novelraw Chapter 412: You Are As Important As Baobao (Part 1)
Chapter 412: You Are As Important As Baobao (Part 1)
The man’s hands came over to wrap around her waist, and he directly buried his face in her stomach. His hair was very short and rough, and the stubble poked through her clothes, making her feel itchy and uncomfortable.But compared to the physical discomfort, the mental unease made Le Tong even more at a loss.
Her mind went blank for a moment, her hands hanging by her sides. After freezing for a few seconds, she slowly lifted her hands and gently wrapped them around his broad shoulders.
This man could indeed be awkward at times, but the fact that he could openly admit his own awkwardness surprised Le Tong.
It was even more surprising to Le Tong that he would show vulnerability like he was doing now.
"Le Tong..." The man’s muffled voice came from the direction of her stomach.
"Hmm?!"
"Actually, I really envy Baobao..." The man’s voice carried a bit of helplessness.
Le Tong was momentarily stunned, but instantly she realized that the envy he spoke of had two meanings: one, he envied Baobao for receiving so much of her love and care; the other, he envied Baobao for having such a loving mother.
Thinking of the man’s vulnerable expression whenever he mentioned his mother, Le Tong’s eyes slightly teared up.
"Ji Rui, both Baobao and you are very important to me."
This statement from Le Tong was not entirely meant to be a comfort.
In the past, she deliberately ignored her emotions and acted like an ostrich regarding relationship issues, which made her unable to discern that her behavior of constantly tracing him with her gaze was due to affection.
Looking back now, she realized that her heart had long unknowingly gotten lost, trapped in the swamp called "Ji Rui" and unable to escape.
She could not measure how deep her feelings for Ji Rui were because she had never had similar feelings for another man, so there was no basis for comparison.
But one thing she could be sure of was that when she heard that Ji Rui got stabbed, her heart felt like when she first learned about her mom and Baobao’s illness — in an instant, it was as if the sky had collapsed, and the world turned bleak and suffocating!
The man buried against her trembled slightly, and the hands around her waist tightened.
Le Tong thought he would ask her to confirm something, but he merely stayed quietly in her embrace, even keeping his hands around her waist rather obediently.
At this moment, Ji Rui’s mind was in turmoil, yet he forcibly suppressed the urgent desire to seek confirmation from her.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to demand too much; rather, after all the excessive things he had done to her, the fact she still placed him on the same importance level as Baobao made him feel guilty.
The saying goes, "No gain without pain," and he feared that by pressing her, she would realize the depth of her feelings for him and recognize that all along, she had been quietly giving to him, yet he, Ji Rui, had hurt her time and again.
Therefore, he wanted to wait until he treated her well enough and the sense of guilt in his heart had somewhat faded before confirming things with her. By then, no matter how much she said she liked or loved him, he could accept it without any guilt!
Because by that time, he would already be able to reciprocate that affection and love.
The two of them tacitly did not speak further, just quietly holding each other like that, until the sound of footsteps came from outside the door, prompting Ji Rui to release his hold.
He was not afraid of their son witnessing their intimate situation; he only feared she would be shy, and if their dear son happened to tease them, she might shrink back into her shell like a snail, and then he really wouldn’t know who to cry to.
Although he vaguely felt she wouldn’t be so delicate, they had finally broken the impasse and reached this stage in their relationship, so he dared not recklessly test her limits.
"Daddy Mommy, Baobao is hungry..."
The door was pushed open with a bang, and Baobao stood at the doorway, holding onto the doorknob, looking pitifully at his parents inside the bedroom.
Le Tong didn’t hesitate at all, turning around to walk straight to Baobao, ruffling his hair. "Mommy made porridge. What else does Baobao want to eat? Mommy will cook it now."
Ji Rui, who was mercilessly left behind, surprisingly didn’t feel jealous this time. Meanwhile, Baobao tilted his head and looked at Ji Rui, "Daddy, what do you want to eat?"
In Baobao’s eyes, Daddy was the patient, so he had the right to be cared for first.
"I’ve already eaten. Whatever Baobao wants to eat, let your Mommy cook it for you."
Being obediently led away by Le Tong, Ji Rui sat on the bed and gently stared at the backs of the two, filled with warmth and affection.
For a split second, he even had the illusion that the sight of the slender woman pulling the bouncing child was the most beautiful and precious painting in the world.
At least, in his mind, this was the most beautiful and precious painting!
Le Tong and Baobao went to the kitchen together, but Ji Rui in the bedroom didn’t just sit idly either. He first video-called Yang Sheng, who was still in Beijing, for a quick ten-minute chat, and then he activated the projector for a brief meeting with several Ji Family executives to arrange work for the coming days.
Finally, he chatted for a few minutes in English with a blue-eyed and blonde-haired man before finishing up important matters by the time Le Tong brought the doctor in, leaning against the bed reading his emails.
The doctor who came to check on him was none other than Doctor Fan, the one who had operated on him.
Doctor Fan, who had been opposed to him being discharged, finally had some semblance of a smile after his examination.
"Mr. Ji, your wound is healing better than I expected. It seems that Mrs. Ji truly knows how to take care of you better than our hospital nurses!"
Doctor Fan’s words easily made Le Tong blush.
Ji Rui’s smiling eyes swept over Le Tong seemingly inadvertently, yet in reality, he caught her every expression and movement in his eyes. For some reason, every time he saw her blush because of him, it made him particularly happy.
Doctor Fan didn’t notice the ambiguous atmosphere between them and simply dutifully explained a bunch of precautions, then prescribed some dietary and topical medications.
After seeing Doctor Fan off, Le Tong returned to the bedroom to find Ji Rui sitting against the bed, focused on the computer, while Baobao cozily nestled beside him reading a fairy tale book.
"Ji Rui, since you’re not in any serious trouble, I’ll head back to work at the office. I’ll return to make lunch."
With Ji Rui, the CEO, not there, and Yang Sheng, the special assistant, also absent, if even she, the CEO’s secretary, wasn’t present, the company staff wouldn’t even know who to turn to if something came up.
Since the company wasn’t far from here, a round trip wouldn’t take much time.
Ji Rui thought for a moment, surprisingly refraining from objections.
"Hmm, it’s good for you to go back and have a look. Come back for lunch, and whatever you and Baobao want to eat, I’ll have Xiao Li buy it, so you don’t need to rush back to cook."
Seeing that Le Tong had been considerably tired these past few days, Ji Rui was heartbroken, wanting her to stay home and rest well. However, he understood she was a worrier; even if he asked her not to go to the company, she wouldn’t listen.