When Huo Xiaozheng arrived at the scene, Huo Guining was soaked through, curled up in a towel.
Yinuo sat next to her, eyes red, looking like she wanted to cry but didn't dare.
Huo Xiaozheng's heart tightened: "Ningning, what happened?"
Huo Guining gave him a smile: "Zhang Ling just fell into the water. I tried to pull him out, but accidentally got dragged in too."
"But it's okay, I can swim, so nothing serious happened," she paused, then added, "Zhang Ling is fine too."
Huo Xiaozheng felt an inexplicable surge of irritation, but he didn't want to pass on negative emotions to Ningning.
He took a deep breath, accepted a towel from a staff member, and wrapped Huo Guining up in it completely.
Then, ignoring the gazes of those around, he carried Ningning straight back to their lodgings.
Seeing this, the main producer gave the cameraman a look, and the cameraman scurried after them.
Huo Xiaozheng remained silent the whole time. Back at their room, he wordlessly ran a bath for Ningning, letting her soak in the hot water and change into dry clothes.
When they returned to the bedroom, Huo Guining saw that Huo Xiaozheng's expression was still not good.
She timidly spoke up: "Dad, are you angry?"
Huo Xiaozheng's heart constricted: "No, Dad's not angry with you."
Huo Guining was confused: "If you're not angry with me, why do you look so serious?"
"Dad's angry with himself. I still haven't taught you how to rely on me properly."
Huo Xiaozheng felt somewhat helpless: "A pond isn't like a swimming pool. The depth is unpredictable, and there might be mud and weeds at the bottom. What if you had gotten tangled up?"
Huo Guining obediently admitted her mistake: "I'm sorry, I acted too impulsively."
"At that moment, the cameraman had fallen, and Zhang Ling was about to choke on water. I was panicked, so..."
Huo Xiaozheng shook his head: "It's not your fault. The adults were too careless."
She glanced weakly at Huo Xiaozheng, then continued hesitantly: "I did think about calling for you, but there wasn't enough time..."
"Really?"
Seeing Huo Xiaozheng's attitude soften, Huo Guining immediately straightened up and raised her hand to swear: "Absolutely true!"
Huo Xiaozheng's anger dissipated a bit: "Were you hurt?"
Huo Guining shook her head obediently: "Not at all."
Then, she couldn't help but feel a little proud: "Dad, I think I was pretty amazing. I managed to swim and drag Zhang Ling along at the same time..."
Huo Xiaozheng chuckled: "That is indeed quite impressive."
The barrier between father and daughter dissipated.
"Knock knock."
There was a knock at the door.
Huo Xiaozheng draped a jacket over Huo Guining's shoulders and opened the door.
It was Zhang Ling and his father.
"Mr. Huo, hello. I've brought Zhang Ling to thank Ningning."
Zhang Ling peeked out from behind his father and waved at Ningning: "Ningning, thank you so much for earlier."
Huo Xiaozheng showed no intention of inviting them in.
Huo Guining walked to the doorway and politely said, "You're welcome."
So, the four of them stood there, inside and outside the door, exchanging a few dry words.
As the night wind began to rise, Zhang Ling's father was about to leave with his son.
But Zhang Ling shook off his father's hand and walked up to Ningning.
"Ningning, can I talk to you for a moment?"
Although puzzled, Ningning still gave an affirmative answer: "Sure."
Zhang Ling, looking mysterious, tried to pull Huo Guining aside.
Huo Xiaozheng extended an iron hand to stop him, his tone ominous: "If you have something to say, just say it. No need to pull her away."
Huo Guining also didn't like this behavior and advised: "Just say what you want to say. My dad isn't an outsider."
Zhang Ling fidgeted for a while, then mustered up his courage: "Ningning, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say bad things about you this morning."
Huo Guining thought for a moment before realizing: "Oh, so it was you who said that this morning?"
Zhang Ling nodded, glanced at his father, then timidly continued.
"My dad said that talking like that would hurt your feelings. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have learned a few phrases online and then carelessly repeated them."
At this point, little Zhang Ling earnestly evaluated: "Ningning, you're the best girl I've ever met."
Huo Xiaozheng's brow furrowed. What was this kid saying?
"I'm truly sorry for hurting your feelings," Zhang Ling said, bowing deeply to her.
Zhang Ling's father also apologized: "Mr. Huo, Ningning, I'm sorry. It's my fault for not guiding him properly. The staff members said a few things casually, and I didn't realize he had overheard."
"I'm truly sorry this happened."
Zhang Ling's father was an athlete, with slightly dark skin and a proper, sincere face.
Huo Xiaozheng didn't respond, but looked to Huo Guining instead.
Huo Guining thought for a moment, then spoke seriously: "Zhang Ling, you should understand the situation clearly before commenting on me and my mom."
"Although I don't think I've done anything wrong, I indeed don't like being talked about like that."
Zhang Ling's mouth turned down, looking so guilty he might cry at any moment.
Huo Guining changed the subject: "However, since you didn't mean any harm, I'll forgive you this time. But don't let it happen again!"
Zhang Ling's eyes lit up, and he reached out to hug Huo Guining: "Ningning, you're such a good person!"
Huo Xiaozheng frowned, pulled Ningning back, and pushed her into the room, issuing an undisguised dismissal.
"If there's nothing else, you should go. Ningning needs to sleep."
Seeing that Huo Xiaozheng's face was still cold, Zhang Ling's father felt a bit uneasy.
But since he had said this, they couldn't keep lingering. He had to pull his son away.
The cameraman thought: Perfect, we've got material for this episode and even some extras.
Huo Xiaozheng closed the door and watched her finish taking her vitamins.
"Zhang Ling is quite cute," Huo Guining said, amused as she recalled Zhang Ling's almost-crying expression.
Huo Xiaozheng's face darkened: "What's cute about him? He can't even speak properly."
Huo Guining nodded in agreement: "That's true, that part isn't so good."
On the way home, Zhang Ling sneezed: "Dad, should we send some cold medicine to Ningning? Do you think she might catch a cold?"
Recalling Huo Xiaozheng's expression, Zhang Ling's father wanted to knock some sense into his son.
"Ningning has her dad to take care of her if she gets sick. Why are you worried about it?"
"But Ningning is my lifesaver. Caring about her is the code of brotherhood!"
"You've been watching too many martial arts dramas," Zhang Ling's father thought silently. He made a mental note to keep a close eye on his son tomorrow and prevent him from getting too close to Ningning.
Zhang Ling's dangerous comments from earlier had likely put him on Mr. Huo's blacklist.
Thinking of this, Zhang Ling's father advised him: "Son, when you talk to Ningning tomorrow, don't be so ambiguous. You might get beaten up."
Zhang Ling was confused: "Ambiguous?"
Zhang Ling's father: "Say what needs to be said, and don't say what shouldn't be said."
"No, starting tomorrow, you should practice the skill of being silent," he added.
Zhang Ling: ...
