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Chapter 33: Sleepover (1)
“Dear Daddy, I, Huo Xiaoxiao, promise that I will not fall in love before I am twenty-five. If there is any violation, then I request Daddy to break my leg. Guarantor, Huo Suicheng.”
Looking at her father’s natural and unforced expression as he read the guarantee, Huo Xiaoxiao couldn’t believe her eyes.
Ah, why!
Why had it come to this!?
She was so mad that her whole body felt uncomfortable.
Obviously, last night, she and her dad were lying on the bed very comfortably. She even nestled in her dad’s arms, listening to her dad telling her stories and the philosophies of life.
Then why?! Why was he forcing her to sign a guarantee of not falling in love!?
Request?
Request her dad to break her leg?
The word “request” was rather too much!
Wasn’t that simply requesting for herself to be abused?
Her graciousness is smaller than a fingernail.
Huo Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but struggle in Huo Suicheng’s arms. Unfortunately, she was too small and weak. Huo Suicheng grabbed both her hands and was about to press her fingerprints on that unreliable guarantee written by him.
Her dad was single and didn’t have her until he was almost 30. It must be his revenge. He wanted her to be single like him for more than 20 years! That must be it!
Her dad really had such a vicious heart!
“No! I don’t!” Huo Xiaoxiao struggled desperately, unwilling to succumb to her dad’s tyrannical power with all her strength.
If her fingerprint was really pressed, was she supposed to choose between a boyfriend or a leg in the future?
Was this supposed to be some kind of a sick joke!?
Suddenly, Hui Suicheng had difficulty holding her, as she was struggling fiercely.
“Huo Xiaoxiao, wasn’t it you who didn’t want your dad to find a stepmother for you?”
Huo Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but admire her father.
Even at this time, he still dared to talk nonsense!
If he was not going to find her a stepmother, then write that on the guarantee!
What was he doing deceiving a two-year-old by forging a contract under the pretense of her well-being!?
Fortunately, she was not a baby; otherwise, she would have been fooled by him thoroughly!
“You… you press it yourself. I don’t want to!” Seeing that her fingers were caught and were about to be pressed on that cheap guarantee, Huo Xiaoxiao cried out in despair, “Grandpa! Grandpa! Grandpa!”
“You can shout all you want. Even if you break your throat, your grandpa still won’t hear you.”
Oh, no! She forgot that the study’s soundproofing was so good that even if the fireworks were lit inside, outsiders wouldn’t hear a thing.
“No, no… no, no, Daddy, please! I don’t want Daddy’s guarantee. Daddy should find… find a beautiful stepmother!”
‘You look for your girlfriend, and I’ll look for my little fresh meat (teen idol)[1]. We have nothing against each other!’
“No, Daddy promised you yesterday. Naturally, Daddy will keep his word.”
“No, no, no—Daddy!”
Huo Xiaoxiao’s screaming ceased abruptly, and the valiant struggle also instantly stopped.
Her palm was pressed.
A bright red palm print appeared on that cheap guarantee.
Huo Suicheng let go of Huo Xiaoxiao’s hand, looking extremely satisfied while staring at the small handprint and his fingerprint on the guarantee. After reading it carefully, he said to Huo Xiaoxiao, “Okay, Daddy has written the guarantee. Don’t worry, Daddy will strictly follow it and won’t find a stepmother for you.”
“…”
Huo Xiaoxiao didn’t want to see this hypocritical revengeful father of her ever again!
She came down from Huo Suicheng’s thigh with a stern face and walked to the door aggressively. But she turned back again and slapped angrily on the back of Huo Suicheng’s hand, covering it with the red ink that hadn’t dried yet.
Huo Suicheng took care of the guarantee, looked at Huo Xiaoxiao’s angry expression, and did not care for her childish behavior at all. He even took a tissue and smiled as he wiped the red ink on her palm. “Why are you unhappy when Daddy wrote you a guarantee?”
His words emphasized that she couldn’t read.
Huo Xiaoxiao really wanted to risk everything by speaking out the words on the guarantee in front of her father.
She wanted to tear his 30-year-old face!
Bullying his own kid, had he no shame?!
“Well, go tell Grandpa about it.”
“…” Huo Xiaoxiao became even angrier.
Why did she have such a father!?
Huo Xiaoxiao stomped away.
Five minutes later, an earth-shaking shriek and an odd cry came from downstairs.
“Grandpa-!”
Huo Suicheng raised his eyebrows and laughed helplessly.
“Daddy… he…” Huo Xiaoxiao spread out her hands, helpless.
“What happened? Don’t be anxious. Don’t be anxious. Speak slowly.”
“Daddy… Daddy, he just forced me… Daddy bullied me.” Huo Xiaoxiao didn’t know how to express to her grandfather that she was forced to sign the guarantee.
But Old master Huo obviously was well aware of the matter.
“Bullying you? How did he bully you?”
“He… He…”
Looking at Huo Xiaoxiao for a long time and not understanding anything, Old Master Huo laughed and coaxed her, “Okay, don’t worry, Xiaoxiao. Your father likes Xiaoxiao the most. He won’t bully Xiaoxiao, let alone when Grandpa is here. Grandpa scolded him just now. He would not dare to bully you.”
But he had really bullied her! He also asked her to sign a guarantee that won’t allow her to fall in love before the age of twenty-five!
But she couldn’t say that out loud!
Because she was just an illiterate now.
————
Huo Xiaoxiao was unhappy because of the guarantee.
And because her grandpa didn’t stand up for her even when she complained, Huo Xiaoxiao was very distressed.
Grandpa was not so easy to trick now.
It was all because of her father getting smarter, knowing how to settle her grandpa first before he came to deal with her!
Cheating behind her back! Truly abominable!
————–
“Huo Xiaoxiao, why are you unhappy?” Zhouzhou had been paying attention to Huo Xiaoxiao the entire day. Huo Xiaoxiao hadn’t smiled this whole time. He remembered that his mother would have such an expression when she was unhappy.
Huo Xiaoxiao shook her head. “I am happy.”
“You’re lying. You’re not happy.” Zhouzhou approached Huo Xiaoxiao’s ear and whispered, “I will bring you a chocolate bar tomorrow; it’s very delicious. You will certainly be happy after you eat it.”
Huo Xiaoxiao didn’t like chocolate very much, but she still nodded to gain some peace for a while. “Sure!”
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“Okay, I will bring you one tomorrow!”
The teacher clapped her hands in the middle of the classroom. “Children, pay attention: Tomorrow is Saturday, and the day after is Sunday. These two days will be holidays. So you’ll be at home, and you can accompany your father, mother, and grandparents. What’s more, you can also go out, but you must pay attention to your safety. You should not go to dangerous places, alright?”
“Okay!”
Huo Xiaoxiao regretfully said to Zhouzhou, “You can’t bring me chocolates tomorrow.”
“Then I… I’ll bring you chocolate on Monday.”
“Oh, alright.”
Because tomorrow was the weekend, the street in front of the kindergarten was full of luxury cars.
Old Master Huo had arrived late, so the car couldn’t stop at the gate. He parked on the road opposite the kindergarten.
When he received Huo Xiaoxiao, she was the only one left in Huo Xiaoxiao’s class.
“Did Xiaoxiao wait for a long time? Grandpa was late today. Grandpa will not be late next time.”
“I didn’t wait long. It was the parents of other children who came too early. Grandpa, next time Brother Xiaowu will pick me up. You don’t need to come here in person.”
“Feeling sorry for grandpa?”
Huo Xiaoxiao nodded. “I feel sorry for Grandpa and don’t want Grandpa to work too hard.”
Old Master Huo touched her little head. “Okay, next time, let your Brother Xiaowu come to pick you up. Where do you want to go tomorrow? Grandpa asked your Daddy to take you out.”
Speaking of Huo Suicheng, Huo Xiaoxiao’s mood immediately dampened. “No, I will stay with Grandpa at home.”
Old Master Huo smiled even more. “Okay, Grandpa will play with you at home.”
“Huo Xiaoxiao.”
As soon as she left the kindergarten’s gate, she heard someone calling her. Huo Xiaoxiao followed the voice and looked in its direction.
Not far from the roadside, Yi Qian was being led by an energetic elder. The duo came over.
Obviously, Old Master Huo knew the old man beside Yi Qian. He said, “Old Chen, how come you are here to pick up a child?”
The old man smiled and said, “Old Master is not in good health recently. Young Master’s father has gone abroad for work and Madam’s filming, so Old Master sent me to pick up Young Master.”
Old Master Huo turned his eyes to Yi Qian and stretched out his hand. “Is this Yi Qian? It’s been so many years. Feels like just yesterday when I held this little guy after he was born.”
Yi Qian obediently greeted him, “Hello, Grandpa.”
“Really clever.”
Old Chen smiled and said, “It’s been three or four years; how are you, sir? I never had a chance to visit.”
“Nothing much. Everything’s fine.”
Huo Xiaoxiao stood on one side and listened silently. When she heard Yi Qian’s father had gone abroad for work and his mother was out filming, something suddenly flashed in her mind.
She pulled Old Master Huo’s sleeve. “Grandpa.”
Old Master Huo lowered his head. “What’s the matter?”
“Is Yi Qian’s father not at home?”
“En, not at home.”
“Is his mother also not at home?”
“Yes, what’s the problem?”
“Tomorrow is the weekend. Since we are not going to kindergarten, I want to invite Yi Qian to play at our home. Anyway, his parents are not at home, and his grandpa also should rest properly. He is home alone, and it must be very boring.”
Old Master Huo smiled. “Do you want to invite Yi Qian to play at home?”
“Yes!”
“Then, you have to ask Yi Qian if he wants to come to our house.”
Huo Xiaoxiao looked at Yi Qian. “Yi Qian, I want to invite you to my house. Would you like to come?”
Yi Qian obviously didn’t expect Huo Xiaoxiao to invite him to her house. He actually wanted to go, but he couldn’t make the decision by himself.
“I want to, but I need to ask Grandpa first.”
Old Master Huo looked at Old Chen.
Old Chen smiled. “I can’t say anything, but since Young Master wants to go, I’ll call Old Master and ask.”
“Okay.”
“Please wait a minute.” After speaking, Old Chen turned around to make a call.
Yi Qian came over quietly. “Huo Xiaoxiao, have you finished the candy I gave you last time? I brought some more; do you want it?”
Huo Suicheng had ordered the candy bag to be hidden, so she didn’t eat any of them.
“I don’t want it. Children can’t eat too much sugar, or their teeth will be eaten by moths.”
“…Oh, then I’ll bring you something else next time. What do you like to eat?”
Huo Xiaoxiao thought for a moment. She couldn’t eat a lot of things she liked right now.
“Cheese sticks.”
“Okay, I will bring it to you next time.”
Listening to the conversation between the two children, Old Master Huo laughed out loud, “Yi Qian, I heard that when Xiaoxiao was bullied in the kindergarten, you protected Xiaoxiao? Grandpa hasn’t had time to thank you.”
“No thanks. Protecting Xiaoxiao is what I should do. Don’t worry, Grandpa. I will protect Xiaoxiao in the future and not let her be bullied by anyone.”
Old Chen had also come back after the phone call and said with a smile, “The old man has agreed. Tomorrow, I will bring Young Master to your mansion.”
The more Old Master Huo looked, the cuter he found Yi Qian to be. He grew fond of him. “ Why wait till tomorrow? He will go with me today. Don’t worry, I have everything, and I won’t wrong the child.”
“Old man, you are really…”
“Old Yi will agree with me.” After that, Old Master Huo held Xiaoxiao in one hand and Yi Qian in the other. “Come, come home with Grandpa.”
“Goodbye, Grandpa Chen.”
Old Chen had no choice but to wave his hand. “Goodbye.”
————
Tomorrow was the weekend. Huo Suicheng left work early, guessing that the child he bullied last night was probably still angry. He made a detour to a bakery and bought a cake to coax the child.
As soon as he entered the door of Huo’s Mansion, he heard silver bells of laughter coming from the living room.
The child’s emotions sure come and go quickly. How long had it been since she laughed so happily?
Huo Suicheng shook his head and chuckled, carrying the cake inside.
Peng—
Just as he had stepped into the living room, a car hit his shoe head-on.
A four-year-old boy ran over and picked up the car.
Huo Suicheng’s face turned from sunny to cloudy as he called out a name, “Yi Qian?”
Yi Qian looked up at Huo Suicheng and took a step back in fright by his black face. “Hello, Uncle Huo.”
“Why are you here?”
“I… I…” Yi Qian opened his mouth, feeling that Uncle Huo in front of him was even more terrifying than his father.
Was… he not welcomed?
Huo Xiaoxiao ran over with her short legs, a sweet smile adorning her face. She took Yi Qian’s hand and said, “Daddy, let me introduce you to Yi Qian. He has lived in our house these past two days and played with me!”
Huo Suicheng’s brows furrowed, looking like he was not very welcoming to little kids.
“Did Daddy buy this cake for me?” Huo Xiaoxiao sounded surprised as she held onto the cake box and said to Yi Qian, “Yi Qian, my Daddy bought us a cake!”
Huo Suicheng looked at the happy expression on the children’s faces in front of him. He grabbed the cake from Huo Xiaoxiao and said solemnly, “Children shouldn’t eat too many sweets. After dinner, Daddy will see how you behave before giving you a bite. “