Chapter 11

After dinner, Si Xiaotie went to watch her animal documentary, Si Yuming showered and prepared to put their daughter to sleep, while Lin Ke cleaned up the kitchen before heading into the study to work.

The family of three each busied themselves with their own things.

Past ten o’clock, Lin Ke returned to the bedroom.

The man was already lying on the bed scrolling through his phone, expression focused, though she had no idea what he was looking at.

She took a quick shower, climbed onto the bed, wrapped her arms around him, tilted her face upward, and kissed his lips.

Si Yuming looked surprised.

He put his phone aside and circled an arm around her waist, asking softly,

“Your period’s over?”

“Mhm. It ended yesterday.”

She kissed him again, taking the initiative to pry open his lips and slip inside, while her hand reached toward his waist to undo his shirt buttons.

Si Yuming became even more surprised.

Lin Ke had never been particularly passionate during intimacy.

Even when she initiated things herself, it usually stopped at kissing, leaving everything else to him.

Today was extremely abnormal.

Thinking back to how quiet and emotionless she’d seemed all evening, he gently pulled away and looked down at the moist, hazy eyes already clouded with feeling in his arms.

“Where did you go this afternoon?”

Lin Ke’s hand slid over his abdominal muscles as she murmured softly,

“Si Yuming… I want you……”

Her voice was soft and delicate, her eyes brimming with affection.

Si Yuming’s gaze darkened, but he still insisted on asking,

“What’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood?”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she kissed his Adam’s apple and lightly bit it with her teeth.

The little restraint he still possessed finally disappeared.

He pulled her closer and claimed her sweetness.

Dizzy and half-lost in sensation, Lin Ke suddenly remembered their first time on their wedding night.

Old Master Si had been ill then, so the wedding hadn’t been lavish.

Only close family and friends were invited, and the ceremony had been simplified as much as possible.

By the end of it, the newlyweds weren’t too exhausted.

A single marriage certificate had bound together a man and woman who barely knew each other.

The bedroom decorated in festive red made her heart race wildly.

When the freshly showered man finally lay beside her, her heartbeat nearly jumped into her throat.

She clutched the blanket so tightly it almost tore.

Si Yuming had probably sensed her nervousness.

After turning off the lights, he politely asked for her consent in the darkness.

She shyly nodded.

But he couldn’t see her nodding, so he remained still.

Growing even more nervous, she had no choice but to answer out loud.

Only then did the man lean closer, gently hugging and kissing her, soothing away her stiffness and anxiety bit by bit.

At the moment it hurt the most, he stopped.

He comforted her with kisses and whispered soft, coaxing words.

Afterward, he even cleaned her up personally.

At the time, her face had probably been red enough to burn.

That night, when he held her while sleeping after showering, twenty-three-year-old Lin Ke’s heart had been filled entirely with expectations for the future.

And afterward, during every single time they’d shared a bed, he had never neglected her.

Using Zhang Man’s words—

He wasn’t just “capable.”

He could score full marks.

So Lin Ke thought that no matter what else happened, at least their married life physically had always been harmonious.

As for everything else…

Aside from rarely seeing each other and never discussing love, he had given her everything a husband should give.

And within this brief marriage, she herself had also received the greatest gift of her life.

Lin Ke kissed him back.

……

Monday morning, she took half a day off from Shen Wan to attend an interview at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The interview went smoothly.

That very afternoon, the results were released, and Lin Ke’s name was on the list.

The conference would take place during the final week of next month.

It was a formal and important event requiring extensive preparation far in advance.

From now on, she likely wouldn’t have much free time anymore.

Si Yuming was busy too.

There was still plenty of follow-up work for the Russian project.

Every time she saw him at the company, his face remained stern, his aura distant and untouchable.

Lin Ke had accompanied them to several meetings and clearly understood the difficulties surrounding each stage of the project—

Funding.

Technology.

Policies.

Every single issue was headache-inducing.

After being married so many years, the two of them had never once discussed each other’s work.

Only now did she gain a deeper understanding of the pressure and responsibility he carried.

Supporting such a massive corporate empire truly wasn’t easy.

He frequently worked overtime.

Usually, by the time Si Xiaotie had fallen asleep, he still hadn’t returned home.

Late at night, around eleven or midnight, he would shower in the outside bathroom before climbing into bed and pulling her into his arms to sleep.

Holding her while sleeping felt almost routine.

There was no obvious passion in it—

Just a habitual action.

Lin Ke actually found it somewhat surprising.

He had already been back for several weeks, and he’d truly stayed with them in this new home the entire time.

Sometimes, when she saw the male belongings around the house that were constantly being used, she felt oddly unfamiliar.

As if this family of three had genuinely begun living an ordinary, peaceful life.

Although such a life had arrived too late—

It still wasn’t too late.

She adjusted her mindset and treated every single day as though it were the last.

This afternoon, when she returned home from work, she noticed while changing shoes that a pair of men’s leather shoes had already been neatly placed beside the little girl’s pink shoes.

He came home early today?

She looked inside and called out,

“Baby?”

A moment later, hearing her voice, Si Xiaotie came running out barefoot from the living room, eyes red and face full of grievance, lips tightly pursed.

Lin Ke immediately became alarmed.

She quickly scooped the little girl into her arms and sat her on her lap, rubbing warmth into her tiny cold feet.

“What’s wrong with Xiaotie?”

The little girl buried herself into her shoulder, sniffled, and refused to speak.

Lin Ke looked toward the man following behind and silently asked what happened.

The corners of Si Yuming’s lips held a smile.

“Let her explain herself.”

Hearing that, Si Xiaotie buried her face even deeper and muttered pitifully,

“Mommy… can you change dads? I don’t want this daddy anymore.”

“?”

Si Yuming laughed again.

“Wow, Si Xiaotie, now you want a new dad?”

“Hmph. Stinky daddy……”

“Who wasn’t behaving?”

“It wasn’t Xiaotie!” the little girl shouted.

“You promised after buying the dinosaur you wouldn’t buy a toy car. So why did you start insisting on buying one again after we got there?”

Si Xiaotie knew she was in the wrong.

But she was stubborn.

Turning around, she stared directly at the man towering two or three heads taller than her and yelled through tears and snot,

“But I just want a toy car! I want a motorcycle! I also want bumper cars!”

“No. Not today.”

“I want them! I want them!”

Father and daughter instantly began arguing again.

Lin Ke roughly understood what had happened and was just about to comfort her daughter when Si Xiaotie suddenly threw herself back into her arms and burst into loud sobbing.

“Waaaah Mommy, Daddy bullied me!”

Lin Ke exchanged a glance with the utterly helpless man before the corners of her eyes curved upward.

Patting Si Xiaotie’s shoulder, she coaxed,

“Alright, alright. Mommy will immediately get Baby a new daddy.”

“Really?”

Si Xiaotie actually believed her.

She pulled herself out of Lin Ke’s embrace, wiped her tears, and seriously declared,

“Then can we change him into Gu Yiyi’s daddy? Gu Yiyi’s daddy can make cakes, and every day he rides a super cool motorcycle to take him to school. I want Gu Yiyi’s daddy too.”

Si Yuming: “……”

Pretending to think seriously, Lin Ke replied,

“Then we’ll have to ask whether Gu Yiyi’s daddy is willing.”

“I’ll ask Gu Yiyi tomorrow!”

The mother and daughter completely ignored the increasingly dark expression on the man’s face as they held hands and walked inside, enthusiastically discussing the topic.

Lin Ke asked,

“Is Gu Yiyi’s daddy a chef?”

“Nope! Gu Yiyi’s daddy owns a cake shop.”

“Baby, but Gu Yiyi’s daddy already has Gu Yiyi’s mommy. Shouldn’t we pick someone else?”

“Okay then~ Mommy, can we switch to Uncle Xiao Li?”

Lin Ke blinked.

“Uncle Xiao Li?”

“Yep! Every time Uncle Xiao Li visits, he lets me fly airplanes in his arms. I like him!”

At the entranceway, the man’s brows furrowed more deeply.

Uncle Xiao Li?

Visits often?

Flies airplanes?

When Si Xiaotie got angry, she wasn’t easy to coax.

Even after dinner, she still refused to say a single word to Daddy.

Lin Ke tried persuading her.

“Does Xiaotie want to watch Animal World with Daddy?”

Si Xiaotie secretly glanced at the unresponsive Daddy across from her, then crossed her arms and lifted her chin proudly.

“Nope. I want to go downstairs and play.”

So kitchen cleanup could only be handed over to Si Yuming while Lin Ke took their daughter downstairs.

One nice thing about living in an apartment complex was the sense of lively human warmth.

Unlike the isolated villas they’d lived in before, where there were barely even neighbors.

The late-September sunset blazed brilliantly across the sky.

The children’s playground inside the community was packed with noise and excitement, the slides overflowing with kids.

Lin Ke released the eager little girl.

“Go ahead. Be careful.”

“Okayyy!”

Si Xiaotie’s short little legs carried her away at lightning speed.

Lin Ke sat down on a nearby bench, listening to the children’s laughter and feeling the refreshing breeze of the most beautiful season of the year.

Usually Aunt Chen brought Xiaotie downstairs, so Lin Ke wasn’t familiar with the neighbors.

At that moment, a woman in her fifties sitting nearby noticed how unfamiliar she looked and cautiously asked,

“Are you Xiaotie’s mother?”

Lin Ke answered politely,

“Yes.”

“Oh my, I thought you two looked alike.” The auntie smiled brightly. “Your Xiaotie is really something. She’ll definitely become leadership material in the future.”

Originally, Lin Ke had been puzzled by the comment.

But when she looked over again, she realized the previously chaotic slide area had somehow become perfectly orderly.

The children were lining up one by one in neat turns.

And standing at the front directing everyone—

Who else could it be but Si Xiaotie?

Lin Ke burst into helpless laughter and nodded softly.

“She takes after her father.”

The auntie asked curiously,

“What does Xiaotie’s father do? I’ve never seen him before.”

“He’s usually very busy with work.”

“I see.”

While they chatted here, over there the little girl finally finished organizing the other children and sat down on the slide herself.

Sliding down, she burst into cheerful giggles.

A smaller girl tugged on her clothes shyly.

“Big sis… I wanna play too.”

So Si Xiaotie held her hand and led her up the stairs.

After the girl slid down, Si Xiaotie quickly glanced toward Building 2 where their apartment was.

People came and went—

But Daddy still hadn’t appeared.

She muttered quietly to herself.

If Daddy didn’t come downstairs to find her soon, she was really going to stay angry!

After going down the slide two more times, she noticed a little boy and another little girl arguing loudly over the swings.

Si Xiaotie frowned immediately.

She disliked noisy, badly behaved children.

The little girl looked close to tears.

Unable to tolerate it anymore, Si Xiaotie marched over.

“I wanna play too.”

The boy refused.

“I was here first!”

“The little sister was obviously here first. I saw it. You’re lying.”

The boy’s face turned red.

“I wasn’t……”

Si Xiaotie pulled his hand away from the swing rope and ordered firmly,

“Everyone gets a turn. Little sister goes first.”

The boy immediately accepted the compromise.

“Fine then. She can swing first, then it’s my turn.”

The little girl climbed onto the swing and began gently swaying back and forth.

Si Xiaotie glanced toward Building 2 again.

Daddy still wasn’t downstairs.

Hmph.

Now she was genuinely angry.

By the time it finally became her turn, Daddy still hadn’t come.

Fuming, Si Xiaotie sat onto the swing, pushed off with her feet—

And took flight.

Her tiny body swayed through the air.

At first she felt a little scared.

But the thrill quickly outweighed the fear.

“Ahhhh Mommy, I’m flying!”

But somehow, the swing kept going higher and higher.

She suddenly realized she couldn’t control it anymore.

Now Si Xiaotie truly became frightened.

Her voice turned tearful as she cried for Mommy.

She was going to fall off and get hurt!

The next second, the swing gradually slowed until it finally came to a steady stop.

Turning around, Si Xiaotie saw Daddy standing behind her holding the swing.

Instantly, she grinned and threw herself into his arms.

But after hugging him, she suddenly remembered she was still supposed to be angry.

Embarrassed, her little face flushed red.

Feeling the change in his daughter’s expression, Si Yuming smiled as he picked her up and tapped her nose lightly.

“You’re covered in sweat. Smelly girl. We’re going home for a bath.”

“I am not!”

Father and daughter walked back toward the bench.

Lin Ke stood up and introduced him.

“Auntie Song, this is my husband.”

The newly acquainted Auntie Song carefully sized up Xiaotie’s father and praised sincerely,

“Oh my, he’s so handsome. Xiaotie’s mother is truly blessed.”

Lin Ke smiled faintly, said goodbye, and the family of three headed upstairs together.

The final traces of sunset disappeared from the western sky, replaced by deepening blue twilight.

One by one, warm yellow streetlights lit up throughout the residential complex.

The aroma of dinner drifted from nearby homes, while children’s laughter still echoed endlessly through the night.

Walking at the very back, Lin Ke watched the father and daughter ahead of her, already fully reconciled and playing together again.

In a daze, she suddenly wondered—

In novels, wasn’t this usually where the story ended?

……

That night, Si Yuming handled bedtime duties.

But before putting her to sleep, he still had to reason things through.

“Do you still want the toy car?”

The little girl’s eyes shifted guiltily as she stayed silent.

So she still wanted it.

Patiently, Si Yuming continued,

“Do you know why Daddy wouldn’t let you buy it today?”

“Because… Xiaotie already bought a dinosaur.”

He pulled his daughter into his arms.

“Then why did you still want it?”

Si Xiaotie pouted and answered softly,

“Because Gu Yiyi has lots of cars, and his daddy bought them all for him. His daddy also takes him to amusement parks to ride bumper cars and slides. I want to play too……”

Si Yuming froze.

Once she started talking, the little girl continued nonstop.

“Gu Yiyi’s daddy takes him out every week! His daddy is super amazing. He can make hugeeeee kites that fly all the way into the sky! Gu Yiyi can’t even catch them. Gu Yiyi’s daddy also takes him boxing because he says he needs to lose weight, but Gu Yiyi doesn’t wanna go. Daddy, is boxing fun? I wanna try too!”

Looking down into his daughter’s eager eyes, Si Yuming suddenly felt an indescribable bitterness in his chest.

He had spent too little time with her.

So little that she envied other fathers.

So little that she wanted a different dad.

He kissed her forehead gently and spoke softly,

“Tomorrow we’ll go buy the toy car. We’ll buy bumper cars too, then go back to Brother’s house and play.”

The little girl immediately lit up.

“Really?!”

“Really.”

Si Yuming hugged her tighter and reached for a storybook from the nearby table, preparing to read bedtime stories.

But before beginning, he suddenly thought of something.

Setting the book back down, he hesitated briefly before asking quietly,

“Baby, who’s Uncle Xiao Li?”

Si Xiaotie looked confused.

“Uncle Xiao Li is just Uncle Xiao Li.”

“He’s Mommy’s friend?”

“Nope. Uncle Xiao Li is the security guard uncle. Before, when the lights at home broke, Uncle Xiao Li would come fix them. When Mommy couldn’t carry heavy things, Uncle Xiao Li helped carry them. And when Mommy and Grandma Chen were both busy, Uncle Xiao Li would play with Xiaotie.”

    Listening quietly, Si Yuming felt his heart sink little by little.