Fu Xiaoxiao was happily eating his ice cream, practically burying his whole face in it. Melted ice cream covered the corners of his mouth, and his face was almost as messy as a little kitten's.
Fu Xiaoxiao looked up at Su Huaiming and asked, "Why aren't you taking it?"
Su Huaiming froze for a moment and instinctively took the ice cream before asking, "Did you... buy this for me?"
Fu Xiaoxiao gave a couple of proud little huffs. "You treated me to half of one before, so now I'm treating you to a whole one. I don't owe you anymore!"
That was what Fu Xiaoxiao said, but his expression seemed to say, "Hurry up and praise me." He was being quite awkward about it.
Su Huaiming was pleasantly surprised and didn't hold back his praise. "Xiao Xiao, you're amazing! You're so little, but you can already earn money and treat me to ice cream. I couldn't do that at all when I was your age. I admire you so much!"
Fu Xiaoxiao looked thoroughly smug. "Of course! I'm way better than you!"
Su Huaiming ate the ice cream Fu Xiaoxiao had bought him without the slightest guilt, thinking that raising a kid did have its uses.
The adult and three children stood by the roadside and happily finished their ice cream before holding hands and walking back.
When they reached the entrance, Fu Xiaoxiao suddenly stopped.
Su Huaiming sent the other two kids inside and looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"I'm going to the store," Fu Xiaoxiao said, then turned and walked back.
Su Huaiming was afraid he might run into danger going alone, so he followed.
"Why are you going to the store?"
Fu Xiaoxiao glanced at him and pouted, but didn't say anything.
Seeing that Fu Xiaoxiao didn't want to answer, Su Huaiming didn't press him. He would find out once they reached the store anyway.
When Fu Xiaoxiao got to the store, he discovered that the checkout counter was too high. Even on tiptoe, he couldn't see the lady behind it, so he could only do his best to wave at her.
The cashier smiled gently. "Little one, is there something I can help you with?"
Fu Xiaoxiao stood on tiptoe and held out the money he had earned to the cashier. "Auntie, how much chocolate can I buy with this money?"
After counting it, the cashier looked a little surprised and instinctively glanced at his guardian, Su Huaiming.
Su Huaiming gave her a slight nod.
Only then did the cashier smile and say, "You can buy lots and lots of chocolate. Why do you ask?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Fu Xiaoxiao declared grandly, "I want to buy chocolate, with all of it!"
Seeing that Su Huaiming still didn't stop him, the cashier nodded and filled an entire bag with chocolate for Fu Xiaoxiao.
Fu Xiaoxiao couldn't carry it, so Su Huaiming carried it for him.
"Did you buy all this chocolate to eat yourself?" Su Huaiming asked.
Fu Xiaoxiao shook his head and looked around in confusion. Unable to figure out which way to go, he had no choice but to ask Su Huaiming for help. "Do you know where the grandpa who was cleaning that day is?"
Su Huaiming froze. A thought occurred to him, and he asked in surprise, "Are you going to give him all this chocolate?"
Fu Xiaoxiao nodded. "Grandpa treated me to some really delicious chocolate! And his son bought it for him, so it must have been really precious. That's why I want to treat him to chocolate too!!"
Hearing this, Su Huaiming felt a wave of warmth wash over his heart, leaving it impossibly soft.
Fu Xiaoxiao was already cute, and with this buff, he was ten thousand times cuter!
Unable to control himself, Su Huaiming crouched down and gathered Fu Xiaoxiao into his arms, nuzzling and cuddling him and giving him a smacking kiss.
Fu Xiaoxiao frowned and touched his damp cheek, looking thoroughly disgusted.
Hmph, the bad stepdad was bullying him again!
Putting on the expression of a little overbearing CEO, Fu Xiaoxiao looked coldly at Su Huaiming. "Stop getting handsy and hurry up and take me to find the sanitation grandpa!"
"Okay." Su Huaiming agreed to his every request. He immediately contacted the production team, and they took a car to the first day's filming location.
Perhaps even heaven liked Fu Xiaoxiao and wanted to grant this little boy's wish. As soon as the car stopped, they spotted the sanitation grandpa.
Without waiting for Su Huaiming to carry him, Fu Xiaoxiao got out of the car on his own and ran over happily like a fledgling bird. "Grandpa, I came to see you!" he said in his sweet little voice.
The sanitation worker looked down and was surprised to see Fu Xiaoxiao. "Little one, what are you doing here? Where's your dad?"
Su Huaiming walked over with a smile.
After they had chatted together for a while, Fu Xiaoxiao gave a couple of little huffs and said with an indifferent expression, "You treated me to chocolate that day, so I'm giving you some back."
Fu Xiaoxiao was very awkward about it. He pretended not to care as he spoke, but looked at the sanitation worker expectantly, hoping he would like it.
The sanitation worker looked at the big bag of chocolate in surprise. Every wrinkle on his face held his emotion and delight. He didn't know what to say and rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"Why did you give me so much chocolate, child?" the sanitation worker asked, holding the heavy bag and unsure what to do. "I only treated you to half a piece. You don't need to give me so much in return."
"It's okay." Fu Xiaoxiao patted his chest and said grandly, "I have lots of money. I can buy lots and lots of chocolate!"
The sanitation worker could feel the care Fu Xiaoxiao had put into it, so he didn't refuse. Instead, he stroked Fu Xiaoxiao's head with his rough hand and thanked him earnestly. "Thank you, Xiao Xiao. This is my favorite gift I've ever received."
When Fu Xiaoxiao heard the words "favorite gift," the corners of his mouth lifted, and he finally stopped feeling awkward.
This was even more fun than spending all his money on ice cream!
Fu Xiaoxiao chattered away to the sanitation worker for a long time, only waving goodbye to him when it was nearly time to leave.
On the way back, Fu Xiaoxiao was still very happy. He hummed in his sweet little voice, swaying constantly and repeatedly starting conversations with Su Huaiming.
Su Huaiming didn't show the slightest impatience and listened very attentively to everything Fu Xiaoxiao said.
When they returned to the villa, the other two children had already packed their luggage. As soon as they saw Fu Xiaoxiao come back, they ran over.
The children weren't used to saying goodbye yet, and their eyes filled with tears. No one knew who started it, but the three kids hugged one another and burst into loud sobs. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they were parting forever.
The three parents smiled helplessly and held their respective children, soothing them for a long time. They also agreed to meet again in ten days.
Fu Xiaoxiao's eyes were still red as he said tearfully, "Next time we meet, I'll treat you to ice cream again!"
Ji Youyou couldn't bear to part with her two older brothers, but she still said bravely, "Mm-hm, we'll definitely see each other again."
Yu Xuanxuan usually seemed the most cheerful and optimistic, but at a time like this, he kept wiping away his tears with the back of his hand. Yu Ruicheng held and comforted him for a long time before he finally stopped, still sniffling.
After saying goodbye, they each took a car to the airport.
Su Huaiming and Fu Xiaoxiao spent six bumpy hours on the road before finally returning to their city.
The butler had arranged everything in advance. As soon as Su Huaiming left the airport, he got into a car.
Sitting in the front passenger seat, the butler asked, "Would you like to go back to the villa, sir, or to the apartment in the city?"
The villa was spacious and well appointed, but it was too far out of the way. The butler had asked because he thought Su Huaiming might have other plans.
Su Huaiming thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to the apartment downtown."
The butler nodded and told the driver to change course.
The luxury residential complex was in a prime location and had been developed by the Fu Group. Property prices were outrageously high, and everyone who lived there was either rich or powerful.
The complex had a full range of amenities, including an underground gym, a swimming pool, and a restaurant that catered exclusively to residents. Nearly all their needs could be met without leaving the complex.
The apartment they were going to was on the best floor in the entire complex and had the finest view. The butler respectfully led Su Huaiming inside.
Though it was an apartment, it was over two hundred square meters and had been designed by a renowned Chinese designer. Its simple, modern style felt very luxurious, with attention paid to every detail.
The butler said, "People don't often stay here, so there's only some basic furniture. Please tell me anything you need, sir, and I'll have someone prepare it for you right away."
Su Huaiming looked around but didn't find anything he needed for the time being, so he simply thanked him.
After Su Huaiming had settled in, the butler hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "The accommodations here aren't as good as the villa's, and the space is rather small. I'm sorry you have to make do, sir."
Su Huaiming didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
As far as he was concerned, the apartment was already perfect. He wasn't being put out at all.
Besides, when he had lived in the villa, he had hardly ever left his room, so this much space was more than enough for him.
After he and Fu Xiaoxiao had rested for a while, it was time for dinner.
A five-star restaurant sent someone to deliver a lavish meal, and both Su Huaiming and Fu Xiaoxiao ate until their bellies were round.
Even so, the butler still looked at them guiltily and apologized again. "It was an oversight on my part. I didn't arrange for staff or your meals in advance, so you'll have to make do for now."
Su Huaiming: "..."
Seeing the butler's self-reproachful expression, Su Huaiming sighed inwardly and reassured him over and over before the butler finally stopped worrying.
After dinner, Su Huaiming wandered into the study to look for a fun online game.
As soon as he turned on the computer, he saw the mail tab on the screen and opened it on a whim.
What he saw gave him quite a fright.
He had set the wrong time and sent more than ninety emails to Fu Jingfan all at once!
Fu Jingfan would probably be very surprised to see so many emails saying "I miss you"!
Su Huaiming knew there was no fixing it, so he could only comfort himself:
The original owner loved Fu Jingfan so much that there was nothing wrong with him being a little enthusiastic.
Su Huaiming never tortured himself over things that had already happened. He was about to pretend he hadn't seen anything and close the inbox when he suddenly caught sight of a gray icon at the very bottom.
Su Huaiming hadn't noticed the icon before, so he clicked it curiously.
A window popped up in the mailbox, asking him to enter a password.
Su Huaiming looked at the red heart in the password hint and thought for a few seconds before typing Fu Jingfan's name in pinyin. Sure enough, the mailbox opened the next second.
Inside were more than a dozen emails the original owner had sent Fu Jingfan, scheduled to go out every day.
Su Huaiming opened one at random and nearly had a heart attack when he saw what it said.
Although the original owner loved Fu Jingfan deeply, he hadn't expressed his love in the emails as Su Huaiming had imagined. The contents were quite serious, like a work report.
Only then did Su Huaiming realize that he had jumped to conclusions and made a huge blunder.
He hadn't expected the emails the original owner sent Fu Jingfan to have been moved to a secret mailbox. No wonder he hadn't found any old emails despite searching through the records for so long.
At the time, Su Huaiming had wondered whether the original owner had been too shy and deleted those emails that expressed his love so openly.
Su Huaiming let his hands fall and sat limply in the computer chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.
There was no way he could explain this. All he could do was pretend nothing had happened and send Fu Jingfan an email as usual tomorrow.
Or... should I add "I miss you so much" at the end?
That would echo the more than ninety emails. If Fu Jingfan asked, he could say it was because he couldn't control the surging love in his heart... Surely Fu Jingfan wouldn't suspect someone else was inhabiting his body over such a small thing.