On stage, the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was reaching its climax. In the corner, a small tree was sighing to another small tree.
"Luckily my tears fell quickly, otherwise my butt would have been beaten swollen by my dad. As soon as I cried, he was at a loss what to do. I found out that although I'm not good at studying, I have a gift for acting sad. As soon as I cry, he can't do anything to me."
The tree that was speaking was called Shen Chuqi. Last night when his dad was taking a bath, he had unlocked his dad's phone password, and sent a message to all the contacts that looked like women's profile pictures: "Sister, are you Shen Chuqi's mom?"
But there were too many contacts in the phonebook. He had only messaged a few when his dad came out of the bath and caught him red-handed.
The tree next to Shen Chuqi was called Cheng Liqi. It was she who had taught Shen Chuqi this method of finding his mom through WeChat.
Cheng Liqi patted Shen Chuqi on the shoulder to comfort him. "You said you're so good at acting. Maybe your mom is an actress. Actresses are all very good at crying -- their tears flow down with a blink. Your talent for acting is probably inherited from your mom."
When Shen Chuqi heard this, his big eyes lit up. "Cheng Liqi, you make a lot of sense! Do you happen to know which actress sister has a mole under her left eye?"
Cheng Liqi was puzzled. "Why would she have a mole under her left eye?"
"I have a mole under my left eye, in the corner here," Shen Chuqi pointed it out to Cheng Liqi. "When my dad gets drunk, he's said before that this mole is the only thing on my body that resembles my mom."
"Oh~" Cheng Liqi understood. "Let me go home and ask my grandma. She likes watching TV so she must recognize a lot of actresses. She'll definitely know which actress surnamed Shen has a mole under her left eye."
Shen Chuqi was confused. "Why does the actress have to be surnamed Shen?"
Cheng Liqi explained, "Think about it. Your dad is called Li Peifeng, and you are called Shen Chuqi. You don't share your dad's surname, so like me, you must have taken your mom's surname!"
Shen Chuqi excitedly grabbed Cheng Liqi's hand. "Cheng Liqi, you're so smart! Then I'll be able to find out who my mom is really soon!"
Cheng Liqi was also happy for Shen Chuqi. He had been looking for so long and was finally going to find his own mom.
Shen Chuqi and Cheng Liqi were preschool classmates and best friends. Shen Chuqi had decided to become good friends with Cheng Liqi for a simple reason -- he had just learned the idiom "misery loves company". He felt that he and Cheng Liqi were perfect examples of misery loving company, because he had never seen Cheng Liqi's dad pick her up from preschool, so he assumed she didn't have a dad.
But after becoming good friends with Cheng Liqi, he realized they weren't as compatible in their misery as he thought. He didn't have a mom, but Cheng Liqi had a "Dad Shi", even though her "Dad Shi" was very very far away. But he would still send her all kinds of tasty treats and fun gifts. She also had two tall and handsome uncles who took her to amusement parks, pushed her on the swings, and told her bedtime stories. She was like she had three "dads", while he didn't even have one mom. They weren't very compatible after all.
Seeing how happy Shen Chuqi was, Cheng Liqi thought that finding a mom didn't seem too difficult. Should she also try to find her own "dad"?
But...she didn't really feel like she needed a dad.
She had a mom, grandparents, two uncles, and Dad Shi. She was extremely extremely happy every day. Her other best friend, Yun Qi, also known as Snow White on stage, had said that having a dad wasn't necessarily a good thing. Cheng Liqi had seen Yun Qi's dad before - he was a very very temperamental person. In front of many people, he had spoken harshly to Yun Qi's mom, who cried because of it.
What if she found her dad, but he turned out to be as bad-tempered as Yun Qi's dad? What would she do then? She didn't want anyone to make her mom Cheng Jinglan cry. Although she couldn't imagine anyone daring to be harsh to Cheng Jinglan, because anyone who did would only get it worse back from Cheng Jinglan.
Oh right, Cheng Jinglan was her mom - a very very beautiful woman. If Cheng Liqi had to name someone even prettier than Cheng Jinglan in this world, it would have to be herself.
On stage, Snow White finally got together with the prince, drawing the story to an end. The two little trees had also fulfilled their roles, holding hands as they walked off the stage. Cheng Liqi temporarily forgot her worries, rushing off with a head full of leaves to find her uncle, wanting to ask if she had performed well as a little tree.
Cheng Jinchuan picked up the little tree and held out his phone. "Say hi to Mom."
Cheng Liqi saw her mom's face on the screen and happily waved to her mom. "Mom, were you watching my performance from inside the phone the whole time?"
"That's right, you and your little boyfriend performed so well as the little trees. Mom is so sorry I couldn't watch your performance in person."
Cheng Liqi was happy to be praised, but also a little shy. "Mom, you don't need to apologize. Work is also very important." She moved closer to the phone screen and lowered her voice. "Mom, Shen Chuqi isn't my boyfriend! He's just my good friend right now."
Cheng Jinglan laughed. "Alright, Mom knows. Mom bought a lot of gifts. You can pick some to give to your good friends when I get back, okay?"
Cheng Liqi clapped her hands happily. "Mom, when are you coming back?"
Cheng Jinglan replied, "Mom is at the airport now, about to board the plane soon. You'll see Mom first thing tomorrow morning when you open your eyes."
Cheng Liqi's eyes curved into crescents. "Then I'll sleep early tonight so I can see Mom earlier tomorrow morning. I miss you so much, Mom!"
Cheng Jinglan's heart melted. "Mom misses you too."
Tang Yicheng glanced at the time and had to speak up to remind them. "Boss Cheng, it's time to board."
Cheng Jinglan nodded to indicate she knew. Just as she was about to say bye to Cheng Liqi, from the corner of her eye she noticed someone sitting down across from them, and her gaze froze. Then she looked straight over.
Tang Yicheng felt that Boss Cheng's previously gentle gaze had instantly sharpened, giving him a sense of the aura between destined rivals in old martial arts dramas - one look across the space was enough to stir up flying leaves, though unfortunately they were in an airport vip lounge without any trees.
Tang Yicheng followed Boss Cheng's line of sight to see a man...and a woman. They weren't standing too close. The woman said something, bringing a faint smile to the corner of the man's eyes. With that smile, the aloof coldness on him seemed to melt away, replaced by a clear and gentle warmth.
That man had an exceedingly good-looking pair of eyes. Tang Yicheng somehow felt they looked familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before.
In just a second, the sharpness in Cheng Jinglan's eyes disappeared, returning to tranquil calmness. She retracted her gaze, smiled and bid Cheng Liqi goodbye on the phone, then stood up. "Let's go."
Watching Boss Cheng's long swift strides, Tang Yicheng felt like his tired mind was playing tricks on him - the earlier scene was just something he had imagined. He hurried to catch up, gulping down iced coffee to try and wake himself up properly.
"Yicheng," Cheng Jinglan called without stopping.
Tang Yicheng swallowed the ice and moved closer. "Here, Boss Cheng."
Cheng Jinglan asked, "Could you hear my phone call clearly just now?"
Of course Tang Yicheng would never eavesdrop on his boss. He shook his head. "Couldn't hear very clearly. Your voice was very soft."
Boss Cheng's upbringing was undisputed - she would never speak loudly in public.
If Tang Yicheng couldn't hear Cheng Jinglan's words clearly, the people across from them would hear even less, even if they did overhear something, it was nothing major. She had been so engrossed watching the mess of a play Cheng Liqi and the others were in, she hadn't noticed when that person sat down across from them.
...
Kong YiChan was a little puzzled. All she had said was, "Why isn't Yuan Zhongzhou back yet? Don't tell me he got stuck in the bathroom?" Yet her boss' face broke into a smile, the first time she had seen him smile in the half month since she started working for him. She had thought this cold-faced Lord of Hell only knew how to knit his brows and scold people.
Now that she thought about it, a man with eyes like his should stay poker-faced at all times. Just a faint, fleeting smile was enough to send her heart fluttering unevenly. She had to silently chant her child's father's name to steady herself. If he fully unleashed his smile, Kong YiChan estimated the Shao's corporation building would be the one fluttering! She could already picture the scene when the Shao ladies met this new boss parachuted in - even with his icy demeanor, he would still attract people.
Kong YiChan thought that since the boss liked crude jokes, maybe she should test the waters and tell more. But before she could decide on one, his face was impassive again. Kong YiChan promptly shut her mouth. Somehow she felt that after bestowing a transient smile, her boss' entire being seemed to have frozen over even more, truly transforming into an eternally unmelting glacier. She could feel the chill emanating from him even from three feet away.
Kong YiChan silently took several steps back and obediently pulled out her phone to call Yuan Zhongzhou, urging him to hurry back.
Yuan Zhongzhou had not gotten stuck in the bathroom, though it was pretty close. Last night a bunch of buddies had taken him out for a wild night of drinking and feasting that went on past midnight. This morning when he got up his stomach felt unwell, so did his bowels. If not for the looming flight, he would've liked to keep camping out in the bathroom.
Dragging his weakened legs, he boarded the plane. He didn't even have the heart to appreciate the sweet smile from the flight attendant. He had just steadied himself against the seat backrest to slump down when his eyes were drawn to the long legs in the window seat behind him, clad in black leather boots. His gaze traveled up the legs to the face with slightly tilted chin. His mind shouted Damn! With such bare makeup yet still so pretty, no, pretty was insufficient to describe her. It would be more accurate to say a woman this full of flavor was a rare sight. She reminded him a little of a veteran Hong Kong actress.
Yuan Zhongzhou's dizzy mind struggled to recall who it was. After sitting down, he discreetly nudged his old classmate and new boss next to him, Shao Chengze. "Old Shao, Old Shao, there's a goddess behind you on the left, look at those legs, that waist, that face--" Halfway through, the cold eyes glancing his way frightened him into swallowing the rest.
With numb scalp, Yuan Zhongzhou retorted in a hoarse voice, "What are you glaring at me for? You don't like women, but you can't stop me from getting excited seeing a beauty. Let me tell you, just because you're my boss now doesn't mean I have to fear you. I agreed to join your company and work properly, not fool around, but right now is my private time. You can't control me properly pursuing women!"
Shao Chengze snorted derisively and leaned back in his seat, crossing both arms over his chest and closing his eyes to rest. He didn't speak again.
Yuan Zhongzhou thought his well-reasoned rebuttal had scored the first-ever defeat for his former classmate and current boss, leaving him speechless. Maybe diarrhea wasn't entirely bad - at least it had brought out his courage.
After a long while, as the plane slowly taxied down the long runway, the resting man coolly broke the silence.
"She's already a mother. If you want to be a third wheel, court her properly."
