Win My Husband Over to Find My Child
Chapter 273: What If You Become a Strawberry Ghost?

Chapter 273: What If You Become a Strawberry Ghost?

Calliope ate so much food during lunch. She finished two bowls of rice, some sweet and sour chicken, stir-fried beef, and an omelet. By the end of it, her tummy regained its rounder shape.

"Look at you. Cried so much and ate so much."

Calix’s teasing was replied with a pout from Calliope, her chubby cheeks puffing. Hot steam blew up from her ears, annoyed with the man; her papa. She tightly held a glass, some water still remaining inside.

"Poppy hungry ah!"

Ignoring Calix, Calliope continued drinking the water. The man chuckled while Leslie smiled in helplessness. She was reminded of what she had just thought before.

Calix would tease Calliope more frequently. Leslie couldn’t help but wonder about the chances of her daughter teaming up with Amelia and Evelyn to get back to the man.

Well, it had to wait until Calliope met her paternal aunt and younger cousin in the future.

Director Li dined with them. She talked to Calix and Leslie when Calliope was more interested in interacting with her friends. All of the little turnip heads were concerned about her puffy eyes and reddened face.

"Poppy, did you cry? Why la?"

"Ha! Grandpa Mori scolded you because you took candies from the kitchen?"

"Poppy, had a nightmare? A ghost wanna eat you?"

Calliope responded to all of her friends with one answer.

"Poppy ate so many strawberries ah! Poppy’s face becomes red!"

Calliope’s answer earned dumbfounded looks from the other children. Her words reached the adults. They inevitably paused their conversation, drifting their eyes to where the girl and her friends were.

"...how did she come up with that answer?" asked Calix quietly. His eyes widened slightly, expressing his disbelief.

"Calliope has always been witty with her responses," Director Li chimed in. Chuckling, she shifted her eyes from Calliope to Calix, "Now I know from whom she gets this trait. It turns out from you, Mr. Xu."

Director Li’s words made Calix speechless while Leslie was unable to hold back from laughing.

"You’re right, Director Li..." Leslie teasingly stared at Calix, her eyes glimmering with joy, "Calliope is as chatty as... him..."

"C-cough! She’s my daughter ah. Of course, she’ll resemble me in some ways."

"She likes strawberries... as much as you..." Leslie pointed out. She purposely added, "Do we need a strawberry farm... in the backyard for just... you two?"

"Should we? Our backyard is more than big enough to have one."

Calix’s eyes lit up, seemingly happy with Leslie’s random suggestion. He started to imagine strolling in a strawberry garden before picking the juicy ruby fruits.

Wouldn’t that be heavenly?

Now, it was Leslie and Director Li’s turn to be speechless.

"You really... what if you become a strawberry ghost?"

Leslie’s bewildered gaze was met with a cheeky grin from Calix. Mischief glinted in his peach blossom eyes.

"So, what? Being a ghost sounds fun ah. Hasn’t someone already experienced it? I can skip work! Anyone won’t ever know ah."

"..."

Sharpening her eyes, Leslie glared at Calix. She held back from pinching his arm. His grinning face looked so cheekily annoying right now.

Did he want her to haunt him as a ghost again?

Huh!

She wouldn’t let him sleep ah! He could go to work with heavy eyebags for all she cared!

Director Li could tell there was something deeper in Calix and Leslie’s conversation. It might be an inside joke only known by the husband and wife.

’They’ll be good parents for Calliope, I’m sure about it.’

That thought crossed Director Li’s mind once again. Despite still feeling sad to let Calliope go, knowing how reliable Calix and Leslie were put her mind and heart at ease.

Calliope didn’t know what happened between the adults. She was still busy chatting with her friends, accompanied by sweet fruit puddings as desserts.

"Children! Time to tidy up!"

One of the staff, Debby clapped her hands twice to get the children’s attention. Following her instruction, the little turnip heads started gathering the dirty dishes one by one.

Children aged four and below were excluded. Everyone threw waste into the trash can before doing the following tasks.

The five to eight-year-old wiped the tables, swept the floor and rearranged the chairs. The nine-year-old and older children washed and dried the dirty plates, bowls and glasses.

Everyone was supervised by the staff present at that time. Today, they were oversaw by Director Li and Debby.

Calix and Leslie quietly watched the children including Calliope performing their tasks. They were amused and proud to see how well their daughter did her job despite still being very young and small.

"Should I go and help?" whispered Calix, intently looking at Calliope wiping the table.

"Don’t disturb her..." Leslie quickly shut his intention down, "She’s perfectly capable ah... Praise her later..."

"Of course!"

Leslie still remembered what Director Li had told her about raising the children.

The director wished to instill values of independence in the children, slowly preparing them for the time they had to leave once they outgrew the care.

Not all children managed to get adopted. Most of them entered society with no family—aside from the orphanage—behind them. Despite how saddening the fact was, life had to go on.

Soon, the children finally finished their tasks. They gathered before Debby.

"Thank you, everyone! You’ve done a good job!"

Debby praised the children. The little ones thanked the staff in return out of habit before they started leaving the dining room, all happy with their tummies full of delicious food. Some of them chanted how much food had they eaten for lunch.

Deng deng deng, Calliope ran to Calix and Leslie. She quickly climbed on the chair placed between the spouses. Her Mimo was lying there.

Director Li had returned to sit Calix and Leslie. She intended to have an important conversation involving the spouses and the child.

"Now that Poppy knows, I’ll ask her now," Director Li glanced at Calix and Leslie, smiling, "Don’t you still have more things to talk about with her? I’ll leave the rest to you, Mr. and Mrs. Xu."

Calix and Leslie nodded, allowing Director Li to come up with her question.

Director Li fondly looked at the little girl, being straightforward with her intention, "Poppy, Granny will directly ask you. Do you want to live with your parents?"

"Yes!"

The little one’s answer was loud and clear.