Ano noticed at once when the enthusiastic Ye Muo suddenly went quiet.
He stopped in front of the shelf and looked at the plants in those delicate little pots, trying to find out what caused Ye Muo to fall silent.
Ye Muo reached over and carefully touched one of the small flowerpots with a plump succulent inside. He said with certainty, “This is Muomuo’s.”
“Mommy bought it for Muomuo.”
Ano understood. Ye Muo was again caught between his memories and the present.
Ye Muo often became confused as of late as his memories returned.
This meant Ye Muo did have a pot of succulents once.
Ano simply made a sound of acknowledgement. The doctors said not to try and explain things to Ye Muo. That would just make him more confused and taint his perception of reality.
He asked, “Do you want to bring it back to your room?”
Ye Muo shot forward before Ano even finished speaking, cradling the pot of succlents close and looking down at it. “En, want to.”
Ano made sure he had a good grip on it before shifting him to his arms. “Alright then. We’ll bring it back.”
As they walked to the palace, Ye Muo kept touching the plant from time to time.
Ano wasn’t sure, but it seemed like Ye Muo was making sure the plant was still intact. He frowned.
There was a period of time where Ye Muo would not let Norton out of his sight. When he couldn’t see Norton, he would become inconsolable. Even when he could see the man, he would go over uneasily and touch him sometimes to confirm that he was still there before asking for a hug. He even cried in Norton’s arms at times.
Ye Muo’s current state reminded Ano of that period for some reason.
His reaction was more mild, but still.
Ano quickly confirmed his theory.
Ye Muo kept cradling the pot of succulents at all times and kept it within half a meter of him.
At dinner, he even set it on his little table. It had to be right in front of him and no one was allowed to touch– Dylan tried when he passed by, and Ye Muo huffed and said no to him for the first time.
Adrian was trying to hype Dylan up, “Ano and I have already wiped his hands three times. He’s definitely going to touch it again soon. It’s unsanitary, and he’s spoiled his appetite.”
Ano interjected, “It’s called ‘Emerald’.”
This was the name Ye Muo gave to the succlent. Ano learned this when he tried to put it on the table in Ye Muo’s room.
Adrian and Ano watched Dylan approach Ye Muo in anticipation.
Just as Dylan walked over.
Ye Muo immediately shielded the pot nervously. He looked at Dylan. “Emerald wants to stay here.”
Ye Muo was emphatic.
Dylan didn’t budge. “It’s unsanitary. You can’t put it on the table when eating.”
“Muomuo thinks, Uncle Dylan is, is the best uncle.”
Dylan’s resolve collapsed at once. He let go a few seconds later and returned to his seat.
Norton eventually made his way to the dining room from the study. He glanced at Ye Muo and immediately noticed his ‘Emerald’.
Norton frowned at his crowded little table. He finally reached over the third time Ye Muo touched the leaves. The child swiftly hugged the flowerpot.
Norton hesitated before withdrawing his hand.
Finally, Adlet came to the dining room with the freshly prepared food. The other staff members methodically transferred the food from their trays to the table.
Adlet brought Ye Muo’s food to his high chair. He first placed Ye Muo’s bottle down before pointing at the succulent, gently asking, “Can I take it to have dinner, Your Little Highness?”
Before Ye Muo could think it over, Adlet added, “It’ll be on the table right next to you, okay?”
Ye Muo only hesitated a beat before letting go of the pot. He swayed his feet. “Okay. Let’s eat together.”
Adlet made a show of bringing over a table beside Ye Muo. He set the little flowerpot down and gave it some water.
Then he thoroughly wiped Ye Muo’s hands and put on a bib for him. He served the rest of Ye Muo’s food and started helping him eat.
After dinner, they relaxed in the living room. Ye Muo sat on the carpet by Norton’s feet. He was still holding onto the flowerpot and staring down at the tiny plant.
Adrian grumbled in the channel: [He’s too busy hugging that plant to let anyone hug him. Even if I scoop him up, he won’t wrap his arms around my neck anymore…]
Norton sat in the loveseat, supporting his temple with one finger as he watched Ye Muo. [He likes plants.]
Ano spoke up: [I think he may not even need Big Brother to hold him at night. Maybe he’ll curl up with that plant instead.]
Ye Muo stood up with the flowerpot before bedtime even came. He habitually stepped on Norton’s boots. Norton brought him up so he could sit on his lap.
Unlike before, Ye Muo didn’t hug his waist or have him lean forward so he could hug his neck. Now there was a little flowerpot between them.
Ye Muo looked at Norton. “Need to put back.”
He nudged Emerald towards Norton and sincerely stated, “Emerald wants to go home.”
Norton secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded and scooped up Ye Muo.
Norton took him to the greenhouse in the gardens. Ye Muo shook his head before he even set foot inside. “No. Should be smaller.”
He tried to describe it, “At, at Mommy’s house.”
Norton paused for a few seconds. Eventually, he made a sound of acknowledgement.
Before leaving, Norton went to the nearest lounge and retrieved a cape to bundle Ye Muo in. Then he went with the child to the garage.
It was still early. Ye Zhiyuan and Lady Ye were in the living room when Norton arrived. It happened to be a holiday, and Ye He was back from a mission. He had a few days off to recuperate from a minor injury. Ye He was going to go take care of a matter, but Lady Ye insisted he stay home.
The Ye family were already waiting nearby by the time Norton’s hovercar came to a stop in front of the manor.
Norton brought out Ye Muo, who was bundled into a caterpillar, and nodded to the saluting Ye Zhiyuan. “Let’s go inside first.”
Norton finally set Ye Muo down once they were in the warm and cozy living room.
Ye Muo obediently waited for Norton to unwrap him bit by bit.
Everyone surrounded him and watched as he was extricated from the cloak.
When Norton was done, he whirled in place with the little flowerpot before zeroing in on Lady Ye.
He raised his little flowerpot high to show her. “Look, Mommy. Mommy bought this for Muomuo. Muomuo raised it well.”
Lady Ye picked him up and carried him to the living room. “Oh? Let Mommy see.”
Ye Zhiyuan had already told Lady Ye about how Ye Muo confused his memories and reality from time to time.
They should refrain from correcting him and let him be.
She sat down with Ye Muo on her lap and praised him, “Muomuo is so awesome. It looks very healthy.”
Ye He and Ye Yun followed behind her. Ye Yun peered over the back of the sofa to see Ye Muo, as well as the little flowerpot he was cradling.
Ye He stood pencil straight, but he also had his eyes on Ye Muo. He subconsciously adjusted his collar.
Ye Zhiyuan glanced at him from the opposite side. Ye He rarely showed emotion, but he’s had a tell when he’s nervous or restless since childhood, which was adjusting his collar. He rarely did that anymore.
Ye Yun commented, “Looks alright. What’s its name?”
He was obviously used to Ye Muo’s habits. When Ye Muo was a child, he would put names on all of the flowerpots, names that Lady Ye or Ye Zhiyuan had to write down for him.
He would even introduce the plants to Lady Ye with utmost sincerity.
Alas, he stopped doing that once he grew up. Ye Yun bugged him about it several times, but he always replied that they had no names.
But Ye Yun knew that Ye Muo still came up with names for them from the occasional glimps he caught of the records Ye Muo kept on his plants.
Peacock looks a little droopy today. Orange seems to be doing well. Tomato #2 got too much water…
Ye Muo happily introduced him, “Emerald.”
Ye Yun took another glance. “Emerald…isn’t that–”
He cut himself off in time. Emerald had left a deep impression on him. Ye Muo absolutely adored it, but then the gardener accidentally left the herbicide for the shrubs in the garden greenhouse one morning. When he urgently came to retrieve it that afternoon, Ye Muo had already mistakenly used the herbicide on his plants thinking it was plant nutrients. Not a single one survived.
Lady Ye and Ye Zhiyuan were filled with dread. They had the gardener help take care of Ye Muo’s plants normally since he was still too young. They even instructed him before not to leave anything dangerous behind.
Lady Ye took Ye Muo out of the greenhouse and comforted him the entire afternoon.
Meanwhile, Ye Zhiyuan cleaned up the dead plants, leaving only the flowerpots.
Ye Muo seemed to be taking it well and even consoled Lady Ye instead, but Ye Yun knew he cried in secret at least once.
When he got up one night, he saw Ye Muo go to the greenhouse and stand before those flowerpots for a long time before eventually tearing off the labels one by one. Yet he hugged the last flowerpot and didn’t move for a long time.
Ye Yun could vaguely see the label from the greenhouse door. It was in Lady Ye’s handwriting.
Ye Yun originally wanted to go in and tell Ye Muo to go to bed. It was just a few plants, so what? He’d use his allowance to buy Ye Muo some new ones. Yet just as he set his hand on the door handle, Ye Muo silently started to cry. Just like the plants he raised, he made not a single sound.
Ye Yun could only stand there by the door and stare dumbly.
He stayed just as long as Ye Muo did.
He snapped out of it when Ye Muo finally got up. In his haste to run away before Ye Muo came over, he crashed into Ye He, who was right behind him.
Ye He covered his mouth and stepped back into the bushes with him. He only let go once Ye Muo was gone.
Ye Yun’s heart was still beating fast. “You scared me, Big Brother. I almost screamed just now.”
Ye Yun still remembered how Ye He paused back then. The greenhouse lights automatically turned off once Ye Muo left, so the only light source was the nearby streetlight. He couldn’t see Ye He’s expression in the darkness, but Ye Yun knew he wasn’t pleased.
In the end, Ye He simply made a sound of acknowledgement. He led him back to the villa and up to the second floor.
Before going back to his room, Ye He paused in front of Ye Muo’s door for a beat. Whether back then or even now, Ye Yun felt like Ye He was conflicted over whether to check on Ye Muo or not. Yet in the end, he left.
