The wall had been erected, not built very high, just two layers of bricks laid symbolically, no glass installed, no barbed wire pulled, and of course, the lawn hadn’t been replaced with cement either, but these two layers of bricks clearly demonstrated an attitude from Cheng Shanhe - if Shao Chengze dared to climb a ladder and scale the wall again, it would mean he had no respect for Cheng Shanhe at all.
Would he dare show no respect for Cheng Shanhe? Of course he wouldn’t dare, Cheng was his future father-in-law, unless he didn’t plan on marrying into the Cheng family anymore.
So whether it was scaling the wall, digging a tunnel, or even just walking through the front gate at night, Shao Chengze absolutely could not do those things again. He obediently returned to the role of a neighbor, and temporarily moved back to his apartment in Songlin.
That night during a video call with her dad, Cheng Liqi heaved a long sigh, “Dad, how could you be so careless? When doing bad things, of course you should do it secretly! Look how miserable you are getting caught by Grandpa.”
Shao Chengze looked at the delicate little figure on the screen, his eyes shining like water, “Yes, Dad should have been more careful. Next time Dad will know to do bad things secretly, no one can find out.”
Cheng Liqi comforted her dad, “It’s okay Dad, Grandpa is so easy to coax. Every time Grandpa gets angry, I just need to hug his neck and tell him he’s the best grandpa in the world and I love him the most, then Grandpa’s face turns into a big smile. Don’t worry Dad, I’ll help coax Grandpa for you.”
Someone couldn’t hold in their laughter.
Cheng Liqi heard it, “Dad, is there someone else there with you? I heard someone laugh.”
Lv Siwei, leaning in the doorway, waved her hand at Shao Chengze and turned to leave the study. She just wanted to hear the little girl’s voice, she couldn’t show herself to the young miss before her son was formally accepted by the Cheng family, or it would be disrespectful to the young lady and her family.
But just hearing the voice from such a close distance made Lv Siwei extremely excited, she couldn’t sit still and paced circles around the sofa. The young girl was so well behaved, and her voice was so sweet, at least her son was good for producing such an adorable little girl.
Shao Chengze responded to Cheng Liqi, “It was the sound from the TV, the TV in the living room is on.”
“Oh, does Dad want to talk to Mom?” Cheng Liqi had said everything she wanted to say to her dad, she had to go practice piano now.
“Yes, Dad wants to talk to Mom.” He wanted to talk to her, he just didn’t know if she wanted to talk to him.
Cheng Liqi understood. She crawled off the bed, phone in hand, and ran to the living room to find her mom. “Mom, Dad says he misses you and wants to talk to you. I’m going to go practice piano now, won’t eavesdrop on your secret talk with Dad.” She handed the phone over to her mom in the living room, then dashed off to the piano room.
Cheng Jinlan glanced at the screen, “What do you want?”
Shao Chengze replied, “Like Little Liqi said, Dad misses Mom.”
“Boring.”
“Doesn’t Mom miss Dad?”
“No.”
“Looks like it’s just me with hopeless one-sided love.”
“Good that you know.”
Shao Chengze smiled, “Can you let me see you for a bit, to cure my lovesickness?” On the screen he could only see the ceiling light.
Cheng Jinlan covered the camera with a piece of paper. Now even the ceiling light was invisible, only pitch black darkness on the screen.
“Don’t disturb me while I’m working.”
“Okay,” Shao Chengze didn’t insist, “Then I’ll keep you company while you work.”
The phone became quiet, only occasionally hearing the tapping of keyboard and rustling of documents. Amidst these soft sounds, Cheng Jinlan looked up from the documents, slightly distracted. This scene was just like before, in the past, when they would be on the phone together, her doing homework on this side, him working on the other side.
She rarely thought about the past, but had been frequently reminiscing recently.
Cheng Jinlan set down the documents in her hands and looked toward the paper covering the phone camera. “How is your foot now?”
The tapping of the keyboard stopped. Shao Chengze looked at the pitch black screen and replied, “Still a little swollen. Do you want to see?”
Cheng Jinlan didn’t fall for his teasing. “If it’s still a little swollen then go see a doctor. What can I see from here?”
Shao Chengze wasn’t ashamed at being seen through. On the contrary, he became even more shameless. “I feel like it would be more effective if you saw it.”
...
Cheng Jinlan didn’t want to respond to him anymore. “Then just let it stay swollen. It doesn’t hurt me anyway. I’m hanging up now, Cheng Liqi needs to take a bath.”
“Okay.” Shao Chengze replied with a smile, waiting for her to hang up.
But the expected hang up never came.
After a while, Cheng Jinlan spoke up. “This Saturday morning, I’m taking Cheng Liqi to get vaccinations. Come along if you’re free, if not then don’t worry about it.”
“I’m free on Saturday, anytime is good,” she hadn’t even finished speaking before Shao Chengze already replied. “Should I come pick you up then?”
“No need, we can just meet up at the hospital. I’m hanging up now.”
Not waiting for a response from the other end, Cheng Jinlan immediately ended the call, then threw the phone onto the sofa and quickly walked away, the further the better.
The corners of Shao Chengze’s lips slowly curved up, his dark pupils filling with warmth.
Lv Siwei looked at her son who had finally emerged and couldn’t help teasing him. “You’re finally done with the call. I thought it would go on until tomorrow morning!”
Shao Chengze lightly coughed to cover up his unnatural expression.
Lv Siwei rarely saw her son look embarrassed and found it amusing. After enjoying it for a bit, she suddenly remembered something. “That’s right, I don’t know how, but your step-grandmother found out I was here and called to invite me over for the Dragon Boat Festival. I directly rejected her. Don’t know if it was her own idea or the old master’s intention, but I was quite blunt and didn’t leave her any face at all, must have pissed her off good.
The Shao family didn’t recognize her as a daughter-in-law, and she had never planned on stepping foot in that household. Even when Shao Zhangke was alive, she had never eaten a meal there. Now that Shao Zhangke had passed, she would go there even less. Who knew what they were scheming.
Lv Siwei looked at her son. “I didn’t make any trouble for you right? But even if I did, don’t worry about it, you can smooth it over yourself.”
She didn’t understand anything about the business world, but Shao Zhangke’s biggest regret on his deathbed was that things that should have belonged to his mother ended up in that woman’s hands instead. That was his biggest grievance in life. So she agreed to her son returning to the Shao family to do what he needed to do, but that didn’t mean she would pretend to get along with those people over there or engage in those fake courtesies.
Shao Chengze sat down next to Lv Siwei and took her phone, directly adding that number to the blacklist.
“You’re thinking too much about making trouble or not making trouble. For dealing with those people, just remember this one thing - no need for any courtesy. In the future, as soon as you hear her voice, just directly hang up. No need to listen to her nonsense.”
Lv Siwei held her son’s hand and leaned on his shoulder. “I knew I didn’t raise my good boy for nothing.”
Just when they were having this tender moment, Lv Siwei thought of something. She straightened up and slapped his arm. “When will you finally be able to enter the Cheng family’s doors? Just hearing the little girl’s voice makes me itch with impatience!”
Shao Chengze held his arm out to her again.
Lv Siwei was puzzled. “What?”
“Hit me a few more times.”
“Why?”
“Because it’ll probably be a while before I can enter.” His original difficult task became even harder after the failed proximity plan that angered the future father-in-law. The Cheng family's doors were even farther from his reach now.
Lv Siwei: ......
She couldn’t believe she gave birth to such a useless fool who didn’t even know how to pursue a wife.
That Saturday, a fine drizzle fell from the sky. In Cheng Liqi's heart, however, it was pouring rain. She had been unhappy since waking up that morning, because today she had to go to the hospital for vaccinations. Cheng Liqi really disliked getting shots. Even when she was sick, she would rather take bitter medicine than get a shot. The nurse aunties always said it wouldn't hurt, but it really did hurt a lot.
When they arrived at the hospital, Cheng Liqi didn't want to get out of the car, or let her mom get out either. She leaned over to cling onto her mom's hand and act cute. "Mom, do I really have to get it today? It's raining today, isn't it not good to get shots on a rainy day?"
Cheng Jinlan pointed outside. "Look who's here?"
In the rain, Shao ChengZe walked over with a black umbrella and tapped on the car window.
When Cheng LiQi saw her father, she was instantly delighted. She hadn't seen her father for several days.
"Dad! You look so handsome holding the umbrella. It's like a dark knight descending from the sky."
Shao ChengZe rested his elbow on the car window and said, "Does the little princess want the dark knight to carry her out of the car?"
Cheng LiQi stretched out her arms and shouted loudly, "Yes!"
Shao ChengZe opened the car door, undid her seat belt, and picked her up with one arm. Cheng Jinlan also got out of the car and went to take the umbrella from him. Shao ChengZe didn't hand it to her but shifted the handle towards himself and tilted the canopy towards her.
"No need. Just come a little closer."
Cheng Jinlan looked down at his feet. Sensing her gaze, Shao ChengZe's eyes smiled deeper and he took two steps to show her. Cheng Jinlan gave him an annoyed look.
Cheng LiQi didn't notice the silent exchange between her parents. She hugged her father's neck and said to her mother, "Mom, you have to stay close to Dad, or you'll get wet. Getting wet makes you sick. If you get really sick, you have to get a shot."
The more she spoke, the softer her voice became. She had temporarily forgotten about the shot, but now she remembered again.
"Dad, are you afraid of getting shots?"
"Dad is afraid of shots too."
Cheng LiQi's eyes widened as she looked at her father. Shen Chuqi had told her boys aren't afraid of pain. Is Dad afraid of pain too?
Shao ChengZe's eyes told her, "Dad is very afraid of pain."
Cheng LiQi patted her Dad's shoulder comfortingly, "It's okay Dad. Next time you get a shot, Mom and I will be with you, so you won't be scared."
Shao ChengZe bumped his chin against her hair and said, "Thank you, little LiQi." Then he added, "This time, Mom and Dad will both be with little LiQi, so little LiQi won't be scared either."
Cheng LiQi thought about it and nodded. She wasn't scared at all anymore.
The three huddled under one umbrella as the raindrops pattered down. Sheltered beneath, soft whispers were exchanged. A gust of wind blew by and Shao ChengZe shielded both his daughter and the woman beside him in his embrace.
Nestled between her parents, Cheng LiQi giggled gleefully, "Dad's back is so broad, it blocked all the rain in an instant. Mom, isn't Dad amazing?"
Cheng Jinlan helped straighten her daughter's windblown skirt and wiped the raindrops off her white shirt. She answered dismissively, "Very amazing. Let's get going, the rain is getting heavier."
Shao ChengZe's eyes flickered as her fingers brushed his thin shirt, leaving a trail of warmth on his skin.
Cheng LiQi said she wasn't afraid anymore but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt. She leaned against her father and held her mother's arm as the nurse gently assured her "it'll be over soon". She held back her tears but once they left the hospital, pearls began streaming down her cheeks. She didn't make a sound, just silently wiped her tears with her hand.
The rainbow after the rain stopped couldn't distract her. This was the first time Shao ChengZe had seen his daughter cry in a long time. Unsure of how to comfort her, he could only catch her falling tears in his large hand and turned to the girl's mother for help.
Cheng Jinlan spoke gently, "Little LiQi was very brave today. As a reward, little LiQi can tell Mom what she wants for lunch. But no ice cream today since you just had a shot. You can have it tomorrow."
Cheng LiQi's tears hung from her lashes. Hearing her mother's words, more threatened to fall.
"Do you want pizza?"
Cheng LiQi asked with red-rimmed eyes, "Can I have fruit pizza?"
"Of course."
Cheng LiQi's sobs gradually subsided but she still choked out, "Mom, if I cry one more minute, can I still have the fruit pizza?"
Cheng Jinlan stroked her cheek and said, "Of course you can. Little LiQi can cry five more minutes but no more after that or your eyes will be swollen tomorrow."
Cheng LiQi nodded with a hiccup, "Okay, I'll just cry three more minutes. I don't want swollen eyes because they won't be pretty."
Listening to the soft exchange between mother and daughter, Shao ChengZe's heart ached and softened. He took the hand of the woman beside him and stroked Cheng LiQi's hair. "If little LiQi wants fruit pizza, Dad can make it."
Hearing her father's words, even Cheng LiQi's hiccups stopped. "Really, Dad?"
"Yes, does little LiQi want it?"
Cheng LiQi's red-rimmed eyes were full of anticipation. "I want it!" But a question occurred to her. "Where will you make it, Dad?"
Her grandfather was still angry at her father for sneaking over the wall. She definitely couldn't bring him home.
Shao ChengZe tentatively asked the woman beside him, "Shall we go to Songlin Apartments? That's where I'm staying now."
He added, "Just me alone, no one else." His mother had already gone back yesterday.
Cheng Jinlan gave him a look.
The rain that had stopped briefly started up again. Cheng Jinlan's gaze fell on their clasped hands. "Do you even have the ingredients at home? Don't make rash promises."
Shao ChengZe's eyes crinkled in a smile and he squeezed her palm. "We can stop by the supermarket first."
Cheng LiQi's tears had dried and her sobs ceased. She cheered, "Let's go shopping at the supermarket, then go eat the fruit pizza Dad makes at his home!"
But the little princess didn't remain excited for long. The effect of the shot plus her crying exhausted her. She fell asleep in her mother's arms before they even reached the supermarket.
Shao ChengZe looked in the rearview mirror. "Asleep?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll drop you off at Songlin first. I'll go to the supermarket after."
Cheng Jinlan said, "She's sleeping. We won't go to your place. Stop the car, I'll have the driver come get us."
But Shao ChengZe didn't stop driving. "I already promised her. If she wakes up and can't eat it, she'll think I lied. I swore to you I wouldn't lie and I certainly can't lie to my daughter either."
Cheng Jinlan fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
At the door, Shao ChengZe held Cheng LiQi in one arm and punched in the passcode for Cheng Jinlan to see with the other. She deliberately looked away so he recited it aloud. "The password is still your birthday. It's never changed."
Cheng LiQi was laid down on the large bed. Her eyelids and mouth twitched before she fell back into deep slumber. Shao ChengZe led the woman behind him out of the bedroom. "The supermarket is right downstairs. I'll be back soon. You can take a nap if you're tired. There are drinks in the fridge if you're thirsty. The study computer can be used if you have work to do. The password is your birthday. Every password in this home is your birthday."
Cheng Jinlan couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. "Are you done? Hurry up and go."
Shao ChengZe smiled. "I'm going?"
"Go." Cheng Jinlan said impatiently. It was just a trip to the supermarket, not a decade-long voyage to outer space.
Shao ChengZe pulled her into his embrace. "One hug before I go." He said one but it was just one brief hug before promptly letting go.
He had left but his scent lingered—a faint, crisp fragrance. Cheng Jinlan briefly glanced around the living room. She had been here before. The furnishings were largely unchanged. The vase she had bought still adorned the table. She went to the window and gazed motionless at the rain outside, somewhat lost in thought.
The doorbell rang, jolting Cheng Jinlan from her reverie. Thinking it was him with hands too full to open the door, she hurried over and opened it. Seeing the person outside, she froze for a second.
Shao Yunzheng narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
Cheng Jinlan answered, "Shao ChengZe isn't here but he'll be back soon."
Shao Yunzheng was dissatisfied with her attitude. He rapped his cane heavily on the floor. "You haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"
Cheng Jinlan lifted her chin. "I don't see how it's any of your business why I'm here. As far as I know, this isn't your home."
Shao Yunzheng's eyes narrowed further. "As expected of the daughter raised by the Chengs. Years have gone by but you're still the same as before—not an ounce of manners in front of your elders."
"Grandpa," Cheng Liqi, who had just woken up, walked over with her hair half-sticking up. She held her mother's hand, her voice was soft, and her expression was extremely serious. "You were so mean to my mom. Why should my mom be polite to you? My grandpa taught me a word called reciprocity. It means if someone is polite to me, I must also be polite to them. But if someone is not polite to me, then I don't need to be polite to them either. If you want my mom to be polite to you, then you need to be polite first."
