Chapter 10

After Gu Yiyi was picked up by the driver and taken home, the father and daughter sat upright in their chairs, both facing a stern-looking woman.

Si Xiaotie tugged on her father’s sleeve.

When he looked down, her big eyes blinked rapidly: Oh no, Mommy is angry.

Si Yuming knew his wife was angry too, so he didn’t dare make any unnecessary moves.

Actually, he hadn’t agreed to let the spider out.

But the little boy had desperately wanted to see it and kept begging Si Xiaotie to take it out.

Si Xiaotie had hesitated and asked him whether she could.

He’d glanced at the time, estimating Lin Ke wouldn’t return so early, but he still hadn’t directly agreed.

“That’s your decision. But if you let it out, it has to be put away before Mommy comes home.”

Yet Gu Yiyi had already become too excited.

He directly opened the lid.

Before Si Xiaotie could stop him, the spider crawled out along the webbing.

Previously, the little girl had only ever played with it through the box.

Now that her beloved little creature was crawling right before her eyes, how could she remember anything else?

She was even more excited than Gu Yiyi.

But no one had expected—

Mommy would come home early.

Si Xiaotie had nowhere left to seek help.

No choice now.

She jumped off the chair and hugged the woman’s leg while acting spoiled.

“Mommy~ Xiaotie is hungry~”

“Wait for Grandma Chen to finish cooking.” Lin Ke lowered her head and asked sternly, “Didn’t you promise last night that you wouldn’t let the spider out?”

The little girl pouted pitifully.

“But Gu Yiyi wanted to see it.”

Originally, Lin Ke hadn’t intended to criticize her too much over releasing the spider.

But hearing that answer instantly made her mood worse.

Her tone grew even stricter.

“Si Lezhen, who taught you to shift responsibility onto others?”

Si Xiaotie’s body trembled.

She turned around to look at Daddy.

Before Si Yuming could even speak, the woman shot him a glare.

After thinking for a moment, he silently turned and walked back into the bedroom.

He had no real strategy when it came to raising children.

All he could do was try not to create extra trouble for her.

Seeing Daddy decisively abandon her and leave, Si Xiaotie felt even more miserable.

Tears instantly streamed down her face.

“Wuuu Mommy……”

It wasn’t as if Lin Ke had never seriously disciplined her daughter before.

From the time she was little, Si Xiaotie had done plenty of alarming things due to her fearless personality—catching animals, playing with knives and fire, following strangers, and more.

Every time, Lin Ke would spend ages educating her afterward.

Otherwise, she’d simply repeat the same mistakes.

Fortunately, once explained properly, the little girl usually understood.

If not, Lin Ke truly had no idea how this tiny human would survive growing up.

Suppressing the urge to hug her immediately, Lin Ke asked,

“Do you know why Mommy is angry?”

Si Xiaotie obediently stood at attention, crying while answering.

“Because I can’t let the spider out.”

“And what else?”

“And… I can’t shift responsibility.”

Then the little girl tugged softly at her clothes and looked up with a tear-stained face.

“Mommy……”

“Mhm?”

Her tiny face was full of innocent confusion as she asked weakly,

“What does ‘shifting responsibility’ mean?”

Lin Ke found it both amusing and helpless.

She crouched down to meet her eye level.

“It means when something is your mistake or your responsibility, you have to take responsibility for it yourself. You can’t push it onto someone else.”

Si Xiaotie seemed to understand a little now.

“So letting Spider out was Xiaotie’s responsibility, right?”

“That’s right. Because Spider is Xiaotie’s pet, we have to take responsibility for Spider.”

“I understand now, Mommy.”

Lin Ke finally hugged her, her voice turning gentle again.

“Good girl. Sharing with friends is actually a wonderful thing. Next time we can invite Gu Yiyi over again to see your spider.”

“Mhm!”

Si Xiaotie hugged her back too, speaking in a tiny soft voice.

“Then is Mommy still angry?”

“Not anymore.”

The little girl asked again delicately,

“Then can I still go see Spider?”

“Of course. As long as you stay safe, Xiaotie can be good friends with Spider.”

The little girl loosened her grip and suddenly grinned brightly.

“Mommy, Daddy said he’ll also buy me a bird-eating spider, a red-knee spider, and a golden copper spider. Then I’ll have soooo many spiders.”

Question marks slowly appeared in Lin Ke’s mind.

???

The man who had been doing who-knows-what inside happened to walk out just then and reminded lightly,

“Si Xiaotie, stop scaring your mom.”

“Hehe~ Mommy, later Uncle Zhang will come pick up Spider. It’ll go live in a huge box with my bird-eating spider, red-knee spider, and golden copper spider. Then they can spin giant webs together!”

The extremely carefree little girl had already completely forgotten how she’d been standing there crying in punishment two minutes ago.

Her eyes now held only excitement.

Lin Ke finally understood.

She turned in shock toward the man who had already walked into the kitchen.

Si Xiaotie grabbed her face and turned it back with both little hands, her tiny expression unusually serious—half complaint, half confession.

“Daddy said I could only choose one between Spider and Mommy. I want Mommy. I don’t want Mommy to be scared~”

Lin Ke suddenly didn’t know what to say anymore.

Leaning forward, she kissed the little girl.

“Thank you, baby.”

That night before sleeping, Lin Ke softly said thank you to him in the darkness.

“It’s me who should apologize. Sorry for scaring you.”

Si Yuming hugged her from behind as he spoke against the top of her head.

“I remember when you were four or five, you used to follow Jin Yang and the others down to Grandpa’s pond to catch fish. After catching fish, you’d go chase dogs too. The dogs were so frightened they had nowhere left to run.”

“……”

The current Lin Ke was gentle and serene.

Whether at work or in daily life, the personality she displayed was always warm and graceful.

But the little Lin Ke who once lived in the compound would occasionally transform into another Si Xiaotie, constantly following that little troublemaker Jin Yang around causing chaos.

“So why are you so timid now?”

Lin Ke instantly got annoyed and turned around to glare at him.

“Si Yuming, what do you mean by that?”

The man didn’t answer.

He merely held her gaze quietly.

He remembered the nightmare.

Remembered her fear.

Only after a long while did he finally ask softly,

“Did your dad and stepmother treat you badly?”

Not long after the Lin family moved away from the compound, he’d heard that Mrs. Lin had passed away.

Half a year later, Lin Qiliang remarried.

Then afterward, his own parents died unexpectedly.

He no longer had the energy to hear more news about her life, leaving a blank period in his understanding of her.

Lin Ke clearly hadn’t expected him to suddenly ask that.

She froze.

Then hurriedly turned back around, her body stiff.

“Sleep.”

He wrapped his arms around her from behind again.

……

Saturday afternoon, after instructing Aunt Chen to take care of Si Xiaotie, Lin Ke returned to the Lin family home alone without telling Si Yuming.

Lin Qiliang owned an interior decoration company.

Even in this declining economy, he still managed to keep several branch companies running, handling projects from large real estate developers.

Lin Ke didn’t understand the inner workings of business.

But everyone knew this had a lot to do with Si Yuming.

From clients to suppliers, people all gave the Si family some degree of face.

Over the past few years, the Lin family had moved from a small apartment outside Third Ring Road into a large villa downtown.

Lin Jiayan had bought his way into university with money.

Lin Jialang carried all kinds of luxury handbags.

Not to mention the dazzling jewelry Zhu Li wore.

As the car drove into the courtyard, Lin Ke looked toward the three-story building ahead.

Her heart felt utterly unfamiliar.

Lin Qiliang and his wife had left a room for her on the third floor corner.

But she could count on one hand the number of times she’d actually stayed there.

This place…

Couldn’t even really be called her parents’ home.

She had already informed Lin Qiliang beforehand that neither Si Yuming nor Xiaotie would come.

So the moment the door opened, Zhu Li’s smile wasn’t particularly enthusiastic.

Lin Ke still smiled and handed over the gift politely.

“Auntie, happy birthday.”

Zhu Li accepted it and stepped aside.

“Thank you, Keke. Come in.”

Inside, Lin Qiliang was busy in the kitchen.

Lin Jialang was nowhere to be seen.

Lin Jiayan lounged lazily on the sofa playing games.

Hearing movement, he glanced back briefly and quickly greeted her with a casual “Sis.”

Zhu Li immediately scolded him.

“All you ever do is play games. I seriously don’t understand what’s so fun about that stupid game. Hurry up and wash some fruit for your sister.”

“Aiya, I just started a match.” Lin Jiayan’s attention never left the screen. “Sis can wash fruit and pour water herself. I’m busy.”

“You brat.” Zhu Li turned back to Lin Ke with another smile. “Keke, sit first. I’ll go help your dad finish the last two dishes.”

“Okay.”

Lin Ke sat down at the opposite end of the sofa and poured herself a cup of water using a disposable cup.

She looked around once more.

Still unfamiliar.

The year Lin Jiayan and Lin Jialang were born, she had been eight or nine and still in elementary school.

Lin Qiliang was busy trying to survive financially while taking care of two infants.

He simply had no time for her.

When Si Yuming had asked whether Lin Qiliang and Zhu Li treated her badly—

That wasn’t entirely true.

Lin Qiliang still remembered she was his biological daughter.

And Zhu Li cared about appearances.

It was simply that back then, shortly after bankruptcy, the Lin family lived in poverty.

The entire family crowded into a second-floor apartment from the seventies or eighties in the suburbs.

Spiders, cockroaches, and occasionally even rats would crawl through poorly sealed windows into her room.

One spring morning when everything was coming back to life, she woke up to discover a green snake coiled atop her second-grade homework notebook.

Later, her grandmother took her in.

That period became the happiest and easiest time of her childhood.

Grandma loved her.

She hand-sewed clothes and knitted scarves for her.

Braided her hair beautifully.

Prepared delicious food and fun things for her every single day.

But during middle school, Grandma passed away too.

Lin Ke returned to the now moderately wealthy Lin family and began boarding school life, remaining there until graduation.

To her, the Lin family home became little more than a place to stay during winter and summer vacations.

Yet even during vacations, she still had to share a room with Lin Jialang.

Lin Jialang was lively and playful, often making so much noise that Lin Ke couldn’t sleep.

By university, Lin Ke had started earning money through part-time jobs and finally gained the ability to rent her own place.

Afterward, she returned home less and less, even during holidays.

Growing older, she realized there were countless people in the world just like her.

Maybe she was actually considered fortunate.

At least she had grown up fed, clothed, healthy, and safe.

Which was why everything she had now already felt worthy of gratitude.

She didn’t seek great wealth or status.

Living freely and comfortably with Si Xiaotie was already her greatest wish.

Lost in thought, Lin Jialang came downstairs.

She wore a floral spaghetti-strap dress and heavy makeup.

Probably because of what happened a few days ago, the girl shot her a complicated look before squeezing herself beside Lin Jiayan and whispering quietly,

“I’m not coming home tonight. Cover for me.”

“You going out again? Not eating dinner?”

“Of course I’m eating. Mom would kill me if I didn’t.” Lin Jialang nudged him. “So are you helping or not?”

Lin Jiayan seemed to think of something and lowered his phone.

“Wait… are you going on a date?! With that senior from your school or whatever?”

“Don’t talk nonsense……”

The siblings’ voices gradually became quieter.

Lin Ke sat alone nearby, already used to scenes like this.

They were true siblings.

She was only their half-sister.

Lin Qiliang handled the cooking personally.

Soon, a full table of dishes was ready.

After washing her hands, Lin Ke sat down at the dining table.

“Keke, eat more. Your aunt specifically went to the market and bought lots of seafood for you.”

“Mhm. Thank you, Auntie.”

Lin Jialang lightly curled her lips and leaned toward Lin Jiayan, quietly mocking,

“Auntie, auntie… Mom really is going to be Auntie forever.”

Lin Ke’s hand paused briefly.

A few seconds later, she resumed eating normally.

Halfway through dinner, Lin Qiliang finally asked,

“Keke, what’s Yuming been busy with lately?”

Lin Ke answered calmly,

“He just signed a major project recently, so he’s very busy.”

“No matter how busy he is, he still needs to take care of his health. You should care about him more usually.”

She placed another bite of rice into her mouth.

“Mhm.”

“In a few days, your aunt and I will go visit Xiaotie and have a meal with Yuming too.”

So they absolutely wanted to see him.

Lin Ke raised her head directly.

“Did something happen at home?”

Lin Qiliang looked slightly embarrassed.

“What could happen? Nothing happened.”

But Zhu Li tugged at him and spoke honestly instead.

“Keke, there actually is something… But it’s not convenient for us to contact Yuming directly. When you go back, can you help mention it?”

Lin Ke put down her chopsticks and sat up straighter.

“What is it?”

“These past two years business has become harder and harder. The companies your dad used to work with have either gone bankrupt or collapsed. The ones still surviving keep delaying payments. Several projects owe us money now, and we can’t even pay the workers.”

“Next month there’s a major development project starting in the suburbs—high-rises and villas included. I heard Shengyu Group is one of the investors. Can you see if your dad can get the project? Whoever does it is still doing it anyway. Your dad’s company has a good reputation and solid craftsmanship.”

Listening nearby, Lin Jiayan immediately whistled.

“Isn’t that the retirement city project out in the suburbs? If we land that contract, can I switch to a GR?”

Zhu Li glared at him.

“Finish eating and go play your stupid games.”

Lin Jiayan pouted.

“What? My sister drives a Mercedes. I’m stuck with a crappy Audi.”

Lin Jialang instantly protested,

“Hey hey hey, don’t drag me into this.”

Zhu Li waved her chopsticks threateningly in the air.

“Shut up.”

Lin Ke remained silent the entire time.

Lin Qiliang looked somewhat ashamed.

“Keke, we’re not trying to profit unfairly. So many workers depend on us. We have to give them work.”

Inside, she took a deep breath.

Then she lifted her eyes and smiled faintly.

“Dad, do you remember? In another six months, Si Yuming and I will divorce.”

The siblings who knew nothing about this both stared over in shock.

Lin Qiliang and Zhu Li also seemed to have forgotten entirely.

But Lin Qiliang didn’t appear too concerned.

“That situation back then was special. Now the old master has passed away, and you’ve already lived like this for four or five years. Besides, Xiaotie is already so big now. Why divorce?”

Zhu Li quickly persuaded her too.

“Keke, if nobody mentions divorce, nobody will remember it. You should put more effort into this yourself. After divorcing, where will you ever find a husband’s family this good again?”

Even Lin Jiayan hurriedly joined in.

“Sis, you absolutely can’t divorce! How can you divorce?!”

Lin Ke slowly swept her gaze across the four people at the table, each wearing different expressions.

Yet they all shared the same goal—

She absolutely could not divorce.

Honestly, many times she felt ashamed.

This was also why Si Yun disliked her and looked down on the Lin family.

Back then, the Lin family had practically “sold” their daughter for profit.

And over the years, they’d continued clinging to the Si family and feeding off them endlessly.

Perhaps to outsiders, it was merely something to gossip about.

Insignificant.

But whenever Lin Ke thought about it, she felt she had no dignity at all.

As long as the Lin family kept reaching their hands toward Si Yuming asking for things, she would never be able to stand fully upright.

Lin Ke clenched her fists tightly and spoke calmly.

“I can’t interfere in project matters. Participate in the bidding process normally.”

“As for the divorce—”

She paused several seconds before continuing.

“Next March, I’ll go through the procedures with him.”

……

A little after seven, she arrived home.

The moment the door opened, the barefoot little girl ran over and threw herself into her arms, speaking in her usual soft sticky voice.

“Mommy, where did you go? Daddy made soooo many dishes. We waited and waited for you, but you still didn’t come home. Daddy even called you lots and lots of times.”

Past the little girl, Lin Ke saw several dishes arranged on the dining table.

Her eyes also met the man sitting on the sofa and looking back at her.

He wore dark loungewear.

His hair hung softly, the warm yellow lighting above casting a gentle glow over him.

After a moment, she withdrew her gaze and touched the little girl’s plump rosy cheeks lightly.

“Mommy had something to do and didn’t hear the phone.”

“Okay then.” Si Xiaotie grabbed her hand and pulled her inside. “Let’s wash hands and eat.”

Passing the living room, she shouted loudly,

“Daddy, eat dinner!”

Lin Ke first discovered Si Yuming could cook when she was two months pregnant.

At that time, she vomited after eating anything and had absolutely no appetite.

The housekeeper tried every possible recipe without success.

One late night, after she’d nearly vomited bile again, the housekeeper had already gone to sleep.

The awakened man got out of bed, poured her water, and after her nausea eased slightly, made her a bowl of noodles.

A simple egg-and-vegetable noodle soup.

It became the first complete meal she’d managed to finish in two whole weeks.

Thinking back now, much of it had probably been psychological.

After all, it had been the first thing she’d ever eaten that he made personally.

From Si Xiaotie’s birth until now, he’d only cooked a handful of times, always simple home-style dishes.

But the taste was genuinely good.

Lin Ke picked up one glossy cola chicken wing and took a bite.

Very sweet.

Exactly Si Xiaotie’s preferred flavor.

And indeed, Si Xiaotie loved it immensely, eating until sauce covered her mouth.

“Mommy, is it yummy?”

“It is.”

Si Xiaotie immediately gave the man two enthusiastic thumbs-up, providing full emotional support.

“Daddy is amazing!”

Si Yuming placed another chicken wing into her bowl.

“Thank you, baby.”

“Then Daddy should cook forever from now on.”

“……”

    Seeing the slight headache on the man’s face, Lin Ke finally couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore.