The ward was very quiet.
The two little ones were especially well-behaved. Lu Xi told them that this was a hospital, so they needed to keep their voices down to avoid disturbing other patients. They obediently sat still, speaking in hushed tones.
Lu Xi had low blood sugar and always carried chocolates and milk candies with her. She took out some and gave one to each child.
She wasn’t being stingy. It was just that she remembered children shouldn’t eat too much sugar, or they’d get cavities.
Sure enough, Ningning gazed longingly at the chocolate in Lu Xi’s hand and asked, “Can we have a few more? Auntie Li never lets us eat too many.”
Lu Xi wasn’t one to indulge children in this regard. She tapped the little girl’s forehead lightly. “There’s a reason for that. Too much sugar causes cavities, makes you look bad, and gives you toothaches.”
The little boy, Ningning’s younger brother, was named Zhou Chi. Unlike his sister, who stuck to Lu Xi, he preferred to cling to Xie Heng.
“Brother, do you have cavities?”
Xie Heng had just unwrapped the chocolate Lu Xi gave him when he heard this. He raised an eyebrow smugly. “Of course not.”
Lu Xi recalled that he indeed had perfect teeth—clean and white.
She grinned mischievously. “Xiao Heng, open your mouth and show them your teeth. Be a good role model for the kids.”
Xie Heng immediately shut his mouth tight.
No way. He wasn’t some kind of livestock getting his teeth inspected!
But the two little ones were staring at him intently, eager to see his teeth.
Xie Heng was speechless. With a straight face, he changed the subject. “How did you two get here? Why do your parents let you wander around all the time? What if you run into bad people?”
Children had short attention spans, and they quickly forgot about checking his teeth.
Ningning, with a candy in her mouth, tilted her head. “What’s there to be afraid of? The Police Uncles will protect us.”
Her little brother, however, shook his head. “We don’t have parents. We’ve never met them.”
At that, Ningning remembered something. She turned to Lu Xi, tugging at her sleeve and looking up with big, hopeful eyes. “Pretty Sister, can you be our Mommy?”
Lu Xi was caught between laughter and tears.
She couldn’t just randomly become someone’s Mom, but… she did recall their grandfather mentioning that their parents were no longer around. Looking into their innocent eyes, she found it hard to say no outright.
So, she decisively passed the question to her son. She pointed at Xie Heng and said, “Ask this Brother here. See if he’s willing to share his Mommy with you.”
The two kids widened their eyes.
They looked at Lu Xi, then at Xie Heng, and after a long pause, said, “Oh! So you’re the Police Brother’s Mommy? No wonder you two look alike!”
Xie Heng raised an eyebrow.
Was that so? He and Lu Xi did look quite similar. These kids had sharp eyes.
Wait… was that the point here?
Did they just say they had never met their parents? What did that mean? Had their parents passed away?
Now, he found it hard to refuse them as well. Something about it just felt strange.
Seeing Xie Heng stay silent, Ningning assumed he was unwilling. She anxiously rummaged through her pockets, first the left, then the right. Her eyes lit up when she found what she was looking for—a car key. She ran over and stuffed it into Xie Heng’s hand, saying brightly, “Here! You can have this. The car is yours, so can you share Mommy with us now?”
Xie Heng stared, stunned, at the Rolls-Royce key in his hand.
He didn’t quite understand—but he was utterly shocked.
Even Lu Xi leaned over to take a look, her expression a mix of amusement and disbelief. She wasn’t sure whether to be touched or exasperated. The little girl liked her so much that she was willing to trade something she considered valuable. But at the same time, it was a little absurd—she was a person, not an object!
Children’s logic was truly unfathomable.
Xie Heng : “…”
Confirmed. These two kids were troublemakers. Last time, they tried selling the family’s gold watch; now they were giving away car keys…
Were they dumb? But then again, they were cunning enough to find his hospital room, which wasn’t easy.
Still, they couldn’t be that bright, or they wouldn’t think a car key was as good as money.
They were definitely bigger troublemakers than he had been at their age.
Xie Heng looked into their clear, expectant eyes and, in the end, couldn’t bring himself to be harsh. With a grumble, he shoved the car key back into the little girl’s pocket. Then he broke his chocolate in half, thought for a moment, lifted his pillow, and pulled out a stash of candies and chocolates, handing them all to the kids.
“Eat your candy and stop talking,” he muttered awkwardly.
He couldn’t share his Mom, but he could give candies as much as they wanted.
Lu Xi watched this unfold and burst into laughter. She glanced meaningfully at Xie Heng.
Well, well. So he had been hiding the candy she gave him under his pillow like a little kid?
Her bright smile made Xie Heng uncomfortable. He shot her an exasperated look and huffed, shoving the pillow aside. His voice carried a hint of petulance. “I don’t want to stay in the hospital anymore. Take me home.”
Lu Xi’s laughter grew even brighter.
That could wait. First, they needed to find the little ones’ family.
No matter how smart these two were, there was no way they found this place entirely on their own. Most likely, someone had brought them here, and they had sneaked away when the chance arose.
Which meant that person was still in the hospital, probably searching frantically for them.
Lu Xi immediately headed to the nurse’s station, hoping they could use the hospital’s broadcast system or another method to help locate the children’s family. Before she could finish speaking, several people hurried over.
“Excuse me, have you seen two children about this tall, one boy and one girl?”
Lu Xi raised an eyebrow.
Well, wasn’t this a coincidence?
Without hesitation, she led them to the hospital room. Upon seeing the newcomers, Zhou Ning, who had two pieces of candy stuffed in her mouth, froze for a moment. Then, as if resigned to her fate, she shrank back, exchanging a look with her little brother before letting out an exaggerated sigh.
“*Sigh*, another failed attempt at running away from home.”
Lu Xi almost burst out laughing. These kids were both exasperating and adorable.
The people who had come included the Zhou family’s caretakers for the children, a few bodyguards, and the assistant of the children’s grandfather.
They carried several bags filled with expensive fruits and health supplements.
The assistant explained that they had brought the twins to visit their injured ‘Brother,’ following the orders of Mr. Zhou. However, shortly after arriving at the hospital, the two had managed to slip away. The group had panicked, immediately requesting security footage, which showed the twins taking the elevator to the sixth floor. That led them here.
Lu Xi: Understood. This was what they called the legendary ‘hands-off’ parenting style.
Still, these two were impressive—managing to escape right under the noses of several adults. She wasn’t sure if it was because the adults were too careless or if the twins were simply agile thanks to their height advantage.
The assistant, full of gratitude, said, “Fortunately, we ran into you. You’ve helped the Zhou family once again. Thank you so much.”
Hearing the name ‘Zhou family,’ Lu Xi took note.
Two little kids decked out in luxury watches and riding in high-end cars. It was clear their family was wealthy. The Zhou family’s head also seemed to be an elderly man. She couldn’t help but think of a certain media tycoon, who also happened to be surnamed Zhou and of a similar age.
Could it be him?
But the thought only lingered briefly. Whoever they were had nothing to do with her. Even if it was that powerful tycoon, she had no reason to curry favor.
So, she simply nodded and said coolly, “You should be more careful next time. It’s dangerous for kids to go missing.”
The assistant quickly nodded, then sighed helplessly, “Ningning and Xiao Chi are great kids, but they’re just too mischievous.”
Lu Xi shot a glance at her own son and nodded knowingly. “I understand. My kid is quite mischievous too.”
The so-called mischievous child, Xie Heng: “…”
He clenched his fists slightly, the corners of his mouth twitching.
He wanted to refute that, but he knew the rules. When Lu Xi was speaking with other adults, he wasn’t allowed to interrupt. Doing so would embarrass her, and she’d get upset. Then he’d have to spend a long time coaxing her back into a good mood.
He had to endure it.
The assistant also looked over at Xie Heng, feeling a little surprised.
Although he had seen the boy in the security footage, he still found it hard to believe. Xie Heng looked rebellious, yet he was clearly kind-hearted and willing to help others.
More importantly, the usually unruly Zhou twins were sitting obediently beside him, listening to him like well-behaved little cubs.
An absurd thought suddenly popped into the assistant’s head: Would it be possible to hire this teenager to babysit the twins?
Of course, it was just a fleeting thought. He already knew before coming that Xie Heng was the son of Xie Yizhao. No amount of money could get him to be their babysitter.
With a smile, the assistant said, “Not at all. Student Xie is very warm-hearted and clearly well-raised. He has a strong sense of justice.”
Lu Xi humbly responded, “Not at all. Ningning and Xiao Chi are so cute—anyone would want to help them. Besides, my son respects his elders and cares for the young.”
The assistant’s eyes flickered with admiration. “Student Xie is not only good-looking but also quite skilled. Has he trained in martial arts?”
Lu Xi waved a hand dismissively. “Not really. He’s just naturally agile and practices a lot on his own—completely self-taught.”
The assistant made a show of being impressed, nodding in approval. “That’s amazing. He’s bound to have a bright future. Oh, by the way, we heard that he missed an exam because he was busy saving a child that day. We feel terrible about that.”
Lu Xi replied with a light chuckle, “It’s fine. The school is letting him take a makeup exam.” She paused for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile even more. “His grades are quite stable, so missing a test or two doesn’t really affect him.”
…
For the first time, Xie Heng found himself being praised so openly, with compliments being showered on him as if they were free.
Feeling a little embarrassed, he turned his back to them.
He pretended to listen to the two little kids, but in reality, his ears were perked up, catching every single word.
Of course, he knew that most of the assistant’s compliments were just polite formalities.
But Lu Xi… she was something else!
How could she lie with such a straight face?
What did she mean by ‘he practices often and is self-taught’? Wasn’t she just saying he was always getting into fights?
And what was that about his grades being ‘very stable’?
She might as well have just called him an academic disaster!
Xie Heng was now completely convinced of Lu Xi’s talent. She could probably talk a dead man back to life. He was tempted to suggest she write a book and call it <The Art of High-EQ Communication by Ms. Lu>.