Chapter 161: Chapter 161

That evening, just like the previous ones, Ji Rui accompanied Ji Baby for dinner. The father and son snuggled up together on the sofa, with Ji Rui focused on his laptop for work, while Ji Baby leaned on Ji Rui’s lap, absorbed in his picture book.

Ji Rui concentrated on his work, hardly paying attention to his son’s situation, occasionally extending his large palm to gently rub Ji Baby’s little head.

For him, being able to bring work from the Ji Family home and accompany Ji Baby while working was already rare. Expecting him to completely put work aside after eight hours to relax and focus solely on his son was absolutely impossible.

And Ji Baby, seemingly understood this point too, so typically, he didn’t make a fuss, reading his own book. It seemed that having his dad accompany him this way was enough, and he had grown accustomed to the clattering sound of typing beside him, which was a far preferable experience compared to accompanying Mr. Ji at the Ji Family mansion, watching boring TV.

Tonight, this father-son pair nestled together, presenting a scene similar to previous evenings; a closer look, however, revealed subtle differences.

Usually, Ji Baby would engross himself in his book without disturbing Ji Rui in the slightest, which demonstrated Ji Baby’s maturity compared to other children. He was indeed far more mature.

But tonight, Ji Baby’s head restlessly moved back and forth on Ji Rui’s lap, occasionally raising his head slightly from beneath Ji Rui’s armpit to glance at the wall clock. The book in his hand hadn’t been flipped for several minutes.

Finally, the wall clock struck nine o’clock, and Ji Baby suddenly sat up, reaching out to hug Ji Rui’s face and giving him a quick kiss, "Daddy, good night!"

After saying this, he jumped off the floor, running away barefoot with a series of "pat, pat" sounds.

Ji Rui just assumed he was rushing to use the toilet, slightly tilting his head to watch the fleeting little figure enter the bedroom, his lips involuntarily curling into a faint smile.

The sound of the door locking came from the bedroom, making Ji Rui pause for a moment. Could it be that this little one had wet his pants? So he’s embarrassed and changing trousers?

Considering this possibility, Ji Rui let out a knowing smile.

Having spent time with his dear son for a while, or rather, focusing more on him, Ji Rui discovered that many times, Ji Baby appeared as a very mature child. Although he would act spoiled and noisy, those actions were often purposeful; overall, his son had a maturity in thought that didn’t align with a typical five-year-old.

Ji Rui knew this was indirectly a result of his own irresponsibility as a dad, so many times knowing very well that this little one was being noisy and spoiled with intention, Ji Rui still couldn’t bring himself to reprimand or reject him.

Lately, having moved to live together, Ji Rui occasionally saw Ji Baby display the vague, uncertain demeanor typical of a five-year-old, especially when he’s drowsy. Such moments were rare to witness.

Hence, he didn’t walk over to question his son about what made him run off in such a hurry, but continued with his task nonchalantly, as if nothing happened.

Ji Baby entered the bedroom, carefully locked the door, took out his own phone from the drawer, climbed into bed, and lay prone, with elbows propped up and swinging his little legs in the air.

He stared at the screen, pursed his lips, and dialed "Sister" from the phone book.

The call was quickly picked up by Le Tong, who was in the midst of reading a planning book, "Hello, sister! It’s Baby!"

Le Tong had hoped that Ji Baby would fall asleep early or forget about calling her.

But she was wrong; right at nine o’clock, the phone rang.

"Baby, ready to sleep?" Le Tong asked into the receiver with a smile, though she couldn’t see Ji Baby’s appearance at that moment.

"Mm, Baby wants to hear a bedtime story!" Ji Baby said excitedly.

Ji Baby may seem like a little adult and appear indifferent to many things.

But in truth, he deeply yearned to live like a child from an ordinary family, and what he desired the most was to huddle in his mom’s arms after dinner and bath, listening to her gentle voice telling bedtime stories. Yet, this simplest wish for ordinary children had never been fulfilled even once in his life.

The people from the Ji Family who truly cared for him were Mr. Ji and Ji Rui.

Mr. Ji’s affection began from the moment he was brought back, while Ji Rui’s affection has developed only in recent months.

Yet, despite their care, these two grown men couldn’t provide the same tenderness and delicacy that a woman could. Thus, the warmth and detailed affection Ji Baby craved had never been obtained from the two men of the Ji Family.

Those women who endeavored to ingratiate themselves with Ji Rui seemed capable of delivering such affections, but Ji Baby inexplicably resisted them, scaring them off with harsh words before they could approach him.

Generally, children’s assessment of emotions is more accurate and straightforward than adults’, especially a smart child like Ji Baby. Even if he couldn’t precisely express it through words, his heart clearly knows who is genuine, who is dismissive, who is hostile, and who merely wants to use him.

Therefore, the heartfelt fondness and closeness from Le Tong were easily received by him, and he similarly harbored an unexplainable fondness and strong desire to be close to Le Tong.

With such urgency, Ji Baby acted like any man of the Ji Family, extending his claws swiftly and dominantly, instinctively trying every possible way to keep that person close by.

At this young age, no matter how precocious, Ji Baby naturally couldn’t understand romantic feelings between men and women. He only knew he liked Le Tong, and the safest and closest place he could keep her was in the position of mommy.

Therefore, even knowing she wasn’t his mommy, he had already placed her in the mommy position. Moreover, cleverly, he took advantage of Le Tong’s fondness for him, trying every means to act spoiled and seek affection from her, striving to obtain care and discipline akin to that from a mommy.

Indeed, even when Le Tong sternly instructed him to nap at noon, he felt happy.

"What story does Baby like to hear? Sister will tell you!" Le Tong asked gently, always patient and tender with children.

She wasn’t familiar with Ji Baby, nor aware of his preferences.

Le Tong might tell Wenwen a story about Snow White or Kitty Cat, but Wenwen was a little girl barely starting to speak. Baby, on the other hand, was a smart and mature boy.

[The first update of two thousand words delivered, with two more updates, will upload them once finished. Will complete the remaining updates of four thousand words by midnight, so you can check them tomorrow morning if you’re not used to staying up late.] ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel✶fire.net