Shao ChengZe's face stiffened slightly, but it wasn't too bad. At least in his daughter's heart, he could still occupy a good-looking position.
He used a napkin to wipe away the cream from the corner of her mouth, not knowing if he was comforting her or comforting himself, "It's good enough that little LiQi likes her dad."
Hearing her dad say this, Cheng LiQi felt even more worried. She rested her other hand on her chin too, "But I don't really like dad much right now either. Today is only the second time I've met dad. I feel...hmm..." She carefully weighed dad's current position in her heart, then held out her little hand. Her thumb landed on the last joint of her pinky finger. She didn't stop and kept going up until she barely had less than a millimeter left on the tip of her pinky finger, "This much liking for dad."
Sitting not far away, Wu Lin had been holding it in the whole time. But now, even with all her effort, she couldn't keep it in. Her coughs pushed their way out from her throat, and she couldn't stop them no matter what. Even tears were coughed out.
"Wu Jiejie, what's wrong?" Seeing her like this, Cheng LiQi was a little worried.
Wu Lin waved her hands repeatedly, holding in her bright red neck as she said, "I'm fine, the cake was too sweet, stuck in my throat."
"Wu Jiejie, drink some water."
"Okay, okay." Wu Lin hurriedly picked up the water and took a sip, pretending she couldn't see President Shao's face that looked like he was bleeding internally.
Shao ChengZe probably wouldn't need to eat dinner today. Two rocks had already pressed down in his stomach, one heavier than the other.
"Little LiQi, do you want to be dad's teacher and teach dad how to get people to like him?"
Cheng LiQi's worried look dispersed, and bright twinkling stars shone in her eyes, "I can be a teacher?!"
Shao ChengZe smiled, "Of course, mom likes you the most."
That's right, mom likes her the most, so of course she can be dad's teacher. But she had never been a teacher before and didn't know how to teach little kids, let alone big kids. Cheng LiQi's eyes fell on the smile at the corner of dad's mouth, and she suddenly had inspiration.
She sat up straight, lightly cleared her throat, and spoke seriously, imitating what teachers look like when they're teaching class, "Dad's big friend, you have to smile more, don't keep your mouth corners like this." She imitated dad's manner, lowering her own mouth corners, "Your brows are furrowed sometimes too, like a big tiger, very scary. You're good looking when you smile, like me. Mom is happiest when I smile. When I smile, mom smiles too."
The smile at the corner of Shao ChengZe's mouth grew bigger. "Like this?"
"Mm-hmm." Cheng LiQi nodded heavily. "Just like this."
"Your mom has also said...she likes seeing me smile."
Shao ChengZe's voice revealed a hint of absent-mindedness. That was when they were happiest, when she held his face and said she liked his smile the most. But now she didn't even want to look at him. No matter how good he smiled now, he wouldn't get her liking anymore. No, he had never made her like him before.
"That's right, so dad, you have to smile more. Do whatever mom likes, only then will you get her to like you."
Shao ChengZe accepted the teaching humbly, "Dad understands now, thank you Teacher Little Cheng."
Cheng LiQi also felt she had succeeded very much as a little teacher. She put the last bite of cake into her mouth as a reward for herself.
Shao ChengZe asked her, "Do you want another piece?"
Cheng LiQi shook her head. "No more. I like sweet things, but I can't eat too much. Mom said it's bad for the teeth. I want white, neat, orderly teeth."
Looking at the little young miss's serious manner, she really had educated her very well.
"What are you going to do with mom this weekend?" Shao ChengZe passed the water to her mouth. Kong Yichan said little kids like to go to amusement parks.
Cheng LiQi drank a big gulp through the straw and thought of what she was going to do this weekend. "This weekend is Shi Ran Dad's birthday. Li PeiFeng Uncle said he wants to throw a party for Shi Ran Dad." She leaned in secretively toward Shao ChengZe and said, "I prepared a surprise for Shi Ran Dad."
The delight in her brows and eyes, Shao ChengZe asked, "Little LiQi...really likes Shi Ran?"
Cheng LiQi didn't hesitate at all. "I like him a lot. Shi Ran Dad is so nice to me, buys me yummy food, buys me all kinds of toys. He plays the piano so so amazing," Cheng LiQi thought of something else, "Shi Ran Dad tells the best stories. After he finishes telling me stories every time, I sleep and have beautiful dreams."
Shao ChengZe's heart felt sour, but he also knew he didn't have the right to be jealous.
"Dad...plays the piano really well too, especially amazing."
President Shao praised himself for the first time ever. It wasn't very skilled, he even paused in the middle, but he was definitely more amazing than Shi Ran at piano.
"Really?!"
"When there's a chance, dad will play for you."
"Okay!" Cheng LiQi clapped.
"From now on, dad can call you at night and tell you stories, okay?"
Cheng LiQi stopped clapping, a little hesitant. "But dad, I don't like Journey to the West, I like the stories Shi Ran Dad tells, like Snow White, Frozen, The Princess and the Pea. And dad doesn't tell stories as well as Shi Ran Dad."
Cheng LiQi had no idea she had put another rock on her dad's already internally bleeding heart as she counted off her favorite fairy tales on her fingers.
"Dad can also tell those stories." Shao ChengZe took her hand. "Dad told it badly last time because that was dad's first time telling a story. Dad will definitely tell it very well next time."
Cheng LiQi was a little doubtful, because grandpa could never tell stories well. But she obediently nodded her head, "If dad's not busy at night, you can tell me stories."
"From now on, dad won't be busy."
Cheng LiQi replied, "Then when I want to listen to stories later, I'll call dad."
"Okay." Shao ChengZe spoke solemnly.
Wu Lin silently turned around to look out the window, pretending not to hear the conversation between father and daughter. She felt that if Shao ChengZe had paper and a pen in front of him right now, he would take it without hesitation and write a whole contract of promises - promising he wouldn't be busy at night, promising he would definitely tell good stories - then sign his name, stamp his seal, effective for preferably ten thousand years.
Cheng LiQi was full, she carefully wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I'm done eating, dad. Let's go buy some more cake. I want to bring some back for mom, grandma, and Nainai to eat."
Shao ChengZe picked her up from the chair with one arm and brought her to the display case. Wherever she pointed, he took that one. When Cheng LiQi was done, Shao ChengZe took out a tiramisu from the case as well.
Cheng LiQi thought dad wanted to eat this cake. "Dad, do you like eating this cake?"
Shao ChengZe replied, "Your mom likes eating this the most."
Cheng LiQi was confused. "Mom doesn't like eating this. I've never seen mom eat this before. The ones I said earlier are what mom likes to eat."
Shao ChengZe's hand paused. He forced a smile and said, "Then she must've liked it before but doesn't anymore now."
"It's okay, dad. Just remember what mom likes to eat now."
"Okay. Dad remembered everything little LiQi said just now."
Shao ChengZe didn't hand Cheng LiQi over to Wu Lin, but drove with her to Lan Chuan. He really wanted to see her, and excuses were easy to find too, but he also knew she wouldn't want to see him.
"Little LiQi, dad can't send you up. Go up with Wu Jiejie to find mom, okay?"
"Okay, dad." Cheng LiQi couldn't wait to get out of the car. She missed her mom.
"What should we do with these stuffed animals? Should dad help you bring them up?"
Shao ChengZe didn't hope for his daughter to say yes.
Cheng LiQi thought for a bit. "Dad, can the stuffed animals stay in your car? I'll just bring one this time. Next time I see dad, I'll take another one. That way, I'll be really happy after seeing dad every time."
Shao ChengZe gently stroked her hair. "Our little LiQi is so smart."
Cheng LiQi gave dad a big smile.
Shao ChengZe watched Wu Lin bring Cheng LiQi into the elevator and didn't leave. He took out his phone and dialed the number, hesitating for a few seconds before pressing down.
The call connected very quickly.
"Hello, who is this?" Her tone was answering an unfamiliar number.
Shao ChengZe paused, then replied, "It's me, Shao ChengZe."
"What's up?"
"I brought little LiQi back to Lan Chuan. Wu Lin took her up. They should get to your office soon."
"Alright, thanks." Cheng Jinlan was about to hang up after saying that.
Shao ChengZe called out to stop her. "Can I...add you on WeChat? It'll be more convenient to contact each other about Cheng LiQi's matters in the future."
She had blocked him on WeChat who knows how many years ago.
"No need," Cheng Jinlan put down her pen and tossed it onto the table. "If you have anything in the future, contact Wu Lin directly. She will relay it to me. And," she warned him, "If she doesn't actively look for you herself, you'd best not keep showing up in front of her."
"Mom!" Cheng LiQi ran into Cheng Jinlan's office. "I missed you so much!"
"That's it." Cheng Jinlan hung up Shao ChengZe's call and got up to welcome Cheng LiQi.
"You're back so quickly? Haven't eaten dinner yet?" Cheng Jinlan held her as she sat down on the sofa. "Saving your stomach to eat dinner with mom?" She pointed at the bag Wu Jiejie was holding. "I bought cake for mom, grandma, and Nainai too. But dad paid, I'll be able to buy with my own money after I start earning money."
Cheng Jinlan kissed her red little face. "What a good daughter to mom."
Cheng LiQi climbed onto her mom's neck and whispered in her ear. "Mom, dad said he likes you and wants to get you to like him. He wants me to be his teacher because you like me the most."
Cheng Jinlan didn't care about these words. He had always been good at deceiving people, moreover deceiving a child. She changed the topic. "Because mom likes you the most, I'm taking you today to your favorite restaurant for a big meal, okay? Mom..."
"Mom and grandma have already said that we won't be going home for dinner tonight."
"Great!" Cheng LiQi immediately forgot who her dad was at the prospect of getting to eat something delicious.
Tonight, Cheng LiQi went out to eat a big dinner with her mom. When they got home, she was already sleepy. After Cheng Jinlan gave her a bath and was halfway through drying her hair, she fell asleep. She didn't even think about asking her dad for a bedtime story. Shao ChengZe didn't get a phone call from his daughter that night.
On Friday night, after eating dinner, Cheng LiQi wanted to prepare a surprise for Shao Dad and also forgot to call her dad for a bedtime story.
He Wei had said it twice but her son didn't respond at all.
She knocked on the table. "Are you even listening to me? What are you daydreaming about? Let me tell you, don't brush me off. When your dad was your age, you were already working. You don't even look as good as one tenth of your dad. Yet you're running a lousy company, working yourself to death. With the way you're working overtime every day, you'll probably go half bald before you're forty. With your situation, which girl would be willing to marry you?"
"If there's a girl you like, you have to take the initiative. Don't keep a straight face all day, you'll scare her away. Your dad loved to laugh and I love to talk, how did you end up with a face like a block of ice? I can't even get a full sentence out of you. It's just unbelievable. Even genetic mutations don't result in this. Because of you, I'm worried to death. Now I get more wrinkles on my face every month."
When He Zhiwei spoke, she hated being interrupted. Scolding her son, she wished she could talk for a whole day and night.
Shao ChengZe put his phone down on the table, cutting off his mother before she could continue. "There's a girl I like. I'm thinking about how to pursue her."
He Zhiwei already had the beginning of her next sentence on the tip of her tongue. Hearing her son say this, her expression instantly changed, as if she couldn't believe it. "Really?! You're not lying to me."
Shao ChengZe stood up. "I may not take after Dad in many ways, but lying is one thing I did inherit from him."
He Zhiwei also knew her son. If there was nothing going on, he wouldn't lie about it. Since he said it was true, then something must be up.
She chased after him. "Should I tell you how your dad pursued me back then?"
She was really worried that her son didn't know how to pursue girls. She was afraid that he already liked a girl so much, but the girl had no idea, and that would be a disaster. She was afraid the girl would end up holding hands and living happily ever after with someone else, while her son regretted it for the rest of his lonely life.
"No need." Shao ChengZe declined his mother's good intentions.
Alright, He Zhiwei thought. He's right. If he needed his mother's help pursuing a girl at this age, then her son would be too hopeless.
Still, she couldn't help worrying. "If you like a girl, you have to smile at her more. Don't keep a straight face all the time, that won't work."
"Got it, Mom."
It was rare for her son to respond so obediently. This convinced He Zhiwei that it was true he had a girl he liked. Having a crush on someone would change his personality.
Shao ChengZe stood by the window in the study, looking out into the night. He tried to smile but felt it was awkward, and eventually gave up.
He called Shen Xi Wen.
Shen Xi Wen was putting on a face mask. She answered vaguely, "What's up, Uncle Shen ChuQi?"
Although the godmother had hidden the fact that she gave birth and Shen Xi Wen was quite angry about it, the gifts she gave to Shen ChuQi were very generous. Her uncle must have had a hand in that. So Shen Xi Wen had been quite attentive to her uncle these past few days, answering his calls almost right away.
Shao ChengZe asked, "What is Shen ChuQi doing tomorrow night?"
"He's going to a friend's birthday party."
Shen Xi Wen didn't want to bring up Shen ChuQi's dad, so she said it was a friend of Shen ChuQi's.
"You're busy these days. I happen to be free tomorrow night so I'll take him there."
Shen Xi Wen was wary. She didn't want him to run into Shen ChuQi's dad. "No need for that. You're a busy man. Every minute of your time must be worth tens or hundreds of thousands. I can't afford it. My assistant can handle it."
Shao ChengZe replied, "You don't have to keep hiding it. I already know who Shen ChuQi's dad is. And I'm not going to confront him tomorrow."
His own situation was a mess right now. He was in no position to confront Li PeiFeng, let alone after arguing with Cheng Jinlan last time that he had no right to talk to Li PeiFeng. Now in his current circumstances, he was even less qualified to talk to Li PeiFeng.
"Then what do you want?" Shen Xi Wen wondered. He wasn't the type to give her son rides for no reason.
Shao ChengZe lightly coughed. "Little LiQi will probably be there tomorrow too."
Shen Xi Wen was silent for a second, then burst out laughing. "President Shao, you've changed. Missing your daughter must be eating away at you. You were stubbornly pretending last time, saying you were just being my escort to the Bai family's party. You were clearly hoping to see the young Miss Cheng. The moment you returned to the country, you anxiously tried to get close to her. Hey, why don't you tell me, what did you do to wrong her back then? Let me think about it and see if there's still a chance to salvage things. That way, next time you want to see her, you won't have to use me or my son as an excuse."
Shao ChengZe didn't take her teasing and simply said, "Didn't you want me to invest in your director friend's movie?"
Shen Xi Wen had a director friend who was talented and had good scripts, but he was aloof and investments for his films kept falling through. His production plans kept getting delayed again and again. Of all Shen Xi Wen's reliable contacts, Shao ChengZe was the only tycoon, but he wasn't interested in investing in films and had declined so far.
Shen Xi Wen immediately jumped up from the sofa and ripped off her face mask. "It's a deal. You take Shen ChuQi to his dad's place tomorrow night, and you can't go back on your word to invest in my friend's movie."
"Have your friend contact Kong Yichan tomorrow."
Ah, Shen Xi Wen just loved his decisive attitude. She kindly reminded him, "Brother-in-law, you have to be decisive like this in front of the young Cheng Miss too. Since you like her, you have to say it outright. Don't hide it or keep it to yourself, you know?"
Her reply was the sound of him hanging up.
Shen Xi Wen tsked. He wanted to tear down the bridge before even crossing it. Here she was imparting the truths of love to him, but did he get it?
The next day, Shen ChuQi wore a little black suit with a black bow tie. His hair was styled up in a big pompadour with hair wax, looking very handsome. Though he was a little nervous. This was his first time riding with his uncle, and his uncle looked as stern as Cheng LiQi's grandpa.
"Uncle, why do you have so many stuffed animals in your car?" Shen ChuQi started up a conversation. Could it be that his uncle, like Cheng LiQi, also liked stuffed animals?
Shao ChengZe's expressionless face looked up into the rearview mirror and he forced an awkward smile. "Little LiQi likes stuffed animals. You can take some if you'd like."
Seeing his serious uncle's smiling face, Shen ChuQi was a little stunned. Somewhat shyly, he said to Shao ChengZe, "Uncle, you look very nice when you smile, just like Cheng LiQi."
Shao ChengZe's smile became a little bigger. "You're good friends with Little LiQi?"
"Mm-hmm." Shen ChuQi nodded vigorously. "We're super good friends. When we grow up, I'm going to be her groom."
Shao ChengZe's smile froze. The car once again lapsed into silence.
Shen ChuQi still didn't sense anything wrong and continued, "I've been saving up money for a long time now. In the future, I'm going to buy her the most beautiful wedding dress for her to wear."
The corners of Shao ChengZe's mouth turned down. "You're both still young. It's too early to talk about these things now."
Shen ChuQi shook his head. "It's not early at all. Cheng LiQi said some things require early planning."
Hearing "Cheng LiQi said", Shao ChengZe's impending words were choked back.
For the rest of the ride, Shen ChuQi kept talking about his and Cheng LiQi's plans for the future, starting every sentence with "Cheng LiQi said". Shao ChengZe's face visibly darkened until it was black as the bottom of a pot when they reached their destination.
Of course, seeing it was him who brought Shen ChuQi, Li PeiFeng's face wasn't very friendly either, but he endured and didn't let it get too unfriendly. Shen Xi Wen had said not to pick up their son, so he assumed she was the one sending Shen ChuQi over. He had even gone specially to the barber shop to get a haircut in preparation for today. He didn't expect it would be Shao ChengZe instead.
One part of him thought, the Shao family were not good people. He had to draw a clear line with Shao ChengZe. Another part thought, Shao ChengZe would be his uncle-in-law in the future. He was the godmother's own son. He was a big mountain he would have to get over in order to marry Shen Xi Wen.
Li PeiFeng pulled Shen ChuQi to his side and said, neither shady nor straightforward, "Thanks for bringing him over."
Shao ChengZe replied, "It was no trouble."
He just wanted to punch you, but he couldn't punch the son, so he could only punch the dad.
Shen ChuQi was pulled inside by his dad. He looked back at Shao ChengZe and said, "Uncle, aren't you coming in? Cheng LiQi is here too."
He immediately covered his mouth after saying that. His mom said not to tell other people for now that Cheng LiQi's dad was his uncle.
Shao ChengZe declined, "I won't go in."
He only wanted to catch a glimpse of Cheng LiQi from afar. He didn't want to annoy her. She had told him not to keep hovering around her, so he wouldn't hover.
Cheng LiQi was carried out of the car by Shao Dad. She was hugging a box, which contained a surprise gift for Shao Dad. Cheng Jinlan was on the phone, gesturing for them to go inside first.
Shao ChengZe leaned back in his seat, feeling irritable. He had no cigarettes on hand to help him relieve this irritation. He was trying to quit smoking. He thought quitting would be easy, just like how he once thought getting over her would be easy.
Their separation at the time had been so sudden. That period of darkness was something he seldom looked back on.
Now she wasn't with Shi Ran, she still said he deceived her. He could feel her hatred towards him, not only because he didn't say he was Shao ChengZe's grandson, he suspected there was another hidden reason... He was also afraid he was being overly sensitive.
Cheng Jinlan had just hung up the phone when she noticed the person sneakily taking photos in the corner. She quickly walked over, it didn't matter if she was photographed, she didn't want Cheng LiQi to be photographed as well.
Someone behind her brushed past her shoulder and strode forward, grabbing that person!
