Chapter 199: Chapter 199

"Le Tong! Where are you going?"

Ji Rui’s voice followed shortly afterward. Without warning, she was pulled back a few steps by the man and crashed heavily into his embrace.

"You..." Le Tong looked up to glare at him, wanting to say something, but he interrupted her, "Baobao is waiting for you inside!"

Ji Rui seized the opportunity to support her waist and pushed her forward a couple of steps, reaching out to push open the guest room door.

Uh! Baobao is here too?!

This news shocked Le Tong greatly.

She could treat Ji Rui as a stranger with cold disregard or an enemy with antagonism.

But when it came to Baobao, she didn’t know how to face it.

Thinking of Ji Baobao’s expectant dark eyes, Le Tong felt a bit guilty.

"Ji Rui, I..." Le Tong clung to the wall, her body pressing hard against Ji Rui to prevent him from opening the door.

"Hmm?!" Ji Rui raised an eyebrow.

Le Tong looked around and saw a sign saying "Restroom" at the end of the corridor, "I... need to go to the restroom!"

Ji Rui couldn’t help but smile, "There’s a restroom inside the guest room too!" He said with a hint of amusement, his long arm reaching through the gap beneath Le Tong’s arm and turning the door handle.

"Click!" ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ NoveI★Fire.net

The door opened in response, and before Le Tong could react, a crisp and familiar childish voice excitedly shouted.

"Sister! Daddy, did you bring Sister back?" The excited shout was accompanied by approaching "thump thump thump" footsteps.

Le Tong wanted to escape, but behind her was a human wall blocking her retreat. The tall man seemed afraid his body wasn’t secure enough, and with his arms propped on either side of the doorframe, trapped Le Tong within his arms, leaving her no choice but to move forward.

"Just go in, Baobao is about to go crazy!"

Behind her, Ji Rui urged in a low voice, and such a pleasant Ji Rui made Le Tong’s hair stand on end, feeling as if he was luring her into a trap.

Just as Le Tong was caught in a dilemma, unable to decide what to do, a small figure appeared at the entrance. Soon, a face full of expectant smiles was right in front of Le Tong.

Ji Baobao cried out, rushing over and wrapping his small arms around Le Tong’s waist, looking up with a bright smile.

"Daddy didn’t lie to Baobao, it really is Sister!"

Le Tong felt a bit awkward, reaching out to pinch his soft little cheek. Before she could speak, Ji Baobao continued.

"Sister, Sister, has Baobao lost weight? Baobao missed Sister so much he lost a few pounds!" He said while rubbing his little face against Le Tong’s hand.

Le Tong’s eyes felt slightly warm, her slender fingertips sliding from his face into his soft hair, meeting Baobao’s shining eyes, mumbling, "Baobao... I’m sorry..."

Baobao’s innocent gaze made Le Tong unable to voice her thousands of grievances and reasons!

Although she didn’t think she was wrong to leave without a word, having a five-year-old child issue missing person announcements and travel to find her was indeed a fault of her as an adult!

This matter was originally an issue between her and Ji Rui, but Baobao had been innocently drawn in. Baobao might not have truly lost weight, but Le Tong’s guilt was genuine.

"Let’s talk inside!" Ji Rui placed a big hand on Le Tong’s shoulder, gently but firmly leading her into the room, closing the door behind them.

"Baobao, let Sister get inside before talking!"

Ji Rui said, bending down to scoop up his son, while holding Le Tong’s shoulder with one arm, striding into the living room.

In the living room sat two men in black, apparently bodyguards brought by the Ji Family from R City.

"Young Master, Miss Le." After greeting, the two sensibly withdrew.

Ji Rui brought Le Tong into the living room, releasing her shoulder, bending down to put Baobao on the sofa.

"Baobao, have you eaten lunch?"

Ji Baobao didn’t answer him, reaching out to tug at Le Tong to make her sit down, then climbed onto her lap, leaning back against her chest, swinging his little legs back and forth while looking up at Ji Rui.

"No, Baobao wants to wait for Sister to come back and eat together!"

Le Tong found that all the explanations she had prepared on the way were useless in front of Baobao.

Ji Rui was really smart; he knew that when faced with Baobao, her brain would turn to mush, so he brought her back, leaving her with no grounds to refuse.

It seemed that she could only wait until Baobao finished lunch and went for a nap before sitting down to have a serious talk with Ji Rui.

"Sister has already had lunch, go quickly and eat with your Daddy!" Le Tong attempted to pick up Ji Baobao and hand him to Ji Rui.

Unexpectedly, Baobao, as heavy as a rock, sat motionless in her arms, lazily swinging his little legs.

"The server will bring it over, quickly go wash your hands, Baobao!"

Ji Rui, standing in front of them, pressed his large palm on Ji Baobao’s head and rubbed it vigorously.

"Okay!" Ji Baobao obediently jumped off Le Tong’s lap, turned around, and tugged on Le Tong’s arm, "Sister, you come too!"

At this moment, Le Tong, filled with guilt towards Baobao, found it even harder to refuse his requests than before.

Following Baobao into the washroom, Baobao conscientiously climbed onto the stool in front of the sink and naturally extended a pair of soft white hands to Le Tong.

Le Tong glanced at him with a smile, "Lazy pig!"

Ji Baobao giggled but didn’t refute. Le Tong, holding his little hand in one hand, pressed some hand wash onto it with the other.

While concentrating on washing the little guy’s hands, a shadow loomed over them.

Ji Rui leaned against the door, arms crossed, watching Le Tong intently as she attentively washed Baobao’s hands.

Though she wore a somewhat bulky down jacket, her slender legs wrapped in tight jeans below were straight and long, her posture as graceful as he remembered.

Ji Rui’s gaze trailed upward from below, full of depth and intensity, finally resting on her face.

Her black hair wasn’t as meticulously styled as when she worked at the Ji Family, loosely tied at the back with strands falling over her pretty profile.

Her long, dark eyelashes fluttered slightly, her lips slightly parted in concentration.

Her face seemed even thinner than before, the formerly slightly rounded contours now straight lines. It seemed her days here were no better than the ones he and Baobao spent in R City.

Thinking that he wasn’t the only one having a hard time, his heart felt a faint mix of satisfaction and relief.

"Help Baobao wash his face too!"

Ji Rui spoke as he saw Le Tong finish washing Baobao’s hands and dry them with a towel.

Le Tong didn’t turn around or respond, only wetting the towel with warm water and carefully cleaning Baobao’s face.

The features beneath the towel were as flawlessly beautiful as a masterpiece, and as Le Tong wiped, she couldn’t help but marvel!

This kid was incredibly handsome, and she wondered how much trouble he’d cause once he grew up!

[First update for now, more to come later tonight.]