Chapter 17 – Sweetheart from the Sky: The Gentle CEO’s Sweet Kiss (17)
On the way home, Bai Mo took full advantage of the fact that Mother He was in another car and the driver couldn’t see the backseat. He clung to He Yuchi the entire ride, wishing he could strip him right then and there.
He Yuchi patiently coaxed him, catching Bai Mo’s wandering hands multiple times to stop him from causing trouble. Although they weren’t in public, they were still outside.
Any movement in the backseat, and the driver would definitely notice. Bai Mo might seem bold in private, but in reality, he was easily flustered. If his mother or the driver noticed anything once they got out, he’d sulk for days.
“Be good, Mo Mo. I’ll make it up to you when we get home.”
“You’re being naughty. Aren’t you tired…?”
Bai Mo tried to sneak an attack several times but failed each time. He pouted unhappily, lying against the man’s chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breath.
“Xiao Bobao, your ‘100 Ways to Flirt with a Man’ is totally useless!” The little snow ferret whined, complaining to Bobao system. “I heard the Supreme God’s host had a 100% success rate using this book—why doesn’t it work for me?”
“Liking is indulgence; love is restraint,” the broadcasting system adjusted its glasses and analyzed. “The male lead’s affection for Mo Mo has reached 95%—he’s entered the ‘love’ stage. That’s why he’s holding back.”
It was Bai Mo’s first time as a human, so his understanding of human emotions was still shallow, especially when it came to romance. He couldn’t understand—”If you love someone, why restrain yourself?” Shouldn’t love be even more unrestrained than liking? He didn’t mind it at all, so why was the male lead hesitating? Clearly, it meant he didn’t love him enough.
Bai Mo had his own beliefs and wasn’t easily swayed by logic. Instead of accepting the system’s reasoning, he started scheming—how could he make the male lead take the initiative?
Suddenly, the boy in his arms fell silent. He Yuchi glanced down and saw Bai Mo absentmindedly fiddling with a button on his shirt. His long eyelashes drooped slightly, concealing his eyes, making it impossible to read his emotions. His movements slowed, his fingers pausing—then he sighed softly, still unable to understand Bobao system’s words.
The silence inside the car made both of them fall into deep thought. He Yuchi recalled a conversation he once had with a psychologist:
“Your patient’s environment has caused severe psychological trauma. The recent kidnapping triggered deep-seated repression.
No one came to save him. No one helped him.
Have you noticed? Sometimes, he stares blankly, slow to respond to others. Other times, he’s overly enthusiastic about small things. This unpredictability is a reflection of his mental state.
He’s emotionally detached from the world—this is a warning sign.
But it’s not too late. He’s trying to integrate himself. As his family, you must give him extra care, fulfill his needs, and make him feel safe.
If he becomes obsessed with something, it’s actually a good sign—it means he’s found motivation to live.
But if he suddenly loses interest…
Be careful. The worst-case scenario is that he no longer has any attachments to this world…”
The worst possible outcome was just one—He Yuchi once again recalled Mo Mo’s heart-wrenching cries inside the phone booth and the diagnosis from his friend at the hospital: an unwillingness to wake up and face the world. His heart clenched abruptly.
“Mo Mo.” He Yuchi called softly. The boy didn’t react. It wasn’t until the fourth time that Bai Mo finally lifted his head. His usually bright, star-like eyes were unfocused, empty in a way that made He Yuchi’s chest tighten with unease.
“What is it?” The soft, sweet voice remained the same. The boy blinked slowly, his gaze gradually regaining focus. He tilted his head, waiting in confusion for He Yuchi’s response.
If he’s not going to let me kiss him, why call me?
They had arrived home. He Yuning bounced over to the car window, knocking excitedly and calling for Bai Mo in a milky, childish voice, asking to be picked up.
How could Bai Mo refuse such a simple request from a little cub? He got out of the car and scooped up the tiny child, who barely reached his knees, lifting him high into the air. Peals of giggles filled the air.
At least when Mo Mo is with Ning Ning, he still smiles.
Suddenly, He Yuchi pressed his lips into a thin line. He noticed that while Mo Mo was indeed smiling, there was a trace of exhaustion between his brows. His usual liveliness had dimmed. The heart he had barely settled in his chest tightened once more.
After chatting with Ning Ning for a while, Bai Mo let the little child run off to play by himself. He curled up in the rocking chair on the balcony, yawned, and slowly closed his eyes as the chair swayed gently.
He had already been drowsy from playing with Ning Ning before they went out. Then, scaring himself on top of it had drained his energy even faster. The fact that he managed to stay awake until they got home was proof of his impressive endurance.
Bobao system used its mental energy to lower the curtain halfway, shielding Bai Mo from the sunlight and heat.
The rocking chair swayed gently. Ning Ning sat obediently in the room behind, quietly playing with building blocks, while He Yuchi stood at the doorway, staring at the boy’s lonely, desolate back.
“Mo Mo…”
The boy sat shrouded in shadows. Just one step forward, and he would be in the bright sunlight, but a distinct boundary had been drawn before him—light and darkness divided. Though he was so close, He Yuchi felt as if Mo Mo were worlds away, within sight yet unreachable.
One step forward would lead to the light, yet Mo Mo had chosen the darkness.
“If a patient has nothing in this world to hold on to…” The psychologist’s words echoed in his ears, tightening like an invisible noose around He Yuchi’s throat, making it difficult to breathe.
Hearing his brother’s voice, He Yuning looked up and said, “Brother Mo said he wants to sit alone for a while. He needs to think about something…”
In reality, Bai Mo was just too proud to admit that his energy level was lower than a child’s. He had coaxed Ning Ning into playing with his blocks while telling him not to disturb him, claiming that he needed to think about something important—when, in fact, he just wanted to sleep.
Ning Ning, always obedient to Bai Mo, nodded and quietly sat behind him, even deliberately lowering the noise of stacking his blocks.
“Brother, don’t talk—you’ll disturb Brother Mo~” Ning Ning placed his finger against his lips in a shh gesture. “Go out, go out~”
The little one even abandoned his blocks, worried that He Yuchi would bully Bai Mo again. He got up and tried to drag him out of the room.
But a child’s strength was no match for an adult’s. In the end, Ning Ning failed to “remove” He Yuchi from the room, so the two of them—one big, one small—sat silently at the doorway, both fixated on the boy in the rocking chair.
No one knew how much time passed. Eventually, Ning Ning grew bored and ran off to play, though he kept checking back to see if He Yuchi had disturbed Bai Mo. After a few rounds of surveillance and finding He Yuchi sitting as still as a statue, Ning Ning lost interest.
As night fell and the scent of dinner drifted up from downstairs, the boy’s small nose twitched. He stretched lazily, feeling completely relaxed.
Bobao system glanced at He Yuchi and gloated, “If Mo Mo doesn’t wake up soon, someone’s about to turn into a mourning widow’s stone.” Serves him right for rejecting Mo Mo—hmph!
Bai Mo was still in a dazed state, half-asleep when he heard someone calling for dinner. His body reacted faster than his brain, and he instinctively stood up. But after sitting in the same position in the rocking chair for so long, his legs had gone numb, as if a thousand tiny ants were biting at them.
“Ah—” Bai Mo yelped, using the balcony railing for support. His forward-leaning posture triggered the tightest string in He Yuchi’s mind. Before Bai Mo could even sit back down, the man was already behind him, his long arms caging him in and pulling him back.
“Mo Mo, don’t go!”
Bai Mo: “…?”