Chapter 16

Just as Huo Lin had fallen asleep, he heard the sound of crying in a daze. His first reaction was that he was hallucinating again. The last time he fell asleep, he heard the crying of a child, but when he woke up, the child was nowhere to be found.

“Da-Daddy, wu wu wu, Daddy...”

Jian Ning, who was awakened by a stomach-ache, called out for his father as soon as he opened his eyes. He called out several times but couldn’t find his father, so he sat up, tears streaming down his face.

After sitting up, he saw a strange environment and the little prince next to him.

When Jian Ning saw the little prince’s face, he suddenly stopped crying. The next moment, he reached out and grabbed Guoguo’s face.

“Guoguo.”

Jian Ning’s hand grabbed Huo Lin’s face, but before he could exert any force, Huo Lin woke up abruptly.

The two children faced each other in the cramped space, one with teary eyes, the other with shock and joy.

After staring at each other for a few seconds, Jian Ning opened his chubby hands and cried in a hoarse voice, “Guoguo, hug me!”

Huo Lin hugged him tightly.

The living little baby was hugged in his arms. He could cry, move, and call him “brother”. At this moment, Huo Lin’s feelings were indescribably relaxed.

But he didn’t hug him for long before Jian Ning vomited a few mouthfuls of milk, breaking the relaxation.

After vomiting, Jian Ning leaned against him, his little face looking uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Huo Lin didn’t care about the milk stains on his clothes. He took out a tissue and wiped Jian Ning clean, asking nervously, “Why did you vomit? Are you still sick?”

Huo Lin was very nervous when he asked the question. Two days hadn’t passed, and he couldn’t bring Jian Ning back yet.

Fortunately, Jian Ning had a lot of experience with his own condition. He skilfully pulled Guoguo’s hand and placed it on his stomach.

Huo Lin touched the still-swollen little belly.

He immediately understood what was going on: “You drank too much milk. Let me massage your belly, and you’ll feel better soon.”

Massaging the belly could relieve bloating.

Huo Lin withdrew his hand and rubbed it together. After it warmed up, he put his hand back into Jian Ning’s small clothes.

Jian Ning felt a little better as his belly was massaged.

As he was being massaged, he began to feel drowsy again.

The tomb chamber was lit only by night pearls, and the bright light filled the room. Jian Ning couldn’t tell if it was day or night, and he didn’t even know how long he had been sleeping.

He just rubbed his eyes and said to Huo Lin, “Daddy, I want a hug.”

He wanted his father.

Huo Lin’s heart tightened when he heard him mention his father.

“Ningning.”

Huo Lin seemed calm, but his hand tightened. He asked, “Do you really like your father?”

Jian Ning understood the words “like” and “love” and nodded without hesitation, his voice sticky, “Baby, want a hug.”

After expressing his love for his father, Jian Ning looked up at Huo Lin and said softly, “Baby, want a hug!”

Whether it was his father or his brother, Jian Ning loved them both!

Huo Lin listened to the sweet words of the little baby, but he couldn’t be happy. He was only thinking about which medicine was best for treating Zhan Xi’s injuries and could heal quickly, even the scars.

That way, Ningning could not see the wounds on his father’s body when he went back.

Perhaps massaging his belly was indeed very comfortable, or maybe Jian Ning shouldn’t have woken up so early in the first place. He didn’t last long before Huo Lin heard his even breathing in his arms.

But Huo Lin still felt uneasy as he looked at the sleeping little baby.

He lowered his head and poked the little baby’s chubby face, intentionally waking him up. After the little baby opened his eyes and cried a few times, he finally felt relieved and coaxed the baby back to sleep.

Time ticked by with the movement of the clock’s hands.

After coaxing the baby to sleep, Huo Lin got up and rummaged through his bag outside the coffin. There were clothes inside that he could use to change out of his dirty clothes. In addition to changing himself, the little baby needed a change of clothes as well.

Huo Lin was busy outside, his heart tight with tension throughout the day. He had hardly eaten anything, so he could now eat a few bites in peace.

As Huo Lin was busy, Jian Ning, who had turned over on a rock and was sleeping with his eyes closed, reached out with his little hand and started feeling around. He liked to hold on to things while he slept, either a small handkerchief or his father’s fingers.

After feeling around for a moment, Jian Ning found the hand of the Empire’s Empress, who was sleeping beside him. Her hand was smooth and much smoother than his father’s.

Jian Ning grasped one of her fingers and fell asleep contentedly.

The two of them, one big and one small, slept while holding hands. At first glance, the scene was quite heartwarming.

The Phoenix Feather Stone under Jian Ning continued to rotate, and the faint light enveloped his whole body, even touching the fingertips of the Empress, who was outside the light.

The tomb was quiet and harmonious.

***

In a small room outside the tomb.

Zhan Xi sat on a chair by the window, looking outside. “Duo Bi, do you think Ningning will wake up now?”

Duo Bi was also lost in thought, and when he heard this, he instinctively replied, “He should have woken up. He’s sure to receive the best treatment with the little prince of the empire.”

Others heard their conversation and chimed in, “Zhan Xi, I think that little prince likes our Ningning. Do you think he will take Ningning away?”

“No.”

Zhan Xi’s eyes turned cold: “Whoever wants to take Ningning away will have to step over my dead body.”

He couldn’t hand Ningning over to this imperial prince. In the past, if the empire could promise him a good life for Ningning, he might have been tempted. But now, he didn’t even trust the emperor of the empire.

Once Ningning’s healing ability was discovered outside, he couldn’t guarantee what would happen to Ningning. Therefore, he couldn’t hand Ningning over to anyone before he grew up.

The people on the barren planet shared his idea. They were not good people to begin with, and in thinking about things, they tended to think in a negative direction.

Zhan Rao had said before that if Ningning’s healing ability was overused, it would lead to a situation like this where he would fall into a coma and not wake up, and if it was more serious, he would die.

When they talked about Ningning, someone changed the subject: “Ling Qi hasn’t been caught yet. Is he planning to rescue us?”

“With Mans here, Ling Qi is no match for him.”

“What should we do then? How can we notify Ling Qi not to come to find us?”

They didn’t even know what they would face next, so they didn’t want Ling Qi to come and face a trap. As a group of people spoke, General Mans passed by outside the corridor. He stopped for a few seconds before continuing on.

***

48 hours wasn’t very long, but for the first time the prince was really taking care of a child, it was enough to make him nervous and fidgety.

“Guoguo, water.”

“Wait a bit longer. The water is still hot.”

“Guoguo, belly belly!”

“I’m coming. This time you can only drink one bottle of milk, you can’t drink too much.”

“Guoguo, baby, poop!”

“Not stinky. We’ll take a bath when we get back.”

“Guoguo, carry me!”

“Okay, I’ll carry you after I change your socks.”

Huo Lin stumbled with the baby, occasionally encountering some unexpected situations, but fortunately the baby had a good temper and could be easily soothed.

The only situation where he couldn’t calm the baby down was when the baby cried for his father.

He couldn’t bring the other’s father here, so he could only watch the baby cry until he fell asleep.

Counting the time, only a little remained of the two days. In the last few hours, Jian Ning sat on a rock and learned to call someone “auntie”.

He held the Empress’s hand with his small hand and called her “sister” at first.

Hua Ya said that when you see a pretty girl, you should call her “sister”.

But as soon as he called her “sister”, the little prince’s face turned green: “You called her wrong, she’s not your sister, she’s your auntie. Call her again.”

Jian Ning blinked, then obediently called her “auntie”.

Huo Lin eased up when he heard Jian Ning call her correctly. “Hmm, that’s right, she’s your auntie.”

Jian Ning looked at the pretty auntie, then at Huo Lin. He was surprised: “Ah!”

The auntie looked a little like Guoguo!

Huo Lin held the child in his arms and looked at his mother quietly lying down. He felt that this moment was also very good, so good that he wanted to stay like this forever.

“This Auntie, she’s my mother.”

Huo Lin suddenly said to Jian Ning, “She’s dead. I don’t have a mother anymore.”

Jian Ning: “?”

Jian Ning’s little head was stunned for a moment, and the next second, he raised his chubby face and said to Guoguo, “Auntie, sleep!”

‘Auntie is sleeping!’

Huo Lin tightened his arms around him and whispered, “She’s not sleeping, she’s left me.”

Jian Ning perked up his ears and listened hard to Guoguo’s words. After feeling the sadness in Guoguo’s words, he emphasized anxiously, “Auntie, sleep! Sleep!”

Auntie was just sleeping, but Auntie was very tired and needed to sleep longer than the baby!

Huo Lin watched him repeat himself over and over again and pinched his chubby face. “Why are you like a parrot? Forget it. You’re too young to understand.”

The two little children continued to talk, and in the end, Jian Ning was so angry that he turned his back to Guogu.

Huo Lin looked at his back and approached him. “Why are you angry?”

Jian Ning hummed and didn’t want to talk to the stupid Guoguo.

In the last hour in the tomb, Huo Lin went outside to pack their luggage and prepare to leave.

As soon as he left, Jian Ning crawled to the Queen’s side.

“Auntie.”

Jian Ning pressed his forehead against the Queen’s forehead, closed his eyes, and whispered, “Child, wait for the child!”

When the beautiful auntie wakes up, he would come to pick her up!

Jian Ning snuggled up to the queen, but when Huo Lin saw it, he didn’t say much. When he used to come here before, he would also secretly stick to his mother.

His father’s teachings were always very strict, and in the little prince’s growth, he always lacked a tender motherly love.

“Ningning.”

Huo Lin, who had finished packing, walked over and called him, “We’re going home to find your dad.”

The little baby, who was still sticking to his aunt, heard the word “Dad” and his eyes lit up instantly. He opened his chubby hands and exclaimed happily, “Hug!”

Huo Lin bent down and picked him up.

On the way back, Jian Ning sat in the cool car like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world before, his fat face pressed against the window, looking in amazement at everything outside.

“Wow!”

“Guoguo, stick!”

Exclamations were heard one after another. Jian Ning was strapped in and felt like he was about to fly! He looked at Guoguo, the driver, and thought he was amazing.

Huo Lin, who was driving, was immersed in the praise from the little baby, and stepped on the accelerator even harder.

Just when both children were in a good mood, an unexpected communication call came in. Huo Lin pulled out his communicator and glanced at it.

It was a call from his father.

 

<Prev> <ToC> <Next>