As Sheng Mumu ruffled Qi Shaobai's hair, the man with the sharp features next to them took off his coat and casually handed it to Little Wang.
He then looked at the disheveled Qi Shaobai and gently said, “Let’s go eat lunch together, then I’ll take you back to school.”
Qi Shaobai tilted his head, his gaze going past Sheng Mumu to look at his dad. A surprised expression floated onto his face.
He had planned to just buy some bread or something at school to get through a meal.
He didn’t need to eat bread anymore?
Just as he was pleasantly surprised, he saw Sheng Mumu open the car door and shove him in, then get in herself.
When Qi Mo also moved to get in, Sheng Mumu closed the car door.
“You sit over there, I don’t want to be squeezed in the middle.”
Qi Mo: “......”
Qi Shaobai: “?”
The car Little Wang drove out today had six seats.
There was definitely enough room for them to sit in two rows without squeezing together.
Qi Mo obeyed and pulled open the door on the other side.
And so, a rarely seen scene appeared in the spacious luxury car—
In the expansive vehicle, the three of them sat lined up in a row.
Sheng Mumu was next to the left window, Qi Mo was next to the right window.
Sandwiched between them was their grown-up son, Qi Shaobai.
Although Little Wang’s driving skills were excellent and he drove steadily without bumps, Qi Shaobai still felt like he was on pins and needles, extremely uncomfortable.
It was the first time he had sat between his dad and young stepmom.
He could physically feel their all-encompassing fatherly and motherly love surrounding him.
It felt very strange.
He placed his schoolbag on his lap and hugged it a little tighter.
After eating a simple lunch, Little Wang drove into the First Middle School of Jing City campus and stopped in front of the classroom building.
All three of them got out of the car.
They exchanged a few parting words, then Qi Shaobai strode up the steps.
When he reached the topmost step, about to round the corner into the hallway, Qi Shaobai looked back. He was dumbstruck by what he saw.
They were still standing next to the car. They hadn't left.
When Sheng Mumu saw Qi Shaobai stop, she waved at him.
She also gestured at her wristwatch, waving her arms in a little running motion.
Reminding him to hurry to class and not be late.
Qi Mo just stood tall and straight, leaning against the front of the car. He tilted his chin slightly at Qi Shaobai, conveying the same meaning as Sheng Mumu.
A warm breeze blew through the hallway, brushing past the youth. It stirred the bangs against his forehead.
Qi Shaobai felt somewhat dizzy for a moment.
He saw his dad holding a takeout bag. Judging by the shape, it contained soup.
It was the soup he had wanted to order at lunch, but because the cooking process took so long, by the time it was brought to the table there hadn't been time for him to drink any.
When they went to pay, he had gone to the bathroom. He didn't know if it was his dad or stepmom who asked them to pack it up.
Either way...
This was the first time he had seen his dad standing there holding takeout food specially packed for him.
It was such an ordinary, natural scene.
Yet it made Qi Shaobai's eyes grow hot.
When he was little, he had hoped for this so many times—
Hoped that he could also receive care and concern from his parents like other kids.
Those childhood wishes had disappeared after repeatedly not coming true.
Yet now, after crossing the long river of time, eighteen years later, they were fulfilled.
The days passed by peacefully and uneventfully.
The mock exam for Jing City's senior year students arrived very quickly.
Qi Shaobai performed very well. As his temporary tutor and guardian, Sheng Mumu was proud of him.
After the mock exam, Qi Shaobai became more and more serious about studying.
He went to school early and came home late, voluntarily giving up rest time he could have had.
Every time Sheng Mumu knocked on his door to deliver snacks and fruit, she no longer heard sounds of him hurriedly hiding his Lego.
From Qi Shaobai's eyes, one could see steadfast, focused rays of light.
There was a kind of person—once they saw results, they would believe in the value of hard work and sweat, and work even harder than before.
Qi Shaobai was this kind of person.
Yet at the same time, not completely.
Compared to someone purely diligent, he would also seek a sense of superiority from the results, using them to prove he was different from the masses.
It was similar to a smug mentality like “See, if Young Master me wants to, with just a little more effort I can do very well.”
Sheng Mumu understood Qi Shaobai very well. She knew his desire to prove his own ability.
She understood the tainted arrogance and pride mixed in with his hard work.
Words like arrogance and pride carried somewhat negative connotations.
But for a seventeen or eighteen year old boy, if he didn’t have a shred of arrogance or pride, how would he be different from an adult who had been battered down by life?
Sheng Mumu had no intention of suppressing the unruly arrogance and pride in Qi Shaobai’s personality.
She just needed to keep an eye on it at all times.
Don’t let the pride develop into stubbornness and conceit, don’t let the arrogance grow into haughtiness and hubris—that would be enough.
*
Sheng Mumu was not the type who could sit still.
Little Qi was studying diligently, her company was developing smoothly, and her relationship with a certain black dog was also going smoothly.
All of a sudden, she felt a little bored.
She wanted to add some little pleasures into her life.
One day after lunch, she lazily sprawled over her office desk, propping her chin up with her arms as she played on her phone.
Bored, she flipped open her chat history with Qi Mo.
She would smile one moment, then knit her brows in complaint the next moment upon seeing occasional shameless words popping up from a certain person.
Suddenly, her fingers stilled, and she stopped scrolling up.
The screen showed the date from when she had worked to raise Qi Mo’s favorability.
She sat up straight, a thought popping into her mind.
That night, as usual, Qi Mo came to pick her up after work.
When they returned to Xiyu Yue Court, the car had just parked steadily and he hadn’t even turned off the ignition yet when Sheng Mumu called out to stop him.
“Qi Mo.”
Qi Mo tilted his head. “Hm?”
Sheng Mumu said, “I feel like there should be fairness between lovers.”
Qi Mo paused and looked at her.
Subconsciously, he started reflecting whether he had done anything recently to make her uncomfortable.
Before he could figure it out, he heard Sheng Mumu continue lightly and happily:
“You’ve played the game of gaining points. Now I want to play too so that things are fair.”
Qi Mo pondered her words, feeling slightly surprised.
Sheng Mumu earnestly went on, “Ever since I was little I enjoyed business simulation games. Slowly accumulating points and leveling up after enough quantitative change to spur qualitative change. You know what I mean?”
“Mm, I understand,” Qi Mo’s eyes smiled as he propped one hand on the steering wheel and turned to face her attentively. “Then what?”
“Nothing more after that,” Sheng Mumu shrugged. “The gist is, this time switch it up and have me play while you be the judge granting me points. What do you think?”
She spoke more and more eagerly.
She had that thrill of being about to start a new level in a game, slowly figuring out strategies.
Yet she saw the man before her not saying anything.
After repeated pushing from her, he finally opened his mouth and shook his head.
“I won’t play.”
Sheng Mumu said impatiently, “Why not? Isn’t it fun? You get to be the judge!”
Qi Mo raised his hand, reaching to the top of her head and ruffling her hair.
The next second, his pitch black pupils brimmed with indulgence.
“Even if you don't say or do anything, just by appearing before me, you already have full points.”
"......" Sheng Mumu’s breathing abruptly hitched. She slowly blinked her eyes.
She was stirred by the man's sweet words without any warning.
After a few seconds to collect herself, before she could organize her words, "But..."
She really wanted to play!
Not only because she liked business simulation games.
More importantly—to be fair.
She understood that feelings between a man and woman should stand on equal ground, side by side.
The giving should also be equivalent.
Qi Mo had genuinely pursued her before, little by little raising his standing in her heart.
She also wanted to experience racking her brains to cater to his preferences and delight him.
"Alright—"
Qi Mo suddenly reversed course, gazing at her as he lazily arched a brow.
"If you really want to play that much, I'll entertain you."
Sheng Mumu froze.
???
Did his attitude change that quickly?
No, wait.
You actually want to play too, don't you, sly old fox.
Sheng Mumu gave the man with upturned lips a "I already saw through your little schemes" look.
Qi Mo paid it no mind. He seriously asked,
"When do we start, now?"
Sheng Mumu lightly said, "Mm."
As she spoke—
She saw his gaze casually sweep outside the car.
The private garage was empty without anyone else around.
Across from them, the rows of luxury cars had headlights like eyes all turned towards them.
Qi Mo's hand shifted left and the car window slowly rolled up.
Sheng Mumu was taken aback.
From his actions, she sensed some ambiguous, unclear meaning.
Qi Mo's voice was low and unhurried:
"Since I'm the judge, I should be the one to set the rules too, right?"
