Chapter 151

Chapter 151

Before leaving the study, Adelaide took a final look around. The Graths appeared to be well-behaved, except for occasionally stealing glances at Ye Mo on the desk, and they had no other little tricks.

Adelaide moved quietly, opened the study door, and stepped out. As the door was about to click shut, he paused, leaned back in, and said, "I'll be back in two hours to prepare tea and snacks for you. Please look after the little prince."

Herli breathed a sigh of relief. She'd almost reached out right then.

The Graths crowded around her.

Norton cleared his throat. "Time to work."

Arnold carried a stack of documents, grabbed his chair, and sat next to where Norton's seat had been. Ye Mo was lying right beside him. He sat up straight, took out a pen, and opened a file.

"What're you staring at? I can work here, can't I? I can keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't roll off the desk."

Jacob also picked up his chair and placed it on the other side of the desk, careful not to make any noise. The heavy chair felt like a toy in his hands.

"Arnold is right. I can block this side so he doesn't roll off."

The few Graths exchanged glances and, for the first time, peacefully settled around the big desk, dividing up positions. Even Deenlie, who usually looked down on joining in their childish games, silently moved his chair over.

Ye Mo was in the middle, and luckily the desk was big enough for all of them.

They bent over their files, looked down to read, and every so often looked up at Ye Mo curled up in the center of the desk.

Norton glanced over but didn't stop them. He sat down at his own seat and said softly, "Just don't wake him up."

Baide had already made himself comfortable on the sofa at one side of the study, with a small coffee table in front of him. He put his feet up and let out a light scoff.

"You guys look like elementary school students doing homework around a desk."

Baide leaned back, his hands behind his head. From here, he could clearly see Ye Mo sleeping while cuddling his bottle. Ye Mo turned over, revealing the other side of his face, which had a red mark from sleeping on it.

So fragile, Baide thought.

He tilted his head. It was really something—the way Ye Mo held onto his fingers.

Baide's finger behind his head twitched, as if he could still feel that softness and warmth.

Norton had no files in front of him, and he also tilted his head, staring openly at Ye Mo.

Norton was used to seeing Ye Mo asleep. After Ye Mo had come to trust him, he often fell asleep during mental-soothing sessions. Back then, Ye Mo slept very quietly, only occasionally adjusting his position.

But Baby Ye Mo had way more fidgets. He would turn over, kick his little feet out, and never let go of his bottle. Sometimes he would even suck on it a couple of times, occasionally letting out a few hums.

Elia rested her chin in her hands and for the first time put the camera aside, letting it auto-record. She didn't want to watch him through a lens.

Ye Mo turned over again. This time, he left his bottle behind and lay face-down on the desk. He fumbled around but couldn't find anything, finally catching a fold in the blanket he had been lying on. But after a moment, he seemed to sense something was off, so he started groping again, whining worriedly.

Arnold quickly tucked the bottle back into his arms. The bottle was self-heating, still warm to the touch. Ye Mo finally quieted down.

Then the study fell silent for a long while, broken only by Ye Mo's breathing and an occasional gurgle as he drank.

Herli was sitting at the foot of the desk, where Ye Mo's toes pointed. Right in front of her was a chubby little foot, wiggling around.

She held back a few times, but eventually gave in. She reached out and gently tickled it. The foot pulled back, same as before.

Then after a while, it was stretched out in front of her again, its toes wiggling. Herli had a feeling something was wrong. She followed the foot with her eyes and saw Ye Mo.

Then she realized Ye Mo had woken up at some point. He was hunched over, holding his bottle, sucking on the nipple, staring at her with watery eyes.

Herli gasped. She had woken Ye Mo up.

The surroundings were very quiet. Except for Ye Mo, every single Grath froze.

That included Baide, who was still on the sofa but had been keeping a close eye on things.

Baide immediately snitched. "Herli woke him up!"

Ye Mo had his back to Adrian, who couldn't see whether Ye Mo was awake or not. Over the comms, he said, "? Is Ye Mo awake? Is he going to look for his mom?"

Baide was already mentally searching: "What do you do when a kid wants mom? How do you stall a kid when mom's not here?"

Adrian's hand stopped mid-page-turn.

A few seconds later, Adrian asked carefully, "Why isn't he crying yet? Did he fall asleep again?"

Ye Mo was still staring at Herli with wide eyes. He thought for a moment, then stretched out his other foot as well.

Herli hesitated, then reached out and gently tickled it again. Ye Mo withdrew his foot while laughing a little muffled around the bottle.

Then he stretched his foot out to Herli again.

Herli let out a relieved breath.

Then she enthusiastically rolled up her sleeves. She'd figured out the game by now. She tickled it lightly again, and Ye Mo withdrew his foot and laughed.

She played along cheerfully with Ye Mo. "What is this, a switch? Let Auntie press your switch."

Deenlie, off to the side, joined in too.

Adrian had already stood up. "I want to try too. Let me play with him."

Herli graciously gave him a spot and, like a good big sister, instructed Adrian, "Just gently tickle the bottom of his foot. Remember to be light; his skin is very soft."

Adrian gently tickled Ye Mo's foot a couple of times, and Ye Mo cooperated very nicely.

"Let Uncle press your switch too. Hahaha, you can't escape now."

Jacob squeezed in too. "Let me try too."

Ye Mo was having fun. He put his bottle aside, sat up, and stretched out both feet. When tickled, he'd laugh; when it got too much, he'd yank his feet back and hide them.

Arnold was smiling at first, but then he started to look a bit left out as he watched. "So many people are playing with him now. He doesn't like me anymore."

Norton tilted his head and looked at Arnold. Before he could say anything, Ye Mo stopped playing. He followed the sound of the voice to Arnold. Carrying his bottle, he crawled over and sat in front of Arnold. "Like! Mom loves baby!"

He still remembered Mom holding him and saying "Mom loves baby best."

"Like" and "don't like" were among the few words Ye Mo understood at this age.

The chocolate his mom gave him was "like"; the bruise from bumping into a chair was "don't like"; the soft plush toy was "like"; not getting a kiss from his mom was "don't like." Things that were "don't like" made people sad and upset.

Arnold smiled too. "I like baby too."

Ye Mo seemed a bit anxious. "Like! No don't like!"

Arnold watched him fret and kept nodding, "Mm, not that I don't like it."

He hurried forward, reaching for Arnold like a flapping little fish, wobbling at the edge of the table. Norton reached out on one side, holding him back to keep him from falling.

Afraid he might fall, Arnold scooped him into his arms. As soon as Ye Mo was picked up, he obediently curled his limbs. He hugged Arnold's neck and gave him a kiss, saying seriously, "This means 'like'."

Kissing means 'like', and chocolate also means 'like'.

Arnold was taken aback for a moment.

Norton interjected at the right moment, "He says he really likes you."

Both the grown-up Ye Mo and the little Ye Mo have always liked Arnold.

Adrian sighed, "What can you do? Since Arnold was the one who used all his military merits to get him back first."

Arnold laughed this time, "Of course. This was exchanged for all my military merits."

Ye Mo hugged his neck and looked around from his arms. He surveyed everyone in the room and then said, "Mommy?"

Arnold's smile vanished instantly, and the study fell silent.

Arnold carried Ye Mo over to Norton. "Look, this is Daddy."

Norton naturally took Ye Mo into his arms.

Ye Mo cooperated and settled into Norton's embrace, showing no sign of fear. His feet stepped on the pocket of Norton's military uniform, and Norton immediately lifted him up, letting Ye Mo rest effortlessly in his arms. "I am your father."

But he wasn't old enough to understand the word "father," so he insisted stubbornly, "Mommy."

Baide stood up, forcing himself to stay calm and saying, "Mommy is busy right now, she's not here."

Everyone in the room braced for Ye Mo to start crying, but Ye Mo seemed to understand immediately. "Mommy works, takes care of the baby."

Mommy wasn't home every day either. She would sometimes go out, leaving Ye Mo at a friend's house, explaining that she had to go to work to support the baby, but she would be back when it was time for bed at night.

Ye Mo didn't understand "work," but he knew "nighttime sleep"—that was bath time, and being tucked into a warm quilt. He would wait until then for Mommy to come back.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. Adrian said over the channel, "So simple. I was so nervous, worried about what to do if he cried again."

Adelaide also returned at this moment, carrying many things: some toys, a new bottle, and some snacks suitable for a child.

He immediately spotted Ye Mo in Norton's arms. "The little prince is amazing, he didn't cry when he woke up."

He didn't seem to want Mommy either.

Ye Mo turned his head in Norton's arms to look at Adelaide and seriously corrected, "It's baby."

Adelaide placed the tray on a nearby table and smiled, "Alright, it's baby. So, baby, would you like some of the little cake?"

Ye Mo immediately said, "Baby wants to eat."

Norton carried him to the table, bent down, and let him choose from the tray. The cakes and pastries had no cream, and there were all kinds. Considering there were so many from the Grath household, there were plenty.

Ye Mo eyed greedily a big one. Before taking it, he looked at Adelaide and pointed at the cake he fancied, "This one—"

Only after Adelaide nodded did he pick it up. He held it in his hand and didn't forget to look up at Adelaide and say thank you.

Once he had it steady, Norton straightened up again. Adelaide said in a low voice, "Can't let him eat too much. At most half."

Norton gave an almost imperceptible nod.

He looked down at Ye Mo, who was already earnestly gnawing on the cake. He was working hard, his little face half-buried in it, with a bit of residue on his nose.

The cake wasn't actually big for an adult.

He said in a low voice, "Can Daddy have a bite too?"

Ye Mo generously brought it to him. Norton took a huge bite from the middle, eating more than half of it.

After Norton swallowed the soft cake, Ye Mo looked down at the cake that had shrunk by more than half.

Norton also looked at the cake in his hand—it seemed he had taken a bit too much; less than half remained.

After a while, Ye Mo looked up at Norton again. He thought for a second, then broke the remaining small piece into two halves, offering one half to Norton's mouth.

Norton paused, then ate the half offered to his mouth.

When Ye Mo finished eating, Norton used his thumb to gently wipe away the crumbs around his mouth.

On the side, Adelaide stuffed the refilled bottle into his arms.

Ye Mo just put it to his mouth and took a couple of gulps, then seemed to remember something. He held the bottle out to Norton's mouth.

Norton instinctively turned his head.

Ye Mo stubbornly pushed it forward, "Here, for you. I'm not hungry."

Author's note:

Adrian: It's so easy to handle him.

At night, without Mommy, Ye Mo's tears flooded Norton's bed.