* * *
"I've already talked to your school principal, so you can go back to school this Monday if you want to. Someone will send you back and get you instead of me this time okay? And remember not to follow any strangers. Also, listen to Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Daniel, okay?" Ian said, reminding Lan. They are now at the airport. Hanlu is currently checking in their luggage and as he waits for the Alpha, he just wants to remind the little boy one last time.
"Hmmm, don't worry mommy. I will be good. I'll listen to Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle and then I'll help take care of Minmin," Lan replied, puffing his cheeks confidently.
"Hmmmn, good. I know you're a good baby," Ian praised proudly, pulling Lan into his arms to embrace him. "Mommy and Daddy will miss you. We'll call you every day and check on you, so keep your phone in your pocket all the time, okay?" Ian added, rubbing the little boy's hair as they slightly pulled away.
"I will miss Mommy and Daddy too. I'll also wait for your call. Please enjoy your vacation," Lan said with a charming smile, causing Ian's heart to skip a beat. He hugged Lan again and then looked at Laura Mo and Mo Chendong, who were now with them to send them off and also bring Lan back to the Mo Estate.
"Don't worry, Darling. We'll take good care of Lan. All you have to do is enjoy your honeymoon with Xiao Luu. And I'm sure Lan will have fun playing with his Minmin," Laura said smiling. That quickly assured Ian, he already knew that the two elders will take good care of Lan and will even be glad to do it for them. It was just him who didn't want to leave Lan to someone other than himself. He had always been with his son for as long as he could remember. Lan was his first-ever family after he lost his mother at such a young age.
"Thanks, Mom, Dad. Luu and I owe you a big deal," Ian said and finally let go of Lan.
"Oh no, you owe us nothing at all, Darling. Chen and I would be glad to babysit Lan anytime. But if you really feel bad then we don't mind you giving us another grandchild when you two come back." Laura said in a joking manner but there was truth in her words. She was indeed praying that this vacation will grant her another grandchild. The same with Mo Chendong. Another baby coming into the family is always welcome, it's his ultimate dream to see as many grandchildren as he can before he passes away.
Meanwhile, hearing his mother-in-law and his father-in-law nod in agreement, Ian smiled awkwardly. Although this vacation is called a honeymoon, he and Hanlu had already decided they would wait for the right time to have a baby. Right now they're just focused on building up their relationship. They've never been on a date before because they've always just been fuck buddies. Actually, this will be the first time they'll be on a vacation together as well.
Unable to speak, not wanting to disappoint his in-laws, Ian was suddenly feeling the pressure. Thankfully on cue, Hanlu finally came back holding their passports and tickets. "We need to go now," Hanlu jogged towards Ian and said when he reached him.
"Ah y-yeah, I just finished reminding Lan that he should be good," Ian replied, secretly signing in relief. He took their passports and tickets from Hanlu while the Alpha went to Lan.
"I'm proud of you, Bud. I know you're strong, but if you miss Mommy and Daddy, you can always call us anytime, okay?" Hanlu reminded his son, caressing his chubby cheeks.
"Yeah, I will," Lan nodded obediently.
Finally, it was time for Ian and Hanlu to leave. They gave Lan one final hug and kisses before they finally left to go past the immigration. When they were out of sight, Mo Chendong, Laura, and Lan decided to leave before they caught more attention than they already had. It has been almost a month since Hanlu and Veronica Chime's scandal, but people still haven't forgotten about it. Even when Hanlu and Ian were wearing sunglasses, some people were still able to recognize them and started taking videos and pictures.
Additionally, there was a recent news story about Veronica showing herself barefoot in the middle of the city's sidewalk. There was a video about it on the internet, but since then no one has seen her again. Her agency also mysteriously backed out from their lawsuit and now her side was silent. But, as expected, being that it's about Mo Hanlu's love life, people just wouldn't let it go.
* * *
"Welcome back," Daniel greeted with his usual toothy smile. He was working on his first artwork piece, but after he heard that his in-laws and Lan were coming back from sending Ian and Hanlu off at the airport, he decided to pause and greet them with Luangmin. Honestly, he wanted to come and send Ian and Hanlu off as well, but aside from the fact he can't travel that far and that he was hiding his pregnancy from the public, he decided not to go.
Also, the airport had so many people and that amount of crowd will definitely stress him out. So it's best that he should just stay at home and work on his art instead.
"Minmin, it's cousin Lan. You can go play with him every day from now on until uncle Ian and Hanlu comes back," Daniel said looking down at the 2-year-old while Minmin looked up listening to his mother. After Daniel finished talking, Minmin nodded happily then ran towards Lan, who spread his arms to embrace him as if it had been years since they last saw each other when in actuality they just saw each other a few weeks ago when they left Luangmin at their house while he and Laotian went on a date.
"It's good that you didn't come, Darling. It's too crowded and people would have recognized you and Minmin," Laura mentioned, remembering the earlier crowd who noticed them and started taking pictures. Surely the news about Hanlu and Ian going on a trip alone together will spread again like wildfire. Well, at least it would cover up the remnants of the Veronica Chime scandal. That is getting too old already but people just can't stop talking about it.
"Yeah, I guessed people would recognize Ian and Hanlu one way or another and it won't be long until they recognize us as well. But that's okay, I called Ian earlier today and I wished them well on their trip," Daniel replied happily before he gave Laura and Mo Chendong a brief welcome hug.
"Yes, you're right, Darling. People these days just can't keep their noses to themselves. We have things like this back in the day, but the modern world spreads rumors way faster than before." Laura sighed in frustration. She shook her head left and right in displeasure before she urged Lan to come inside.
"Lan, Honey, before you play with Minmin, let us guide you to your room first okay?" Laura said as she silently thanked her husband for mentioning that they should remodel rooms specifically for Minmin and Lan. When they visit as they get older, they will have their own room to stay in instead of the guest room. This was supposed to be one of their surprises for his 9th birthday in the next few months but it's better to use it now.
"Okay," Lan replied and held Luangmin's small hand. Meanwhile, Daniel pouted. Lan's room was upstairs but he couldn't climb the stairs by himself.
"I-I'll just wait here," Daniel said, looking at his in-laws with Lan and Luangmin as they started climbing the stairs. Thankfully, Lucas was watching them the whole time and approached Daniel to offer his help, seeing that he also wanted to go upstairs.
"On second thought, I'm coming as well," Daniel happily took back his words almost instantly, making Laura and Chendong as well as Lucas chuckle. There are more than twenty-five steps to the second floor, and even though it took so much time for Daniel to reach the top, they all waited for him at the edge and were even cheering him on. When he finally reached the top, Daniel quickly realized that he really shouldn't just climb stairs from now on. He could barely see his own steps, making it very dangerous.
"Lan Honey, when you visit Grandma and Grandpa from now on, this will be your room. It's next to Luangmin's, but since Minmin is still a baby. If you want, you two can sleep together on the bed," Laura said while Mo Chendong opened the door for them to come in. The moment Lan saw the room, his eyes went wide in surprise. He really liked the movie Transformers and the room was themed based on the movie.
The bed frames looked so futuristic but also had a touch of maturity. It didn't look childish overall. Of course, his books weren't missing, he also had a study table and the chair was designed after Bumblebee, his favorite character in the movie. Actually, almost all the furniture looked like it would suddenly transform into Autobots. Two sides of the room walls are also galaxy themed. It was simply amazing, even Daniel was impressed.
"Your Dad and his team were really good, I just gave him the idea I wanted for the furniture and they did it well," Mo Chendong said to Daniel, proudly looking at the room which he designed and planned. He had a long talk with Armand about this room and he was so happy with the result.
"What? Dad's company made these?" Daniel asked in disbelief. As far as he knew, his Dad's company is very traditional and just used woods in making furniture. If there were metals, not a lot of those are put on the final product.
"Hmmm, it's an experimental project. He's expanding his business, he has a lot of men who know this kind of thing, and your father's talent is exceptional," Mo Chendong praised. It took a lot of time to finish the whole set, especially the chair and the bed, but he was satisfied.
"I'm sure he'll be happy to hear this from you. Thank you so much for trusting Dad, Father," Daniel said happily and walked a little deeper into the room to touch the furniture as another smile flashed on his lips. When he was young, he always thought he was going to inherit the furniture shop and that didn't change now. Somehow seeing that his father was doing his best in his company, it made him feel motivated to work harder on his dreams.
After visiting the rooms, Daniel finally decided to go back to his work, in an even greater mood than before. He looked at his painting and he couldn't wait to finish it. His inspiration for this painting was, of course, Mo Laotian and the painting which he displayed in their bathroom back home. Actually, he remembered drawing something like this before in his notebook but didn't quite remember when.
The painting was a picture of two men sitting on their backs but facing each other on a field of flowers. They were holding each other's hand with gentle smiles on their lips as if they loved each other so much they were about to kiss. Daniel's using a little bit of abstract style on the field of flowers, but the two people in the middle were drawn and painted beautifully. It won't be long until he finishes it. Just thinking about the final product, he knew Laotian would be so proud of him.
This very painting reflected his feelings for his husband and their loving relationship. He hoped that like the smiles on the two people's faces in the painting, he and Laotian would last forever.