Could it be… he thinks he’s not man enough?
Suddenly, his masculine pride felt challenged, and he couldn’t sit still. He wasn’t at the point of actually eating this thing, right?
He was only twenty-eight! Not going to eat it, he pushed the bowl aside.
“I’m not eating this now,” he said.
Jiang Mengning gave him a glance and let out a cold snort.
Huo Jinyan: “……”So she really thinks he’s weak?
Footsteps sounded outside. Soon, Huo Haowen came in.
He went to school early every morning and only returned in the evening. Today, his face looked sour, like someone owed him eight million bucks.
“Brother, come quick! Mom made pudding for you!”
Huo Jinyan froze, staring at Jiang Mengning in disbelief. She’s actually giving this to the kid? Ridiculous. He was even a little angry.
Huo Haowen wasn’t in a better mood either. He had the same temper as his father—when he was unhappy, his face stretched long, frightening to look at. He sat at the table, staring at the pudding. Then he remembered what had been said earlier in the compound:
“Huo Haowen, did you hear? Your stepmom made your dad a vitality-boosting pudding. Soon, you might have a little brother. If she has a brother for you, she’ll probably kick you and your sister out. Then you’ll be orphans with no home, haha!”
Huo Haowen clenched his fists. His body trembled with anger. His stepmom now wanted to have a little brother with his dad. With her temper, she’d probably kick him and his sister out—or at least bully them terribly. Just thinking about his sister having a hard time made him hate this woman.
A little brother? He definitely didn’t want one. That wasn’t a brother—that was a debt collector!
The pudding in front of him glared at him mockingly. He wanted to smash the bowl.
“Eat first, but don’t eat this,” Huo Jinyan reached to take the bowl. He couldn’t let his child eat some kind of medicinal concoction.
Huo Haowen’s eyes widened in shock.“Dad! Even you are picking on us now? I won’t let you get your way!”
Instead of eating this pudding himself, he wouldn’t let his dad eat it either. He didn’t want a little brother.
He snatched the bowl from his father and dumped the whole pudding into his mouth. It was slippery; barely chewed, it went down his throat.
Uh… surprisingly, it was actually pretty good.
“Haowen, you—” Huo Jinyan hadn’t finished speaking when Huo Haowen went for his dad’s bowl again. He couldn’t let his dad and stepmom produce a little brother!
This time, Huo Jinyan’s reflexes were quicker, and he blocked his son.“Huo Haowen, don’t be excessive. Eat properly.”
His raised voice made Huo Haowen hold back, quietly eating his own food.
As expected, Dad was now siding with Stepmom. So having a stepmom meant having a stepdad too!
Huo Jinyan had no idea what his son was freaking out about today. He glared at the bowl in his hand but ended up eating it himself. Better him than letting the kid eat it! The child didn’t know any better; what if it made him sick?
Jiang Mengning watched these two men, completely dumbfounded. What was their problem? It’s just a bowl of pudding—why fight over it like this? Apparently, her cooking was just too good. She truly had a talent for it.
After the meal, Huo Jinyan cleaned up the dishes.
Huo Haowen, still hostile toward his stepmom, didn’t even let her touch his sister.
He helped bathe his sister himself. Jiang Mengning felt completely at ease.
She went back to her room.
By the time she came out again, Huo Jinyan was making the bed in the next room. He had no intention of sleeping with her—he was preparing to sleep alone.
The room had only a hard iron-frame bed, very uncomfortable.
She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, looking at the man bending over the bed.“Captain Huo, aren’t you going to sleep in the main room?”
Huo Jinyan straightened up and turned to look at Jiang Mengning. His expression was serious.“Jiang Mengning, it doesn’t matter how you treat me normally, but you cannot play tricks on the child.”
Jiang Mengning froze.“What do you mean? I didn’t trick anyone.”
“Don’t pretend to be clueless. You know what you did.”
“What am I clueless about? What exactly are you talking about, Huo Jinyan? Don’t beat around the bush—just say it straight! What are you trying to tell me?”
Huo Jinyan exhaled.“You shouldn’t have given Haowen something for vitality. He’s a child and cannot withstand your tricks. If anything happened from him eating it, I couldn’t forgive you.”
Jiang Mengning’s expression stiffened.
“Vitality… stuff? Pudding?!”
Suddenly, she remembered what Feng Xiulian said today and immediately guessed what had happened.“Pudding! You’re telling me you thought what I gave you today was some kind of vitality-enhancing medicine?!”
She really found this absurd. Who was spreading these rumors?
Huo Jinyan didn’t like arguing with women. He had his manners and didn’t want to quarrel. His voice softened.“Wasn’t it?”
“It was your sister!” Jiang Mengning’s temper flared. She couldn’t tolerate being falsely accused.“Your imagination is ridiculous! That’s just a sweet dessert called pudding, not some vitality thing. One homonym doesn’t need to send your mind wandering—I really admire your brain!”
“I’m telling you, Huo Jinyan, I hate being falsely accused. If you don’t believe me, make it yourself. The recipe is simple—milk, eggs, sugar. Just these three things. If you think these are some kind of vitality medicine, then eat more of it yourself.”
She picked up the three pairs of underwear she had bought him and threw them in his face.“You dare accuse me? I’m furious!”
Her temper wasn’t for show. She scolded him and stormed back into her room, slamming the door so hard it rattled.