"Can I talk now? You really donāt seem like a kid at all, with so many tricks up your sleeve." Mu Shaoling muttered as he entered the room.
"Is my dad sick?" Lele asked, hands clasped behind his back like an adult, gazing directly at Mu Shaoling, "Does my dad have that weird disease from Shandong?"
Mu Shaoling was taken aback, wondering how he knew.
If this little rascal knows, doesnāt that mean Xiaxia knows too?
It seems like Ye Ziāan wonāt be able to keep it a secret for much longer!
"Uncle, donāt overthink it. My mom doesnāt know; I didnāt tell her." As if reading Mu Shaolingās mind, Lele added another sentence.
Mu Shaoling gave him a surprised look, already aware that this child was not ordinary, but not expecting him to be so perceptive.
"Yes, your dad is... indeed sick!" Mu Shaoling thought to himself that this child was extraordinary. Since he had come to ask, it indicated that he had made some judgments and was prepared to accept the truth, so Mu Shaoling told him the facts, "His illness is progressing slower than in others, so itās not yet obvious."
"Uncle, have you not found a cure yet?" Leleās tone was noticeably somber.
"Yes, but donāt worry, Lele. Uncle will certainly cure your dad."
Seeing him looking down, Mu Shaoling took a step forward, crouched down, and steadied him, "Even if, even if we canāt cure him, your uncle will take care of you and your family."
Lele looked up, his eyes clear and bright, not full of tears as Mu Shaoling had imagined.
"Thank you, Uncle." Lele thanked him calmly, then continued, "I can take care of my mom and my younger siblings. But for my dadās illness, I can only hope that you do your best to treat him."
"Alright, you can be assured of that." Mu Shaoling looked at the young fellow, so mature, so strong, and felt a pang of affection.
"Uncle, if my dadās illness canāt be cured, how long... how long can he live?" Lele asked again.
"This illness, if itās fast, maybe two to three months, slow, maybe four to five months. Your dad has been ill for nearly a month now." Mu Shaoling had just arrived in Shandong when someone from Muās Clinic informed him that there was a particular symptom in people who contracted this disease: constant vomiting during the first few days, unable to keep anything down, followed by weight loss.
Then Ye Ziāan came running to tell him that, a few days before Mu Shaolingās arrival in Shandong, Ziāan had started vomiting nonstop and only began to feel a little better the day Mu Shaoling arrived.
Because his illness developed slowly, when Mu Shaoling first arrived, he only noticed that Ziāanās complexion was poor, without realizing he was ill. If Ziāan hadnāt mentioned it, Mu Shaoling might have learned about it even later.
"Lele, how did you find out your dad was sick?"
Lele glanced at him before speaking in a light tone, "I heard when you and my dad were talking in the study. Could it be that my dad might not be sick?"
"This..." Mu Shaoling thought to himself whether it was okay to discuss this with him. Despite his intelligence, heās still so young, he shouldnāt slip up and say something he shouldnāt.
"Itās okay if you donāt say it. I have my own judgment." After Lele spoke, a hint of fierceness slowly emerged on his face. He wondered who had harmed his father. Those people deserved to die!
"Little guy, youāre still a child. Donāt think too much about these things. Let us adults handle them," Mu Shaoling said, noticing Leleās grim expression, feeling his heart skip a beat, and tried to comfort him.
"I understand."
"Good to know. And about your mother, do as you see fit. Your dad thinks we should keep it quiet for now."
"He says not to tell her?" Lele scoffed, "If my mom finds out afterward, sheāll be heartbroken."