Chapter 667: Father and Son
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Li Rui was speechless.
He hated the child called Ye Shaohui even more now.
Xia Ling was also very surprised. She didn’t know that Shaohui, who seemed soft and harmless, had such a skill. Usually, he played joyfully with the animals and carried around a soft toy around like today. It was really unexpected! She finally felt relieved. This child had not been brought up poorly. Even though he looked silly and soft, he could play well with the other boys too.
She was just very surprised.
However, Li Lei’s eyes lit up. Outsiders saw the commotion while insiders saw the potential. Others all thought that Shaohui was just assembling a water gun, but Li Lei could tell that this child’s technique was very skillful and professional. His movements were very smooth and his skill level was higher than Li Rui’s.
In time, this child would definitely become a master at using guns.
However…
His expression slightly darkened. What a pity.
Unfortunately, Shaohui was not his son and could not receive his training. If this child remained by Xiao Ling’s side, he would probably either play with teddy bears or learn how to live in the limelight on stage like her in the future.
Shaohui was unaware of his regrets. He handed the water gun toy to Longlong, slightly tilted his head and said in a muffled voice, “I can fix many things. If you have anything else that is broken, you can always look for me.”
Longlong happily thanked him.
A few children started to smile, and the girls beside him also praised Shaohui.
Originally, the boys and girls were divided into two groups, but with Shaohui as the middleman, they started to play together. However, Li Rui still did not fit in. Seeing that they all looked at Shaohui starry-eyed, he was very unhappy. He snorted and walked away alone.
Some parents noticed this scene and looked at Li Lei worriedly.
Everyone knew that Li Lei was the most powerful there and no one wanted to offend him.
Li Lei also frowned a little. Li Rui was really too anti-social. When he returned, he had to tell Su Tang about this problem. Otherwise, it would not be good for the child.
On the other hand, Shaohui played with the children for a while and left by himself.
The guests all started to disperse and carry on with their own business.
Xia Ling was very unwilling to face Li Lei and deliberately avoided him. She held a cocktail in her hand and mingled with the other guests. Li Lei was unwilling to have a conflict with her in front of so many people and also walked away. He went to find Shaohui. He did not know why he found that child very extraordinary and wanted to become closer to him.
Under the vibrant sun, he found Shaohui below the corridor at the backyard garden.
The small child was sitting on a white step and feeding some crumbs to a flock of birds. Noticing that someone came over, the birds flew away in shock. Shaohui lifted his head and saw Li Lei, but he was somewhat puzzled as to why he came over. However, he sweetly called him “Uncle.”
Li Lei’s feelings were complicated as he asked him, “Why do you call Xiao Ling Sister but me Uncle?”
Did he really look that old?
The child laughed. “That’s because, Uncle, you have a son but Sister doesn’t have one yet.”
“Doesn’t sister have you?” Li Lei was not satisfied with his response.
Shaohui continued to mumble. “Sister is Sister.” He lowered his head and clasped his hands solemnly, making it clear that he did not want to argue with him about this question again.
Li Lei didn’t know how to respond.
He sat down beside the child and tried to talk to him, asking, “What are you doing?”
“Feeding the birds.” The child replied matter-of-factly. His soft voice made people’s hearts melt. “These birds haven’t eaten yet. They’re really pitiful.”
“Do you like animals very much?” Li Lei asked.
“Yes.” The child nodded. “My uncle said that animals are our friends and we should care for them.”
“Who is your uncle?”
“I can’t say.” The child shook his head and changed the topic. “Sister also really likes animals. She has a cat. It’s really cute and big.” The child used his arms to estimate the size of the cat. “Sometimes in the middle of the night, he would crawl up on the bed. It’s so furry and warm.”
Although Xia Ling was single, her bed seemed very exciting. Not only did Shaohui sleep with her, but their cat also squeezed with them.
Li Lei wanted to listen more about Xia Ling’s affairs and asked the child details about where they met, how he was adopted, what Xia Ling was doing recently, what Xia Ling was eating recently, and if she were resting well…
Shaohui patiently replied in great detail.
“Uncle, I’ve seen you before.” The child suddenly said.
“Oh? Where?” Li Lei asked.
“In pictures.” The child said, “Sister will sometimes look at a few pictures in a daze. You are always in them. Sometimes, there’s also a very huge…” He titled his head and searched the vocabulary vault in his mind. “Leopard.”
It seemed that he really saw him before.
Suddenly, Li Lei’s heart beat irregularly. “Did Sister say anything to you?”
“No.” The child shook his head ignorantly. “Every time she is done looking at your photo, Sister always looks unhappy and doesn’t like to talk.”
Li Lei was silent for a long time. He knew that he hurt Xiao Ling very deeply and caused her to suffer.
Shaohui looked at him curiously and did not seem to understand why he stopped talking. “Uncle?” He asked, “Do you usually look at photos in a daze like Sister?”
Yes, of course.
Li Lei said that in his heart. His bedroom and study room were filled with her photos. He always took notice of her every step.
He stroked the child’s soft hair. “How about you come to Uncle’s house to play in the future? I have many photos of your Sister and that large leopard. It will be very fun.”
“Really?” The child’s eyes sparkled.
“Of course.” Li Lei smiled. “Uncle can also teach you how to assemble toys.”
Shaohui was ecstatic.
The two got along very well and did not notice that in the shadow of the small forest, a child stood there gloomily and glared at Shaohui viciously. Children were all sensitive. At this time, Li Rui already felt that although his father usually treated him very well, when he was with Shaohui, something… was different.
There seemed to be a kind of bubble around them which they were happy in and separated them from others.
The banquet in the main lawn.
Xia Ling chatted with many guests. When she turned around, she remembered that she had not seen Shaohui for a long time. She asked two staff members but both of them said they did not see the young master. Worried, she got up to look for him.
Unknowingly, she came to the small backyard porch and saw a small child sitting beside a man. He lifted his small face and they seemed to be happily talking about something.
The man beside him was Li Lei.
Xia Ling paused in her footsteps because she did not want to see Li Lei. She wanted to turn around and leave, but she was worried that Li Lei might bully Shaohui. He could look for many other children to play with, so why did he have to look for Shaohui?
She was in a dilemma, but finally, her maternal instincts took over.
She walked up and called, “Shaohui.”