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Chapter 36: Forgiveness (1)
Huo Suicheng hadn’t moved yet when Old Master Huo stood up first and took the feather duster from Aunt Zhao’s hand. He glared at Huo Suicheng and scolded, “You dare beat her when I am around? You dare to touch her? I haven’t beaten you since you were a kid. Do you want to give it a try now?”
Aunt Zhao also realized Huo Suicheng’s intentions. She frowned in displeasure. “Master. She’s just an ignorant child. Just teach her patiently; how could you hit her?”
Yi Qian also vigilantly stared at Huo Suicheng. Although he didn’t say a word, he used his eyes and body movements to say ‘you can’t beat her’!
A room full of people taking her side made Huo Xiaoxiao’s courage swell, and she said, “Yes, yes!”
All this was done for his own good. Yet, she got nothing in return for being kind, even getting beaten up.
He would thank her later!
Huo Suicheng almost laughed out loud in anger at Huo Xiaoxiao’s small face, looking like a clever little devil.
That was right. With so many people protecting her, she had nothing to fear.
Therefore, under everyone’s eyes, he gave Huo Xiaoxiao a stare, but it had no deterrent effect on her.
“If you touch Daddy’s things next time, no matter who protects you, it will be useless.”
Done speaking, he picked up the stack of papers that Old Master Huo threw down on the coffee table and went upstairs.
“Don’t be afraid; your father is only angry. If he really dares to hit you, you come to Grandpa and see if Grandpa doesn’t beat him!”
Old Master Huo handed the feather duster to Auntie Zhao.
For the rest of her life, Huo Xiaoxiao felt terrified whenever she saw the feather duster. “Auntie, hurry up! Burn all the feather dusters!”
Auntie Zhao couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure, sure, sure, I will burn it now.”
Huo Xiaoxiao was relieved that this matter was finally and perfectly cleared up.
Although it was a pity that she couldn’t find the letter of guarantee that her dad forced her to sign, in the end, she didn’t get beaten. Her dad’s project fell through, and the Huo family wouldn’t be facing a bankruptcy crisis for the time being.
“Okay, let’s leave this now. But Xiaoxiao, you are not allowed to climb on Daddy’s desk anymore. It’s so high; what if you fall?”
Huo Xiaoxiao nodded.
“Also, you are not allowed to touch your Daddy’s things, understand?”
Huo Xiaoxiao nodded again.
“It’s late already. Go to bed now. At night, you will sleep in the same room as Yi Qian. You are not allowed to whisper and stay up too late.”
“Huh?” Huo Xiaoxiao turned to look at Yi Qian. “Sleep with him? Isn’t there another room?”
They indeed had guest rooms, but for such a small kid, the bed there wasn’t equipped with a safety bed crib like in the children’s room, so it was not safe to sleep.
Only Xiaoxiao’s room had a bed crib, and it was enough for two children to sleep.
“Xiaoxiao is not willing?”
A boy and a girl alone at night
 it didn’t count, though.
Although their gender was different, for just a three- or four-year-old child, it wasn’t anything to be upset about.
“If you don’t want to, you can sleep with Daddy.”
Huo Xiaoxiao shook her head quickly. “I didn’t say that I don’t want to. I’ll sleep in the same room with Yi Qian. Do you agree with me, Yi Qian?”
Yi Qian blushed slightly. “Yes.”
“Good night, Grandpa. Yi Qian and I will go upstairs first.”
“Go, go, remember to get up early tomorrow.”
Huo Xiao Xiao was puzzled. “Why get up early?”
Old Master Huo seemed to have just remembered and smiled. “Grandpa almost forgot. Your father said that he would take you two out to play.”
“Tomorrow? Go out to play? Daddy?” Huo Xiaoxiao frowned. “Then
 will Daddy still take us to play tomorrow?”
Old Master Huo had also forgotten about the incident just now and smiled awkwardly. “It doesn’t matter. There will be many more chances to go in the future.”
“Grandpa
”
————
________
Nine o’clock in the evening.
On the second floor, a lamp was lit on the study table.
Huo Suicheng sat behind the desk in his study, his back facing a floor-to-ceiling window. The darkness in the corner perfectly blended with the night outside.
He had been sitting there for almost an hour while staring at the dirty documents in front of him. He tiredly rubbed his eyebrows.
The Luming Mountain project had been postponed repeatedly, and several other key development plans had also been delayed due to various reasons. He was under a lot of pressure lately.
Australia and New Zealand projects

Huo Suicheng’s expression was grave. He clearly understood the risks in this project, knowing that there was no investment with absolute safety. All that mattered was boldness and insight. This project might be risky, but he didn’t think it would be as bad as Old Master Huo said.
He opened the other drawer and prepared to put this contract inside. The letter of guarantee with Huo Xiaoxiao’s fingerprint was also in it.
The palm print on the letter was so smaller than his.
Thinking of Huo Xiaoxiao’s clever devil performance tonight, Huo Suicheng’s face was gloomy.
Sometimes, he really wondered if the child was an adult. She clearly didn’t know how to read and write, yet she always cared about this letter of guarantee.
At this moment, the door handle was suddenly pressed down. The sound was particularly clear in the quiet night.
Huo Suicheng got up and walked to the door, which quietly opened. There was a rustling movement outside, followed by a deliberately lowered childish voice.
“Yi Qian, be quiet. Don’t get caught.”
“Why are we here?”
“Help me see if Daddy is still angry,” Huo Xiaoxiao whispered. “We must coax him. So troublesome.”
From the door’s gap, a shadow poked his head inside.
“I didn’t see Uncle Huo.”
“How is it possible? Take a good look again.”
“Um
 I took a closer look and didn’t see him.”
“So stupid. Get out of the way. I’ll do it myself.”
The gap widened, and a fidgety little head peeked in.
Huo Xiaoxiao looked up.
Huo Suicheng tilted his head and looked at her.
The four eyes meet each other.
Huo Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened while her pupils shrunk slightly, as if she had seen a ghost. She retreated a few steps. Before Yi Qian came back to his senses, Huo Xiaoxiao dragged his collar and ran away.
Yi Qian couldn’t react in time, being carried away by his collar. While he ran, his left foot tripped, and he fell to the ground.
Huo Xiaoxiao busily pulled him up. “Run. Be quick!”
As Huo Suicheng gazed at the duo’s rushing backs, the negative emotions in his heart disappeared at once.
For some reason, Huo Xiaoxiao’s words flashed in his mind.
“Daddy, you have to work hard to make lots of money. You must not do something bad; otherwise, Xiaoxiao will have a miserable life without anyone to support me in the future.”
If a spoiled child grew up to be arrogant and domineering, wouldn’t she be miserable if she had no one to support her?
He couldn’t imagine what Xiaoxiao would look like when she grew up. However, his brows furrowed again at the thought of her being bullied someday in someplace he didn’t know.
Even ordinary people couldn’t get along well with her.
People who could bully her would probably bully her terribly.
He didn’t want to listen to this kid crying and grieving in the future.
That was too annoying.
After thinking thrice, he returned to the desk and put the letter of guarantee back in the drawer.
The document that had been spoiled by Huo Xiaoxiao lay quietly on the table. Huo Suicheng was silent for a moment before he gritted his teeth and threw it into the trash.
Forget it. The children were here to collect debts anyway.
At the same time, Huo Xiaoxiao, who had run back to the room with Yi Qian, closed the door and patted her chest with lingering fear.
“Scared to death, almost scared to death.”
Yi Qian looked at her while panting. “Why are we running?”
Huo Xiaoxiao said bitterly, “Didn’t you say you didn’t see Daddy? He was clearly behind the door!”
“Ah, I didn’t see him. So, what are we going to do now?”
Huo Xiaoxiao seriously pondered on the question. Judging from her performance today, her father would definitely not take her out tomorrow.
But it had been a long time since she last went out to play.
Even an adult, not to mention a child, could not resist this kind of ‘imprisonment’.
No, she had to think of a way.
Aunt Zhao carried two bottles of milk to the third floor and bumped into Huo Suicheng in the corridor.
“Mr. Huo.”
Huo Suicheng glanced at the two bottles of milk in her hand.
“This is for Xiaoxiao and Yi Qian. The children have a fast metabolism, so they are hungry again.”
“Give it to me. I’ll bring it over.”
Aunt Zhao handed him the milk.
Huo Sui Cheng then took the bottles of milk and entered Huo Xiao Xiao’s room. He immediately noticed the lump in the bed’s corner.
It was so late, but the two kids didn’t sleep and hid under the blankets. Even when Huo Suicheng entered the door, no movement was heard.
Huo Suicheng quietly stood by the bed for a while, watching the bulging and swollen blanket. He then stretched out his hand to open the blanket.
When the blanket was removed, the two children were stunned for a moment as they looked back at Huo Sui Cheng.
Huo Xiaoxiao was taken aback. After the two waves of feather duster warnings during dinner, she was really nervous.
Her dad wouldn’t hold a grudge and come to hit her now, right?
“Daddy?”
“Uncle Huo?”
Huo Suicheng passed the milk over.
Huo Xiaoxiao glanced at the bottles of milk in Huo Suicheng’s hand. She reluctantly crawled over, picked up a bottle, and crawled back. She then gave it to Yi Qian, and the two children sat on the bed drinking the milk.
The father and daughter stood and sat without talking. Only the sound of gurgling and pacifiers could be heard in the room.
Even when Huo Xiaoxiao finished drinking the milk and passed the empty bottle over, the two still didn’t talk.
Huo Suicheng took the empty bottles and left the room without a word.
Huo Xiaoxiao and Yi Qian stared at each other.
“Uncle Huo must still be angry.”
“
Don’t jinx it.”
The jinx kept saying, “He doesn’t speak, so he must be angry. He won’t take us out to play tomorrow.”
“Okay, shut up.”
Huo Xiaoxiao sighed helplessly while lying on the bed.
Her dad was so temperamental. He actually gave a silent treatment to his own child.
He certainly wouldn’t take her out to play.
Forget it.
What was the big deal if she didn’t go out to play?
Just wait another two years, and she would go out by herself.
The door of the room was pushed open again.
Huo Suicheng came in with two cakes.
“Cake!” Huo Xiaoxiao got up in high spirits. “Is it for us?”
“Come here.”
Huo Xiaoxiao and Yi Qian hurriedly got out of bed and took the cake from Huo Suicheng.
“After eating, brush your teeth and go to bed.”
Huo Xiaoxiao held the fork in her hand and asked cautiously, “Daddy, are you still angry?”
“What do you think?”
“Then, how could you not be angry?”
After thinking about it, Huo Xiaoxiao scooped a large piece of cake and tiptoed to feed him.
Huo Suicheng knelt down and took a bite of the cake that Huo Xiaoxiao handed over.
The fluffy cake and sweet cream melted in his mouth, even sweeter than the cake he had after dinner.
Huo Xiaoxiao looked at him expectantly. Countless lights blended into her eyes, like bright stars falling in the dark and clear night sky.
“I didn’t mean it. I won’t touch Daddy’s things anymore. Will Daddy forgive me? Well
 as long as Daddy can forgive me, Daddy can do anything.”
“Anything?”
Huo Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth and nodded.
For the sake of her family’s laughter and happiness, she would sacrifice a little.
Huo Suicheng suddenly laughed at her solemn expression and lightly patted her. “Okay, Daddy forgives you.”
Huo Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then, will you take Yi Qian and me out to play tomorrow?”
“Where do you want to go?”
Huo Xiao Xiao glanced at Yi Qian. “Where do you want to go?”
Huo Suicheng also looked over.
“Xiaoxiao, where do you want to go?”
Huo Suicheng retracted his gaze.
Huo Xiaoxiao carefully pondered on the topic.
There were limited places where children could go, and she didn’t really want to go to playgrounds. However, with her dad accompanying her, it was different.
“Underwater world!”
“Sure. Go to bed after eating. I’ll take both of you to the underwater world tomorrow morning.”
Huo Xiaoxiao cheered, “Thank you, Daddy!”
Her dad was pretty easy to persuade, agreeing with just a piece of cake.
After eating the cake and brushing their teeth, the two children went to bed.
It was late at night, and a silhouette crept into the quiet room.
On the bed, Huo Xiaoxiao was sleeping on her back. The blanket half-covered her body, with the rest under her back. She had a Rubik’s cube in her hand.
Before going to bed, as she was teaching Yi Qian how to play Rubik’s cube, the two children became drowsy and fell asleep due to exhaustion.
Huo Suicheng glanced at Yi Qian sleeping in the corner and covered him with some blankets. He then bent down, picked up Huo Xiao Xiao, and hugged her back to his room.
At this moment, the phone screen suddenly lit up. Seeing that the caller was from Yi Yang, Huo Suicheng walked to the balcony outside to answer the call.
“I heard that Yi Qian is staying at your house. Did he cause you any trouble?”
“When are you coming back?”
The voice on the phone turned quiet for a while. “
I have been busy recently, so it might take some time. What’s wrong?”
“Come back early. Your son misses his father.”