Sure enough.
Shortly after they left, a somewhat frail-looking woman walked into the small private room they had just vacated.
When the woman walked in, Lele, who was in the midst of pouring noodles into Ningning’s bowl, accidentally let go, causing both the bowl and the noodles to spill into Ningning’s bowl.
The little child, caught off guard by the sudden addition of noodles to his bowl, exclaimed, “!”
Oh no, can this still be eaten?!
Ningning stared at the bowl of noodles, desperate to start fishing them out.
Meanwhile, Lele, who had poured the noodles upon seeing the woman enter, welled up with tears, which began to stream down his cheeks.
“Mom.”
He set aside the bowl of noodles and rushed into his mother’s embrace.
The woman, completely covered up, removed her mask to reveal a beautiful, pale face. She caught her rushing child and held her tightly.
Despite the thick clothing, she could feel that her child had gained quite a bit of weight.
“Mom, are you here to see Lele?”
Lele, in her mother’s arms, sobbed uncontrollably, “Lele misses Mom so much, Mom, please don’t leave Lele, okay?”
Even though Lele mentioned wanting to live with Dad Ningning, deep down, he truly longed for his own mom—the mom who gave birth to him and had been raising him for three years.
Lele cried sadly, and his mother’s eyes turned red, her whole body trembling.
Her current state was normal, and precisely because it was normal, she could think rationally and plan sensibly for her child.
“Lele, Mom can’t take care of you anymore. You’ll live with Ningning in the future.”
Lele’s mother, maintaining her composure, spoke to her crying child in her arms, “When there’s a chance in the future, Mom will come to see you.”
She couldn’t hold back her tears even after saying this.
She kissed Lele’s forehead tearfully and tremblingly, “Lele, you must be good, be obedient, and grow up well in your new family.”
She was cowardly and powerless; she couldn’t raise Lele.
Lele would eventually be discovered with her, and they would face only one end when that happened: a dead end.
Lele’s new life was going to be different.
She searched through various channels for information and watched videos on the Star Network. She learned about Ningning’s background, the one who played with Lele.
As long as Lele left her, he would receive the protection of the Imperial Royal Family and even the Federation’s protection.
Her Lele could survive.
There’s no need to hide in a small room, to spend days without seeing anyone, or to hide and cower in fear. It’s possible to live on without constantly hiding away.
“Lele, I’m sorry.”
Lele’s mom, tears in her eyes, reached out and wiped her own tears for her child. “Mom was wrong. I’m sorry for you. You have to be well...”
Lele and his mom embraced and wept together. The little child, who had just lost a bowl of noodles, looked at Lele and then at Lele’s mom.
He hesitated for a moment, then grabbed a tissue from the table and walked over.
“Auntie, here you go.”
The little child handed over the tissue, but Lele’s mom didn’t take it; instead, she embraced him, too.
“Ningning.”
Lele’s mom pleaded with the young child in front of her, her tearful eyes showing vulnerability.
“Could you help Auntie take care of Lele?”
“Auntie, I was already going to take good care of Lele.”
The little child puffed out his chest and said to Lele’s mom, “If I have a bottle of milk to drink, then Lele will have a bottle of milk too. Don’t worry, I will take care of him!”
Lele’s mom stayed in the small room for a long time. When she left, the two adults outside, whose legs had gone numb from squatting, quickly entered.
Inside the small room, Lele had cried himself to sleep.
The little child was still eating noodles from the bowl; he finished the noodles but didn’t drink the soup.
The soup got dirty, and the little child was in an intense internal struggle to decide whether to drink the soup.
Luckily, Zhan Xi came in just in time and didn’t let him continue drinking the soup.
“Don’t drink the soup; I’ll get you another bowl.”
Zhan Xi ordered another large bowl, finally getting the little child to eat enough.
Lele still hadn’t woken up. Zhan Xi asked his own child, “Has Lele’s mom already been here?”
“Mmm! She’s been here before!”
The little child thought about Lele’s mom and felt that Lele’s mom still loved Lele.
He wanted Lele’s mom to move in with them so that Lele wouldn’t have to be separated from his mom and could continue playing with him together.
“Dad, how much does a house on White Mist Star cost?”
“It’s quite expensive. Why do you ask?”
“I just want to know how much. Can you tell me?”
Under the little child’s persistent questioning, Zhan Xi mentioned a figure, “That’s the annual rent; if you want to buy the house, it’ll be many times that.”
The little child calculated the money and his chubby face looked worried. “It’s so expensive.”
It seemed that Ningning had to collect more red envelopes this year and worked hard to bring Lele’s mom over too!
After spending two days on B1 Planet, Zhan Xi finally took the two children back to the barren planet.
On the way...
The little child successfully managed to comfort Lele. While Lele was okay when his mom was not around, as soon as he saw his mom, he missed her terribly.
Whether it was Ningning, Wagner, or Savi, none could be compared to Lele’s mom.
Looking at Lele, who was missing his mom, the little child realized that his decision to have Lele live with him instead of with his mom was a mistake.
No child would willingly separate from their parents.
Just like him, he couldn’t bear to be separated from his dad either.
The little child, with Lele unaware, urgently held a small meeting with Wagner and Savi. The core of their discussion was how to enable Lele’s mom to continue living with Lele..
Savi pointed out sharply, “Lele’s mom’s mental state seems off; she needs medical attention.”
Wagner also said, “Lele’s mom refuses to keep Lele because she’s afraid she can’t take care of him!”
The three children summed up Lele’s mom’s situation, becoming increasingly serious.
Finally, unable to think of a good solution, the three children decided to seek help from the adults and work hard to earn money during the upcoming New Year.
“We’ll use the red envelopes we receive to take Lele’s mom to the doctor!”
“Sure! We also need to have Lele’s mom move over. Dad mentioned that the rent on White Mist Star is 50,000 star coins a year.”
“Ningning, there’s another way to make money. After Lele finishes collecting red envelopes at your place, I’ll bring him over to continue at my place. The adults here are very generous.”
The little child listened eagerly. “Why didn’t you invite me to go collect red envelopes with Wagner?”
Savi: “...”
Savi fell silent.
The adults at his place were difficult to get along with. If he only brought Lele over, taking care of him would have already been very challenging.
Bringing Ningning and Wagner over together was too much to think about; it gave him a headache.
Ningning and Wagner could tell that Savi only wanted to bring Lele over, not them, and they both frowned.
Hmph.
Originally, they were also planning to invite Savi to collect red envelopes, but now it seemed unnecessary.
The three children were all thinking of ways to get the adults’ red envelopes, while the adults remained oblivious.
Especially Zhan Xi, who had already planned how to coax the red envelopes from Ningning this year.
The little child was still in kindergarten and had nowhere to spend the red envelopes. This dad could only work hard and keep the red envelopes safe for him.
“Ling Qi, what do you think if I tell Ningning this New Year that I’ll use his red envelopes to invest and make money for him? Will he give me the red envelopes?”
Ling Qi: “...”
Ling Qi glanced at him. “What if he asks you how much money you made?”
Zhan Xi replied calmly, “Just say the investment failed.”
