Pei Xin took the snacks that Lu Huai had given her and scurried away.
She didn't have a clock that could tell the time, so she didn't know how long she had been out. Not knowing caused her to feel anxious, she was worried that Ling Lin would start to feel lonely.
She ran back to the room that Lu Li had arranged for the two. Ling Lin was on the sofa, his eyes blurry, but they were wide open. He was obviously very tired and was barely holding on.
The moment he saw Pei Xin, his eyes lit up, dispelling his sleepiness. "Mommy, you're back!"
Pei Xin's icy heart immediately melted from the warmth. She walked to the sofa and sat down, taking out the snacks she brought for Ling Lin to eat.
"Mom, this is really delicious. You should eat some too!" Ling Lin raised the snack in his hand and brought it to Pei Xin's mouth.
Pei Xin took a small bite, then nodded at Ling Lin. "It's delicious. Ling Lin, eat as much as you want. I ate my fill before coming here."
In reality, Pei Xin has not been eating much these two days. She wasn't sure if the Lu family would even give them food tomorrow. She wouldn't know when the next meal would be, so she had to save as much food as possible for Ling Lin.
Ling Lin happily stuffed his mouth as he leaned on to Pei Xin.
"Ah!" Pei Xin couldn't hold it in and took a deep breath.
"Mommy, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?" Ling Lin put down the snacks in his hands with a worried expression.
Pei Xin shook her head. Before she entered the room, in order to prevent her child from seeing the wounds on her face, she used her hands to protect her face the entire time. However, she forgot to cover the other obvious places. Coincidentally, Ling Lin happened to be leaning on one of her recovering bruises.
Pei Xin distanced her son from noticing the scars on her body by picking out more snacks for him. "It's okay, I'm fine. Gosh, I haven't showered for two whole days! If you lean on me, you'll be full of mud and dirt too. That'll make you smell."
"That's no problem. Mommy, you always smell the best. I like how you smell." As Ling Lin spoke, he burrowed into Pei Xin's embrace. "Mommy, you're the best person in the world. I don't want you to be like those bad people and talk about yourself like that!"
Pei Xin couldn't help but let out a silent sob. She was blessed to have such a sensible child. She was so touched that she had to look up to stop the tears from dripping down to her son. "I understand now, thank you. I won't say such things to myself in the future, alright?"
Ling Lin smiled. "Okay! Mommy, why isn't Daddy here yet? If he was here, he would have protected us already."
Pei Xin's heart tightened. Her heart ached knowing she could not give Ling Lin a complete family. She knew that her child would ask her this question sooner or later, but she did not expect it to be under such circumstances.
"Dad is a great hero. Actually, he's… Uh… Currently on a mission! In order to protect our safety and prevent the bad guys from locating us, he can't contact us or even meet us." Pei Xin fumbled her words and created a story to lie to her son. In order for her to not feel the guilt, she gently patted his head to comfort herself.
"I know!" Ling Lin did not notice her guilty conscience bubbling. The five-year-old child easily believed her lie. "Mommy, I want to be a great hero too. I want to protect you and uncle so that the bad guys won't bully us anymore!"
"You can definitely do it if you put your mind to it!" Pei Xin patted her son's head and smiled in relief. "But you have to remember that you're still young. You don't have the ability to fight against bad people. You have to know how to endure and preserve your strength. Only then will you be able to turn the tables in the future... Otherwise, you'll only bring danger to yourself, understand?"
Pei Xin was worried that Ling Lin would act up again. Fighting Lu Li to protect himself and getting hurt by them was not what she wanted her son to go through at such a young age. She encouraged her child to grow up brave, but she also wanted to prevent him from getting hurt.
"They were bullying you! I had to do something!" Ling Lin obviously disagreed.
"Even when I'm getting bullied, you'll have to suck it up and endure it. Otherwise, you will get hurt too. If you are hurt, that would make me very sad. You don't want to see me sad, right?" Pei Xin guided him patiently.
"I understand." Ling Lin looked into Pei Xin's eyes for a long time before frowning and nodding in agreement.
Pei Xin hugged him tightly and gently hummed a lullaby, slowly drifting him into sleep.
She looked at the child in her arms and was determined to not let this fatherless child lose his mother as well. For the sake of her son, she had to break free of the current situation.