DLRC – Chapter 88 Holidays Are for Spending with Mom and Dad

Huo Mingwang quietly savored the sweet scent he had just caught from Yu Wei, the corners of his lips curving slightly as he began packing up the cakes.

When all the cakes were packed, Yu Wei found a sack that used to hold rice flour, cleaned it up, and packed everything inside. It ended up being more than half a sack full!

“How much?”

“Two hundred and fifty-two.”

“Mm.” Huo Mingwang pulled the money out of his wallet and, with an easy bend of his waist, lifted the sack as if it weighed nothing. Before leaving, he rubbed the smooth top of little Yu Hui’s head.

“I’m off.”

“Bye-bye, Uncle Huo! Come back early this afternoon!”

“Yu Hui!” Yu Wei picked up her silly son and pinched his chubby cheek with one hand. “Little troublemaker, are you getting too talkative? Hmm? Come here, let Mommy check. Maybe I shouldn’t give you so many treats anymore.”

“Mama, no! I’m not a little troublemaker, I’m Mama’s most beloved Hui Hui!”

“You are a little troublemaker! You’re not the cute little Hui Mommy used to know!”

…

Their bickering voices faded into the distance as Huo Mingwang, in high spirits, returned to his car. Before leaving, he turned back and took a long look at the mother and son inside the dessert shop before speeding away under the golden sunlight.

It was barely past three when that tall figure appeared at the dessert shop’s entrance again.

“Heading home yet?” Huo Mingwang asked as he stepped inside. “It’s New Year’s Day, better to go home early.”

Yu Wei:

If she remembered correctly, didn’t this man just come an hour ago?

“Mr. Huo, I still have a son to raise. Going home at this hour isn’t exactly ideal, right?” If she didn’t earn money, was he planning to support her?

Business had actually been great today—until an hour ago, when Huo Mingwang bought out all the cakes and pastries in her shop. The customers who came after saw empty shelves and left disappointed.

She hadn’t planned to make more. For one thing, it was a hassle; for another, she’d already made an unexpectedly good profit today. If Huo Mingwang had been ten minutes later, Yu Wei would have taken her son home to rest by now.

But timing is everything. Little Yu Hui came running out from the backyard, all excited. “Mama! Why aren’t you coming inside? I can’t push the bike anymore!”

The little guy had been waiting by the bicycle for her, but when she didn’t come, he ran back in to check—only to find her still outside!

His tiny legs darted out, his cheeks puffed with anger, but the moment he saw Huo Mingwang, all that little anger vanished.

“Uncle Huo!” Yu Hui ran over happily, and before he could wrap his arms around the man’s leg, Huo Mingwang bent down and scooped him up.

“Going home?”

“Mm! Mama and I are going home! Because Uncle Huo bought all our cakes, so we don’t have any left to sell.”

Huo Mingwang chuckled, glancing at Yu Wei with teasing eyes. His raised brows seemed to say, Didn’t you say you still needed to earn more money?

Yu Wei immediately looked away, glaring at the back of her little rascal’s head, grinding her teeth in frustration.

Every time he saw Huo Mingwang, this little brat completely forgot about his mother! So annoying!

“Mama, are we going home in Uncle Huo’s big car or your little bike?”

Honestly, he kind of wanted to ride the bike—it had been so long since he last rode it! But the big car was warm and comfy, and perfect for Mama.

“Oh? You dislike Mama’s bicycle now?” Yu Wei stepped forward and twisted his little nose until he scrunched up his face.

“Mama, I’m not disliking the bike, but since Uncle Huo came to pick us up, so…” So maybe they could just take the big car home…

But before he could finish, Yu Wei cut him off.

“Hui Hui, are you being naughty? We have our own transportation. Why should we trouble Uncle Huo to send us home?” Her expression turned serious on purpose.

“Mama…” What was Yu Hui most afraid of? Definitely this—the serious face of his mom.

Though Mama usually liked to joke and play with him, when she got serious, it was scary.

Yu Hui’s little hands clutched tighter around Huo Mingwang’s neck, his palms getting sweaty. He stared at his stern-faced mom, nervous to death.

He was about to ask Uncle Huo to put him down when those big hands just held him even more firmly.

“It’s fine. If you like riding in my car, I’ll come pick you up every day.” Huo Mingwang said this softly, his deep voice full of gentle warmth as he looked at Yu Hui.

Yu Wei suppressed the unease rising in her chest. Seeing this side of Huo Mingwang made her heart race wildly, and that feeling wasn’t good.

She didn’t think she’d fall for him this quickly, yet the fluttering in her chest kept telling her: You’ve miscalculated.

“Come on, let’s take my car.” Huo Mingwang stepped closer with the child in his arms. “Why the long face? You’re scaring your son.”

Yu Wei shot him an annoyed glare, turned around, and began packing Yu Hui’s schoolbag. The little brat had run straight to the backyard when he heard they were going home, leaving the table a mess.

Now that he saw Huo Mingwang, he was so happy he forgot everything. No matter how you looked at it, she really wanted to pinch his cheeks!

Huo Mingwang held the boy and watched Yu Wei pack with heavy hands—every item shoved into the bag looked like it had taken a beating.

“Uncle Huo…” Yu Hui whispered in his ear. “I think Mama’s mad.”

His voice was so soft Yu Wei couldn’t hear a word. It only made her more irritated. “Yu Hui! What are you whispering about?”

“Mama, I wasn’t!” Yu Hui jerked his head up, eyes full of innocent flattery. “Mama, I didn’t say anything to Uncle Huo.”

Huo Mingwang nodded. “I asked him to talk to me.”

Taking the blame upon himself made Yu Hui like him even more. He hugged the man’s neck and almost planted a kiss on him, but considering Mama’s scary glare, he decided against it.

Once Yu Wei finished packing, Huo Mingwang took the schoolbag from her and hung it on his arm. “Let’s go. I’ll take you two to dinner.”

He said dinner, not home.

Normally, Yu Wei might have thought more about that, but right now she had no energy for overthinking. Just thinking about this man’s intentions toward her made her heart tangle up.

“No need, I’ll just take him home on the bike.”

She reached out to take her son, but Huo Mingwang turned away and strode out of the shop with his long legs. “It’s a holiday. Let’s go see a movie.”

On New Year’s Day, the theaters were packed, tickets hard to come by. But this was Huo Mingwang—he’d planned everything long ago and already bought tickets.

“No, I want to take my son home.”

“Mama…” The little guy was thrilled at the mention of a movie, but when he saw Mama wasn’t into it, his excitement deflated instantly, his little face full of disappointment.

“Oh, so you do remember I’m your mom. Looks to me like you just want to be Uncle Huo’s son instead!”

Her childish jab made Huo Mingwang laugh, his gaze toward her growing even softer.

“Mama… Mama, I’ve never seen a movie before.” Yu Hui looked up at her cautiously.

Last time, after he asked for leave and went back to school, his friend said that her dad took her to watch a movie. She also said the movie was really fun, and that going with family felt so happy and wonderful.

He also wanted… to go with Mom and Uncle Huo.

Sometimes, he would envy other kids for having both a mom and a dad… But that’s something he’d never say out loud. Having Mom is already enough; he couldn’t hope for anything more…

“Mom will take you to the movies next time. For today, let’s go home and rest.” Yu Wei saw that Huo Mingwang kept walking forward without the slightest intention of stopping. He was already about to carry her son to the car…

She raised her hand and grabbed the hem of Huo Mingwang’s shirt.

Hmm… the fabric feels quite nice…

“What is it?” Huo Mingwang stopped and turned to look at her. Yu Hui also turned his head toward Mom, his little hand tightening unconsciously, hoping Uncle Huo would insist. Maybe then Mom would agree to go watch a movie!

“Don’t be like this,” Yu Wei frowned. With the light behind her, her almond eyes seemed to be covered by a faint mist, making her fair face look even softer in Huo Mingwang’s eyes.

“What am I like?” He curved his lips, taking one step after another as if to “tempt” her.

“You always act like this. It’s not good.” Yu Wei’s brows furrowed even tighter. She wanted to reach for her son, but he easily avoided her hand.

He laughed, the arc of his lips widening — and the bigger that smile grew, the darker the shadow in Yu Wei’s heart became.

“You say I’m like this… so what exactly am I like?”

Yu Hui tilted his head at Mom, curious too. What was Uncle Huo like? What was Mom talking about? It sounded a bit confusing; he didn’t understand.

“No, I just…” Yu Wei grew anxious and glared at her son, who was clearly enjoying the show. “There’s nothing between us, so you really don’t need to treat us this well…”

He looked at her, his hawk-like eyes sharp, piercing straight into her heart. “Is it that you don’t like people being good to you two… or you don’t like me being good to you two?”

Yu Wei’s mind went blank at the question. “I just feel…”

She was completely at a loss. Under the weight of his sharp gaze, no matter how much she wanted to say, all her words seemed like old, tattered cotton stuffed in her throat.

He pressed on, step by step. “You feel what?”

He no longer wanted this vague, unclear relationship with her.

“I feel…” Yu Wei backed half a step away, looking at her son’s clear, innocent eyes. Both the big one and the small one were waiting for her next words, but her panic only grew. Her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her throat.

Suddenly, a strong masculine scent filled her nose. She bit her lip sharply and glared at the little rascal: “Yu Hui, if you like Uncle Huo so much, then you can go watch the movie with him!”

After all, this mom… had already fallen out of favor!

With that, Yu Wei turned on her heel and entered the dessert shop, heading straight to the back to wheel out her bicycle. She pulled the key from her cloth bag, ready to lock the door — when a heartbreaking wail sounded behind her.

Yu Hui burst into loud tears.

“Mom… Mom, you don’t want Hui Hui anymore… You don’t want me?”

The little guy couldn’t stay still anymore. In Huo Mingwang’s arms, he struggled desperately to get down, kicking his short legs and waving his small hands toward her. “Mom… Uncle Huo isn’t bad, he’s not a bad person! He wants to take us to the movies! I… Hui Hui wants to watch a movie too… Waaaah—”

Yu Hui hadn’t cried this hard in a long time. Yu Wei’s heart twisted into a knot. She was secretly annoyed at herself — had her tone been too harsh just now? Had she scared the little rascal?

She couldn’t care about locking the door anymore. She quickly turned and walked toward them. “Why are you crying? Mom didn’t scold you.”

Yu Hui stretched his arms out for a hug. This time, Huo Mingwang didn’t dodge. They exchanged the child, and Yu Wei took him, patting his little butt.

“Crying over nothing. You weren’t like this before.”

“I’m not… Mom, I’m not a crybaby!” Yu Hui sobbed sadly, wiping his tears with his hand, even blowing out snot bubbles.

Yu Wei poked his forehead in disgust. Just how sad was this kid, crying himself into a little dirty mess?

She wanted to grab tissues from her bag, but holding him made it hard. So she turned helplessly.

“Mr. Huo, could you please get the tissues from my bag?”

Huo Mingwang stepped up, reached into her cloth bag, and opened it. “Where?”

“The blue one… see it?”

“Mm.” Huo Mingwang pulled out the little blue pack of tissues. Yu Wei tore out two sheets with one hand. “Thanks, could you put it back in?”

Huo Mingwang said nothing and put the tissues back.

“Hui Hui is just a little rascal now — loves crying and loves acting spoiled.” She really didn’t know what to do with him anymore.

Maybe she spoiled him too much. Why didn’t he seem as cute as before?

“Mom, I’m not a little rascal. But… but I want to watch a movie. Uncle Huo is a good person. He wants to take us to the movies…”

The little guy didn’t know why, but he kept insisting Uncle Huo was good and not bad. Maybe because Yu Wei’s cautious attitude toward Huo Mingwang — or maybe because… she didn’t trust him the way Yu Hui did.

To Yu Hui, this meant Mom must think Uncle Huo was a bad guy, and that’s why she didn’t want him getting close.

It had to be that!

Yu Hui was still young, but he thought he understood a lot. For example, Uncle Huo — he wasn’t his dad, but Hui Hui thought Uncle Huo was even better than a dad!

Just buying out the entire dessert shop today was proof enough for Hui Hui that Uncle Huo was truly amazing!

The little guy was innocent, but as a mother, Yu Wei couldn’t afford to be so simple.

Even though his tears and snot were wiped clean, the tears kept falling, like pearls on a broken string, one after another hitting the ground.

“Mom…” The little guy buried his head against her shoulder and said pitifully, “Today is New Year’s Day. Teacher said you should spend holidays with your mom and dad. I want to watch a movie…”

Huo Mingwang listened, and inside he was screaming: Good job, son! You’re truly Dad’s little cotton-padded jacket! You get me!

“But Uncle Huo isn’t related to us. We can’t keep troubling him.” Yu Wei finished and glanced at the man. He smiled back at her, a perfect smile — he really did look like the “good person” Hui Hui claimed.

“It’s no trouble.” Before she could look away, he spoke first: “I came here specifically to pick you two up for the movie.”

“And…” He rubbed his son’s head. “If you agree, then we’ll have a relationship, won’t we?”

“You…” Yu Wei’s face flushed crimson at his straightforward words. She quickly turned away, holding her son and heading for the dessert shop door.

“Mom!” Yu Hui panicked when he saw her heading toward the door, where the bike was parked. “Mom… waaah, I want to…”

“Watch the movie, right? Fine! We’ll watch, watch, watch! I’ll let you watch to your heart’s content today!” Yu Wei fished the key out of her pocket angrily, but found she couldn’t unlock the door while holding the little rascal. Fortunately, Huo Mingwang had sharp eyes and quick hands; he took over immediately.

The little guy didn’t react right away — until he was lying on Uncle Huo again. Then it hit him.

“Mom, you’re going to take me to the movies?”

“Mm.” Yu Wei answered reluctantly and pushed the bike back inside.

“Then Mom…” Yu Hui still sounded uneasy. “Can Uncle Huo come with us?”

Uncle Huo seemed to be alone. If they all went together, there’d be three of them!

Three people — so lively!

“Why? You gonna pay for the tickets?” This little rascal was getting too bold!

Yu Wei locked the door, turned, and squeezed his cheeks hard, rubbing his face out of shape before she was satisfied.

“It’s okay, I’ve got money.” Huo Mingwang smiled, his eyes curved in amusement — gone was any trace of the cold, aloof boss. He added, “But it’s a holiday today. Tickets sold out long ago.”

Yu Wei frowned and released her son’s soft little face — only to hear him say again, “What a coincidence. I bought three tickets.”

Yu Wei: “…”

Huo Mingwang sped down the road, and in just a few minutes, they reached the cinema.

In those days, cinemas were few and small, but audiences were many. Today, being New Year’s, the place was packed. The entrance was jammed, shoulder to shoulder, people brushing past each other. The crowd made Yu Wei feel hot and sweaty.

Huo Mingwang, seemingly casual yet deliberate, slipped an arm around Yu Wei’s shoulders, pulling her close and shielding mother and son with his arm to carve out a safe little space.

Yu Hui was nestled in Yu Wei’s arms, his big eyes darting through the crowd, his little lips bright red, tear streaks still marking his cheeks, looking strangely funny.

“So many people…”

He couldn’t help but sigh, then saw his mom looking utterly uncomfortable. She lowered her head, holding him tighter and tighter.

“Mom, don’t be scared. Uncle Huo will protect us!”

Yu Wei: “…”

Huo Mingwang’s gaze followed the words to Yu Wei’s face, and the teasing in his smile deepened.

Yu Wei felt her scalp go numb under his stare and quickly changed the subject. “When does it start?”

He turned, raised his wrist, and glanced at his watch. “Soon. About ten minutes. Let’s wait outside.”

“Mm.” Yu Wei coughed lightly, scanning the lively scene. She finally found an open spot and put her excited son down. “You’re heavy.”

The little guy ignored that. Once on the ground, he clung to her hand, looking everywhere with wide-eyed curiosity.

“Mom, look at all those pictures on the wall!” He had spotted the posters right away — so pretty!

The cinema was a standalone building, its outer walls plastered with all kinds of colorful movie posters. Just like the vibrant spirit of the 1980s, full of life.

The most crowded spot was, of course, the ticket booth, packed with people jostling to buy tickets. A dime or two for a movie ticket, bringing endless joy and happiness.

Yu Wei looked around with her son, while Huo Mingwang stood protectively beside them, shielding them from the throng like a human barrier.

He was about to speak when a man crouched low and snuck over with a few slips of paper in his hand, stopping in front of Yu Wei. “Need tickets?”

Mother and son looked at him together. Yu Hui eyed the oddly dressed man and instinctively moved closer to Mom, then turned to find Uncle Huo.

Sure enough, Uncle Huo strode over, patted the scalper on the shoulder, and stared down at him. “Something you need?”

The scalper turned, gave Huo Mingwang a once-over, then grinned and asked, “Need tickets?”

Then he glanced at the little guy beside him, smiling slyly. “Need tickets, kid?”

Huo Mingwang: “…”

Yu Wei: “…”

Yu Hui: “?”