Upon hearing Huo Ning's words, Huo Xiaozheng immediately understood. The "she" she referred to was Shi Lili. Realizing this, his expression grew serious.
He wanted to directly deny Huo Ning's thoughts, but felt that doing so might damage the child's self-confidence.
"Can you tell me why you want to see her again?" he asked.
Huo Ning lowered her head and fiddled with the blanket. "I want to ask her why she treated me this way."
In truth, Huo Ning wanted to ask on behalf of the original owner of this body.
She figured this must be the root of the original owner's emotional knot.
Since she had occupied the original owner's body, she felt she should do something for her.
Worried that Huo Xiaozheng wouldn't understand, she added, "Before I was three years old, she was very good to me. She even learned to make sunflower wool flowers for me."
"When she worked at the Western restaurant, I saw other mothers make smiley face fried eggs for their children, and I fussed about wanting them too."
"After that, she made me smiley face sunny-side-up eggs for breakfast every day."
Recalling these happy memories, a shy smile appeared on Huo Ning's face.
Huo Xiaozheng's fingers curled slightly.
The truth?
He knew it.
But in this situation, he couldn't tell her the cruel truth.
"Ning Ning," Huo Xiaozheng advised, "Dr. Shen says it's not suitable for you to have contact with her right now."
Huo Ning looked confused.
"I don't want to see you faint again," Huo Xiaozheng said seriously. "I hope you'll get better first. As for her, I'll have someone take good care of her. When you're well, you can talk to her then, okay?"
Huo Ning hesitated.
"Right now, Shi Lili's emotions are also unstable. I don't want her to hurt you."
His words were earnest, and if Huo Ning refused, it would seem deliberate and unreasonable.
Besides, this matter wasn't urgent.
So Huo Ning agreed.
Her quick agreement made Huo Xiaozheng feel relieved.
Fortunately, although this child was mature for her age, she was still a young one after all.
In a few years, if he could make her life rich and happy, perhaps she would forget about that troublesome mother.
Huo Xiaozheng was plotting carefully.
Huo Ning was oblivious to this. When Aunt Xu brought abalone porridge, she nearly buried her whole face in the bowl.
Huo Xiaozheng reached out to steady her head. "Eat slowly, don't choke."
That night, Huo Xiaozheng stayed with Huo Ning at the hospital.
Early the next morning, after a simple wash-up and changing into clothes brought by the housekeeper, Huo Xiaozheng prepared to go directly to the company.
"If she complains of pain, have Uncle Zhou bring her directly to the company. If she's fine, just pack up and go home," Huo Xiaozheng instructed Aunt Xu.
Aunt Xu agreed repeatedly.
Huo Ning had slept well and woke up refreshed, showing no signs of yesterday's illness.
However, out of respect for Huo Xiaozheng's authority, she still ate light food this morning.
At the moment, she was happily devouring a piece of thousand-layer cake, feeling warmth in her heart as she listened to Huo Xiaozheng's chatter.
"Dad, be careful on the road," Huo Ning said sweetly.
Huo Xiaozheng stepped forward and wiped some crumbs from the corner of her mouth. "This cake is too sweet, eat less of it. Oh, Aunt Xu, take her to see the dentist later."
"Me?" Huo Ning's pupils shook as she pointed at herself. "Why suddenly see the dentist?!"
It's worth noting that dentists were almost considered terrifying beings.
Huo Xiaozheng explained, "Children should regularly see the dentist anyway. The Spring Festival is coming soon, and you wouldn't want to face all that delicious food during the New Year and only be able to look but not eat because of dental problems, right?"
She had let her guard down, forgetting that this body was only 5 years old.
"But I don't really want to see the dentist," Huo Ning struggled to say. "My teeth are fine."
On this matter, Huo Xiaozheng clearly wouldn't indulge her. "That's even better then, just let the dentist take a quick look."
Huo Ning wracked her brains, trying to think of something else to say.
But Huo Xiaozheng didn't wait. "I'm leaving now. When I get off work, I'll ask Dr. Shen for your dental examination report."
The thousand-layer cake suddenly lost its appeal. Huo Ning drooped her eyebrows and eyes and agreed.
Huo Xiaozheng chuckled, patted her head, and left the hospital room.
To be on the safe side, Huo Xiaozheng even sent a message to Shen Shiyan, asking him to make sure Huo Ning went to see the dentist.
Shen Shiyan hadn't expected that Huo Ning, with her dark little girl appearance, would actually be afraid of the dentist.
Previously, when Huo Xiaozheng had shown him the snowman Huo Ning built and her occasional doodles, asking if such dark artwork would have any negative impact on Huo Ning's growth, Shen Shiyan had advised encouraging Huo Ning to express her inner feelings through drawing.
Thinking of this, Shen Shiyan was charmed by this gap moe.
"Alright, alright, I'll accompany the little princess throughout," Shen Shiyan teased.
Receiving the message, Huo Xiaozheng repeatedly savored the words 'little princess', feeling for the first time that Shen Shiyan had some redeeming qualities.
While the adults were in high spirits, Huo Ning shuffled along beside Shen Shiyan like a soldier marching to her death, moving step by step towards the dental department.
"Are you very afraid?" Shen Shiyan teased her.
Huo Ning managed to force out a smile.
Shen Shiyan comforted her, "Don't be afraid, I'll ask the dentist to be gentle."
Huo Ning: Thanks, that's not comforting at all.
She lay down on the examination chair with a stiff expression, hands clasped tightly, pupils darting nervously towards the examination light above and the gloved dentist.
Shen Shiyan found it amusing and started recording a video.
"Little one," the dentist said in a gentle voice, trying to distract her, "How old are you?"
"Five years old," Huo Ning replied in a serious tone.
She thought she heard the dentist chuckle.
"Five years old, you're a big girl now. Come on, open your mouth wide... ah..."
Huo Ning watched helplessly as the dentist inserted a mouth prop. She gripped her clothes tightly and obediently opened her mouth wide.
As the dentist examined her mouth with instruments, Huo Ning simply closed her eyes, no longer watching.
The cold instruments moved around in her mouth, occasionally accompanied by the dentist's questions: "Does it hurt? Does it feel sour?"
"There's some tartar on the molars on both sides," the dentist said to Shen Shiyan.
"No major problems, right?" Shen Shiyan asked.
"It's fine, we'll give her a dental cleaning. Just pay more attention to oral hygiene in the future."
Shen Shiyan nodded. "That's good. Please be gentle, the little girl is a bit scared."
The dentist laughed heartily. "Is she a relative of yours?"
"Yes, my niece. Please be gentle with her."
"Certainly!"
Huo Ning was already on high alert when she heard about the cleaning. To lessen her fear, she simply closed her eyes, thinking that what she couldn't see couldn't hurt her.
Seeing her tense expression, the dentist tried to comfort her, "Don't be afraid, little one. Uncle will clean very gently, it won't hurt."
The moment the ultrasonic cleaning instrument touched her teeth, Huo Ning stiffened like a startled cat, her whole body going rigid.
Although the doctor said it wouldn't hurt much, there was actually a bit of soreness and pain. Coupled with her fear, Huo Ning was not feeling good at all.
Meanwhile, Huo Xiaozheng opened the video Shen Shiyan had sent.
In the video, after lying down, Huo Ning looked around anxiously, as if seeking support.
Finding none, she resigned herself and closed her eyes, her small body still trembling.
Huo Xiaozheng felt a twinge of regret.
He had just promised Huo Ning that he would learn to be a good father.
Yet in the blink of an eye, he had let her face this fear alone.