Chapter 227 - Can we go home?

While Xiao Zhihao was still in the bathroom, Xiao Lei went out to the living room to see if Han Ye had gone home first. 

To her slight surprise, he was in the living room. The sunlight was shining down on him. He was sleeping on the couch, which was facing the window. There was a pillow over the top half of his head and his right arm was pressing down on top of the pillow, as if he was trying to keep the light out so as to sleep better.

His shirt was folded neatly and was placed on the coffee table right in front of the couch. 

Xiao Lei chuckled softly when she saw the comforter on the floor. She went to pick it up before gently placing it on him. 

"Stupid, boss. You're going to get sick if you sleep without a cover..."

Han Ye groaned softly in his sleep before turning around so that his face was facing the inner part of the couch and away from the indirect sunlight. 

Since Han Ye barely had any sleep last, Xiao Lei decided to let him sleep longer. Once she adjusted the temperature of the air conditioner, she went back into the room she shared with Xiao Zhihao last night. 

"Are you done?" she asked when she saw her son walking out of the bathroom with his face dripping wet. 

He nodded before picking up a neatly folded white towel that was placed on the couch in the bedroom. There were two more white towels on the couch.

"You can use that. Mr. Luo brought it for us to use." 

Xiao Zhihao nodded before wiping his face with the towel he was holding. He then looked at Xiao Lei and asked, "Can we go home?"

Xiao Lei smiled and nodded. "Yeah, but maybe not immediately. Han Ye is still sleeping. He didn't sleep much since we came straight after finding out about..."

She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Anyway, let's just give him an hour?" 

Xiao Zhihao thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright."

He then sat on the bed and gently folded the towel in half before putting it on the bed. Xiao Lei stared at him for a few seconds, but she felt that her son did not really want to talk with her at the moment, so she left him alone and went to freshen up in the bathroom. 

When she got out, she saw that her son was still sitting on the bed, in the same position. Xiao Lei was worried, so she went to him. Kneeling on her knees, she looked up at her son who looked down at her with a pair of sad eyes. She then reached out and cupped his cheeks in her hands as she said softly, "Zhi Hao, how are you feeling? Please tell me." 

"I'm fine." He smiled to comfort her, but his smile was so sad that it just broke Xiao Lei's heart. 

She sighed softly as she reached over to hug him. "Zhi Hao, don't scare me, please. If there's anything bothering you, you can tell me." 

Xiao Zhihao patted his mother's hand to comfort her as he said, "I'm fine..."

He glanced at his bandaged hand as he murmured, "I just want to rest." 

He then looked at the clothes he was wearing. It was a new set of clothes that Luo Guangying bought for him yesterday at the hospital so that he could have something to change into.

Xiao Lei sighed. Her son was like her husband; they could be stubborn at times. "Alright then."

She stood up and patted her son, just like how she used to do when he was younger. "I'll go and find something to eat and see if there's any medicine that you can take. You can rest first."

Xiao Zhihao nodded.

Xiao Lei watched as Xiao Zhihao settled himself back on the bed before she walked out of the bedroom. Once she left, Xiao Zhihao took out the necklace that he took from Yun Qi's decomposed hand yesterday. As he looked at it, a drop of tear fell from a corner of his eye. 

The smell of wet soil and the sound of rain continued to assault his senses, as if he were still there in the backyard of his old house. He did not really notice it when he was in the backyard, but now that he had calmed down and surrounded by the morning quietness, he could smell and hear it clearly... and they just got stronger and stronger with every passing second.

He wrapped his hand around the necklace before putting the same hand against his chest.

Xiao Zhihao then closed his eyes as he tried to will the scent and smell away. But he failed. When the smell of rotting flesh and blood hit him, he jerked up and ran to the bathroom. Kneeling in front of the toilet, he vomited... Well, he was dry heaving. 

And he kept going despite not having any energy to keep heaving.

.... 

When she got out, she heard the sound of running water, so she moved toward the sound. That was when she saw that Han Ye was up and brushing his teeth at the guest toilet near the living room.

"You're awake. Why didn't you sleep longer?" she asked as she looked at his broad back with taut muscles. 

Han Ye quickly rinsed his mouth and wiped it with the back of his hand before turning around to look at her. 

"How is he?" he asked in a soft voice. 

"He's not feeling well. A bit feverish to be exact."

"Let me get my shirt. I'll send you guys to the hospital." 

"No need." Xiao Lei sighed and said as she walked toward the kitchen with Han Ye following behind her. "He wants to go home."

"But he's sick."

"The fever is not that high, and I think, right now, he should be somewhere he feels comfortable in."

Han Ye looked at her as she glanced around the kitchen. "What are you looking for?"

"Some easy to eat food and medicine."  

"There should be something to eat in the fridge. Guangying and Lin are still sleeping, so I don't think it's a good idea to cook now. Does Zhi Hao like oats?" 

"He's not a big fan, but he'd eat them." 

Han Ye nodded. He knew that Luo Guangying would usually eat oats for breakfast, at least whenever he was home, so there should be some supplies. And he was correct. Upon opening the first cabinet next to the fridge, he found some dry instant oatmeal that was kept inside a plastic, translucent container. 

He then gave the container to Xiao Lei and said, "There's the hot water. Be careful when you make it. I'll go get the first aid kit."

Xiao Lei nodded as she took the container from him. 

By the time she finished putting the hot water in the bowl of dry oats, he was back with the first aid kit. 

Han Ye rummaged around and found some medicines that would be suitable for kids. "Here, Zhi Hao can take this."

"How come they have medicines for kids here?"

"President Du's twins would occasionally come over to play video games with Callum, so Guangying kept some for precautions..."  

Xiao Lei nodded as she stirred the bowl of oatmeal to make it into the consistency that her son would like. She then looked in the fridge and found some manuka honey. 

"Do you think--" Xiao Lei asked while looking at Han Ye. 

However, Han Ye knew what she wanted to say and he immediately interrupted her, "He wouldn't mind."

Xiao Lei nodded, and with a clean, dry spoon, she scooped some manuka honey before stirring it into the bowl of oatmeal. The bowl of oatmeal was not steaming hot, but it was warm enough for Xiao Zhihao to immediately consume.

"I hope this is sweet enough for him..." Xiao Lei thought.

She was wondering if she should add another spoonful when Han Ye said, "If he's sick, it's better not to give him food that's too sweet. He might not be able to keep it down."

Xiao Lei stared at him for a few seconds before chuckling softly. "Of course I know that. I'm his mother." 

She picked up the bowl of oatmeal and said, "I just... I just want him to have more sweet stuff in life."

"He'll get through this..." Han Ye said. Since she was carrying the bowl with two hands, he placed the medicine near her lips, where she instinctively clamped down on it with her lips.

He smiled and added, "Go to him. I'll clean up here. If he wants to go home, I'm awake enough to drive."

....

xxx

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