Huo Lin knew exactly why he was asking. Sure enough, after hearing the answer, the little child hugged his chubby feet and giggled.
Editing videos on a star-phone wasn’t the most convenient, but it was doable. Before long, Huo Lin finished his first edit. He created an account and uploaded the video.
At this early stage, the account had no followers, no traffic, and no way to start live streaming. Posting videos was the only way to see if the channel could gain traction.
The little child watched as his brother posted the video. After staring at the screen for a while, he frowned in confusion. "Brother, no one’s watching Ningning."
The newly uploaded video had zero likes, zero views, and zero comments.
Huo Lin patted the little child’s head reassuringly. "Don’t worry. People will start watching you soon."
With the video done, Huo Lin noticed the little child was still clutching his chubby foot.
"What’s wrong with your foot?"
"Daddy said the little child needs a nail trim."
The little child wiggled his plump toes, then plopped his foot onto his brother’s lap.
Huo Lin: "..."
Huo Lin got up to fetch the nail clippers.
A moment later, the little child lay on his small bed, watching as his older brother held his chubby foot and carefully trimmed his nails. His eyes curved into happy crescents again.
"Brother, do Ningning’s feet stink?"
"No."
Huo Lin looked at the plump, fair little foot in his hand without the slightest hint of disgust.
Hearing this, the little child kept staring at his brother. When his brother lowered his gaze, his long lashes cast a faint shadow.
"Brother, you’re so pretty."
"You’re very pretty too."
Huo Lin responded to every one of the little child’s sweet compliments.
Being praised by his brother made the little child even happier.
After finishing the nails, Huo Lin went to wash his hands, then returned to stay with the little child as he slept.
Huo Lin’s bed was right next to the little child’s small one. He lay on his side, his slightly larger hand enveloping the little child’s.
That night, with his brother beside him, the little child slept soundly.
The next morning.
The little child was woken up by his brother, still drowsy and barely mustering any grumpiness. He obediently stretched out his arms and legs, letting his brother dress him.
Once dressed, the little child suddenly mumbled, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell Daddy. Uncle said he’s coming to see the little child."
Yesterday, he had called his uncle and told him about his real father. There had been a long silence on the other end of the line, along with what sounded like something dropping.
Then, his uncle said he would come visit.
But he’d forgotten to tell Daddy.
Huo Lin looked at his dazed little face and carried him to the bathroom. "No rush. You can tell your dad after you wash up."
"Okay!"
During breakfast, the little child didn’t forget again. He told his dad about his uncle’s visit, then reminded him of something else.
"Daddy, when can you have Lele’s mom come over?"
He’d already asked his brother—there were empty houses nearby where Lele’s mom and Lele could stay.
Though the little child had been acknowledged as "Daddy" by Lele, when he told the other kids about it, they ended up laughing at him.
Belatedly, the little child also started feeling that this whole "Daddy" thing might not have been such a good idea after all.
The adults, at least, never laughed at him. In their eyes, no matter what the little child did, their first reaction was never to dismiss it.
Even if they thought something was inappropriate, they wouldn’t say it outright—they’d wait for the little one to figure it out on his own.
"I’ve already messaged Lele’s mom, and Twain has talked to her too. Now it’s up to her to decide where she wants to go."
Wagner, Ningning, and Savi had all told their families about Lele and his mother. The adults in all three households were willing to help.
But judging by their circumstances, Lele would be best off staying with Saiwei. Saiwei’s family lived in a secluded place, making it harder for outsiders to find them.
And Lele’s mother had spent years living in fear of him being discovered.
Even though Savi’s place was the most suitable for Lele and his mother, none of them could say for sure what her final decision would be.
There was also the chance that Lele’s mother might not want to choose at all.
But whether she chose or not, they’d at least given her options.
Hearing his father’s words, the little child’s face fell a little. But that disappointment didn’t last long—his brother soon distracted him with snacks.
After dinner, Huo Lin also climbed onto the tricycle and rode with the little child to kindergarten.
On the way, he stuffed some snacks into the little one’s backpack: "Don’t eat too many snacks. Focus on your meals. If you’re still hungry at lunch, maybe you should come home to eat instead."
"Ningning knows!"
Even though Zhan Xi thought it was convenient for the little one to eat lunch at school, he still worried he might not get enough to eat.
Huo Lin shared that concern.
Frowning, he watched the little child playing with his toy in the tricycle. "Ningning, how about coming to the palace for lunch instead?"
"No! Ningning wants to eat with the other kids!"
The little one was very enthusiastic about group meals. Seeing his brother’s worried expression, he leaned in and nuzzled his cheek. "Brother, don’t worry about the little child."
The little child would never let himself go hungry!
The tricycle moved at a steady pace, and after about ten minutes, they arrived at the kindergarten.
The little child didn’t wait for his brother to carry him—he climbed down from the tricycle himself. With his small backpack strapped on, he waved his tiny hand at his dad and brother.
“Daddy, Brother, Ningning is going to school now! Bye-bye!”
Zhan Xi didn’t say goodbye just yet. He needed to go inside to pay for the lunch fee.
Huo Lin didn’t follow him in, staying behind to wait by the tricycle.
After a while, Zhan Xi came out, his face bright with excitement. “The kindergarten teachers are so efficient! Some of the test results from yesterday are already out.”
Just by looking at Uncle Zhan’s expression, Huo Lin could tell the little child must have done well.
He asked, “How did Ningning score?”
“One of the graded tests—he got a 78!!!”
Zhan Xi’s voice lifted with pride as he announced the score. “For this subject, he only scored a 28 on the final exam!”
A full 50-point improvement! Zhan Xi was so thrilled he almost wanted to set off firecrackers in celebration.
Huo Lin, who usually aced every test with full marks, hadn’t initially felt much about the number 78—until he heard the “28.” Then he suddenly remembered the little child’s disastrous final exam.
Going from 28 to 78? That was impressive.
If only the test papers could be taken home already—Zhan Xi would’ve brought it back right then. Beaming, he patted the tricycle. “Xiao Lin, hop on!”
“If Ningning’s other scores turn out just as good, I’ll throw a feast at home. You and your parents are all invited.”
“Mm.”
Zhan Xi tried to contain his joy, but inside, he was bursting. After dropping Huo Lin off, he headed to the scrapyard.
Ling Qi was already there.
He studied Zhan Xi’s face for a few seconds, then asked suspiciously, “Did you find money on the road?”
Otherwise, why did he look like such a grinning fool?
Still chuckling, Zhan Xi parked the tricycle and strode over. “Ling Qi, I’m really not a bad dad to Ningning, am I?”
Ling Qi: “?”
Ling Qi frowned slightly. "Wasn’t he asleep? Did you two get back in touch?"
Zhan Xi, his eyes crinkling with a smile, explained, "No, we didn’t. I was just saying how well he tutored the little child. Our little child scored 78 on yesterday’s exam."
Ling Qi was taken aback. "Really?"
Zhan Xi nodded. "Yes, really. The teacher said the winter homework covered everything they learned this semester. The little child worked so hard on it—even corrected all the mistakes—which means he basically reviewed the entire kindergarten curriculum."
After hearing this, Ling Qi’s opinion of the little child’s biological father improved.
"That’s good. Next chance we get, we should send the little child over to do homework there."
