“Auntie, why didn’t you wait for me last time? Do you know how hard I searched for you? Hmph, bad Auntie!”

Su Mo hadn’t quite figured out the relationship between Lu Qingze and Lu Zining, but before she could get a clear answer, Ning Ning was already questioning her.

So, all she could do was try to comfort Ning Ning, still a bit confused: “Sorry, Ning Ning, I had to leave because something urgent came up. I was wrong, please don’t be mad at me, okay?”

Ning Ning’s bright, black eyes rolled around as he processed this: “Alright, since it was urgent, I’ll forgive you this time, but there can’t be a next time!” His tone was full of the arrogance of a young CEO.

“Mm, I promise.”

“Good, then to make sure you really won’t do it again, give me your phone number so I can contact you anytime when I want to find Auntie!”

Su Mo: “…”

“Alright!” Su Mo gently tapped his little nose and took his phone. She input her number and handed it back to him.

“Put it in first position, put it in first position!” As soon as Su Mo entered her number, Ning Ning quickly shouted, “Yes, just delete my dad’s number!”

Su Mo: “…”

Lu Qingze, who had been silent on the couch, didn’t say anything, making Su Mo feel a little awkward.

“Just, just make it the second one.”

“It’s fine, Auntie will do it.” Ning Ning took the children’s phone and quickly pressed a few buttons. In no time, he deleted Lu Qingze’s name entirely, then saved Su Mo’s number in first position. Not stopping there, he even added a little heart symbol next to her name before smiling with satisfaction and putting the phone away. He turned to Lu Qingze.

“Dad, you can go back now. I’m staying here tonight.”

Su Mo froze, surprised. “Staying here tonight?”

The room was spacious enough, so it wasn’t a problem for him to stay here, but this was still a hospital, and Granny might need to be attended to at night. A child like him would have trouble resting here.

Just as Su Mo was about to talk to Ning Ning, Lu Qingze, who had been silent on the couch, spoke first.

“No.” His tone was slightly stern, and Ning Ning, who had been excited, immediately slumped.

“Lu Qingze, this is personal revenge!” Ning Ning shouted at Lu Qingze before quickly running behind Su Mo, as if genuinely afraid of Lu Qingze, but he still refused to soften.

Seeing Lu Qingze’s unwavering gaze on Ning Ning, who was holding onto Su Mo’s nightgown as if trying to distort it, Su Mo couldn’t help but speak up.

“Professor Lu, I’ll talk to him.”

Su Mo squatted down and, before she could say anything, saw Ning Ning’s cute face, which had been bright and cheerful, suddenly drop.

“Adults are all liars!”

Su Mo: “…”

“Ning Ning…”

“You said you liked me, but you were just lying to me!”

“No, Auntie really likes you. How could I lie to you?” Su Mo said this sincerely. From the moment she met Ning Ning, she had liked him deeply. This little boy, so perfectly crafted, seemed to be able to reach into her heart at a glance.

Su Mo wasn’t sure if it was because of her past experiences and the child she had lost, but she always felt soft-hearted toward children, and with Ning Ning, it felt like there was an innate, irreplaceable affection.

So, she really did like him.

“Then why didn’t you let me sleep with you?”

Su Mo fell silent for a moment and patiently explained herself to Ning Ning.

But Ning Ning didn’t quite accept the reasoning.

In the end, Su Mo had no choice but to make a promise. “Ning Ning, once Granny gets better, I’ll take you to my house to stay, okay?”

“Alright!” Ning Ning reluctantly agreed.

Lu Qingze, who hadn’t spoken since entering, finally stood up.

“Thank you for taking care of Ning Ning.”

“No, no. I should be thanking you, Professor Lu. What I did was just a small favor. You really helped me a lot, so thank you so much.”

Lu Qingze gave a slight smile, nodded at her, and walked over to Lu Zining. “It’s getting late, we shouldn’t disturb her. Let’s go to bed.”

“Alright, Professor Lu, good night. Ning Ning, good night.”

Father and son left Su Ailian’s room and headed down the hallway to the room where Old Master Lu was.

Along the way, Lu Zining waved his phone around excitedly, then muttered to himself about which pajama he should wear when staying at Su Mo’s place to look cuter, showing off as much as he could. Lu Qingze gave him a glance.

“I already have that number.”

Lu Zining: “…”

“Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Lu Qingze: “As a punishment, you made such a scene at the party in front of so many people. Was that really something you should have done?”

Lu Zining: “…You’re taking personal revenge!”

Lu Qingze smiled. “If I were really taking personal revenge, do you think you’d have seen your Auntie today?”

Lu Zining pouted in protest but didn’t argue further.

Lu Qingze smiled, reached over and ruffled his head. The two of them walked into Old Master Lu’s room together.

Lu Qingze: “I’ll stay here tonight with Dad. You take Ning Ning back.”

Old Madam Lu: “…”

She stared at Lu Qingze, then exchanged a surprised look with Old Master Lu.

Could it be a ghost? Or had her son been possessed by one?

He used to frown so deeply just staying in the hospital for a little while, but now he wanted to stay and keep watch?

Old Madam Lu opened her mouth but froze for a moment before speaking. “Son, are you feeling unwell? Running a fever? Did the fever get to your head? This is a hospital!”

Lu Qingze: “…”

“Lingye went to study today and will be back later to take the night shift. I have something to discuss with Ji An at the branch hospital.”

“Oh…” Old Madam Lu finally relaxed. “Did he say when he would be here? It’s almost ten o’clock. Shouldn’t you call him? Once you’re done, you can both go home. I’ll be fine here for the night, so you won’t have to worry about a headache tomorrow.”

“No need, he said he’ll come late.”

As he spoke, Lu Qingze had already sat down on the sofa and began reading the newspaper.

Old Madam Lu and Old Master Lu exchanged a few more glances, then nodded reluctantly and left.

Before leaving, however, Old Madam Lu reminded him repeatedly that if he couldn’t stand the smell of disinfectant, he could leave, since Old Master Lu’s blood pressure had already stabilized and he was pretty much the same as any normal person.

Naturally, Lu Zining made a fuss about staying with Lu Qingze, but as expected, he was ruthlessly taken away by Old Madam Lu.