Her mother still had not come back.
After Wan Wan had slept enough, she became difficult to care for, insisting on being held all the time. But if Su Su held her too long, Zai Zai would become unhappy.
At first, the nanny could help soothe Zai Zai, but later he refused to be comforted by the nanny and insisted that his mother play with him.
Su Su was overwhelmed. Seeing Zai Zai crying made her irritated, and she lost control and snapped at him once. It seemed to scare him, he held back from crying out loud but kept hiccuping with suppressed sobs.
Su Su cursed herself inwardly. She felt bad for scolding him.
After thinking about it, she called Gu Shao.
He picked up almost immediately after one ring. Su Su thought he was probably not very busy.
“Gu Shao, Mom went out for something. I cannot handle the two kids, what should I do?” Su Su asked, her voice a little helpless.
Just from her voice, Gu Shao could imagine how she looked now. A young mother who could barely take care of herself trying to handle two children alone must be flustered. His heart softened, and he instinctively comforted her, “Do not panic. Let the nanny help for now, I will come back.”
“Huh? Will it affect your work if you come back now?”
“It’s fine. Wait for me at home.”
Sometimes when work was busy, he had to fly to several countries and regions in a single day. Fortunately, today was not too hectic. The company had an efficient management system, and he did not need to handle everything personally. After receiving Su Su’s call, he genuinely wanted to go home.
Gu Shao set the documents on his desk aside, called his assistant in, gave a brief rundown of work matters, and said he was heading home, asking to be contacted if anything came up.
“Leaving now?” The assistant was surprised. Since taking on the role, he had never seen Gu Shao leave early. Even when there was nothing urgent, he usually stayed until late.
Gu Shao said calmly, “The kids are making a fuss at home, my wife cannot handle it.”
The assistant, who was older than Gu Shao yet still unmarried, felt a heavy blow. A young, successful CEO with both a son and a daughter, he must be showing off… and in such a subtle way too. Tonight, he decided to call his mother and agree to the blind date she had arranged.
Gu Shao drove home. A route that usually took thirty minutes felt like it had been cut in half.
In the three years of marriage, he rarely went home early. It was not that he did not want to, but thinking of the situation at home, he had felt more at ease staying in the office.
But recently, he found himself thinking about her more and more. When he had nothing to do, he would pick up his phone to check. If he did not see any messages from her, he would even feel a sense of loss.
He had also followed her Weibo. Her most recent post was very different from before. Her old selfies always carried a sense of dullness and decay, unlike the fresh and bright post from yesterday. He had not expected her to be so good at hand drawing either, every stroke reflecting a delicate affection for the children.
This was the kind of wife he had wanted.
A smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of Gu Shao’s lips, softening his usually expressionless handsome face.
…
As soon as he entered, he heard a child crying, along with a gentle female voice soothing them.
It was Zai Zai and Su Su.
When Su Su heard the door, she saw Gu Shao appear at the corner. His figure was tall and slender, his coat draped over his arm, the top buttons of his collar undone, giving him a casual yet refined elegance, handsome and restrained.
Even after spending some time together, seeing him under normal circumstances still made her heart flutter uncontrollably.
By normal circumstances, she meant outside of the bedroom. Because Gu Shao came home late and left early, most of the time they spent together was in bed.
At other times, her mother and the children were around. In those situations, they rarely even looked at each other, either talking with her mother or tending to the children. Yet even then, when their gazes accidentally met, Su Su would still feel that dangerous and tempting sensation.
In her previous life, she had hardly encountered someone like Gu Shao.
She was somewhat of a homebody, with a small social circle. In college, she had met a few attractive men, especially in the art department where the boys took care of their appearance. Unfortunately, she did not enjoy going out, and by the time she wanted to, they were already taken.
After starting work, she joined a small studio with only one male colleague, who was about the same height as her.
So someone like Gu Shao had only existed in her imagination. That aesthetically pleasing face, perfect proportions, and vivid physical presence constantly fueled her inspiration. She wanted to capture him on paper with bold, striking strokes, defined muscles, sweat, even making viewers feel as if they could hear breathing from her drawings…
She suppressed the surge of passion in her eyes, turned Zai Zai’s small body slightly, and said, “Gu Zai, stop crying, your dad is back.”
“Dad.” Zai Zai called out, his tone slightly off, both words pronounced with a third tone, making it extremely cute. But right now, with his pouting lips and red eyes, he looked both aggrieved and pitiful.
Gu Shao could not help but laugh at the sight. He set his coat on a hanging chair and bent down to pick him up.
He handled the child much more easily than Su Su. His large hand supported Zai Zai under the arms. His fingers were long, and Zai Zai’s body was small, almost fitting entirely within his grasp. Without much effort, he lifted Gu Zai and set him on his shoulders.
Su Su frowned, “Do not do that, his body is not strong yet.”
“It’s fine, I am holding him.”
The little crybaby Zai Zai immediately stopped crying once he sat on his father’s shoulders, and soon asked to be tossed into the air.
Seeing them getting carried away, Su Su left them alone.
In the evening, Qu Qingwei called and asked how the children were.
Su Su told her that she had called Gu Shao back. She had expected Qu Qingwei to scold her for being inconsiderate and interrupting his work, but instead she simply said, “That’s fine. You two can make something to eat. I will not be coming back for dinner.”
Since arriving here, Su Su had never seen Qu Qingwei skip dinner at home, so she felt a little worried, “Mom, did something happen?”
Qu Qingwei refused to elaborate.
Su Su could only sigh, “Alright, if anything happens, you must tell me. Even if I cannot help,” she glanced at Gu Shao and lowered her voice, “there is still Gu Shao, right?”
Perhaps in the original owner’s eyes, she and her parents were one family, while Gu Shao felt more like an outsider. Even the children who carried his blood seemed to belong only to him. But to the current Su Su, Gu Shao was the closest person to her.
They had shared such intimate, zero-distance contact, a closeness that even her mother could not compare to.
Qu Qingwei said it was nothing and hung up.
Su Su put the sleeping Wan Wan on the bed and went to another room to find Gu Shao and Zai Zai. Zai Zai was sitting between Gu Shao’s crossed legs while Gu Shao used an electronic toy to teach him how to speak.
From where Su Su stood, she could only see Gu Shao’s back and Zai Zai’s little feet sticking out.
She covered her mouth and laughed softly, a hint of mischief flashing in her eyes. She tiptoed behind Gu Shao, knelt down, and leaned onto his back, playfully getting close and gently blowing on his ear.
Gu Shao immediately grabbed the hand she had reached forward and leaned back slightly, brushing against her soft, full curves.
He quickly straightened again and turned to look at her.
Su Su had not yet stopped lactating, so that area was sensitive. Gu Shao was usually very careful about it.
Leaning on his shoulder, Su Su whispered, “It’s okay.”
She tapped Zai Zai’s head in front of him, “Zai Zai, Mommy will play with you. Let Daddy go cook.”
Gu Shao did not say anything, but Gu Zai puffed up angrily. He climbed up, stepping on his father’s legs, pressing his body against his father’s chest, and pushed Su Su away, saying fiercely, “Go, go,” as if he did not want her leaning on his father’s shoulder.
Gu Shao was afraid he might lose his balance, so he wrapped an arm around him, smiling.
Su Su felt annoyed, “You want me to go? You ungrateful little thing, I am not leaving!”
Gu Zai stomped his feet, babbling loudly.
Su Su quietly asked Gu Shao, “Does it hurt when he steps on you?” After all, he was nearly thirty pounds of solid weight, jumping like that on his legs must hurt.
Gu Shao shook his head and said it was fine. He lifted Gu Zai aside, stood up, and said, “What do you want to eat? I will make it for you.”
“It is evening, just make something simple.”
Although she could cook, if someone else was willing to do it, she naturally preferred to be lazy.
But Gu Zai seemed genuinely upset. He followed Gu Shao like a little tail, completely ignoring Su Su’s attempts to please him.
Maybe it was because his father did not spend much time playing with him, so he wanted to cling to him more.
Worried that Gu Zai might interfere, Su Su went to the kitchen to stay with them.
…
When Qu Qingwei returned, Gu Shao and Su Su had just finished eating. Su Su caught the faint smell of disinfectant from a hospital on her, and seeing her tired expression, chose not to ask what had happened.
She told her to rest well.
That night, she and Gu Shao stayed to accompany Gu Zai.
Wan Wan was quite demanding at night, so an experienced nanny usually took care of her.
Gu Zai was much easier, only needing one feeding in the middle of the night.
Back in the room, Su Su let Gu Shao watch over Gu Zai while she went to freshen up. After she finished, it was Gu Shao’s turn.
Su Su hesitated for a moment, then decided to call Su Yi.
No one answered. She called again, still no answer, so she gave up.
She lay on the bed, holding Gu Zai and playing with him.
When Gu Shao came out, he saw Su Su holding their son. It seemed the two of them had made up.
After coaxing Gu Zai to sleep, Gu Shao lay down holding Su Su, his hands habitually roaming over her body. Su Su both liked it and…
She pushed him lightly and started talking about what had happened that day.
“Today Ning Ke brought Bai Ningyue to our house.”
“Mm, Bai Xinyan’s wife and child.” Gu Shao clearly remembered Bai Xinyan.
Su Su recalled the “incident” from last night caused by Bai Xinyan and, feeling embarrassed and annoyed, bit Gu Shao’s arm before continuing, “Your little princess likes that handsome boy. She let him kiss her but would not let Zai Zai kiss her.”
Su Su heard Gu Shao respond with a calm “mm” and thought he did not care, but then noticed his hand at her waist pressing a little harder.
Such a man who says one thing but feels another.