Chapter 18: Embracing the Child

◎ So obedient that it makes her heart ache. ◎

Worried that the child might not be able to clearly hear what she was saying, Xue Huiyu tried to calm her restless heart and slowed her speech as she explained, “Isn’t it strange that even though this is our first time meeting, I already know what you like?”

“In fact, not only do I know what you like, but I also know you hate bugs. The other day, you got bitten by three big mosquitoes on your calf and you scratched at it all afternoon…”

Xue Huiyu pointed to the place on Pei Yuqi’s calf where he had hidden under the blanket, using her finger to show exactly where the mosquito bites were.

“And I also know that you wake up every day at 8:30 in the morning, play with blocks after breakfast, start reading fairy tales after your nap, and you always go to bed on time at 8 o’clock in the evening. The fairy tale you listened to the night before last was The Little Mermaid…”

Xue Huiyu knew that she couldn’t reveal her identity yet and would have to wait until the child recognized her. But she hadn’t said that she couldn’t give examples!

Although she had been married to Pei Wenyu for over a year, she didn’t know much about him. As for Pei Wenyu, she had disappeared for three and a half years, so if someone suddenly approached him, especially someone as calculating as him, he would most likely treat her as a spy with ulterior motives and wouldn’t waste time listening to her talk.

But the child was different. He stayed at home all the time, and the only people he came into contact with were his father and Zheng Huiwen! Apart from that, it was only her, the ghost mother who appeared three days ago!

They had been living together for three whole days, and if she made it this obvious, maybe the child would guess who she was right away!

“I also know that the bad aunt who takes care of you has been putting medicine in your milk. Your dad doesn’t even know about it…”

“Who in this world would care about you and understand you like this…”

Of course, it’s your mom!

Although the child couldn’t speak, as long as he responded with his actions, that would be enough!

Xue Huiyu gazed at Pei Yuqi with hope, but saw him lower his eyes again, seemingly not recognizing her at all, or perhaps he didn’t understand what she was saying.

If it were an ordinary child, even if they weren’t very bright, they would probably have a rough idea of what was going on from just a few of these hints. But Pei Yuqi was a child with autism, and he had cognitive difficulties. He often couldn’t focus and would drift off into his thoughts at any moment. After so many words, he might have just lost patience and wandered off in his mind…

At that moment, it would be a lie to say she didn’t feel disappointed.

“You think it over slowly. I’ll go prepare lunch for you first. You need to eat well to grow taller and stronger!”

She still smiled cheerfully as she spoke, “And now the floor is dirty, so don’t get out of bed. I’ll clean it up for you later.”

As Xue Huiyu left, she noticed that Pei Yuqi’s gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds, but he quickly shifted his eyes as if afraid she would notice.

The VIP hospital room had a small kitchen where simple meals could be prepared. The vegetable and pork porridge Zheng Huiwen had made for Pei Yuqi was cooked in the room, and there were still two small scoops left in the pot.

Xue Huiyu poured the remaining porridge into a small bowl and then boiled an egg for Pei Yuqi.

While the egg was boiling, she took a cloth from the bathroom, squatted down, and began cleaning the floor.

Xue Huiyu had been a delicate girl who had never done any housework, let alone cleaning. But now that she finally had the chance to be alone with the child, she didn’t want to call for the aunt to clean and risk disturbing others. So, in order to make a good impression during their first meeting, Xue Huiyu gritted her teeth and decided to clean up herself.

As she wiped up the porridge, she casually chatted with Pei Yuqi about the poems she had previously recited to him: “The farmer works in the fields under the midday sun, and sweat falls upon the soil. Who knows that every grain of rice in our meals is earned through the hard work of the farmers. Good children don’t waste food… I know Pei Yuqi is a good child, and you must have spilled the porridge for some other reason, right?”

Pei Yuqi suddenly looked at her, and Xue Huiyu felt like she might have guessed right.

“Were you afraid the bad aunt put medicine in your porridge?”

She had warned him not to eat anything that Zheng Huiwen had given him, and she always made sure it was safe before letting him eat. She had also taught him not to waste food. Maybe, because of this, he hadn’t wanted to eat the spilled porridge…?

“Don’t worry. That bad aunt wouldn’t dare do anything like that in the hospital. And I tasted it just now, and the porridge is very delicious.”

She said this while finishing cleaning the floor and tossing the broken bowl and spoon into the trash. During the process, her finger was slightly cut by some broken glass, and although it stung, she quickly ran over to turn off the stove once the egg was cooked.

Unaware that Pei Yuqi had been watching the whole time, Xue Huiyu placed the egg into cold water to cool down before quickly frying some potatoes with sword beans. She tasted it to make sure it was good.

Over the past few days, she had observed that Pei Yuqi liked potatoes and soy-based products like tofu and sword beans.

After plating the hot potatoes and sword beans in a small dish, she took the egg out of the cold water, peeled it beautifully, and added it to the porridge. She then placed both the porridge bowl and the small plate on a small table and brought it to Pei Yuqi.

“Sorry for making you wait. You must be very hungry.”

Since getting pregnant, Xue Huiyu hadn’t cooked for a long time, and she had accidentally overcooked the potatoes and sword beans, making them a little mushy. But the mushiness was actually better for a child’s stomach, so it might be easier to digest. Still, she wasn’t sure if Pei Yuqi would like the flavor since she tended to cook food quite lightly.

She nervously set up the small table for Pei Yuqi, but to her surprise, he didn’t even look at the bowl of porridge on the table and remained closed off in his own world.

He couldn’t go on like this… He was already malnourished, and if he didn’t eat or drink, how would his body handle it?

Seeing that Pei Yuqi had decided not to acknowledge her, Xue Huiyu’s heart ached, but she didn’t give up. She recalled that before, she had built a connection with him by talking a lot, and now she had to keep trying to break through the walls he had built around himself.

So, she went into the bathroom, grabbed a clean towel, squatted down in front of Pei Yuqi, and gently asked, “Pei Yuqi, we need to wash our hands before eating… If you don’t want to go to the bathroom, I can help you wipe your face and hands, okay?”

Pei Yuqi kept his head down and didn’t respond.

“My hand got hurt while I was making food to help you… I was in pain, but I still made it for you…” Xue Huiyu weakly raised her hand, pretending it hurt, and shamelessly started to deceive Pei Yuqi. “It’s tiring to keep my hand up like this. Do you want me to keep holding it up?”

Pei Yuqi hesitantly looked at the hand she held up, and Xue Huiyu immediately rushed over.

Seeing that he didn’t avoid her this time, she gently wiped his little face with the towel. He furrowed his brows, looking very serious, with his smooth little face set in a frown. Xue Huiyu couldn’t help but gently rub between his brows and said, “Don’t always frown like that. Pei Yuqi looks the best when he smiles.”

Pei Yuqi froze for a moment when Xue Huiyu lightly brushed his brow, but he still kept his expression cold.

Xue Huiyu noticed how he was staring at her, confused and a little dazed, and he looked so adorable that her heart fluttered. She smiled again and said, “How can such a handsome child not wash his face and stay all dirty? Now, I’m going to help you clean your hands…”

This time, when Xue Huiyu held his little hand, Pei Yuqi didn’t pull away.

His lowered eyelids trembled slightly as he felt her gently holding his hand. Xue Huiyu gently reminded him, “You really shouldn’t bite your nails anymore. Your pretty fingers are all chewed up and full of pits… You might be eating a lot of bacteria…”

Xue Huiyu had repeatedly reminded him to stop biting his nails, but it was such an unconscious habit that sometimes Pei Yuqi didn’t even realize he was doing it, so she had to keep reminding him.

After wiping his hands, Xue Huiyu also cleaned the small stain of porridge on his sleeve. She was relieved it was only a few drops, or else the porridge would’ve been so hot it might have burned him. As she lightly wiped, she noticed Pei Yuqi flinch and curl up in pain.

Xue Huiyu immediately realized something was wrong, and quickly rolled up his sleeve. To her shock, there was a dark purple bruise with a needle mark on his arm, and it was swollen to the size of a thumbnail, with some faint purple pinches…

At that moment, a rush of guilt flooded over her, and Xue Huiyu’s nose burned as tears began to fall.

“I’m sorry…”

She suddenly felt overwhelming sadness and choked out, “I’m so sorry…”

Just as Xue Huiyu realized she shouldn’t let Pei Yuqi see her so vulnerable, she quickly lowered her head, trying to hide her red eyes with the towel. She hurriedly tried to stand, but before she could, she felt a small hand gently touch her cheek.

She froze and looked up to see Pei Yuqi staring at her intently, his little hand gently brushing away her tears.

Seeing that her tears didn’t stop but only increased, he seemed a little flustered. He leaned his little head forward, gently blowing on her hand, then used his small hand to gently soothe her furrowed brow.

Just like the actions she had performed on him earlier, Xue Huiyu’s hand had small cuts. By now, the pain had long faded, and even the other hand had a small cut, which Xue Huiyu didn’t notice at all. But Pei Yuqi, with his sharp eyes, noticed everything.

At that moment, Xue Huiyu, who had become soft-hearted after reuniting with her child, couldn’t hold back the emotions that were boiling inside her. She tightly hugged Pei Yuqi, who was focused on smoothing her furrowed brow, into her arms.

This time, Pei Yuqi didn’t push her away again. He was a little confused but let her hug him tightly.

He tilted his little head back, his large, expressive eyes fixed on her, then he nuzzled his little head against her neck.

Feeling the child’s active closeness, Xue Huiyu’s heart tightened, and she couldn’t help but hold him even tighter.

This child, just a moment ago, hadn’t wanted to be held, but now, seeing her cry, he let her hold him…

How could he be so understanding and so well-behaved… so much so that it made her heart ache.

They stayed in that embrace for a full five minutes, and Xue Huiyu’s conviction grew stronger—she had to seize this rare opportunity of rebirth and take good care of Pei Yuqi. No one could hurt him again, not even his father, Pei Wenyu!

With that thought, she released her embrace, picked up the bowl of porridge from the small table, and gently offered it to Pei Yuqi. She softly asked, “Do you want to eat by yourself, or would you like me to feed you?”

Pei Yuqi didn’t respond at all. He simply looked at her with his beautiful, big eyes, which shimmered with a soft, watery glow.

Xue Huiyu’s heart softened at the sight of his intense gaze. She scooped up a spoonful of porridge, blew on it gently to cool it down, and then brought it to his lips.

As Xue Huiyu relaxed, Pei Yuqi’s stomach began to rumble with hunger. The delicious scent of the porridge grew stronger, tempting his willpower.

Pei Yuqi pressed his lips together even tighter.

Xue Huiyu saw his throat move as he swallowed, and with a gentle smile, she moved the spoon closer to him.

After a few moments of hesitation, Pei Yuqi, looking a bit worried, glanced at her injured hand, and then obediently opened his mouth.

“Is it hot?”

The porridge melted instantly in his mouth, at the perfect temperature, and Pei Yuqi shook his head.

He secretly glanced at Xue Huiyu, who was smiling because he was drinking the porridge so well, and then quickly looked away. He absentmindedly picked up a chopstick and poked at the potato slices in the small bowl.

“Pata—” The thin potato slice broke into pieces.

Pei Yuqi furrowed his little brow, poking cautiously at another piece with the chopstick.

The next second, the thin potato slice shattered into mush.

Pei Yuqi: Eye quake!

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Author’s Note:

Pei Yuqi: What do I do if I embarrassed myself in front of mom? SOS, urgent!

Such a well-behaved child, how could you skip without leaving a comment? Wuwu!