Sheng Xia sat quietly, listening to her daughter talk to Chen Shu without interrupting.
Jiaojiao had never seen her father since birth. When she was younger and didn't understand much, it wasn't a big deal. But now, as she was growing up, especially after interacting with other children, she seemed to realize that having only a mother made her somewhat different from other kids.
At home, she had asked two or three times where her father was.
Sheng Xia didn't want to bring up Wei Zongqi, but she also wouldn't badmouth the father in front of the child. So each time, she only said that daddy had gone to heaven.
Jiaojiao was very clever. Who knows where she learned it from, but she understood that going to heaven actually meant dying... Sometimes she would even kneel down and earnestly pray for her father's blessing, which left Sheng Xia not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Jiaojiao liked Chen Shu. Sheng Xia guessed it was probably because she had never been in contact with young men before. Sometimes when they went out, if she saw young parents with children, she would look at them a little longer.
Sheng Xia looked at her daughter and sighed inwardly. Because of her own poor judgment in people, her daughter had to grow up in a single-parent family.
However, even with Sui'an's connection, they were still essentially strangers to Chen Shu. She couldn't ask him to frequently interact with them just because Jiaojiao liked him.
But Sheng Xia thought that children tend to forget quickly, and maybe in a few days, Jiaojiao would lose interest. This thought made her feel a bit relieved.
As the car approached the entrance of the residential complex, Sheng Xia saw Wei Zongqi standing outside from afar through the window. She couldn't help but feel nervous.
She guessed that because of what happened last time, the aunties in the complex might have talked to the security guards, not letting him in, so he was lingering outside the complex.
As the car got closer to the entrance, Sheng Xia's breath caught as she saw Wei Zongqi looking in their direction. She unconsciously clenched her fist.
Sheng Xia wasn't afraid of Wei Zongqi, but now that they were with Chen Shu, if Wei Zongqi saw them, he would surely cause a scene. She didn't mind for herself, but she was worried about involving Chen Shu.
However, Sheng Xia soon realized that the car's windows must be tinted, as people outside couldn't see inside.
Chen Shu, who was driving, didn't notice her unease.
Until—
"Mom, why is that crazy uncle here again? Has he still not found his child?"
Because there were people coming and going at the entrance, the car was moving slowly, allowing Jiaojiao to see Wei Zongqi too.
Hearing Jiaojiao's words, Chen Shu also followed her gaze and looked. He saw a young man looking around, as if searching for something.
Crazy? He didn't look like it.
Chen Shu glanced at Sheng Xia's complex expression in the rearview mirror. He guessed that Sheng Xia might know the man, but he didn't immediately guess that it was Jiaojiao's biological father. After all, Jiaojiao had said earlier that her father had gone to heaven.
The car had already entered the complex. Sheng Xia came back to her senses and answered her daughter's question.
"Maybe he hasn't found them yet. That's why you can't run off on your own. What if mommy can't find you?"
"I understand, mommy. I definitely won't run off," Jiaojiao nodded obediently. She didn't want her mom to become a crazy mommy.
At the foot of their building, Sheng Xia thanked Chen Shu once again before getting out of the car with Jiaojiao. Chen Shu also got out of the car, smiling and waving goodbye to Jiaojiao.
With only her and Jiaojiao at home, it wasn't really appropriate to invite Chen Shu, a grown man, up for a visit.
"Xia Xia, that man came again. I saw him when I came back from grocery shopping. You didn't run into him when you came back, did you?" An auntie who saw Sheng Xia return quickly told her about Wei Zongqi lingering outside the complex.
Sheng Xia shook her head, "Auntie Liu, my friend drove us back. He didn't see us."
Only then did Auntie Liu notice the man standing by the car, instantly breaking into an auntie-like smile.
"This young man is not bad, he's handsome! He looks like a proper gentleman."
Sheng Xia felt extremely awkward and didn't dare to look at Chen Shu.
"Auntie, please don't misunderstand."
"Misunderstand? What did I misunderstand?" Auntie Liu pretended to be confused while knowing full well what she meant.
Chen Shu overheard their conversation and guessed that the man might have entered the complex before to harass the mother and daughter.
A young woman raising a child alone must not be easy. Out of concern for Jiaojiao, before Sheng Xia and Auntie Liu finished talking and took Jiaojiao upstairs, Chen Shu said to Sheng Xia:
"Living alone with Jiaojiao, please be careful about your safety."
This was a very ordinary statement. Sheng Xia only thought it was Chen Shu's kind reminder and didn't think much of it. She nodded and took Jiaojiao upstairs.
Jiaojiao held her mom's hand, turning back every few steps to wave at Chen Shu.
Chen Shu didn't leave until he could no longer see the mother and daughter. When he turned around, he found that not only Auntie Liu but two more aunties were staring at him.
"This one looks more reliable, much better than the one at the gate."
Chen Shu was about to get in the car, but hearing this, he paused.
"Auntie, who's the person at the gate?"
"Ah? It's nothing, just a lunatic." Auntie Liu startled, quickly pulling her two old friends away.
Auntie Liu thought Chen Shu was Sheng Xia's boyfriend or some kind of suitor, and fearing he might misunderstand, she decided not to say anything.
It was already hard enough for Xia Xia to raise a child alone. What if this man found out about the child's biological father always hanging around and got upset?
Thinking this way, Auntie Liu quickly retreated to a distance.
Chen Shu drove out, and the man was still there. He lowered the car window and took a closer look.
At this time, Wei Zongqi was full of anger. Unable to enter the complex, he could only wait outside, but he hadn't managed to catch sight of anyone after waiting for so long.
Perhaps his mother was right. If Sheng Xia wasn't willing to talk to them properly, then they'd see each other in court. He had thought that since they were once husband and wife, he should try to talk things out with Sheng Xia nicely.
If Sheng Xia heard this, she'd probably feel sick.
For some reason, Chen Shu subconsciously compared the man's face with Jiaojiao's in his mind.
Half a minute later, Chen Shu came to a conclusion.
Jiaojiao was much cuter. As for this man, whoever he was, it didn't matter.
On Saturday, after leaving Gu Zhijing's place, Qi Anlu found a park, sat for half an hour, and then made an appointment at the City Mental Health Center.
The quality of private psychology clinics varied greatly, and their fees were also higher. After much consideration, Qi Anlu still chose to go to a public hospital.
He didn't have much money now. Being a minor in high school, most ways of earning money in society were irrelevant to him. His current savings were all from what was left of his pocket money.
Qi Anlu sat on a bench in the park, looking up at the sky.
He hoped his condition wasn't serious enough to require medication. Not to mention that the hospital might not prescribe him medicine without a parent present, even if they did, taking medication at home would be very troublesome.
Suddenly, Qi Anlu's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his phone.
It was Gu Zhijing, who had transferred five thousand yuan to him via Alipay, without saying anything else.
