Chapter 6

Chapter 6

On the morning of the third day of his amnesia, Huo Sicheng summoned Aide Wen and instructed him to gather the head of the unmanned helicopter unit and the personnel from the Junshan Tower control room for questioning.

Aide Wen said, "Chairman, on the day of the incident, the Federal Bureau of Investigation detained them all, conducted interviews, and consulted with aviation experts."

"You take charge and investigate again," Huo Sicheng said, rubbing his temples. "You just said the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

"Yes."

"Have you ever wondered why the Federal Bureau of Investigation could intervene immediately when I had an accident?"

Aide Wen was taken aback. Having been by Huo Sicheng's side for so many years, he always believed that Viceroy Huo's people were equivalent to Huo Sicheng's people. Therefore, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation intervened urgently during the incident, he felt reassured and didn't give it much thought.

But after Huo Sicheng's reminder, he suddenly realized.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation should have intervened, but the problem was that their intervention was too fast and too timely. The Blue Rock Base Security Unit was still on the way, and the deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation had already personally led people into the Junshan Forest Tower Control Center.

That didn't make sense.

When Huo Sicheng first saw the investigation report, he had already reminded him—

"It's not that the investigation was fast, but the reaction speed was too fast."

Aide Wen's face went pale, and he hurriedly said, "Chairman, I'll take care of it right away."

"Don't worry. Even if it's as I suspect, it's to be expected. Stay calm."

Perhaps because he had experienced life and death in the Navy SEALs, Huo Sicheng remained remarkably calm in many major events. Aide Wen was calmed by his demeanor, and he gradually calmed down.

"The next governor's election is about to begin. It's normal for someone to stir up trouble."

When Huo Sicheng said "normal," it sounded alarming to Aide Wen. What was worse was that he had been in charge of everything following Huo Sicheng's accident. If the Federal Bureau of Investigation was indeed up to something, he had completely overlooked it and had naively cooperated with their efforts, ultimately issuing a report that "excluded human factors," missing the optimal time for investigation. Huo Sicheng would surely question his competence, and his career would probably be over.

"Very nervous?" Huo Sicheng glanced at Aide Wen.

"It's my oversight."

"I am just speculating."

Aide Wen lowered his head, still feeling guilty. "I'll promptly start a covert investigation of the involved personnel as you directed."

Huo Sicheng laid out a few key points.

Aide Wen took notes, but when he looked up, he saw Huo Sicheng holding his phone horizontally, engrossed in something.

Noticing Aide Wen's curious gaze, Huo Sicheng coughed lightly and said, "The online reviews for the Bay Project are quite good."

"Yes."

After Aide Wen left, Huo Sicheng continued to watch the surveillance of the children's room. Huo Xiaobao was already awake, lying in his small bed, holding a little bear in his left hand and a little tiger in his right, amusing himself.

Huo Sicheng saw his mouth opening and closing, muttering something, and then suddenly raising his left hand high, throwing the little bear at the little tiger, which fell off the bed.

The little bear won.

It seems he really likes that little bear.

So that day, Huo Xiaobao kept stuffing the little bear into his hand, meaning to cheer him up.

Huo Sicheng looked downcast. Shortly after, Huo Xiaobao suddenly glanced towards the door, likely because Zhong Xi had come in.

The moment Zhong Xi entered, Huo Xiaobao even left his little bear behind, clutching the high guardrail and eagerly stretching out his hand.

Zhong Xi approached in his casual home clothes.

By the time Huo Sicheng woke up, the bedside was empty. He had no idea when Zhong Xi had gotten up. He thought: I must not have held him today, or else I would have woken up when he did.

With this thought, Huo Sicheng felt a wave of relief.

Huo Sicheng attempted to focus solely on Huo Xiaobao, but his eyes kept drifting to the person he wished to avoid.

Zhong Xi's behavior around Huo Xiaobao was quite different. He would crouch down to make silly faces at Huo Xiaobao, making him laugh. He’d grab nearby toys to play with him. Huo Xiaobao giggled and dodged, and when Zhong Xi opened the guardrail’s small door, he immediately crawled over and leaped into Zhong Xi’s arms.

Zhong Xi supported Huo Xiaobao’s bottom as he lifted him. They moved to the window and pulled back the curtains.

Huo Xiaobao, like an excited puppy, clung to Zhong Xi, showering him with kisses as if they’d been apart for ages.

Huo Sicheng frowned slightly.

Zhong Xi gestured toward the window, and Huo Xiaobao turned to see. A small bird was likely perched on the windowsill. Huo Xiaobao waved at the bird, startling it into flight. Huo Xiaobao pouted, his expression innocent.

Zhong Xi grinned and gently pinched his cheek.

After some cuddling, Zhong Xi placed Huo Xiaobao back on the bed and fetched a set of clothes to dress him in.

Even without his pajamas, Huo Xiaobao remained chubby. Huo Sicheng thought: It seems children born from alpha and beta aren’t inherently genetically inferior; they can still grow up healthy and strong.

Huo Xiaobao was quite obedient, extending his arms for dressing and even pulling up his own pants.

Compared to other children Huo Sicheng had known, Huo Xiaobao was exceptionally well-behaved. In the past two days, Huo Sicheng never heard any noise from the child during meal or sleep times. Even when he really wanted his father, he tried to stay quiet, hiding by the door.

So adorable, anyone would like him.

Huo Sicheng couldn't help but blame himself.

But just like when Zhong Xi approached him, Huo Sicheng would also unconsciously resist when Huo Xiaobao came near.

It seemed like a voice inside him was saying: Don't get close, don't fall for it. The child is Zhong Xi's bait, a product of deliberate seduction, not a fruit of love.

His head started to ache again.

Huo Sicheng put down his phone and pressed his temples.

When Huo Xiaobao dragged his little bear down the stairs, Xiao Xu happened to come up to bring Huo Sicheng warm water and medicine. He looked at them in surprise and then volunteered: "I'll give it to Dad!"

Xiao Xu and Zhong Xi exchanged a glance, and Zhong Xi silently agreed.

Huo Xiaobao handed the little bear to Zhong Xi, then held the medicine bottle and quietly walked into Huo Sicheng's room. Like yesterday, he peeked around the wardrobe and saw his father pressing his forehead, looking in pain. He quickly ran over.

The medicine bottle made clinking sounds, and Huo Sicheng, annoyed by the noise, frowned and looked over. Huo Xiaobao, frightened, stopped by the bed. He had never seen such a fierce expression on Huo Sicheng's face before and thought he had done something wrong, not daring to move forward.

Huo Sicheng immediately softened his expression.

"Xiao, Xiao Bao."

He tried to soften his tone, but Huo Xiaobao was still scared.

He didn't even dare to look at Huo Sicheng.

Zhong Xi walked in, took the medicine bottle from Xiao Bao's hand, placed it on the bed, and then quietly carried Xiao Bao out of the room. Xiao Bao lay on Zhong Xi's shoulder, his little face buried, and Huo Sicheng could see he was unhappy.

Kids' feelings are so easy to read.

Xiao Xu sighed, walked in, and placed the water cup on Huo Sicheng's bedside. "Chairman Huo, this is the medicine for nerve damage."

.

Xiao Bao held the spoon dazedly, he only ate half of his usual breakfast.

Zhong Xi stopped feeding him and said, "Xiao Bao, let's go for a walk, okay? The flowers in the yard are very beautiful."

Xiao Bao nodded.

Zhong Xi put a thin corduroy jacket on him and took him out of the house. The guard at the door quickly bowed and saluted, "Mr. Zhong, do you need a car?"

"No, I'll just walk around the yard."

Zhong Xi took Xiao Bao out of the villa. Xiao Bao was all worn out, slumped weakly on Zhong Xi's shoulder, sniffling now and then, and then bursting into tears again.

Zhong Xi felt his shoulder getting wet but stayed quiet.

After walking around the fountain sculpture facing the central gate, Zhong Xi came to the small botanical garden next to it, where a mix of red and green Nandina caught his eye.

"Xiao Bao, look at this leaf."

Xiao Bao's gaze was drawn to it.

The leaves of the Nandina turn from green to red in autumn, the colors blending in a really artistic way, making it look just right for a leaf bookmark. There were also clusters of deep red berries nearby.

Xiao Bao sniffled and reached for the berries.

Zhong Xi picked one and put it in his hand.

Xiao Bao held it gently, and when Zhong Xi was about to look at another plant, Xiao Bao suddenly said, "Daddy, one."

Zhong Xi was surprised, "You want to bring one for Daddy?"

Zhong Xi figured that after what happened, Xiao Bao would ignore Huo Sicheng for a long time. Who knew that just after crying, Xiao Bao started mentioning Daddy again.

"Daddy, Mommy, Xiao Bao."

"One for each of us, huh?"

"Yes," Xiao Bao nodded.

He eyed the berry and was about to pop it in his mouth when Zhong Xi quickly stopped him, "Little ones can't eat this."

Xiao Bao looked at it longingly.

"Only grown-ups can eat this, not little ones."

Zhong Xi thought to himself: Actually, grown-ups can't eat it either, but he couldn't think of a better way to comfort Xiao Bao right now.

"Then I won't eat it," Xiao Bao said.

Zhong Xi gave him a kiss and then, as Xiao Bao requested, picked two more and placed them in his palm.

"Will Daddy get better if he eats the berry?"

Zhong Xi smiled, "Yes, heaven will be touched by Xiao Bao's sincerity and make Daddy get better soon."

"Let’s play with Xiao Bao."

"Okay, let’s play with Xiao Bao."

"Stay with Mommy."

Zhong Xi hesitated, not repeating the words.

He glanced at the distant second-floor window, then said, "Xiao Bao, let’s go over there and see. There are so many little flowers."

Huo Sicheng had this botanical garden built for Huo Xiaobao, begun even before Huo Xiaobao was born. He once talked about building a zoo for Huo Xiaobao, but Zhong Xi stopped him.

Huo Sicheng himself designed this botanical garden, constructed at a high cost, featuring many plants native to mountain peaks over four thousand meters high. It was a stunning collection, with state-of-the-art cooling systems running around the clock, keeping the air pressure at one-third of the external level.

All this was just to give Huo Xiaobao a taste of the mountain landscapes, so different from the plains.

Sadly, Huo Xiaobao was too young to do more than exclaim "wow."

Zhong Xi gently inquired, "Has Xiao Bao forgiven Daddy?"

Xiao Bao leaned heavily on Zhong Xi’s shoulder and grumbled, "Daddy, I won’t forgive him for scolding me."

"Daddy is sick."

"Xiao Bao gets sick too, but Xiao Bao doesn’t scold Daddy."

Zhong Xi was a bit taken aback; Huo Xiaobao had never strung together such a long sentence before. He said, "Xiao Bao is more sensible than Daddy, right?"

Huo Xiaobao fiddled with the small red fruit in his hand.

Zhong Xi asked with a smile, "Did you give the fruit to Daddy?"

Huo Xiaobao thought for a moment and nodded.

Zhong Xi bent down to kiss him, and Huo Xiaobao suddenly held Zhong Xi’s face, "Will Daddy scold Mommy?"

Zhong Xi was startled, then smiled slightly and said, "No, Daddy didn’t scold Mommy."

Only then did Huo Xiaobao relax.

After a stroll, once Huo Xiaobao was cheerful again, Zhong Xi headed home.

Xiao Xu approached and took Huo Xiaobao from Zhong Xi, "Mr. Zhong, you’ve been holding him for so long. Go inside and rest."

"Thank you," Zhong Xi let go.

"Aide Wen delivered another pile of documents," Xiao Xu gestured the thickness of the documents, then pointed upstairs, clicking her tongue, "So the Chairman is always this swamped?"

"Yes, he is very busy."

"Before, the Chairman spent so much time every day accompanying you and Xiao Bao. I thought he wasn’t busy."

"Could you watch Xiao Bao for a while? I need to go to the study to handle some research institute matters."

"Sure, I’ll play building blocks with Xiao Bao."

"Mr. Zhong—" Xiao Xu called out to him.

Zhong Xi turned around, "What is it?"

"You look exhausted; let me make you some goji berry tea."

"No need," Zhong Xi said with a slight smile. "Thank you."

All day long, documents kept flowing in and out of Huo Sicheng's room, while Zhong Xi's study stayed shut the entire day. Xiao Bao alternated between playing and sleeping, quiet as a mouse.

It was the third day since Huo Sicheng lost his memory, and the house was eerily quiet.

Plagued by unbearable headaches, Huo Sicheng took pain medication. The medication kicked in, and he dozed off early.

Xiao Bao, also drowsy, rubbed his eyes, yawned, and stood at the master bedroom door. Tipping his little head, he asked Zhong Xi, "Mom, is Dad asleep?"

Zhong Xi peeked in and whispered, "He's asleep."

Xiao Bao tiptoed in, approached Huo Sicheng's bedside, and placed the red berry—now soft and wrinkled from his grip—next to Huo Sicheng's pillow. Huo Sicheng was in a deep sleep, the bandage still on his head, his face pale.

Xiao Bao asked Zhong Xi, "Will Dad eat it?"

"Yes, Dad will eat the berry you gave him as soon as he wakes up," Zhong Xi whispered.

Xiao Bao stretched out his little hand, grabbing Huo Sicheng's hand by the bedside. He could only hold two of Huo Sicheng's fingers.

He puffed his cheeks, blew on Huo Sicheng's hand, and whispered hopefully, "Blow, blow, Daddy, make the pain go away."

Zhong Xi chuckled, "It should be Xiao Bao blow blow."

Xiao Bao immediately corrected himself, "Xiao Bao blow blow, pain pain fly away."