“Mom, I watered all of the Chrysanthemum morifolium, Margaret, hydrangeas, and poppies. They’re full now.”
Little Mo Dongchen ran up to his mother and proudly reported his work while counting on his fingers. His short denim shorts were soaked, his soft slightly curly hair was messy, and his deer-like eyes were sparkling.
Song Wenxi glanced at the wet leaves along the courtyard wall and made an “OK” gesture.
“Mm, pass.”
She sat up cross-legged. “Chenchen has two choices. One is a ten-yuan reward. The other is… a kiss from Mommy.”
“I want a kiss!” Mo Dongchen answered without hesitation, waving his little hands in excitement, afraid of being too slow.
Too adorable.
Song Wenxi pulled him into her arms and gave him two loud kisses on each cheek. The little boy shyly buried his head into her neck.
Mo Nanqing saw this and got a little anxious. After finishing watering the last pot of succulents, he immediately ran over.
“Mommy, the plants are done drinking water. I… I want kisses too.”
Song Wenxi put Chenchen down on the low couch, picked up Nanqing, and gave him two kisses as well, holding him a little longer before placing him down.
Mo Beiyu had finished pulling weeds and ran over next. His clothes were stained with dirt, and there were smudges on his face.
Song Wenxi wiped his face clean and offered him the same choice.
Mo Beiyu placed his little hands on the couch edge, pursed his lips, and asked carefully, “Mommy… can I have one kiss and five yuan?”
Song Wenxi froze for a moment and looked toward Mo Hanche walking over. He also looked slightly surprised—it didn’t seem like something Mo Hanche had taught him.
She blinked, then smiled brightly at the slightly nervous little boy and picked him up.
“Of course you can, baby.”
She gave him a loud kiss on the cheek, then pulled out a five-yuan note from her bulging wallet and handed it to him.
Mo Beiyu happily held the money and hugged her neck tightly.
“Thank you, Mommy.”
As dusk settled, Aunt Zhao prepared dinner and came out to call them in. Song Wenxi told the three children to wash their hands, and they happily ran inside.
She stood up and stretched.
Mo Hanche walked up to her, his posture relaxed as he looked at her.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t want ten yuan, and I don’t want kisses,” he said. “I want a kiss.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled her into his arms, lowered his head, and kissed her lips.
There was a faint sweetness—like milk tea.
Song Wenxi passed by a flower bed. The section Mo Hanche was responsible for was still full of weeds—clearly unqualified.
Hateful. He actually profited from this.
Because there was no homework, the three children were much more relaxed. After finishing their tasks, they still had plenty of energy.
After washing up, Song Wenxi came downstairs and saw the three little ones sitting on the sofa watching Animal World intently.
She sat down beside them. Mo Dongchen’s eyes were still glued to the TV, but his small body kept inching closer until he ended up sitting on her lap. The other two followed, sitting on her left and right.
“Mommy smells so nice,” Mo Nanqing said, looking up at her with bright eyes.
Song Wenxi turned and quickly kissed his forehead. The little boy was satisfied and returned his attention to the TV.
Mo Hanche stood upstairs by the railing, watching the mother and three children huddled together. A soft warmth rippled in his eyes.
His past life had been chaotic and directionless; the future had always been blurred and uncertain. But at this moment, the life he had once dreamed of had taken shape right in front of him.
He went downstairs, poured a glass of water, and walked to the sofa.
Song Wenxi reached out to take it, but Mo Hanche avoided her hand and instead brought the cup to her lips.
She naturally drank a couple of sips while still watching the credits of the program.
A name in the voice cast list caught her attention.
Hu Bo—four-time Best Actor winner, nationally recognized first-class actor, highly respected senior in the industry, known for his low profile and humility, and deeply loved by audiences.
Among the guest list for the show “Xi Lin Has a House”, Hu Bo was one of the main guests. Securing him was likely the biggest highlight of the program.
Oh right—she was going to start recording the show on Monday.
“Mo Hanche,” Song Wenxi turned to him. “I forgot to tell you—I signed a variety show contract…”
She explained the situation in detail.
The man’s expression remained neutral, but his brows furrowed slightly.
Mo Hanche had heard from Bai Shuo that she was planning to terminate her contract, so he had assumed everything had already been settled.
After a moment of silence, he asked,
“Are you… short on money?”
“Not for now,” Song Wenxi replied, playing with Chenchen’s little hand. “I know three million isn’t much to you. And I also know every cent you earn isn’t easy—that’s a fact. But directly paying three million to fix someone else’s mistake makes me feel like a sucker. Going on the show is just work. Work for pay. That’s fair.”
Mo Hanche’s heart was beating steadily, yet waves of ripples stirred within him. His brows relaxed as he quietly watched the woman playing with the children on the sofa.
It felt as if she had become a completely different person—clear, bright, calm, and resilient.
At that moment, he almost believed she wasn’t acting at all.
Her acting skills were so poor anyway; she probably couldn’t portray a soul this uniquely alive, could she?
Mo Hanche lazily walked behind the sofa, bent down, and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head lightly on her neck and shoulder.
“How long will you be filming?”
Song Wenxi flinched slightly. This man—why did his tone sound so clingy? Did he think he was Mo Chenchen or something?
“Twenty days. Four days of filming, one day of rest. The filming location is a village about 100 kilometers from Nancheng, called Tianxi Village.”
“Mommy, are you going away for work?”
Mo Beiyu had been listening carefully. In the past, his mother often went away, and Aunt Zhao said it was for work trips—long ones.
Back then, when Mommy wasn’t home, he and his brother could secretly watch TV and run around the house. But now… he didn’t want her to leave anymore.
“Mommy, don’t go away,” Mo Nanqing clung tightly to her arm. Mo Dongchen grabbed her clothes and also protested.
In an instant, Song Wenxi was completely surrounded by the father and three children.
The three kids were one thing—but why was Mo Hanche joining in?
Patiently, she explained why adults had to go out to work. But Mo Hanche simply said, “I don’t want to listen,” and immediately the three children followed suit.
“Mo Hanche!”
He let go of her and straightened up, pretending to be serious. Then he said to the children:
“Adults have to work sometimes, and kids have to go to school. Cats and dogs just play all day. So tell me—do you want to be Mommy and Daddy’s children, or do you want to be cats and dogs?”
The three pairs of round eyes blinked in confusion. They clearly didn’t understand what he was saying.
“Alright,” Mo Hanche continued seriously, “so you want to be cats and dogs? Then I’ll build you a cat house and a dog house outside. From now on, you’ll live there. Aunt Zhao will feed you water every day, and you’ll only eat cat food and dog food. No ice cream. No TV…”
Song Wenxi: “……”
He was getting more and more ridiculous.
Mo Beiyu quickly shook his head. “Daddy, we’re children! We need to go to school properly. We only play after finishing homework. We are not cats or dogs.”
Mo Hanche: “Tch. Aren’t you just saying you don’t want school and want to play all day? Being a cat means you can play every day without school.”
Mo Beiyu thought for a moment. “School can be fun sometimes.”
Mo Nanqing: “After homework, I want to play with Mommy.”
Mo Dongchen: “I want to play with Mommy and brother.”
Mo Hanche: “……”
He suddenly realized he was the extra one.
Song Wenxi: headache intensifies.
She patted the three little heads. “Of course you like Mommy. Mommy is just going to work. You’ll go to school, and at night before bed I’ll call you. I really like Xiao Yu, Xiao Qing, and Xiao Chen. Mommy won’t change just because she goes to work, okay?”
The three little dumplings nodded vigorously. One yawned widely, one’s eyelids started drooping, and one rubbed his eyes.
They were sleepy and went upstairs to bed on their own.
Song Wenxi looked at Mo Hanche with a complicated expression. His ridiculous words had somehow helped—during the father-son chaos, she realized something:
The children might not actually misunderstand work or school. They just didn’t want her to leave because they were afraid she would turn back into the cold, distant mother she used to be.
“Song Wenxi.”
“Mm?”
Mo Hanche stepped forward and hugged her.
“You’re fine the way you are now.”
After a pause, he let go slightly.
“Good night.”
Good night—to a new life.
Song Wenxi watched his figure go upstairs and silently repeated those words in her heart.