Chapter 15

They returned on October 5th.

The roads were still packed with traffic.

This time, with experience on their side, the couple didn’t dare let Si Xiaotie eat random food anymore.

They didn’t even let her drink too much water—

Otherwise her tiny bladder definitely wouldn’t hold up.

A hundred days to heal broken bones.

With Lin Ke’s hand injured and inconvenient, Aunt Chen moved into the house to help.

After returning home, Si Yuming went straight back to work.

Lin Ke stayed home reading for several days before returning to work on the 8th.

She couldn’t drive anymore.

So she had no choice but to ride in Si Yuming’s car to the office.

She instructed the driver to stop at the intersection before the company building, then sneakily got out of the car like a thief.

The moment she entered the office, her coworkers noticed the cast on her arm and gathered around with concern.

“Manager Lin, didn’t you go to the grasslands? What happened?”

“Yeah.” Lin Ke stretched her casted arm forward jokingly.

“Well, I fell off a horse.”

“Oh no, is it serious?”

“It’s fine. Once the cast comes off and it heals a little, I’ll be okay.”

One of the girls suddenly remembered something and exclaimed,

“I think President Si also went to the grasslands!”

Lin Ke’s heart tightened instantly.

She subconsciously looked over.

Someone else asked for her,

“How do you know?”

“Before the holiday, Xu Lin mentioned booking hotels over there for President Si.”

“Went with his wife and child?”

“That’s what I thought too, but Xu Lin acted all vague about it. Maybe something happened?”

“No clue. I still think he probably went with his wife though. Speaking of that, I heard the boss’s wife signed another huge contract with Jianghe Group recently. Looks like her position in the Jiang family is completely secure now.”

“So impressive?”

The topic shifted away.

Lin Ke finally relaxed.

She stopped listening and quietly slipped out of the crowd.

Before getting off work, she wanted to stay overtime for a bit, so she asked Si Yuming whether he had time to pick up their daughter.

He replied that he had something to do and would need Aunt Chen to pick her up instead.

At the same time—

Inside the CEO’s office on the top floor.

The man placed his phone onto the desk, lifted his eyes calmly, and looked at the middle-aged man sitting across from him.

The man looked about fifty.

Thin-framed glasses.

Lean figure.

The old-fashioned jacket hanging on him appeared loose and empty.

Lin Ke didn’t resemble her father much.

She looked more like her mother—

That woman from his memories who always wore a gentle smile and could make exquisite pastries.

Seeing him finish replying to messages, Lin Qiliang smiled warmly.

“Yuming, Ke Ke hasn’t caused you any trouble lately, right?”

Si Yuming leaned back slowly into his chair and answered unhurriedly,

“She fractured her hand. You didn’t know?”

“This…” Lin Qiliang obviously had no idea. His face turned awkward.

“When did that happen?”

As though he had expected this reaction already, Si Yuming didn’t explain.

Instead, he casually asked,

“How old are Jiayan and Jialang this year?”

Lin Qiliang couldn’t understand why he suddenly brought up the younger siblings.

But this son-in-law had always been distant and cold.

The fact that he was asking about family matters at all made him happy.

“They’re almost nineteen.”

“Nineteen?” Si Yuming narrowed his eyes slightly.

“That means they were born when Ke Ke was eight.”

Lin Qiliang finally realized this wasn’t ordinary small talk.

After a pause, he nodded.

“Yes.”

“I remember that year your business had just gone bankrupt. Then suddenly two children arrived too.” The man’s sharp gaze carried overwhelming pressure from years in power.

“Life must’ve been difficult.”

Unable to guess his intentions, Lin Qiliang cautiously answered,

“Yes. Things were hard back then. Luckily Ke Ke was sensible and obedient. She even helped us take care of the younger children.”

Si Yuming’s eyes narrowed.

His voice turned colder.

“You made an eight-year-old child take care of babies?”

Lin Qiliang panicked instantly.

“No, no—that’s not what I meant. It’s just… her aunt and I were both busy…”

The man suddenly smiled.

“All these years, why has Ke Ke never changed to calling her ‘Mom’?”

“This…”

Si Yuming felt there was no point asking further.

The Lin Qiliang he’d encountered after marriage was weak and indecisive, merely following the pillow talk of the woman beside him.

A girl who lost her mother and then gained a stepmother plus two younger siblings less than half a year later—

How well could she possibly have lived in such a struggling household?

After several silent moments, he pulled out the Lin family company’s bidding materials from the drawer and said coolly,

“The project will follow normal procedures. There’s no need to come directly to me again.”

After another brief pause:

“And there’s no need to find Ke Ke either. It won’t help.”

Si Yuming pressed the internal line.

Soon after, Xu Lin entered and politely escorted Lin Qiliang away to coordinate with the project department.

Lin Qiliang glanced once at the resolute expression on the man’s face and finally understood.

He was standing up for his daughter.

Pitifully—

There wasn’t a single thing he could say in response.

Sighing inwardly, Lin Qiliang took the documents and left, only able to think of other solutions later.

Ten minutes afterward, Xu Lin returned to report.

“President Si, President Lin has already coordinated with Director Zhang from the project department.”

“Good.”

Xu Lin turned to leave again, only to hear the boss suddenly ask:

“Xu Lin, do you have a girlfriend?”

He blinked in confusion before answering honestly,

“Yes.”

Si Yuming sat upright, his gaze serious.

“What kinds of gifts do girls usually like?”

“Huh?”

“You don’t understand?”

“It’s not that…” Xu Lin swallowed nervously before cautiously confirming,

“You mean… for Manager Lin…?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Xu Lin steadied himself and thought carefully.

“My girlfriend likes bags, perfume, lipstick… things like that. But I’m not sure whether Manager Lin would like them too. I vaguely remember hearing someone say before that Manager Lin likes dinosaurs?”

That was Si Xiaotie’s preference.

Si Yuming immediately realized asking had been pointless.

Instead, he simply said,

“Book a restaurant for tomorrow night. Somewhere with a good atmosphere.”

“Yes, President Si.”

……

By the time he finished work and got home, it was already past eight.

The little girl in the living room sat seriously watching cartoons in her dinosaur rocking chair.

She quickly called out

“Daddy!” before immediately turning back toward the television.

He dragged her chair slightly backward and raised the volume for her.

“Where’s Mommy?”

He looked around.

Nobody in the living room.

Nobody in the dining room.

The master bedroom lights were off too.

“Mommy’s reading.”

Sure enough, light leaked from beneath the study door.

Si Yuming loosened his tie and tossed it aside before walking toward the study.

Knocking lightly, he heard a soft voice from inside.

“Come in.”

Pushing open the door, he saw the woman sitting at the desk reading seriously.

She wore pale pink pajamas with a cashmere shawl draped outside.

The desk lamp perfectly enveloped her entire figure, gently separating her from the surrounding darkness.

Her right hand was still in a cast.

She could only turn pages using her left hand.

The faint rustling of paper sounded peaceful—

Making the television noises outside seem strangely loud in comparison.

He quietly closed the door behind him.

The woman looked back once before returning to her book.

Her voice remained soft and gentle.

“You’re back.”

“Mhm.”

Si Yuming walked to the desk and examined the stack of books.

Administrative Aptitude Test.

Essay Writing.

Past Examination Papers.

He had never used the study after moving in.

There were only a few professional books in the bedroom before.

This was the first time he’d seen these.

“National civil service exam?” he asked uncertainly.

Lin Ke didn’t hide it.

She nodded.

“What position?”

“Foreign Ministry.”

“The Foreign Ministry?” He paused.

“Couldn’t Meng Jing help you?”

“He can’t. I have to pass the exam myself. Besides…” She lowered her eyes slightly.

“I don’t want his help either.”

He nodded and casually flipped through the top book.

The questions looked complicated.

Far outside his area of expertise.

After putting the book back down, his gaze unconsciously settled upon the woman before him.

Among all the children back then, Lin Ke had always been the smartest.

From childhood she worked seriously and was somewhat competitive too.

Even in preschool she wanted first place.

If not for Si Xiaotie—

Perhaps she would now be pursuing her own career the way Meng Jing did.

Something flickered in Si Yuming’s eyes.

“I heard it’s difficult?”

“It’s okay. As long as I pass the written exam, the interview won’t be a problem.”

“Mhm.”

Suddenly, he didn’t know what else to say.

This topic was entirely outside his world.

Two or three minutes passed.

The man behind her still hadn’t left.

Lin Ke finally began feeling uncomfortable and turned around.

“You have something to say?”

“No.”

“……”

Fine then.

She did have something to say.

Lin Ke put down her book and explained first,

“At the end of this month I’m going to Moscow for a conference. I’ll probably need to arrive early to prepare. During that time, please take extra care of Xiaotie. I’ll coordinate things with Aunt Chen too.”

“As for work, I’ve already arranged most things. Ma Chanchan and the others can handle daily matters. If there’s anything special, you can contact me.”

Si Yuming asked,

“Is it Meng Jing’s conference?”

“Mhm. They’re short on translators and hiring externally. I’m going over to help.”

“Okay.”

He had originally entered the room intending to invite her to dinner tomorrow night.

But looking at the current situation—

Dinner suddenly no longer seemed appropriate.

……

The next afternoon, Si Yuming glanced at the clock before closing the file in front of him.

“Xu Lin, cancel tonight’s reservation.”

“Yes, President Si.”

“From now on, after 4:30 PM and at night, postpone anything unnecessary.”

Xu Lin looked startled.

“All of it?”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

After getting off work early and picking up Si Xiaotie, they said goodbye to her friends one by one before father and daughter held hands and walked away.

The kindergarten sat right across from their residential complex.

But the market was still some distance away.

Looking at the unfamiliar direction they were walking, Si Xiaotie asked curiously,

“Daddy, where are we going?”

“To buy groceries. We’re making dinner for Mommy.”

The little girl frowned.

“What about Xiaotie?”

Si Yuming laughed softly and looked down at her.

“Xiaotie will cook by herself.”

“I’m a child. I can’t cook.”

“Daddy can teach you.”

The little girl responded very seriously,

“But I’m only three and a half. Mommy said I can’t use knives and can’t play with fire.”

That was true.

Si Yuming corrected himself.

“Then Daddy will cook for Xiaotie too.”

“Hmph. Daddy’s mean.”

The father and daughter chatted all the way through the market.

Lin Ke’s tastes were very similar to Si Xiaotie’s—

Both preferred sweeter flavors.

He selected a fresh fish to make sweet-and-sour fish.

Then bought large shrimp that Si Xiaotie loved.

A bundle of greens.

And finally half an old hen for soup.

Passing the small flower shop beside the market, the little girl suddenly stopped walking.

Remembering the fresh flowers regularly replaced at home, Si Yuming brought her inside.

“Xiaotie, what flowers does Mommy like?”

“Sunflowers!”

“That’s what you like.”

“Hehe.”

In the end they bought several sunflowers and a bouquet of roses.

The shop assistant asked whether they wanted wrapping.

He declined.

They were going straight into vases once home anyway.

Carrying bags full of groceries and flowers, they entered the residential complex.

On the way, they ran into Aunt Song and her two-year-old granddaughter.

The tiny little girl immediately rushed toward Si Xiaotie and hugged her sweetly while calling,

“Big sister!”

Si Xiaotie became ecstatic and spun around while hugging the smaller child.

Seeing the groceries in his hands, Aunt Song smiled warmly.

“So Xiaotie’s dad is cooking tonight?”

Si Yuming wasn’t good at casual chatting.

He simply answered politely,

“Yes.”

“How wonderful.” Aunt Song looked envious.

“Forget cooking—my son barely even enters the kitchen. If he ever makes one meal for me, it’ll probably mean our ancestors’ graves are smoking with blessing.”

Si Yuming smiled lightly.

Glancing at the time, he realized Lin Ke would be home soon.

So he called for Si Xiaotie, said goodbye to Aunt Song, and went upstairs.

He’d already told Aunt Chen to go home and rest early.

The house was empty.

First, he turned on the television for Si Xiaotie.

Then he entered the kitchen and began preparing ingredients.

At seven o’clock, the sound of the front door unlocking echoed through the apartment.

Si Xiaotie instantly jumped off her dinosaur rocking chair to greet Mommy.

The moment Lin Ke entered, she sensed something unusual.

After setting down her bag, she took her daughter’s hand and walked inside.

Only then did she understand why.

Two bouquets of flowers now sat on the coffee table.

And the one cooking in the kitchen—

Was none other than the cold, strict, commanding boss of Entropy Group.

This was only the second time in less than a month that he’d cooked.

Lin Ke increasingly felt something was off.

Squatting down, she quietly asked her daughter,

“Is your dad in a really good mood today… or a bad one?”

How would Si Xiaotie know?

She answered honestly,

“I don’t know. But Daddy said he wanted to cook for Mommy.”

“For me?”

“Yeah!”

Lin Ke became even more confused.

After changing clothes in the bedroom, the final dish was already served on the table.

Three dishes and one soup.

All looked surprisingly good.

Because her right hand remained inconvenient these days, she’d been forced to use only her left hand.

Now her left hand had grown much more skillful.

Just as she reached to ladle soup, the man extended his arm, took the spoon naturally, filled a bowl for her, and placed it before her.

“…Thank you.”

A few minutes later—

Half the peeled shrimp were placed into her bowl.

The other half went to Si Xiaotie.

Lin Ke stared in shock again.

This treatment used to belong only to their daughter.

She raised her eyes toward him.

Coincidentally meeting his gaze.

After a brief pause, he looked away first without saying anything and pulled out a tissue to wipe shrimp sauce from Si Xiaotie’s hands.

After dinner, Si Xiaotie went to play with Lego.

Only then did Lin Ke finally get the chance to speak with him.

“Why suddenly cook? Did Aunt Chen have something to do?”

Looking at her surprised expression, some indescribable feeling swept through Si Yuming’s heart.

“It’s just one meal. Isn’t that normal?”

“Oh…”

Actually—

It was normal.

Lin Ke stopped questioning and headed toward the study to read.

But when she reached the doorway, she turned back.

The man was currently cleaning the kitchen and preparing to wash dishes.

His white dress shirt remained tucked neatly into tailored black trousers.

Broad shoulders.

Narrow waist.

His tall frame looked strangely out of place in the cramped kitchen.

Sleeves rolled halfway up, forearm muscles tightening slightly while wiping the counter.

Afterward he picked up the pot and calmly washed it beneath running water.

His movements were practiced and natural.

As though this was all part of ordinary daily life.

Lin Ke glanced again at the two bouquets of flowers in the living room.

And for a moment—

Fell into a daze.

……

By the time Si Xiaotie’s bedtime arrived, Lin Ke still remained in the study.

So Si Yuming handled bedtime again.

Patting his daughter’s shoulder gently, he read aloud from the picture book.

“Little Squirrel had many friends. On its birthday, many little animals came to the house. There was its favorite Papa Squirrel and Mama Squirrel, and also its best friends…”

The little girl interrupted excitedly.

“I want a birthday too! I want one too! I want to invite Yuanyuan and Gu Yiyi and Teacher Bai Bai and Teacher Xiao Mei to our house for cake!”

Si Yuming answered mercilessly,

“Your birthday is in February. It’s not here yet.”

“Can’t I celebrate early?”

“No.”

“Okay then…”

She thought briefly before asking again,

“Then when is Daddy’s birthday?”

“Daddy’s already passed.”

“What about Mommy’s?”

“Mommy’s is very close to yours. Right after New Year’s.”

The moment she heard that, Si Xiaotie threw off the blanket and ran to her little wardrobe.

After rummaging around for a long time, she finally found a dinosaur plush toy.

Climbing back onto the bed, she grinned brightly.

“I’m going to give Mommy my favorite Stegosaurus baby!”

Even Si Yuming smiled.

“Mommy will definitely like it.”

“Mhm!”

The little girl hugged the dinosaur and snuggled beneath the blanket, mumbling sleepily.

“I like Mommy the most too…”

Si Yuming lowered his eyes to look at her.

Si Xiaotie resembled her mother in several ways.

Especially the eyes—

Bright and sparkling, forever seeming to hold stars inside them.

Even the eyelashes were alike.

Long and curled.

Her personality resembled her mother too.

When noisy and mischievous, she was like little Lin Ke.

When obedient and quiet, she resembled the current Lin Ke.

He gently stroked his daughter’s cheek and asked softly,

“Don’t you like Daddy?”

“I dooo~”

“Then…” the man asked quietly,

“does Mommy like Daddy?”

“Yes!”

The girl answered without hesitation.

Then she twisted the tiny dinosaur in her hands and said innocently,

“Xiaotie also likes Stegosaurus baby~”

    Si Yuming laughed helplessly and lowered his head to kiss her cheek once.