“Got it,” Mumu said, looking obedient. Xu Youning did not say anything else and caressed his head lovingly as usual.
He suddenly looked up at her as if he suddenly remembered something and asked, “Has Uncle Ah Jin really gone abroad?”
Xu Youning was struck by his question, and she immediately thought of something.
She didn’t know why Mumu asked this question, but an awful thought struck her.
Ah Jin might have given himself away due to helping her out, and Kang Ruicheng could have discovered that Ah Jin worked for Mu Sijue.
So, Kang Ruicheng could have made up an excuse to let Ah Jin go on a business trip abroad.
His real purpose might be to find out if Ah Jin was an undercover agent planted by Mu Sijue. If he found out Ah Jin was one, he would kill him, for sure.
But it was just pure speculation on her part.
Hopefully, it was just a coincidence that Ah Jin went abroad.
Noticing that Xu Youning was distracted again, Mumu pulled her hand, asking, “Auntie Youning, what are you thinking about?”
Xu Youning shook her head and gathered her wits about her. “I’m not sure if Uncle Ah Jin has gone abroad. But you can ask your daddy about it if you wanna know. He must know it.”
“Oh,” Mumu asked, “Uncle Ah Jin knows Uncle Mu, doesn’t he?”
Mumu’s words made her heart skip a beat. She quickly squatted down to cover his mouth with her hand and said in a low voice, “Keep your voice down and be a good boy.”
Confused, Mumu looked at her with residual astonishment in his eyes. After a moment, he nodded as if he understood something and said obediently, “I see.”
Removing her hand, Xu Youning said, “You can never say that again. Got it?”
“Okay.” With rueful eyes, Mumu lowered his voice. “I’m sorry, Auntie Youning.”
From Xu Youning’s reaction, he realized that what he had just said might endanger Uncle Ah Jin’s life.
He liked Ah Jin very much, not only because Ah Jin could play games with him, but also because Ah Jin could protect Xu Youning.
Therefore, he didn’t want to put Ah Jin in danger, which was the reason why he apologized.
“It’s okay. There’re just two of us in the room, so no one can hear us.” Xu Youning caressed his head and continued. “However, you must promise you won’t tell anyone about our conversation today, okay?”
“Okay!” Mumu made a pinky swear with Xu Youning and touched her thumb with his. “I promise!’
When Kang Ruicheng came home in the afternoon, Xu Youning and Mumu were playing games in the living room and they both looked tired and bored.
Seeing Kang Ruicheng and Dongzi coming home, Mumu put down the gamepad and ran over to his father, tugged at his coat and asked, “Daddy, where is Uncle Ah Jin?”
Confused by Mumu’s question, Kang Ruicheng said after checking the time, “He should have just arrived in Country C at this time. What’s the matter?”
“I wanna play games with him,” Looking disappointed, Mumu said with a pout, “Auntie Youning has lost three games in a row. Uncle Ah Jin is better at it than her.”
Kang Ruicheng was speechless.
He wondered if it was a good thing that Mumu was so competitive.
With his gaze fixed on Kang Ruicheng, Mumu tugged at Kang Ruicheng’s sleeve and said eagerly, “Daddy, why don’t… you play games with me?”
Kang Ruicheng said with a frown, “Mumu, I don’t like playing games.”
Loosening his grip, Mumu shouted with a pout, “Then get Uncle Ah Jin back!”
Nobody else dared to shout at Kang Ruicheng except Mumu.
After all, Mumu was his son. Kang Ruicheng was more tolerant of him than others, which was why Mumu dared to make such a straightforward request.
Kang Ruicheng calculated the time in his mind and said, “I can’t do it. But you can wait for him for another three days. That’s all I can say.”
“One, two, three…” Mumu counted with his fingers and then tilted his head to look at Kang Ruicheng. “Will Uncle Ah Jin come back in three days?”
“Yes.” Kang Ruicheng nodded with certainty.
“Well, you can’t lie to me. Let’s do a pinky swear.” Mumu looked at Kang Ruicheng with a serious yet innocent expression, entwining his little finger with Kang Ruicheng’s. “You promise that you’ll call Uncle Ah Jin back three days later and let him play games with me.”
Kang Ruicheng was obviously impatient, so he entwined Mumu’s finger quickly and touched his thumb.
Mumu held Kang Ruicheng’s leg and rubbed his face against it with a happy smile. “Daddy, I love you.”
Kang Ruicheng was stunned by his sudden declaration. After a moment, he came back to his senses and looked at Mumu. “I love you too.”
Mumu looked very much like his mother, so Kang Ruicheng refused to look at him for too long for fear of reminding himself of Mumu’s mother. What was more, he left him in country A and entrusted him to the care of some nannies he hired.
To Kang Ruicheng’s surprise, distance didn’t estrange Mumu from himself.
Mumu was attached to him as if he had been brought up by him.
Mumu would say he loved him from time to time even though Kang Ruicheng had never proclaimed his love for him as other fathers did.
Kang Ruicheng had to admit that he was moved by Mumu’s declaration at this moment even though he was usually stony-hearted.
He took Mumu’s hand and stroked it gently. “I love you too.”
Mumu withdrew his hand from Kang Ruicheng’s palm with a beam of satisfaction. “Well, you can go and do your work now. I’m gonna play games with Auntie Youning again.”
Kang Ruicheng did have some work to do, and he went to the study upstairs with Dongzi.
Mumu stood where he was, looking at them silently from behind. When they were no longer in sight, he threw himself at Xu Youning, whispering, “Auntie Youning, Uncle Ah Jin will be fine.”
Xu Youning kissed his cute little face and said, “I see.”
In fact, she had also speculated from Kang Ruicheng’s words that Ah Jin was fine at the moment.
From what she knew of Kang Ruicheng, if he had found out Ah Jin’s true identity and killed him, he would not have been so composed when Ah Jin’s name was mentioned by Mumu.
Instead, he would tell Mumu fiercely and decisively that Ah Jin would never come back, and it would be useless even though Mumu cried.
Since Kang Ruicheng promised Mumu that Ah Jin would come back and play games with Mumu in three days, it showed that Ah Jin was safe now.
Mumu couldn’t help but give Xu Youning a high-five and shouted excitedly, “Hooray!”
Xu Youning put her forefinger on her lips as a sign to tell Mumu to lower his voice.
Mumu covered his mouth obediently with a nod and blinked, indicating that he would shut his mouth.
He looked so cute that Xu Youning was amused.
“He deserves an Auston Award. No, it was not good enough for his acting.
“How naturally and remarkably he acted when he just inquired about Ah Jin from his dad!
“If there is a better award than an Auston in the world, Mumu looks certain to win it.”
Mumu picked up the gamepad and asked Xu Youning in a low voice, “You’ll be alright as long as Uncle Ah Jin is fine, right?”
Xu Youning said with a nod, “Yes, it’s logically true.”
In fact, her identity would less likely be exposed as long as Ah Jin’s identity was unknown to Kang Ruicheng.
Mumu did not quite understand what “logically true” meant, but he thought nodding represented agreement, which was to say that Xu Youning would be fine.
He buried himself in Xu Youning’s arms and said, “Auntie Youning, I will protect you and the baby even though Uncle Mu is not here with you.”
Surprised, Xu Youning asked curiously, “Mumu, why are you so nice to me?”
She could better understand why he helped her and would try to repay his kindness if Mumu were an adult.
However, he was just an unworldly five-year-old child who had little experience of life.
So, she was curious about why Mumu was so nice to her.
Looking at Xu Youning with a serious expression, Mumu said, “Because you used to treat me very well. Well, just like my mommy. I can protect not only you but also your baby. Aunt Youning, I hope you can get away from this life and live a good life with Uncle Mu and the baby.”
Xu Youning nodded. “Thank you. I won’t let you down.”
Mumu made a gesture to Xu Youning to keep quiet as she had just done. “Let’s stop talking about it. We’ll be in trouble if daddy hears it. How about we play games while waiting for Uncle Ah Jin to come back?”
Amused by Mumu’s acting like an adult, Xu Youning nodded obediently and continued to play the game with him.
After nine o’clock, Kang Ruicheng and Dongzi came downstairs and walked straight toward Xu Youning.
Yu Youning tensed up when she saw their serious looks. She wondered if Dongzi had found something amiss with the surveillance camera videos.
Anyway, she could by no means show any nuance of fear.
Looking at Xu Youning, Kang Ruicheng said slowly, “A Ning, you should see a doctor tomorrow. I’ve already arranged everything for you at the hospital.”
Xu Youning breathed a sigh of relief in her mind. It turned out that he just wanted her to see a doctor.
She had no reason to refuse again. Otherwise, Kang Ruicheng would suspect her.
She nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll go.”
Kang Ruicheng said to Dongzi, “Go home now, and come back tomorrow to pick up A Ning to the hospital.”
“Yes, sir!”
Dongzi was always at Kang Ruicheng’s beck and call. He turned around and left quickly, and soon after, Kang Ruicheng went out for work.
Xu Youning and Mumu were the only two left in the living room.
Mumu rested his chin on his hands, looked at Xu Youning with a cute expression and asked her in English, “Are you nervous?”
Xu Youning made a gesture with her thumb and index finger, saying, “Just a little.”
Mumu said as he hugged her, “Well, don’t be nervous. I’ll be there with you.”
Xu Youning reached out her hands to hold him with a smile on her face.
She was not nervous because she would be seeing a doctor, but because of Mu Sijue.