Chapter 103

An’an came running over, cheerfully trotting along, and just from his extra-bouncy steps, it was obvious how happy he was.

Huo Haozhan, who had been exhausted after working so hard for so long, felt all his fatigue instantly swept away at the sight. His whole being seemed reenergized.

He squatted down and stretched out his arms, waiting for the sweet little dino to run into his embrace—and also to show off a little in front of his friend how obedient and adorable his son was.

Tsk. No point talking to a lonely bachelor.

But just as Little An’an was running straight toward him, at the very last moment, he swerved and dove toward the man behind him.

He ran up to Xiao Gu, hugged his leg, and clung tightly. The little guy, who had been overflowing with energy the moment he came through the door, left Xiao Gu frozen stiff and unsure how to respond.

Huo Haozhan figured that being ignored like that would definitely be too much for Little An’an. The kid would throw a fit, give a dirty look, and walk away.

But instead, An’an didn’t do any of that. He just stood there, his little face full of confusion. He even stood on tiptoe and bounced a couple times, all while mumbling about wanting a hug.

This time, not only did the smile vanish completely from Huo Haozhan’s face, his expression even turned stormy.

Xiao Gu was a childhood friend from the same social circle, sure. But even if they’d grown up wearing the same pair of pants, he absolutely couldn’t tolerate anyone trying to steal his son!

Even his own son had never clung to him like this! The one rare time he acted all clingy might’ve just been because they’d been apart for a while and the kid missed him.

If Xiao Gu actually went and picked up his son now, Huo Haozhan would 100% start suspecting ulterior motives—like this guy was trying to steal his kid!

But then again, Xiao Gu just stood there and let An’an hop and yell “Daddy!” without doing anything. That made Huo Haozhan think he was too cold-blooded. What’s wrong with picking the boy up? Couldn’t he see An’an was on the verge of tears?

Xiao Gu, of course, had no clue about the whirlwind of thoughts in Huo Haozhan’s head. He just instinctively felt that, since he wasn’t very familiar with the child, hugging someone else’s kid so suddenly probably wasn’t a good idea.

So he stayed frozen in place, quietly hoping Huo Haozhan would come over and rescue him.

Another thirty seconds passed. An’an couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out crying with a loud “Waaah!” as he turned and ran back.

Even when he tripped and fell—his left foot catching on his right—he immediately picked himself up and continued running while crying.

As he headed upstairs, he didn’t forget to grab the stuffed toy he’d been holding earlier.

He dragged it by the ear across the floor, trudging forward one heavy step at a time.

Bai Yiyi had just finished her tasks and was coming downstairs when she saw An’an’s tear-streaked face. She quickly scooped him into her arms, gently patting his back as she patiently asked:

“What happened, sweetheart? Did you get hurt? Can you tell Mommy?”

An’an didn’t answer her question directly. Instead, he pointed a tiny finger at the man downstairs, then buried his face in his mom’s shoulder and said in a pitiful little voice:

“Daddy… bad… An’an doesn’t want Daddy.”

That one sentence stabbed right into the softest part of Huo Haozhan’s heart. Even though he knew An’an wasn’t talking about him, he still felt miserable—and shot a vicious glare at Xiao Gu.

What, would hugging the boy kill you? Or are you just some big tough-looking guy who’s actually too weak to even lift a kid?

He came back from a business trip wanting to play with his son, and now thanks to Xiao Gu, it had turned into this mess. If he’d known it would go this way, he wouldn’t have brought the guy along.

After sensing Huo Haozhan’s displeasure, Xiao Gu started sweating and instinctively tried to smooth things over, forcing a slightly stiff smile as he spoke up to explain:

“Huo-ge didn’t bully him or anything. Just now, when we walked in, he might’ve mistaken me for someone else, so…”

That explanation only made things worse. Huo Haozhan immediately got even angrier.

Could this guy say anything worse? What was he implying—that his kid has bad eyesight?

An’an was only just over a year old. It was totally normal for a toddler to forget things!

Honestly, no use talking to someone who’s never been a dad.

Under Huo Haozhan’s sharp gaze, Xiao Gu slowly went quiet, realizing that nothing he said would sound right. So he just stood there, awkwardly forcing a smile.

In his mind, he was already regretting showing up. If he’d known it would be such a headache, he would’ve chosen a different time to visit.

Meanwhile, An’an continued to cry in his mom’s arms, his soft little sobs full of grievance.

Huo Haozhan instinctively glanced around, relieved when he confirmed his mother wasn’t home.

If she had been here and saw An’an crying like that because of him—no matter the reason—there was a real chance he’d still get a spanking at his age.

“An’an, I’m your daddy. I didn’t ignore you. I was standing there with my arms open the whole time, waiting for you to come over.”

An’an lifted his head from his mom’s shoulder at that, looking at his dad with clear suspicion in his eyes.

Huo Haozhan stood there and let him look. After all, he really was the kid’s dad—nothing to feel guilty about.

Sure, he didn’t have much experience comforting a child. One little cry and he’d panic.

But he knew how to coax his wife. He’d made Bai Yiyi mad so many times, and every time, he’d talked her back into a good mood with nothing but his words.

This wasn’t too different. The goal was still to make someone happy.

“An’an, how could Daddy not want to hug you, hmm? You’re such a cute little treasure—who could resist hugging you?”

After saying that, Huo Haozhan cautiously reached out again. Sure enough, this time he wasn’t rejected.

An’an let him scoop him up, and the moment the chubby little body filled his arms, Huo Haozhan finally relaxed.

“That’s right, I’m your daddy. That guy earlier was just Daddy’s friend. He’s the bad one—Daddy’s the good one, okay?”

One of the reasons Huo Haozhan had been working so hard lately was because he wanted his son to look at him with admiration.

He’d been carefully building up this image of the ideal father in front of An’an. There was no way he was going to let one tiny misunderstanding ruin it and get labeled as a “bad dad.”

He didn’t believe toddlers couldn’t remember things. Maybe they forgot little stuff—but grudges? Oh, they remembered those just fine.

“No hug… bad.”

An’an still sounded a little teary, his tiny voice all soft and pouty. That pitiful look on his face as he tattled to his dad made Huo Haozhan kiss him over and over.

“That’s right, that’s right—anyone who doesn’t hug our An’an is a big meanie. We won’t play with them.”

“Mm.”

“No more crying, okay? Daddy bought you a new toy. But if the toy sees you crying like this, maybe it won’t want to come play with you.”

An’an quickly wiped his tears with the back of his hand. Thinking that didn’t work well enough, he even wiped his face on his dad’s suit jacket.

Huo Haozhan was already used to his son’s little messes. Far from annoyed, he even smiled and praised him when he was done.

“Look at that—now you’re all clean. The toy said it’s ready to come play with you.”

“Go.”

“Let’s go.”

Huo Haozhan only had eyes for his son. Plus, he figured there was no need to be overly polite with an old friend, so he just headed off with An’an to unwrap the new toy he bought.

Watching their backs, Bai Yiyi sighed, then went into the kitchen to make Xiao Gu a cup of tea and offer him an apology.

He was still a guest, after all, and as the host, treating him like that was really too rude.

“It’s fine. Thank you, Miss Bai.”

When Bai Yiyi heard him call her that, she suddenly felt a strange sense of distance.

This was Huo Haozhan’s friend—someone she’d met before at a party. Back then, they’d all casually called her “sister-in-law.”

Now, with just a different form of address, it felt like a wall had been put up between them.

Bai Yiyi wasn’t sure if Xiao Gu was upset because of something Huo Haozhan had said earlier, but she truly had no desire to entertain him any longer—she was not someone who enjoyed throwing herself at cold receptions.

An’an came out holding an excavator toy. The moment he saw it, his face lit up with joy, cuddling close to his dad as if he hadn’t just thrown a fit earlier. He didn’t seem to hold a grudge at all.

Huo Haozhan was very pleased that such a small toy was enough to cheer up his son. In a moment of joy, he promised An’an he’d open a toy factory just to produce all kinds of toys for him.

If he weren’t worried about getting hit by his own mom, he might have even said he’d switch careers to become a toy merchant—his son would definitely, absolutely, love him the most.

Watching Huo Haozhan playing with An’an more and more enthusiastically, clearly with no intention of paying him any attention, Xiao Gu remembered why he had come today and took the initiative to speak up:

“Huo-ge, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Sure.”

Huo Haozhan sat down on the sofa with An’an in his arms. Xiao Gu kept glancing at Bai Yiyi, who was nearby.

Bai Yiyi could tell he didn’t want her present for the conversation, and she had no intention of staying where she wasn’t welcome. She casually found an excuse and left the living room.

This behavior of Xiao Gu’s didn’t sit well with Huo Haozhan. He frowned but didn’t say anything, just made a mental note of it.

“Huo-ge, do you know how Xiaoyu is doing lately?”

The moment that name was mentioned, Huo Haozhan didn’t bother hiding his reaction—his face immediately darkened. With a cold snort, he crossed his legs, played with An’an for a second, then said:

“No idea. Don’t care.”

He had once gone out of his way to be kind to her, nearly to his own detriment. And she’d gone around smearing both his and his partner’s reputation—anyone with a shred of decency wouldn’t have done something like that.

Huo Haozhan felt all his past kindness had been wasted on a dog. He didn’t ask for gratitude, he just never wanted anything to do with her again.

“Huo-ge, Xiaoyu’s been having a tough time lately.”

If Huo Haozhan still didn’t catch on to his real motive, then he’d have to be a fool.

He didn’t refute what Xiao Gu said. On the contrary, he nodded with great seriousness, as if he wholeheartedly agreed.

“Yeah, I think it’s pretty miserable too.”

“Huo-ge, we all grew up together. Now because of that whole incident, Xiaoyu’s mom kicked her out. She’s just a girl with no one to rely on. It’s really pitiful.”

So pitiful that she needs someone to lean on, huh?

And who better to lean on than her childhood friend, the one who grew up with her—Huo Haozhan himself? Especially since Su Xiaoyu had always shown signs of interest in him.

Xiao Gu had assumed his trip here was going to be successful; a relaxed smile had already started to form at the corners of his lips.

“She’s really pitiful, yeah. Why don’t you marry her and take care of her yourself? When you do, your sister-in-law and I will definitely be there, and don’t worry—we’ll bring a generous gift.”

After saying that, Huo Haozhan noticed his son unclenched his tiny fists and leaned in all cuddly, asking for kisses. He couldn’t help but sigh to himself at how quickly this little guy could change moods, then added to Xiao Gu:

“Just let me know when the wedding is. I won’t be seeing you off.”

After kicking Xiao Gu out of the house, Huo Haozhan let out a heavy sigh of relief. As he walked back with An’an in his arms, he felt the little one tug on his tie, and in a soft, aggrieved voice, began to complain:

“Daddy.”

“Hmm?”

“Uncle… glared at An’an. Wuuu… scared. Daddy, hold me.”