Huo Ning chose to interpret this expression as one of concern. She comforted Aunt Xu in her childish way, and the soothing words prompted Aunt Xu to add two more dishes to her breakfast.
After washing up, Huo Ning enjoyed her breakfast as if nothing had happened.
She looked around and realized she wasn't in Royal Elegance Garden. Curiously, she called out to Aunt Xu in the kitchen, "Aunt Xu, where are we?"
Aunt Xu replied gently, "This is Panlong Bay Villa Area."
Huo Ning nodded, seeming to understand but not quite, "Then when are we going back to Royal Elegance Garden?"
"You'll be living here from now on," Huo Xiaozheng's voice sounded behind her as he sat down opposite Huo Ning.
Huo Xiaozheng was very tall, dressed in a black suit. Coupled with his stern, expressionless face, he gave off an intimidating aura.
Huo Ning felt a bit nervous, but also somewhat delighted, "What about you?"
Huo Xiaozheng didn't miss her expression. He took a sip of coffee and said slowly, "This is my home, so of course I'll be living here too."
This sudden happiness caught Huo Ning off guard. What a coincidence! She had just been worrying about how to stay close to Huo Xiaozheng, and now it was as if someone had handed her exactly what she needed. It truly felt like heaven was on her side.
Did this also mean she would never have to face Shi Lili again?
"Uncle Huo..." Huo Ning wasn't sure how Huo Xiaozheng felt about her at the moment, and worried that casually calling him 'Dad' might offend him, "Where's my mom?"
"If you don't want to, you'll never have to see her again."
Though Huo Xiaozheng's tone lacked warmth, Huo Ning inexplicably felt a surge of security. She nodded vigorously, "I never want to see her again."
Huo Xiaozheng grunted in acknowledgment.
"Next, I'll transfer your household registration to my name. Do you have any thoughts about your name?" Despite her being only 5 years old, perhaps due to her life experiences, Huo Xiaozheng wanted to give her the choice regarding her name.
Huo Ning hadn't expected him to say so much to her. She stammered that she wanted to keep her given name but didn't want to use the surname Shi anymore.
Huo Xiaozheng nodded, "That's fine."
The conversation ended there. Huo Xiaozheng finished his breakfast at a leisurely pace and prepared to leave.
The 5-year-old Huo Ning, due to her weak constitution and the excess sugar she had consumed at breakfast, began to feel drowsy again after eating.
Aunt Xu came over and picked up Huo Ning, who was already starting to nod off.
Huo Xiaozheng stood up, grabbing his coat to leave.
Aunt Xu hesitantly stopped him, "Mr. Huo, is the young miss going to the company with you today?"
Huo Xiaozheng frowned, "No."
Aunt Xu glanced at the sleeping girl in her arms and stammered, "But the young miss can't be without you... what should we do..."
Aunt Xu's words reminded Huo Xiaozheng.
To accommodate Huo Ning, Huo Xiaozheng had worked from home yesterday. In the evening, he had the housekeeper take Huo Ning to sleep in the guest room. But after just a few minutes, the housekeeper brought back a Huo Ning who had cried herself hoarse.
Huo Xiaozheng had no choice but to let Huo Ning sleep beside him.
That night, Huo Xiaozheng could barely sleep and woke up before dawn. Meanwhile, the culprit slept soundly through the night and even had the energy to chat and ask for extra food at breakfast as if nothing had happened.
Huo Xiaozheng thought: What a troublemaker.
Thinking of this, Huo Xiaozheng couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose, "Give her to me."
Aunt Xu replied, "Of course, Mr. Huo."
Huo Xiaozheng awkwardly took Huo Ning into his arms. The child in his arms didn't look like she was 5 years old; she was so small and thin that she could easily pass for a 3-year-old.
In the car, he let Huo Ning lean against him, sleeping unsteadily.
The driver occasionally glanced at the little girl sleeping so vulnerably through the rearview mirror, feeling somewhat guilty. He could only drive as smoothly as possible.
Huo Xiaozheng, however, showed no concern, focusing entirely on his laptop, busy with work early in the morning.
By the time they reached the company, Huo Ning was still asleep. She slept without a care, her little face flushed, which covered up her slightly sallow complexion.
Huo Xiaozheng had no choice but to carry her up to the office himself.
The temperature was very low today. Aunt Xu had dressed her in a long purple down jacket, with a fluffy collar that covered her head completely.
Employees watched as Huo Xiaozheng, expressionless, carried a small child towards the top floor. The child's face was hidden by the coat's hood, only a pair of butterfly-bow snow boots visible, and judging by the size, it seemed to be a little girl.
Employees who witnessed this scene wailed in the group chat, both curious and heartbroken.
Curious about the little girl's identity, heartbroken that their dream romance was shattered.
"The CEO brought a little girl to work today!"
"Ah, my crush! My dreams are shattered!"
"Isn't the CEO single??? A secret child?"
"Does anyone know the inside story??? Spill the tea!"
"Isn't this the father-daughter relationship I've dreamed of? I ship this CP!"
"Shipping everything will only hurt you"
"+1"
"+1"
...
Huo Xiaozheng was oblivious to all this. When they reached the top floor, he handed the child to his female secretary, Yin Su.
"Take her to my rest area and keep an eye on her," Huo Xiaozheng instructed.
Having never seen Huo Xiaozheng care about any female creature other than Qin Wangshu, even Yin Su was momentarily stunned.
But her professionalism quickly kicked in. She carefully took the little girl and headed towards the rest area.
Not far away, Xi Chuan, who had just seen the messages in the internal group chat, happened to walk by.
He glanced at the departing Huo Ning and handed some documents to Huo Xiaozheng, "These are the materials for the upcoming meeting. The shareholders are already waiting in the conference room."
Huo Xiaozheng nodded and walked towards the conference room.
Meanwhile, Yin Su placed the little girl on the bed in the rest area.
Feeling a slight pressure on her chest, Huo Ning groggily opened her eyes as soon as she touched the bed.
"Where am I?" Huo Ning rubbed her eyes and sat up, her almond-shaped eyes still misty with sleep.
Having just woken up, Huo Ning's voice was a bit hoarse, sounding adorably sweet.
Yin Su's maternal instincts were instantly triggered.
"This is the CEO's office," Yin Su crouched by the bed and said softly, "The CEO has gone to a meeting. It will be a while before he's done."
Huo Ning felt her chest. It felt a bit tight, but not painful. She obediently nodded, "Pretty sister, who are you?"
Yin Su was delighted by being called "pretty sister": "I'm the CEO's secretary. My name is Yin Su."
The child's body really wasn't in good shape. Having just woken up from a nap, she was already feeling hungry again. Huo Ning tilted her head, "Sister Yin, I'm hungry."
Although Huo Ning found it a bit strange that Huo Xiaozheng had brought her to the company, at this moment, her stomach was clearly the priority.
Yin Su happily asked, "What would you like to eat? I'll buy it for you."
Now that food was mentioned, she perked right up.
"I want a beef burger and an iced cola!" Huo Ning cheerfully placed her order, "And if there could be some fries, that would be even better!"
"Little ones shouldn't drink iced cola. How about milk instead?"
Huo Ning couldn't refuse a beautiful woman's request and immediately compromised, "Okay!"
Yin Su sighed in relief. After placing the order, she asked Huo Ning what she wanted to do.
Considering that this was a workplace, Huo Ning thought for a moment and, in line with her childish persona, made a request: "Can I watch cartoons?"
Yin Su smiled, "Of course you can."
Yin Su led Huo Ning out of the rest area and settled her on the couch in the office, giving her an iPad.
"You can choose your own cartoons, okay?" Yin Su opened a video app for her, switched to the cartoon channel, and handed it to her.
Huo Ning took the iPad and nodded obediently.
After settling Huo Ning, Yin Su went out to work.
In her previous life, Huo Ning had been an animation enthusiast, and her hobby was drawing anime. But due to her health issues, it became increasingly difficult for her to keep up with it, so the hobby was eventually set aside.
The world in the book was almost identical to the real world, just with different names, as if it were a knockoff version of reality. Huo Ning found some of the anime she had followed in her previous life and began to watch them.
Midway through, Yin Su brought her the burger. Huo Ning happily ate while watching her anime.
"Have the marketing department rewrite the project proposal. Huo Corporation is not a garbage dump. If this happens again, fire them..." Huo Xiaozheng walked into his office with a gloomy face, followed by Xi Chuan, who was respectfully keeping his distance to avoid incurring his boss's wrath.
"No matter when, live on with pride!" A passionate young voice from the iPad interrupted Huo Xiaozheng's anger.
Meanwhile, Huo Ning was burying her face in a giant hamburger, opening her mouth wide to take a big bite. Huo Xiaozheng's voice didn't disturb her immersive viewing experience at all.
From Huo Xiaozheng's angle, he could only see her eyes, which were fixed intently on the iPad screen. She nodded vigorously along with the dialogue, then picked up a nearby glass of milk and took a hearty gulp.
Her eating manner was fierce, yet oddly endearing.
Huo Xiaozheng's brows furrowed. He cleared his throat, walked over, and pressed the pause button on the video.
Huo Ning, engrossed in the plot, was startled by the sudden appearance of a pair of hands. With her mouth full of food, she didn't have time to swallow and choked a bit.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Huo Ning coughed violently, her little face turning red instantly.
Fortunately, only a tiny bit of food had entered her airway. Huo Ning recovered quickly.
Huo Xiaozheng said disapprovingly, "No watching TV while eating."
As he spoke, Huo Xiaozheng glanced at the screen. To his surprise, the paused image showed severed limbs, blood everywhere, and even some internal organs...
Huo Xiaozheng was a bit shocked. Do 5-year-olds nowadays like watching this kind of animation?
Huo Ning wasn't bothered by his lecture. She nodded obediently, "Okay, I understand."
She then closed the iPad and buried her head to take another big bite of the hamburger.
Huo Xiaozheng's frown deepened. He could only console himself that it must be because children have lower IQs and couldn't fully understand what he was saying.
Having reached this conclusion, Huo Xiaozheng stopped paying attention to Huo Ning. He stood up, walked to his desk, and began working.
Xi Chuan, seeing that he had dodged the anger, gave Huo Ning a mental thumbs up and quietly left.
Without her mealtime animation, Huo Ning's eating speed was impressively fast for a 5-year-old.
After finishing her meal, she dutifully cleaned up the trash and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Huo Xiaozheng, who had been engrossed in his work, suddenly spoke up.
"To throw away the trash." Huo Ning was still a bit intimidated when Huo Xiaozheng showed no expression.
Huo Xiaozheng raised his hand and pointed to a spot not far from his right - it was a trash can.
Huo Ning shook her head, "You don't like the smell of food, so I think it's better if I throw it outside."
Earlier, when Huo Xiaozheng had crouched down to close her iPad, Huo Ning had noticed that he strongly disliked the smell of hamburgers, which was why he had been frowning the whole time.
Her innocent words caught Huo Xiaozheng off guard for a moment.
Seeing no reaction from him, Huo Ning opened the door and walked out.
After disposing of the trash, Huo Ning obediently returned to the office.
"Uncle Huo..." Huo Ning wanted to ask Huo Xiaozheng how long she needed to stay here.
Hearing this form of address, Huo Xiaozheng stood up and sat down on the sofa next to Huo Ning. Considering his future plans, Huo Xiaozheng said, "Since you are my daughter, you don't have to call me uncle."
Huo Ning tilted her head. Did he mean she should call him dad?
Internally, Huo Ning was reluctant. How could an 18-year-old soul call a 29-year-old man 'dad' without any psychological barriers? She was desperately seeking an answer.
Seeing her conflicted expression, Huo Xiaozheng continued, "Of course, it's just a form of address. If you're not comfortable with it, you can continue calling me uncle."
No joke, it's just a form of address, and Huo Ning could adapt! After all, she would need to rely on Huo Xiaozheng to survive in the future. Otherwise, she might literally die of pain. Thinking of this...
"Dad!"
The hardest part is always the beginning. After this first attempt, although Huo Ning felt a bit shy, she mostly felt resigned.
Since she was supposed to be his daughter, what harm was there in calling him dad on behalf of the original child?
This clear, crisp call caught Huo Xiaozheng off guard.
"Have you had episodes like yesterday's illness before?" Huo Xiaozheng moved past the issue of how she addressed him.
Huo Ning hesitated, unsure how to answer this question. If she said she hadn't, it might make yesterday's pain seem too coincidental, even suspicious. But if she said she had...
Her hesitation coincidentally aligned with what Shen Shiyan had said about her having had episodes before, but no one paid attention.
Huo Xiaozheng's expression darkened, "Regarding your illness yesterday, Dr. Shen Shiyan suggested you undergo systematic treatment."
Huo Ning was confused, "Systematic treatment?"
Faced with the bewildered girl, Huo Xiaozheng tried to explain as clearly as possible that she would need to undergo psychological counseling, not psychiatric treatment.
But clearly, Huo Ning misunderstood.
"So, are you sending me to a mental hospital?" Huo Ning looked utterly shocked, as if struck by lightning. Was her plan going to end in a mental hospital before it even began?
"No, that's not it," Huo Xiaozheng regretted his approach. Why did he assume a 5-year-old girl would be mature enough to understand the difference between psychological counseling and psychiatric treatment? But he tried to explain, "You just need to chat with a doctor at a fixed time each week. Would you be willing to do that?"
Of course, Huo Ning was unwilling!
No joke, whether it was psychiatric treatment or psychological counseling, she, as a transmigrator, could easily be exposed!
Seeing that Huo Ning still looked like the sky was falling,
Huo Xiaozheng, as if possessed, added, "If you need, I can accompany you."
Huo Ning asked softly, "Do I have to go?"
Her tone was probing and cautious. Huo Xiaozheng's rational mind told him that Huo Ning must receive psychological treatment, and he didn't have that much time to stay by her side.
But...
"If you don't want to, then we won't go."
As soon as these words left his mouth, Huo Ning's rigid body immediately relaxed. Her pale face showed a hint of joy, "As long as you're with me, Dad, I promise I won't have any more episodes."
This childish promise was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Huo Xiaozheng sighed inwardly.
"In that case, you can come to work with me for now."
Having dodged a bullet, Huo Ning had no objections to this arrangement. In fact, she was quite eager.
"I'll be quiet and won't cause you any trouble!" Huo Ning promised solemnly.
Despite her words, during lunchtime, Huo Xiaozheng found himself looking from the dark, man-eating flowers and bloody corpses on the iPad to Huo Ning heartily enjoying her meal.
As Huo Ning dug into her second helping, she failed to notice that the father beside her looked like he was about to have a breakdown.
