The humid, sticky air moved sluggishly. The sun was hidden behind thick clouds, and though there was no glaring direct sunlight, the heat had not faded at all; instead, the weather felt even more oppressive.
Chacha took out his little fan to cool himself, then fanned Daddy too as he busily packed their luggage beside him.
Daddy said they were going to pack their things and move to a new home today.
At the new home, Chacha would not only have two daddies, but also an air conditioner that could blow very, very cold air.
Then Chacha would never get heatstroke and end up in the hospital again.
After resting for a little while, Chacha got up from his small stool and helped Daddy pack.
Lü Rong merely lost focus for a moment. When he looked up again, he found that Chacha had already turned himself into a tiny spinning top, bustling nonstop.
Chacha was short. Holding several pieces of clothing was like hugging a heavy mountain, and he took little huffing, puffing steps as he ran toward the suitcase.
Despite carrying a pile of clothes, Chacha wasn't slow at all. After several trips back and forth, a layer of sweat had formed on his forehead.
Seeing two patches of red bloom on Chacha's cheeks from the heat, Lü Rong's heart ached terribly. He hurriedly caught the child who was running everywhere, wiped his sweat, and gave him water to drink.
Because of what had happened in his previous life, Chacha had developed a fear of water. He twisted his little head aside, tightly closed his mouth, and refused to drink.
“Daddy, I don't want water,” Chacha refused softly.
He had greedily watered himself a little too much for coolness some time ago, and now his leaves wouldn't grow. Chacha had been extremely restrained about drinking water these past few days, afraid he would once again be watered into a withered plant.
Lü Rong had also noticed that Chacha disliked drinking water, and a rare seriousness appeared in his pale tea-colored eyes.
“You can't refuse water. Only by drinking plenty of water can Chacha be a healthy baby.”
Chacha lowered his head and stared at the tips of his toes. His toes fidgeted uneasily, making him look particularly aggrieved.
“Drinking water makes leaves fall off.”
He mumbled the sentence in a weak little voice, so Lü Rong beside him didn't hear it at all.
“What? Whatever the reason is, children have to drink plenty of water. That helps your metabolism so you can be a healthy little cub.”
Chacha didn't understand anything about metabolism. Pouting, he snorted like a tiny pig several times and bargained with Daddy.
“Daddy, just use the little spray bottle to spray Chacha. Spray my feet, not my head.”
Lü Rong looked baffled: Huh?
Then Lü Rong finally realized that Chacha had confused drinking water with spraying water. He thought that spraying water onto his body could replenish fluids too.
No wonder Chacha had been so severely dehydrated when they went to the hospital for tests!
Lü Rong's expression became serious. He crouched down and gave Chacha a simple explanation of the difference between drinking water and spraying it.
“Water sprayed onto your body can't provide the water the human body needs. Water on the surface of your skin can't be absorbed by children either; it evaporates quickly, so we have to drink water.”
Chacha stared back with confused eyes, head tilted. He obviously hadn't understood very much.
He scratched his soft cheek and only after a long while said, half understanding and half bewildered,
“It can. Chacha can absorb water.”
Chacha's root system was dense and powerful, with excellent water absorption. His outer bark, branches, and leaves could also passively absorb water, though branches and leaves took in less.
So spraying water on him was also the same as “drinking water.”
Seeing that Chacha's little eyes were full of conviction and that he simply refused to open his mouth to drink, Lü Rong put the water bottle on the small stool and exercised his authority as the boy's biological father.
Lü Rong folded his arms, gave a cold snort, and spoke sternly.
“Are you drinking or not? I'll count to three. One, two…”
Before “three” could come out, Chacha hurriedly grabbed the little water bottle and gulped down more than half a cup.
After finishing it in one breath, Chacha tipped up his soft, fair little face and smiled sweetly and obediently, as if his voice itself were dipped in honey.
“Daddy, look. I drank it all.”
Chacha's voice was soft and sticky. He blinked his eyes, looking exceptionally docile and cuddly.
Only then was Lü Rong satisfied. The corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly. He clapped his hands and went back to packing clothes.
That left Chacha alone where he was, rubbing his little belly, which was round and full from the water. Miserably, he dropped onto the sofa on his bottom.
How tragic. Chacha was going to become a tea plant that lost all its leaves from drinking water again, sob sob.
All the other little tea plants would definitely laugh at him behind his back!
***
Chacha spent most of the day worrying. When he discovered that his hair was still growing perfectly fine, without the slightest sign of withering, he finally couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.
Sitting in the car, Chacha recovered his energy again. His eyes curved happily, his joy pure and simple.
The car that had come to pick up father and son traveled east for more than a day and arrived in Jing City in the neighboring province.
It was also the city where the Gu family lived.
As an economically developed first-tier city, every inch of land in Jing City was worth gold. Skyscrapers crowded the city center, and extravagant prosperity was on display everywhere.
Wrapped in a small blanket in the car, Chacha slept for a while. When he climbed up groggily and saw the city flashing with neon lights through the window, he couldn't help letting out a “Wow.”
“Such tall buildings.”
Lü Rong looked out at the city, nostalgia and emotion appearing in his eyes along with a trace of release.
This was the city where Lü Rong had chased his dreams, and also the place where he had found love and thrown himself into it without reservation.
Lü Rong had left behind many unforgettable, bone-deep memories in Jing City and had once thought he would never return.
He hadn't expected that in the end, he would still come back to this city by becoming entangled with Gu Huaizheng again.
But this time he had Chacha. He was no longer that fragile newcomer and minor celebrity who only knew how to retreat.
This time, Lü Rong had entered a contractual marriage with Gu Huaizheng. He needed to help Gu Huaizheng fend off his family's pressure to marry and keep away certain people with ulterior motives, creating for Gu Huaizheng the image of a clean, respectable marriage.
In the same way, Gu Huaizheng would help Lü Rong return to the entertainment industry, secure whatever resources he could for him, and become popular again.
They both understood perfectly well that their marriage had begun as a transaction, not from genuine love.
But that was enough.
Lü Rong thought that, for his current situation, marrying Gu Huaizheng brought more advantages than disadvantages.
Although he would have to go back and face several people he disliked, in the long run, Lü Rong would still come out ahead.
The car slowly arrived at the villa district.
Lü Rong took a deep breath, got out with Chacha, and stood before the villa entrance.
The night was about to fade from the horizon. The hazy light of dawn had begun to emerge, wrapping the villa in the faintest layer of morning glow.
Holding Daddy's hand, Chacha stared at the villa in front of him. His mouth opened into a tiny “O,” and his eyes went perfectly round with disbelief.
“Such a big house. Daddy, are we going to live here?”
Not only was the house huge, there was also a small garden in the front yard. The soil inside was moist and dark, clearly rich and nutritious at a glance!
Chacha couldn't even imagine how happy and blissful he would be if he could be planted in this patch of soil!
The other little tea plants would definitely envy him!
Chacha's eyes narrowed happily into tiny crescents, shining brightly.
Seeing that Chacha liked the place, Lü Rong forcibly suppressed the terrible memories rising in his mind, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.
“Yes. But some other people live here too. Daddy will tell you about them later.”
Chacha gave an “Mm” and nodded, obediently holding Daddy's hand as he craned his small head around curiously and followed Daddy inside.
***
A male master had moved into the villa.
And it was the very minor celebrity Mr. Gu had come out for five years ago!
Even more astonishingly, this little celebrity had brought along a three- or four-year-old son!
For the nannies and workers employed by the Gu family, this was nothing short of earth-shattering gossip!
Early in the morning, restless excitement floated through the villa. Auntie Zhang and Auntie Li, who worked for the Gu family, kept their heads lowered and whispered to each other.
“Is it really Mr. Lü?”
“I got up early this morning and saw him clearly when I went to the garden. It's definitely him! You remember how huge the uproar was in the Gu family back then. The old madam was so angry she almost ended up in emergency care…”
Halfway through the sentence, the housekeeper appeared and gave a heavy cough.
“The old madam will be getting up soon. Stop talking and get back to work.”
The two aunties, who had worked for the Gu family for more than ten years, hurriedly shut their mouths, split up, and busied themselves with work.
The atmosphere in the Gu household was gloomy and oppressive, and the old madam had a stern, unsmiling temperament. The aunties who had worked there for years generally didn't joke or chat.
It was only that today's gossip was simply too shocking. Even the two chefs working in the back kitchen had heard about it, and everyone's desire to gossip had instantly flared to its peak, leaving them unbearably curious.
Why had this Mr. Lü come back?
Could it be that he and Mr. Gu had reconciled? Had Old Madam Gu agreed to it too?
***
Warm morning light spilled down. Within a short half hour, the air rapidly heated up, and the last trace of coolness in the atmosphere disappeared completely.
Chacha had followed Daddy to the unfamiliar villa and gone back to sleep in a guest room. After sleeping until he was fully rested, he got up groggily.
When he opened his eyes and didn't see Daddy, Chacha felt a little frightened. He slipped on his little sandals and pattered outside at a run.
The Gu family's villa was enormous. The living room alone was bigger than the rental apartment where Chacha and Daddy had lived before.
Chacha looked around curiously. His ears perked up, and following the sound, he made his way to the pavilion in the villa's back garden where people could sit and rest.
The villa's overall architecture was stately and grand in a Chinese style. The rear pavilion was also a common hexagonal pavilion, with only a small amount of carved woodgrain, flowers, and birds decorating the corners of the eaves.
When Chacha walked over, an elderly woman wearing clothing embroidered with exquisite patterns and her hair coiled into a bun sat upright inside the pavilion. A tea tray rested on the rosewood table before her.
The old lady had fair skin and fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. Perhaps because she had spent so many years frowning, there were several lines between her brows as well. With her face set sternly, she looked somewhat harsh.
Lü Rong stood opposite the elderly woman with his head lowered, his expression unreadable.
The atmosphere between the two could only be described as oppressive. When Chacha wandered in, he felt as if even the air around them was colder than outside.
Seeing Daddy, Chacha happily revealed a row of tiny white teeth and went over to grab his hand.
“Daddy, you ran all the way here. Why didn't you bring Chacha?”
The silent Lü Rong jolted in surprise. When he saw Chacha, he hurriedly shielded him behind his body and looked up at the old woman opposite—