“Also, the arrangement here is almost no different from the guest room,” Mo Yi said after looking around.
Actually, there was still a difference. There were a few of Bai Ren’s clothes in the cabinet that he could usually change into, but that was all.
Bai Ren curled his lips, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. This had never been a home that belonged to him. Even if he had grown up here.
Leaving aside how long he had been away, this time when he came back from abroad, he had only stayed for a few days at most. Still, it was clear that his father had never truly put him in his heart.
Should he be grateful that after he went abroad, the other party had at least had the maid pack up the things he had left behind, put them into a box, and place it in the cabinet instead of throwing them away like trash?
Of course, it might also have just been the servants acting on their own initiative. That man had never bothered to spare any extra thought for him.
Mo Yi also noticed that after he asked that question, the man’s attitude had become a little strange, and his mood seemed to turn bad in an instant.
He did not know the reason, but he instinctively crouched beside Bai Ren’s wheelchair, held his hand, and looked up at him, his eyes full of concern.
Seeing Mo Yi’s gaze, Bai Ren’s mocking smile faded, and the warmth in his heart eased back a little.
He reached out and rubbed the boy’s fluffy hair, and when he saw the other unconsciously press his face into his palm and rub against it, full of dependence, even the restlessness in his heart seemed to be soothed away.
“Why are you so乖?” the man murmured as his thumb brushed over Mo Yi’s cheek. He lowered his head and rested his forehead against Mo Yi’s.
Bai Ren liked being looked up at by him like this, as if there were only him in Mo Yi’s eyes and heart.
Mo Yi also did not understand why the other party’s mood had become better again, but he was very happy, smiling at the person in the wheelchair nonstop.
Bai Ren was infected by his silly grin as well, and the corners of his mouth lifted. At the same time, he used his index and middle fingers to scratch Mo Yi’s chin, and muttered playfully, “Why are you always grinning like that? Like a little dog. Little Mo dog dog? Little dog dog? Hmm?”
Little dog dog!
Mo Yi’s heart trembled. Although he had always said that he was neither human nor beast, he actually also felt that his species should be canine.
It was just that his true form’s tail tip was a little different from an ordinary dog’s, it was forked, and there was also a flame mark on his forehead.
He liked his beast form so much that he felt he was a mighty, imposing big dog.
But everyone disliked him. Not to mention, a loving nickname like little dog dog.
Mo Yi plopped down on the floor. After having his chin scratched, his whole body went weak.
He was intoxicated, feeling as if his heart were about to melt. He only wanted to lie on the floor and have Bai Ren scratch his belly!
Fortunately, Mo Yi still had some rationality left. He knew that if he really did that, Bai Ren would probably think something was wrong with his brain, so he held back.
But now, he felt even more strongly that he really, really liked Bai Ren!
The two of them stayed glued together in the room for a long time. By the time they came out, the meal downstairs was already ready.
It was said to be a dinner to welcome Bai Ren home, with the whole family eating together. But when they sat down, the seating arrangement was clearly hierarchical, with Mo Yi and Bai Ren both placed very far back. Fortunately, there were plenty of dishes on the table, so it was not to the point that they could not reach anything to eat.
Only, as Mo Yi looked at the table full of spicy dishes, his brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
After spending so much time together, of course he knew that Bai Ren preferred lighter flavors, especially since he was still in the stage of recovering from his injuries and needed to be careful with his diet.
Did the people here not know what a patient should eat?
Bai Ren did not care. He knew that the dishes on the table were arranged according to Bai Yucheng’s preferences. This was the Bai family’s home, and he did not think there was anything wrong with that.
Bai Yucheng’s expression was also a little ugly. Although when he was very young, Bai Ren had already gone abroad, and aside from the few days before the other party went to Shencheng, the two of them had actually not seen each other for more than ten years.
But in his heart, Bai Ren was still different from the others.
The two of them had a few years’ age difference, and Bai Ren was Bai Yucheng’s first playmate in childhood.
He still remembered that back then, the Bai Ren in his eyes was a gentle older brother, someone who took very good care of him and was so outstanding that he admired him.
Until one day, Bai Yucheng, who was in middle school, came home from school and got his award certificate. He wanted to run over and show it to his Bai Ren gege first. But when he excitedly ran over, that person’s room was empty, as if he had vanished into thin air.
He went to find his mother and said he wanted to see Bai Ren. At first, his mother’s attitude was still gentle, but when he insisted on seeing him, she sharply scolded him, saying he was neglecting his proper duties and wasting energy on unimportant people.
He went to look for Bai Yan again, and Bai Yan also said that Bai Ren’s school abroad was under closed management, that Bai Ren needed to focus on studying and could not be contacted.
It was only later, when he was in university, that he got back in touch with Bai Ren. It was just that the distance between them was too far. Although Bai Ren’s attitude toward him was still very good, he could clearly feel the estrangement, and that made him feel very regretful.
Looking at the food on the table, this spread would have been fine on an ordinary day. But now, considering Bai Ren’s physical condition, Shi Shuang had clearly already instructed the kitchen to make light dishes.
Bai Yucheng understood Bai Yan’s personality, and he was no longer like when he was a child, saying whatever came to mind. In the end, the one who would be scolded in private would still be Bai Ren.
Rather than saying too much now and causing more trouble for others, it would be better to have someone prepare another meal later.
Only Bai Yan looked calm as he directed the people below, and even raised his head to look at Bai Ren, deliberately saying, “Being able to eat together with the main family, we should be grateful beyond words.”
The way he said it made it sound as if they should be endlessly grateful just for being able to eat at this table. At a glance, it was obvious that he had made the kitchen prepare the spicy dishes.
It was not like some evil feudal society…
Mo Yi was already speechless. His brain, which had been carefully fed with historical knowledge, completely failed to process Bai Yan’s logic.
He had already realized that the world he had lived in in his previous life should have been something like a relatively backward ancient world. Although there were many fantastical elements for some reason, no matter what, he could still be considered an ancient person.
So how did Bai Yan, a modern person, still have so much dross in his head, not even keeping up with him, who had absorbed information-age ideas so well?
Mo Yi could not stand Bai Yan’s face and wanted to lose his temper, but Bai Ren beside him pressed down on the back of his hand.
In the end, aside from Bai Yan and the completely oblivious Bai mother, everyone else ate with little appetite.
After the meal, Ye Shuang left. Although she and Bai Yucheng were already engaged, they had not actually married yet.
Bai mother said a couple of polite words, but in truth she had no intention of keeping her. To put it bluntly, she did not think much of this daughter-in-law from humble origins. But since her son insisted, she could only pinch her nose and accept it.
Mo Yi also pushed Bai Ren back to his room early, then immediately opened his phone and tapped into the all-purpose food delivery app.
He was grateful for this convenient era. He really thought food delivery was a great invention of humanity!
He ordered a large spread of dishes Bai Ren liked, and in less than half an hour it had already been delivered to the door. Mo Yi excitedly went to fetch it, lightly knocked on Bai Ren’s bedroom door, and then walked in carrying a pile of delicious food.
Seeing the little triumphant expression on Mo Yi’s face and the bag in his hand, Bai Ren knew why he had come, and smiled as he pointed to the table beside him. “Put it there.”
“Okay!” Mo Yi obediently placed the dishes on the table while sneaking glances at Bai Ren.
Seeing that the dishes on the table were all the kinds he usually ate, Bai Ren’s eyes curved, and he said with certainty, “They’re all my favorites.”
“Of course! I said I’d take good care of you, how could I let you go hungry!”
Mo Yi looked smug. He called Bai Ren over, stuffed the chopsticks into his hand, and obediently sat beside him, waiting to be fed.
Watching this little fool’s matter-of-fact expression, Bai Ren’s mood also became very pleasant, and the bit of gloom from returning to the Bai family had long since been swept away.
The two of them had never been very proper when they were together, and Mo Yi even opened his tablet and put on the variety show he was watching. The two of them ate and laughed together, and the atmosphere was both relaxed and lovely.
Hearing the laughter coming from the room, Bai Yucheng, who was holding a tray of freshly made food, froze and lowered the hand that had been raised to knock on the door.
It seemed he had not heard Bai Ren laugh this happily for a very long time. It was obvious the two people in the room were eating, and the other one should be Mo Yi, the one who had saved Bai Ren. It looked like their relationship was really good.
It seemed that leaving this person by Bai Ren’s side might be a good thing.
After dinner, Mo Yi lingered in Bai Ren’s room for quite a while before returning to his own room. But tonight, for some reason, he could not sleep no matter what.
Clearly, when he had lived with Bai Ren in Shencheng before, everything had been fine. But in the Bai family home, Mo Yi just felt uneasy.
He tossed and turned on the bed for a long time. Even 005 was about to ask what was wrong with Mo Yi, when he saw the boy sit straight up.
He irritably scratched his head, then got out of bed, opened his suitcase, rummaged through it for a long time, and finally pulled out an old towel.
005 immediately recognized it. It was clearly Bai Ren’s.
When they packed their things earlier, Mo Yi had also stuffed the toiletries together. Although Zhu Xiuya had said there would be new ones available then, Mo Yi still liked using his own used things, items that carried Bai Ren’s scent, and Bai Ren’s towel was with him too.
He buried his face in the towel and took several deep breaths. Mo Yi let out a satisfied sigh, and the familiar smell instantly steadied his heart.
Perhaps because in Shencheng, he had already tacitly regarded the suite they had stayed in for a month as his and Bai Ren’s home, he had adapted so quickly. And here, neither he nor Bai Ren had any real sense of belonging.
So he urgently needed something that could make him feel at ease, such as the scent of the person most familiar to him.
Even Mo Yi himself had not realized that, in his heart, wherever Bai Ren was, that was his home.
Just like that, he dragged the towel back to bed. After spreading it out over the pillow as a pillow cover, he rested on it and sniffed hard a few more times before finally closing his eyes and falling into a comfortable sleep.