The Ye family recently had a major international project that required Ye Jinghuai to attend meetings in person. Such temporary business trips had happened many times before.
In the past, he would have simply issued an order and left immediately, not even returning home. Now, he just instructed Han Rui to depart a day later, as he wanted to go home first to coax Nuannuan.
In the evening, Ye Jinghuai took a long time to gather his thoughts before telling Nuannuan about his upcoming business trip.
"Nuannuan, Daddy has work tomorrow and will be away from home for about a week. You might not see Daddy for a few days," Ye Jinghuai said, closely watching Nuannuan's small face, not wanting to miss any expression.
"Daddy?"
Nuannuan's large eyes became confused. Hearing that Daddy was leaving, she instinctively clutched him tightly with her little hands.
"Be good, Nuannuan. Daddy is also very reluctant to leave you. But Daddy will be back next week," Ye Jinghuai said, picking up his daughter and holding her close to comfort her.
"Nuannuan doesn't want Daddy to go~" her baby voice started to crack with tears.
"Daddy doesn't want to go either, but Daddy has to go to work. Daddy promises Nuannuan, he will come back soon, okay?" Ye Jinghuai felt very upset too, he didn't want to be away from Nuannuan for so long.
"Okay~ Nuannuan will be good, Daddy has to come back quickly." Nuannuan hugged Ye Jinghuai's neck, nuzzling him affectionately.
"Daddy will video call you every day, so Nuannuan can still see Daddy every day, okay?" Ye Jinghuai stroked Nuannuan's small face.
"Mhm~"
When it was time to sleep, Nuannuan kept hugging Ye Jinghuai's neck and refused to let go. Feeling Nuannuan's dependence, Ye Jinghuai felt very content.
On the first day of Daddy's departure, Nuannuan missed him terribly. She sat listlessly on the sofa by herself, lacking her usual energy. No one could coax her.
"Awoo~ (Kiddo! Cheer up, Daddy will play with you, okay?)" Qiuqiu kept acting cute and rolling around at Nuannuan's feet.
"Qiuqiu~ Nuannuan misses Daddy." Nuannuan pouted her little lips, holding back tears that welled up in her eyes.
"Awoo~ Awoo~ (Big boss will be back soon, you still have me as your Daddy!)" Qiuqiu nudged Nuannuan's neck with its head.
"Qiuqiu, Nuannuan doesn't want to play today." Nuannuan thought Qiuqiu wanted to play with her.
"Aww~ (I just wanted to comfort you.)" Seeing that Nuannuan was really inconsolable, Qiuqiu had no choice but to lie by her feet and keep her company.
In the living room, a wilted little ball of fluff and a dejected little dog sat facing each other.
Outside the villa gate, the three brothers met unexpectedly.
"Why are you guys here?"
The three spoke at the same time.
"I came to see Nuannuan." Again, in unison.
"Jinghuai/Second Brother isn't here."
"I'm worried about Nuannuan!" The three synchronized again, and everyone immediately fell silent, engaging in a silent battle of glances.
"Big Brother, as a secretary, isn't it inappropriate for you to be away from your post?" Ye Jingming broke the silence after a while.
"I've been too tired lately and took a few days off. I've already arranged for urgent matters to be handled via phone," Ye Jingchen adjusted his sleeve, his expression unchanged.
"Third Brother, as a prominent lawyer, why aren't you at your law firm during the day?" Ye Jingxing also jabbed him.
"There are so many people in my law firm. If I had to handle everything, what would be the point of them?" Ye Jingming gave him a sidelong glance.
"I'm talking about you, movie star. Aren't you too idle? Instead of filming movies, you're doing variety shows, and after the shows ended, you haven't gone back to work. Your fans must be protesting, right?"
"What do you know? Good food isn't afraid of being late." Ye Jingxing wore an expression that said you don't understand anything.
Moreover, at his level, he had to cherish his reputation. How could he casually accept roles? Many people wanted him, but he didn't want to film bad movies just for money.
The three brothers, not giving in to each other, stood at the door exchanging sharp words.
"Young Masters, why are you standing at the door and not coming in?" Uncle Li noticed the commotion at the door and came out curiously to check.
"Uncle Li, we came to see Nuannuan." The three instantly changed their expressions.
[Don't copy me, shut up!] The three exchanged glances again in secret.
"Heh heh, the three young masters have such good relationships, even their speaking is so synchronized. The young master just left, and Miss Nuannuan has been feeling down. Wu Ma and I really don't know what to do," Uncle Li said, shaking his head and sighing as he walked. Thinking of Miss Nuannuan's state today, he was very worried.
Ye Jingchen: "Uncle Li, I came to see her because I was worried Nuannuan would be unhappy."
Ye Jingxing: "Yes! I want to take Nuannuan out to play. That should make her happy."
Ye Jingming: "Don't worry, Uncle Li. I'm here! I'm very good at coaxing Nuannuan."
Uncle Li, walking ahead, did not notice the sharp glints in the eyes of the three men behind him.
Ye Jingxing: [I filmed a variety show with Nuannuan, so I spent more time with her than you guys. I'll coax her.]
Ye Jingming: [Do you two know how to coax children and make them happy like I do?]
Ye Jingchen: [Do you two have children? You haven't even had any, and you want to take care of a child?]
"Nuannuan!"
As soon as the three entered, they saw a wilted little ball of fluff on the sofa, like a wilting little flower.
"Grand Uncle, Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle."
Nuannuan turned her head and called out listlessly, then continued to stare blankly at the ceiling.
Ye Jingchen: "Nuannuan, how about Grand Uncle taking you home? In the evening, your two elder brothers can play with you after school."
Ye Jingming: "Nuannuan, Third Uncle can take you to the amusement park. Don't you love riding the carousel the most?"
Ye Jingxing: "Nuannuan, how about Fourth Uncle playing building blocks with you? Fourth Uncle just bought 'Star Wars 2,' and we can build it together. Daddy will be back by the time you finish."
The three surrounded the little ball of fluff. Now was the time to seize Nuannuan while Ye Jinghuai was away.
"Oh dear~ Nuannuan doesn't want to play." Nuannuan rolled over on the sofa and pressed herself against the back of the sofa.
"..."
The three were also surprised that Ye Jinghuai's absence had such a significant impact on Nuannuan.
They exchanged glances. If one person couldn't do it, they would all go together.
Ye Jingming: "I think Nuannuan will only be increasingly unhappy if she stays here and is constantly reminded of him."
Ye Jingxing nodded: "I think so too!"
Ye Jingchen: "Ahem, then it's decided! One day each, I'll start."
With that, Ye Jingchen directly picked up the little ball of fluff and walked out. The two behind him hurried to Nuannuan's room to pack some of Nuannuan's usual items.
"Awo?" (What are you doing?) Qiuqiu looked at Ye Jingchen's retreating back, utterly confused.
"Awoo~ Awoo~ (Put her down.)" Qiuqiu dashed after him.
Meanwhile, Ye Jinghuai was still on the plane.