Yan Jingheng returned the next morning.
He was alone; Qiao Mingfei and her daughter were still at the hospital.
As soon as he got back, he summoned all the household staff and ordered them to thoroughly clean the villa.
The commotion was immense, with most of the furniture in the living room moved outside.
The entire villa was engulfed in noise.
Chi Wei had been upstairs with Zhi Lang, reading a book, but the loud disturbance made it impossible to concentrate. When she pushed the door open and stepped out, Yan Jingheng was still lecturing a few of the servants.
"What's going on?" Chi Wei asked.
Yan Jingheng replied, "Yueyue fell ill. The doctor said it's a mild allergy, likely related to dust. This house hasn't been thoroughly cleaned in a long time, so I thought it would be a good opportunity while Yueyue is in the hospital to have it properly tidied up."
By "thoroughly cleaned," he meant moving all the furniture outside.
After briefly responding to Chi Wei, he turned his attention back to the servants, instructing them to pay attention to every nook and cranny. He seemed so invested that he might as well have done it himself. Even when Yan Zhilang called out "Dad" from behind, he didn't seem to hear.
Watching this scene, Chi Wei couldn't help but feel it was absurd.
Both children had been hospitalized. When Zhi Lang had a mild concussion, Yan Jingheng had merely gone to the hospital to say a few words to him.
But when Qiao Shiyue sneezed twice, he had stayed by her side all night at the hospital, and even after returning home, he couldn't rest for a moment.
He could spot dust in the corners, yet he couldn't see the bandage still wrapped around Zhi Lang's forehead.
Since Zhi Lang returned from the hospital, Chi Wei hadn't heard him express even the slightest concern about the boy's injury.
Just as Chi Wei was about to say something, Yan Jingheng turned to her: "Wei Wei, Yueyue isn't feeling well after the IV drip. Sister Fei isn't comfortable with her eating food from outside. Could you make some porridge for her? Go easy on the sugar. I'll take it to her later."
Chi Wei finally couldn't hold back any longer. "Jingheng, don't you think you're being overly attentive to Shiyue? Even…"
She wanted to remind him that his concern for Qiao Shiyue had surpassed his care for Zhi Lang.
Before she could finish, Yan Jingheng interrupted her: "Wei Wei, are you upset?
I remember telling you that Sister Fei used to take care of me the same way.
She's going through a tough time right now. Yueyue still hasn't adjusted to her father's passing, so I need to be more attentive."
At this point, Yan Jingheng sighed and finally looked at Zhi Lang. "I know Zhi Lang has been neglected these past few days. I promise you, once Yueyue is discharged, I'll take Zhi Lang to the amusement park."
He added, "Just Zhi Lang."
Yan Zhilang was standing nearby. Hearing about the amusement park, his head, which had drooped from Yan Jingheng's neglect, suddenly lifted. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Yan Jingheng. "Really, Dad? You'll really take me to the amusement park?"
Yan Jingheng solemnly promised.
Seeing how happy Zhi Lang was, Chi Wei ultimately didn't continue the earlier conversation.
Instead, she called Zhi Lang aside to change his bandage.
Qiao Mingfei and her daughter returned a day later, brought home personally by Yan Jingheng.
As soon as they entered, Qiao Mingfei pulled Qiao Shiyue forward to apologize: "Madam, I never expected Yueyue to fall ill. I'm truly sorry for taking up your and Jingheng's time."
"As long as she's fine now," Chi Wei replied, her voice unintentionally stiff despite Qiao Mingfei's polite demeanor.
Soul-searching, Qiao Mingfei had indeed never overstepped any boundaries in front of her. She was always excessively polite, even apologizing immediately for minor things that Chi Wei hadn't even noticed.
In Chi Wei's presence, she always kept her posture low and maintained a respectful attitude, yet Chi Wei simply couldn't bring herself to like her.
Seeing Qiao Mingfei's cautious demeanor, Chi Wei still expressed concern: "Why didn't you mention Qiao Shiyue's dust allergy earlier? I could have had the servants pay attention in advance, and this wouldn't have happened."
Actually, Chi Wei found it somewhat strange.
The cleanliness at Jiahe Jingting was always meticulously maintained by the servants.
Qiao Shiyue had been living here for some time, and no such incidents had occurred before.
Qiao Mingfei said: "It was probably just a coincidence. If not for this incident, I wouldn't have known Yueyue had this issue either.
You know, Madam, children from poor families aren't that delicate. I never paid much attention to these things before."
Seeing that she genuinely hadn't known, Chi Wei didn't dwell on it further.
To celebrate Qiao Shiyue's discharge from the hospital, Yan Jingheng specifically had his assistant send over a pile of clothes and bags for a little girl. Chi Wei glanced briefly—these items added up to roughly six figures.
According to Yan Jingheng's intention, he wanted to compensate for the kindness Qiao Mingfei had shown him in her childhood by giving it to Qiao Shiyue.
He wanted to repay a debt of gratitude, so Chi Wei couldn't say much.
However, after seeing him give Qiao Shiyue so many gifts, Zhi Lang couldn't help but tug at his sleeve and ask eagerly: "Dad, since Yueyue is out of the hospital, can we go to the amusement park now?"
Ever since Yan Jingheng had promised him, he had been thinking about it almost every moment.
Every weekend, other kids at kindergarten would go out to play with their parents and take lots of beautiful photos.
But his dad had never taken him out to play.
Every time they went out, only his mom accompanied him.
This was the first time his dad had agreed to take him out, so Zhi Lang cared deeply about it.
Qiao Shiyue looked up at that moment, her big watery eyes fixed on Yan Jingheng: "Uncle, are you taking Brother Lang to the amusement park?
Yueyue has never been to an amusement park either. Can Yueyue come along?"
The little girl had just been discharged from the hospital and still looked a bit pale. Yan Jingheng didn't refuse immediately, seeming to hesitate.
Yan Zhilang declared righteously: "No, Dad promised—this time, he's only taking me. Don't even think about it."
Qiao Shiyue's eyes immediately reddened, looking quite aggrieved, but she still tugged at Yan Jingheng's sleeve: "Really? Uncle, can Yueyue really not come along?
Yueyue will be good, Yueyue…"
"No, this time Dad is only taking me." Yan Zhilang refused again, his tone even firmer than before.
Tears immediately welled up in Qiao Shiyue's eyes.
Yan Jingheng glanced toward Chi Wei, frowning slightly, but he didn't comfort Qiao Shiyue. It was Qiao Mingfei who scolded: "Yueyue, don't be unreasonable. Don't upset Madam and the young master."
Qiao Shiyue was dragged upstairs by Qiao Mingfei. Even after a while, her crying seemed to linger in the living room.
Yan Jingheng reached out and adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses: "Take the afternoon off tomorrow. We'll go to the amusement park together."
Hearing that he had kept his promise this time, Chi Wei's doubts dissipated considerably. She went straight upstairs to pack the things Zhi Lang would need for tomorrow.