In the evening, though the sun had not yet set over the western hills, Xu Xiuhe was in a good mood and did not ask Liu Assistant to continue processing the unfinished files, perhaps out of a pang of conscience. He felt that Liu Assistant had been working a bit too hard.
When he drove back to the small building, the other employees had already left. Xu Xiuhe climbed up to the third floor, where Shen Yin was sketching design drafts.
Xu Xiuhe walked up to the desk, bent down and kissed Shen Yin's hair, and asked while looking at the draft, "You really want to make furniture?"
"Zhengzheng is here," Shen Yin replied.
Xu Xiuhe turned to see Zhengzheng playing in the living room, and said with his head lowered, "He's having a great time playing."
"I think this furniture is quite interesting. The Chinese-style furniture on the market nowadays always seems to be lacking something. I wanted to recreate the furniture from my memory of the Dasheng Dynasty, with more exquisite decorative patterns. I've looked at the furniture in stores, and while the styles are largely similar, the carvings aren't delicate enough," Shen Yin explained.
"So you want to make it yourself?"
Shen Yin nodded.
"Won't it be too tiring for you?" Xu Xiuhe was genuinely concerned about Shen Yin overworking herself.
"I'll just draw the designs, and have someone else make them. It won't be too tiring," Shen Yin assured him.
"Hmm, okay. But when you're pregnant, you should stop, alright?"
"???" Shen Yin didn't quite understand.
Xu Xiuhe stood up, walked over to the carpet, picked up Zhengzheng and asked, "Zhengzheng, do you want a daddy?"
Zhengzheng waved his hands, "Want daddy." Then he planted a kiss on Xu Xiuhe's face.
"Daddy will take you out for dinner tonight, okay?"
Zhengzheng grinned, squirming in Xu Xiuhe's arms with delight.
"Go to your mom, daddy needs to get ready." Xu Xiuhe put Zhengzheng down.
Zhengzheng stood on the ground, swinging his arms and strutting over to Shen Yin in a hilariously exaggerated manner. Once he reached Shen Yin, he hugged her legs and said, "Mommy, eat food go."
Xu Xiuhe went into the bedroom, grabbed Zhengzheng's cup from the bedside table, packed Zhengzheng's go-bag, then went to the closet to fetch a bag for Shen Yin.
"Wifey, I'm all set. Let's go," Xu Xiuhe said, standing in the living room holding a bag in each hand.
For some reason, the sight struck Shen Yin as hilarious, and she struggled to hold back her laughter as she said, "Alright then, let's go."
Xu Xiuhe drove steadily, with Shen Yin and Zhengzheng sitting in the back seat. He kept glancing at them through the rearview mirror.
Shen Yin felt a bit shy under his gaze, as she was still quite flustered - after all, just last night the two of them had...
"Focus on driving," she said.
"Mm-hmm, got it, wifey," Xu Xiuhe replied with a smile.
"Wifey, have you thought about what I mentioned earlier?"
Shen Yin was puzzled, unable to recall what Xu Xiuhe had said.
"Having a second child," Xu Xiuhe stated bluntly.
Shen Yin's heart skipped a beat. What did he just say?
"What's having a second child?" Zhengzheng piped up, his curious face the picture of innocence.
"It means giving Zhengzheng a little brother or sister, so Zhengzheng can be the big brother," Xu Xiuhe patiently explained.
"Oh," Zhengzheng nodded, half-understanding.
"Does Zhengzheng want a little brother or a little sister?" Xu Xiuhe asked.
Zhengzheng put a finger to his mouth, appearing deep in thought. After a few seconds, he said, "Zhengzheng wants a big brother."
By this point, Shen Yin could no longer bear to listen. What was this all about? Leaving aside the fact that she had no plans for another child yet, how could she give Zhengzheng an older brother?
"Stop, Zhengzheng, you're too young. Let's talk about this again in a few years, okay?" Shen Yin said softly, her head lowered.
"You don't want to have another one?" Xu Xiuhe's tone was unreadable, but Shen Yin's instinct told her he was a little unhappy.
She knew Xu Xiuhe well enough to realize that if she didn't explain, his brooding nature would lead him to overthink things, perhaps even assuming she wanted a divorce again. "No, it's just that Zhengzheng is too young, only two years old. Let's reconsider when he's a bit older. Don't read too much into it, I have no thoughts of divorce," she clarified.
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiuhe suddenly broke into a smile so bright that Shen Yin could see it clearly in the front mirror. She rarely saw him smile so happily. From what she learned about his family history and upbringing from Auntie Song, she knew his past could not have been easy.
"Am I so good-looking that you're staring at me so intently?" Xu Xiuhe asked in a low voice.
"Who's staring at you? You're so full of yourself," Shen Yin replied sheepishly, her voice lacking conviction.
"Daddy looks like Zhengzheng, just as handsome," Zhengzheng chimed in.
Shen Yin burst into laughter at this. Little kids really did say the funniest things when they started talking.
"Zhengzheng, I'm your daddy. You can only say you look like me, not that I look like you. Understand?" Xu Xiuhe corrected.
"Understood, but I'm saying you look like me, not that I look like you," Zhengzheng argued, not comprehending the issue. He turned to Shen Yin, hoping his mother would take his side.
"Hahahahaha!" Shen Yin couldn't hold it in any longer. The logic of children really was hilarious.
"Ahem." Xu Xiuhe cleared his throat loudly, and Shen Yin finally calmed down. A few seconds later, she leaned towards Zhengzheng and said, "Zhengzheng, you can't say daddy looks like you. You have to say you look like daddy, okay?"
Zhengzheng nodded obediently, "Zhengzheng looks like daddy."
Only then was Xu Xiuhe satisfied.
Watching the father and son interact, Shen Yin felt deeply moved. Zhengzheng was sure to grow into a sunny, lively, kind, and cheerful boy, because he was growing up surrounded by love.
The car pulled up to the entrance of Qingfeng Mingyue restaurant. Shen Yin wanted Xu Xiuhe to stop so she and Zhengzheng could get out first.
"It's fine, just drive straight down to the underground parking. We'll take the elevator up to the private room," Xu Xiuhe said.
The private room was spacious and elegantly decorated. When Xu Xiuhe and Shen Yin entered, Chang Zhiyuan and Shu Yi had already arrived.
Chang Zhiyuan had only told Shu Yi about a dinner gathering, without specifying what kind. From the moment they entered the private room, Shu Yi had been feeling anxious and afraid.
She had already envisioned the worst-case scenario - that Chang Zhiyuan was making her come to provide drinking company because she had been disobedient. She clutched her bag tightly, having placed a can of pepper spray inside just in case. If anything untoward happened, she would spray both Chang Zhiyuan and herself, then escape.
But it turned out to just be Shen Yin, which instantly put Shu Yi at ease. She let go of her bag, walked over to Shen Yin, and said, "I didn't expect we were dining together."
Xu Xiuhe gave Chang Zhiyuan a meaningful look, then asked, "You didn't tell her who we were dining with?"
Chang Zhiyuan shrugged. "How could I? If I told her it was a family dinner, she definitely wouldn't have come."
"Zhengzheng, let auntie give you a kiss."
Shu Yi took Zhengzheng in her arms, and he planted a kiss on her cheek.
Chang Zhiyuan looked on enviously, wishing he could kiss those cheeks too.
"Jing Rui hasn't arrived yet?" Xu Xiuhe asked.
