After going downstairs, Lu Xi and Xie Yizhao saw that Xie Heng was already in the dining room having breakfast.
Although his fever had subsided, and aside from his hoarse voice, he had no other symptoms, the doctor had advised yesterday that he should eat light meals for the next few days and avoid cold air.
Luckily, it was winter break, so he could stay home to recover.
The kitchen had prepared shredded pork congee for him that morning—something he had insisted on; otherwise, he would have only had plain congee with pickled vegetables.
Still, he ate with resentment.
If every time he got sick, he had to endure such a bland diet for several days, then he swore he would never repeat his mistakes. If he ever took off his shirt to play basketball again, he’d be a fool.
Hearing movement, he looked up and saw Lu Xi and Xie Yizhao walking toward him.
The boy’s gaze wavered.
Why was she coming downstairs dressed like that?
Seeing that Xie Heng looked fine, Lu Xi felt relieved, but she still walked over to touch his forehead.
Xie Heng didn’t dodge but softly said, “I’m fine now. I’m strong.”
Lu Xi just snorted with a smile.
Technically, he wasn’t wrong—he was in good health. The doctor had said last night that his fever was acute, and as long as it had gone down and he got proper rest, it wouldn’t return.
It was rare for the three of them to have breakfast together.
Normally, at this hour, Lu Xi would still be asleep.
Xie Heng also noticed the faint dark circles under her eyes.
Lu Xi caught his glance because, even though he thought he was being subtle, his actions were anything but.
“What are you looking at? Don’t you know it’s rude to stare at a girl’s just-woken-up face?” Lu Xi couldn’t help rubbing her face.
Whenever she didn’t sleep well, she always felt her face was puffy, her eyelids swollen, and dark circles obvious. Not to mention, she wasn’t even wearing makeup.
Suddenly scolded, Xie Heng was confused. “What? You look great right now.”
Why wasn’t he allowed to look?
Lu Xi was stunned. Seeing the boy’s genuinely puzzled expression, she held back a laugh, feeling unexpectedly cheerful.
Xie Yizhao sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Just then, he noticed Lu Xi giving him a meaningful look.
He paused.
Last night, Lu Xi had discussed with him that once Xie Heng recovered, they needed to scold him together.
She had read in a parenting book that when disciplining a child, parents shouldn’t play good cop/bad cop. Instead, they should both be involved, praising together and criticizing together.
But now, Lu Xi didn’t want to scold him anymore.
After all, her little boy had just complimented her—so sweet!
She decided to let Xie Yizhao be the bad guy instead. He was used to it anyway, right?
She blinked at Xie Yizhao, making her message very clear.
Xie Yizhao lowered his eyes and smiled slightly, not minding her little tricks. He would find a way to make her make it up to him later anyway.
Then, looking up at Xie Heng, his previously gentle expression turned slightly stern. “What happened yesterday? Be more careful when playing basketball from now on. Don’t get sick again and make your Mom worry, she didn’t sleep well last night.”
Under the table, Lu Xi secretly gave him a thumbs-up.
Nice job!
Xie Heng, of course, wasn’t happy about being scolded. He had just finished eating and set his chopsticks down, staring rebelliously at Xie Yizhao. “Dad, stop pretending. You were worried about me too. You secretly checked on me several times last night.”
Xie Yizhao was momentarily speechless.
This brat was getting bolder in front of him.
But since he was still recovering, Xie Yizhao couldn’t scold him, let alone hit him. After a moment, he put down his chopsticks, adjusted his tie, and looked at Lu Xi. In a gentle voice, he said, “I’m heading to work.”
Lu Xi waved at him, trying hard to suppress her laughter, but her shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
Xie Yizhao pretended not to see and left quickly.
Xie Heng, satisfied that he had managed to fluster his Dad for once, was in a good mood. He waited a few minutes for Lu Xi to finish laughing before asking, “So when are we leaving?”
Lu Xi wiped away tears of laughter. “Going where?”
“Work, of course.”
Lu Xi glanced at him, amused. “Not going. Today’s a rest day.”
Xie Heng thought for a moment. “But I’m fine now. I can work.”
Lu Xi didn’t understand why he was so enthusiastic about a job that paid just 30 yuan an hour. “If you don’t want to rest, I still need to! Look at my dark circles.”
“…”
Xie Heng glanced at her.
He said nothing and obediently sat back down.
When Ms. Lu didn’t get enough sleep, her temper was truly bad. He’d better not push his luck.
But he still felt a bit heartbroken over the lost wages. Three hours in the morning, almost a hundred yuan gone.
After lunch, Lu Xi took a nap at home and made sure to remind Xie Heng to sleep as well so he could recover faster.
She woke up at five in the afternoon.
Looking in the mirror, she saw that the dark circles were still there, so she quickly put on a pair of under-eye patches.
Leisurely sitting back on the bed, she noticed a message from Xie Heng, sent an hour ago.
Buzzcut Brat : [I can’t sleep. I’m a little afraid to sleep.]
Buzzcut Brat : [How can you sleep so much? Let me know when you wake up. I have something to talk to you about.]
Lu Xi snorted.
How dare he say she sleeps too much?
She typed quickly on the screen : [Come to the living room.]
Then, she took out another pair of eye masks.
Three minutes later, Lu Xi and Xie Heng successfully met in the living room.
Lu Xi generously handed him the eye masks. Sitting down on the sofa, she patted the spot beside her, “Come on, put on the eye masks. Let’s have a nice chat, just the two of us.”
Xie Heng held the small patches in his hand and then stared at the strange things around Lu Xi’s eyes. He instinctively resisted. “I don’t want them.”
Lu Xi said, “These are expensive. One pair costs more than two hundred. Boys need to take care of their skin too.”
“So expensive?” Xie Heng was baffled. These things stay on for barely ten minutes, what good could they possibly do?
He tugged at the corner of his lips. “Can I sell them instead?”
Lu Xi : “No. Either use them or give them back.”
Xie Heng frowned, hesitated for a while, and reluctantly decided to give them a try.
But how was he supposed to apply them? Which side was up? Which side was down?
Seeing the pure confusion in his eyes, Lu Xi couldn’t help but laugh and waved him over so she could help.
Xie Heng walked over and sat down.
To keep warm, he was wearing a sweater and sweatpants even indoors. Normally, it wasn’t anything special, but now, looking at Lu Xi, who was curled up comfortably in fluffy loungewear on the sofa, he started to feel envious.
That outfit looked way more comfortable.
“Wait a second, I’m going upstairs to change.”
Like a gust of wind, Xie Heng ran upstairs. Not long after, he came back down—now wearing the pink monster-themed pajama set.
In this house, he had already lost all sense of dignity. There was no shame left to carry. Comfort was the only thing that mattered.
Lu Xi’s eyes lit up with delight.
She truly loved seeing him in this outfit—like a life-sized baby dinosaur. But if only he had worn something like this when he was actually little, he would’ve been even cuter.
Too bad she had missed out on that.
At that thought, her gaze softened unconsciously. She pulled Xie Heng down to sit beside her and carefully applied the eye masks for him.
Xie Heng still felt uncomfortable. The area around his eyes was cold and had a strong scent.
So strong that he had the urge to peel them off.
But then he remembered the price. He forced himself to endure it.
Fine.
These weren’t eye masks.
These were… Batman’s eye covers.
Batman’s eye covers.
Xie Heng repeated the thought in his head.
Once everything was set, Lu Xi leaned back, resting her head against the couch. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
Xie Heng mimicked her, leaning back and closing his eyes. “I had a nightmare last night.”
“Hmm? Saw a ghost?”
“No…” He had only been scared of ghosts when he was a kid.
Xie Heng cleared his throat and mumbled, “I dreamt about the accident. Your car fell off the bridge… I woke up in a panic.”
Lu Xi froze for a moment.
With the eye masks on, the skin around her eyes wasn’t supposed to move, but she still frowned instinctively.
Could it be that taking him to the boat yesterday had triggered some hidden trauma?
Lu Xi suddenly realized. She had never actually talked to Xie Heng about this.
Her disappearance, her return, and that accident from years ago…
“Do you… have that dream often?” she hesitated before asking.
Xie Heng pressed his lips together. “Not really. I used to have it all the time when I was a kid. It got better as I grew up.”
…Really?
Lu Xi sighed softly in her heart.
This was her fault.
She had assumed Xie Heng was strong, that he wouldn’t dwell on things. But he was only sixteen. If she had talked to him earlier—maybe not even explaining everything in detail, but at least addressing it—perhaps she could have helped him move past the fear.
Xie Heng took a slow breath. “It’s not a big deal. I just wanted to ask… where have you been all these years?”
His voice dropped a little. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
Lu Xi’s fingers curled slightly on her knee, unconsciously clenching.
“There’s nothing I can’t say.”
Hearing that, Xie Heng instinctively opened his eyes in surprise, then quickly shut them again when he remembered the eye masks. “Then… tell me.”
That was the moment Song Siyang walked in.
The housekeeper had let him in.
As a frequent visitor to this house, the butler had simply told him that Xie Heng and Madam were in the living room and let him go straight in.
His footsteps echoed at the doorway.
“Brother Heng? I heard you were sick. Are you feeling better—”
His voice suddenly cut off, the last note cracking like a duck being strangled mid-quack.
He stood frozen, staring blankly at the two people on the sofa.
Dressed in fluffy blue bear pajamas and pastel pink monster pajamas… was that really CEO Lu and Brother Heng?
Wait, what was that on Brother Heng’s face?!
Just as Xie Heng was about to hear the truth he had been waiting for, he was rudely interrupted. Annoyed, he spoke up. “What do you want?”
Song Siyang turned around and bolted. “S-Sorry! Wrong room!”