The child was acutely aware that something was amiss in the atmosphere.
Zhao Xiaole’s pace of eating slowed, his large eyes blinking as he cautiously tugged at Su Lu’s sleeve and whispered, "Su Xiaolu..."
Su Lu turned to look at him.
"Are you unhappy..." Zhao Xiaole asked.
Su Lu raised her hand to touch his head and gave him a slight smile, but didn’t speak.
"I’m sorry," Bo Jingshen said quietly, "You should continue eating before it gets cold."
After saying this, he turned away and did not look back to converse with the mother and son, not because he didn’t want to talk to them, but because he didn’t want his inadvertent remarks to upset her again, which would affect Xiaole’s mood, possibly resulting in both of them eating without relish.
Bo Jingshen had no plans to take them anywhere; instead, he drove them straight home.
As the car entered the residential complex, the security guard peered through the lowered driver’s window and saw Bo Jingshen in the passenger seat. He didn’t recognize him at first glance, but because of Bo Jingshen’s good looks, the guard took a second look.
And upon that second glance, he recognized him.
"Wow, long time no see!" the guard exclaimed.
Bo Jingshen turned to look at the guard, seeming to recognize him as well, and nodded his head in greeting, "Long time no see."
"It must be almost six years, right? You look well, much better, I hope?" said the guard, who was very outgoing due to his age and was quite warm to people.
Bo Jingshen nodded, "Much better, thank you for asking."
"That’s great, that’s great. You were looking quite poorly back then," the guard continued as he peeked at Su Lu in the backseat and said with a cheerful smile, "Miss Su!"
Then his gaze shifted between Su Lu and Bo Jingshen and he smiled kindly, "Ah, this is right, it’s not easy for people to come together. And having kids isn’t easy either."
Looking at this handsome child, at first glance, one wouldn’t notice, but now, placed in the same frame as Bo Jingshen, it only took one look for the guard to know whose child this was.
Su Lu smiled politely, remaining silent.
"Well... we’ll head inside now," Bo Jingshen said to the guard with a nod, "See you later."
The driver slowly pulled the car into the parking lot and stopped in front of the apartment unit.
The driver handed the car keys to Bo Jingshen, "Boss, I’ll head off now."
"Alright, thank you. You can go," Bo Jingshen took the car keys.
The driver got out and headed towards the complex’s exit, while Bo Jingshen got out, opened the rear car door, unbuckled Zhao Xiaole’s safety seat, and lifted him out.
Su Lu’s fingers twitched, but in the end, she did not refuse.
Zhao Xiaole let out a low exclamation, clearly surprised and pleased, quickly wrapping his arms around Bo Jingshen’s neck, his eyes wide open, shimmering with light.
"Go home and recover well, listen to your mom," Bo Jingshen couldn’t help but caress his soft, delicate little face, which made his heart go soft as well.
"I will! I’ll be very obedient!" Zhao Xiaole nodded eagerly.
"Mm," Bo Jingshen said softly, "Then... once you’re healed and have your allowance, I’ll come to take you out for some tasty food."
"Hehe. Okay!" Zhao Xiaole was particularly delighted, "But I won’t have my allowance until next month. Does that mean you won’t come to see me until next month? But I might be going back to Beijing by then...
"It all depends on what Mom thinks. I made her very angry, terribly angry, so if she doesn’t agree, I wouldn’t dare to come see you rashly," Bo Jingshen spoke softly, his voice very gentle and low, "But as long as she agrees, even if I have to go back to Beijing, I will come to see you."
Zhao Xiaole smiled, "Su Xiaolu will agree." How could the child not know that Su Lu was the best to him, and would never let him suffer any wrong? Yet, feeling that wasn’t enough, the child added, "Su Xiaolu is the best."
Bo Jingshen’s eyes were cast down gently, and his lowered brows and eyes seemed incredibly tender, "Indeed she is."
Su Lu watched this scene from the side, with indescribable feelings in her heart.
She had to admit, she often saw Zhao Xiaole happy – happy when eating something delicious, happy playing fun games, happy to see beautiful things.
But she seldom saw him this happy, with his eyes lighting up, shining like stars.
Su Lu acknowledged that all along, she had deliberately ignored, or rather, chosen not to pay attention. She just felt that with her, the uncles and grandma around, the child wouldn’t lack love, and he would be able to grow up healthy.
Indeed, the child could grow up healthy, but she had overlooked that even without him, the child could still grow up healthy; that didn’t mean the child didn’t need him.
Su Lu silently took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then looked at Zhao Xiaole, "Don’t try to sweet-talk me, it won’t work."
Zhao Xiaole laughed hehe, his voice soft and sticky, drawing out the syllables playfully, "Good—Mom—Mom—!"
Su Lu struggled to maintain her composure, a faint smile almost escaping her lips as she tried to regain her expression, and said, "Let’s go, let’s go back."
Zhao Xiaole obediently nodded, then after thinking for a bit, asked, "Isn’t Dad coming up with us?"
Su Lu frowned and glanced at him. How many times had they met that he was already calling him Dad? Such ingratitude...
But her son’s coquettishness was too adorable, and Su Lu pursed her lips, suddenly regretting not having Ms. Zhao stay over.
Because there was still an uncleaned room on her side causing concern that Zhao Ying wouldn’t have a comfortable place to rest, and after traveling so far, it would indeed be too exhausting for her to help clean upon arrival.
Therefore, she had Zhao Ying go to a hotel to rest.
If she had known earlier and had Zhao Ying come here first, at least now she could use Ms. Zhao as a buffer, but at this moment...
Bo Jingshen’s deep eyes looked at her, "Let me take you guys up."
Su Lu didn’t respond, rationally she was not planning to agree. Emotionally, she feared disappointing the child. Thus, she remained silent.
Bo Jingshen probably also recognized her emotions, and added, "I’ll leave once I’ve taken you up."
Su Lu was still silent, merely pressing the elevator button in silence, and the elevator doors slowly opened before her.
She implicitly agreed.
Zhao Xiaole hugged Bo Jingshen’s neck, giggling stealthily.
Bo Jingshen, cradling the child in one arm, entered the elevator and pressed the elevator button with the other hand.
As the elevator ascended, Su Lu stood silently, her gaze lifting to watch the numbers of the floors ascend on the elevator door, finally stopping on her floor.
Exiting the elevator, Su Lu used her fingerprint to unlock the door, then stood at the threshold, assuming a posture of non-welcoming.
Her words were brief: "Here we are."
Her stance of refusal was clear, naturally with no intention of inviting anyone in for a sit.
Bo Jingshen didn’t insist. He set the child down and squatted in front of him so they were eye to eye.
"Xiaole, have you seen a duckbill cap? It has an eagle head printed on it; could you get it for me?"