PAID

The playful quarrel between the brothers finally came to an end when Huo Ma opened the bedroom door with a stern expression.

"It’s the middle of the night, do you plan on letting anyone sleep?" she scolded, glaring at the group.@@novelbin@@

Huo Jing immediately let go of his sleeves, looking slightly embarrassed as he shifted his gaze away. Huo Yan adjusted his clothes and pretended not to notice Huo Ma's glare, sitting back down as if nothing had happened. Huo Ze picked up the cushion he had dropped earlier, clearing his throat awkwardly.

As for Qin Yao, he had remained seated the entire time, not joining in the ruckus. When Ye Leyao settled back beside him, he reached for a tissue and gently wiped the sweat from Ye Leyao’s forehead.

Ye Leyao, being the only one who dared meet Huo Ma’s gaze directly, smiled sheepishly. Holding onto Qin Yao’s hand, he turned to her and said seriously, "Mom, it's already morning, technically not the middle of the night. Since it's already bright outside, why don’t we skip sleeping for now?"

Huo Ma’s gaze slowly softened as she looked at Ye Leyao, who blinked at her innocently, adding a slightly pitiful expression.

She could never resist when Ye Leyao looked at her like that. Her heart melted instantly, and despite trying to maintain a stern facade, a smile crept up. "Weren’t you just shouting for help earlier? Now you want to protect them?" she teased.

Before Ye Leyao could respond, Huo Ze chimed in, "Hey, I’m his brother! Of course, he should protect me."

Huo Yan nodded in agreement, while Huo Jing remained silent, though not disagreeing.

Huo Ma gave all three of them an annoyed look. "Oh, so you all have your reasons, huh? But does that give you the right to disturb your father and me?"

With a huff, she turned to leave. As she walked away, her voice echoed from the distance, “Since none of you are planning to sleep, why don’t you all come downstairs? What do you have to talk about that you can’t say in front of us?"

The group burst into laughter again, quickly following her downstairs.

By then, the sun was fully up, and the house staff were already preparing breakfast.

Ye Leyao wrinkled his nose, frowning slightly. “Do we really need to eat again?”

Huo Ma looked at him in confusion, while the chef laughed, "Well, you did have a midnight feast just a while ago."

Huo Ba grunted disapprovingly, "Not only did you have a feast without us, but you even had your own private chat! Unbelievable!"

Though his words were harsh, he continued, "But to be honest, I’m not hungry."

The late-night meal had been so extravagant that not only was Ye Leyao still full, but so was everyone else.

Huo Ma nodded and said, "Maybe we should skip breakfast then and just prepare lunch a bit later."

The chef agreed and left, but Huo Ma quickly added, "But we can’t skip breakfast completely…”

Before she could finish, Qin Yao had already stood up and headed toward the kitchen.

Ye Leyao’s eyes brightened as he hurried to follow. As expected, Qin Yao started gathering ingredients to make oatmeal and milk for everyone.

Leaning against the wall, Ye Leyao grinned as he watched Qin Yao prepare multiple servings. "Are you making this much for everyone?"

Huo Yan also wandered into the kitchen at that point and, overhearing the conversation, quipped, "You didn’t think we’d let you keep all the delicious food to yourself, did you?"

Ye Leyao rolled his eyes at Huo Yan, "If anything, you should thank me for letting you enjoy some."

Qin Yao, placing the oatmeal into the blender, nodded in agreement, “Exactly.”