Chapter 18

「I’m overjoyed just from a word of approval from you.」

–

“Huo Xiaoman, don’t lie.” Huo Sheng hardened his voice.

Her little back twitched in fright and she grabbed Cheng Yan’s trousers and hid behind him.

Huo Sheng was used to her stubbornness and didn’t scold her anymore.

Cheng Yan stood there awkwardly holding two ice-creams that were about to melt, not knowing what to say. In the end, he gave one of the ice-creams to Huo Sheng and added, “I wanted to eat it.”

As he said this, he looked a bit embarrassed that he couldn’t even look straight into the other party’s eyes.

Huo Sheng sighed helplessly and whispered, “You don’t have to indulge her.”

“No, no.” Cheng Yan quickly looked at him and denied in a quiet voice.

“Let’s sit down.” Huo Sheng suggested since he doesn’t want them to be standing around.

Cheng Yan relaxed hearing that he wasn’t angry. He nodded and took Huo Xiaoman with him to sit on the bench.

Children’s mood changes very quickly.

As the float paraded passed them, Huo Xiaoman completely forgot what her dad told her while she swung her little legs.

Cheng Yan took some tissue and waited for Huo Xiaoman to eat her fill before wiping her mouth. The satisfied Huo Xiaoman happily propped her elbows and gave Cheng Yan a glance before turning her head back to the crowd that was coming and going.

When it was nearly noon, the crowd gradually dissipated as the parade went past. Furthermore, being directly exposed to the sun was making people uncomfortable.

Huo Sheng checked the time and asked them, “Why don’t we find a place to eat? We can continue after we take a rest.”

Speaking of lunch, Cheng Yan remembered the cupcakes he made that were in the locker. Huo Xiaoman wasn’t allowed to eat sweets so he didn’t say anything and agreed to take a break with them.

There weren’t many people in the canteen, so Huo Sheng quickly came back with the food he ordered.

Huo Xiaoman had just eaten her fill of ice-cream and couldn’t stomach any more food. She only ate two pieces of chicken before she stopped. Huo Sheng didn’t tell her to eat more and allowed her to watch the cartoon on the TV.

Two children ran past their table as their mother followed behind them protectively while telling them to be careful of falling.

Cheng Yan watched the two children play. Then, Huo Sheng asked him, “Is it rare for you to play with children?”

“Hm? Mm.” Cheng Yan nodded and then smiled, “I was a bit nervous when I had to pick up Huo Xiaoman but luckily she’s a good girl.”

Huo Sheng raised an eyebrow, “Good? You’re the first person to say that she’s good. She acts like a boss at home.”

Cheng Yan thought of his first time meeting Huo Xiaoman. He doesn’t think that Huo Sheng’s description of her was that accurate.

Huo Sheng smiled at Cheng Yan’s disbelief. “Once she’s familiar with you, she’s full of troubles.”

Out of the blue, Huo Xiaoman turned around and sat down again. She repeated with her babyish voice, “Full of troubles.”

The two adults laughed in response. She looked left and right and began to giggle with them.

Huo Xiaoman stopped watching TV so she sipped her her drink, watching her dad and Cheng Yan chat. She doesn’t understand what the adults were talking about so long later, she was batting her eyelids, as if they were about to close.

She rubbed her eyes and came down from her chair. With one hand on the table, she walked around the table and walked towards her dad and sat on his legs without asking for his permission. She told her dad in a babyish voice that she was tired and buried her little face in his neck. She was fast asleep a short time.

Huo Sheng patted her back and adjusted her position to be more comfortable. He looked up at Cheng Yan and smiled, “Children always want to sleep.”

“Let her sleep.” Cheng Yan replied.

Cheng Yan looked really gentle at this moment. The timidness and shyness that Huo Sheng usually saw disappeared.

Huo Sheng was delighted. He opened a conversation, “Did I keep you away from doing other things for going out with us this weekend?”

“Not really. I usually… stay at home on a weekend. I don’t go out a lot.”

Huo Sheng didn’t think his reply was surprising. He was still smiling and asked, “I thought people your age usually like to go out for a drink or go to the movies.” Huo Sheng didn’t think his reply was surprising.

“I guess I’m the only one who doesn’t go out.” Cheng Yan’s voice dimmed as he lowered his eyelashes.

And then for a while, nobody spoke. Cheng Yan’s mind was jumbled up. He thought, maybe he was a boring person, making the conversation die once again. Then, he looked up and found Huo Sheng staring straight at him. He quickly looked away and voiced, “W-What’s wrong?”

In response, he heard Huo Sheng’s warm voice with a bantering done, “You know, you should be more confident in yourself.”

“I… don’t quite understand.” CHeng Yan slightly retraced his sight, looking at the other party.

The jawline of the person on the opposite was slightly raised at an angle and half of his face was blending in with the sunlight. After a pause, Huo Sheng looked at him again, “When you look at people while you’re speaking, your eyes look beautiful.”

“And I think, nobody will hate talking with you while having eye contact.” He said, “So I think you should be more confident. Don’t worry too much about what you want to say. You can say what you want to say.”

These words created chaos in his mind, causing Cheng Yan to freeze in place. After a moment of processing, he was finally able to react and couldn’t stop himself from biting his lips. He then shot up from his seat and said, “I’m going to the restroom.”

Left behind, Huo Sheng caught a glance at his rapidly flushing face and the corners of his mouth raised unintentionally.

Cheng Yan, who rushed to a cubicle in the restroom, couldn’t suppress his joy anymore. He covered his mouth with both of his hands and started to laugh.