Chapter 28: Wen Yuan
The orange-red fiery clouds were scattered across the sky. A faint dark shadow at the edge gradually expanded with the passing of time, slowly soaking more than half the sky. The two extreme colors of black and orange-red intertwined and collided, creating a dazzlingly beautiful scene.
Fei Zhiyan stepped into the house with the last glimmer of dusk, his mood as dark as the sky that had already completely blackened outside.
He still remembered the subtle expressions on the faces of the council presidents from the other continents when they heard the secretary say Fei Luo had skipped school at the conference room entrance. They were probably thinking that even someone as powerful as Fei Zhiyan had to worry about his son at home. It was as if a god, once high and unattainable in the sky, had suddenly landed on earth, becoming much more approachable. They even comforted Fei Zhiyan, saying it was nothing, that they had all been through it.
Fei Zhiyan, on the other hand, just kept a cold face without saying a word and directly instructed the driver to take him home.
Before he even stepped into the dining room, Fei Zhiyan heard Nuonuo’s soft, milky voice from inside. The little mouth was chattering nonstop, as if his day had been busier than an adult’s.
The ice on his face melted a little. Fei Zhiyan handed his suit jacket to the butler and walked in.
Nuonuo was holding a small spoon, happily drinking his soup. But the next moment, he looked up and saw the papa he hadn’t seen all day!
“Papa!”
Nuonuo called out in pleasant surprise, but since he was sitting in his baby chair and couldn’t get down, he could only tilt his little face up and look at him with pleading eyes.
Fei Luo’s little hand instantly stiffened. He also slowly put down his chopsticks and looked up at his father. “Father,” Fei Luo said in a small voice.
Fei Zhiyan saw the two sons’ hairstyles, his steps pausing, his eyelids twitching involuntarily.
The two little ones had been up to something at home in the afternoon. They each had a little ponytail on top of their heads, which was now bobbing lively as they looked up. The two of them revealed identical fair foreheads and dark, bright eyes. The smaller one was completely oblivious to Fei Zhiyan’s low pressure, grinning foolishly.
Fei Zhiyan felt the cold air in his chest being completely punctured by their comical and amusing hair with a poof. He must have found two little fools for sons.
Fei Zhiyan pressed his temple with his fingertips, feeling that he really needed to calm down.
And so, Fei Zhiyan, who had just walked in, turned around and left, without a hint of reluctance.
“Papa?”
Nuonuo saw his papa leave and tilted his head in confusion, the little ponytail on his head swaying along.
Fei Luo was also a little strange, but seeing that his father didn’t directly ask him about skipping school, he was slightly relieved.
However, his relief was clearly too soon.
As soon as they finished eating, he saw Fei Zhiyan sitting on the sofa in the living room, his eyes having regained their previous coldness.
“Fei Luo, you come with me.”
Fei Zhiyan felt it was necessary to have a good talk with this son, so he took the lead and went upstairs.
Fei Luo pursed his lips, his little hands clenching the corner of his clothes, and followed behind Fei Zhiyan with a slight unease.
Nuonuo looked at his brother, then at his papa, and also followed behind with his little legs.
With Nuonuo joining in, the three of them were like primary school students lining up, walking upstairs in a neat, orderly fashion from tallest to shortest.
The chef, who had just finished cleaning up, came out of the dining room. Seeing the three of them walking in sync, he couldn’t help but sigh in his heart. The Fei family’s relationship is really good.
In the study.
Fei Zhiyan sat in the leather chair, took off his glasses with a rare touch of roughness, his eyes like a suppressed volcano, on the verge of erupting.
“Fei Luo, tell me why you didn’t go to school this afternoon.”
Fei Zhiyan’s voice was its usual coldness. In this gradually heating weather, it made one’s heart shiver.
Fei Luo lowered his little head, nervously tugging at the hem of his clothes. After hesitating for a long while, he finally spoke in a small voice. “I’m sorry, Father. I overslept.”
Hearing Fei Luo’s reason, a cold snort escaped Fei Zhiyan’s throat. His knuckles tapped on the desk, his voice growing even colder. “So now you not only skip class, but you’ve also learned to lie? You can’t even come up with a better excuse!”
He admitted that he had paid little attention to this son, but he had always thought Fei Luo was well-behaved and obedient. But now, it seemed he was also quite a handful.
Fei Luo was a quiet person to begin with, and now he was so scared he lowered his head, not daring to say another word.
Fei Zhiyan was about to say something more, but when he glanced at the little ponytail swaying on top of his head, the anger that had just risen suddenly dissipated.
Pressing his forehead, Fei Zhiyan closed his eyes to calm down for a moment before continuing. “You’re still young. Going to school is something you must do. Otherwise, what will you do when you grow up?”
Hearing that his father’s tone was no longer so harsh, Fei Luo’s suspended heart relaxed a little. He thought for a while before answering, “When I grow up, I want to wander with my little brother.”
This was something Fei Luo had planned before, but it had only ever been a thought, never put into action. Of course, Fei Zhiyan would not give him the chance to act on it either.
Hearing Fei Luo’s words, Fei Zhiyan felt his blood pressure shoot up at that moment, his mind so angry it was momentarily muddled. “Wander? You really dare to say that.”
Fei Zhiyan’s emotions were a little unstable, probably even more of a headache than when Fei Jing had said he wanted to break into the entertainment industry. He had thought his second son was the most capable of causing trouble, but now, it seemed that none of the three were easy to deal with.
Fei Zhiyan closed his eyes, and when he glanced up and saw the little head peeking in from the doorway, his chest felt even more constricted. “What are you looking at? Still not coming in.”
The little head at the door quickly retracted, and then, belatedly realizing it had been discovered, it slowly peeked out again.
“Papa?”
Nuonuo saw Fei Zhiyan’s not-so-good expression, blinked his big eyes, and walked in with his little hands behind his back, feeling a little guilty. “Papa, hwug, ya—”
Rubbing against Fei Zhiyan’s side, Nuonuo opened his little arms, trying to get away with being cute.
“Don’t act spoiled. Was it you who pestered your third brother and didn’t let him go to school?”
Fei Zhiyan found that he really couldn’t get angry at Nuonuo, especially when the little one was clinging to him. The coldness in his heart would instantly dissipate. But today’s matter was very serious. Fei Zhiyan wanted to teach him a lesson, so he kept a straight face and didn’t even look at him.
Nuonuo’s little arms were outstretched for a long while, and they were getting sore, but he still didn’t get a hug. Realizing that his papa was really angry, Nuonuo panicked, and tears began to well up in his eyes. “Papa, hwug.”
Nuonuo, not giving up, hugged his papa’s leg. His tear-filled pupils were like sparkling black obsidian as he looked at him with pleading eyes.
Fei Zhiyan just turned his head away and said to Fei Luo, who was still trying to defend his little brother, “This is the first time. I’ll give you one chance. You write a one-thousand-word self-reflection and hand it in. Tomorrow morning, go to school and apologize to your teacher.”
Because of Fei Luo’s matter, his homeroom teacher had called several times. Fei Zhiyan felt it was necessary to let Fei Luo know what he had done wrong.
Fei Luo nodded. Before he left, he looked at the teary-eyed Nuonuo with concern, opened his mouth, and still said, “Father, please don’t be angry. It was me who didn’t want to go to school. It has nothing to do with my little brother.”
Fei Zhiyan could see through Fei Luo’s thoughts with one glance. He closed his eyes and waved his hand, telling him to leave first.
As Fei Luo walked out the door, he saw his second brother holding a cup of flower tea, leaning against the wall and letting out a chuckle. “Little Fei Luo, you’re amazing. I didn’t even dare to skip class when I was in school. Father actually didn’t put you in the little black room. He’s really too biased.”
In the family, only Fei Jing had been in the little black room once for causing trouble. Fei Luo and Fei Han had always listened to their father. It was only after Nuonuo came that Fei Luo was led astray. Otherwise, Fei Luo would probably always be that dull and wooden.
Bending down to rub his little brother’s fluffy curly hair, Fei Jing said in a good mood, “If you don’t know how to write a self-reflection, come find your brother. I’ll provide you with help for free.”
Fei Luo’s already dark eyes were now even more frightening. He pushed Fei Jing’s hand away. “You’ve written a lot, so you have a lot of experience.”
Fei Jing’s movement stiffened, and he cursed in his heart. “Little Fei Luo, you’re really getting more and more wicked. You even dare to mock your brother now, don’t you?”
But when he looked down and saw the little ponytail on Fei Luo’s head, Fei Jing couldn’t help but smile again. “Aiya, forget it. Seeing how cute you are today, I won’t argue with you.”
Fei Jing watched Fei Luo’s retreating figure, the little ponytail swaying as he walked. The smile he was trying to suppress finally broke through, and he laughed out loud.
Taking a sip of tea to clear his throat, Fei Jing pushed open the study door.
Inside, Nuonuo was hugging Fei Zhiyan’s leg, tears plopping down, his shoulders hitching with sobs, his nose red from crying, looking extremely pitiful.
Turning his head and seeing his second brother come in, Nuonuo didn’t even cling to him for a hug. Instead, he let out a little sob and tried to wipe away his tears with his little hands.
Seeing Nuonuo’s pitiful little face, Fei Jing’s hand, which was holding the teacup, couldn’t help but tighten for a moment. Remembering that his father was still there, he managed to control his emotions and turned to say, “Father, it’s so late. Let Nuonuo go to sleep first.”
Fei Zhiyan looked at Nuonuo’s pleading face, and his heart also tightened. He lowered his eyes and was silent for a while before he spoke. “Nuonuo, you go back to your bedroom first. Your second brother and I still have things to talk about.”
Nuonuo pouted, his eyes red-rimmed, and tugged at Fei Zhiyan’s clothes, refusing to leave. “Sweep with Papa, ya.”
Fei Zhiyan’s originally hard shell had long since melted away bit by bit in the little one’s tears, but he still hadn’t relented.
Fei Jing, who was very good at reading people, quickly spoke up. “Nuonuo is still young and playful. He knows he was wrong. He definitely won’t do it again next time, right?”
Nuonuo also quickly nodded his little head, the little ponytail on his head also bobbing up and down. “Nuonuo knows he was wong—”
The coldness in Fei Zhiyan’s eyes slowly faded. He finally softened and sighed lightly, reaching out to flick Nuonuo’s little ponytail. “Go find Auntie Wu to take your hair down. Be good and wash up and go to sleep.”
Auntie Wu, who had been waiting at the door, quickly walked over with a pained heart and carried the crying-tired Nuonuo to wash up.
The room became quiet. Only then did Fei Jing continue to speak. “Father, that woman named Wen Yuan, is she really Nuonuo’s mother?”
Hearing this, Fei Zhiyan’s expression cooled slightly, his eyes unreadable.
