Xu Xiaoye was naturally unwilling.
Lili had been taking care of Xu Xiaoye since he was two.
When Xu Xiaoye was three, Xu Yeping passed away.
He had only two years’ worth of memories.
And in those two years, Xu Xiaoye’s entire world had consisted of Lili.
In Xu Xiaoye’s heart,
Lili was his only mother.
Xu Xiaoye naturally shook his head. “Mommy, you don’t want me anymore?”
Lili hurriedly comforted the child. “Of course I do. But Uncle is also Xiaoye’s family, and he wants to take good care of Xiaoye too. Look, Uncle lives alone in such a big place, with no one to keep him company. Isn’t he very lonely?”
Xiaoli: “…”
As if on cue, Xu Xiaoye secretly glanced at Xiaoli and nodded. “He is a little pitiful.”
Immediately afterward, Xu Xiaoye’s little mind seemed to come up with a wonderful idea. “Mommy, let’s live here together and keep Uncle company. It’s so big here anyway. Mommy and I can just share a small room.”
Lili took a deep breath, forcing back the moisture in her eyes. “But Mommy has been very busy lately. You saw how beautiful the fireworks Mommy designed were last night, didn’t you? So many people saw them. Soon, lots of bosses will come looking for Mommy to work with them.”
Assistant Tang seized the opportunity to say, “Xiaoye, you wouldn’t want Mommy to work too hard, would you? There’s also the Doberman you like in the backyard.”
Xu Xiaoye bit his lip, torn.
He wrapped his arms around Lili’s waist. “Mommy, you’ll come pick me up and take me home, right?”
Shen Qingli nodded firmly.
Only then did Xu Xiaoye smile. “All right, then. I’ll stay here and keep Uncle company for a while.”
Shen Qingli cupped Xu Xiaoye’s cheeks and kissed him.
Xu Xiaoye’s face reddened.
Shen Qingli gently straightened Xu Xiaoye’s hearing aid. “Then Mommy will go home first.”
Xu Xiaoye nodded hard.
Shen Qingli added, “Be good and listen to Uncle. If you want anything, tell Uncle, just as if you were at home. Uncle… likes Xiaoye very much too.”
Xu Xiaoye said in his childish voice, “Okay, Mommy.”
Shen Qingli stood up to leave.
Assistant Tang led the way in front.
After they went out into the living room,
Assistant Tang said, “Miss Shen, I know you may have some objections to our master, but I’ll secretly tell you something: actually, our Old Master wanted to take Xiaoye away outright.”
“It was only thanks to our master repeatedly trying to persuade him that Old Master agreed to give him a month and let Xiaoye undergo desensitization.”
Shen Qingli froze.
Assistant Tang sighed and continued, “Back then, because of some personal matter, the eldest young master severed ties with Old Master. Old Master remained angry and had been waiting for the eldest young master to take the initiative and give him a way to reconcile.”
“But who could have expected that they would suddenly be separated by life and death? The only keepsake the eldest young master left Old Master was this child. The Cheng family treasures him dearly.”
Shen Qingli’s long, fair fingers slowly curled into fists.
She understood now.
Once Xiaoye returned to the Cheng family, he could enjoy a more comfortable life, a more elite education, and the kind of support that would leave others looking up to him.
She wanted what was best for Xiaoye.
So she had to let go of the hand holding Xiaoye’s.
Shen Qingli closed her eyes for a moment, then nodded. “I understand. Thank you for being willing to tell me this, Assistant Tang. I know what I should do now.”
After Shen Qingli returned home,
her mood remained desolate.
When Sister Sun saw that Shen Qingli had come back alone, she hurriedly asked, “Where’s Xiaoye?”
Shen Qingli said faintly, “He went to winter camp.”
Sister Sun sighed. “Can such a young child really take care of himself?”
Shen Qingli’s throat moved slightly. “Someone will take care of him.”
Sister Sun frowned. “Even so, it still won’t be as good as being by his mother’s side.”
Shen Qingli: “…”
Sister Sun casually nagged her a little more. “Speaking of which, Xiaoye is already over five. Mrs. Pei, you and your husband should also start planning to have a child of your own.”
Shen Qingli smiled. “We don’t have that plan for now. We’ll talk about it after things stabilize.”
Sister Sun had initially wanted to say, What could possibly be unstable between the two of you?
But seeing that Shen Qingli did not look well,
she swallowed the words.
Deep into the night,
Shen Qingli was abruptly awakened by the sharp ringing of her phone.
She jolted upright in bed, her heart contracting painfully.
Acting on instinct, she grabbed her phone
and pressed it to her ear. “Hello?”
A man’s helpless, hoarse voice came through the receiver. “Xiaoye has a fever. He’s in the hospital, crying for you. If it’s inconvenient, I can send someone to pick you up.”
Shen Qingli did not hesitate. “It’s convenient. I’ll drive over.”
She had already flipped out of bed nimbly. While getting dressed, she called him back. “I’ll be there soon.”
She hurriedly put on her coat.
Then she rushed downstairs, windblown and dusty.
She got into the car,
started the engine, and sped away.
Shen Qingli was in such a hurry that she failed to notice that, just as she was driving out of the residential compound, she happened to pass Pei Wendu’s car.
Pei Wendu slammed on the brakes.
He turned his head curiously.
It was so late. Where was Lili going?
After thinking it over again and again,
Pei Wendu turned the car around and followed her.
The hospital.
Shen Qingli pushed open the ward door.
She saw Xiaoli pacing back and forth inside the ward, Xu Xiaoye in his arms.
Xiaoye was still sobbing quietly.
His small body trembled slightly.
He looked utterly pitiful.
Shen Qingli’s heart ached terribly.
She reached out to take the child.
With tears in his eyes, Xiaoye stretched his little hands toward Shen Qingli. The moment he returned to his mother’s embrace, he tightly clung to Shen Qingli’s arm.
With red-rimmed eyes, Shen Qingli held the child and gently patted him.
Surrounded by the familiar scent, Xiaoye soon gave a delicate little yawn and closed his eyes in exhaustion.
Xiaoli watched as Xu Xiaoye miraculously quieted down in Shen Qingli’s arms.
He frowned.
He said softly, “His fever has already gone down. The main problem was that he was looking for you and kept making a fuss. Has he never slept away from home before?”
Shen Qingli answered honestly, “Xiaoye often stays with Old Madam Pei for short periods now, but when he first started staying there, I accompanied him for a week.
“After he became familiar with Old Madam Pei, he was able to put on his little schoolbag and go there with the driver by himself. The longest he’s stayed so far is one week.”
Xiaoli stood up.
The light poured down from above, and the shadow cast by his tall, straight figure on the darker side of the light happened to completely cover Shen Qingli’s slender figure. Xiaoli stood up.
The light fell from above, and the shadow cast by his tall, straight figure on the darker side of the light just happened to firmly conceal Shen Qingli’s slender form.
But not for long.
Xiaoli then walked slowly toward the windowsill.
He stood at the elevated window and gazed into the distance. The lights of countless homes filled his eyes, while farther away, the spotlights on the elevated highway shone like stars.
“Shen Qingli.”
“Huh?”
Holding Xu Xiaoye, Shen Qingli turned around.
Xiaoli asked, “Let Xu Xiaoye follow me during the day, and at night I’ll bring him here to sleep with you so he can gradually get used to it. As a transition period, once he’s adapted to being with me during the day, could you free up a week and stay at my place with Xiaoye for a week?”
Shen Qingli: “…”
There was nothing wrong with the first part.
But what was that second part supposed to mean?
Not to mention that she was still not divorced— even if she were already divorced, as a woman, she could not simply stay at a single man’s house.
Seeing her hesitation, Xiaoli said, “I can pay you.”
Shen Qingli forced herself to say, “Mr. Cheng, this isn’t about money. This…”
A knock suddenly sounded from outside the door.
Shen Qingli’s shoulders trembled.
Her gaze shot straight toward the door.
At the same time,
after the knock faded, Pei Wendu’s tentative voice sounded. “Lili, are you in there?”
Pei Wendu stood outside and knocked on the door for a while.
No sound came from inside.
So Pei Wendu pushed the door open and entered.
The lights in the ward were on. Shen Qingli was lying on her side with her back to him, propping herself up with one arm as the other gently patted Xu Xiaoye. She hummed a broken, indistinct children’s tune under her breath.
“Lili?”
Pei Wendu called softly.
But Shen Qingli did not notice him.
Pei Wendu walked over.
He placed one hand on Shen Qingli’s shoulder, neither too lightly nor too heavily.
Shen Qingli’s shoulder jerked violently. Her body instinctively shrank inward, and she reflexively knocked his arm away. “Who is it?”
Pei Wendu rubbed his numbed arm where she had struck it. “It’s me.”
Shen Qingli focused her eyes.
The instant she saw him,
she hurriedly picked up her hearing aid from the bedside table and put it in her ear. “How did you know Xiaoye was sick?”
Pei Wendu paused.
Only after seeing that she had put in her hearing aid did he speak hoarsely. “When I got home, I found that you weren’t there, so I asked Sister Sun.”
Shen Qingli’s eyes trembled.
Sister Sun?
How had Sister Sun known that she had suddenly gone out?
And how would she have known that she had suddenly gone out because Xiaoye had fallen ill?
Pei Wendu had been following her.
Shen Qingli pressed her lips together. “Xiaoye has a fever, but there’s nothing else wrong. You should go home first.”
Pei Wendu sighed helplessly.
He pulled over the chair beside him.
Sitting at the bedside, he leaned forward slightly and looked up at her at precisely the right angle. “Lili, are you still angry? How about this—I promise you that once I’m less busy, I’ll find Mingyan another place to live and have her move out. All right?”
Shen Qingli gave a mocking smile. “The house is yours, and Song Mingyan is yours… your good younger sister. Isn’t everything still up to you?”
Pei Wendu stared at Shen Qingli for a while.
A look of desolation and loss appeared on his face.
He raised his hand and pinched Shen Qingli’s ear. “Didn’t you say the hearing aid was uncomfortable? We agreed that as long as I was by your side, you didn’t need to wear it. I can use sign language with you. Don’t worry about tiring me out.”
Pei Wendu casually helped Shen Qingli remove it.
Just then,
a faint voice suddenly came from the bathroom.