Chapter 407: Chapter 407: Warm Parent-Child Time
Han overheard the two talking, crossed his arms, and sulked, muttering with grievance, “I’m not an idiot!”
Huo Tingdong frowned, looked at his silly son, and asked, “So, do you still want to continue?”
Han huffed angrily, “I don’t want to play anymore!”
He was still baffled—he and Momo always won, but against Huo Tingdong, they couldn’t even get to ten moves!
Defeated, he pushed the chessboard away unhappily and said, “This game is boring!”
Huo Tingdong looked at this little fool, thinking, he’s just bad at it and has the nerve to call the game boring?
He was thoroughly unimpressed.
Lin Qi could sense that Huo Tingdong was no longer as patient with Han as he used to be.
Maybe it was because he was eagerly anticipating holding a baby girl soon, so he wasn’t paying much attention to this little dolt anymore!
Lin Qi sighed inwardly: In this world, there’s always laughter for the new and tears for the old!
Han wasn’t willing to accept his loss and thought, if he couldn’t win at Gobang, he had to win at some other game!
He refused to believe he couldn’t beat Daddy!
Han folded his arms and racked his brains. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he thought of something and said to Huo Tingdong, “Daddy, let’s play Ludo!”
“No time.”
Huo Tingdong had no intention of playing such a childish game and got up to leave.
But Han slid dramatically across the floor, clutching his leg tightly, and started crying, “Wahhh! Daddy, you’ve been spending so little time with me lately. Is it because Mommy’s about to give you a baby girl, and you don’t love Han anymore? You won’t even play Ludo with me!”
“If Daddy won’t play Ludo with Han, then Han won’t love Daddy anymore! When you grow old, get sick, and need a wheelchair, Han won’t help you—Daddy can push the wheelchair on his own!”
Huo Tingdong said, “When you lose, you’ll start crying again, and I’ll have to comfort you!”
Han retorted, “Why do you think I’ll definitely lose to you? Or are you just afraid you can’t beat me, so you don’t dare to play with me?”
He even resorted to reverse psychology.
Lin Qi, watching from the side, felt sweat forming on her forehead, thinking, With someone as mature as Huo Tingdong, he definitely won’t fall for Han’s ploy!
Little did she know, Huo Tingdong smirked disdainfully, “You think I would lose to you?”
Lin Qi was stunned: “…”
Huo Tingdong sat back across from Han. “Bring the Ludo board.”
“Okay!”
Han dashed off excitedly to fetch the Ludo set.
Lin Qi was so shocked she couldn’t speak.
So Huo Tingdong had such a childish side to him? Could he not tell that Han was deliberately goading him?
Soon, Han returned with the Ludo set.
Ludo could accommodate up to four players at once.
Han said to Lin Qi, “Mommy, come sit and play with us too!”
Lin Qi immediately sat down.
Han said, “Great! I’ll go grab Momo, so the four of us can play together!”
With that, he went to drag Momo over.
Huo Tingdong was reading the game rules.
The rules were simple. Ludo uses a die. Roll the die, and the number it lands on determines how many spaces a piece can move, progressing towards the finish line.
However, at the start, only a roll of 6 allows a plane to leave the starting point and take off. Steps to the finish line must align perfectly to count as a win.
In short, it’s a game heavily reliant on luck.
Momo didn’t originally want to play but couldn’t resist when Han begged and badgered him into it.
Han dragged Momo back enthusiastically, and the game for four players officially began.
Huo Tingdong glanced at Han, toying with the die in his hand, feeling a slight pang of pity.
How could this little one be so confident that he could win such a simple game against him?
Huo Tingdong smirked.
Tonight, he would show Han—Daddy will always be Daddy!
Lin Qi noticed the look in Huo Tingdong’s eyes and suddenly had a bad feeling.
Huo Tingdong was taking it seriously!
For such a simple strategy game, if he actually played for real, wouldn’t he crush Han effortlessly?
As the game began, Huo Tingdong rolled a six right off the bat. Rolling a six allowed another roll, and Huo Tingdong rolled four consecutive sixes, launching all four of his planes.
Han stared in stunned silence.
Momo also looked on with suspicion.
Rolling dice was supposed to be probability-based—how could Huo Tingdong consistently roll sixes?
Could it be that there was something unusual about the die?
Momo immediately dismissed the thought.
The die was as normal as could be, not custom-made.
Could Daddy be using some special technique?
Han gazed at him with wide, envious eyes. If he could roll four sixes in a row, he’d boast about it for a year!
Finally, it was Han’s turn.
Han cradled the die in his hands, shaking it fervently for some time. In the end, he rolled a four, and his expression immediately dimmed as he slumped onto the table, looking thoroughly defeated, like a wilted cabbage.
The die passed back into Huo Tingdong’s hands.
With a casual flick, he rolled another six, advancing all his planes into movement.
Han couldn’t resist grabbing the die to examine it closely, turning it over in his hands. No matter how he looked, it appeared perfectly fine.
He rolled it again and finally got a six. Excited, he launched one of his planes, but after a few spaces, it was Huo Tingdong’s turn again. Huo Tingdong’s plane came flying across and mercilessly sent Han’s plane back to the starting point.
Han looked utterly defeated. “You’re cheating!”
Huo Tingdong replied, “How am I cheating?”
Han said, “You bumped my plane!”
Huo Tingdong said, “I was just passing by. It’s not my fault your plane was there.”
Han stubbornly argued, “Then why does your plane bumping into mine mean my plane has to go back to the starting point?”
Huo Tingdong replied, “That’s just the rule.”
Han persisted, “Then why would there be such a rule?”
Huo Tingdong said, “Because your plane is damaged in the collision and needs to go back for repairs.”
Han declared confidently, “Then your plane has to go back too! If your plane collided with mine and mine got damaged, your plane must be damaged too, so it should go back for repairs!”
What he said made so much sense that Huo Tingdong was momentarily speechless.
Momo, watching Han’s serious yet unwilling expression, was laughing so hard he could barely stand.
Han really was a riot!
Huo Tingdong gave up arguing with him and moved his plane back to the starting point. “Happy now?”
He finally realized his precious son simply couldn’t bear to lose and was now playing dirty!
Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to crush him too brutally—it was his son, after all.
And so, the family of four played an unexpectedly lively game of Ludo.
For Lin Qi and Momo, these heartwarming family moments were commonplace, but for Huo Tingdong and Han, they were rare and precious.
Huo Tingdong was far too busy and rarely had time to spend with Han. Ever since Momo came into their lives, Han had indeed become much more cheerful than before.
This proved that Han had desperately lacked companionship in the past!