Huo Yao checked the time and realized it was time to head home. She packed her things and followed Ye ZhengYu.
On their way, they ran into Li Zhen. Li Zhen was about to address her as "boss," but upon seeing Ye ZhengYu with Huo Yao, he quickly changed his way of addressing her.
"Dr. Huo, are you leaving now?" Li Zhen inquired.
Huo Yao nodded and handed him a file. "I've already signed everything that needs to be signed. Tomorrow, Mr. Lu will come for hospitalization. He needs to do a blood test, CT scan, and MRI. Please prepare the report before I arrive."
Li Zhen nodded in acknowledgment. "What time will you come tomorrow?"
Huo Yao thought about her schedule and replied, "The same time as today, if no accidents occur."
During this exchange, Ye ZhengYu remained inconspicuous. Huo Yao turned to leave but suddenly remembered something.
She turned back to face Li Zhen and said, "Let's make an appointment to eat together someday. You, Li Jie, Li Jun – all of you come to my home. The kids have been asking to meet you."
Li Zhen shifted from his professional demeanor to that of a caring older brother and responded with a gentle smile, "Okay, then we'll plan for this weekend. I haven't seen them in a while. Have a safe trip home."
Huo Yao nodded and then, in her cool voice, added, "Brother Zhen, you're getting old. Find yourself a sister-in-law quickly."
Li Zhen smiled helplessly as she walked away.
One might say that Huo Yao didn't know how to express her emotions or that she was cold-hearted and robotic in her work.
However, she had her own way of caring for those close to her and was gentle in her own unique way.
Like the time she single-handedly took down fifteen people without hesitation to save his sister Li Jun from the clutches of the Devil's organization.
Even though it haunted her afterward, she didn't hesitate to pick up a gun to rescue his sister when she was kidnapped.
After that incident, she couldn't sleep properly for almost a month.
...
At Ye ZhengYu's repeated request, Huo Yao left her motorcycle and got into his car.
Before leaving, she instructed her bodyguard to retrieve her motorcycle, as she needed it for her class the next day.
At a red signal, Ye ZhengYu glanced at the silent girl beside him.
He then refocused on the road and casually asked, "Did you used to teach at 'Alex Hospital' as a professor?"
Huo Yao snorted softly in response, still engrossed in her phone.
Ye ZhengYu continued, "You seem to trust your bodyguard a lot. Is your bodyguard related to Li Zhen?"
Huo Yao finally looked up and replied, "He's not my bodyguard. He's my business partner, my assistant, and my family. They are brothers."
Ye ZhengYu was quite surprised to hear about his identity and even more so when she mentioned "family."
Huo Yao looked ahead and added, "My butler's name is Li Jun. All three of them are siblings, also part of my family."
They had been with her since she gained her freedom.
When they arrived at Royal Garden, Huo Yao found Yue Chen still there, along with Qin Yue. They were happily interacting with her children.
Seeing Huo Yao enter, her little ones ran toward her and hugged her tightly. "Mommy, we missed you."
Huo Yao squatted down and took them in her arms. "Mommy missed you too. Have you eaten dinner?"
They shook their heads. "Daddy said he would bring Mommy back so we could eat dinner together. So we were waiting for Mommy."
She rubbed their tummies. "Let me see if your tummies have flattened from hunger."
She gently rubbed their tummies a few times. "Yes, they've become flat from hunger. Let's go eat dinner."
Ye ZhengYu stood silently beside them, watching their warm interaction.
In front of their children, Huo Yao behaved quite gently, just like any other normal mother.
He could see that she tried her best to express her love for them, even though it was difficult for her. It seemed like all the love she had accumulated was reserved for her children.
He felt a pang of jealousy toward their children, as they seemed to effortlessly receive her love.
Unlike him, she only seemed to know how to create distance between them.
Lost in thought, Ye ZhengYu suddenly felt someone tugging at his hand. He looked down and saw his second son pulling at his hand.
"Daddy, what are you daydreaming about? Let's go inside. Mommy already left."
Ye ZhengYu picked up his son and pinched his chubby cheek. "How can you say Daddy is daydreaming? Daddy was thinking about how to marry Mommy."
He walked inside with Yuanyuan on his shoulder.
Yuanyuan rested his chin on his father's shoulder and replied, "Daddy, are you silly? It's very simple. You just go to the Civil Affairs Bureau with Mommy."
Ye ZhengYu's lips twitched at his son's naïve words. What else could he expect to hear from his four-year-old son? He decided to let it go.
"Alright, we'll go to the Civil Affairs Bureau," Yuanyuan nodded.
Huo Yao had already taken her two sons to wash their hands, and Ye ZhengYu followed them with Yuanyuan.
Seeing his actions, Yue Chen snorted coldly. "Now he knows how to follow my Tangtang. Seeing his smiling face makes me want to punch him."
Qin Yue watched Yue Chen's childish behavior with a helpless expression.
One could mistreat him or his family, and he would remain indifferent. But if anyone mistreated or even just looked at Huo Yao the wrong way, Yue Chen would flare up.
She, the Yue family, and even his friends all knew that Yue Chen's bottom line was his "Tangtang."
Qin Yue was genuinely curious about their story, but they both refused to reveal it.