Cheng LiQi said to Wu Lin on the phone, "Wu sister, I've decided what gift I want to give to Shen ChuQi."
Wu Lin helped wipe her hands clean and asked, "What gift do you want to give?"
"I want to make a Spiderman birthday cake for him. Shen ChuQi loves Spiderman the most."
Shen XiWen was rubbing hand cream when she overheard Cheng LiQi's words. She looked up and happened to meet Cheng LiQi's eyes.
The little girl's eyes were smiling, seeming to contain some slyness, just like when Shao ChengZe was up to some mischief. The bloodline inheritance was unmistakable.
However, Shen XiWen also doubted she had seen wrong, after all, she had a guilty conscience.
Her phone vibrated, and she threw the hand cream into her bag, casually answering the call without looking at the screen. She was startled when she heard the voice.
Li PeiFeng asked, "You're at Dewang Building?"
Shen XiWen nodded and smiled at Cheng LiQi, then picked up her bag and walked outside with the phone, "Yes, I'm temporarily guest starring in a role here today, filming a scene. What's up?"
"I'm here too, with Shen ChuQi."
Shen XiWen's breath tightened.
Li PeiFeng rarely spoke nicely as he explained, "Shen ChuQi said he's grown up and wants to be an actor, kept clamoring for me to bring him to see a TV filming location. A friend of mine is the producer of this drama, so he brought me in. I only knew you were here after arriving. If you don't feel good about it, I can take him away now."
"No." Shen XiWen hurriedly said.
"You don't want me to take him away, so do you want to see him?" Li PeiFeng pushed step by step.
Shen XiWen's tone was flustered, "Can I see him?"
Li PeiFeng's voice turned cold, "I've never stopped you from seeing him. You just need to think through the consequences of seeing him in front of you. You only have one identity, his mother. If you want to see him in another identity, it's better not to see him. Just continue as if you don't have this son, go your starry path, and I'll find him a stepmother. We won't hinder each other."
"We'll be here until noon, call me if you make up your mind."
Li PeiFeng threw out a bunch of cold words, then immediately hung up first, it was throw caution to the wind. If she still didn't turn back, he might as well go register on a matchmaking site today and get married off in three days, bleh. Li PeiFeng slapped himself, what get married, he was just too pissed off.
Cheng LiQi came back from the bathroom and pulled Shen ChuQi to a corner, whispering with him.
Wu Lin didn't leave the two kids, chatting with others while keeping an eye on them. Their faces were equally serious, as if something big had happened. She apologized to her chatting partner before walking over to ask if something was going on.
Cheng LiQi gestured for Dad Shao to bend down.
Shao ChengZe bent down as told.
"Dad Shao, we found Shen ChuQi's mom, I saw her in the bathroom just now."
Shao ChengZe didn't want to discourage them, but it was better than them being hugely disappointed later. "We can't determine that's Shen ChuQi's mom just based on a mole by her eye corner."
"No, Dad Shao. When I mentioned Shen ChuQi, she looked at me. The sister we saw at the mall is her, she smiled at me back then too." Cheng LiQi spoke reasonably.
Shao ChengZe didn't expect her to be so observant. He couldn't refute a kid's thinking either. "So what's your next plan?"
Cheng LiQi thought for a moment, "Shen ChuQi, pretend to be sick. Whenever I'm sick, my mom gets super anxious. If she's your mom, she'll definitely be anxious too."
Shen ChuQi felt it was a good idea.
Shao ChengZe felt it was not a good idea, and reminded Li PeiFeng in time what might happen later.
Li PeiFeng just laughed, "Little LiQi is a clever imp. I need to make Shen ChuQi try harder. He must marry into my Li family in the future, you try harder too, make Little LiQi take away 'Shao' sooner and call you Dad directly. Then we can become in-laws."
Seeing he was still in the mood to joke, Shao ChengZe understood. Li PeiFeng had come prepared today to bring his son to find his mother.
All Shao ChengZe knew was that when Li PeiFeng graduated with his master's degree, he not only brought home a diploma for his parents, but also a 4-month-old baby boy named Shen ChuQi.
At that time it had caused great waves, because Li PeiFeng made no attempt to hide it at all. He brought Shen ChuQi everywhere, and no one could find out who the child's mother was, even after going through all the girls Li PeiFeng had dated. Yet not one had the surname Shen. Some said the child possibly wasn't his, if he was his own, why didn't he have Li as a surname? But soon they were proven wrong, because as Shen ChuQi grew older, he looked more and more like Li PeiFeng. Anyone could see Li PeiFeng was his father, so his parents couldn't not recognize their own grandson.
As for who Shen ChuQi's mother was, it remained an unsolved mystery among their circle. Shao ChengZe remembered Shen XiWen was quite close with Shao ChengZe, didn't expect she was Shen ChuQi's mysterious mother.
Shen XiWen's guest role was an absent-minded woman. She portrayed it very well, not needing to act at all, passing in one take.
When Shen ChuQi saw Shen XiWen walk over, his entire body stood stiffly still, shocked. Cheng LiQi grew anxious and whispered, "Shen ChuQi, hurry and grab your stomach!"
Shen ChuQi didn't react, so Cheng LiQi forcefully jabbed his waist. Shen ChuQi's mouth suddenly puckered as he cried without making a sound, with large teardrops streaming down his face continuously.
Cheng LiQi thought she had hurt Shen ChuQi with her jab, and anxiously asked, "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose. Does it hurt a lot?"
Shen XiWen was already panicking when she first saw Shen ChuQi. Seeing him cry made her even more panicked. She ran in front of Shen ChuQi, grasping his hands. Her voice shook badly, "Little Qi, what's wrong? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
When she called out 'Little Qi', Shen ChuQi cried even harder. His throat choked up as he gasped for breath.
Cheng LiQi had never seen Shen ChuQi cry so sadly before. Her eyes also reddened as mist filled up her eyes, teardrops hanging on her eyelashes, threatening to fall. She asked Shen XiWen in sobs, "Auntie, are you Shen ChuQi's mommy? He really wants to find his mommy. He's been looking for a long time, dreaming of finding his mommy every day."
Shen XiWen couldn't withstand Cheng LiQi's words at all. She immediately hugged Shen ChuQi tightly in her arms, with tears streaming down her face like rain, "Little Qi, I'm mommy, mommy is sorry, mommy is sorry to you."
Shen ChuQi let out a loud wail, hugging Shen XiWen's neck tightly, with tears and snot dripping down together. Cheng LiQi also cried along softly. Shen XiWen pulled Cheng LiQi into the hug too. The three hugged and cried together in a blob, the scene was beyond chaotic.
Fortunately Li PeiFeng had arranged for his people to block off the area, preventing prying eyes.
Seeing Li PeiFeng's reddened eyes, Shao ChengZe felt somewhat disgusted, "Don't you dare cry in front of me, I won't hug and comfort you."
Li PeiFeng grumpily told him to scram.
Shao ChengZe patted his shoulder, "Little LiQi is the one who made this reunion scene go so smoothly, without her, your father and son melodrama wouldn't have gone so well today."
"As you say, she's our Li family's future daughter-in-law. My mom already said, her shares will go to Little LiQi in the future."
Shao ChengZe scoffed at him, "You think she cares about those few Li family shares?" Li PeiFeng lifted his leg to kick him. Does he have to say it so bluntly?
With Shao ChengZe's quips, the wetness in Li PeiFeng's eyes faded away. At least the grown man didn't cry out loud in public.
When Cheng JinLan called, Cheng LiQi's crying still hadn't stopped.
Cheng JinLan anxiously asked, "Why are you crying?"
Cheng LiQi hiccupped with sobs, telling Cheng JinLan in fragments, "Mommy, we found Shen ChuQi's mommy. He cried so sadly, his mommy also cried so sadly, I'm also so sad."
"Good girl, don't cry. Shen ChuQi finding his mommy is a happy thing."
Cheng LiQi sniffed her little nose, "Mommy, Shen ChuQi's mommy knows she's his mommy, but why didn't she come find him? She cried so sadly, she must have missed Shen ChuQi too. If she missed him, why didn't she come find him? She's clearly on Earth."
She actually wanted to ask, does my daddy know he's my daddy? If he knew, why doesn't he come find me? Is it because he's not from Earth? Shen ChuQi's daddy knows everyone on Earth yet doesn't recognize him, if he's on Mars, isn't that too far? Is he too far to miss me? Would he also cry so sadly when he sees me? Do Supermen cry?
Cheng JinLan's heart was thrown into chaos by her questions. She was asking on Shen ChuQi's behalf, yet it seemed like she was also asking for herself.
She suppressed the sourness in her heart, and told Cheng LiQi, "Shen ChuQi's mommy must have wanted to find Shen ChuQi too, but there are so many people in this world. Finding someone is not an easy thing to do. Shen ChuQi's mommy must have gone through a lot of difficulties before finding Shen ChuQi today."
Cheng LiQi felt her mom made sense. Earth was so big, she nestled into Dad Shao's arms and buzzed, "Mommy, I miss you so much."
Cheng JinLan tapped the driver seat, signaling Tang Yicheng to make a U-turn. "Mommy will come find you now, okay?"
"Okay." Cheng LiQi wiped her tears onto Dad Shao's clothes, mimicking her grandma's tone to tell her mom, "Mommy, drive slowly, I'll wait for you."
"Okay, Mommy will drive slowly."
Tang Yicheng glanced at the rearview mirror. He had an instinctive feeling Mrs. Cheng wasn't in a good mood right now. He cautiously asked, "Mrs. Cheng, where are we going?"
They were originally going to Yi Sheng's auction today to mess up Shao's event. Looking at the situation now, that was clearly not happening. In the Cheng family, even if the sky was falling down, nothing was more important than their "little princess".
"Dewang Building." Cheng JinLan leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. For the first time regarding something, she was at a complete loss over what to do, unable to advance or retreat.
In the nanny car at Dewang Building, Shen ChuQi leaned against Shen XiWen, not saying a word no matter what she said. He just hugged Shen XiWen's neck tightly, silently shedding tears.
Shen XiWen was afraid he would keep repressing it and cry himself sick, so she rolled down the car window to ask Li PeiFeng for help. Li PeiFeng clearly had no intention of helping her. Afraid he would also shed some tears if he got in the car, that would be too damn embarrassing. He pretended not to see her plea, turning his face coldly away.
"Auntie, is Shen ChuQi still crying?" Cheng LiQi had just finished calling her mom. Hugged in Dad Shao's arms, she could only see the back of Shen ChuQi's head.
Seeing Cheng LiQi, Shen XiWen felt like she saw a lifesaver. "Little niece, can you help auntie comfort Little Qi?"
Cheng LiQi climbed into the car and first introduced herself to Shen XiWen, "Auntie, I'm called Cheng LiQi, Shen ChuQi's deskmate, and also his good friend. You can call me Little LiQi, that's what my family calls me."
Shen XiWen's belly full of distress and unease was amused by Cheng LiQi's serious self-introduction.
"Hello Little LiQi, I'm..." Looking at the little person in her arms, Shen XiWen softly said, "I'm Shen ChuQi's mommy."
Cheng LiQi's red eyes swept out a big smile, "Auntie, just let Shen ChuQi cry, he is happy, he has been looking for you for a long time, often hiding in the quilt and crying alone at night, and now that he has found you, he is too happy, that's why he is crying like this."
Shen ChuQi finally raised his head to refute Cheng LiQi, "I did not... hide in the quilt and cry secretly, I am a man, I seldom cry, once I fell to the ground, my knees bled, and I did not cry."
He only looked at Cheng LiQi, but spoke to Shen Xi Wen, and after speaking he secretly glanced at Shen Xi Wen.
Seeing that he finally spoke, Shen Xi Wen quickly followed his words and said, "Which knee did little ChuQi hurt, does it hurt, let mom see, okay?"
Shen ChuQi reluctantly stretched out his left leg, rolled up his pants, and pointed to a small scar on his knee, showing it to Cheng LiQi, "There was a lot of blood at the time, it hurt a lot, but I didn't cry. Dad said this was the medal of honor for a brave man."
Shen Xi Wen gently blew the knee of Shen ChuQi, "Our little ChuQi is really brave."
Shen ChuQi's face turned red like an apple, he pointed to a small red mark on his arm and said, "This is where I got hurt when I climbed a tree to save little Bai who climbed up the tree and didn't dare to come down. I didn't cry either. Little Bai is my pet kitten."
Shen Xi Wen gently blew his arm again, "Our little ChuQi is so amazing."
Cheng LiQi was about to expose him, that was clearly where he got hurt learning Sun Wukong climbing trees, but she saw Shen Xi Wen's mobile phone on the seat next to her, the screen lit up, displaying three words that she happened to recognize.
Shao ChengZe, she thought, so Shao-Cheng-Ze was these three words, she silently remembered this name in her heart.
Shen Xi Wen's heart and eyes were full of Shen ChuQi, and she didn't notice the incoming muted call on her phone at all.
"Auntie, someone called your phone," she pointed at the phone, blinking her big eyes and looking at Shen Xi Wen, "It's Shao ChengZe."
When Shen ChuQi heard this name, he hurriedly got up from Shen Xi Wen's arms and craned his neck to look at the phone on the seat.
Seeing the appearance of these two little guys, Shen Xi Wen intuitively understood something. She said to Cheng LiQi, "Little LiQi, can you help auntie answer it? Auntie is holding little ChuQi and can't answer the phone."
"Can I really answer it?" Cheng LiQi confirmed with Shen Xi Wen again. Mom said don't take other people's phones casually, but she really wanted to answer this call.
"Of course you can, you're helping auntie."
Cheng LiQi nodded, picked up the phone, pressed answer, and put the phone to her ear, but she was in no hurry to speak.
As soon as the call was connected, Shao ChengZe spoke up. Thinking it was Shen Xi Wen on the other end, he said, "You don't have to go to Shao JingYun's appointment, and in the future if he asks you out to eat again, you can refuse, no need to give him any more face."
Cheng LiQi only had one feeling, his voice sounded so nice, but it was cold, he probably couldn't tell good bedtime stories. She was a little nervous, only noticing his voice, and didn't hear what he had just said. She said, "I didn't hear your words clearly, can you say it again?"
Shao ChengZe was taken aback, he looked at the number he had dialed, it was indeed Shen Xi Wen's, and he asked, "Who are you?"
"Are you Shao ChengZe?"
The little girl's voice was tender and milky, sounding like she had just cried.
Shao ChengZe's voice unusually softened a few degrees, and he replied to her, "I'm Shao ChengZe."
Cheng LiQi explained why she answered the call, "Auntie couldn't answer the phone, so I helped her answer it."
Shao ChengZe didn't have experience dealing with little girls, and just hmm'd to indicate he understood.
Then, Cheng LiQi asked the question she most wanted to know, "Are you on Earth? Or on Mars?"
Shao ChengZe: ......!
