Suddenly, Xiao Guli choked, his face turning bright red, and he made painful gurgling sounds from his nose, startling Lin Yao, who was somewhat lost in thought. Lin Yao immediately patted Xiao Guli's back, channeled a wisp of true energy to help him clear his esophagus, picked up the vegetable soup that had long since cooled, and brought it to Xiao Guli's lips to drink. His heart ached slightly; this child had endured far too much suffering.
At this moment, in Xia Yuwen and Xiao Qing's eyes, Lin Yao's temperament had undergone a tremendous change. He had transformed from a mentally challenged fool into a kind and loving man in an instant. The kindness and pity in his eyes stirred their hearts and gave rise to a strange feeling.
"Lili, be good, eat slowly, don't worry Daddy." Lin Yao's voice was deep and slow, which was very pleasant to listen to. The two girls were a little lost in thought until Xiao Guli swallowed all the food in his mouth and started to speak, which brought them back to their senses.
"Dad, I'm full." Little Guli was very sensible. He immediately put down the remaining hamburger in his hand, glanced at the still-plenty of fries, and shook his head firmly.
"Okay, wipe your hands with a paper towel first, and Daddy will take you to wash them later. Here, have some more soup." At this moment, Lin Yao's mind was no longer on the pink-clad girl; his attention was entirely focused on Xiao Guli.
Once they came to their senses, the two girls concealed their emotions and began to eat. Beautiful women are generally very mindful of their diet; they ordered little and ate slowly. Xiao Qing held the half-eaten sweet corn cob and nibbled on it with great relish. Xia Yuwen, on the other hand, picked up the hibiscus vegetable soup and used a mini spoon to bring it to her mouth, but she wasn't really eating it properly. She didn't even swallow the soup she put in her mouth; her movements were somewhat mechanical.
Everyone quieted down, except for the sounds Lin Yao made while wiping Xiao Guli's hands. Xiao Guli was very naughty, moving his hands around and humming and hawing incessantly.
While munching on a corncob, Xiao Qing suddenly remembered something and leaned close to Xia Yuwen's ear, "Xiao Wen, I think if your Xiao Yaoyao were a little more handsome and his family were a little richer and more powerful, marrying him would be a great choice. He's much better than that playboy next to you. Just look at how he takes care of Lili, and you'll know he'll be a top-notch husband in the future."
Seeing that Xia Yuwen didn't speak and looked like she agreed, Xiao Qing continued to fantasize, "Hey, do you think he might be someone who's deliberately pretending to be low-key? I think he's quite classy sometimes, especially when he's not looking at you. It's popular for rich and powerful people to pretend to be poor these days, and I think he seems like it. Let's investigate him. If he's suitable, we'll marry him; if you don't want him, you can give him to me."
Xia Yuwen coughed up all the fresh vegetable soup in her mouth with a "pfft," choking and coughing.
"Here you go." A tissue with a red KFC logo appeared in front of him. The tissue arrived quickly and was handed to his outstretched hand, as if the two of them had rehearsed it countless times.
Xia Yuwen took the tissue and, without hesitation, quickly covered her mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lin Yao staring at her, his burning gaze seemingly tangible on her face. A sudden ripple stirred within her...
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Chapter Sixty: The Luo Family's Demands
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After the soup-spitting incident, everyone felt awkward continuing and ended lunch. A lot of food remained on the table, mainly leftovers from Lin Yao. His absent-mindedness while ordering and his slow eating had left a large pile of food in front of him.
Little Guli stared longingly at the food on the tray without saying a word. Lin Yao had already noticed Little Guli's gaze and waved to the waiter, "Pack it up." He caught a glimpse of his son's smile out of the corner of his eye.
"Lili, thank you for treating us to KFC. How can I repay you?" Xiaoqing started teasing Xiao Guli again. She liked this little boy so much that she suddenly had a whimsical thought: what if she adopted Xiao Guli someday? But she quickly dismissed the thought. Just kidding, she was a girl who didn't even have a boyfriend. If she had a son, she wouldn't want to live anymore.
"Beautiful sister Qingqing, this is nothing, you don't need to repay me. My dad is rich, I'll treat you to KFC in the future." Xiao Guli's way of addressing her was complicated; he always added the word "beautiful sister" before "sister".
Xiao Qing and Xia Yuwen burst into laughter. This little boy was so interesting; he was both handsome and generous, but he kept circling around KFC, as if the best thing in the world was right there.
Stopping her laughter, Xia Yuwen joined in, "Lili, handsome boy, we feel bad that you always treat us, so we should treat you too."
“Okay then,” Xiao Guli tilted his head and thought for a moment, “Next time you can treat me and Sister Nannan to ice cream. We love ice cream the most, but Dad won’t let us eat it.”
Duan Qing obviously hadn't told his family about the name "Nannan" that he'd heard before. Xia Yuwen didn't react much. "Okay, it's settled then. We'll treat you to ice cream next time, but I think it might have to wait until summer." Glancing at Lin Yao, Xia Yuwen appreciated his thoughtfulness again; it really wasn't good for a child to eat ice cream when it was cold.
"Lili, handsome boy, what's your phone number? We should contact you first before we treat you to a meal." Xiao Qing's eyes darted around, and she immediately found an excuse to ask for his phone number. She also wanted to see this conscious "father and son" again, and she subtly nudged Xia Yuwen with her elbow.
Xia Yuwen's face flushed red again. She was puzzled as to why she always blushed, as she wasn't usually like this. The颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of being decadent, listless, or dispirited) man opposite her wasn't worth blushing over, even though calling him a颓废 man was somewhat inaccurate.
The two sides exchanged phone numbers in a friendly and peaceful atmosphere, but only between Lin Yao and Xiao Qing. Xia Yuwen couldn't exchange phone numbers with a strange man in front of Kang Dikai. She had to consider her grandfather's feelings. This annoying philandering man was arranged by her grandfather to be her blind date, but she didn't expect to run into Lin Yao and his son, which made things a little interesting.
After exchanging phone numbers, Condi suggested leaving. The two girls couldn't refuse and reluctantly said goodbye to Xiao Guli. Lin Yao was also reluctant to leave, watching his pink-clad girl leave. He was secretly glad to have her phone number. Judging from Xiao Qing's relationship with Wenwen, he would still have a chance to see that pink-clad girl named Wenwen in the future.
Just as Lin Yao returned to the Dynasty Mansion by taxi, he received a call from his mother, Lin Hongmei. "Yao'er, your father just called me and said that something happened to your grandmother. He is on his way to the Luo family by taxi. Hurry up and take a taxi to pick me up so we can go together."
"Grandma's in trouble? Is she alright? Is it serious?" Lin Yao's heart tightened. Grandma was the only person he cared about in the Luo family, and the only one who was good to him. Hearing this news, he felt a little panicked. When he helped Grandma check up last time, he found that she was fine.
"I don't know, your dad isn't sure either. He said it happened suddenly and told us to hurry over." Lin Hongmei's tone was also anxious. Although her mother-in-law had no say in the Luo family, she was very good to her family, and Lin Hongmei was also worried that something serious might have happened. Her husband, Luo Jimin, had already gone there, so it would be better for her to go with Lin Yao. Before Lin Yao came to pick her up, she could hand over the urgent matters at hand to her subordinates. The disaster relief work was at a critical time, and she couldn't just leave and start working. She knew the priorities, and besides, even if she arrived earlier, she wouldn't be able to help much.
Lin Yao immediately asked a taxi to wait for him at the entrance of the residential area, picked up Xiao Guli and rushed home, wanting to settle the child first.
"Lili, why don't you play at home with Nannan for a bit? Daddy has something urgent to take care of, I'll be home when I'm done." Lin Yao carried Xiao Guli to the sofa and let him sit next to Alina, who was taking a nap.
Little Guli didn't speak, but a look of terror appeared on his face. His little hands gripped Lin Yao's clothes tightly and refused to let go, and tears immediately streamed down his face.
"Okay, don't cry, Daddy will take you with him." Lin Yao's heart softened as soon as he saw the tears. He knew that Xiao Guli was worried about being abandoned, and he couldn't let the child's psychological trauma get worse.
"Brother, you're going to see Grandma, hurry up and wash your face. It's not appropriate to go looking like this," Ge Yong suddenly interjected, and immediately got up to help Lin Yao prepare the medicine to wash away his disguise.
After washing away the camouflage marks on his face, neck, and hands in five minutes, Lin Yao picked up Xiao Guli and rushed into the taxi. "Driver, to the Municipal Science and Technology Center."
When Lin Hongmei, Lin Yao, and their son, along with Xiao Guli, arrived at the Luo family's residence outside the Second Ring Road in Ximen, forty minutes had already passed. Their father, Luo Jimin, hadn't called, and they didn't know how things were going. With a heavy heart, Lin Yao rang the doorbell of the Luo family's residence, feeling his heart pounding.
At this moment, all he wanted was to see his grandmother as soon as possible. He wondered what had happened. It couldn't be a health problem; he was confident in his medical skills. A fall wouldn't have happened either; if it were, she would have been taken to the hospital long ago. Could it be...?
The door opened, and Lin Yao rushed through the entrance hall carrying Xiao Guli without changing his shoes. The scene before him made him pause, and his doubts deepened.
There were many people in the living room. Almost the entire Luo family had gathered. Even his rarely seen great-uncle, cousin Luo Jirong, aunt Luo Jizhen, and aunt Luo Jilan had come. His uncle Luo Jishi, who was the mayor and deputy secretary of the municipal party committee of Pengzhou City, Nanyang Province, was also present. His grandmother, who was said to have had an accident, sat upright in a rattan chair in the far corner of the living room. Her gaze was filled with love and a hint of guilt.
Something was wrong! Lin Yao immediately stopped in his tracks, slowly turned around and retreated back to the entrance hall, waiting for his mother, Lin Hongmei, to come over.
Lin Hongmei had just entered the room when Lin Yao, carrying little Guli, ran off quickly, leaving her far behind. Seeing Lin Yao looking at her strangely, she asked curiously, "Yao'er, what's wrong? Is Grandma alright?"
"No need to change your shoes, we'll go home in a bit." Lin Yao's voice was a little cold, and the firmness in his tone startled Lin Hongmei. She sensed that something was wrong.
Without changing her shoes, Lin Hongmei walked to Lin Yao's side and entered the living room through the entrance hall. The scene before her eyes made her stunned. She immediately understood why Lin Yao's attitude had become so cold. The Luo family had actually used the safety of Lin Yao's grandmother as an excuse to summon her family over. This was truly despicable!
When Luo Jimin saw his wife and son arrive, he didn't speak, only greeting them with his eyes. At this moment, he had a stern face, his brows were furrowed, and he looked somewhat resentful.
Holding Xiao Guli in one arm and holding his mother Lin Hongmei's hand with the other, Lin Yao slowly walked to his father's side and said in a low voice, "Dad, let's go back. We still have things to do at home."
Without a doubt, the Luo family's invitation to come over was definitely not for anything good. They were too busy with production and disaster relief to waste time on them. Lin Yao didn't want to know what the Luo family was up to or what conditions they were offering. He didn't want to see these cold-hearted people.
"Third brother, now that everyone is here, can we start talking?" Second Uncle Luo Jichang greeted him warmly with a gentle smile on his face. "Come, Hongmei and Yao'er, come and sit on the sofa. Yao'er, sit next to Grandpa. Grandpa often says he hasn't seen you in a long time and misses you very much."