Chapter 7

After confirming that Pei Manman was fine, Ling Yue’s tense mood finally relaxed.

The child had been in the hospital just one day after arriving home. If this got out, everyone would think that she hadn’t taken good care of him.

Although that was the truth.

It was her carelessness and assumptions.

She felt sorry for the child and thought he was cute when he was eating, so she let him eat so much.

She even thought that others hadn’t taken good care of Pei Manman and had raised him so poorly, but she wasn’t much better.

Luckily, this time the problem wasn’t serious, otherwise, if people wanted to make a fuss about it, come to her door to make a scene and demand compensation, she wouldn’t have the confidence to deal with it.

Ling Yue regretted and blamed herself.

Anyway, she couldn’t let the little guy eat indiscriminately after going back. She should create a healthy and nutritious diet for him.

Seeing Ling Yue’s worried look, the relief that Lu Shiqi had felt in his heart turned into displeasure again.

Although Pei Manman looked quite miserable when he was sick, he just didn’t like Ling Yue paying too much attention to other children.

Lu Shiqi’s poisonous little mouth, as if it had been dipped in poison, said, “It’s okay, Mom, kids like him are tough. What’s wrong with him getting sick once? He’ll recover soon.”

Although Pei Manman wasn’t tough at all.

The little guy was thin, maybe he had lived a rough life, but he didn’t have much flesh on his body at all.

Hearing him say this, Ling Yue felt even more helpless.

She knew that Lu Shiqi was trying to comfort her, but his words were too harsh and lacked sympathy.

As if to further prove that she hadn’t taken good care of Pei Manman, Lu Shiqi’s way of comforting her also made her feel like she had failed in her education.

But she couldn’t be discouraged.

Wasn’t she aware that her educational methods for Lu Shiqi were problematic, and she wanted to use this opportunity to correct and rectify them?

Tonight’s incident happened suddenly, and all the attention was on Pei Manman. Ling Yue hadn’t asked Lu Shiqi why he had appeared in Pei Manman’s room.

Now, after thinking about it for a moment, she said, “Speaking of which, you were able to discover it in time tonight. Otherwise, your brother’s condition would have been even worse.”

Lu Shiqi pouted.

What brother, why did she keep calling him her brother.

He didn’t need a brother like that.

Lu Shiqi was about to protest against this statement, but Ling Yue spoke first. “Although you’ve been complaining about him all day, you actually care about him quite a bit, and you even went to check on him.”

“Mom knows, you are a good child who knows how to care for others.”

“…”

Successfully silencing Lu Shiqi.

He had just said something unpleasant, and then this big hat was put on him. He couldn’t bear it, as his intentions were completely the opposite.

But he also liked Ling Yue’s attention and praise. Lu Shiqi opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn’t explain, he just hummed, “…Who cares about him? I was afraid he would do something bad, so I went to check on him.”

It wasn’t a lie.

It was almost the same meaning.

Ling Yue quickly followed up, “Don’t be embarrassed, Mom knows in her heart that you just need some time to accept him, you don’t really hate your brother.”

“…”

“You really helped Mom a lot tonight. If you hadn’t discovered it in time, who knows what would have happened. Mom is very grateful to you.”

Lu Shiqi might have a bad temper, but he wasn’t difficult to coax in front of his parents.

Now that Pei Manman was down, he finally had some time to spend alone with Ling Yue. Hearing her comfort and praise, most of his bad mood from the day disappeared.

He was just a child after all.

He just needed to be coaxed by adults.

Lu Shiqi awkwardly pretended to be cool, “…Forget it, what’s the point of thanking me? It’s my duty.”

Ling Yue couldn’t help but chuckle.

Lu Shiqi also had some inexplicable cuteness about him.

“This is not your duty,” Ling Yue said. “You don’t want Mom to bring him home, but you still helped Mom. Mom didn’t know you had become so reliable.”

Instinct was already telling Lu Shiqi that this might be a sugar-coated bullet, and there would definitely be something fishy behind it. He should wake up and look at it rationally.

But being praised by Ling Yue, his mood floated into the air, and he couldn’t come down for a while.

“Just so happens Mom has something she wants to ask you to do, are you willing to help Mom?”

It turned out that there was indeed something waiting for him.

Lu Shiqi calmed down a little, and didn’t agree impulsively because of his emotions, “What is it? Tell me first.”

What a good “tell me first.”

Ling Yue was helpless again. This kid was really not easy to fool.

“This is something only you can do, and only you can help Mom.”

Ling Yue didn’t beat around the bush anymore, but giving more praise was always right.

“Are you willing to help Mom take care of your brother?”

“…”

Now Lu Shiqi completely calmed down.

“Maybe something like this will happen again in the future. When Mom is careless, can you help take care of your brother?”

Lu Shiqi didn’t hesitate, “Then send him back.”

“…”

That was a very straightforward and effective solution.

Once and for all, forever.

Ling Yue felt like she had been folded in half, and she had to pause for a moment.

After unfolding herself, she said, “Mom said before that she would send him back after filming, but is it really not possible during this period?”

Lu Shiqi remained unmoved, “I don’t want to.”

But this reaction was expected.

Ling Yue thought for a moment, and sighed deliberately, “But if something like this happens again… what if our luck is bad and it gets on the news, people will say that I’m abusing children.”

“…”

“It’ll be hard to explain then. Does Mom not care about being misunderstood like that?”

Ling Yue also knew that using this method to pressure Lu Shiqi wasn’t very decent, but if she wanted to say something most effective, this was definitely it.

Lu Shiqi was indeed starting to waver.

His face was still full of displeasure, but he no longer firmly resisted as he had before.

“Just until the filming is finished, at most a few months, is it really not possible?”

Ling Yue looked at him, “You’re also looking forward to this movie, right?”

“…”

“But look at Manman now, he’s so thin and small. If he’s still like this when filming, people will definitely think that Mom hasn’t taken good care of him.”

“Then the media will write about me putting on a show, that I’m not genuinely good to the child, but just using him for marketing.”

“…”

“So, you’re doing it for Mom, right? Is it still not possible?”

If it was for Pei Manman, then definitely not. Lu Shiqi would rather pack the little green tea up and send him back to wherever he came from.

But if it was for Ling Yue, things were different.

Lu Shiqi fell into a long period of conflicting thoughts, and finally succumbed to the cunning adults.

Lu Shiqi said, “Okay, if that’s the case, then I can help take care of…”

Ling Yue knew this would work.

She tried hard to control her facial expressions, not letting her joy show too obviously.

Because Lu Shiqi continued, “But I have conditions. I’m not helping take care of him for free.”

Ling Yue could accept that, “Okay, what are your conditions? Tell me.”

Lu Shiqi hadn’t actually thought about any conditions, because in his original plan, he wouldn’t possibly take care of this little green tea.

But his father had taught him that giving must be rewarded.

Free is the cheapest, the least valuable, and the least cherished.

He didn’t want his efforts to be without any ripples.

After all, he had so much reluctance in his heart about taking care of this little green tea.

Lu Shiqi said, “I haven’t figured out exactly what I want yet, but I won’t ask for anything beyond your capabilities. If you can agree to me first, then I can agree to you now.”

“…”

This kid was really hard to deal with.

Ling Yue wanted to use this trick on him but didn’t succeed, and then this kid turned around and used it on her.

“Okay, I promise you.”

But it was good that Lu Shiqi agreed first.

Anyway, in terms of taking care of Pei Manman, Lu Shiqi had to be involved, so that he could change his opinion of Pei Manman and further achieve her initial goal.

Ling Yue said, “You help Mom take care of Manman, and then no matter what you want, as long as it’s within Mom’s capabilities, Mom will give it to you.”

…

Pei Manman slept a heavy but uncomfortable sleep.

On the way to the hospital, when the doctor diagnosed him and gave him an injection, he was actually awake.

It was just that he was uncomfortable and tired, his head was groggy, so he wasn’t so clear-headed.

Later, after the injection, the medicine gradually took effect, and his body felt a little better.

When he was sleeping in the hospital bed, Ling Yue was always within his line of sight, which gave him a sense of reassurance, and he finally fell asleep peacefully.

But he didn’t know when he finished the injection or when he went back.

He only knew that when he woke up, his whole body was dry, his mouth was dry and parched, and his mouth was full of bitterness.

The sunlight outside the room streamed in through the gaps in the curtains.

Unlike the gloomy and dim yesterday, today was a sunny day with bright sunshine.

Pei Manman turned over in bed. Because the bed he was sleeping on was so big and comfortable, it still felt unreal.

He recalled yesterday’s experience again to confirm that he wasn’t dreaming.

Then, his heart filled with panic.

For a child who wasn’t cared for, getting sick was like a sin.

Although the discomfort and discomfort were on him, it would cause a lot of trouble for adults, and it would cost extra money, which was definitely a bad thing that would make people disgusted and annoyed.

…Would Ling Yue hate him too?

Would she think he was a nuisance and send him back today?

Pei Manman buried his head under the pillow, his heart filled with self-loathing.

Why did he have to get sick.

He had finally met such a kind aunt, lived in such a beautiful house, and eaten such delicious strawberry cream cake… Why did he keep causing trouble for her, why did he have to make her hate him?

He hated, hated, hated.

He hated himself so much.

The little cub was caught in a complex and messy mess of emotions, and he didn’t hear the door to the room open and someone walk in.

Until Lu Shiqi’s voice sounded beside the bed, “Are you awake? What are you doing hiding under the pillow?”

Pei Manman was startled.

He remembered Lu Shiqi’s voice, and quickly pulled his head out, blinking his already slightly red eyes, looking at Lu Shiqi innocently, helplessly, and with a mix of fear and timidity.

And when he met those eyes, Lu Shiqi paused, almost forgetting what he had come in to do.

Luckily, he came back to his senses in time.

Even though his expression was still a bit stinky, his tone was inexplicably softer.

“…Are you still uncomfortable anywhere? Why are you hiding and crying?”