As Fu Xiaobao grew day by day, Zhen Bao's pet hospital business also grew steadily. The hospital wasn't big, but the medical staff were amiable, the equipment was advanced, and the fees were reasonable, so it slowly earned a good reputation online. As the director, Zhen Bao paid a lot of attention to introducing new technologies and organized staff to go abroad for exchange every year.
Tomorrow, Zhen Bao would be leaving for a five-day trip. The first person she was reluctant to leave was of course her son, and the second was the boy's father.
"Mom."
She was picking out clothes to pack when her son suddenly called her from behind. Zhen Bao turned around to see her three-year-old son grinning at her, his dark, shiny eyes staring brightly at her from inside her open suitcase. Her son was so cute that Zhen Bao told him not to move while she put down her skirt, grabbed her phone and took pictures of him.
Fu Xiaobao already knew how to pose cutely, smiling even more sweetly as he obediently let his mother take pictures.
Zhen Bao casually sent the photos to Fu Ming Shi, then folded her skirt and squatted next to the suitcase to ask her son, "Does Xiaobao know what Mom is doing?"
Fu Xiaobao patted the suitcase and crisply said, "Folding clothes, going out."
"Such a good boy." Zhen Bao rewarded her son with a kiss, and continued asking, "Does Xiaobao know where Mom is going?"
"America!" Fu Xiaobao was very smart and had memorized a lot of what his parents said.
The little guy wriggled around in the suitcase, messing up the clothes Zhen Bao had just folded. But Zhen Bao wasn't angry at all. She gently and softly said, "Yes, Mom is going to America to study. Mom won't have time to take care of Xiaobao, so after Mom leaves, Xiaobao will let Dad put you to bed, okay?"
Upon hearing this, the boy in the suitcase suddenly lost interest in the box. He looked up at his mother, staring blankly with his mouth open. As he kept looking, without any warning, he burst into tears, extremely aggrieved as he reached for his mother. Zhen Bao felt awful and immediately picked up her son, patting his back and coaxing him, "Don't cry, Xiaobao. Mom will be back on Friday and bring you toys from America."
"No, I want to go too!" Sobbing pitifully on his mother's shoulder, Fu Xiaobao desperately wanted to stay with his mother.
Zhen Bao really couldn't bring her son conveniently, so she sat on the bed and explained patiently after he had cried for a while, "Does Xiaobao still remember Fluffy? Mom's golden retriever at the hospital that you insisted on calling Fluffy?"
Fu Xiaobao wiped his eyes and looked confused.
Zhen Bao flipped through her phone's photo album and showed her son.
Fu Xiaobao stared at the photo, suddenly grabbed the phone, and shouted "Fluffy" while pointing at the golden retriever inside.
Zhen Bao nodded, "That's right, he's Fluffy. He got sick, and Mom doesn't have good enough skills to cure him, so Fluffy died. This time Mom is going to America to learn so that when other dogs come to see the doctor, Mom will be able to cure them. Right?"
Fu Xiaobao seemed to vaguely understand and nodded.
Zhen Bao kissed her son and called out to Hei Dan. Within seconds, Hei Dan and Yue Liang came running in together. Yue Liang jumped right onto the bed and snuggled up to Zhen Bao, while Hei Dan crouched in front of Zhen Bao, staring blankly at his owner. Zhen Bao stroked Hei Dan's big head and smiled as she gave her son a task, "Mom is going to school. Xiaobao, help Mom take care of Hei Dan and Yue Liang and make sure they don't fight, okay?"
Fu Xiaobao always listened to his mother and immediately nodded, even imitating scolding Hei Dan, "No fighting!"
Hei Dan looked innocent, tilting his head, and suddenly licked the little master's sock.
Fu Xiaobao immediately laughed, forgetting that his mother was leaving.
But after getting through the daytime, it seemed the little guy remembered at night that his mother was leaving. He cried again before going to bed, and fell asleep still clutching his mother's pajamas, refusing to let go. Zhen Bao leaned against the headboard, looking at her precious son, and really wanted to be impulsive for once and take her son abroad with her tomorrow.
After showering, Fu Ming Shi came out and saw her reluctant appearance. His chest suddenly felt a little unpleasant. His wife was going away, and he had deliberately come home early in the afternoon, but when he got home, his wife didn't even look straight at him, completely absorbed in their son. His status in this family was probably even lower than the cats and dogs.
"Go to sleep early," Fu Ming Shi said, walking around to the other side of the bed, ready to take their son to his own little bed.
Unwilling to part, Zhen Bao softly refused, "Let me hold him a little longer." She didn't even lift her eyelids.
Fu Ming Shi pursed his lips and climbed onto the bed. He lay with his back to his wife at first, but after only about three minutes, he slowly turned around, slipped under the covers, and hugged his wife's legs. From outside the covers, one could only see his head moving around, like little Fu Xiaobao crawling around inside. But Zhen Bao knew what he was doing. Her heart, which had been captivated by her son, was now mostly snatched away by her husband's tricks.
"Alright, put Xiaobao in his bed," Zhen Bao said, kicking her legs a little.
Having achieved his goal, Fu Ming Shi laughed and lifted the covers, revealing a slightly flushed handsome face and starry dark eyes.
From freshman year of college to now when their son was three, they had been together for eight or nine years, but every time she saw Fu Ming Shi like this, Zhen Bao's heart would still race and flutter. While Fu Ming Shi went to put their son down, she quickly slipped under the covers.
"You're so reluctant to leave our son, don't you feel reluctant to leave me at all?" Fu Ming Shi pressed down on his wife and asked after returning to bed.
Zhen Bao deliberately said, "We're an old married couple, what is there to be reluctant about?"
"But I'm reluctant to leave you," Fu Ming Shi kissed the tip of her nose.
Zhen Bao laughed sweetly and hugged him. Though her mouth said she didn't feel reluctant, she still lingered in his arms that night, craving his scent.
The next day, Zhen Bao left before 6 AM. When she left, Fu Xiaobao was still not fully awake. After seeing his wife off, Fu Ming Shi came back and peeked in at his son. He picked up a magazine, leaned against the headboard and started reading. After flipping through a few pages, a few tender gurgling sounds came from the crib. Fu Ming Shi immediately put down the magazine and strode toward the crib.
Fu Xiaobao's big round eyes were open, and when he saw Dad, he grinned.
"Good boy, Daddy will play with you today," Fu Ming Shi said. In public he was cold and steady, but at home he was just a young dad. He picked up his son and skillfully carried him to the bathroom to pee, wash his hands and face, and feed him milk.
With his stomach full, Fu Xiaobao looked left and right but couldn't find his mother. Anxious, he pointed at the door and called "Mama."
"Mommy went to school to become an even better doctor," Fu Ming Shi said, carrying his son downstairs. Outwardly he looked calm but inside he was nervous, afraid his son would cry.
Fu Xiaobao blinked his big eyes, his little face clouding over, but luckily he didn't cry.
"Let's go, Daddy will take you to the company," Fu Ming Shi said, taking the baby supplies prepared by the nanny and carrying his son to the back seat of his Mercedes-Benz.
Fu Xiaobao loved his dad's car. Every time he got in he would carefully look it over and touch it, asking nonstop with his little mouth, "Daddy, what's this called?"
"Car window," Fu Ming Shi patiently answered, tilting his body.
The Mercedes-Benz soon arrived at the company. Fu Ming Shi got out first, then carried out his son. He wore a black suit while Fu Xiaobao wore a little white suit. Father and son, the father handsome, mature, serious, and the son cute, lovely, and innocent. As soon as they appeared, whether it was employees going in and out or passersby, everyone took pictures, loudly exclaiming how cute they were.
"Dad, they're taking pictures of me," Fu Xiaobao said, turning his head to tell his father.
"Do you like them taking your picture?" Fu Ming Shi asked with a smile as he straightened his son's little butterfly tie.
Fu Xiaobao pursed his lips. "Not really, I only like taking pictures for Mom."
"Then let's go in so they can't take pictures," Fu Ming Shi immediately entered the company building.
As the boss, ordinary employees were smitten by the little young master but could only admire from afar rather than run up and fuss over him. The senior management didn't have such concerns. Seeing the boss come with his son, a female manager in her forties smiled as she came over to say hello. Fu Ming Shi was cold, but he didn't dislike socializing. He stopped and taught his son to call her Auntie.
Fu Xiaobao obediently did so, leaning on his father's shoulder.
The boy was so cute the female manager couldn't help but tease him, "Xiaobao, does Auntie look pretty?"
Fu Xiaobao stared at her for a while, then looked at his dad again. He slowly nodded.
Female Manager: "So Auntie looks pretty, but does Mommy look prettier?"
"Mommy!" Fu Xiaobao said without any hesitation, in a very loud voice, "My mommy is the most beautiful!"
The female manager laughed gleefully. She nodded at Boss Fu and hurriedly went on her way.
That morning, Fu Ming Shi worked in his office while keeping his son company. After eating lunch, Fu Xiaobao got sleepy and started missing his mother, crying nonstop. Fu Ming Shi coaxed him for a long time to no avail. Having no other choice, he sent his son to stay with his grandmother. Upon seeing his fashionably dressed, beautiful grandmother, Fu Xiaobao finally stopped crying and obediently went to sleep.
And so Fu Ming Shi stumbled along taking care of his five-year-old son by himself for five days.
On Friday, Fu Ming Shi took his son to the airport to pick someone up.
The arrival hall was crowded with people. Fu Ming Shi and his son, dressed neatly and handsomely, attracted quite a lot of attention. Some even mistook them for celebrities and watched them from a distance. Fu Ming Shi had an indifferent expression, while Fu Xiaobao's big eyes were fixed on the exit. As he kept watching, he became upset: "Dad, why isn't Mom here yet?"
Fu Ming Shi squeezed his son's little hand and gently coaxed: "She'll be here soon."
Fu Xiaobao pouted and turned to look again. Just then, he saw several people walk out from there, with his beautiful mother walking in the middle!
"Mom!" Fu Xiaobao cried out happily, his chubby little body leaning forward as he kept calling for his mom.
Carrying his son steadily, Fu Ming Shi's eyes were full of smiles as he looked at his wife whom he hadn't seen for days.
Seeing her son and husband waiting for her, Zhen Bao couldn't help quickening her pace.
"Mom!" Fu Xiaobao threw himself into his mother's arms, hugging her neck tightly, acting spoiled.
Zhen Bao kissed him several times in a row. She was still kissing him when mother and son were suddenly enveloped in an embrace.
Looking up in surprise, Zhen Bao saw Fu Ming Shi.
Disregarding everyone around, Fu Ming Shi leaned down and kissed her, his lips brushing her hair as he said gently, "You finally came back."
Zhen Bao smiled and snuggled against his chest with her son.
With her husband and child waiting for her, how could she not return?
Now that she was back, her world was whole again.
