Win My Husband Over to Find My Child
Chapter 253: Drink Some Milk and Exercise, Get Taller!

Chapter 253: Drink Some Milk and Exercise, Get Taller!

Soon, Calix and Leslie had lunch with the exhausted yet exhilarating children. The older ones hadn’t returned from their respective schools because the time was still early. Some of them had extracurricular activities.

Director Li had yet to tell Calliope about Calix and Leslie’s plan to bring her out tomorrow. She planned to inform the little one after the spouses left.

Calliope had been wondering what kind of surprise Leslie and Calix had for her yet, she didn’t pester the spouses and Director Li. The girl had fun having lunch while chatting with the spouses.

After lunch hour, Calix and Leslie spent some more time with the children. They gathered in the breakroom together with Director Li.

The little turnip heads chattered nonstop, acting as if they were not—yet—drained from playing under the early summer sun earlier.

Director Li let the children be. They would eventually feel drowsy sooner or later. Despite already eating lunch, the little ones were inclined to fall asleep no matter what.

"Let’s play other games ah, Uncle."

"Uncle, do you know hopscotch?"

"Hey! We need to include Auntie too. She wanna play with us too, right, Auntie?"

Calix and Leslie smiled in helplessness, amused by the children’s antics. They replied to the little ones as much as they could.

"Hopscotch is good too. But, can your short legs beat mine ah? Why don’t you drink more milk and get taller first?"

Calix raised his brows, enjoying teasing the little ones. They quickly rebutted him.

"Uncle! You’re way older than us ah! We’ll catch up to you in ten years!"

"Uncle, how old will you be by then? Forty? Fifty?"

The children’s words tickled Leslie’s stomach while Calix was rendered speechless.

Were they blind? Couldn’t they see he would remain handsome despite how old he would be?

Hah! Unbelievable!

Feeling his head started throbbing, Calix clicked his tongue, "Tsk, you have to sleep well if you wanna be like me. Don’t just rely on milk and exercise. Go ah. Go take your nap."

"Uncle, we still have tons of energy!"

"How about we play another round of catch?"

Shaking his head, Calix remained in disbelief. He had just opened his mouth to retort when a familiar voice yawned loudly. Following where the sound came from, he blinked.

It was Calliope!

"Haa~ Poppy wanna sleep."

Calliope rubbed her eyes with one hand while the other hugged the crochet fox toy. She yawned once again, expressing how sleepy she was.

"Aiya, Poppy! Don’t sleep yet!"

"Let’s win against Uncle ah! Don’t you want it?"

Calliope rejected her friends’ proposal with a shake of her small head, followed by a verbal retort.

"What for ah? Sleeping is better than playing. Oh! Sleeping and eating are better than playing. Yup, Poppy is right."

The little one’s cheeky yet eloquent response garnered humming from the other children.

"Hehe, seems like everyone will feel sleepy soon," uttered Director Li, amusement lacing her tone.

"Oh... everyone will nap together?" asked Leslie curiously, wondering if the children’s body clocks mirrored one another. She continued watching her daughter from where she sat.

"Mrs. Xu, haven’t you heard?" Director Li chuckled, raising her brows as her eyes glinted, "Yawn is contagious."

"Oh! Yes, yes..."

Leslie quickly nodded, agreeing with Director Li. She didn’t know if there was anything scientific behind the action but, she noticed how easy people yawned once someone started.

"I want to sleep too. Poppy, let’s go to our room."

"Argh! I want to play again! But... haa..."

"I miss my pillow ah."

Well, the children started yawning one by one following the older woman’s anticipation. The spouses also noticed their collective drowsiness.

"We shall head back now," Calix clapped his hands once, amused to see the children’s gaping mouths, "You guys, go and take a nap. Listen to your teachers well, en?"

"Ah, Uncle and Auntie will go home now? Haa..." asked one of the children. Covering his mouth, he let out another yawn before continuing to ask, "Then, can we play catch next time?"

The boy’s question earned laughter from Calix.

"Hey, you’re still thinking of that when you’re this sleepy?" Calix scoffed, pretending to glare at the boy, "Shouldn’t you focus on napping now?"

"Hehehe~ Promise us ah, Uncle."

The children, especially the boys loved the attention they received from Calix. They rarely got adult men coming here, either simply visiting or being volunteers.

The little heroes couldn’t help but look up to the man. They liked and appreciated how easy for Calix to follow their requests.

Seeing the look of adoration in their eyes deepened Calix’s smile. He extended his raised hands toward the two boys sitting the closest to him before ruffling their little heads.

"Alright. Let’s play catch and hopscotch. Either tomorrow or the day after, alright?"

"Yayy!"

"Hehe! Thank you, Uncle!"

"We’ll go napping now! See you again, Uncle, Auntie!"

The children cheered collectively, overjoyed by Calix’s promise. They sweetly bid goodbye to him and Leslie before slowly leaving the breakroom.

Chuckling, Leslie told Calix, "Seems like they adore... you ah. Aren’t you... feel touched?"

"Well, a bit?"

Shrugging, Calix looked at the little turnip heads departing the room one by one. His gaze fell on Calliope. She had yet to leave despite being the first to voice out her desire to take a nap.

"Poppy... why are you still here?" asked Leslie whose eyes never leaving the little one. She also noticed Calix’s gaze on Calliope.

"Poppy wanna say bye-bye to Auntie and Uncle," answered Calliope, still smiling with a pair of tired eyes, "See you again, Uncle and Auntie. Poppy will go to sleep first."

"Go," Calix softened his voice. He held back from reaching for the little girl’s head, "We’ll come to visit you again soon. Do you like that, Poppy?"

"Of course!" replied Calliope chirpily. Grinning, she looked at Leslie and Calix simultaneously, "Poppy will be a good girl and sleep. Then, Auntie and Uncle will come, okay?"

"We will..." Leslie nodded once, smiling. She lifted both hands, asking hesitatingly, "Before you go... can Auntie get a hug... from you?"

"Auntie! Of course ah!"

Calliope rushed to Leslie without missing a beat. The little one threw herself in the lady’s embrace, her giggles echoing in the air.

"Poppy is happy today!"

The little one didn’t know how much her words made the man and the lady almost tear up. They quietly watched her disappear behind the door.

----------

"Can’t take your eyes off them?"

The familiar mellow voice caught Leslie’s attention. Bringing her gaze away from the flowers sitting in the vase, she turned to look at the man appearing at the bedroom’s doorway.

Putting both hands deep inside his pants pockets, Calix leaned sideways. He had changed into a set of comfortable homewear. Half of his bangs obscured his hair, giving off a more youthful vibe than usual.

Curling up her lips, Leslie happily replied to Calix, "They’re pretty... Hehe, Poppy has great taste..."

A helpless chuckle slipped out from Calix’s mouth. Straightening his posture, he walked toward the bed where Leslie was sitting. He found his seat on the edge of the bed, close to her.

"Her eyes belong to a genius ah. I believe she’ll grow up to be someone multi-talented. She bows to no men."

Calix’s sudden boasting tickled Leslie’s heart, prompting her to laugh louder than usual. Shaking her head in helplessness, she playfully smacked the man’s upper right arm.

"You’re already thinking... of that?" Leslie scoffed, unable to believe how far Calix’s thoughts had gone, "She’s still small..."

Calliope’s height barely reached Calix’s thighs. She still had many years ahead to cultivate her personality and interests. None of them truly knew the paths she would take.

Not even Leslie who lived with Calliope since her birth in their previous lives.

"Why? Doesn’t it sound great? Our daughter will achieve great heights in her life ah."

Calix chuckled, his whole face beaming with delight. Propping his left elbow on his thigh, he supported his chin with the back of his hand.

Joy glimmered in his peach blossom eyes, expressing the overwhelming happiness within him. Seeing the light on his face tugged her heart with guilt.

Leslie pursed her lips, unsure how to tell Calix what was going on in her mind. Despite understanding the man’s vision was driven by good intentions, she still needed to bring up this issue before Calliope started living with them.

"Calix... I want to tell you... something..."

Leslie’s subdued tone alarmed Calix slightly. Adjusting his posture to face her properly, he silently took in the faint discomfort on her countenance.

"Leslie, you know you can tell me anything," Calix softened his voice, hoping to put Leslie’s worries at ease, "Still, don’t force yourself if you can’t. I’ll wait."

Calix had a hunch that Leslie was thinking about Calliope. Perhaps, she actually felt the same way as him.

Shadows of worry lurked beneath his happiness and anticipation.

He couldn’t help but worry about Calliope’s reaction to the revelation. He was also concerned about raising their daughter.

Would he and she do a good job?