said, “Come down first, and we’ll have a proper talk.”
….
So when Gu Yuan went upstairs again, she found her son sitting on the edge of the bed, and Huo Lanting lying obediently on the bed, covered with a small blanket, and the two of them were actually talking.
This was a scene she had never imagined. She thought her son and Huo Lanting would not get along, but she never expected them to coexist peacefully.
Seeing this, she was relieved and at ease.
Ji Qisen stood up: “Mom, since Young Master Huo is not feeling well and no one from the Huo family is here, you can stay here with him for now. However, I will leave bodyguards and Butler Sima here. If anything happens, you can call me anytime.”
Then he looked at Huo Lanting on the bed and said, “I just gave Young Master Huo a massage, and he feels much better. He should be fine now.”
Massage? Gu Yuan looked at Huo Lanting in confusion. So her son had this skill?
Did he even offer paediatric massage?
Huo Lanting nodded hurriedly: “Yes, yes, I feel much better after Brother Qisen gave me a massage…”
Gu Yuan was completely baffled. Her son, who seemed cold, aloof, and unapproachable, actually knew paediatric massage? How did that seem so unbelievable?
Ji Qisen sensed his mother’s suspicious gaze. He coughed lightly and said calmly, “Mom, it’s getting late. I have something to do, so I’ll head back now.”
Gu Yuan saw her son off with a puzzled look on her face. She thought about it and realized something was wrong. Just as she was about to ask Huo Lanting for details, Huo Lanting rushed over and threw himself into her arms.
She almost lost her balance and fell.
Huo Lanting quickly snuggled into Gu Yuan’s arms, burying his little head in the crook of her shoulder, and then made a satisfied “Mmm” sound: “Brother Qisen also agreed, Auntie, you’ll stay with me tonight!”
A soft, sweet voice was always satisfying.
Gu Yuan was suddenly embraced and instinctively hugged Huo Lanting back. Only after hugging him did she realize how soft and fragrant the body of a child of only a few years old was. The soft, slightly curly hair on his big head was also very smooth and comfortable to touch.
Gu Yuan gently stroked the soft hair: “Haven’t you eaten yet?”
Huo Lanting: “No, I’ve eaten it—”
Huo Lanting paused halfway through his sentence, his tone changing to a listless one. He drooped his head and said, “Yes, I ate some, but my stomach is very uncomfortable, so I can’t eat anymore.”
He looked so pitiful.
Gu Yuan: “Then Auntie will have dinner with you first. After dinner, wash your face, brush your teeth, rinse your mouth, and go to bed, okay?”
Huo Lanting buried his face greedily in Gu Yuan’s shoulder, inhaling her sweet scent, not wanting to get up, not wanting to get up, just not wanting to get up.
However, since he hadn’t eaten at Aunt Gu’s place yet, he had no choice but to go downstairs to eat…
….
Having no choice but to eat a second meal, Huo Lanting patted his round little belly as he went upstairs. He then brushed his teeth, washed his face, and rinsed his mouth as Gu Yuan had requested. He did exactly what Gu Yuan asked, being as obedient as could be. After brushing his teeth, he even showed off his little white teeth and asked Gu Yuan to check: “Look?”
Gu Yuan couldn’t help but smile as she looked at the row of pretty little teeth. The child was so beautiful; even his teeth were neat and white, and his little lips were rosy like cherries. He looked just like a little girl.
After getting into bed, Huo Lanting snuggled into Gu Yuan’s arms and wouldn’t get out, clinging to Gu Yuan’s arm and saying expectantly, “Aunt Gu, let’s count sheep!”
Looking at him, he seemed really lively and energetic.
Gu Yuan suddenly asked, “Little Huo Lanting, is your stomach still uncomfortable?”
Huo Lanting paused for a moment, then quickly covered his stomach with his small hand, frowning slightly, and said earnestly, “Oh, yes, I don’t feel well, but when I think of Aunt Gu by my side, I seem to forget that I feel unwell…”
Gu Yuan became even more suspicious. There was no way around it; Huo Lanting had a criminal record with her, and she couldn’t let her guard down with such a scheming kid.
She then deliberately said, “Why do I feel like your stomach doesn’t hurt at all…?”
Upon hearing this, Huo Lanting’s face fell: “No, no, my stomach is upset, it really hurts! Ouch, it hurts so much!”
As he spoke, his little body practically started rolling around on the bed.
This changed way too fast…
So Gu Yuan had no choice but to say, “Oh, shall we continue counting sheep?”
Upon hearing this, Huo Lanting stopped rolling around in pain and said, “Then I’ll endure the pain and count sheep together. Maybe the pain will subside as we count.”
He looked like he was carrying a heavy burden and trying his best to endure it.
Gu Yuan became even more certain of her guess.
She had been fooled again!
She took a deep breath and decided not to expose him, but to continue watching this scheming kid’s act and see how long he could keep up the act!
Meanwhile, Ji Qisen sat in the car, gazing at the fleeting lights of countless homes outside the window, his eyes slightly narrowed.
Although his mother had told him that since the other party was keeping his information confidential, he should just let things take their course and not investigate further, he didn’t want to give up halfway.
So his men were investigating his mother’s youngest son.
When all the information and clues were gathered together and analyzed, Ji Qisen’s target was narrowed down to three children.
One of them was Huo Lanting.
Ironically, Huo Lanting had an almost abnormal dependence on and longing for his mother.
As he was thinking this, Ji Qisen took out a small transparent plastic bag from his coat pocket, which contained a few hairs that had been pulled out by the roots.
The child’s hair was fine and soft, with a slight curl.
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