Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Huo Jinchen had a long talk with his son, but didn’t get any answers. The little guy looked listless, his head drooping, and occasionally he would reach out and touch his little belly.
This prompted Huo Jinchen to gently rub his son’s head and say in a soft voice, “If you’re still not feeling well, then let the doctor come and take a look at you?”
Huo Lanting shook his big head: “No, I’m fine now.”
Huo Jinchen didn’t say anything more.
He knew perfectly well what tricks his son was playing with his upset stomach, and he knew his son was probably worried that he would ask about it and punish him, but this time he didn’t call him out on it.
He immediately told heisson to rest well and then called the childcare worker to ask him about the details of his daily life.
After Huo Lanting left the room, Huo Jinchen began to get busy with his work. As the head of the Huo family in this generation, he was indeed very busy, but fortunately, many documents could be processed online, and even if meetings were needed, they could be held via video conference, so he could work without being delayed no matter where he was.
His son had previously said he was interested in China, and he was supposed to come with him. However, he couldn’t come because he had to attend an important international forum. He never expected the little guy to cause so much trouble in just a few days.
As Huo Jinchen processed the contract documents in his hands, the image of his son’s listless appearance kept flashing through his mind.
Actually, he should have realized from the beginning that his insistence on coming to China wasn’t because of the country’s exceptional scenery or any rare excitement that attracted him. The only thing that interested the little guy was that young girl named Gu Yuan.
Even his mischievous attempt to run away to the Ji family’s island was for that girl.
It was only a brief encounter, yet his son was so infatuated with this girl— this is unprecedented.
As he thought about this, Huo Jinchen recalled the image of the girl and his son lying side by side on the balcony sofa. Now that he thought about it, the sunlight at that time seemed particularly warm, making the solid wood ceiling and beige blinds on the balcony look cozy.
Her voice was also very pleasant, gentle and soft, like flowing water. You could lie there and listen to it slowly, and even if you fall asleep, a smile will appear on your lips.
She was very clean, which made him feel comfortable.
This was the conclusion Huo Jinchen reached after carefully considering everything about that girl.
There weren’t many clean people in this world.
Many times, he felt that everything around him was unclean, and the people around him were unclean as well.
It wasn’t until a new email notification sounded that Huo Jinchen realized he had been lost in thought for quite some time.
He paused for a moment, something that was quite unusual for him.
He tried reading the email. Looking at those numbers, which he was used to seeing, he found them rather dull. A gentle, clear voice kept appearing in his mind, saying that Sheriff Murphy was chasing after the muddle-headed old man on his bicycle, but he couldn’t cross the suspension bridge.
Finally, Huo Jinchen gave up, got up, washed his hands, changed his clothes, and then went to find his son.
“Lanting, shall I study with you?”
To outsiders, Huo Jinchen was a cold person, so cold that he rarely spoke. But in front of his son, he was always gentle. Even when he was unhappy, he would only raise his voice slightly. He never even frowned in front of his son.
When facing the little one who wasn’t feeling well, his voice was naturally much gentler.
“Alright…” Huo Lanting didn’t really give his father any face, nodding listlessly and looking very reluctant.
“Good boy.” Huo Jinchen smiled, patted his son’s head, then took his son’s hand and led him upstairs to the balcony outside his son’s room.
The sunlight was still bright at this time, shining through the same blinds onto the balcony. The wooden balcony was bathed in shimmering golden sunlight, looking warm and inviting.
Huo Jinchen let the little guy sit on the beanbag chair, then he picked up the A4 hardcover children’s book, opened it, and found the page with Sheriff Murphy and the muddle-headed old man.
This was the story that had been popping into his head all day.
He tried to tell his son the story, but when he was halfway through, he looked up and saw his son sitting on the sofa, fiddling with his little feet, sole to sole.
The child’s feet were chubby, white, and adorable.
—But that’s not the point.
Huo Jinchen: “Don’t you like hearing this story?”
Huo Lanting, who was struggling to pry open his toes, thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth: “I don’t really like it…”
Huo Jinchen: “Why?”
Huo Lanting: “What a boring story. I could recite it by heart. It’s just that Sheriff Murphy chased the muddle-headed old man, and the muddle-headed old man fell into the river, right?”
Huo Jinchen thought about it and agreed. His son had already heard this story, so of course he wasn’t interested. He turned to the next page and said, “Then I’ll tell you the next story.”
Huo Lanting continued cracking his toes, saying listlessly, “No need, I’m really not interested in such childish stories.”
Huo Jinchen: “Didn’t you like listening to that before?”
Hearing this, Huo Lanting, who was fiddling with his little feet, glanced at his father and asked, “Dad, how did you know?”
The child’s dark, bright eyes looked him over. Huo Jinchen lowered his gaze, his eyes falling on the pages of the book, and said calmly, “I came upstairs to see Miss Gu telling you a story, so I went down again.”
Huo Lanting tilted his head, frowned, looked at his father for a long time, and then suddenly laughed: “So Dad, you’re imitating Aunt Gu!”
Huo Jinchen’s skin was like jade, his appearance cool and elegant, but now a slight blush appeared on that jade-like skin: “I thought you would like to hear that.”
Huo Lanting pouted, looking quite disdainful: “Dad, can your voice compare to Aunt Gu’s? Her voice is so pleasant! Her scent is so sweet! How can this be the same?”
Huo Jinchen immediately fell silent.
He had only been looked down upon for one thing in his life, and he thought that was his only flaw. He never imagined that his son could so bluntly express his disdain for him.
Huo Lanting stretched a little, then stretched out his small body on the beanbag chair, looking all old-fashioned: “Dad, people are different.”
Huo Jinchen looked down at his son, his gaze even gentler than the warm sun: “Lanting, Dad has a question for you.”
Huo Lanting lay there, crossing one leg over the other with difficulty, before slowly saying, “Dad, ask away.”
Huo Jinchen: “Why do you like Miss Gu so much?”
Huo Lanting put his hands behind his head and said, “Why are you asking me such a difficult question? How would I know?”
Huo Lanting felt he knew the answer to this question, but he didn’t want to tell his father.
When his father asked this question, he remembered how he had coaxed Nie Yu that day. Was it because Nie Yu was her son that she was so gentle with him? If he weren’t cute enough, if he were naughty, she would definitely have ignored him.
Huo Jinchen gazed at his son’s indifferent face, and after a long while, he finally let out a soft sigh.
He certainly understood his son’s thoughts.
In this world, he could give him everything he wanted, but he couldn’t give him a mother.
That was irreplaceable.
He went over and sat down next to the child, keeping him company, and looked up through the wooden blinds out the window.
As evening approached, the afterglow of the sunset poured down, and the green grass and fields outside the window seemed to be shrouded in a thin veil, making everything seem hazy and dreamlike. The little child beside him also quieted down, lying there staring at the wooden ceiling, lost in thought.
In this tranquil moment, where even the air seemed to resonate with peace, Huo Jinchen recalled that year he found unbearable to look back on.
Because of his irreparable flaws, he went through divorce proceedings. When his ex-wife left, she threw him a wave of contempt that no man could bear.
He knew he should not care, just stand up and take on the responsibilities he was born to bear.
He was numb during that period. He felt like a machine, needing neither thought nor emotion, only to fulfil his mission.
It was a mysterious research institute with an egg that had been frozen for twenty years. It came from a woman who was no longer alive. This woman possessed a rare gene, so it could not be used by just anyone.
He provided his blood sample for testing, and after passing the supposedly extremely difficult matching process, he finally got the chance.
Nine months later, he had a child of his own.
At first, he didn’t feel that this was his child. He didn’t seem real to him. But as he watched him day by day, seeing him become more and more like me, seeing him laugh and cry, he slowly realized that this was the continuation of his own flesh and blood.
He used all his strength to love this little one, because he was born different from others, and it was his incompetence that led him to come into the world in this special way.
But now he understood that even if he used all his strength to love him, there was still a lack in his young heart.
Why was he so obsessed with following in the footsteps of a young girl? Was it because he needed a mother figure in his heart?
He could give him everything, but he couldn’t give him a mother.
His biological mother had passed away twenty years before he was born.
Bathed in the red glow of the sunset, Huo Jinchen slowly closed his eyes.
Actually, it was better not to say anything, because he was also afraid he would ask.
If he asked, what should he say? Should he tell him that his mother didn’t even know he existed?
Huo Lanting lay there silently for a long time before glancing at his father beside him.
His father is so smart, of course he understands his thoughts. What is there that his father can’t see clearly?
Dad knew perfectly well, but he said nothing. Was it because the person he longed for was not even alive?
Otherwise, he would definitely have said it.
Thinking of this possibility, Huo Lanting suddenly felt that the sunlight in front of him was very dazzling. His heart was full, and he couldn’t explain what he felt. He even felt that there was no point in lying there.
He simply sat up, lowered his head, and went back to his room.
Huo Jinchen looked up and saw that even his small shoulders were drooping.
At this moment, a subtle pain spread through his heart, so intense it suffocated him, and the feeling of helplessness and despair he had felt five years ago struck him again.
Huo Jinchen clenched his fist and stood up with difficulty.
He wanted to go over and do something, even if it was futile, but he wanted to comfort the child, even if only in a little way.
Just then, his phone rang.
He didn’t seem inclined to answer, so Huo Jinchen hung up immediately, but the sound rang out again.
Huo Jinchen frowned as he answered the call; it was Butler Duanmu.
Butler Duanmu’s voice trembled with disbelief: “Sir, that Miss Gu, that Miss Gu, she…”
Huo Jinchen: “What’s wrong?”
Butler Duanmu gritted his teeth: “Sir, you should still look at that investigation report.”
Huo Jinchen frowned, turned on his phone, received the report, and opened it.
The contents of the report came into his view.
The first time he read it, he didn’t even realize what it meant. It wasn’t until the second and third time that his eyes fixed on those words: “frozen for twenty-five years” and “five eggs,” which were “Luo Juntian, Ji Qisen, Nie Yu, Jiang Yinfeng, and unknown.”
Unknown……
Huo Jinchen’s fingertip twitched slightly as it touched the screen.
Was his son the unknown?
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