Free Web NovelChapter 117: Chapter 117: Help Me Unbuckle My Belt
Xiao Chuan tilted his head and asked, "If I don’t call you ’big brother,’ what should I call you?"
Wen Yaozu said, "Call me Boss!"
"Boss!"
Xiao Chuan obediently called out.
The next second, Wen Ci raised her hand and smacked the back of Wen Yaozu’s head. She glared at him. "Do you have to be the boss outside of school, too?"
"But ’Boss’ sounds so impressive, doesn’t it?" Wen Yaozu muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, nothing!" Wen Yaozu quickly denied. Spotting the egg in his sister’s hand, he added with a smile, "I’m hungry. Can I have that egg?"
Wen Ci handed him the egg.
Suddenly, the landline in the living room began to ring. Wen Ci walked over and picked it up, hearing a man’s voice she had never heard before. "Is this Jingyuan’s wife?"
Wen Ci frowned.
’Someone who calls him so intimately must be a good friend of Huo Jingyuan’s.’
"And you are?"
"I’m Xiao Chuan’s uncle. I’m also a childhood friend of Jingyuan’s from when he was abroad. My name is Xu Jinghe."
After a moment of thought, Wen Ci said frankly, "I’ve never heard Jingyuan mention you, so I’ll need to wait until this time tomorrow to confirm your identity."
"I understand. We’ll talk tomorrow, then."
"Okay."
Wen Ci ended the call amicably. After hanging up the receiver, she realized something. ’For a call to get through to the military family compound, the caller’s information must have been vetted.’
"Who was that?" Wen Yaozu asked.
"It was probably Xiao Chuan’s uncle." After a pause, Wen Ci looked up at Xiao Chuan and asked curiously, "Is your uncle’s name Xu Jinghe?"
"I think that’s his name."
During the day, Wen Ci supervised Wen Yaozu’s studies at home, making him start over from the basics of his first year of middle school. At night, he had to run ten laps.
·
「The next day.」
Wen Ci had just finished supervising Wen Yaozu’s ten laps and was about to head out to visit Huo Jingyuan when she ran into Su Guilan at the door. Su Guilan’s face was a stony mask.
"Who have you brought into Old Commander Huo’s home?"
The day before, she had been at the mess hall getting food when she overheard people gossiping about how Wen Ci had taken enough food for three people. They were wondering if Huo Jingyuan had returned.
Others might not know, but Su Guilan knew the truth.
Huo Jingyuan was lying in the hospital, seriously injured. His meals were specially prepared by the hospital cafeteria each day, so there was no need for Wen Ci to get food for him from the compound’s mess hall.
"Is there a rule against it?"
Su Guilan’s expression changed in an instant. She gritted her teeth. "Huo Jingyuan is still lying in a hospital bed, and you’re doing something like this? Have you no shame?"
Wen Ci was thoroughly confused.
But she quickly understood. Shaking her head, she let out a laugh. "So, you think I’m keeping another man in the Huo family home?"
"What else could it be?"
Wen Ci didn’t answer. She didn’t want to waste time arguing with Ms. Su, so she walked right past her. "Think whatever you like."
Su Guilan grew even more furious watching Wen Ci’s retreating back. She clenched her fists and muttered, "If you weren’t my own biological daughter, I would have already reported you to the authorities!"
Military marriages are sacred.
Anyone who tries to undermine a military marriage will face the full penalty of the law.
After Wen Ci was a good distance away, Su Guilan looked toward the Huo family’s courtyard, a strange light flashing in her eyes. She was going to see for herself just who this lover was!
The courtyard gate wasn’t locked. Su Guilan opened it and walked inside. The curtains of the two rooms on the first floor were drawn tight, causing her brow to furrow.
Her gaze shifted to the second-floor bedroom. The curtains there were open, and some of Wen Ci’s clothes were hanging on a rack. She narrowed her eyes.
’Right. That little kid eats half a portion at most. So, if she got enough food for three people, doesn’t that mean...’
Su Guilan’s eyes widened. Forcing herself to stay calm, she shook her head. ’Maybe I’ve misunderstood Ah Ci. She wouldn’t do something like this.’
But her gaze couldn’t help but drift back to the two rooms on the first floor. After some deliberation, she decided to go in. ’As Huo Jingyuan’s mother-in-law, it should be fine for me to go in and get a glass of water.’
Su Guilan told herself reassuringly.
She immediately stepped inside the house. The door to the room on the left was ajar, and from within came the sound of a man snoring. The curtains blocked out the light completely, leaving the room pitch-black.
"Who are you?"
Wen Yaozu was fast asleep. Exhausted and drowsy from his run, he was snoring without pause. Suddenly, Xiao Chuan appeared in the doorway.
"Who are you?"
Suddenly, as if terrified, he bolted to Wen Yaozu’s bedside, yanking the blankets and shouting, "Boss, there’s a bad person! Wake up, wake up!"
Wen Yaozu woke up, groggy.
"Wha’s happening?"
Xiao Chuan’s body was trembling. Although he had escaped the clutches of the traffickers, the experience had left an indelible psychological scar.
"A b-bad person..."
Hearing this, Wen Yaozu was instantly wide awake. He shot up from the bed and stood protectively in front of Xiao Chuan, his eyes fixed warily on the dark figure in the doorway.
Su Guilan reached out and flipped on the light. The room was bathed in the glow of a yellowish bulb. She saw a boy shielding Xiao Chuan and frowned. "Who are you?"
"You have the nerve to ask who we are? I should be asking who you are! Barging into someone’s house in broad daylight—you must be a bad woman."
Su Guilan was speechless.
·
Meanwhile, Wen Ci rushed to the hospital.
Just as she opened the door to the hospital room, Huo Jingyuan was getting out of bed at an unhurried pace. Hearing the door, he lowered his head, a slight arch to his brow. He began to count down in his mind.
’Three, two...’
Right on cue, Wen Ci spoke up. "What are you doing out of bed?"
Huo Jingyuan looked up at Wen Ci and blinked. "I need to use the bathroom."
At his words, Wen Ci’s gaze fell to the IV line still in his left hand. He was holding the IV pole with his one free hand, and she could see blood beginning to back up into the tube.
In a few quick strides, she was at Huo Jingyuan’s side. She took the IV pole from him and said matter-of-factly, "I’ll go with you."
"Go with me to the bathroom?"
Wen Ci rolled her eyes at him. "What do you think?"
As the words left her mouth, Wen Ci couldn’t help but mutter, "It’s not like I haven’t seen it before!"
’I’ve not only seen it, I’ve touched it, too!’
A lazy smile played on Huo Jingyuan’s lips, a glint of mischief in his eyes. He had deliberately waited until Wen Ci entered the room to get out of bed.
The room had an en-suite bathroom. Huo Jingyuan was about to undo his belt himself, but the pain in the back of his hand made him suck in a sharp breath.
The hospital was using a large-gauge needle for his daily IV drips, and the back of his hand was covered in puncture marks. He said with mock seriousness, "Mr. Wen."
Hearing the upward lilt in his tone, her eyes flickered toward the belt at his waist. She tilted her head and asked, "Why are you wearing a belt with your hospital gown?"
Normally, the pants for hospital gowns are loose-fitting to make it easier for patients to use the restroom.
"The pants are too big."
Wen Ci was speechless.
For a moment, she was utterly at a loss for words.
The man gazed at Wen Ci with deep affection, two words tumbling unhurriedly from his throat: "Help me."
"Help with what?" Wen Ci asked, feigning ignorance.
"Help me unbuckle my belt."
The man’s tone was flat, but his words were suggestive. Wen Ci’s ears instantly turned red as a debate raged in her mind.
’Should I help him or not?!’
Wen Ci knew perfectly well that this damn man was doing it on purpose.
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