35: Chapter 35 My dear son, don't let them down!

"Hey, hey, hey! Ice Empress! Get down! Why do you get to occupy such a good spot on the finger!"

"Hmph, I want to, is that any of your business?"

"Then I want to too! I want to wrap around the finger as well!"

"With that fat body of yours? Are you trying to strangle Huo Yuhao's finger?"

"You are the fat one! Your whole family is fat! This is called being plump! It is cute! Besides, I can turn into a light spot form!"

"Then change."

"I... I am just doing this to be a 'hair accessory' for Huo Yuhao, making him look cuter! Think of how good the view is from the top of the head!"

"Oh, so you admit you just want to occupy the highest position?"

"I did not! Stop spouting nonsense!"

Early in the morning, while the sky was still dim, a scene as lively as a vegetable market had already played out within Huo Yuhao's mind.

He opened his eyes, sighed helplessly, and raised his hand to touch the Tianmeng Iceworm, which had shrunk to the size of a palm and was lying on his head.

He looked again at the emerald green light band on his left finger, which was slowly flowing like a living creature.

These days, it really is impossible to live like this.

"Benefactor! Hurry up! The carriage is already waiting at the door!"

Outside the door came Tang Ya's energetic urging voice.

"Coming, coming!"

Huo Yuhao responded, checked his attire one last time, and walked out of the room.

The small courtyard was already full of people.

Jiang Wanjun was holding Jiang Nannan's hand, whispering something.

"...Outside, it is not like at home, you must be more careful in everything, get along well with your classmates, and also pay attention to your own safety..."

Jiang Nannan lowered her head, listening obediently, her cheeks slightly flushed, while a pair of watery eyes uncontrollably and secretly glanced towards Huo Yuhao, who had just walked out of the room.

When Huo Yuhao's gaze shifted over, she quickly lowered her head like a startled little rabbit, her ears turning completely red.

Tang Ya was entirely different.

She carried a small, bulging bundle on her back, looking spirited, like a little bird about to be released from a cage, full of anticipation for the upcoming journey.

"Benefactor, hurry up! If we don't leave, we will miss the best departure time!" She jumped twice on the spot, urging him.

And on both sides of the door stood two of the most eye-catching figures.

Wang Qiuer was wearing a neat blue outfit today, her long hair tied high, her arms crossed, leaning diagonally against the door frame.

She did not speak, just looked at Huo Yuhao quietly with those golden eyes, her gaze carrying a hint of 'I am waiting for you' as a matter of course.

Gu Yuena was still in a simple and elegant white dress, her silver hair like a waterfall.

She stood on the other side, quiet and still, like an orchid in an empty valley.

When Huo Yuhao walked out, her gaze naturally fell upon him.

It seemed as if those purple eyes could only hold his figure.

Unexpectedly, this morning, these two queens did not bicker.

Nor did they engage in any form of eye contact; they simply waited quietly in their respective positions.

Huo Yuhao knew they were all waiting for him.

He took a deep breath, preparing to walk over, but was stopped by his mother, who had just come out of the kitchen.

"Yuhao, wait a moment."

Huo Yuner was holding a warm towel in her hand.

She walked over to Huo Yuhao, stood on tiptoe, and carefully wiped his cheeks.

Then she reached out and earnestly tidied his slightly messy collar.

Her movements were slow and gentle, as if she wanted to pour all the tenderness in the World into this small gesture.

"Arriving at Shrek, it is not like at home."

Her voice carried a hint of imperceptible hoarseness.

Her eyes were slightly red, but she held back, not letting her tears fall.

"Eat well, don't be picky, cover yourself well at night, don't catch a cold. Although cultivation is important, you can't be too tired, you must know how to combine work and rest..."

She babbled on, repeating those words she had exhorted a thousand times, as if she would never finish.

Huo Yuhao listened quietly, without a trace of impatience.

He knew these naggings were his mother's deepest love for him.

"Mother..." He held his mother's hand and said softly, "I know it all."

Huo Yuner looked at her son's face, which had shed its youthfulness and possessed clear contours.

Looking into his steady and firm eyes, the reluctance in her heart could no longer be suppressed.

"Mother knows you have grown up and have your own ideas..."

She sniffed, trying hard to squeeze out a smile, "But, no matter how old you grow, in Mother's heart, you will always be that child who needs taking care of."

She opened her arms and suddenly hugged Huo Yuhao tightly.

This hug was tighter than ever before.

Huo Yuhao buried his face in his mother's shoulder, feeling that familiar and warm breath, and his eyes also grew hot.

Just when he thought his mother was going to cry, Huo Yuner suddenly leaned into his ear and whispered in a teasing tone that only the two of them could hear:

"Yuhao..."

"Hmm?"

"Look... Qiuer, Gu Yuena, Nannan, and Xiao Ya, they are all good girls, each one better than the other, each one more beautiful than the other..."

"...So, my good son..."

"You must... absolutely not let down these few good girls~"

Huo Yuhao's body stiffened instantly.

He slowly raised his head, looking at his mother in disbelief.

Huo Yuner had already let him go, and the sadness from before was nowhere to be seen on her face.

It was clearly an auntie-like smile of 'my son has prospects,' filled with a bit of pride and gossip.

"Cough... cough!"

Huo Yuhao's face turned red all of a sudden.

He coughed awkwardly twice and looked at Jiang Wanjun beside him for help.

Jiang Wanjun also had an expression of wanting to laugh but being too embarrassed to, so she could only turn her head to pretend to tidy Jiang Nannan's hair.

"Mother! You... what are you saying!" Huo Yuhao's voice cracked.

"Oh, Mother is just saying it casually, look at you, your face is red."

Huo Yuner poked her son's burning cheeks with her finger, laughing even more happily.

The sad atmosphere in the courtyard was stirred up by Huo Yuner and instantly became relaxed and strange.

Tang Ya blinked her big eyes, looking at the mother and son curiously, wondering what whispers they were sharing.

Jiang Nannan's face was even redder than Huo Yuhao's.

Wang Qiuer and Gu Yuena at the door, although they couldn't hear what they were saying, guessed a little from Huo Yuhao's embarrassed expression.

The corners of Wang Qiuer's mouth curled into a playful arc.

A rare, faint smile appeared on Gu Yuena's face.

"Alright, alright! Not teasing you anymore!"

Huo Yuner patted her son's shoulder and pushed him toward the exit, "Go quickly! Don't keep everyone waiting. On the way, take good care of the girls, you know?"

"...Got it."

Huo Yuhao almost fled, walking quickly to the carriage.

The final farewell was simple and warm.

"Auntie, Auntie Wanjun, we are leaving!"

"When we arrive at the academy, we will write to you!"

"Mother, you and Auntie Wanjun must take care of yourselves!"

"Good! Good! You too! Have a safe trip!"

The group, under the gaze of Huo Yuner and Jiang Wanjun, boarded the spacious carriage one after another.

The carriage driver cracked the whip, the carriage started to move slowly, and the wheels made a 'rumbling' sound on the stone road in the morning.

Huo Yuhao sat by the window, unable to resist lifting the curtain to look back.

The familiar, bustling streets of Heaven Dou City gradually faded away in the morning light.

At the gate of that small courtyard, two figures were still standing there, waving their hands non-stop.

Their figures became smaller and smaller, more and more blurred, until they finally turned into two small black dots and could no longer be seen.

Huo Yuhao slowly put down the curtain, isolating the noise of the outside World.

The carriage was quiet.

In his heart, a surge of unspeakable sourness and warmth rose.

He closed his eyes, and the smiling, teary eyes of his mother appeared in his mind again.

In his previous life, the moment his mother passed away due to exhaustion in the White Tiger Dukes Mansion, his World completely collapsed.

But now...

He remembered his mother's happy profile when she was busy in the kitchen last night.

He remembered his mother's teasing words when she hugged him this morning.

He remembered the look in her eyes when she stood at the door, waving goodbye—reluctant, yet full of pride and hope.

In this life...

She should be happy, right?

Huo Yuhao asked himself silently in his heart.

He didn't know the answer.

But he knew that he would use everything he had to protect this happiness and let it last forever.

Just as his emotions surged, a cool, soft little hand gently held his hand.

Huo Yuhao opened his eyes and met Gu Yuena's deep purple eyes, which were like a starry sea.

She didn't speak, just looked at him quietly.

The hand holding his tightened slightly, as if silently conveying her strength and comfort.

As if saying:

"I understand."

"I know."

"I am here."

Huo Yuhao's heart calmed down miraculously at this moment.

He held back that cool little hand and smiled at her gently.