Such an image made Fu Huai'an feel more secure and warm at heart, his heart softening.
Even the unhappiness that had happened at the Fu manor seemed to have dissipated from his chest.
Fu Tianci also changed his shoes, and seeing Fu Huai'an deliberately trying not to make a sound with his footsteps, he too closed the shoe cabinet carefully and lightened his footsteps as he walked in from the porch.
He peeked into the living room from behind Fu Huai'an and saw the sofa, as well as the "Peppa Pig" playing on the tv, and suddenly felt bad for himself.
When he was young, he had especially hoped for his mother to accompany him in watching cartoons; that was likely every kid's wish…
But since young, his mother had told him that cartoons were for little kids and that he was a big boy already and shouldn't be indulging in playing like other kids. She wanted him to work hard and become more outstanding than everyone else so that he could become the cream of the crop in the future.
Fu Tianci knew his mother didn't have it easy bringing him up alone, and thus was obedient, never bugging his mother about who his father was, afraid his mother might be upset. He also studied hard in school for his mother's sake and became a top student with his excellent grades.
He had done all this to make his mother not worry about him. Then, one day, he was suddenly brought to the hospital for a paternity test; only after he became Fu Tianci did he realize that all these years… his mother had been working hard so that he could one day inherit the Kaide Corporation.
It was never his mother's end goal for him to work hard and become an outstanding person; she merely wanted Fu Qingquan to see that he had a brilliant son so that he could more easily inherit the Kaide Corporation—that was the point of it all!
Even though Fu Tianci appeared to care about nothing, he wasn't stupid and could understand that much.
It was precisely because he understood what was going on that he was so upset; he felt like he was merely a tool for his mother to lay her hands on the Kaide Corporation from the start.
His birth mother was both doting and strict with him, but she had never given him the warmth he had always wanted!
Lin Nuan wasn't Tuan Tuan's biological mother, but what she did for Tuan Tuan was something Fu Tianci had once yearned for but never had, regardless of whether she was doing this to win over Fu Huai'an.
At least, this was a warmth that Fu Tianci envied.
Fu Tianci had medicine applied to his wounds and had them dressed at the hospital. He was also prescribed medicine that would help blood circulation for him to spray at home.
Fu Huai'an turned around and spoke to Fu Tianci, who was following behind him, saying, "Go take a bath upstairs first, I'll help you spray the medicine in a bit. Try to avoid your wounds."
Fu Tianci nodded, seemingly wanting to say something, but he held himself back, obediently heading upstairs as he was told.
He was afraid of waking up Lin Nuan and Tuan Tuan, so he walked lightly and slowly as he climbed the stairs…
From the corner of his eye, he saw Fu Huai'an walk to the area between the sofa and the coffee table, and with one hand leaning against the sofa, bend over and gently kiss Tuan Tuan and Lin Nuan.
Fu Tianci felt even more envious at this sight, and he quickened his steps.
Fu Huai'an's hot lips landed on Lin Nuan's brows. Her brows furrowed, and her eyelashes lightly fluttered as she opened her eyes…
Under the warm lighting, Fu Huai'an's silhouette had become gradually clearer. Lin Nuan tried to prop herself up with both hands on the sofa, then realized Tuan Tuan was still asleep on her lap. Her right leg had started to go numb.
"You're back…" Lin Nuan subconsciously looked towards the clock on the wall. It was nearly midnight. She touched Tuan Tuan's little back with one hand and asked in a lowered voice, "Were you busy at the company? Why are you back so late?"
"Did you not see my message?" Fu Huai'an asked.
"No!" said Lin Nuan as she shook her head.
"I made a trip to the Fus!"
Fu Huai'an then bent over to carry the Tuan Tuan in Lin Nuan's lap. Little Tuan Tuan opened his eyes, stirred by this sudden movement. Upon seeing it was Fu Huai'an, his chubby little hand tightly gripped onto the front of Fu Huai'an's s.h.i.+rt as he fell soundly asleep again.
Lin Nuan supported her weight against the sofa, but her legs were so numb that she couldn't manage to stand up. She then asked, "Have you eaten?"
Not wanting Lin Nuan to worry, Fu Huai'an nodded.
"Then you take Tuan Tuan back to his room first. My legs have gone numb… I'll be up there in a moment."
Lin Nuan was feeling hungry now that she was awake.
As Fu Huai'an carried Tuan Tuan, his gaze swept across the dining table where the bowls and covered-up plates appeared untouched, realizing that Lin Nuan had yet to eat.
"Heat up the food, I'll come down and eat a little with you after I settle Tuan Tuan down…"
Lin Nuan smiled and nodded at this. "Sure!"
Lin Nuan's legs returned back to their normal state after a while, so she entered the kitchen and reheated the food after was.h.i.+ng her hands.
By the time she heard footsteps, Lin Nuan had already filled the rice bowl with rice. With the sounds of the steamer indicating that the reheating was done in the background, she raised her head and said, "We can eat in a moment. The fish in the steamer is ready, bring it to the dining table…"
Fu Tianci rubbed his nose with his hands; he could guess that Lin Nuan likely thought it was Fu Huai'an who had come down.
Fu Tianci didn't utter a word and saw that the dishes in the steamer were ready. He walked into the kitchen; as he lifted the lid of the steamer, a wave of hot steam gushed into his face, causing him to retreat a step. He only went near after seeing that the steam had mostly dissipated…
The moment his fingers touched the steaming plate, Fu Tianci felt the burning hot temperature and immediately let go, the back of his hand b.u.mping against the top of the steamer when he retracted his arm. Fu Tianci gasped in pain and stumbled two steps backwards, feeling so much pain he was shaking his hand.
Lin Nuan was stunned to see that it was Fu Tianci when she turned around.
Seeing the open steamer and the ungloved Fu Tianci gasping in pain and shaking his hand, Lin Nuan hurriedly set down the rice bowls in her hand and grabbed Fu Tianci's wrist, placing it under the cool water from the running tap…
The gloves were just on the tabletop; Lin Nuan had wanted to berate Fu Tianci for his lack of common knowledge but swallowed those words back down; she was, after all, not all that chummy with Fu Tianci.
With the cool water rinsing over the red patch on his scalded hand, which was held by Lin Nuan, the searing hot pain had alleviated by quite a lot.
The 17-year-old Fu Tianci was already 180 centimeters tall, and he wasn't shorter than Lin Nuan, just a little thin, a little too unhealthily thin; lucky for him, he had fair and delicate facial features, so he still looked quite pleasant overall.
With his wrist in Lin Nuan's hand, he had turned his body sideways, his chest now pressed against Lin Nuan's slim shoulders. He tried his best to look away, his actions awkward, his heart pounding.
The young Fu Tianci had never been in such close proximity to someone of the opposite s.e.x; he had never even been this close to his mother since he went to high school, so he was inevitably shy from this contact.
