She saw Little Treasure standing far away at the door, Ning Xi waved at the little guy. "Little Treasure, come here."
Little Treasure pursed his lips, his hands by his side tightened into fists. Then, he walked slowly to Ning Xi.
Ning Xi rubbed the little bun's lowered head. "What's wrong, baby? Why did you hit Chi Shuai? Did Chi Shuai do something wrong?"
On the side, Chi Shuai almost started crying from being wronged. "Aunty, I didn't! Aunty, I was even praising you! But Master suddenly hit me!"
"Uhh…" When Chi Shuai said that, Ning Xi found it even odder. "You even praised me?"
"Haha… Fatty Chi! How did you praise her?" From behind them came Lu Jingli's chuckle.
Chi Shuai shot Lu Jingli an angry look. "Don't call me Fatty Chi! I really praised Aunty. I said she was beautiful!"
Lu Jingli looked at Little Treasure, then turned back at Chi Shuai again. "Oh? How did you say it?"
Chi Shuai tried to recall. "I said… I said to Master… Your stepmother is so beautiful! Right, I said it like that!"
"Pfft…" Lu Jingli sighed and shook his head. "Fatty Chi, you deserved to be hit! Who told you to jab the baby's heart?!"
Chi Shuai was still confused. He only felt better when Yan Ruyi brought some snacks over to console him.
Ning Xi seemed to have realized something, so she pulled Little Treasure to a corner. "Why did you hit Chi Shuai? Can you tell Mommy?"
Little Treasure jumped into Ning Xi's embrace all of a sudden. "Mommy…"
"I'm here!"
"Mommy!"
"Hmm."
"You're not… not stepmother! You're Mommy!" The little guy's clear eyes were filled with stubbornness.
Ning Xi's heart felt like it was being chewed on by a green fly as she felt dense pain. She patted the little guy's back softly and her voice was extraordinarily gentle. "Mmm, I'm Mommy."
–
Inside the study room.
Lu Jingli ran to tell Lu Tingxiao what had happened. "Ah, Fatty Chi said something wrong. He said 'stepmother' and jabbed his heart, so in the end, he ate Little Treasure's fist. Now, he's run to Ning Xi for caress and comfort.
"By the looks of it, Little Treasure still minds. I think the little guy hasn't been in too good of a mood recently, but what can we do? When Ning Xi's identity goes public, there will be even more talk like this. In the eyes of other people, Ning Xi is Little Treasure's stepmother…"
When Lu Tingxiao heard his brother's opinion, he looked up from the pile of documents and seemed a little dazed.
Moments later, Lu Tingxiao spoke in a low and raspy voice, "How's the investigation of that matter coming along?"
Lu Jingli looked solemn. "Bro, you predicted it correctly. The security footages from years ago were indeed tampered with, that's why I was puzzled how could there not be a single trace left behind. I investigated until I was about to go crazy. It turns out that person had sneakily edited a few minutes in the middle. I've now found a group of experts to recover it the best they can. It shouldn't be too huge of a problem. It's just a matter of time."
"Okay."
Lu Tingxiao hesitated for a moment, then he asked, "Then… Bro, when the thing with Little Treasure is clarified, are you going to tell the truth to Sis-in-law? About Little Treasure's history, and that it… was you…"
A long while after, Lu Tingxiao nodded indistinctly. "Mmm."
–
Time flew past and very soon it was Lu Tingxiao's birthday.
This time, the birthday banquet was organized at Imperial's top private venue, Heavenly Spring Resort. In fact, preparations had long begun since a few months ago.