Chapter 559 Requesting For Bao To Become Her Apprentice
In a daze, Bao looked at Huo Ling. “No. My family loves me!” He held out his fingers and counted, “Daddy and Mommy, Grandpa and Grandma, Granddad and Granny, Grandma Zhang…” He finished counting all his fingers, but he had not listed out all the names, making him seem well-liked. Looking at Huo Ling in bewilderment, he asked, “Does your family dislike you?”
Huo Ling’s expression gloomed. “No, of course not! It goes without saying that my whole family loves a good, adorable, and charming girl like me. They can’t get enough of me!”
She could not stop rambling. On the other hand, Bao made a contemptuous gesture and responded, “Huh? You big dummy. It’s normal to be disliked. You don’t have to get discouraged by that, and you don’t have to lie. I know I’m little, but I’m not dumb!”
“You little brat… You’re very unlikeable! How I wish to get my hands on you!” Huo Ling gnashed her teeth.
“Mommy says only those who get irritated because they’ve been pointed out will want to punish others. Besides, I’m younger than you. You’re bullying me!” Bao was not afraid of Huo Ling at all. He even stuck out his tongue at her after he finished speaking. Flying into anger, Huo Ling flashed him a ferocious look and claimed that she would punish him there and then.
Needless to say, she had no intention to do so.
Nevertheless, Huo Ling found Bao to be quite quick-witted in spite of his young age. He could still retain his kindness, even though he was living in such an awful family environment. She could not help but admire and envy him.
Heaving a sigh, Huo Ling stuffed a piece of chestnut cake into her mouth. “Aunt Zhang, your chestnut cake’s scrumptious!”
“Oh. If that’s the case, you should have more! Wait, no. You shouldn’t eat so much since it’s late now. I’ll make other delicious food for you tomorrow. How’s that?”
Aunt Zhang grew fonder of Huo Ling the more they spent time together. She thought Huo Ling was a nice girl with a sweet temperament.
Huo Ling’s eyes sparkled when she heard Aunt Zhang’s suggestion. “That’s great. Aunt Zhang, I want a steamed meat bun. An enormous steamed meat bun!”
“All right. I’ll make it for you, Ms. Huo!”
After the meal, Huo Ling went upstairs to her pre-arranged room. Aunt Zhang had cleaned it up beforehand, so it looked much better, unlike the dull and dim room back in her own house. Nevertheless, it still lacked a feminine touch.
Although Huo Ling never dwelled on the details, she was still a maiden at heart. Since she was a high-born lady from the Huo family, everyone in the Huo residence pampered her. However, that kind of lifestyle was not ideal for Huo Ling. She would rather live in Bao’s environment and grow up carefree.
After bathing, Huo Ling immediately lunged onto her large and lovely pink bed.
It was then that her phone buzzed beside her ear. She checked her phone, pouted slightly at the notification, and then switched it off.
After Li Heng and Pei Huan went upstairs, the latter went to take a shower while the former headed to the study room, both still mulling over what had happened that night. Li Heng promptly turned on his computer and contacted Pei Jingxiu.
Meanwhile, Pei Jingxiu and Ning Xi had arrived at their mansion. Ning Xi stated that there was something odd with the incident that had taken place. Pei Jingxiu shared the same sentiment. A sleepless night awaited them.
Seeing Pei Jingxiu online, Li Heng hurriedly delivered a message: “I don’t think our enemy’s targeting Huan.”
“Hm, I don’t think so too. I think they have their eyes on Ms. Huo!” Pei Jingxiu paused for a moment before adding: “However, I’m not sure if she has gotten on someone’s nerves, or…”
Li Heng narrowed his eyes. “The adversary’s not trying to eradicate her. I bet it has something to do with Chengyan. Since Huo Ling’s with us, Huo Shenxing will come to us very soon.”
“Are you saying that our adversary doesn’t want the Huo family to intervene?” Pei Jingxiu understood the situation too. Since the Huo family was a prestigious family in the medical field, they could definitely formulate the antivirus. Even if they failed to develop one, their mere existence posed a threat to the enemy. Hence, the enemy decided to target Huo Ling to prevent her and even the Huo family from interfering with their clandestine scheme.
Both of them instantly fell into silence upon realizing that their opponent had caught wind of most of their secrets.
Li Heng asked: “How’s Chengyan’s company recently?”
As Fu Chengyan wanted the opponent to let down their guard, he had not been showing up in the company for the time being. Instead, he requested Pei Jingxiu to manage it in his place. Naturally, Pei Jingxiu did not reveal himself too. So, outsiders surmised that Shengyuan Group was facing turmoil. Otherwise, the head of the Fu clan, Fu Chengyan, wouldn’t have stayed absent for so long. In truth, they were right about it. Shengyuan Group had been a mess lately.
Pei Jingxiu was only interested to see how everything would go. “We’ll wait and see. They haven’t caused enough ruckus yet, so they wouldn’t go all out at the moment.” He paused briefly before adding: “By the way, everything seems peaceful at the moment. I think our opponent will be pulling out the big guns very soon.”
“That’s right. This is just the calm before the storm.” Li Heng, too, had the same idea.
“It’s getting late now. You should head to bed soon. I have to bring Ms. Huo to meet Shi Nuan tomorrow.” Li Heng turned off his computer, and it was then that Pei Huan opened the door.
Holding a towel, she looked at Li Heng worriedly. “Aren’t you going to sleep? You went to the hospital right after getting off the plane. So many things have happened tonight. Can’t you do your work tomorrow?”
“All right.” Li Heng immediately rose to his feet and took the towel in her hand. He then dragged her to the bedroom. “I’ll dry your hair for you!”
“You don’t have to. Go take a shower. I’ll dry my hair myself!” Pei Huan pushed him away and intoned, “I’m not a child.”
“All right!” Li Heng chuckled. However, he could not contain his affection and reached out a hand to caress Pei Huan’s cheek. Then, reluctantly, he stepped into the bathroom.
Awoken by a delicious smell, Huo Ling opened her tired eyes sleazily. Unable to resist the temptation, she headed downstairs drowsily without even washing up first. At the sight of the scrumptious breakfast, her eyes twinkled like the shining stars. Fortunately, she stopped herself from drooling all over.
Aunt Zhang came over with a tray of steamed buns that were giving off a delectable scent. “Ms. Huo, you’re up?”
“Wow. It smells so good. Aunt Zhang, I want to gobble them up!”
Huo Ling reached out her hand to grab the large, steamed meat bun and stuffed it into her mouth. Right there and then, she snapped open her eyes, which were brimming with exhilaration. “Wow! It’s really delicious!” The rich flavor of the meat instantly enwrapped her taste buds. She went wide awake. One was not enough. She reached out to grab another, only to guzzle it down in a few bites. Before Huo Ling could take a third one, Aunt Zhang stopped her. “Ms. Huo, calm down. There’s more!”
Huo Ling rubbed her hands excitedly. Her eyes did not look away from Aunt Zhang the entire time. “Aunt Zhang, you’re marvelous. I’ve never eaten such delicious steamed meat buns in my life!”
“Really?” Aunt Zhang was over the moon, for she was rarely complimented. “Ms. Huo, you can eat more later. I’ve made a lot of yummy food. However, shouldn’t you be washing up now?”
It was then that Huo Ling realized she had rushed down right after she had gotten a whiff of the aroma, so she had not washed up or gotten a change of clothes. She would never do that in the Huo residence. In fact, she had eased up somewhat these days, which caused her to forget basic courtesy like this one. “I’m going right now.”
When Huo Ling got downstairs again, Li Heng, Pei Huan, and Bao were already sitting at the table. They practiced etiquette, so they would not start eating until everyone had arrived at the table. They had been waiting for Huo Ling when she was getting herself ready.
Gazing at the table filled with wonderful cuisine, Bao pouted pitifully as he was not allowed to dig in yet. “Mommy, when can we eat?”
“I’m coming! I’m coming!”
Huo Ling skipped toward them. Her eyes were beaming with ecstasy when she saw the table of food. “Wow. This tastes so good. This too. And this…”
She did not stop eating throughout breakfast.
Pei Huan had witnessed Huo Ling’s appetite last night. Yet, he was still puzzled when he saw Huo Ling relishing all that food. Even after the three had eaten their fill, Huo Ling was still wolfing down the remainings.
Seeing that, Pei Huan smirked mysteriously and glanced at Li Heng. Li Heng rubbed glumly between his brows, took Pei Huan’s hand, and led her to the living room.
Huo Ling took half an hour to finish all the food. Rubbing her bloated belly, she yelled, “Great Mr. Li, I really love this place. Your house is a hundred times better than mine!”
“Really?” Pei Huan took the initiative to chat with Huo Ling when Li Heng did not answer.
Huo Ling did not feel awkward despite being ignored by Li Heng. It was then that she remembered something important. “Goddess, I’ll go get my tools and perform acupuncture on you!”
With that, Huo Ling darted upstairs to grab her tools before coming back down to treat Pei Huan. At work, Huo Ling was focused and meticulous. Her visage instantly turned solemn when she inserted the needles into Pei Huan’s acupoints.
Li Heng watched from the side. Aunt Zhang, who had just finished her duties in the kitchen, came out and saw the needles being poked into Pei Huan’s body. She could feel a jabbing pain in her heart. “Isn’t that painful, Huan?”
“Not at all!” Pei Huan flashed a smile at Aunt Zhang. “Don’t you worry. Ms. Huo’s medical skills are outstanding.”
Moreover, after Huo Ling’s acupuncture therapy yesterday, Pei Huan felt much better. The toxins accumulated in her body seemed to have diminished.
Looking at Pei Huan somberly, Huo Ling admitted her inadequacy, “This method can only ease your condition temporarily. Goddess, please bear with it. I can only treat the root of your illness after I’ve seen Bao’s and your test results. If I can’t cure you, I’m afraid we can only wait for Shenxing to arrive.”
She paused for a moment before assuring, “However, you don’t have to worry a thing. From what I see, I don’t think your illness is a serious one. It probably requires some time to get rid of everything!”
“All right. Thank you very much. Please don’t pressure yourself!” Since she had been living with the virus for few years ago, Pei Huan was not anxious to get it fixed immediately. “However, Bao…”
“Goddess, rest assured. I’ll definitely cure Bao.” Huo Ling’s eyes were glowing as she spoke. Then, she bit her lips and asked, “Goddess, can I make a request?”
“And what will that be?”
“Can you allow Bao to become my apprentice?”
