Chapter 240: Chapter 240

"Baby, there’s a pocket inside that down jacket, inside it are two red envelopes. The smaller one is your New Year’s money, put it under your pillow tonight, and the bigger one is your lucky money..."

Le Tong’s words suddenly stopped over the phone. Ji Rui was slightly confused and seemed to hear a heavy sniffing sound from the other end.

"Thank you, Sister, Baby loves you so much!" Ji Baby was clever, quickly expressed thanks sweetly, and then dashed towards the bedroom, ignoring the fireworks.

Ji Rui knew the little one was eager to get that down jacket.

He followed the little one into the bedroom with big strides. The down jacket, ready for tomorrow morning, was neatly folded on Baby’s bedside table.

Baby ran over, hugged the jacket and sat onto the ground, stuck his little hand inside the jacket pocket for a while, and soon fished out a large and small red envelope.

The large envelope had a sheep printed on it, while the small envelope had a tiger printed on it.

Ji Rui pondered and seemed to understand the meaning of the large and small envelopes.

Baby’s zodiac sign is a tiger, while Le Tong, apparently, is a sheep.

"Sister, Baby loves you most most!"

Ji Baby clutched the two red envelopes in his palm, looked at them for a few seconds, and said, "Sister, Baby misses you..."

He said it with a distinct tone of crying towards the end.

Ji Rui sat down next to his son, stretched out his long arms, and pulled Baby into his lap.

After being silent for a while, Le Tong finally spoke, "Baby, be good, have fun with Daddy for a few days, and Sister will be back to accompany you by Lantern Festival." Original content can be found at N0velFire.ɴet

Le Tong’s voice lost its clarity, replaced by a hoarse and heavy nasal tone.

Ji Rui frowned, leaning in closer, "Le Tong, are you sick?"

Baby got anxious upon hearing this, "Sister, are you sick? Have you seen a doctor?"

On the other end, Le Tong didn’t respond immediately, yet there were faint sounds of sniffles and the noise of tissues, suggesting she seemed to have caught a cold.

Ji Rui felt it strange, as she seemed fine when he answered her call not long ago; how come she’s caught a cold all of a sudden?

While Ji Rui puzzled over this, Le Tong’s voice came again, "Baby, Sister is fine, just a small cold, after taking a couple of pills, I’ll be fine by tomorrow."

"Sister, remember to take your medicine, Baby will worry about you!"

Although Ji Rui, as a father, is tongue-tied and not good at comforting, Ji Baby was not as clumsy as Ji Rui, and could speak much more fluently than many kids his age.

"Okay, Sister got it. It’s getting late, Baby go to sleep!"

Le Tong’s hoarse voice brought a sense of melancholy that even Ji Rui found heart-wrenching.

On normal days, Ji Baby would cling to Le Tong for a while longer, but he seemed to hear the unusualness in Le Tong’s voice, just like Ji Rui did, so he obediently said goodbye.

"Then Sister, take your medicine quickly, sleep early, Sister goodnight!"

Ji Rui perked up, expecting Le Tong to wish him goodnight too, yet those two just kissed over the phone and promptly said goodnight, then hung up decisively.

The long beep "toot" from the phone created a lingering echo of loneliness in Ji Rui’s heart.

Ji Baby clutched the two red envelopes given by Le Tong, climbed into bed, and following Le Tong’s instruction, carefully tucked the small one under his pillow, before putting the big one back into the jacket pocket. Done with this, he reached his little hand towards Ji Rui.

Ji Rui looked at him perplexed, and Baby raised his cute brows, "Daddy, where’s your New Year’s money?"

Ji Rui’s mom, being of mixed heritage, didn’t understand these traditional customs, and Ji Rui himself spent most of his time studying abroad and never received New Year’s money during his childhood. This year was the first time Mr. Ji, as a father, gave him New Year’s money.

Thus, Ji Rui wasn’t very knowledgeable about the purposes and significance of New Year’s money for warding off evil, ensuring the children’s safety, wishing them health and fortune in the new year.

Seeing Ji Rui’s non-reaction, Ji Baby added, "New Year’s money is given by grandparents, parents to children to ensure their safety, Grandpa and Sister have already given me, but what about Daddy?!"

Clearly, Ji Baby wished for Le Tong to be his mommy, although not granted by the concerned parties, he himself had placed Le Tong in the mommy position without permission.

Ji Rui, after hearing his dear son’s explanation, was still somewhat unsure but thought of the red envelope he was going to give to his son entwined with the one from Le Tong under his son’s pillow, and didn’t find it a bad thing, so he turned away and went out, returning with a red envelope a few minutes later, handed it to Baby.

"Baby, this is Daddy’s New Year’s money for you."

Baby tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek, then carefully hid the red envelope he received along with the tiger-printed one from Le Tong under the pillow.

The one Mr. Ji gave him was hidden under another pillow instead.

Once Baby settled the New Year’s envelopes, he turned around and clinging to Ji Rui, began to act charmingly.

"Daddy... sleep with Baby tonight, alright?"

Without a second thought, Ji Rui nodded.

"Sure, Daddy will sleep with Baby tonight."

The little one, upon hearing this, immediately slipped off the bed and ran out, and soon returned with a big pillow in his arms. Apparently, he ran to Ji Rui’s bedroom to retrieve Ji Rui’s pillow.

"Daddy, where’s yours?"

Baby hugged the pillow, once again opened his palm towards Ji Rui.

"What?" Ji Rui was even more confused now, was the little one obsessed with New Year’s money, hadn’t he just received one?!

"Didn’t Grandpa give Daddy New Year’s money, Baby will help Daddy put it away, so Daddy will have a safe year ahead..."

Ji Baby said, holding onto Ji Rui as he gently kissed the bandage on Ji Rui’s forehead wound.

It was then Ji Rui remembered he did indeed receive a red envelope from Mr. Ji earlier. After watching the fireworks and getting interrupted by Le Tong’s call, he had forgotten about it.

Ji Rui opened his pocket and gave Baby a look, signaling him to take it himself.

Baby shot him a glance, but still put his hand into Ji Rui’s pocket, felt around it, pulled out the red envelope, and noisily slipped it under Ji Rui’s pillow.

Then, he clung to Ji Rui and fell over onto the bed.

[Five watches, continue tomorrow, goodnight ladies!]