Chapter 7

Huo Youqiao clearly didn’t have the luxury to dwell on this issue and quickly went upstairs.

Playing with kids was somewhat unfamiliar to Ye Zhi, or perhaps dealing with anyone made him nervous. But relatively speaking, interacting with Huo Ran made him relax a bit.

This little girl was really obedient.

And enthusiastic.

Under her affection, Ye Zhi’s smile changed from cautious to genuine. They not only played with puzzles but also worked on the kindergarten assignments together. They wrote a page of Chinese characters and made several paper animals.

Seeing that the assignments were supposed to be completed together by parents and children, Ye Zhi couldn’t help but worry, “Is it okay if Ranran doesn’t do it with her father?”

“He doesn’t have time.” Huo Ran habitually pouted again, “I used to do my assignments with Auntie.” She quickly smiled again, “But Auntie isn’t as good as Zhi Zhi. Zhi Zhi is amazing!”

Ye Zhi was stunned for the first time to be praised as “amazing.” After a moment, he couldn’t help but smile awkwardly and said, “If there are more assignments in the future, I can help you complete them.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Wow! That’s great!” The little girl was lively; when she was happy, she liked to run around, spreading her smile all over the spacious room. The nanny happened to have finished cooking dinner and popped her head out to call them for dinner, asking, “Does the young master want to dine?”

Huo Ran immediately said, “I’ll go call Daddy.”

Ye Zhi tidied up the scattered items on the table. While Huo Ran hadn’t come down yet, he said to the nanny, “I’ll take a shower first. You don’t need to save me any food. I’ll make noodles for myself later.”

The nanny was used to his behavior and just nodded lightly.

Back in his room, Ye Zhi’s tense body finally relaxed a bit.

He and Huo Youcheng’s marital bedroom was originally upstairs, but after one night when Huo Youcheng came back drunk and locked him out of the room, he moved downstairs and turned this guest room into his bedroom. Although it was a guest room, it wasn’t small in size and had its own bathroom. The window faced the courtyard, and drawing back the curtains revealed swaying flowers, which pleased him.

He had been living here for three years, and during this time, Huo Youcheng rarely asked him to go back upstairs to sleep.

The estrangement seemed natural compared to the possibility that Huo Youcheng might want him to leave altogether.

Ye Zhi took a shower and slowly blow-dried his hair. No one knocked on his door halfway through.

The etiquette in the Huo household was such that once someone entered their room, it meant they didn’t want to be disturbed. If there wasn’t anything extremely important, no one would knock on the door, let alone intrude into someone else’s space.

Estimating that they had finished eating, Ye Zhi waited for a while before gently opening the door.

Sure enough, the living room was empty. Huo Ran had a dance class in the evening and would leave after dinner, while Huo Youqiao was either busy with social engagements or stayed in the study upstairs even when he returned. Even the nanny had left after cleaning up the kitchen.

Ye Zhi went into the kitchen, took out a small pot, and started boiling noodles for himself. He had lived here for five years. In the beginning, Huo Youcheng’s parents also lived here, along with a live-in nanny. His personality naturally didn’t win any favor, and he lived in constant oppression, feeling very insignificant. Later, they moved to another city, and he had been living here alone for three years.

These three years were relatively relaxing for him. Huo Youcheng was often not at home, and Ye Zhi was free to take care of everything in the house. Although he didn’t dare to do much, he at most planted some flowers in the backyard, but it also gave him some breathing space.

Until Huo Youqiao came back, it felt like the house was full again, full to the point where he felt out of place here.