“However, I’m not someone like that. You might say that I’m living in a dream but I won’t settle down with a person casually. Last time, you guys asked me to get engaged with Qi Chengzhi and I agreed to it. This was because I don’t have much personal autonomy since I was born into the rich. After our family went bankrupt, I felt free instead, even breathing felt easier. I was finally able to do the things that I like. Why do you still force me to do things like that?”
“When are you letting me make my own decisions? Let me find someone I really like?” Song Yu asked tiredly.
“What’s the type that you like then? I’m not forcing you into marriage, but you don’t even have a boyfriend. I just want to introduce more guys to you and see whether you can meet one that you like, anything wrong with that? Why can’t you understand me as a mum? If you don’t even go and meet people, where are you going to find the person that you like? I didn’t force you to marry Wang Yifeng, I just wanted you to calm down, be humble and just get to know him. If you find that he’s compatible after hanging out for a while, you guys can go ahead and date each other, but I’m not going to force you to marry him even if you two are incompatible?”
Song Yu let out a sigh, she did not want to argue further on this because she knew that Yu Qianying did it for her sake out of good intentions.
Nonetheless, even if Qi Chengzhi was not in the picture, Song Yu would not want to be pressurized to such an extent. She had never thought about marriage as a necessity in life. She would rather let things just go with the flow. If she really met the right one, she would get married; if not, she would remain single. It’s not a big deal.
“I know,” Song Yu groaned. She had no choice but to compromise.
Yu Qianying pursed her lips and said with a stiffened tone, “He’s coming tonight, behave yourself.”
…
…
Qi Chengzhi looked at the phone call that had been cut off with a long face. He just heart Song Yu lied through her teeth and called him Director Zhao. He even heard that Yu Qianying was going to introduce her to some men. Did she just deny his existence?
‘How did I fall for such a fickle woman?’ Qi Chengzhi thought while he grinded his teeth. His anger subsided when he logged onto WeChat and saw the picture that was posted last night.
Chang Lai observed attentively through the rear-view mirror. Young Master Cheng’s expression was rather happy when he was on the phone, especially when he said the phrase ‘Missed me?’, he had such a coquettish look. How did his expression drop so much in a blink of an eye?
…
…
Wang Yifeng came alone that night without Mrs. Wang following. Even without Yu Qianying’s reminder, Song Yu would not pull a face at Wang Yifeng as she would know that guests should be treated mannerly.
When asked about his car, Wang Yifeng mentioned that he sent it to the factory for repair. Even though the insurance company had reimbursed most of the damage, he still had to pay quite a large sum by himself. Luckily, it was within his limits.
After Song Yu left yesterday, the police arrived at the scene. Lawyer Song was also there. They concluded that Wang Yifeng was at fault after judging the situation. He felt that it was unfair to him and could not help but bad mouth Qi Chengzhi in front of Song Yu. However, he had to restrain himself in the presence of Song Yu in order to maintain his image and did not criticize him as much as he did in front of his friends.
Yu Qianying was cooking in the kitchen while she requested Song Yu to accompany Wang Yifeng. Song Yu had to endure even if she was not a fan of him.
While Wang Yifeng was talking, Qi Chengzhi called. Song Yu threw a glance before excusing herself to answer the call.
“I’m at the your community entrance. Come over and help me out,” QI Chengzhi said over the phone.
Song Yu was puzzled about what Qi Chengzhi could not manage himself and requires her help. Qi Chengzhi explained, “Chenglin went for outstation and left Youxuan with me. I am a grown man, how do you expect me to take care of a child. I don’t even know what he likes to eat, that’s why I came to you.”
It was not a secret that Qi Chenglin had a son. Everyone knew about that.
Song Yu did not want to entertain Wang Yifeng in the first place, so there was no need to mislead him if she did not want any further relations with him.
She hung up and put on her coat, went to the kitchen after she took her purse.
Yu Qianying was busy in the kitchen preparing all kinds of dishes for Wang Yifeng.
Song Yu let out a sigh. She was holding her phone while she just stood at the door. She hesitated for a while before gathering her courage and said, “Mum, I need to go out for a bit.”
“What happened again, didn’t I told you to stay put at home?” Yu Qianying turned around displeased and said, “He’s here already and you’re leaving now, what will he think of this?”
“It’s Danchen,” Song Yu had no other choice but to use Ruan Danchen’s name, “You know that she always spend Chinese New Year all alone right. I just called her and she sounded a little weird. It’s too lonely to spend the holidays alone. I don’t know what happened to her, just wanted to go and check out on her.”
Yu Qianying knew about this. She invited Ruan Danchen over during New Year’s Eve, but she rejected.
Yu Qianying felt more sympathy after listening to her and did not say much further. She took out the dumplings from the fridge that was specially made in excess during the New Year’s Eve to be eaten on the third day of Chinese New Year. She put them into a crisper and handed it to Song Yu before saying, “Bring over for Danchen. I will not bother you this time, but you’re not allowed to do this in the future!”
Song Yu carried the dumplings and left as if she had been pardoned. She mentally apologized to Ruan Danchen and left without saying anything to Wang Yifeng. She thought that Wang Yifeng should have understood after how she reacted on all of their arrangements. She left an embarrassed Yu Qianying that tried to give an explanation to Wang Yifeng.
When Song Yu just arrived at the community entrance, she saw the Range Rover parked aside of the road. While she was about to walk over, the backdoor window of the car lowered down and a tiny figure appeared from the inside.
Qi Youxuan stuck out his head from the window and waved at Song Yu. He called out enthusiastically, “Auntie!”
Song Yu halted suddenly and almost dropped the crisper full of dumplings. She blushed while looking at Qi Youxuan that was smiling brilliantly. She had no idea how to answer him.
Qi Chengzhi drew a glance on Qi Youxuan through the rear-view mirror before opening the door to alight.
“Chenglin is having outstation and left him at home with the nanny. He felt too lonely. He was afraid that the kid would be spoiled by the elders at home as you can see he’s already overweight, that’s why he handed him to me,” Qi Chengzhi walked towards Song Yu and stood in front of her while he glanced at Qi Youxuan who was poking around behind.
“Although it’s the holidays, I still have to go back to the office to work. I can’t take care of him all the time. I have no prior experience in handling children, so I came to look for you,” Qi Chengzhi said in a lowered voice. Not sure whether he did it on purpose but he was exhaling steaming hot air on her forehead which.
“…” Song Yu wanted to say that she too had no experience in taking care of children.
“Also, you know that Youxuan doesn’t have a mother since young. I think it’ll be good for him to have you around and accompany him,” Qi Chengzhi’s last sentence struck directly at the soft spot of Song Yu.
Song Yu tilted her head slightly, looked pass Qi Chengzhi and glanced at Qi Youxuan who was sitting in the car and looking around.
He should not be considered as fat. He was at most a chubby little guy. He wore a deep blue down jacket with a knitted woolen hat on his head with a snowflake pattern. There was even a furry little ball on the tip of the hat. He wore similar-themed woolen mittens that bind his four fingers together. His whole appearance was just exuding cuteness.
Qi Youxuan waved at Song Yu with his small hands when he saw her walking over.
Song Yu’s heart melted at that instant as like any other women who have a motherly instinct. She nodded in confusion before she could even understand the whole situation.
There were not much changes in Qi Chengzhi’s expression. He lowered his gaze and fixed onto the crisper that she was holding.
Song Yu felt quite awkward. She could not tell him the truth. At that moment, she felt that the box of dumplings was out of place.
She simply stuffed the crisper onto Qi Chengzhi’s hand and said straightforwardly without further explanations, “You can keep this.”
Qi Chengzhi gave a look and brought it to the car without asking.
Song Yu opened the backdoor and sat together with Qi Youxuan. Qi Chengzhi glanced at them and placed the dumplings on the passenger seat without saying a word.
“Have you guys eaten?” Song Yu asked as it was around mealtime.
“No, I have no experience in kids. I was going to decide after I found you,” QI Chengzhi started the car and glanced at the back through the rear-view mirror.
Before Song Yu could ask further, Qi Youxuan tugged on her sleeve. His tiny chubby face looked like he was very excited and eager to please, “Auntie, I want t to eat McDonald’s.”
Qi Youxuan’s obedient behavior was nothing like the mischevious side that he acted in front of Jian Yi.
Song Yu laughed. She could not bear to reject such a cute child. In addition, McDonald’s was not that bad. She thought to herself that Qi Youxuan probably did not have much opportunity to eat at McDonald’s when he was with the Qi Family, that was the reason why he liked it so much.
“Let’s go eat at McDonald’s then,” Song Yu laughed and said to Qi Chengzhi who was in front driving.
Qi Chengzhi had no opinions on that and set out to the destination.
On the way, Qi Youxuan kept addressing Song Yu as ‘auntie’ until she felt really embarrassed.
If she denied, it would seem as if she was dismissing the relationship between Qi Chengzhi and herself. However, if she answered, she felt that it would be deemed as someone who was thick-skinned and over-reacting since they have not reached that stage yet.
Song Yu sought help by throwing glances to the front, but she could only see Qi Chengzhi’s deep, calm eyes through the rear-view mirror. He did not show any reaction and looked like he was not planning to get her out of this situation.
Without any choice, Song Yu just let Qi Youxuan call her that. She was not going to say anything further since Qi Chengzhi had no qualms with it.
…
…
Qi Chengzhi drove to a supermarket and parked the car at the multistorey carpark. He lead Song Yu and Qi Youxuan to the lift and took them to McDonald’s on the first floor.
Qi Youxuan dragged Song Yu forward and totally ignored Qi Chengzhi. Finally, they chose to sit in a booth.
“What do you want to eat? I’ll go and buy,” Song Yu helped Qi Youxuan to take off his hat and gloves after they enter the shop as the temperature was warmer.
Qi Youxuan wanted to remove his down coat as well but was stopped by Song Yu. She said, “Wait for a while, take it off when it’s warmer.”
Qi Youxuan could only extend his plump tiny hands and looked towards the counter from afar and said, “I want a Happy Meal.”
After Song Yu confirmed which Happy Meal Qi Youxuan chose, she asked what Qi Chengzhi wanted to eat.
Qi Chengzhi had never tried it before and he did not really give much thought about it. He just told Song Yu that he would be eating whatever she was going to order.
When Song Yu left to queue at the counter to order food, the cheerful expression on Qi Youxuan’s face disappeared instantly. His tiny face was especially serious and said in a formal tone, “Uncle, my father is already extremely busy during the working days and he doesn’t have much time to accompany me. The Chinese New Year holidays is such a rare occasion for me to enjoy fatherly love but you ordered him to go for outstation all of a sudden. You’re being too mean to deprive me of it.”
“…” Qi Chengzhi took his wallet out and retrieved two hundred dollars. Qi Chengzhi’s big eyes brightened up when he saw Qi Chengzhi’s action. He stared fixedly at those two pieces of red banknotes.
Qi Chengzhi glanced at him nonchalantly and took one out of the two pieces of banknotes and displayed it in front of Qi Youxuan, “This will be your accommodation fee. I’ll give you the remaining one hundred dollars after you return.”
“Okay, deal,” Qi Youxuan pouted his mouth in distaste and gave Qi Chengzhi the side-eye, “How can you be so calculative with your own nephew. Uncle, auntie is not aware of your treacherous side right? If she knew about your true colors, she definitely will not dare to marry you.”
After he finished saying, he reached out with his two chubby hands to retrieve the hundred dollars.
Nevertheless, Qi Chengzhi suddenly retracted his hand when those chubby fingers almost touched it. Qi Youxuan was left with nothing.
“Uncle!” Qi Youxuan was so angry that his cheeks were all puffed out. Before this, his face was already rounded, now he looked even more like a ball. Those pair of big eyes looked at Qi Chengzhi as if they were full of accusations.
This gaze of his always gotten him what he wanted as they always surrender. However, it was not effective on Qi Chengzhi.
Qi Chengzhi pursed his lips, the banknote was pinned lightly in between his second and middle finger. He said gently, “If your performance is subpar, you won’t be receiving the balance.”
“I can assure you, uncle, I’ll be at my very best. You have my complete cooperation,” Qi Youxuan mentioned. He climbed up the seat and snatched the hundred dollars over from his fingertips with much eagerness, for fear that he would turn on his back again.
Qi Youxuan pinched the money with his tiny hands, it looked massive in comparison to the size of his hands.
He looked at Qi Chengzhi cautiously, before turning his back and raising the banknote high up and observe closely. After a while, he took it down to the eye-level and examined it again.
Qi Chengzhi just stared at his pretense. His actions seemed to be rather genuine but it would be a different matter about whether he could really differentiate.
No one knew what Qi Youxuan figured out through his observations, but he nodded in satisfaction as if it was a real deal. Then, he took out a wallet from his school bag.
Qi Chengzhi felt that the wallet looked a little familiar. When he took a closer look, it was Qi Chengji’s wallet from thirty years ago, and that Qi Chengji stole it from him.
Qi Youxuan flattened the hundred dollar note and put into his wallet carefully before keeping it back in the school bag.
Song Yu carried a loaded tray and walked over shortly after he finished the whole series of actions.
The aisle between tables was rather narrow, and there were people walking in and out. Song Yu was paying attention to the path and walked attentively as the tray she was holding consisted of three set meals.
All of a sudden, a pair of large hands appeared in front of her hands that were holding onto the tray. They held onto the tray firmly and shared some of the weight over.
Based on the attractiveness of this pair of hands in front of her eyes, there was only one possibility — it belonged to Qi Chengzhi.
Song Yu lifted her head and saw his handsome yet serious face. He glanced at her gently and took over the tray without saying a word before turning around and walked ahead of her.
The aisle was full of people. Song Yu could not help but curve the corners of her lip upwards when she followed him behind while looking at his broad and towering back.
At that moment, she had the urge to hug him from the back and press her face onto his strong and stable back.
In the end, it was just a thought and Song Yu held it in.
…
…
It was obvious that Qi Chengzhi did not enjoy fast food as he barely ate anything. At first, Song Yu was worried that Qi Chengzhi would have a man’s appetite and specially bought a family meal for him, but ended up with a lot food left untouched.
Nevertheless, Qi Youxuan could really eat. His choice of Happy Meal comprised of hamburger and fries. After chomping a few bites on the hamburger, he threw the bitten hamburger back to the container and extended his oily claws towards the chicken wings placed in front of Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu, as if it was a eating contest.
When one was full, they would usually overthink stuff. Qi Youxuan was still thinking about the “bad” attitude Qi Chengzhi treated him with. He did not trust him and even split the money into two payments.
How could they maintain their partnership and cooperate harmoniously if they did not even have the basic trust between human?
Qi Chengzhi was acting like a kid that indulged too much in food and became a little blurry in the head. He rolled his eyes and told Song Yu, “Auntie, my father actually looks quite decent in comparison to uncle. He’s also younger, why don’t you give some thought about my father? You don’t need to tie yourself down with a single person, there are so many other choices!”
Song Yu, “…”
Qi Chengzhi, “…”
After Qi Youxuan finished his speech and happily dived into the wings, his bit into thin air.
He turned around and saw that Qi Chengzhi snatched the chicken wings from his hand. Qi Chengzhi then continued to say in a serious tone, “Your father specifically told me not to let you eat too much junk food when he sent you over. You should control your weight and follow me to eat more vegetables these two days.”
“…” Qi Youxuan looked at Qi Chengzhi furiously. ‘Uncle is obviously taking revenge publicly!’ He thought.
Qi Youxuan did not manage to eat those chicken wings in the end. His uncle was being too much since he rather let it be leftovers than let him eat them.
Qi Youxuan stuck out his ball-sized belly and he did not want to think about how full was he. Even if they permitted him to continue eating, he would not be able to take it in anymore.
“I want to poop,” Qi Youxuan massaged his rounded belly after gulping down all the food and let out a loud and foul-smelling fart which surrounded Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu.
Qi Chengzhi frowned and thought about the price he had to pay by using him to win Song Yu over was just too high. He already wanted to send him back.
“Uncle, I’m going to shit my pants!” Qi Youxuan used his tiny chubby fingers to cover his backside, where it looked like he was trying to shove the poop back in.
“Hold on,” Qi Chengzhi stood up with a frown on his face. Each time he saw Qi Chengzhi, he would mentally remind himself that having children would be the last resort.
Qi Youxuan was scooped up by Qi Chengzhi’s long arms from the waist before striding towards the washroom in large steps.
Song Yu stared from afar until both of them disappeared. She was quite amused by the situation and wondered what would it be when Qi Chengzhi has his own child?
Qi Chengzhi let Qi Youxuan enter the washroom by himself while he lighted a cigarette at outside.
While he was smoking halfway, his cellphone rang.
Qi Chengzhi was still on the phone when Qi Youxuan exited in the middle of adjusting his pants. Qi Youxuan stuck his tummy out to show Qi Chengzhi his belt was still undone, which required his help to buckle on.
Qi Chengzhi signaled him to look for Song Yu after glancing at him.
Qi Youxuan had no choice but to go to Song Yu while holding the pants up with his hands.
Song Yu was waiting for the pair when she lifted her head and looked towards the direction of the washroom. She spotted a rounded head at the corner of the alley that leads to the washroom. He then waved at Song Yu.
Song Yu was baffled. She took her bag and Qi Youxuan’s jacket and hat before walking over.
When she reached the washroom, she saw Qi Youxuan was peeking around as if he was afraid to be seen. His face was also blushing.
“What is it?” Song Yu saw that Qi Youxuan was holding his pants tightly while she asked.
Qi Youxuan said embarrassedly with a flushed face, “I can’t buckle my belt.”
His embarrassed look was extremely cute. Song Yu wanted to laugh so badly but she could not, afraid that she would hurt the little guy’s dignity. She endured it and acted as if nothing had happened and crouched down to help him.
Since they were about to leave the place as well, she helped him to put on his clothes and hat as well.
No one knew what was going through Qi Youxuan’s mind, but he let out a sigh out of the blue and said, “Auntie, aren’t you going to consider to be my stepmother?”
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