Chapter 113: A Smile Appears |
Zhou Shiyan looked at the penguin plush toy Liu Zhiyue handed her.
Her small face could no longer maintain its usual expressionless state. Her eyes widened slightly as she glanced at Liu Zhiyue, then at the penguin plush toy in his hand.
After hesitating for a moment, she asked uncertainly, “Is this for me?”
“Do you think a guy like me would like this kind of toy?”
With that, Liu Zhiyue stuffed the plush toy into Zhou Shiyan’s arms.
Caught off guard, Zhou Shiyan quickly caught it. She lowered her head and stared at the plush toy in her arms.
Though the toy’s texture felt somewhat cheap, in this moment, Zhou Shiyan experienced a feeling she had never felt before.
Since she became aware of her surroundings, she had never received something like this.
Slowly, the corners of her lips curved upward.
A radiant smile appeared on her face.
“Thank you!”
Seeing Zhou Shiyan’s smile, Liu Zhiyue froze in place.
At that moment, the noisy surroundings seemed to fade away. In his view, only her face remained.
When her lips curved upward, everything around her seemed to become more endearing.
Zhou Shiyan didn’t notice Liu Zhiyue’s dazed expression. She craned her neck to glance at the brown teddy bear Liu Xiazhi held high in her hands, then at the penguin in her arms.
This one’s cuter… she thought to herself.
After a while, Liu Zhiyue snapped back to reality. Turning around to face away from Zhou Shiyan, his rare awkwardness was evident in his tone.
“Let’s… let’s go. It’s getting late.”
“Mm.” Zhou Shiyan nodded behind him, her voice soft.
Hearing her response, Liu Zhiyue didn’t say much more. He called out to his sister, and when she came over, he took her small hand and began walking forward.
Zhou Shiyan followed alongside them.
The three of them walked in a row.
The 500 yuan Liu Zhiyue’s father had given him last time still had some leftover. When it came to money, Liu Zhiyue always spent wisely, never on frivolous things.
Today’s stroll had taken them a little farther than usual. If they walked back, it would take about forty to fifty minutes. They had wandered aimlessly, not realizing how far they’d gone.
Walking along the roadside, holding his sister’s hand, Liu Zhiyue suddenly slowed his pace.
He thought he had heard a familiar voice.
Unable to hear clearly, Liu Zhiyue decided to stop entirely, looking around while listening closely.
His actions made the two people beside him stop and look at him in confusion.
“I told you, it’s not that the size is small—it’s the style that’s too youthful!”
Liu Changqing was explaining to the shop owner.
Having wasted little time after getting home, Liu Changqing had made it back to the shop while the owner was still there.
He was trying to explain to her.
“The ones you picked are too young-looking, and besides… they’re a bit tight…”
“A bit tight?”
“I mean…”
Struggling to articulate, Liu Changqing thought for a moment and then began demonstrating with gestures.
He drew a semi-circle over his chest.
“Get me a few looser ones!”
“Oh, oh, oh! Why didn’t you say so earlier? I thought you meant the size was too small!”
Seeing Liu Changqing make this gesture, the shop owner’s face broke into a wide grin. The fact that she held back her laughter showed considerable professionalism.
Even Liu Changqing felt a bit embarrassed after making that motion.
He turned his head away, unable to continue the conversation properly.
Raising a hand, he pinched the bridge of his nose lightly.
“Dad!”
The familiar voice behind him made Liu Changqing pause his actions. He turned around to find the source of the voice.
Across the street, he saw his son and two others standing there.
Liu Changqing froze for a moment, then seemed surprised.
“What are you three doing all the way over here?”
Instead of answering immediately, Liu Zhiyue checked both sides of the road for passing cars before running across with his sister in tow.
Zhou Shiyan followed.
Stopping in front of Liu Changqing, the three of them halted their steps.
Liu Changqing looked at the three of them and gently ruffled his daughter’s hair.
He noticed the toys in his daughter’s and Zhou Shiyan’s arms.
“Did you buy these toys?” he asked his son.
“No, I won them in a dart-throwing game,” Liu Zhiyue replied.
“A dart game? Must’ve cost a lot. Why didn’t you tell me? I’m great at darts!”
Liu Xiazhi tilted her head up to look at Liu Changqing and quickly refuted, “Big Brother hit the target every time! He won these with just two tries!”
“…”
Liu Changqing fell silent, glancing at his son, whose face showed a mix of embarrassment and pride after the praise.
This boy…
“Oh, right, Dad, what are you buying here?”
Liu Zhiyue’s eyes turned to the women’s clothing hanging on the rack and the shop owner bagging up clothes nearby.
“Those are all… women’s clothes, right?” he asked, puzzled.
“Have you three eaten yet?” Liu Changqing dodged the question.
He wasn’t planning to explain this to his kids.
“We ate… but these women’s clothes…”
“What did you eat?”
“Snacks, but… these women’s clothes…”
“Snacks don’t have much nutrition. Don’t eat too much of that stuff.”
The shop owner came over with a bag and handed it to Liu Changqing without hesitation, loudly declaring, “Brother, these are good now! They won’t be too tight!”
“…”
Slowly, Liu Changqing turned to look at the shop owner. His face darkened.
An Yuanyao carefully cracked the door open just a sliver.
Outside was pitch black. At this hour, her parents should already be in their room resting.
Thinking about this, a wave of frustration welled up inside her.
She had clearly told her mother last time not to mention their conversation to her father. Yet during lunch, when her father asked about a man named Liu Changqing at the dining table, she knew her mother had betrayed her trust once again.
She should have known.
Since she was a child, her mother had always discussed everything about her with her father.
She thought that with so many years passing, her mother might have changed.
But reality had shown An Yuanyao otherwise.
No matter how old she was, in her parents’ eyes, she was still a child.
She’d already stayed home long enough.
The moment she got divorced, she wanted to immediately share the news with Liu Changqing.
But when she went to his house, he wasn’t there.
Originally, she planned to stay home for just a couple of days before finding him again. But those few days stretched into now.
She now understood her parents were deliberately keeping her from going out.
They were planning to visit this “Liu Changqing” together in the future.
An Yuanyao knew that if she told her parents the man was made up, it would only create more trouble.
So, she decided to sneak out tonight.
She stepped out cautiously, her foot landing silently on the ground. Dressed neatly, she adjusted the strap of her bag and held it to prevent any noise.
Step by step, she moved.
Reaching the staircase, she carefully made her way down, the tension in the air making her heart race as if she were in a movie scene.
The downstairs hall was dimly lit.
An Yuanyao tiptoed forward and finally made it to the ground floor.
Before she could celebrate, she looked up…
And her face fell into despair.
There, sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper, was a man.
Her voice trembled, almost breaking into a sob as she spoke, her heart sinking.
“Dad… why aren’t you asleep yet…”