Cheng LiQi could tell from her father's silence that she had guessed correctly. In a softer voice, she said, "Dad, I'll keep your secret. I'm really good at keeping secrets. I kept secrets for Uncle Tai and Grandpa. I have lots of secrets."
Shao ChengZe gently replied, "Thank you, little LiQi, for keeping Dad's secret."
Cheng LiQi said, "You're welcome, Dad." She thought for a moment and decided she should remind Dad, "Dad, Mom is much smarter than me. If I could guess it, Mom can probably guess it too, right?"
Shao ChengZe was silent for a moment before stiffly changing the subject again. "Little LiQi, do you want to hear a story? Dad will tell you a story, okay?"
"Okay, Dad!" Cheng LiQi remembered her agreement with Dad to tell each other stories. "Wait, let me go back to my room and hug my teddy bear while I listen to the story."
The camera shook as Shao ChengZe told her, "Walk slowly, no need to run."
"I know!" Cheng LiQi yelled loudly to Dad, her mouth saying she understood but her little legs still running, dashing through the long hallway until the very end. She pushed open the door and climbed onto her pink princess bed, catching her breath. She held up her phone to show Dad, "Dad, look! The stuffed animal you bought me and the one Mom bought are sleeping together, keeping me company at night. I won't be scared of tigers anymore."
The two little bears, one pink and one brown, lay side by side next to the pillow, arms linked.
Shao ChengZe's voice turned hoarse as he softly called out, "Little LiQi..."
He had wanted to ask if she missed... missed him. He missed her so much. Just thinking that he had a daughter with her meant he couldn't sleep at night.
But he changed his words to, "Little LiQi's room is so pretty."
Cheng LiQi puffed out her little chest proudly, chin up, very smug. "Dad, do you know? Mom is so amazing. I told Mom what kind of room I wanted and she gave me exactly the room I described. My mom is the most amazing mom in the world."
"Yes," Shao ChengZe's gaze softened. "She's the most amazing mom in the world."
Cheng LiQi held the phone with both hands, smiling and making eye contact with Dad on the screen. She loved hearing people say her mom was amazing.
She lay back on the pillow, placing the phone between the two little bears. "Dad, let's not tell stories today. Will you sing for me instead?"
Dad wasn't good at telling stories but Dad's voice sounded nice. Singing would probably sound nice too.
"Is there anything you want to hear?"
Cheng LiQi looked up at the little stars on the ceiling, thinking for a bit. "I want to hear Elsa's Let It Go."
Shao ChengZe was silent again for a moment. On Cheng Jinlan's advice, he had watched the movie and knew what song Cheng LiQi meant. He was quite sure he couldn't hit those high notes.
"How about Dad sings something else first? See if you like it?"
"Okay, sure!" Cheng LiQi didn't insist on any particular song. Whatever Dad sang, she would listen.
Outside the window was a quiet night. Inside, warm yellow light. The low humming slowly started, an unknown lullaby in some unrecognizable language. It had simple tones but sounded unexpectedly nice, full of magnetic vocals that carried a soothing power, like morning and evening waves lightly lapping the beach, or a summer breeze blowing through green waves of wheat.
Cheng LiQi's eyelids gradually grew heavy. She turned over, her little arms hugging both little bears to her chest, entering a deeper dreamland in her father's singing.
Cheng Jinlan pushed open the door and heard the low humming lullaby from the room. Her hand froze on the doorknob, her steps halted at the entrance, unable to proceed.
The lullaby was ending and Shao ChengZe started over from the beginning.
"Stop singing," she said coldly, interrupting him. The doorknob dug into her tightly clenched palm but it didn't hurt. It was just enough to make her sober. "She's asleep."
The singing stopped abruptly and the room became quiet. Cheng LiQi made some soft mumbled laughs in her sleep, clearly having a sweet dream.
The phone screen was face down on the bed. Shao ChengZe's view was pitch black darkness. He couldn't see anything.
This was the second time he had sung this lullaby.
The first time was during a stormy night. They were stranded on an island due to the weather. She had woken up in the middle of the night, unable to fall back asleep because of the thunder. He held her in his arms, gently patting her back, clumsily humming a lullaby. Her ears were pressed to his chest, her arms around his waist, curled up against him like a lazy kitten, a rare moment of complete reliance on him. She listened to his heartbeat and fell back asleep. She seldom clung to him like that.
Days of heavy rain left them isolated, even cell signals failed. They lived as if cut off from the world. He even thought that later, when they were old, they could find an obscure island and live there, sunrise and sunset, sea breeze and silver sand. Even in bad weather, she could still snuggle in his arms as he sang her lullabies.
But then the storm stopped and Cheng Jinlan called to say Shi Ran had returned. They rushed back overnight. Everything happened so suddenly yet not suddenly. She found out his identity as a Shao then, although he had never meant to hide it from her. She just never asked so he clung to that thin thread of hope.
When she found out, she was very calm, calmly suggesting they break up. He agreed.
Perhaps his surname being Shao or not was irrelevant. With her personality, if she truly loved someone, old grievances might hinder them but wouldn't make her decisively end things without even trying.
He had seen her smiling sweetly, eyes shimmering, as she practiced confessing to Shi Ran. It was the first time he realized that cold and aloof girl could smile so sweetly thinking about confessing to her crush.
She said she wanted to be together. He thought it was just a woman scorned finding comfort in his company since he happened to be there and was good enough for her eyes. She stated it very clearly that she disliked entanglements. If one day she suggested breaking up, that would be the end.
Already thinking about breaking up before even starting, this was destined to be a short-lived relationship.
She said break up, he accepted. He could be her distraction but wouldn't cling if she saw him as one.
Later, when his sister passed away, he no longer cared about the Shao family mess. He went abroad directly. Before leaving, Li Peifeng and the others wanted to see him off with drinks. He accepted drinks from everyone that night, unusually willing to get drunk to numb his nerves. He preferred to stay sober and in control. That night was an exception.
The dreamscape had felt so real. Waking up the next morning to crisp clean sheets, for a moment he felt annoyed without knowing why, whether it was annoyance at a disappearing erotic dream or at himself for having such a dream. His finger hovered over her name on his favorites list, hesitating to call.
Later, when Li Peifeng's father became critically ill, he returned to visit him at the hospital. In the hallway, he saw her walking into a patient's room with Shi Ran. On impulse, he followed them and saw her take out a marriage certificate to show Shi Ran's mother. In that moment, he felt how ridiculous he was to not want to hear even a word about her from others after that.
He sealed her away in the past for years after, cutting off all contact. But now, he regretted not making that call that morning. If he had, would everything have been different?
Cheng Jinlan strode to the bedside in two or three steps, picking up the phone, about to hang up. She didn't expect it to be a video call and was taken aback seeing the profound eyes on the screen.
Shao ChengZe was also startled for a second before immediately turning his head away, murmuring a soft "Sorry."
She had just finished showering, only wearing a champagne colored silk slip dress. Her long black hair like seaweed draped over her shoulders, covering large areas of exposed skin but unable to hide the glistening collarbones. Under the light, her neckline resembled a pool of spring water, so fair it dazzled the eyes.
Cheng Jinlan glared at him resentfully, about to tap End Call when he spoke up again, brows and eyes lowered, only the red nose facing the screen. "I called to talk about the paparazzi incident today."
Cheng Jinlan stopped her hand and angled the camera at the floor, walking out of Cheng LiQi's bedroom and closing the door.
"Speak."
"Do you have an employee named Cao Yanshen at your hotel?"
"Yes."
Cao Yanshen was the one arrested for sexual harassment of a server. She had a deep impression of him as it was the first such incident at her hotel.
"He hired the stalker. He recently latched onto a rich woman."
Cheng Jinlan understood. Back then it had been a huge scandal. Surname Cao must resent her and wanted to stir up trouble using Cheng LiQi now that he had backing.
Shao ChengZe went on, "I've already had someone handle it."
Cheng Jinlan gave a curt thanks, polite yet distant.
"It's what I should do," Shao ChengZe paused briefly before tentatively continuing, "Miao Miao, I—"
Cheng Jinlan's even voice suddenly turned sharp as she urgently cut him off. "Don't call me that, Shao ChengZe."
In the past, she didn't like drinking odd concoctions or coffee, only water. On a whim, he gave her this weird nickname, calling her that intimately at times.
Cheng Jinlan hated him using that name now.
"Alright, I won't call you that, but I want to discuss that night with you." Afraid she would hang up, he continued without waiting for a response. "I just want to say one thing. That night I was drunk but I didn't see you as just anyone. I thought it was a dream, a dream with the real you, and only because it was you would I dream something like that. If I had known it was real, I definitely would have—"
Cheng Jinlan no longer kept the camera aimed at the floor. She held up her phone, looking at the screen, eyes cold and contemptuous without concealment. "You make it sound so much like you still care for me."
Cheng LiQi gave a cold laugh. "Of course, you must like me. Being with me will make your old man furious enough to have smoke coming out of his seven orifices. I don't think anyone else could have this effect on him. Am I right, Shao ChengZe?"
