Chapter 96

This time, the little dinosaur couldn’t sit still in Grandma’s arms. He struggled a couple of times and wanted to get up to see how his mother was doing. Grandma Huo patted his back gently to soothe him, then carried An An over to stand in front of Bai Yiyi.

“What happened? Why did Haozhan suddenly leave?”

Bai Yiyi looked pale, not knowing how to answer. It felt like she was being forced to expose her most pathetic self to others—something she never wanted anyone to see. Even when facing her mother-in-law and her son, she found it hard to speak.

“He… he said there’s something urgent at the company, so…”

Under her mother-in-law’s gaze, Bai Yiyi couldn’t finish the sentence. Eyes red and holding back tears that were about to fall, she took a deep breath to calm herself.

“Even if you don’t want to tell me now, I’ll just ask Haozhan myself.”

This was one of the things Grandma Huo disliked most about Bai Yiyi—always playing the martyr, covering for Hao Haozhan in front of his own mother, making her look like the villain.

Now that it had come to this, Bai Yiyi could no longer keep covering for her husband.

“He… he said Miss Su’s ex-husband came looking for her again, and he was worried she might be in danger, so he went to check on her.”

Bai Yiyi had wanted to stop him, but he walked out too quickly. Not wanting to cause a scene in front of their child and his mother, she had no choice but to watch him leave.

But even if she told her mother-in-law, what difference would it make? She was always on Miss Su’s side. All this time, Miss Su had been her ideal daughter-in-law.

Knowing it would only hurt her, Bai Yiyi figured it might be better to act like nothing happened, to avoid upsetting An An with a quarrel.

Back when she and Huo Haozhan went from campus sweethearts to husband and wife, she had been full of hope for the future. Love had blinded her temporarily. But as things cooled down, the petty troubles of daily life wore her down completely.

Just like that childhood sweetheart—she had shattered Bai Yiyi’s fantasies about family over and over again.

Only then did Bai Yiyi finally understand why her parents had so strongly opposed the relationship back then.

When she was younger, she had scoffed at the importance of “matching family backgrounds.” It wasn’t until she experienced the bitterness firsthand that she realized how crucial it truly was.

Grandma Huo frowned when she heard this, motioned to the nanny to bring her phone, and dialed Huo Haozhan’s number.

The call connected quickly, and she put it on speaker. Huo Haozhan’s voice, along with the sound of another woman crying, came through clearly.

“Mom? What’s wrong? I’m with Xiaoyu. Her ex came looking for her again. I might be home late tonight.”

Bai Yiyi’s face turned even paler when she heard that. It felt like a slap in the face, like she was humiliating herself. She wished none of this had ever happened.

Grandma Huo saw every expression on her face. She sighed inwardly and sat on the couch with An An, then questioned her son in a cold, stern tone:

“Haozhan, do you really think it’s appropriate for you to go help her because her ex is bothering her?”

Huo Haozhan hadn’t expected his mother to confront him about this. For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond and could only offer a weak defense:

“Mom, didn’t you say before that I should take care of her?”

“I said to look after her—not to abandon your wife and child in the middle of the night to do it. Have you forgotten that you’re married now? Handing your son off to me? Wow, you’ve really outdone yourself.”

Little Dinosaur picked at his fingers, vaguely sensing he was being disliked. He pouted and decided to take Grandma’s side and scold Daddy too.

Well, it’s settled then—if we scold Daddy now, we can’t be mad at him later.

Huo Haozhan had never been scolded like this by his mother. He stood there completely stunned.

To Bai Yiyi, Grandma Huo had always been someone who spoiled her son. Even if he made mistakes, she would never blame him.

She never expected her mother-in-law would actually speak up for her.

“You really think it’s okay to leave your wife and child home alone this late, rushing off to help a single woman? You don’t think that might lead to misunderstandings? Or do you actually enjoy playing both sides—keeping things stable at home while the flags wave outside?”

This time, Huo Haozhan snapped out of it and quickly refuted:

“No! How could I? Mom, don’t accuse me like that. I’ll come back right now—should be home in half an hour.”

After his mother said that, Huo Haozhan couldn’t focus on anything else. He didn’t have the bandwidth to worry about anyone else anymore.

Grandma Huo hung up on him. When she looked down, she met An An’s gaze, filled with admiration. She gave him a look and said:

“What are you staring at? Your father’s been soft-hearted since he was little—kind, easily manipulated. To put it bluntly, he’s spineless and indecisive. Don’t coddle him. Be tough. Got it?”

“Showing weakness at the right time doesn’t mean you don’t have dignity. People always tend to side with the underdog.”

Though it sounded like she was talking to the child, in truth, Grandma Huo was addressing Bai Yiyi.

After all, her grandson was a bit of an airhead—he probably didn’t understand a word she said. But who knew, maybe her daughter-in-law was just as clueless.

Sitting on Grandma’s lap, An An’s eyes sparkled. He picked at his hands like he’d just learned something new.

With Grandma Huo urging him and the weight of her words still fresh, plus not wanting anyone to misunderstand his relationship with Su Xiaoyu, Huo Haozhan hurried home—only took about twenty minutes.

As soon as he stepped through the door and before he could explain, he saw his son sitting there with tears in his eyes, wiping them away with the back of his hand.

He rushed over, scooped him out of his mother’s arms, trying hard to hide his panic—but traces of it still slipped through.

“An An, what’s wrong? Are you feeling sick? Or are you hungry?”

An An didn’t say a word. He just quietly hugged his dad’s arm. All Huo Haozhan could see was the round back of his little head.

In that moment, guilt hit Huo Haozhan hard. He’d been so busy worrying about someone else’s child—but who had been there to worry about his own?

Nian Nian lacked a father’s love because her mother chose to divorce. But that didn’t mean his own son had to grow up without a dad.

Once he understood that, Huo Haozhan blocked all of Su Xiaoyu’s contacts, silenced his phone, and tossed it aside. He picked up a toy and focused entirely on comforting his son.

Not long ago, his son had treated him with aloof disdain. But now, An An was willing to bury his head in his dad’s chest—that was enough to imagine how wronged he must’ve felt just now.

An An didn’t need to say anything. Just the occasional sniffle, and Huo Haozhan had already filled in the blanks with his own guilt-ridden thoughts.

Later, when he saw that An An seemed better, he carried him over to the dining table. In his mind, he thought: Turns out, my son didn’t actually dislike me—it was all just an act. This little guy loves me to bits. He can’t even be apart from me for a moment.

Lying on his dad’s shoulder, An An threw a flirty little wink at his mom.

Just as Bai Yiyi was about to look closely, An An had already been placed at the table. She quickly brought over the baby food she had prepared earlier.

“You know how to feed him?”

That question froze the smug smile on Huo Haozhan’s face.

Every time he got close to An An before, the boy would cry. He barely had any interaction with him, let alone cared for him himself.

From the moment An An was brought home from the hospital, it was Bai Yiyi who had raised him step by step to this point.

Never had Huo Haozhan so clearly recognized his failure as a father.

Sure, Bai Yiyi was doing a great job taking care of their child—but that didn’t mean he could just kick back and do nothing.

In fact, he’d even spent more time caring for Nian Nian than for An An.

“I can do it. Let me try.”

Bai Yiyi’s gaze dimmed slightly as she watched his movements—somewhat awkward, but not clueless. He clearly hadn’t cared for An An much… so where did he learn how to take care of a child?

The answer was obvious.

When Granny Huo was young, her husband cheated on her during her pregnancy. The emotional blow triggered a severe psychological illness during that time. Even though she actively cooperated with treatment, she was still left with lingering aftereffects.

One of those was an extreme case of obsessive-compulsive disorder—any disruption to her plans would make her unbearably anxious, and it would take her a long time to adjust.

But once that time passed, she’d return to normal.

Just like now. She had already missed her usual dinnertime, but since so much time had passed, she wasn’t anxious anymore. She simply sat down across from Huo Haozhan.

“Mom, last time Su Xiaoyu’s ex-husband came looking for her. I wasn’t around, and he ended up hurting Nian Nian. That’s why I rushed over this time.”

The housekeeper handed Granny Huo a cup of health-preserving floral tea. She took it, gave her son a pointed look, and just so happened to catch her little grandson—nestled in her son’s arms—rolling his eyes as well.

For a moment, Granny Huo wondered if she had imagined it.

She was about to take a closer look when An An had already begun obediently eating his applesauce. So she returned to the topic from earlier.

“I just said that if you come across an emergency, offer some help. I didn’t tell you to drop your own life and cater to her.”

Granny Huo knew that in the earlier years, due to her focus on treatment, she had neglected her children’s upbringing. By the time she realized it, things had already started going sideways.

Because of that, even though Huo Haozhan was now a grown man running a company, she still couldn’t help but chime in with lessons from time to time, hoping to make up for her past mistakes.

“Is Su Xiaoyu alone in this world? She has her own parents. If worst comes to worst, she can call the police.”

“There are so many options—why does she always come looking for you?”

After saying that, Granny Huo set her cup down on the table with a loud thud, startling the little dinosaur (An An) munching on applesauce.

Huo Haozhan was soft-hearted and easy to take advantage of, but he wasn’t foolish enough to not see right from wrong. After hearing his mother out, he realized something was off.

Uncle and Aunt Su actually loved Su Xiaoyu a lot. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be living so comfortably without even holding a job.

But somehow, whenever something happened, she always came straight to him.

At that moment, Bai Yiyi was in the kitchen, busy cooking. Ever since she married Huo Haozhan, she had quit her job. Her father was skilled in medicinal cuisine and body nourishment, so she naturally took over the cooking duties.

Keeping her hands busy gave her peace of mind.

Once the kitchen door closed, Granny Huo noticed the applesauce was almost finished, and reached out to hold An An.

An An kept his eyes locked on the applesauce bowl, mentally calculating that there was still one last bite.

Suddenly, someone picked him up. He struggled a bit, trying to return to the previous arms—there was still one more bite!

All Huo Haozhan could see were his son’s little hands waving in the air, seemingly reluctant to leave him. He wanted to reach out, but since it was his mother holding him, he had no choice but to suppress the urge.

Even as he continued talking to his mother, he could see his son shooting him a pitiful little look.

“No more contact with Su Xiaoyu.”

Granny Huo didn’t want to waste time arguing with her son. She was too old to be meddling in her son’s love life.

“Okay.”

“You must come home after work every day. I don’t care if you’re done with your work or not.”

“Fine.”

“When you get home, set aside one hour to spend with An An. The rest of your time is yours.”

If this had been before, Huo Haozhan would’ve felt burdened. But now, seeing the adorable little dinosaur in his mother’s arms, he nodded without hesitation.

“I’ll do it.”

Granny Huo was still undergoing treatment and trying hard to be a normal, caring mother. But when it came to troublesome or complex issues, she’d drop the facade and revert to her strong-willed, decisive self—just like now.

Bai Yiyi brought out the dishes she had personally prepared. Since Huo Haozhan was joining them for dinner, she had made two meat dishes, two vegetable sides, and a soup, along with a small plate of homemade pickles.

Granny Huo wasn’t picky with food as long as it was healthy. Noticing the late hour, she ate faster than usual.

That night, after An An fell asleep, he once again saw the system that had brought him to this place.

When he first saw it, An An was thrilled—turns out the system hadn’t lied! He really was going to have a mom who loved him deeply!

Although his dad was still a bit of a mess, An An was confident that with the lessons his grandma had taught him, he could turn his dad into a good father.

And besides his parents, he now had a loving grandma too. An An couldn’t be more content.

The system noticed the sparkle in the little one’s eyes and felt satisfied with its current arrangements.

After so many fragmented family worlds and frustrating relatives in the previous one, it was only right to find a better set of parents for the little guy this time around.

In this world, Huo Haozhan was the male lead of a classic “early 2000s” romance plot. Born with a silver spoon, he fell for the pure-hearted school beauty Bai Yiyi in high school at first sight.

Despite relentless pursuit, he didn’t manage to win her over. Later, he studied abroad and returned to find Bai Yiyi working at his family’s company. A new chapter of pursuit began.

Eventually, after overcoming countless challenges together, they got together and held a grand wedding of the century.

The original script ended there—they broke through class divides, lived happily ever after, and even had a brilliant baby: the original An An.

If things had truly gone according to the script, the system wouldn’t have needed to bring An An here in the first place.

A disturbance in a previous small world had thrown many characters off course—some were reborn, others transmigrated into books.

In this script, the female supporting character Su Xiaoyu was reborn after a tragic ending.

Even after a second chance at life, she still couldn’t let go of Huo Haozhan. She even got her parents to transfer Bai Yiyi to a different school, hoping to get a head start and become his girlfriend.

But no matter what she did, Huo Haozhan continued treating her like a little sister, just like he always had.

Later, he reconnected with Bai Yiyi in university, and their story followed the original plot again—just a little later than before.

Meeting at a more mature age spared them a lot of unnecessary detours.

Watching their love grow even sweeter than before, Su Xiaoyu couldn’t accept it. She faked an accident that left the once-brilliant baby—An An’s original self—mentally disabled.

She also deliberately spread malicious rumors about Bai Yiyi to Granny Huo and even bribed the Huo family’s housekeeper to sabotage the father-son bond between Huo Haozhan and An An.

Even the strongest bonds can’t withstand repeated damage.

On top of that, Bai Yiyi was naturally sensitive and stubborn. She didn’t like burdening loved ones with her troubles, which only deepened the misunderstandings between her and Huo Haozhan, eventually leading to their divorce.

After the divorce, Granny Huo used the excuse of seeking treatment abroad to take Bai Yiyi and An An with her.

Even after the couple split up, Su Xiaoyu still didn’t get what she wanted. She blamed everything on Granny Huo, thinking that if not for her, things wouldn’t have turned out this way. So she hired a hitman overseas to stage a car accident and kill Granny Huo.

Without Granny Huo’s protection, Bai Yiyi and the disabled child were brought back to China by Huo Haozhan.

The chain of events left Bai Yiyi overwhelmed, and her care for the child inevitably suffered.

Su Xiaoyu took the opportunity to carefully look after An’an. Whenever Bai Yiyi restricted certain foods for An’an’s health, she would secretly take An’an to eat them.

The original host, whose intellectual development was delayed, couldn’t distinguish right from wrong. All he knew was that Aunt Su treated him better than his own mother.

After Bai Yiyi returned from abroad, she and Huo Haozhan, who already had a foundation of feelings, gradually became more comfortable with each other and started to consider remarrying.

However, by then, the original host, who had been mentally impaired due to a fire, had already become fixated on believing that Su Xiaoyu was his real mother.

He falsely accused Bai Yiyi of being the one who killed his grandmother and blamed Huo Haozhan for being with the enemy. He would cry and fuss all day, insisting on going out to find Su Xiaoyu.

Thanks to the original host’s relentless persistence, Bai Yiyi left the country, heartbroken.

Using the excuse of taking care of the original host, Su Xiaoyu got closer and closer to Huo Haozhan. By middle age, the two of them finally got married.

Unfortunately, Huo Haozhan never truly liked Su Xiaoyu. He only compromised in the end because he hoped she would take good care of An’an.

As An’an grew older, his intelligence didn’t improve, but he became increasingly stubborn. He only listened to Su Xiaoyu, even threatening hunger strikes to get his way. Relying on his father’s concern, Su Xiaoyu successfully got what she wanted.

The system crammed all the plot details into the little one’s mind at once, even adjusting the speed to ensure he wouldn’t get confused.

The real person responsible for Grandma Huo’s death was Su Xiaoyu—with the unknowing cooperation of the original host.

The original host, being mentally impaired, didn’t realize the consequences of his actions.

After An’an finished digesting all the memories, he just stood there, stunned, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

The system didn’t rush him, waiting patiently for the little guy to process everything. After who knows how long, An’an finally glanced at the system and, in a firm tone, said:

“Not… me.”

“No, that is you.”

There was no way around it—he had to recognize reality before he could change it.

That night, An’an, now wearing a new little dinosaur pajama set with a hat, sat on the floor with a pout, arms crossed, silently protesting in anger.

The system didn’t know how to coax him, so it just sat with him, sulking in solidarity.

Only when An’an began to feel sleepy did he finally give in, still muttering under his breath that it wasn’t him.

Seeing that he was sleepy, the system softened and went along with his words:

“Right, the person in the story isn’t you—but now, you’ve become him.”

That version was easier to accept, and even An’an nodded his head.

“Mm.”

“Your mission in this world is: don’t be a fool—and don’t ruin your parents’ marriage. Got it?”

Since the task executor was a genuine little kid, things had to be explained gently and patiently.

“Okay~”

After thinking for a moment, An’an realized what the system said wasn’t difficult. He was never a fool to begin with—and he definitely wouldn’t break up his parents.

If he could have both Mom and Dad, why settle for just one?

Even though An’an was still young and couldn’t fully understand many of the memories the system had passed on, he knew one thing: Su Xiaoyu was a bad person who wanted to use him to steal Dad away.

Because of her, Mom and Dad divorced. Because of her, Grandma passed away. Even the reason others misunderstood him as mentally challenged was all because of her.

The system hadn’t transmitted too much about the idea of “being a task executor” to An’an. Mainly because it believed that, if conditions allowed, it would be better for An’an to believe he truly belonged in this world.

A sense of belonging was a strange thing. According to the system’s data, the stronger the sense of belonging, the greater the happiness.

It wanted the little guy to be happy.

To the real-world An’an, it felt like he just had a dream. When he woke up, his head was full of strange new thoughts. He shook it gently, as if it felt heavy.

Oh no… could it be… did he grow a brain?

Realizing this in his half-awake state, An’an almost cried out loud.

Just then, Huo Haozhan, who had come to check on his son, heard the noise, pushed open the door, and immediately picked him up from the crib.

Huo Haozhan indeed had many flaws growing up, but he had one good trait—he could admit his mistakes and correct them quickly.

After being reminded by his mother yesterday about how many things he had done wrong, he had already begun trying to change today.

No matter what, he couldn’t let his son end up seeming more fatherless than Nian Nian.

Held in his father’s arms, An’an thought about how all the stuff in his head had made Mom so sad.

And remembering the trick Grandma had taught him last night, he clenched his little fist and gave Dad a good whack on the face.

Grandma’s method: What to do when Dad doesn’t listen? Give him a beating!

Right now, Huo Haozhan was full of guilt toward An’an. Even if the boy had punched him several more times, he would’ve thought he deserved it.

“Didn’t sleep well last night? Why the temper?”

An’an knew hitting was wrong. After throwing his punch, he wrapped his arms tightly around Dad’s neck, afraid of being tossed away.

Feeling the little arms clinging to his neck, Huo Haozhan was struck by a wave of indescribable emotion.

Especially when he smelled the faint scent of milk on An’an. The abstract concept of being a father suddenly became very real.

Ever since Huo Haozhan told Bai Yiyi about his mother’s OCD issues yesterday, Bai Yiyi had started wearing a watch and timing herself precisely when making breakfast.

At first, she had misunderstood her mother-in-law, thinking the punctuality demands were intentional nitpicking. After all, she never saw a ten-minute meal delay as a big deal.

Now that she knew the reason, she prepared breakfast on time and set it neatly on the table. As expected, the previously stern-faced mother-in-law visibly softened.

After preparing their breakfast, Bai Yiyi also made a meal for An’an. Just as Huo Haozhan came down holding a fuzzy little dinosaur, she had just finished the rice cereal.

Because of Huo Haozhan’s recent absence, Bai Yiyi had low expectations for him. When he brought the child down, she instinctively reached out and took him.

An’an hugged Mom around the neck, and even though his feet didn’t reach the ground, he stood on tiptoe and gave her a sneaky kiss on the cheek.

“Mwah.”

Bai Yiyi froze at his sudden action, then smiled and kissed him right back.

Watching their warm and happy interaction, Huo Haozhan suddenly had a random thought.

From the moment he carried An’an down from the room, the little guy hadn’t wanted to kiss him even once.

Finally, they were on schedule today. With everything going according to plan, Grandma Huo looked especially kind. After An’an finished eating, she even asked Bai Yiyi to bring him over.

“I had my assistant look into that doctor Su Xiaoyu mentioned last time. Turns out he really is good at treating this kind of condition. When are you free? You and Yiyi should take An’an to see him.”

An’an sat next to Grandma, his big eyes darting around, clearly curious about the living room décor.

“Also, amusement parks aren’t really suitable for kids this small. But you can think about taking him to a children’s play center instead.”

“Yah~”

It wasn’t just Bai Yiyi who silently remembered every time her child suffered—Grandma Huo did too. No one could be wronged, but especially not this little one.

When Huo Haozhan heard the words “amusement park,” he immediately remembered something Su Xiaoyu had said the last time she was at their house. He awkwardly cleared his throat and defended himself:

“I never agreed to that. She was making things up.”

Meanwhile, An’an, who had been gripping his dinosaur’s tail, suddenly realized Grandma was trying to take it from him. With a serious little face, he took it right back.

Grandma Huo, playing along with this silly game, glanced at Huo Haozhan and said:

“Why doesn’t she make things up about other people? Why only about you? Shouldn’t you reflect on that a bit?”

This kind of question—if Huo Haozhan remembered correctly—he’d encountered something similar back in middle school.

At the time, a teacher had scolded him for having conflicts with a classmate and even asked why it was only this particular classmate who had issues with others and not him, saying something about how “it takes two to tango,” implying that he must’ve been at fault too.

His mom had gone to the school, slapped the teacher who said that, asking if the slap made a sound, then turned around and slapped the classmate who had been bullying her son.

But now, when a nearly identical question came from his own mother, Huo Haozhan couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he had done something wrong.

“Mom, about Su Xiaoyu… are we really just going to leave her be?”

The reason he asked this in front of Bai Yiyi was because he didn’t want her to misunderstand. He wanted to lay everything on the table and be completely transparent.

“What else? Now that she’s divorced, if you really care so much, why don’t you divorce your wife too and be with her? That way, you can keep an eye on everything and help out all the time, and you won’t have to worry about anything at home.”

“When that happens, Yiyi can go out to work, and I’ll take care of An’an.”

The little dinosaur realized Grandma was talking about him and rubbed his head lightly against her. That instinctive gesture caught Grandma Huo off guard, making her heart instantly soften.

She had originally said that just to scold her son, but when she met An’an’s big, grape-like eyes, she suddenly felt like maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if things actually turned out that way.

“Mom, please don’t say things like that. There’s really nothing going on between me and Xiaoyu—definitely not what you’re implying.”

“I just can’t stop worrying about Niannian.”

Compared to Bai Yiyi, Su Xiaoyu was seriously lacking when it came to being a mother. She would even forget to feed her kid sometimes, and Niannian had become borderline malnourished.

Especially next to the chubby and healthy An’an, the difference was night and day.

“If you care so much, go find them yourself. How did I raise a son who doesn’t love his own kid and only worries about someone else’s child?”

Maybe she was in a good mood today, so Grandma Huo was more than willing to help Bai Yiyi scold her son.

Plus, the fact that he’d turned out this way probably had something to do with her lack of proper parenting, so she didn’t hold back at all.

“Little An’an, it’s okay if you don’t have a dad who loves you. You’ve still got Grandma.”

She just said that casually, but to her surprise, the little dinosaur in her arms pouted, and tears started welling up in his eyes.

By the time Huo Haozhan looked over, big teardrops were already rolling down his cheeks like pearls. That pitiful look tugged at anyone’s heart.

“No, no, how could I think that way? Mom, you misunderstood. An’an, don’t cry, okay?”

Faced with those tears, Huo Haozhan panicked a bit—something that rarely happened. But no matter how he coaxed, the little dinosaur just buried his head in Grandma’s arms instead.

From Huo Haozhan’s angle, he could only see the shaking of the boy’s shoulders, as if he was crying so hard that even his body was trembling.

Grandma Huo gently patted his back to comfort him, then shot her son a glare.

And just like that, even though Huo Haozhan hadn’t done anything wrong today, he ended up being the bad guy from every angle. He spent forever trying to console An’an, who was crying like his dad really had abandoned him.

Eventually, after being soothed for a while, An’an got sleepy. He covered his mouth with his little hand and yawned, then tilted his head and fell asleep in an astonishingly quick instant.

Grandma Huo handed him off to the nanny to take him upstairs and lay him in his crib, while she decided to go out for a bit to shop around with an old friend.

If her son weren’t so hopelessly confused when it came to relationships, she wouldn’t have to worry about these things at her age.

Before leaving, she glanced at the time and realized she wouldn’t make it back in time for lunch, so she changed direction and went into the back garden to bask in the sun.

Since he couldn’t get through to his mother, Huo Haozhan decided he should try to explain things clearly to Bai Yiyi instead. It was important that she didn’t misunderstand him.

He had previously assumed her coldness came from the presence of a child, but now that he seemed to understand the real reason, he felt the need to make things right.

But he didn’t expect Bai Yiyi to only glance at him before tossing out a single sentence and turning to head into the kitchen.

“I’m going to prepare lunch for Mom.”

Huo Haozhan didn’t want to let this misunderstanding continue, so he followed her into the kitchen, helping out as he tried to explain while picking through vegetables.

“There really is nothing going on between me and Su Xiaoyu. Please believe me.”

“I can explain everything that happened back then. Last night, I was just worried Niannian would be beaten senseless by her dad. She’s about the same age as An’an… I just couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”

It would’ve been better not to bring up An’an. The moment he did, Bai Yiyi’s anger flared for no apparent reason. She tossed the vegetables in her hands into the basket with a loud thump and said coldly:

“You’re disturbing my cooking.”

Kicked out of the kitchen, Huo Haozhan glanced up at the stairs. That little dinosaur was still napping, and if he dared wake him, he’d probably get roasted.

Then he looked through the window at the garden—his mom was lying in a rocking chair listening to opera. If he dared disturb her now, he’d definitely get another scolding.

After thinking it over, he realized there really wasn’t a single place where he belonged.

Lunch, as usual, was served exactly when Grandma Huo was ready to eat. The nanny had just brought the now-awake An’an downstairs.

Wanting to make a good impression in front of his mom and the kid, Huo Haozhan offered to feed An’an his baby food, carefully scooping spoonful after spoonful into the little guy’s mouth.

But the once-hands-on An’an decided today to just lounge in his chair, chin tilted, eyes squinted, letting Huo Haozhan serve him like a young emperor.

After lunch, Grandma Huo checked the time, looked at Bai Yiyi, and said:

“This afternoon, I plan to meet with Xiaoyu.”

Previously, she hadn’t wanted to get involved in the messy affairs of young people, but now that it was clearly affecting their marriage, she had to step in.

If Xiaoyu still took those words she once said seriously, then this meeting was necessary.

Bai Yiyi said nothing. Huo Haozhan wished he could bury his head in his bowl.

Only the little dinosaur who had just been brought over couldn’t resist reaching out and tugging lightly on Grandma’s sleeve.

When her attention turned to him, those big blinking eyes conveyed just one thing:

Take me with you~