A panicked Jiang Ying Yue arrived from the opposite side of the room. She felt like her heart had stopped beating after hearing her beloved son's blood-curdling wails. The nanny and the catsitters were already off-duty, so they had retired for the night after eating dinner. Jiang Ying Yue felt like the most irresponsible mother in the world for failing to keep an eye on her son every second. She blamed herself, thinking that this wouldn't have happened if she gave all of her attention to her son.
"Mommy's here now, Little Jun. Show Mommy where it hurts. Come here, sweetie," Jiang Ying said in a barely-controlled emotional voice.
She was on the verge of tears, but she tried her best to stay calm, even though fear for her son overwhelmed her. Then she tried taking her son from Lin Yehan, but Little Jun refused to let go. He tightened his little arms around Lin Yehan's neck instead and continued whimpering in pain.
"I got him. Don't worry," Lin Yehan told her. His gentle expression and voice became even gentler. "Your son will be fine. We have a doctor here. We'll ask Second Brother to examine him, okay?"
She nodded while rubbing her son's back while still being carried by Lin Yehan. She tried taking Little Jun again, but he still didn't let go.
"Dada… Dada…." Little Jun whimpered against Lin Yehan's shoulder.
Jiang Ying Yue's heart squeezed after hearing what her son was saying in the arms of another man who wasn't his father. She wiped the tears which spilled from her eyes before being able to control herself again. Then she saw that Lin Yehan's shirt was already soaked with her son's tears.
"I'm so sorry about this," Jiang Ying Yue apologized to him.
"Please don't apologize. No worries," Lin Yehan assured her. "Little Jun is my Third Brother's godson. That means he's also like a nephew to me and our other brothers. I'm sure your son will go to you once he's ready."
Everyone came over, concerned for Little Jun. Iris also tried taking Little Jun from Lin Yehan, but the child was determined to stay with the man. Jin Liwei asked the triplets to calm the cats who were now freaking out as well seeing what was happening to their human cousin.
They were all relieved hearing that Little Jun would be okay, especially the mother, Jiang Ying Yue. She was reminded that her son was her life. And if anything were to happen to Little Jun, she didn't think that she would be able to take it.
Then everyone froze when Little Jun suddenly said, "Junjun want Dada…"—sob sob—"Dada…" He pressed his swollen, little face against Lin Yehan's chest."
Hearing the child looking for his father, Iris felt pissed at Long Hui. If only Little Jun wasn't such a small child, she would've already told him not to expect anything from his stupid father. She felt even more pissed after seeing her friend's reaction.
Jiang Ying Yue already regained control of her outward emotions and reverted to her neutral bodyguard expression, but Iris and their other friends still saw the flash of pain in her eyes. They felt upset for her.
"Little Jun, your daddy is not here but your papa is. Why don't you go to your papa?" Lin Yehan encouraged the child, then gave a look at his Third Brother.
Jin Liwei stepped forward, but Little Jun shook his head and burrowed himself deeper against Lin Yehan's chest. The toddler already started calling Lin Yehan as "Anko Han".
Afterwards, Little Jun stuck to Lin Yehan. Everyone was amazed because it was so rare that the child would refuse his Mama Iris' call to come to her, preferring Lin Yehan instead who was basically a stranger.
As for Lin Yehan, he wasn't used to handling children, but he was a naturally gentle person. He was also fiercely protective of people who he considered as family. Since Little Jun was his Third Brother's godson, he already treated the child as a family member. That was why he was extra gentle to the toddler and very patient, even though he had been holding Little Jun on his lap for more than an hour now.
The night was getting late, and it was already way past Little Jun's bedtime. Seeing him so sleepy, everyone decided to end the gathering. All of them except for Wang Yingjie and Lin Yehan were sleeping at the mansion.
Little Jun was in a half-awake, half-asleep state, so Jiang Ying Yue was finally able to take her son from Lin Yehan. Fortunately, Little Jun didn't resist and transferred to his mother's arms without any problems.
But when Lin Yehan and Wang Yingjie were preparing to leave, Little Jun suddenly opened his eyes and called out.
"Anko Han! No go!"
Jin Liwei and Iris didn't want their godson to feel agitated before sleeping, so they persuaded Lin Yehan to sleep over like everyone else.
"It's already so late in the night, Eldest Brother. Your farm villa is more than hour away. It's not safe," Jin Liwei told him.
Iris nodded, agreeing with her darling.
Lin Yehan sighed. He looked at the toddler who was fighting sleep just to make sure that he didn't leave. He sighed again and gave a helpless smile. "Alright, I'll stay. But I didn't bring anything with me."
"No problem, Eldest Brother. Liwei has plenty of clothes which he hasn't worn yet. I'll have a staff deliver them to you and Fourth Brother in your bedrooms," Iris told him.
He nodded. Then he turned to the toddler. "Little Jun, I'm not going home tonight. I'll be staying here, so you can sleep now. Be good and don't make it hard for your mother. Alright?"
"I'm not going anywhere tonight. Sleep now, my boy. Goodnight," Lin Yehan told the child in a soft, gentle voice.
"Nite nite, Anko…" And with that, Little Jun fell asleep.
Everyone sighed in relief.
Jiang Ying Yue apologized to Lin Yehan for inconveniencing him so much, but he just shook his head and gently told her not to worry about it.
In the end, only Wang Yingjie went home that night. Everyone else slept over, not knowing that this night would tie their destinies together forever.