That night, Su Su and Gu Shao carried Zai Zai back to the bedroom.
Gu Shao, dressed in home clothes, sat on the bed watching Zai Zai crawl around, keeping an eye on him so he wouldn’t fall off.
Su Su propped herself up on her elbows, lying on the bed, calling out, “Zai Zai, come here.”
Gu Shao picked him up from the edge of the bed and placed him in the middle. Gu Zai grabbed his father’s hand, stood up, and tried to walk outward with his help.
Gu Shao laughed and pushed him back down.
The little guy persistently stood up again and tried to walk.
Gu Shao pushed him down again.
Zai Zai found it fun, laughing as he got back up, standing in front of Gu Shao waiting for him to push him again.
Gu Shao was speechless.
After playing with him for a while, he picked the little boy up, rubbed his head, and laughed, “Silly.”
Once Zai Zai calmed down, Su Su asked, “Did Mommy scold you today?”
Zai Zai puffed his cheeks and shook his head.
“Really?”
Zai Zai became unhappy, stood up facing his father, grabbed his father’s collar, stepping around restlessly, and said in a baby voice, “Hug, hug, Daddy.”
Gu Shao asked, “Was Zai Zai naughty?”
Zai Zai said, “Hug, go.”
Gu Shao supported his little body and said, “If Zai Zai is naughty, Daddy won’t hug.”
“Hug!” Zai Zai shouted.
Gu Shao resisted the urge to give him a smack and asked Su Su what had happened.
Su Su said, “Bossy, bad temper, needs discipline.” Maybe it wasn’t that serious, but Su Su tended to focus on his shortcomings.
Gu Shao said, “Don’t worry, he’s still young. He’ll improve as he grows.” Then he lowered his head and said to Zai Zai, “When Daddy isn’t around, you must not make Mommy angry. You should grow up to be a good big brother who loves his sister, okay?”
Zai Zai babbled something in response, unclear what he meant.
Su Su tugged at his little shirt. “Zai Zai, tell Daddy how Mommy scolded you.”
Earlier, in front of Qu Qingwei, Zai Zai had imitated how his mother scolded him. No one knew where he got such mischievous ideas. He had grabbed Qu Qingwei’s pant leg, pointed at Su Su, and babbled angrily with a fierce little expression. It made Su Su want to hit him, but she held back.
Su Su said, “Show Daddy too.” She wanted Gu Shao to see how clever her little rascal could be, even if that cleverness was a bit misplaced.
But Zai Zai refused to imitate it now, just clinging to his father and asking for hugs.
Su Su watched for a while and snorted, feeling a little annoyed.
She would not admit that she felt a bit jealous, because she also wanted a hug.
In the end, she turned over and lay under the blanket with her back to them.
The blanket was soft, cool and smooth against her skin, which made her feel a bit better.
She took out her phone and opened her unread messages. There was Gu Shao’s reply from the afternoon, “Zai Zai is ugly, Mommy is pretty.”
She snorted, then sat up again and saw Gu Shao still playing with Zai Zai.
Her eyes shifted, and she crawled over to him, wrapping herself around him.
Leaning close to his ear, she whispered, “Take Zai Zai to Mommy, Gu Shao.”
Gu Shao looked at her quietly for a moment, then said, “Alright.”
After speaking, he stood up, picked up Zai Zai, and walked out. “Let’s go find Grandma.”
Watching them leave, Su Su felt much happier. She smiled and slipped back under the blanket, waiting obediently for Gu Shao to return.
Even though she felt a little sorry for her mother, she figured her mother wouldn’t blame her.
She lay flat, relaxed.
Hearing the door open, she didn’t look up. Soon after, Gu Shao climbed onto the bed from the other side.
Before he could steady himself, Su Su suddenly pounced on him, catching him off guard and pushing him down, her soft body pressing against his.
His hand instinctively held her, feeling her warmth and softness.
Gu Shao pulled her closer, his gaze deepening. He was very fond of her, just one look at her was enough to stir something in him.
He held her with one arm while supporting himself with the other on the bed.
“What is it?” he asked softly, his chin brushing against her hair.
Su Su shook her head. He carried his own familiar scent, mixed with a faint milky smell from Zai Zai.
“You were playing with Zai Zai the whole time,” Su Su complained, lying on his chest and listening to his heartbeat, holding onto him without letting go.
Gu Shao laughed softly. “Are you jealous of your own son?” She could feel the vibration of his chest as he spoke.
Being teased made Su Su a little embarrassed and annoyed, and she pinched his waist.
Gu Shao caught her restless hand. “In a moment, I’ll just stay with you.”
…
Su Su felt warmth spread through her body, even her palms were warm. “I just want a hug.”
“Just a hug?” Gu Shao asked.
Su Su nodded. The feeling of being close like this was comfortable, both physically and emotionally satisfying, without needing anything more intense.
Gu Shao said helplessly, “But this is hard for me.” He was already struggling to restrain himself.
As he tried to move, Su Su pressed him down. “People say love is restraint. Does that mean you don’t love me?”
Gu Shao fell silent.
Was she trying to torment him? It seemed he wouldn’t have an easy night.
Su Su said, “How long has it been since we had a proper conversation? Isn’t it nice to just lie under the covers and talk?”
Gu Shao made one last attempt. “How about we talk after I take care of things?”
Su Su leaned on his shoulder and bit him hard.
After a while, Gu Shao finally gave up.
“Are you really this idle every day, thinking about improper things all the time?” Su Su said.
Gu Shao replied seriously, “Of course not. It’s just that with more stress, there are more needs.”
Su Su thought, what a shameless man.
She looked at him. That face never grew tiresome to look at. He always appeared steady and confident, and now in the prime of his life, he must be very attractive.
In the book, after their divorce, how did he end up with someone else?
And why did they divorce in the first place?
Did he get involved with someone else before or after the divorce?
Although they had only been together for a short time, she was greedy and possessive. She wanted Gu Shao to always remain as he was now, to be hers.
Su Su touched the bite mark she had just left on him. It was only playful, though she had used some force, it hadn’t broken the skin. “Does it hurt?” she asked.
Gu Shao shook his head.
Su Su murmured, “Then should I leave a mark on you?”
Pretending not to understand, Gu Shao asked, “How?”
Su Su had originally planned to bite him again, but suddenly had an idea. Her hand moved to his lower abdomen. “Get a tattoo, six words, ‘Su Su was here.’”
Gu Shao tightened his arms around her, lowered his head, and buried his face in Su Su’s soft hair. “Don’t tease me anymore, or I’ll change my mind.”
He was already restraining himself for her, if she kept provoking him, she would have to bear the consequences.
Su Su: “…Alright, I’ll let you off this time.”
…
Although being clung to by Su Su felt wonderful, they couldn’t just sit there the whole time. Gu Shao lay down with her in his arms, carefully making sure not to press on her upper body or hurt her.
Su Su liked turning her back to him, letting him hold her from behind, pulling his hand in front of her to play with it.
Once things settled, even simple conversation could be interesting. Gu Shao knew a lot, whatever she asked, he could answer, often with his own insights.
Talking with him felt like listening to stories, both international and domestic, about intelligent people and remarkable events. It was not limited to his own field. His interests were broad, covering many areas, greatly expanding Su Su’s perspective.
Compared to that, aside from her love for comics, the world felt vast, while she seemed confined to a small corner.
Su Su probed, “With such a rich world outside, the temptations must be great, right?”
“There are many aspects. People like Bai Xinyan are more aggressive, willing to take big risks for big gains. What’s remarkable is that he hasn’t failed so far. I’m speaking in general terms.”
Gu Shao was driven by interest. Some of his own bold decisions had also come from following his curiosity, unable to suppress that inner urge.
It wasn’t that he had never suffered losses. His father and father-in-law had both lectured him, but they also felt that while he was young, being bold and unrestrained had its merits.
Seeing that he didn’t catch the implication in her question, Su Su chose not to press further.
At least for now, she didn’t need to worry. Whether someone was sincere could be seen.
And now, she felt attached to Gu Shao.
She wanted to stay by his side, chat with him, tease him, play around with him, it would surely be fun.
Su Su sighed, turned around, wrapped her arms around his waist, and looked up at him, speaking in a soft, clingy tone, “Gu Shao, it would be nice if we could always stay together. Even though I want to be a good mother at home, but…”
But she also wanted to stay close to him.
One part came from responsibility, wanting the children to have a better life.
The other came from her own willfulness, and that was what she truly wanted.
Gu Shao chuckled softly. “But if you stayed with me, you’d get tired of it in less than a day.”
Su Su shook her head. “I wouldn’t.”
“When I’m busy, I won’t be able to take care of you. Most of the time, you’d probably just be left alone in the office playing with your phone.”
“But when you’re in the office, I’d still be able to see you.”
Gu Shao only smiled and said nothing.
Imagining that scene, Su Su asked, “Can I sit on your lap while you work?”
Gu Shao paused. “…Then I probably wouldn’t be able to work.”
Su Su held back her laughter and said nothing more, slowly drifting off to sleep.
But Gu Shao didn’t fall asleep.
He didn’t know what had prompted Su Su to say she wanted to stay with him, nor why she had suddenly grown closer to him. This was a scene he had imagined many times. Afraid of breaking it, even though he had doubts, he didn’t dare ask.
But all along, he had wanted to tell her that Gu Hao was returning from abroad.
In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
He didn’t have the courage to mention Gu Hao in front of her as she was now.
Let this moment last at least until Gu Hao returned.