Cheng Jinlan put down her chopsticks and looked at Cheng LiQi, "He didn't make your mom angry. Little LiQi, not all fathers and mothers live together. Some live separately after divorce. You understood what divorce means when mom explained it to you before, do you still remember?"
Cheng LiQi nodded, "It means two adults who are unhappy living together will be happier separated, so the baby will be happy too." She thought carefully about the meaning of those words again, "So mom, divorce is a good thing, not a bad thing, right?"
Cheng Jinlan nuzzled her little cheeks, "Our little LiQi is really smart. Although your dad and I don't live together, we both love you very very much."
Cheng LiQi's mouth curved up happily, "I love you too mom, super love, way more than 'very much'."
Cheng Jinlan's eyes softened with smiles.
Shao Chengze accidentally knocked over his chopsticks on the plate as he watched her gentle profile.
Throughout the meal, the two adults didn't say a word to each other.
After the meal, Shao Chengze drove towards Cheng Garden. Cheng LiQi's eyelids were getting heavy. For a six year old kid, she had experienced a bit too much today with lots of emotional ups and downs. After eating her fill, she was starting to feel sleepy. Cheng Jinlan gently patted her back. Soon, Cheng LiQi fell asleep.
The car stopped steadily at the entrance of Cheng Garden. Shao Chengze turned off the engine and looked at the two people in the back from the rearview mirror, "Can we talk?"
"I'll take her back first." Cheng Jinlan reached out to carry Cheng LiQi.
After what happened last time, even if Cheng LiQi was asleep, Cheng Jinlan would be careful not to talk about anything inappropriate in front of her.
Shao Chengze got out of the car and opened the back door, leaning in to take the girl from her arms, "Let me carry her."
Cheng Jinlan got out of the car and shifted sideways to avoid his hands, "No need, wait here for me."
She didn't want him to enter her home.
Shao Chengze watched her walk farther and farther away until she disappeared through the entrance.
He took out a cigarette but before he could light it, he crumpled the whole pack in his fist and threw it in the trash can. He sent a few messages to Kong Yichan and Little A respectively.
Cheng Jinlan came back out quickly and got straight to the point, "I don't want to see any news about Cheng LiQi online tomorrow. Her family background shouldn't be gossip fodder for others."
"I've had someone take care of it already."
"Thanks."
With that the conversation ended, leaving only the intermittent chirping of crickets in the roadside bushes.
After a long silence, Shao Chengze spoke, "Why didn't you tell me? At the very least...I'm the child's father."
Cheng Jinlan straightened out the creases on her sleeve left by Cheng LiQi, her tone indifferent, "No need. That night I got drunk, it could have been anyone, not just you." She looked him in the eye, "In other words, you just happen to be the father by coincidence, nothing more."
Shao Chengze's face darkened, the veins on his forehead bulging, "Cheng Jin--lan," he pronounced each syllable of her name heavily, the first heavily and the last softly, conveying his helplessness, "Must you say it like that?"
Cheng Jinlan laughed indifferently, "If not, then what? The facts are just so. Now that you know, when she wants to see you, I won't stop her. But it'll just be seeing you, not anyone else from the Shao family. Shao Chengze, I'm warning you, if you dare use her for anything, I won't let you off and neither will the Chengs."
Shao Chengze took a step forward. If he could, he wished he could cut open his heart for her to see. "Why would I use her? She's my daughter. Do you think so little of me?"
Cheng Jinlan laughed coldly, "Yes, in my eyes you're not just unworthy, you're also despicable, shameless. Don't try anything funny or fight me for custody. I don't want to tear faces with you in front of Cheng LiQi but if we really come to that, we'll tear as much as needed."
When anger peaked, it brought calmness. The churning volcanoes in Shao Chengze's eyes receded into lifelessness. He looked towards the light behind her and said heavily with despair, "I won't fight you for custody. Even if I'm as despicable and shameless as you say, I know that having not fulfilled a father's duty for a single day while she grew up, what right do I have to fight you for custody?"
"Good that you know."
With that, words were exhausted and nothing more needed to be said. Cheng Jinlan turned to leave.
Shao Chengze called out to stop her, "Can I pick her up from school tomorrow?"
Cheng Jinlan didn't reply.
"If not, can I at least call her tonight?"
Cheng Jinlan finally responded, "I'll ask her when she wakes up tomorrow."
Shao Chengze watched her walk farther and farther away until her silhouette disappeared completely. "You and Shi Ran didn't get married, why did you lie to me?"
Cheng Jinlan stopped in her tracks but didn't turn back. "I never lied to you."
That's right, she never lied to him. She just didn't deny it when he had asked.
"Besides, who I marry or not has nothing to do with you."
With that, she quickly strode through the gates and vanished from his sight.
Cheng Jinlan got up in the middle of the night for water and stood by the window for a bit before returning to bed. She thought she wouldn't be able to sleep but contrary to expectations, she slept through the night without dreams.
In the morning, after Cheng Jinlan combed Cheng LiQi's hair into braids and sat her down on the sofa, she said, "Little LiQi, you were very happy to see dad yesterday, right?"
Cheng LiQi nodded, rubbing her still groggy eyes. She had lots of dreams last night. "Shen ChuQi found her mom and I found my dad. Now we're just like the other kids, with a mom and dad both."
Cheng Jinlan lovingly stroked her head, "Dad said he wants to pick you up from school today."
Cheng LiQi's eyes lit up as she looked at Cheng Jinlan, "Can he, mom?"
"Of course he can. Although dad and I don't live together, whenever you want to see dad, you can tell mom. But for now, meeting dad will be our little secret, especially from grandpa and grandma, ok?"
Cheng LiQi thought for a bit then nodded, "Ok mom." She hooked pinkies with mom. She was best at keeping secrets.
Cheng Jinlan brought Cheng LiQi next door for breakfast. As soon as they entered the yard, they saw Cheng Jinchuan.
Cheng LiQi let go of mom's hand and ran to her uncle, "Uncle, good morning!"
Cheng Jinchuan sulkily turned his head away, ignoring his niece. He was still upset!
Cheng LiQi went around trying to see her uncle's face, "Uncle, did you sleep well last night?"
Cheng Jinchuan turned his head the other way again. As if he could have slept well!
Cheng LiQi ran to his other side and held his hand, "Uncle, can I sing you a song? I just learned it at school yesterday. You'll be the first one I sing it to!"
Since it was the "first" one, Cheng Jinchuan reluctantly gave his niece a glance, "Go ahead, let me hear how it sounds first."
Cheng LiQi made up a song called "Only My Uncle is Good in the World".
Cheng Jinchuan was defeated by his niece's singing. He picked her up and asked in a low gravelly voice, "Since only uncle is good in the world, do you like uncle more or Shao Chengze more?"
Without any hesitation, Cheng LiQi said, "Of course I like uncle more!"
Humph, even if it's a lie, Cheng Jinchuan was soothed.
Cheng LiQi hugged Cheng Jinchuan's neck and softly asked, "Uncle, you don't like my dad?"
Cheng Jinchuan pinched her little nose, "Uncle only likes you."
Alright, so that means he doesn't like dad.
Just as Cheng Jinchuan was leaving, he murmured to Cheng Jinlan, "I'll try to keep things down on dad and mom's side but I can't do it for long. You'll have to come clean to them soon."
"Mm, thanks bro."
The few times Cheng Jinlan called him "bro" could be counted on one hand. Cheng Jinchuan slicked his hair back with both hands. If he had been wearing a coat, he would have flicked the lapels back dramatically. Humph, as the eldest brother, he had to shoulder more than others afterall.
Shao Chengze received a call from Shao Yunzheng first thing in the morning. Even if they tried to suppress this matter further, there's no way Old Master Shao wouldn't find out. This time, Shao Chengze didn't reject the call but answered it directly.
Shao Yunzheng's anger had already reached a boiling point but the moment Shao Chengze answered, his anger deflated like a firecracker doused in water. He hadn't expected Shao Chengze to answer his call so quickly. This was the first time he had picked up so fast. Shao Yunzheng cleared his throat and worked up his anger again. "Shao Chengze, do you take my words as farting? Or do you take our family rules as farting?!"
Shao Chengze fidgeted with his lighter, "Saying farting is going too far."
Shao Yunzheng's blood pressure started shooting up. Just going too far? So it's about the same as farting? "You think just because you've got some backbone now, I don't dare do anything to you?"
"I've never thought that way. You're free to kick me out of the Shao Corporation again. I don't want to deal with this mess anyway."
The glass of water Shao Yunzheng was holding was raised up high before he slammed it heavily back onto the table. If not for his useless second son and grandson, he wouldn't use this wolf cub that bites back when not fed properly. And it's not even sneaky biting but openly biting back at you. Yet he was helpless against Shao Chengze.
He softened his tone, "Son, I can overlook you deliberately going against me in the past to provoke that Cheng girl but I can't accept you having a child with her. I won't recognize that child."
Shao ChengZe scoffed, with complete mockery, "You're speaking too self-importantly. Her surname is Cheng. Do you think the Cheng family will let you recognize her? They'd be thrilled to have nothing to do with your Shao family. Let me make this clear first: if you just drink your tea and play your chess in peace, and don't meddle in my affairs, we'll have nothing to do with each other. If you insist on making trouble out of nothing and nagging her, then however the Shao family affairs end up, it'll have nothing to do with me. My father's been gone for years already, so even if I don't obey his dying wish, I'm sure he won't blame me."
Shao YunZheng was so angry he couldn't get a word out. Shao ChengZe didn't waste time chatting with him further, just directly hung up the phone. Then he texted Shen XiWen, telling her not to blab anything about Cheng LiQi to her stepmother.
Shen XiWen called him right back. "What, the young Miss Cheng wouldn't let you recognize your daughter?"
"When the time is right, I'll handle it myself. You and your son better watch your mouths."
Shen XiWen wasn't about to take a loss on this deal. If she kept quiet, she'd have to face her stepmother's temper alone today. She had to get some compensation for emotional distress. "Then I expect double hush money, right?"
Shao ChengZe put his foot down. "Double the double."
"Deal!" Since he agreed so readily, Shen XiWen was happy to agree too. Let her stepmother's anger come on stronger! She could withstand anything now.
Around noon, Shao ChengZe received a text message from Cheng JinLan. It had the address of the kindergarten and pickup time, along with a name, Wu Lin, and her phone number.
[You can have dinner with her. Wu Lin will accompany her. After dinner, just hand her over to Wu Lin.]
Shao ChengZe stared at the message on his screen, typed out a response, then deleted it word by word, until only "Okay" remained to send back.
He checked the time. He couldn't sit still any longer. He put on his coat, went out, and knocked on Kong YiChuan's desk. "Have Yuan ZhongZhou take that business trip for me. And unless it's extremely urgent today, handle everything yourself."
Kong YiChuan stood up. "Yes, President Shao."
She automatically interpreted what her boss meant: Don't call me.
Shao ChengZe walked out a couple steps, then turned back. "I remember you said your daughter is seven?"
"Yes."
"What kinds of food, toys, and stories do girls that age like?"
Kong YiChuan knew this question was important. "Why don't I summarize it and send it to your phone?"
She pushed aside all her other work and made this her top priority. In the end, she sent the boss a concise, clear report.
First Shao ChengZe went to buy a child safety seat, then he went to the specialty store and bought half a carload of stuffed animals. Then he drove to the kindergarten entrance and quietly sat in the car, looking at the photo Yuan ZhongZhou had turned in to him, tracing his finger over her face inch by inch. He probably wouldn't get to see her smile like this again in his life.
When it was time, Shao ChengZe got out of the car. Wu Lin was already waiting at the kindergarten entrance. Seeing Shao ChengZe approach, she took the initiative to introduce herself.
Shao ChengZe held out his hand. "Hello, Wu Lin."
Wu Lin hadn't expected to get such a formal handshake from the new head of the Shao family. She quickly stretched out her own hand in response.
Li PeiFeng came over wearing sunglasses, smiling as he greeted Wu Lin.
Today Shen XiWen had gone to pick up her stepmother, so he was here to get his son after school. Speaking of which, recently he hadn't been too happy. He'd set things up well, getting his son to recognize his mother, but who knew, the mother only wanted her son and not him. He used to have Shen ChuQi to keep him company at dinner, but now his son had gone into his mother's embrace, leaving Li PeiFeng utterly alone. This plan had cost him both his wife and his troops.
When Li PeiFeng saw Shao ChengZe, the smile left his face. "What are you doing here?"
Cheng LiQi came running out holding her teacher's hand. Seeing Shao ChengZe from afar, she shouted loudly, "Dad~!"
She was about to add another "Dad," but seeing Uncle Li, she hurriedly closed her mouth. She just took Shao ChengZe's hand instead.
Li PeiFeng felt this was odd. "Little LiQi, why are you holding his hand?"
He looked back and forth between Cheng LiQi and Shao ChengZe, finding it even stranger. He hadn't noticed before, but seeing them side by side now—damn, their eyes were carved from the same mold!
Cheng LiQi explained to Uncle Li, "He's my dad's friend."
Li PeiFeng thought she meant Shi Ran. "Since when were Shi Ran and him friends?"
Shao ChengZe's face darkened.
Shen ChuQi also came running out. He'd originally wanted to call "Dad," but seeing Shao ChengZe, he shouted loudly, "Uncle!"
Uncle?!
Li PeiFeng was about to yank his son's ear. "Why are you calling him uncle? What uncle is he?"
He's trying to steal your mom, and you call him uncle?!
Shen ChuQi replied, "He's my grandma's biological son, so of course I should call him uncle."
His grandma's biological son?!! Then wasn't he his big uncle?! Li PeiFeng's expression twisted. He didn't know how to react. He nodded curtly at Shao ChengZe, grabbed Shen ChuQi, and ran off. He decided to first figure out the relationship between Shao ChengZe's mother and Shen XiWen before deciding his next step.
Shao ChengZe watched Li PeiFeng's fleeing back with narrowed eyes. Looks like this was the cheap dad of Shen ChuQi.
Cheng LiQi tugged Shao ChengZe's hand. "Dad, Mom said we have to keep it secret from others for now that you're my dad, so I can't tell others you're my dad yet."
Shao ChengZe bent down and picked her up. "So this will be our secret between you, me, and Mom?"
Cheng LiQi nodded.
Shao ChengZe's eyes smiled. "Dad likes having secrets between the three of us."
Cheng LiQi had the same smiling eyes. "Me too!"
"Dad, where are we going?" Cheng LiQi sat in her dad's car, stroking the half-carload of stuffed animals, only settling down after a good long while of excitement.
"We're going to eat."
"Just the two of us? What about Mom?"
Seeing her worried look, Shao ChengZe couldn't help stroking her little braided pigtails. "Then let's go eat a dessert to fill up your tummy first, then you can go home and keep Mom company for dinner. How's that sound?"
Cheng LiQi smiled. "Good! I love eating sweet stuff the most."
At the dessert shop, Cheng LiQi and Dad sat facing each other.
Shao ChengZe scooped up a bite of cake and brought it to her mouth.
Cheng LiQi took the cake and spoon into her mouth together. "Dad, do you like Mom?"
Seeing the innocent purity in her eyes, Shao ChengZe said softly, "I like her."
"If you like Mom, you have to make her happy!"
Shao ChengZe gave a wry smile. "Dad doesn't know how to make her happy."
She didn't like him, so no matter what he did, he probably couldn't make her happy.
It was so easy to make a little girl happy. Cheng LiQi hooked her little pinky with her dad's. "Big Uncle said he has a hundred tricks to make girls happy. I'll tell Big Uncle to be your teacher, okay?"
But then she immediately rejected her own idea. "But Big Uncle doesn't seem to like you very much either, so he probably doesn't want to teach you."
Cheng LiQi looked her dad's face up and down. She seemed a little worried. Mom didn't want Grandpa and Grandma to know yet that she'd found Dad, so that meant Grandpa and Grandma didn't like Dad either.
She propped her head in one hand and sighed. Then she asked a question straight from the depths of her soul.
"Dad, you're so good-looking, so why don't people like you?!"
