“We’ll call your grandma’s house.”
Jiang Banyue had just bought a telephone and installed it on the counter. She tried dialing out.
Shen Yunhe stood beside her, holding the three babies.
The phone rang. It was answered on the other end.
“Hello? Who is this?”
Jiang Banyue chuckled softly and placed the receiver near the babies.
“Baby, it’s Grandma! Say something to Grandma!”
The second and third babies immediately started babbling excitedly, grabbing at the phone.
On the other end, Jiang’s mother heard the familiar baby voices and burst into joyful laughter.
“Oh! My precious grandchildren! You’ve got a phone installed at the shop now?”
“Ahhh—ahhh—”
The two babies drooled all over the receiver, trying to shove it into their mouths. The eldest turned away in disgust.
Jiang Banyue quickly wiped their mouths with a soft cloth, then cleaned the phone receiver before speaking again.
“Mom, I’ve installed a telephone now. If anything happens, we can just call.”
“That’s wonderful! Much more convenient now!” Jiang’s mother said happily.
“Mom, write down the number. It’s 0735—1314521.”
“Got it!” Jiang’s mother carefully wrote it down.
Shen Yunhe also silently memorized the number.
The longer he stayed here, the less he wanted to leave. His leave would end in two days—after that, who knew when he could see them again.
The children were too young to travel to him.
And Jiang Banyue… she would never come to him. She clearly wanted him as far away as possible.
He sighed quietly and hugged the baby tighter.
This road of winning her back… was long.
He didn’t know whether he could succeed before the children grew up and got married.
Just then, a bright child’s voice came from outside.
“I’m here to play with the little brothers and sisters!”
Little Zhao Jiao Jiao bounced into the shop happily, with Gu Qingci following behind at a slow, calm pace, a faint smile on his lips.
The second and third babies immediately recognized her and reached out excitedly.
Shen Yunhe’s gaze locked onto Gu Qingci.
His breathing stopped for a moment.
He remembered clearly—the last time he saw this man, it was through the car window.
That man had been holding his child, standing beside his woman, looking like the head of the house.
And he himself… hadn’t even had the right to be angry.
Jealousy gnawed at his chest like insects eating away at him.
He forced himself to swallow it down.
Gu Qingci noticed him too.
A stranger holding three babies… and a face that looked too similar to the children’s.
It was obvious.
This was their father.
The man Jiang Banyue had divorced.
Gu Qingci nodded politely.
“Hello.”
Shen Yunhe swallowed the bitterness in his throat and nodded back, pretending calm.
The little girl approached him.
“Uncle, can I play with the babies?”
He nodded absentmindedly and carried the children to the carpet.
Meanwhile, Jiang Banyue took out a design sketch and discussed it with Gu Qingci.
Shen Yunhe turned his head.
They were sitting very close.
She lowered her head while speaking. The man looked at her with a faint smile—gentle, attentive, almost indulgent.
Something inside him tightened violently.
His eyes darkened as he stared, barely restraining the urge to walk over and separate them.
His lips trembled.
He forced himself to look away.
He couldn’t watch.
He was afraid he would lose control.
The children laughed on the carpet, but he could no longer hear them.
All he could hear was her soft, pleasant laughter… and the man’s low, quiet chuckle.
What were they talking about?
Why were they so happy?
He tried to focus, forcing his mind to listen.
“You know how to design qipaos?”
“Yes.”
“My mother has an important banquet coming up. She can’t find a suitable outfit. Could you design a qipao for her?”
“Sure. I’ll visit her when I have time and see what suits her best.”
“Alright. I’ll tell her.”
Shen Yunhe’s vision went black for a moment.
Meet the elders?
What next—planning marriage?
His chest felt like it was being cut open with a dull knife, again and again.
Blood and pain surged in his throat.
It hurt.
It really hurt.