novelraw Chapter 482 - 481: No Need to Worry
Chapter 482 - 481: No Need to Worry
Initially, Le Tong just thought of dropping Baobao off at the mansion and leaving. Later, reluctantly entering the door at the housekeeper’s invitation, she sat down thinking she would find a random excuse to leave after a while.But she sat and sat, and before she knew it, it was lunchtime, and Le Tong was still in the mansion.
The reason?
After looking through the photo album, Mr. Ji had Baobao lead Le Tong to visit the little guy’s private domain, and after touring the little guy’s bedroom and living room, Mr. Ji then had Baobao take Le Tong for a walk in the garden.
The Ji Family’s garden was even larger than Le Tong imagined, and the mother and child held hands as they wandered around the garden. When they returned to the mansion, several servants were busy taking plate after plate of fragrant dishes to the dining table in the dining room.
"Baobao, go wash your hands before coming to eat."
Mr. Ji, sitting in the wheelchair, upon seeing the mother and child enter, immediately instructed Baobao to wash his hands.
Le Tong, still standing at the entrance, hesitated, then heard Mr. Ji say to her, "Le Tong, stay and have a simple meal with us."
Le Tong hesitated for a moment, faced Mr. Ji’s expectant expression, and nodded.
"Okay!"
Mr. Ji called Baobao to wash his hands, and the first thing the little guy did upon entering the room was to push Mr. Ji, seated in the wheelchair, into the dining room before running back to drag Le Tong to the bathroom to wash their hands.
Even though Le Tong was a guest, she felt embarrassed to just sit and wait to eat, so after washing her hands, she wanted to go to the kitchen to help bring the dishes out.
Housekeeper Li wouldn’t dare trouble the future young mistress with such work.
"Miss Le, please sit. It’s not necessary for you to do these things; you can chat with the master and young master."
"Le Tong, take a seat; you must be quite tired after the tour," Mr. Ji, sitting at the table, also chimed in, supporting Housekeeper Li’s words.
Le Tong had no choice but to sit back down and wait obediently for the meal. At the dining table, there were only her, Baobao, and Mr. Ji, while the other owner of the house, Old Madam Ji, had still yet to make an appearance.
Le Tong couldn’t help but find it odd. Earlier, when she didn’t see Old Madam Ji, she thought it might be because the latter wasn’t accustomed to staying in the living room, and given the size of the Ji Family, it wouldn’t be unusual for people upstairs to be unaware of guests.
However, not showing up even during lunchtime was somewhat peculiar.
Yet these thoughts just swirled in Le Tong’s mind; she didn’t voice them.
Soon, Baobao provided her with the answer.
"Grandpa, where is grandma?"
Baobao was still young and had been staying around Ji Rui Letong all this time. He knew nothing of what happened at the mansion.
Mr. Ji’s expression changed slightly. He quickly managed a smile and patted Baobao’s head, "Grandma has gone traveling."
With just this simple remark, he lowered his head to drink soup.
Baobao was clever, noting that grandpa wasn’t willing to discuss grandma, so he didn’t press further and instead said, "Grandpa, when your leg gets better, how about we all go traveling together?"
The little guy’s concept of "the family" included not just himself, Mr. Ji, and Ji Rui, but naturally Le Tong as well.
Mr. Ji glanced at Le Tong, seeing her face still composed without showing displeasure, and nodded, "Alright, once grandpa’s leg heals, we’ll all go to the seaside for some fun."
Mr. Ji’s explanation might barely deceive Baobao, but Le Tong was not convinced.
As for Mr. Ji’s injury, specifically, Ji Rui hadn’t elaborated to Le Tong, but he had implied that Mr. Ji’s injury was caused by Old Madam Ji.
Le Tong thought over this matter in connection with Ji Rui’s injury and speculated that Mr. Ji and Old Madam Ji were currently in a cold war.
Of course, Le Tong only kept these guesses to herself and never mentioned them aloud.
Though feeling somewhat schadenfreude, she was secretly glad not to face Old Madam Ji’s hypocritical demeanor.
Mr. Ji intended for Baobao and Le Tong to stay until after dinner before leaving, but he was injured, and after lunch, he was rather tired and yawning continuously, thus being forcibly ushered back to his room for rest by Baobao and Housekeeper Li.
Le Tong’s intention was for Baobao to come back and keep the old man company, but now that he was resting, she felt there was no need to stay longer. Once Housekeeper Li finished attending to Mr. Ji and returned to the living room, Le Tong took Baobao and prepared to take their leave.
Housekeeper Li tried vigorously to persuade them to stay a while longer, but ultimately, Le Tong still ended up leading Baobao out.
In the evening, Ji Rui called back, inquiring about where Le Tong went today, and she answered truthfully.
"I went with Baobao back to the mansion."
Le Tong spoke very casually, while on the other side of the phone, the man far away in Y Country’s hand slightly trembled holding the receiver.
"They didn’t give you a hard time, did they?"
When Ji Rui referred to "they," he naturally meant Mr. Ji and Old Madam Ji.
Ji Rui was very familiar with their nature.
"No, you’re overthinking! Your dad..." Le Tong paused, trying to organize her words to narrate Mr. Ji’s actions today.
"What did he do to you?" The voice on the other end of the phone, Ji Rui, suddenly raised several decibels. "No matter what he says, just ignore him, treat it as nonsense. His desire to see Baobao is his business; you’re Baobao’s mother and have the right to decide whether or not he sees him."
Clearly, Ji Rui quickly assumed that Mr. Ji took advantage of his absence to say or do a bunch of excessive or sarcastic things to Le Tong.
"No, Ji Rui, you misunderstood. He didn’t say anything; he just showed me the album with you and Baobao. We came back after lunch."
"Is it really just like that? You’re not lying to me?"
The man on the other end of the line didn’t quite believe Le Tong’s words.
Le Tong rolled her eyes while holding the receiver, although he couldn’t see this at all.
"Why would I lie to you? If I were really bullied by him, would I still say good things about him? Do you think I’m that saintly?"
"It’s good there wasn’t." Ji Rui, who had been dealing with people incessantly in Y Country, finally returned to the hotel. As he stood at the hotel window, he thought although Le Tong was kind and forgiving, she certainly wasn’t a pushover who would let anyone walk over her, and his worry seemed somewhat excessive.
"Ji Rui, rest assured, I’m keeping an eye on things here. Even if you don’t trust me, isn’t Brother Li still around? Besides, your precious son isn’t exactly a pushover either; he wouldn’t stand by and watch his mommy be bullied."
Le Tong knew that Ji Rui’s trip to Y Country required accomplishing many tasks which were quite challenging, and she felt it was best not to trouble him with matters here.
"True, Baobao, though small, is surprisingly perceptive."
Although now Baobao often presented himself in an adorable and well-behaved manner, his innate shrewdness and calculation could never be completely erased.
Nevertheless, in front of family, he kept all that cleverness and scheming to himself.