Chi Wei's attitude toward Qiao Mingfei once again drew Yan Jingheng's displeasure, but given that today's incident was his fault regarding Zhi Lang, he said nothing further.
Chi Wei and Yan Jingheng had slept in separate rooms for years.
Ever since she gave birth to Zhi Lang, the doctor had said her health was compromised and advised her not to share a room with Yan Jingheng.
Yan Jingheng had said he feared he might unintentionally harm her, and from then on, he moved out of the master bedroom.
In the past, Chi Wei had been touched by Yan Jingheng's thoughtfulness.
Now, she felt the same.
Regardless of his reasons for moving out of the master bedroom at the time, at least for their current state of being together in name only, not having to share a room at night did save a lot of trouble.
That morning, Chi Wei made a point of waking up early. As she was taking Zhi Lang out, Qiao Mingfei and her daughter had not yet gotten up, but she happened to run into Yan Jingheng coming downstairs.
Yan Jingheng glanced at the empty dining table and stopped Chi Wei, who was about to leave. "You didn't make breakfast today?"
"I'm taking Zhi Lang out to eat. If you're not in a hurry, you can wait for Aunt Liu to start work," Chi Wei replied casually.
Sometimes, when Yan Jingheng left early in the morning before Aunt Liu arrived, it was Chi Wei who got up to make him breakfast.
Chi Wei's sleep quality was poor; even the slightest noise in the living room would wake her.
Over the years, no matter how early Yan Jingheng woke up, she had never missed making him breakfast.
But now, even though Yan Jingheng had brought it up himself, Chi Wei had brushed it off and refused. This was the first time.
Watching Chi Wei lead Zhi Lang out, Yan Jingheng frowned deeply, a faint sense of irritation rising in his heart, though he quickly suppressed it.
Perhaps he really had been neglecting Chi Wei, which was why…
"Jingheng, are you heading out? You can't skip breakfast. Wait a moment, I'll go fry an egg for you." Qiao Mingfei had also heard the commotion and emerged from her room, heading toward the kitchen.
Yan Jingheng stopped her. "No need to trouble yourself, Sister Fei. It's still early—go back to sleep for a while longer."
The conversation inside the house reached Chi Wei's ears with perfect clarity.
Hearing her own husband speak with such unusual consideration for the nanny, Chi Wei paused for a moment, a self-mocking smile curling at the corner of her lips.
In a man's heart, the distinction between what mattered and what didn't was already clear.
He could order his wife to make breakfast, yet tell the nanny to sleep in. The facts were laid bare before her, and there was nothing left for her to cling to.
As the car started, Chi Wei took Zhi Lang directly to the restaurant where she had arranged to meet Ruan Yichun.
Ruan Yichun had already ordered a few dishes. Once Chi Wei was seated, she couldn't wait to ask, "What was that about on the phone yesterday? Why do you suddenly want to move out? Is your husband okay with that?"
Chi Wei had gotten engaged to Yan Jingheng even before graduating, and they married in haste right after. Back then, many of their classmates envied Chi Wei's good fortune—she had found a wealthy heir as a husband, and he adored her deeply.
Years later, financial news pages still featured interviews with Chi Wei and Yan Jingheng together.
Even those outside their social circle knew that Chi Wei and Yan Jingheng were like honey and oil, perfectly blended.
Now, with Chi Wei suddenly mentioning moving out of their marital home, as her close friend, Ruan Yichun was naturally surprised.
Chi Wei glanced at Zhi Lang before lowering her voice and briefly explaining the recent events to Ruan Yichun: "Anyway, Zhi Lang and that child don't get along. I'm thinking of moving out first, at least to let Zhi Lang relax a bit."
"Alright, I'll keep an eye out for housing options for you. If you need anything in the future, don't hesitate to ask," Ruan Yichun said.
Even though Chi Wei hadn't explicitly stated it, based on Ruan Yichun's understanding of her, the decision to move out already indicated she had given up on this marital relationship.
Divorce was likely just a matter of time.
But since Chi Wei hadn't brought it up, Ruan Yichun felt it wasn't her place to offer comfort.
Chi Wei said, "Speaking of help, there is something I'd like to trouble you with. A while ago, Zhi Lang picked out a puppy from the kennel. As you know, I've never raised pets before, so I'd appreciate it if you could explain the precautions to him properly."
During university, Ruan Yichun, like Chi Wei, studied design. After graduation, driven by her love for animals, she self-studied veterinary medicine and now keeps many cats and dogs at home.
As for the design skills she learned in her major, she now uses them to design pet clothing and accessories, running an online store with consistently good sales.
"That's no trouble at all. It's inconvenient for you to take Zhi Lang to work, so why not let him stay with me during the day for now? I'll give him a thorough introduction to pet care," Ruan Yichun suggested.
Before Chi Wei could respond, Zhi Lang eagerly agreed: "Mom, please let me go with Auntie Ruan. I promise to study hard and take good care of Snowball myself."
Snowball was the name he had given to the West Highland White Terrier.
Lately, Zhi Lang had been eagerly looking forward to bringing the puppy home.
Seeing how enthusiastic he was about this, Chi Wei didn't object.
If this could help Zhi Lang forget his worries at home, it would naturally be a great thing for her.
In the following days, Chi Wei dropped Zhi Lang off at Ruan Yichun's place in the mornings. After work, she would go with Ruan Yichun to look at houses.
However, after viewing several places, none seemed quite right.
Then, she received a call from the kennel owner.
Snowball's vaccinations were complete, and he was ready to be brought home.
Upon hearing this news, Zhi Lang was thrilled.
That evening, he dragged Chi Wei out to buy a dog bed, dog food, and a pile of toys for the puppy.
Over the past few days, Zhi Lang had been leaving early and returning late with Chi Wei, so he hadn't crossed paths with Qiao Shiyue.
This time, they returned a bit earlier than usual and happened to see Qiao Shiyue in the living room.
As soon as she spotted Zhi Lang, she cheerfully ran over: "Brother Lang, what are you holding? Are you getting a puppy?"
In high spirits today, Zhi Lang didn't avoid her: "Yes, Mom bought me a puppy. We can bring him home tomorrow."
"Really? I love puppies too, but my mom won't let me have one. She says—"
"Yueyue, don't talk nonsense in front of the young master.
This is the young master's home. If he wants to raise a dog, he can. It has nothing to do with you." Before Qiao Shiyue could finish, Qiao Mingfei interrupted.
She walked over, pulling Qiao Shiyue behind her, and then looked apologetically at Chi Wei: "Madam, I'm sorry. Yueyue just talks too much. I'll take her aside to play so she won't disturb you and the young master."
Over the past few days, Chi Wei and Qiao Mingfei had hardly crossed paths, making this their first conversation in quite some time.
Chi Wei felt that Qiao Mingfei seemed much more polite than usual.
But she didn’t dwell on it too much, simply attributing it to changes Qiao Mingfei was making to secure her place in this household.
To accompany Zhi Lang to pick up the dog, Chi Wei took a day off the following day.
Finally holding his own puppy, Zhi Lang couldn’t stop smiling even at the kennel. It had been a long time since Chi Wei had seen Zhi Lang so happy, so she immediately took many photos of him.
By the time they returned home, Zhi Lang still hadn’t come down from the excitement, calling for his little dog wherever he went.
Snowball had always been the most affectionate in that litter, and with the kennel owner’s special training, it was clever enough to come trotting over, wagging its head and tail, whenever Zhi Lang called.
This was likely the happiest day Zhi Lang had experienced since Qiao Mingfei and her daughter moved in.
Yet this joy came to an abrupt end that very evening.
During dinner, for some reason, Qiao Shiyue broke out in red rashes on her hands and face.
Yan Jingheng noticed immediately and asked about it right at the dinner table. Qiao Mingfei, meanwhile, carefully tugged at Qiao Shiyue’s sleeves, trying to cover the rashes, but to no avail.
Yan Jingheng promptly called the family doctor. After the diagnosis, it was determined to be an allergy to dog fur.
In just a short delay, the rashes had already spread to Qiao Shiyue’s face. She gradually began to cough, her small face flushed red, looking quite pitiful.
Snowball was still rubbing against Zhi Lang’s feet.
Yan Jingheng’s face was already tinged with anger. “Yueyue is allergic to dog fur. Who gave you permission to bring this thing home? Hurry up and get it out of here!”
“No, don’t touch my Snowball!” Zhi Lang slid off his chair, clutching the puppy tightly in his arms, and stared nervously at Yan Jingheng.
Yan Jingheng’s tone grew much sterner. “Yan Zhilang, don’t be unreasonable. Do you know that a dog fur allergy can be life-threatening in severe cases?
Look at Yueyue’s face—it’s already covered in rashes. Do you really think a mere animal is more important than Yueyue?
Be good and send it away immediately.”
“No! It’s my Snowball, my most important Snowball. No one can take my Snowball away!” Zhi Lang held onto Snowball tightly, his eyes even reddening as he was on the verge of tears from the injustice.
This was supposed to be his home.
It was bad enough that a crybaby had inexplicably taken over.
Now his own father wanted to send away the puppy he had just brought home, all for the sake of that crybaby.
Such a stark contrast was naturally unbearable for Zhi Lang, filling his heart with immense grievance.
Unable to reason with Zhi Lang, Yan Jingheng turned his gaze to Chi Wei. “You’ve seen Yueyue’s condition. Are you just going to let him be this unreasonable?
Hurry up and talk some sense into him. Make him send that dog away.”
He didn’t spare another glance at Zhi Lang, and his tone carried a clear note of disdain, as if Qiao Shiyue were his own biological daughter.
Chi Wei let out a cold laugh, shielding Zhi Lang behind her. “Why should I?”
Yan Jingheng stiffened, finding Chi Wei’s tone utterly unreasonable, yet he still choked out, “Yueyue is allergic because of this dog. Can’t you see that?
Is an animal really more important than Yueyue’s health?”
"You always indulge him, giving in to his every whim, but this is a dog! When you brought this thing home, didn't you think to ask first whether this household could keep it?"
His angry words were punctuated by Qiao Shiyue's coughing.
Just like that, all the blame was casually shifted onto Chi Wei.
Chi Wei cast a cold gaze toward Qiao Mingfei, who was comfortably keeping herself out of the spotlight, and couldn't help but let out a scornful laugh.